For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    @VegjoyP that bottom salad looks especially delicious; what’s in it?
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    A friend left somOe vegetables from her CSA yesterday. I was trying to decide what to make. I decided on soup. I couldn't find the rutabagas she left. Turns out that since I had left them out of the refrigerator (veggie drawers were full) she put 'em back in her bag and took 'em home. Oh well. That's fine. I just changed course a little bit. Big batch of vegetable soup with:
    • LOTS of onions
    • One leek
    • A few old beets
    • Carrots
    • Celery
    • Two big heads of garlic from the garden
    • Streaker barley
    • Half a cabbage
    • A serrano
    • Some "Better than Bullion"
    • Salt, oregano, a few leaves from an Oregon Bay Laural (substitute for bay leaves), and a few other tasty herbs and spices.
    • Dulse
    • I decided NOT to add potatoes or cauliflower. I'll roast the cauliflower separately.

    I may or may not add tomato paste or crushed tomatoes.

    I am also cooking a big batch of garbanzo beans. I'll add some when they're done. The soup will be good today and better tomorrow. I reckon I will freeze a bunch because it's a big batch. Some will also go back to my friend who has too many veggies in her CSA. I bet she brings the rutabagas back and I can cook them somehow. I was really looking forward to putting them in the soup. Oh well....


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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    My friend also gave me some red onions. Apparently she doesn't eat them. So I made quick pickle, and I bet it will be a great garnish for yonder soup.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    I forgot the pimientos padron , fried artichoke hearts and bean and sausage stew.uyfbdmx8ysn2.jpeg
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    Do potatoes count as produce? They have an interesting way of cooking them here. In a scant amount of heavily salted water (traditionally Atlantic seawater), skin on, until dry and encrusted with salt. They leave the proteins unseasoned which are meant to be eaten with a nibble of the salty potatoes. Potatoes served with ubiquitous green and/or red mojo sauces.
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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    @AnnPT77

    That dish sounds delicious. I might use a real grain instead of riced cauliflower, and I would for sure use garlic instead of elephant garlic. I am not a fan of elephant "garlic." I put two whole globes of garlic in that soup yesterday, but then again it was almost six quarts of delicious thick soup.



    acpgee wrote: »
    Do potatoes count as produce? They have an interesting way of cooking them here. In a scant amount of heavily salted water (traditionally Atlantic seawater), skin on, until dry and encrusted with salt.


    Potatoes for sure. And what do they call those potatoes? I want to make them.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    @mtaratoot
    Those Canary Island potatoes are called papas arrugadas. Googling for english language recipes brought up quite a few hits.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    @mtaratoot
    Those Canary Island potatoes are called papas arrugadas. Googling for english language recipes brought up quite a few hits.

    Thank you!

    New adventures in potatoes coming to a town near me soon!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    I "invented" something yesterday. I'm sure it's been done before, but I didn't look for a recipe.

    I had made some garbanzo beans earlier in the week. I already had some mayocoba beans cooked, but I wanted some beans in a batch of vegetable barley soup I was going to make. So I soaked and cooked chickpeas. I put some in the soup, left some whole, and blended some into a paste with the immersion blender. I'm sure I added some spices and garlic. Think a then version of humus without tahini or parsley. It's actually a good snack on its own.

    I wanted to make something different with the last bit of it.

    I took some whole wheat flour and mixed in some baking powder and baking soda and a little salt. I added that to the bean paste and mixed it into a dough. It was still a little thin, so I added more flour. I wish I remember what spices I used. Probably dried Hatch green chile powder and maybe some paprika and who even knows what else.

    When it got to a thickness I was OK with, I shaped it into balls, then gently flattened them and dredged them in panko crumbs. Then I pan fried them. The baking powder made them rise a bit. I did squish them just a tiny bit when I flipped them to get the second side flat, but I only did it gently to keep them airy and fluffy.

    Oh my were they ever delicious.

    I will never remember exactly what I did, but I can totally do this with any beans now. Guess what? I think I will!

