For the love of Produce...

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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    I had a sprinkle of raw samphire in a tomato sandwich for breakfast. It is a good vegan ingredient for adding a salty umami hit. @AnnPT77 you might find it more easily when you are on the coast. I do have an American cookbook (the Silver Palate circa 1988) that includes a recipe for shrimp with salicornia.

    I remember seeing a documentary about people trying to farm samphire as it is an expensive ingredient valued by posh restaurants. The growing conditions were pretty unique as the plants needed to be completely submerged in salt water every day for a few hours. The natural habitat is tidal flats. The hubby remembers eating it on camping trips with his youth nature group, where the boys would be sent down to harvest it on the muddy coast. Those north sea islands have a beachy northern coast with fine sand, and mud flats on the south side.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    I used up the last of the samphire scattered over a salade Nicoise. This time I just blanched for two minutes before draining and cooling before adding to the salad.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    Advice please on what to do with fennel. Hubby went to the good green grocer that is a 20 minute trek from home. I asked for any vegetable we don't routinely eat and he came back wth two bulbs of fennel. Any recommendations on what to do with them? The simplest thing would to slice fennel and apple thinly for a salad.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    edited September 8
    acpgee wrote: »
    Advice please on what to do with fennel. Hubby went to the good green grocer that is a 20 minute trek from home. I asked for any vegetable we don't routinely eat and he came back wth two bulbs of fennel. Any recommendations on what to do with them? The simplest thing would to slice fennel and apple thinly for a salad.

    Thinly sliced and served with other vegetables along with humus or mixed in with pickle brine. Added to any green salad. Mixed with shredded cabbage for a really tasty slaw. Topping for pizza. Fermented with some other vegetables. Mmmm.
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,582 Member
    edited September 9
    I never had fennel growing up.. then marrying an Italian.. his Mom in Roma - makes Fennel all the time! “ Finocchio”

    2 recipes for consideration..

    Finocchi Gratinati
    Fennel
    breadcrumbs
    Parmigiano Reggiano
    Thyme, herbs to taste
    Olive oil
    Salt and pepper
    Lemon squeeze

    Toss cut fennel and coat.. bake til golden.

    This is a fav I found online-
    Fennel and orange salad with olives. I think the tastes really compliment each other. I had a version of this in Sicilia and it was chef’s kiss 😚

    https://tastefullygrace.com/italian-fennel-orange-salad/

    Let us know what you make!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    The first fennel bulb was sliced thinly with a granny smith apple, dressed with ranch and sprinkled with candied pumpkin seeds. I still have a bulb in the fridge which I will try baking or roasting on Thursday.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    We had one more fennel bulb which I wanted to roast or bake. This was finely sliced, tossed in a scant amount of olive oil and salted and popped in the air fryer at 200C. I had looked at recipes that suggested 30-40 minutes of cooking but 10 minutes was plenty if the fennel is thinly sliced and scantily oiled. Next attempt I will cut into thicker wedges.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    I've got another fennel bulb. Will try something with it on the weekend.
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,582 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    I've got another fennel bulb. Will try something with it on the weekend.

    Yay “finocchio” as my in laws call it. :) Apparently really good for digestion. I love the aroma of fennel.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    So braised fennel (what my husband asked me to try because he looks soft vegetables) was not hit. It is the greyish slush on the left. Will try the Italian gratinned version next time.
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  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 233 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    So braised fennel (what my husband asked me to try because he looks soft vegetables) was not hit. It is the greyish slush on the left. Will try the Italian gratinned version next time.
    6k2ssl86ry98.jpeg

    That glorious-looking dish in the foreground should more than make up for the disappointing fennel!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    @spinnerdell
    Cheese souffle is easier than most people think. I even do them on week nights. The only problem is it creates a lot of dirty dishes. A small saucepan for the bechamel, a spotless large measuring cup for whipping the egg whites, and 2 ramekins for baking.

    I normally skip the argula in the recipe. I like to bake longer for 20 minutes as I like a dry on the inside souffle.

    https://bestrecipes.co/recipes/air-fryer-arugula-cheddar-egg-souffles/

    Apologies for digressing from produce.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,349 Member
    I am loving $1 a bunch asparagus at the moment! Having it every meal!
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,582 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I am loving $1 a bunch asparagus at the moment! Having it every meal!

    😋 @Alatariel75 - yum- where in the world do I find this $1 a bunch asparagus?!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,349 Member
    SafariGalNYC wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I am loving $1 a bunch asparagus at the moment! Having it every meal!

    😋 @Alatariel75 - yum- where in the world do I find this $1 a bunch asparagus?!

