For the love of Produce...
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purplefizzy wrote: »Produce question/poll:
(Inspired by @crazyravr and the crispy frozen okra post)
Cupboard and Freezer Deep Dive
1-What produce items will you buy frozen/canned that are not quality compromised? (Mostly texture goes to hell)
2-What are your prep tricks for these items?
3-bonus question: cost savings or longevity or both?
dried mushrooms (shiitake, porcini, etc.) - most in stir fries, but i use the spent water as a veggie broth for my stir fry sauce. it adds a ton of umami flavor.
dried mango - as is.
canned bamboo shoots and baby corn - mostly in stir fries
frozen peas - mixed in with rice or as a puree for sauces.
You didn't ask this, but pickled produce is another method of extending the life of produce. Kimchi comes in different varieties, not just napa cabbage. Kimchi can be made with cucumbers, mustard leaves (or most any leaves), radish, etc. Kimchi is a staple in any Korean meal, but I've also used it in sandwiches. Japanese pickles (tsukemono) comes in these varieties: radish, eggplant, plum, etc.3 -
I tried roasted okra, and liked it (thanks, Crazyravr!). Oddly, I had to go with fresh for the first try, since the mid-sized store I went to had some fresh that looked decent (South America, jeesh), but no frozen. As with so many veg, it enhances and deepens the flavor, and brings up the mild umami character to a higher intensity, IMO. I had part with just a bit of salt (guilty admission: I love salt way too much), a couple completely plain, and some with some decent commerical tomatillo-cilantro salsa as a dip. Will repeat, and keep looking for frozen.
Poll:
Canned:
* Tomatoes (especially like the fire roasted, too)
* Prepared salsa (lazy)
* Beans (though mostly cook dry ones in big batches, usually just a little salt, & freeze in 2C glass bowls - have big chest freezer).
* Does pickled count as canned? If so, various things: Green beans, okra, others. (Strongly prefer refrigerated cuke pickles, raw sauerkraut/kim chi/other fermented. Soft veggies aren't as good pickled & canned; and fermented shouldn't be pasteurized IMO)
* Hearts of palm occasionally
* Pumpkin
Canned-ish:
* I like the precooked, shrink-packaged shelf-stable beets as a pantry backup. Affordable enough at Costco for occasional use, low hassle factor for quick salad (usually eat them cold; not always). (I have some similarly-packed chestnuts to try - can't usually get fresh around here except near Christmas).
Frozen:
* The chewier kinds of mushrooms, for stir-fries
* Green peas (soups, stir-fries; feel like fresh only essential for salads or similar)
* Sweet corn kernals (OK in soup/stew, or a few in a taco or something; I prefer fresh when cooking for others)
* Cauliflower - Not ideal to roast, but good roasted as a backup when low on fresh
* Brussels sprouts - Same as cauli, roasted usually, but more texture sacrifice
* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
* Mixed berries for my oatmeal (I like them a bit warm, so realistically they're going to be sauce-like anyway; better quality and just easier since I eat them every day).
* Black cherries (usually eat frozen, with plain yogurt and chocolate PB2 for a little sweetness and added flavor)
* Shelled soybeans
I've been curious about the frozen avocados, too - worried they might be picked too green (as some fruits I've tried frozen have been)? I do buy single-serve mashed avos or simple-ingredient guac (picky) and freeze, so I can have a dab in something when I fancy but don't have fresh on hand.0 -
Japanese pickles (tsukemono) comes in these varieties: radish, eggplant, plum, etc.
Great stuff. Make your own Jap pickles or buy? I’m a fermenting novice but trying to get more adventurous. The ones in my local market seem to all have either sugar or food coloring or MSG or all of the above.0 -
* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.0 -
Chinese/Japanese eggplant is less bitter than the globe/American variety. My favorite way to prepare them is to roast them right on the stove top directly on the flame. Peel, then serve with tomatoes, garlic, lemon or vinegar and green onions, kinda like a bruschetta. It's also good with a miso glaze or in a stir-fry.
Roast until fully blackened and then cool and slide out of skin like a pepper, or roast to lightly charred?0 -
Both. I'm fortunate enough to have access to both Japanese and Korean markets where they make their own kimchi and pickles. I make them at home, but when at these stores, it's hard to resist when they have samples out for you to try. I use a quick picking method so they're not truly fermented.purplefizzy wrote: »Japanese pickles (tsukemono) comes in these varieties: radish, eggplant, plum, etc.
