For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,367 Member
    That doesn't look bland to me.

    If I hadn't just made a mini batch (just for practice of course) of whole wheat buttermilk biscuits, I'd dig in to something tasty like that!

    This batch came out way better than my first experiment. I changed a few things up. No rolling pin. Hands only. And I folded that dough over and over like a piece of paper about 15 times, then cut them with a sharp knife instead of cutting rounds.

    Good thing it was a small batch.

    Good thing they were less than 100 calories each.

    If I want any more, I have to make another batch. But they do look VERY bland.
    oblvvuxya4bk.jpg

    For a bigger batch, I probably would have cut off the edge so they would have risen more uniformly. Still..... There might be more in my near future.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,557 Member
    edited December 2020
    @mtaratoot, I do love a good buttermilk biscuit. Your WW ones look wonderful. I made some (white) for Thanksgiving (solo indulgence, though took one to a friend), using Shirley Corriher's Southern-style recipe from Cookwise, with soft self-rising flour: A different style, but many styles are tasty. In the recipe I used, the dough is so soft and moist it can barely be handled (need to quickly, loosely form them on a floured board), then it goes in a cake-pan, so they won't spread too far. Any of these styles can be good . . . one of either would've been very nice with that soup I made.

    ETA: The Cookwise recipe ones I made looked like this, very different style, no kneading so utterly minimal gluten development (especially because soft wheat):

    y4ic5egqkxbw.jpg

    Both (all reasonable) styles tasty.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,367 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    @mtaratoot, I do love a good buttermilk biscuit. Your WW ones look wonderful. I made some (white) for Thanksgiving (solo indulgence, though took one to a friend), using Shirley Corriher's Southern-style recipe from Cookwise, with soft self-rising flour: A different style, but many styles are tasty. In the recipe I used, the dough is so soft and moist it can barely be handled (need to quickly, loosely form them on a floured board), then it goes in a cake-pan, so they won't spread too far. Any of these styles can be good . . . one of either would've been very nice with that soup I made.

    This recipe hardly could have been easier. I made an experiment with some buttermilk I had left over from cornbread I made on thanksgiving. I rolled them too thin. They were more like savory little whole wheat cookies. I knew I could do better. It's just been a while. The recipe is easily scaleable. For this tiniest batch I took one cup of whole wheat pastry flour, some salt, and some baking powder, then cut in 2 Tbsp butter, then added a half cup buttermilk and mixed minimally. Turned out and patted into a square, then folded in half and patted back out. I kept folding about 15 times or so.... gently... without kneading... then made a little rectangle and cut six small squares. Baked at 425 for 11 minutes.

    They are so easy, I can make more tomorrow. If I had someone else to cook for, I'd make bigger batches.

    They say you can't live on bread alone. So I put some butter on 'em.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    I made cardi augratin.907l6z4i3swb.jpg
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    edited December 2020
    c23lnpamu5v9.jpg
    I saw this bulletin on a store while out walking this morning. It's advertising for a cooperative that has tomatoes gathered by grandfolks. It's hilarious. How many old people can pick tomatoes for hours hunched over in the hot sun? It's backbreaking work done in August.
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    I saw this bulletin on a store while out walking this morning. It's advertising for a cooperative that has tomatoes gathered by grandfolks. It's hilarious. How many old people can pick tomatoes for hours hunched over in the hot sun? It's backbreaking work done in August.

    And all I can remember is growing up and picking tomatoes with my Nonna, who loved tomatoes so much and was insanely impatient with them; we would always pick them basically still orange because they were “good enough” :D

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,367 Member
    I made cardi augratin.907l6z4i3swb.jpg

    I am used to calling them cardoon. People grow them around here as ornamental plants. My neighbors have one. Cute little artichoke flowers all over. But you don't eat the flowers, you eat the leaves. I don't recall seeing them in the market. Do they taste much like artichoke?
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I made cardi augratin.907l6z4i3swb.jpg

    I am used to calling them cardoon. People grow them around here as ornamental plants. My neighbors have one. Cute little artichoke flowers all over. But you don't eat the flowers, you eat the leaves. I don't recall seeing them in the market. Do they taste much like artichoke?