    South Australia! haha

    It's so so good, I've never seen it so cheap for so long. It's not isolated, all my supermarkets and fruit and veg have it at that price! I've made soup, crustless quiche, and every meal has had it sauteed, steamed, grilled, you name it. Good thing I love it! I'm also going to ferment some!
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,582 Member
    edited November 2
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Mushrooms aren't plants, but I still count them as produce. The USDA does too, so here's my mushroom report.

    mwnq0br5phk8.jpg

    Wow @mtaratoot !!! I also love mushrooms. So versatile. The best omelette I have ever had - was a champignon omelette in Bolougne. It was allll the wild shrooms!!!!

    Great pic!! 🍄

    I’m trying to taste more varieties.. . I’ve read that morels are highly nutritious.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    The hubby thought he was buying small new potatoes (at this of year?) but they turned out to yellow (unripe?) dates. They are sweet but make my tongue feel astringent and fuzzy in the same way as unripe Sharon fruit (aka persimmon). Any ideas on what to do with them?
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  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,582 Member
    edited November 10
    acpgee wrote: »
    The hubby thought he was buying small new potatoes (at this of year?) but they turned out to yellow (unripe?) dates. They are sweet but make my tongue feel astringent and fuzzy in the same way as unripe Sharon fruit (aka persimmon). Any ideas on what to do with them?
    aemimipnkvcq.jpeg

    Barhi dates! Super versatile lil suckers. Interesting taste — astringent is a great word to describe.
    I’ve had these as a lot of garnish.. also had in a halva recipe. Date squares… I’ve seen a recipe that calls for sauteeing with garlic and olive oil.. haven’t tried that tho!

    Minced in yogurt is nice.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,002 Member
    We had galia melon with serrano ham and a few of the barhi dates. Good combination. Next time will serve more barhi dates. The fattiness of the raw ham disappates that astringency that leaves my mouth feeling woolly.
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    @SafariGalNYC, I haven't seen that squash around here yet, but I love Winter squash. If you feel inclined, could you let us know how you like that one after you try it, maybe a mini-review?

    Still my all-time favorite so far is an heirloom called Georgia Candy Roaster, banana-shaped, pale orange skin (sometimes with a bit of tan), huge - like 18" long or so, maybe 10 cups-ish once roasted and smashed. It's not (despite the name) crazy sweet, but very meaty, moist but not excess juice when roasted, rich flavor, with especially large seeds that are great for roasting.

    It's not a long keeper, but I try to buy several in Fall to roast and freeze, usually around 25 2-cup freezer bowls. I've mostly only seen it in farmers markets, rarely in a few small stores that buy produce locally. I blew it this Fall because other parts of life got seriously complicated.

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    That's a normal good-sized kitchen cleaver in there in front of the back (uncut) squash, for scale.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    Some friends invited me to join them for Thanksgiving tomorrow. That's quite nice. I'm not sure if I'll be one of those people the statisticians say are traveling "over 50 miles from home" or not. Depending on my route, the distance is over or under that metric. Hmmm.

    I offered to bring cornbread. I love to make the stuff, and it's pretty delicious. I have a lot of cornbread-specific cast iron; some corn stick pans and some corn triangle pans. Love it. I haven't made it since before spring, but I'm sure I still remember.

    I also offered to make squash soup. My friend suggested that they'd love me to make some cranberry sauce because one of them has a hankering for it. Well, I've never made the stuff. I'm typically not a fan, but I said it would be an adventure. I looked at six or eight recipes and came up with my own. It's pretty spicy from grated fresh ginger and sliced crystalized ginger. It's also got an orange plus the zest. The "secret ingredient" is some balsamic. I hope they like it. I actually think it's tasty enough that I might leave some at home before I go.

    The cranberries grown in Oregon have a darker red color, and I hear they have more concentrated flavor. This is presumably because of the longer growing season.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,349 Member
    I (foolishly) planted multiple zucchini plants and have the happiest veggie garden I have ever had this year! I'm inundated! Good thing I'm inventive, and love zucchini!

    I also have an enormous amount of Tomatillos growing, I think I'm going to be canning a lot of salsa verde!!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    edited November 28
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I (foolishly) planted multiple zucchini plants and have the happiest veggie garden I have ever had this year! I'm inundated! Good thing I'm inventive, and love zucchini!

    I also have an enormous amount of Tomatillos growing, I think I'm going to be canning a lot of salsa verde!!

    Keep your eyes open; you'll almost certainly have volunteer tomatillos next year. Perhaps for several years! If you have volunteer squash, they won't breed true so good luck figuring out what they are.

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