    For now I have two heads of cauliflower broken up and soaking in brine. Tomorrow I will make a kimchi paste, toss it together, and set them aside for a couple weeks, and I'll also shred some green cabbage to start a batch of sauerkraut.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    @mtaratoot, can we call it "Northwest Eccentric Falafel", or do you prefer a more unique name? It sounds delightful, regardless of naming!

    Total digression, but I'd been experimenting off and on with chickpea & other bean flours in pizza dough (need a bunch of vital wheat gluten for textural qualities), to get a balance of tasty, good texture/chewiness, and nutrition. So many good things happen with the right mix of legumes!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    @AnnPT77

    I was thinking that I've eaten "burgers" made from black bean patties in the past. I remember them being tasty. I think this is a way to make them, and I imagine someone else has made them in the past. I thought falafel was made with uncooked soaked chickpeas. These were cooked.

    I might try to make some out of adzuki beans next. I've been avoiding cooking them for some reason. I think black beans might be next in the cycle, but I can make some adzuki beans, too. Why not? I know why not. I've been eating too much....

    They would be good with mushrooms added to the mix. And maybe even some oats.

    Musical croquettes? Legume latkes? Maybe just bean patties. Bean cakes! Patty Cakes!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    Boiled globe artichokes with hollandaise.
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  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
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    Quick and shady nicoise salad assembled not for visual delight, but for ease of eating! Lol
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
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    Also made broccoli-cheddar soup yesterday. It looks goofy because I added a scoop of rice into my portion to give it a bit more staying power.
    I love broccoli so much and after years of avoiding it due to roulette with possible agonizing stomach pain, I’m discovering that as long as it’s cooked fully soft when I eat it, there’s no problems! :)
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    Soup day.

    I had been soaking and sprouting black beans a couple days. So I cooked them today, then sautéed some onions and carrots then added them and garlic to the pot and made some great soup. I will freeze some.

    My friend left a couple leeks and some potatoes the other day. I used the other half of a white onion and more garlic and made soup. It’s
    really good. I will save some for my friend and freeze some.

    I don’t need to cook any more soup this week or next. But maybe I will anyway.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    What's your favourite thing to do with celeriac? I bought a bulb for Dutch split pea soup and used maybe a third of it. Would roast like any other root veg?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    What's your favourite thing to do with celeriac? I bought a bulb for Dutch split pea soup and used maybe a third of it. Would roast like any other root veg?

    I've roasted it and liked it. I also like it raw, in salads or just cut up to eat. Good in stews/soups in chunks (dice or whatever). It's not in frequent rotation here, so I haven't gotten very adventurous.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    edited March 2022
    acpgee wrote: »
    What's your favourite thing to do with celeriac? I bought a bulb for Dutch split pea soup and used maybe a third of it. Would roast like any other root veg?

    I’m a bit obsessed with Celeriac currently so I’ll share what I’ve been doing with it.

    I made a lightened up Remoulade recently (fairly sure I’ve seen that in your photos on the ‘what do your meals look like’ thread). Basic recipe - julienned celeriac, Dijon, finely chopped gherkins and capers, parsley and swapped out the standard mayonnaise for Skyr. Probably added a splash of white wine vinegar. That was delicious and I plan to repeat but include a bit of julienned apple next time to see how that works.

    I’ve made chips/fries with it, in the air fryer. Loved those. So I guess it would roast up fine too.

    Celeriac mash, of course…again using Skyr (or Quark if I have some). Last time I threw in the last spoonful of fat free cottage cheese so I guess anything ‘creamy’ would work. I add nutritional yeast - particularly fond of a smoky nutritional yeast in there. Dijon, the last time I used a really good Tarragon Dijon, which was great. Parsley, if I have some, loads of black pepper. I use it as a side (like mashed potatoes - which I dislike but celeriac purée is a whole different story!) I use it as a bed for a veggie chilli or for garlicky roasted mushrooms - kind of like a ‘grits’ substitute I guess!

