Thursday, June 27, 2013

Week one completed

I finished week one of the CSA challenge with only some green onions remaining. I made some wonderful things this week, and am finding ways to incorporate a little cooking into my evenings. Two of my favorite things were Hoisin-Glazed Collard Greens and Sweet Potatoes, from Nava Atlas's book, and stir fried pea shoots. Bruce even deemed the sweet potato dish "good" without prompting (high praise from him!) and ate a second portion. The thrilling thing was that I was able to make both of these without going out to the grocery store! (Using up what I have on hand is my other challenge).

Here are the Hoisin-Glazed Collard Greens and Sweet Potatoes:





The pea shoots had little purple flowers. I took those off, and removed some of the bigger stems. The stems that remained gave the dish a slight crunchiness. I didn't expect to like them, but....I ended up deciding to eat the entire pan (Bruce wasn't home to help).

Stir-fried pea shoots (found on grouprecipes.com)

2 T. white cooking wine
1/4 C. broth
3 t. soy sauce
1/4 t. sugar
2 T. canola oil
2 T. garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. pea shoots
2 t. cornstarch, dissolved in 4 t. water


In a small bowl, combine the wine, broth, soy sauce, and sugar. Set near the stove.
In a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil.
Add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
Add the pea shoots and toss to coat with oil and garlic.
Raise heat to high and add sauce mixture.
Stir-fry pea shoots 15 seconds, then cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until well wilted.
Uncover, add the cornstarch mixture, and stir-fry another 30 seconds, or until the sauce has thickened and the shoots acquire a shiny, almost "glazed" look.




This week, my challenge is the following:

More big green onions
Garlic scapes (I think - they look like thin green snakes)
Beets
Swiss chard
Huge head of romaine lettuce
Strawberries
Spinach

This is easier than last week. I already sauteed the chard with the beet greens with some garlic and olive oil, and served them with some sun-dried tomatoes. I've grated the beets for use in salads. Strawberries almost gone for cereal. But I seem unable to find a recipe that uses parsley without going to the grocery store (again). I plan to try out a quinoa and parsley salad that I found on the Cooking Light website, but have to stop by Trader Joe's for a cucumber, some celery, and some dried apricots. Luckily the recipe also has green onions in it in abundance. Now .... what to do with the thin green snakes?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

CSA haul: Julie and Julia challenge

My second eating challenge of eating this year is my CSA (that stands for Community Supported Agriculture). I picked up the lovely wooden box from Kretschmann's farm, dropped off on the porch of a house three blocks away. Here's a picture:


The box contained:

One large head of romaine lettuce
About a pound of spinach
About a pound of mixed greens, mostly arugula
One bunch of collard greens
A quart of strawberries
Oregano
Basil
A bag of pea shoots (little greens with flowers that last week Bruce said tasted "like grass")
Green onions

Is that all? It filled up most of my refrigerator! And all for me and one vegetarian who doesn't cook.

This is my challenge, a la the movie Julie and Julia. In the movie, Julie cooked her way through Julia Child's classic cookbook, one recipe per day, and blogged about it, without missing a day. For me, I will challenge myself to use up all the produce my CSA brings without throwing anything out, and preferably without unscheduled mid-week trips to the grocery store for extra ingredients to be used for one recipe only. This challenge will require time, ingenuity, and flexibility (the latter not my strong point). Thank goodness that I bought a copy of Nava Atlas's new cookbook Wild About Greens a couple of weeks ago!

Here's what I plan to make with some of these items.

Collard greens: Hoisin-Glazed Collard Greens & Sweet Potatoes (From Wild About Greens, with sweet potatoes and hoisin sauce that I have on hand)

Arugula: Pizza topped with arugula on Saturday night, with a Trader Joe's whole wheat crust to be purchased Saturday morning, and vegan cheese that I have on hand

Fresh spinach: Sauteed with garlic and red peppers, and in the green smoothie from Eat to Live

Pea shoots: How about #4 on this list: Vietnamese Stir-Fried Pea Shoots?



http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2010/05/17/top-ten-pea-shoot-recipes-in-season-now/

I have everything on hand but oyster sauce, which is not vegetarian anyway. Looks like soy sauce may be substituted.

Strawberries - no problem there! Half will go in my cereal tomorrow, and half the next day

The oregano is currently drying on my counter. I can put some on my pizza and some away to make roasted chickpeas.

Romaine lettuce? I have been eating a salad almost every day, making two portions at night and then then eating half for dinner and bringing half to work the next day for lunch.

And ... Basil? It's good on a hummus sandwich, but how will I use a whole bunch? Green onions? Still working on radishes from last week. More to come....