Great stuff. Make your own Jap pickles or buy? I’m a fermenting novice but trying to get more adventurous. The ones in my local market seem to all have either sugar or food coloring or MSG or all of the above.
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purplefizzy wrote: »Chinese/Japanese eggplant is less bitter than the globe/American variety. My favorite way to prepare them is to roast them right on the stove top directly on the flame. Peel, then serve with tomatoes, garlic, lemon or vinegar and green onions, kinda like a bruschetta. It's also good with a miso glaze or in a stir-fry.
Roast until fully blackened and then cool and slide out of skin like a pepper, or roast to lightly charred?
I go by feel, but yeah, probably close to fully blackened. I'll put in a covered bowl to cook with residual heat, then peel once it's cooled enough. Also a good way for doing baba ganoush.1 -
I like using balsamic vinegar on steamed beets along with seasoned salt. I found something new to me! Black garlic! I found it, strangely enough,at Big Lots (a store that has a lot of discontinued stuff). Somebody had piqued my interest telling me how good it was. It's aged garlic and it is black and spongey when you peel away the skin. It's not strongly garlicly but kind of fruity. It's definitely worth experimenting with. Who would have thought, "Let's let some garlic sit around until it black, and then we'll eat it. What's the worst that could happen?"3
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purplefizzy wrote: »* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.
I prefer some varieties that are usually labeled as banana squash, though I've seen them called other things. There are a few vendors at our farmers markets that have a multiple varieties of heirlooms, and I also chat with them about what I like and take their advice.
Generally, though, I go with the banana type. Below are a couple of photos. One is a group of them that are a little more on the bulbous side, while the cut open one is a little more elongated, but they all have something like that salmon-beige-peach kind of skin color with some brownish peanut-shell quality to it, and they're pretty big. (The central light-colored shape in those floor tiles is about 6" across. With the cut-open one, that's a serving spoon and a serrated steak knife, for scale.)
One of the things I love about these is that they have big, plump, meaty seeds (you can see them at the side of one photo). They're so good roasted with a little olive oil and a good jolt of Frontier chili powder and plain popcorn salt, but they take much longer to roast than many other squashes' flatter, smaller seeds.
The squash meat itself is quite sweet, not very fibrous, rich flavored, neither over-dry nor watery (as acorn can sometimes be). Delicious! (My massage therapist suggested I try them just hot, with an ample dose of sweet white miso mixed in. Worth trying, and I often eat it this way as a side.)
Eight to ten of these big guys will make enough for me to freeze and stay happy for months, probably 4-5ish 2-cup bowls per squash? (Can't say I counted precisely. Might be more.)
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purplefizzy wrote: »* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.
I prefer some varieties that are usually labeled as banana squash, though I've seen them called other things. There are a few vendors at our farmers markets that have a multiple varieties of heirlooms, and I also chat with them about what I like and take their advice.
Generally, though, I go with the banana type. Below are a couple of photos. One is a group of them that are a little more on the bulbous side, while the cut open one is a little more elongated, but they all have something like that salmon-beige-peach kind of skin color with some brownish peanut-shell quality to it, and they're pretty big. (The central light-colored shape in those floor tiles is about 6" across. With the cut-open one, that's a serving spoon and a serrated steak knife, for scale.)
One of the things I love about these is that they have big, plump, meaty seeds (you can see them at the side of one photo). They're so good roasted with a little olive oil and a good jolt of Frontier chili powder and plain popcorn salt, but they take much longer to roast than many other squashes' flatter, smaller seeds.
The squash meat itself is quite sweet, not very fibrous, rich flavored, neither over-dry nor watery (as acorn can sometimes be). Delicious! (My massage therapist suggested I try them just hot, with an ample dose of sweet white miso mixed in. Worth trying, and I often eat it this way as a side.)
Eight to ten of these big guys will make enough for me to freeze and stay happy for months, probably 4-5ish 2-cup bowls per squash? (Can't say I counted precisely. Might be more.)