    Next on my list is to try to lighten up ‘celeriac steaks’ which seems to be bathed in either butter or oil and either pan fried or roasted. Might try rubbing the cut celeriac with either a little marmite or white miso and simply roasting it in thick slices.

    I’ve not made soup with it yet, only because that’s too obvious and I like to play with interesting stuff! 😂

    Found a photo (not the prettiest food photo), but it shows both the mash and the Remoulade!

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    Did we decide fungi are produce? I got some new-to-me types to try at the farmers market today, from a local grower, Lion's Mane and Chestnut, according to them.

    I sliced and sauteed some of the Lion's Mane to try fairly plain, see what I thought. Hard to describe the flavor, but I enjoyed them. I tried various seasonings to find something that would complement but not overwhelm, best liked a small skim of dill mustard, or some ume plum vinegar - something that added a little saltiness and sharpness. I still have some left raw, mulling how to use, soon.

    Haven't tried the chestnut ones yet - the grower suggested chestnut mushroom poutine as a good option. (I'm not sure I have the calories for that!)

    Ignore the rainbows in the photo: The mushrooms aren't hallucinogenic; there are prisms in my kitchen window, catching the light on a sunny afternoon.

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  • avatiach
    avatiach Posts: 298 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    @mtaratoot, can we call it "Northwest Eccentric Falafel", or do you prefer a more unique name? It sounds delightful, regardless of naming!

    Total digression, but I'd been experimenting off and on with chickpea & other bean flours in pizza dough (need a bunch of vital wheat gluten for textural qualities), to get a balance of tasty, good texture/chewiness, and nutrition. So many good things happen with the right mix of legumes!

    Have you tried socca? It uses chickpea flour and is a street food in North Africa. I've only made it once and I made it a bit too thick, but it was tasty. Here's a recipe, there are more: https://www.loveandlemons.com/socca-recipe/
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    avatiach wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    @mtaratoot, can we call it "Northwest Eccentric Falafel", or do you prefer a more unique name? It sounds delightful, regardless of naming!

    Total digression, but I'd been experimenting off and on with chickpea & other bean flours in pizza dough (need a bunch of vital wheat gluten for textural qualities), to get a balance of tasty, good texture/chewiness, and nutrition. So many good things happen with the right mix of legumes!

    Have you tried socca? It uses chickpea flour and is a street food in North Africa. I've only made it once and I made it a bit too thick, but it was tasty. Here's a recipe, there are more: https://www.loveandlemons.com/socca-recipe/

    I have tried socca, and also the somewhat-similar (but not really) panelle. I have to admit, my results were underwhelming with both, but I should try again. I also made baked chickpea "fries" at one point, another loosely similar thing, which were pretty good. I used a different dip, but for the "fries" did something similar to this recipe:

    https://olivesfordinner.com/2018/07/chickpea-fries-with-yogurt-tahini-sauce.html
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Did we decide fungi are produce? I got some new-to-me types to try at the farmers market today, from a local grower, Lion's Mane and Chestnut, according to them.

    I sliced and sauteed some of the Lion's Mane to try fairly plain, see what I thought. Hard to describe the flavor, but I enjoyed them. I tried various seasonings to find something that would complement but not overwhelm, best liked a small skim of dill mustard, or some ume plum vinegar - something that added a little saltiness and sharpness. I still have some left raw, mulling how to use, soon.

    Haven't tried the chestnut ones yet - the grower suggested chestnut mushroom poutine as a good option. (I'm not sure I have the calories for that!)

    Ignore the rainbows in the photo: The mushrooms aren't hallucinogenic; there are prisms in my kitchen window, catching the light on a sunny afternoon.

    u3ghcsejsu8z.jpg

    Definitely produce. Not plants, but I would still call them produce. Seaweed is also produce even though it's also not a plant. Mushrooms are more closely related to animals than plants, and seaweeds are alga which are protists.