    We eat the stalks--you need to sort of peel them. They are low-cal, and full of fiber. I don't like artichokes, but love these. They are called "globo" or "gobo cardi" which means "humped", because they are bent over and buried underground to keep them white. The color is a silvery white green. As when cleaning artichokes, you need to put them in water with lemon so they don't turn brown. Cut in about 5" lengths, rinse, and boil for 40 min, drain.

    I found a recipe where you line a pan w parchment paper (I didn't and have a big cleanup--next time I will be more careful), layer in the cardi, pour about half a glass of milk over, salt, pepper, sprinkle Parmigiano and bread crumbs, and then lightly pour a thin stream of EVOO over all. Bake 30 min at 350° or until crusty.

    They also make risotto and soups with them. I love cardi. I ate almost the entire pan by myself.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,367 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I made cardi augratin.907l6z4i3swb.jpg

    I am used to calling them cardoon. People grow them around here as ornamental plants. My neighbors have one. Cute little artichoke flowers all over. But you don't eat the flowers, you eat the leaves. I don't recall seeing them in the market. Do they taste much like artichoke?

    We eat the stalks--you need to sort of peel them. They are low-cal, and full of fiber. I don't like artichokes, but love these. They are called "globo" or "gobo cardi" which means "humped", because they are bent over and buried underground to keep them white. The color is a silvery white green. As when cleaning artichokes, you need to put them in water with lemon so they don't turn brown. Cut in about 5" lengths, rinse, and boil for 40 min, drain.

    I found a recipe where you line a pan w parchment paper (I didn't and have a big cleanup--next time I will be more careful), layer in the cardi, pour about half a glass of milk over, salt, pepper, sprinkle Parmigiano and bread crumbs, and then lightly pour a thin stream of EVOO over all. Bake 30 min at 350° or until crusty.

    They also make risotto and soups with them. I love cardi. I ate almost the entire pan by myself.

    I am going to experiment with the lemon trick when I start picking artichokes next year. I didn't know about that. Thanks for the tip!

    I haven't made risotto in years. So. Much. Stirring.
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
    I wish I loved vegetables this much... I should try to find some good veggie recipes, cause mine are so boring. All I know is how to overcook them - or put them in soup. Actually, I do make a good bean chili with lots of veggies. :)
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Chilis and stews are a perfectly good way to start.

    Try getting an inspiring vegetable cookbook -- Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love is one I like, but there are many. (Seasonal ones are great, but less so in Dec, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.)

    I also love this site for ideas: 101cookbooks.com
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
    @lemurcat2 Thanks for those suggestions!! I will check them out right now. :)
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    Steph_135 wrote: »
    I wish I loved vegetables this much... I should try to find some good veggie recipes, cause mine are so boring. All I know is how to overcook them - or put them in soup. Actually, I do make a good bean chili with lots of veggies. :)

    You can never go wrong with trying them roasted! Whatever veggie you’re roasting, look up what temp and how long to cook them for, and then you’re off to a good start!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    🤤 That salad looks SO GOOD
  • msapplek
    msapplek Posts: 95 Member
    senalay788 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Found this fun little mini butternut-type squash (that's a regular teaspoon, for scale). Good texture and flavor. Not a lot of squash for me 🤣, but could be a good thing for people who are a little scared of the giant old-school Winter squash varieties that require specialized techniques to break into, and produce alarmingly huge buckets of mashed roasted squash.

    I'd meant to put it in the mega-veggie vegetarian shepherd's pie I made for Christmas Eve dinner (lentils, onions, cremini mushrooms, parsnips, rutabaga, elephant garlic, corn, peas, turnips, celery, sweet potato, mashed potatoes, fresh sage & thyme, cabernet, broth, well-browned roux, chevre (in the potatoes), fresh grated parmesan on top) . . . but I forgot.

    qu61w316f44p.jpg

    This is called honey squash. I only found them once around here and bought few. Perfect for single serving unlike the butternut squash which is difficult to find on the smaller size.