Makes my mouth water for sure! I tried blue and red Hubbard squash this fall, roasted on a bbq, and in soups. Absolutely delicious. I find that peeling them is a waste of time and effort, as the skin becomes soft and blends with the squash meat perfectly for the most part, some tougher areas might need either peeling or a bit longer cooking. But i happen to love the texture and taste, plus I'm sure there's lots of nutrients in it to be tossed or composted. I also don't bother peeling butternut or delicata squash. Spaghetti squash is another one of my go to, i get some kind of squash every week while grocery shopping, so we eat it often, either roasted, in soups or even steamed in instant pot for a quick side.1 -
purplefizzy wrote: »* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.
I prefer some varieties that are usually labeled as banana squash, though I've seen them called other things. There are a few vendors at our farmers markets that have a multiple varieties of heirlooms, and I also chat with them about what I like and take their advice.
Generally, though, I go with the banana type. Below are a couple of photos. One is a group of them that are a little more on the bulbous side, while the cut open one is a little more elongated, but they all have something like that salmon-beige-peach kind of skin color with some brownish peanut-shell quality to it, and they're pretty big. (The central light-colored shape in those floor tiles is about 6" across. With the cut-open one, that's a serving spoon and a serrated steak knife, for scale.)
One of the things I love about these is that they have big, plump, meaty seeds (you can see them at the side of one photo). They're so good roasted with a little olive oil and a good jolt of Frontier chili powder and plain popcorn salt, but they take much longer to roast than many other squashes' flatter, smaller seeds.
The squash meat itself is quite sweet, not very fibrous, rich flavored, neither over-dry nor watery (as acorn can sometimes be). Delicious! (My massage therapist suggested I try them just hot, with an ample dose of sweet white miso mixed in. Worth trying, and I often eat it this way as a side.)
Eight to ten of these big guys will make enough for me to freeze and stay happy for months, probably 4-5ish 2-cup bowls per squash? (Can't say I counted precisely. Might be more.)
Makes my mouth water for sure! I tried blue and red Hubbard squash this fall, roasted on a bbq, and in soups. Absolutely delicious. I find that peeling them is a waste of time and effort, as the skin becomes soft and blends with the squash meat perfectly for the most part, some tougher areas might need either peeling or a bit longer cooking. But i happen to love the texture and taste, plus I'm sure there's lots of nutrients in it to be tossed or composted. I also don't bother peeling butternut or delicata squash. Spaghetti squash is another one of my go to, i get some kind of squash every week while grocery shopping, so we eat it often, either roasted, in soups or even steamed in instant pot for a quick side.
I do peel, but always after roasting: It's super easy then. I like a fairly soft mash, especially for freezing.
I do like spaghetti squash, too, but those are easy to find fresh all year long here.
I have to beat the other heirloom squash fanciers to the farmers market for these ones I prefer; oddly enough, they're not good keepers whole (unlike, say, the butternut squash I was raised on, which kept nicely in a crate in my parents' well-pit all Winter).
Another interesting squash I tried was "mashed potato" acorn squash: Whiter flesh, very mild. It really would be a good potato substitute (if a person needed such a thing!
), better than mashed cauliflower, for my taste. I thought about using it to make vegetarian shepherd's pie, which sounded good, but never quite got around to it. 0 -
"Almost too pretty to eat" isn't just about desserts! (Notice I said "almost".) I snagged this beauty yesterday when grocery shopping: Couldn't resist.
Ate some (OK, half the head) for dinner just steamed enough to be hot (with a small drizzle of white wine vinegar and Meyer lemon olive oil); alongside a main of copious sauteed Cremini mushrooms, caramelized onion, fromage blanc, chickpea penne, grated parm, plenty of black pepper; and a second side of spaghetti squash with fire-roasted tomatoes. Happy now!
purplefizzy wrote: »* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.
I prefer some varieties that are usually labeled as banana squash, though I've seen them called other things. There are a few vendors at our farmers markets that have a multiple varieties of heirlooms, and I also chat with them about what I like and take their advice.
Generally, though, I go with the banana type. Below are a couple of photos. One is a group of them that are a little more on the bulbous side, while the cut open one is a little more elongated, but they all have something like that salmon-beige-peach kind of skin color with some brownish peanut-shell quality to it, and they're pretty big. (The central light-colored shape in those floor tiles is about 6" across. With the cut-open one, that's a serving spoon and a serrated steak knife, for scale.)