    One of the best ways to enjoy the subtle flavor of different kinds of mushrooms is pretty simple. There's two schools on how to saute them - low and slow or quick. Or both. Some mushrooms have a lot of water, and they'll give it up rapidly. You can "dry saute" them to let the liquid out, then pour off and save the liquid to add back in later. Turn down the heat, add a little bit of butter, and just a TINY bit of garlic. Cook until delicious. Then, if you're feeling decadent, add a splash of cream and/or sherry. So delicious. The cream and butter add calories. Worth it.

    Once you know you like that kind of mushroom, you can add lots of them to so many things to give a meaty texture and flavor. The lions mane will hold together nicely. I think the chestnut will break apart more easily. When you see fresh porcini (also known as cep or King Bolete), get it. They aren't cheap. They are oh, so delicious.

    If you have a dehydrator, you can dry some of your mushrooms. Some rehydrate well. Some not so much. If you get them bone dry you can grind them into powder in a CLEAN coffee grinder. You can do this even with mushrooms that don't rehydrate well. You can use the powder to add mushroom flavor and umami to any dish without adding texture. Kind of neat. I kind of like mushrooms in case you didn't know.

    I did read up on recommendations on the web, before sautéing the Lion's Mane, as well as talking to the knowledgeable seller at the farmers market. Consensus was slice-thin, saute in a little oil, maybe with some garlic.

    Today, with the Chestnuts, I'm thinking I might riff on the poutine idea, but as a pasta dish rather than fries, and not with curds because I don't have any right now (have various other cheese, because yum, cheese), but I'm still mulling.

    I don't have a dehydrator any more (I think there's a solar one in the pole barn, but ultra-cobwebby). I wasn't using the electric one (inherited from my late father-in-law), so I gave it to a friend who makes her own jerky, sometimes starting with venison she harvested herself. After jerky, I don't really even want it back, as a vegetarian, given how plastics (which it partly was) can hold flavors/tastes. 😆

    Also as a veg, I do keep mushroom powders (usually multiple kinds) on hand as an "umami-fier". I've made my own from commercial dried mushrooms at times, too.

    I like mushrooms, too - all the ones I've tried, so far, except giant puffballs, which I didn't love.

    I appreciate the recommendation on fresh porcini/cep/King Bolete. I'll keep an eye out. We have more than one artisan grower around here who shows up at markets. They're a little expensive, generally, but OK as an occasional indulgence, I think. My local giant produce extravaganza store also has a variety of fresh mushrooms that changes over time, though usually not as nice/fresh as the farmers market sellers.

    I wish I had enough morels to dry a good number of them. If I did, I'd eat them all fresh. 😉
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,175 Member
    So, I simplified, and just sauteed the Chestnut mushrooms in macadamia oil, with a little minced garlic, tossed them with red lentil penne and some local goat feta. It was tasty, but . . . I don't think I've ever had a crunchy mushroom before. I had sauteed them long enough, I believe, but they were a little crunchy like a vegetable (not crispy from cooking until crisped). Startling, at first, but I adapted. 😉

    It didn't look that fabulous, so I'm going to include a photo of the gigantic (1960s pyrex mixing bowl) legit salad that went with them: Mixed spring greens, spicy micro greens, English cucumber, sweet onion, red bell pepper, shelled pumpkin seeds, dressed with red wine vinegar. Nothing fancy, but good.

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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,950 Member
    Chestnut mushrooms are quite common in UK supermarkets. I use them the same way I would use common white button mushrooms. They have an earthier taste though.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,230 Member
    There is a component of mushrooms that keep them firm. Some stay "crisp." Shiitake stay pretty crisp, as do cauliflower mushrooms. They come in so many textures and subtle flavors....

    Next time, if you want to maybe try something different if you get more chestnuts, is to marinate them. Or at least some of them. They will absorb the brine, and they will stay crispy. Oh, now I want mushrooms. I should pull a bag of chanterelles out of the freezer and figure out what to do with them.