    Funny, I came across the honeynut squash at the farmers' market this fall for the first time. I wonder if farmers all over got together and decided to go all in on the honeynut squash this year.

    Anyways, I really enjoy this variety: the taste, texture and serving size are great! I did notice, though, that the carbs and calories for the honeynut squash are relatively higher compared to butternut or spaghetti squash.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,557 Member
    Just for the record, even though I think my PP probably made my opinion clear: IMO this is Too Small a Squash. I ate the whole thing, and wished I had more. ☹️ I usually hold myself to 180-200g squash servings (around a cup, maybe a jot less), can happily eat more, and this was only 132g for the whole thing. And so few seeds in something that small - I do love roasted seeds with chili powder and popcorn salt. It was cute, though.

    My favorite so far (about which I posted earlier in the thread) is Georgia Candy Roaster. They're a banana-shaped squash, probably roughly the size of my lower leg, yield around 8-10C of smashed roasted squash.

    I'm a curmudgeon, and I don't prefer the tiny little Winter squash varieties that seem to be popular recently, though many are very tasty. Gimme a giant heirloom type of massive size, preferably.

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I like medium size -- nothing so gigantic it's difficult to deal with. I've been eating kabocha lately, which is a reasonable size (the ones I've had are similar in size to a normal butternut). I do love acorn, not because it's smaller, but I like the taste.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Watermelon is something I only mess with when it's in season, but watermelon-tomato salad (in mid summer) is great too, also with feta.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,557 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    What we have here is a gallon jar full of what will be saurkraut in a few weeks.

    uf89m7niogry.jpg


    Pretty basic. Three heads of cabbage and some salt. Well, I did peel two globes of garlic and tossed in all the whole cloves, not so much to flavor the kraut (which it will do) but because I want to eat pickled garlic, and I am afraid it won't ever have enough sugar on its own to ferment by itself.

    Homemade sauerkraut is So Good. I haven't made it in years (I've gotten lazy and buy the high priced raw stuff in interesting flavors that's made by The Brinery just a ways down the road in Ann Arbor). Used to make giant crocks of it every Fall, and can much of it. It's nicer raw, but after a while we needed to cut the fermentation before we produced alien life forms instead of kraut (and realistically, probably we also got tired of skimming 😆). Enjoy your kraut!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,367 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    What we have here is a gallon jar full of what will be saurkraut in a few weeks.

    uf89m7niogry.jpg


    Pretty basic. Three heads of cabbage and some salt. Well, I did peel two globes of garlic and tossed in all the whole cloves, not so much to flavor the kraut (which it will do) but because I want to eat pickled garlic, and I am afraid it won't ever have enough sugar on its own to ferment by itself.

    Homemade sauerkraut is So Good. I haven't made it in years (I've gotten lazy and buy the high priced raw stuff in interesting flavors that's made by The Brinery just a ways down the road in Ann Arbor). Used to make giant crocks of it every Fall, and can much of it. It's nicer raw, but after a while we needed to cut the fermentation before we produced alien life forms instead of kraut (and realistically, probably we also got tired of skimming 😆). Enjoy your kraut!

    I think this may be my first batch in 20 years. Why I stopped, I have no idea.

    There's a few neighbors who ferment things, and we like to share. So this will get shared. I don't plan to process any in jars; if it gets "done enough," I put it in jars and refrigerate. That slows the process down enough that it really doesn't keep getting more sour. I used to make something that was a cross between kraut and kimchi. I would add lots of hot chilies and fish sauce, but slice like kraut. This time it's just plain old cabbage. I bet it will be really good. I can still add some chilies if I want. And carrot. And fish sauce.... Nah. I'll let this one go as-is.

    My real FAVORITE is half-sour pickles. I don't find them in stores. I have to make them. I haven't in a while. Next summer! In the past I would actually process some of them so they could be shelf-stable. Better if I just jar 'em up and put them in the fridge so they're still alive.