One of the things I love about these is that they have big, plump, meaty seeds (you can see them at the side of one photo). They're so good roasted with a little olive oil and a good jolt of Frontier chili powder and plain popcorn salt, but they take much longer to roast than many other squashes' flatter, smaller seeds.
The squash meat itself is quite sweet, not very fibrous, rich flavored, neither over-dry nor watery (as acorn can sometimes be). Delicious! (My massage therapist suggested I try them just hot, with an ample dose of sweet white miso mixed in. Worth trying, and I often eat it this way as a side.)
Eight to ten of these big guys will make enough for me to freeze and stay happy for months, probably 4-5ish 2-cup bowls per squash? (Can't say I counted precisely. Might be more.)
Makes my mouth water for sure! I tried blue and red Hubbard squash this fall, roasted on a bbq, and in soups. Absolutely delicious. I find that peeling them is a waste of time and effort, as the skin becomes soft and blends with the squash meat perfectly for the most part, some tougher areas might need either peeling or a bit longer cooking. But i happen to love the texture and taste, plus I'm sure there's lots of nutrients in it to be tossed or composted. I also don't bother peeling butternut or delicata squash. Spaghetti squash is another one of my go to, i get some kind of squash every week while grocery shopping, so we eat it often, either roasted, in soups or even steamed in instant pot for a quick side.
I do peel, but always after roasting: It's super easy then. I like a fairly soft mash, especially for freezing.
I do like spaghetti squash, too, but those are easy to find fresh all year long here.
I have to beat the other heirloom squash fanciers to the farmers market for these ones I prefer; oddly enough, they're not good keepers whole (unlike, say, the butternut squash I was raised on, which kept nicely in a crate in my parents' well-pit all Winter).
Another interesting squash I tried was "mashed potato" acorn squash: Whiter flesh, very mild. It really would be a good potato substitute (if a person needed such a thing! ), better than mashed cauliflower, for my taste. I thought about using it to make vegetarian shepherd's pie, which sounded good, but never quite got around to it.
I make mashed acorn squash all the time.
Steam the squash until soft and cooked. Throw in a blender with a bit of yogurt, salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Blend. Amazing.
The "mashed potato" variety of squash (white skin, specific cultivar(s)) is IMO more mild than regular acorn squash. This (IMO, again) makes it less tasty as a mashed squash, but perhaps more versatile as a potato substitute.1 -
purplefizzy wrote: »* Winter squash - I buy large amounts of an amazing heirloom at the farmers market, roast, and freeze in 2C glass bowls, enough to last for many months
Now I’ve GOTTA give Okra another go...
Any idea what the heirloom squash is called?
You are SO speaking to my taste preferences with this whole list.
I prefer some varieties that are usually labeled as banana squash, though I've seen them called other things. There are a few vendors at our farmers markets that have a multiple varieties of heirlooms, and I also chat with them about what I like and take their advice.
Generally, though, I go with the banana type. Below are a couple of photos. One is a group of them that are a little more on the bulbous side, while the cut open one is a little more elongated, but they all have something like that salmon-beige-peach kind of skin color with some brownish peanut-shell quality to it, and they're pretty big. (The central light-colored shape in those floor tiles is about 6" across. With the cut-open one, that's a serving spoon and a serrated steak knife, for scale.)
One of the things I love about these is that they have big, plump, meaty seeds (you can see them at the side of one photo). They're so good roasted with a little olive oil and a good jolt of Frontier chili powder and plain popcorn salt, but they take much longer to roast than many other squashes' flatter, smaller seeds.
The squash meat itself is quite sweet, not very fibrous, rich flavored, neither over-dry nor watery (as acorn can sometimes be). Delicious! (My massage therapist suggested I try them just hot, with an ample dose of sweet white miso mixed in. Worth trying, and I often eat it this way as a side.)
Eight to ten of these big guys will make enough for me to freeze and stay happy for months, probably 4-5ish 2-cup bowls per squash? (Can't say I counted precisely. Might be more.)
Completely stunning. I have an irrational love for squash. I’ve eaten it nearly every day for 20 years. I’ve skipped a couple, but I wasn’t happy about it..
Thanks for a GREAT description!1 -
New to me!2 -
Awesome produce inspiration all around!
Mini patty pans! Aka mini flying saucers. ☺️
I found these in my grocery store and I’m currently experimenting with cooking them.
Anyone have experience with them?
I was reading their nutrional profile online- happy to note they are high in fiber (edible skins) and folate!
Pattypans in the morning sun on my windowsill..
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purplefizzy wrote: »
New to me!
Star fruit? ⚡️🙌🏻0 -
purplefizzy wrote: »Produce question/poll:
(Inspired by @crazyravr and the crispy frozen okra post)
Cupboard and Freezer Deep Dive
1-What produce items will you buy frozen/canned that are not quality compromised? (Mostly texture goes to hell)
2-What are your prep tricks for these items?
3-bonus question: cost savings or longevity or both?
(I want to be sensitive to the fact that some people live in food deserts where fresh produce is hard to come by, or have other budget/logistics issues that necessitate buying lots of stuff frozen or canned. The root of my curiosity is the ‘not quality compromised’ part. I don’t mean to be an *kitten* and I do realize that access to fresh produce is a privilege.
I’m looking for the ‘hidden gems’ more than the Captain Obvious answers (ie. frozen berries in smothies or frozen chopped stuff in soup.)
Mine:
Canned:
-Fire roasted tomatoes
-chickpeas (these fall into Captain Obvious territory but are both always in my cupboard - I dry roast them with garam masala or sumac)
Frozen:
-artichoke hearts (for roasting, high heat, sheet with oiled foil, salt/pepper/lemon after roasting)
-edamame (because these don’t suck after defrosting- cost savings)
-mango (the texture, when defrosted naturally, maintains pretty well)
-fresh coconut chunks
-sweet dark cherries (only certain brands, and I eat them frozen)
Things I’m curious about but have not tried:
-frozen avocado pieces
Canned-pineapple and that's about it (to add to cottage cheese). I just don't like the consistency of canned veg/fruit
(I do use canned beans all the time though)
Frozen-I but a LOT of frozen veggies, especially this time of year. Vegetables are frozen very quickly after being picked vs fresh being shipped around the country/world. In the summer I'll hit local farmers markets but that's like 2 months out of the year.
I average 7+ servings of veggies a day, about half of that is from frozen. The other half is for salads (if I don't have a salad then my intake is all frozen). I use frozen spinach and kale in my green smoothies, I use frozen steamer blends in rice/grains bowls, I use frozen veggies as a side (especially Green Giants sauced veggie steamers). I also use frozen veg in stir-frys.
Cost wise it's usually cheaper to buy frozen, (I also buy fresh spinach when it's on sale for a dollar a bag and then freeze it myself, for my green smoothies). Longevity wise there's no comparison-frozen vegetables keep much better than fresh, even using fresh saver fridge containers. I actually bought a small used chest freezer last summer, mostly to store my frozen veggies (I have probably 30 bags/boxes of veg/fruit in there right now).
I'm not a big fruit eater so frozen berries for my green smoothies are a must (I also flash freeze blueberries and strawberries from U-Pick farms in the summer). The only fresh fruit I buy for myself (separate than the fruit I buy for my family), is bananas, again for my green smoothies. I usually end up freezing them though because they go bad before I can use them (they're so cheap that I always overbuy lol).0 -
I thought I killed ‘em...
Crispy star fruit!
Turns out they are DELICIOUS and caramel-y when a bit over-brown. To me anyway.
Which makes sense because I like produce stuff roasted pretty darkly if I’m gonna roast.
Meat, not so much.
One Ex was terrified of taking my steak past ‘seared bleu’ in the early stages of our dating, because I’d apparently been very very adamant about my steak philosophy. He’d stand by the grill and look super tense. It was months later that he revealed that I’d made him nervous. I thought maybe that was just his ‘grilling face.’
He was from the south, they take the distinction between BBQ and ‘grilling out’ pretty damn seriously.1 -
King oyster mushroom chips anyone?
Slice mushrooms 1/8" thin and brush with olive oil. Into the oven to roast for 5 minutes at 425F. Flip. Sprinkle with seasoning and roast another 5 minutes.
To this. Sprinkled with everything but the bagel seasoning.
YES SIR. Today. These are now on the docket.0
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