For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Those look tasty; I bet they are. Do you use convection or just regular oven? Do you steam them first or just roast? I imagine they take much longer than potatoes or beets.

    I am envious of your Vitamix. And all the uncluttered counter space. My kitchen is a challenge for me, although I still love cooking there. I remember someone I used to work with said her mom used to be able to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the little space between the sink and the edge of the counter.....

    I adapted how to make roasted potatoes from my much loved book “The Best Recipe”. Basically cut and season with olive oil and spices (I always use salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders, and an herb or two. This time I used ground sage), put in one layer onto a parchment lined pan, tightly cover with foil, and roast at about 400F for about 20 min. Remove the foil and return them to the oven for another 30ish minutes until they’re roasty and fully cooked. I did that exactly here but you are right, it took longer since it was squash and not a potato!

    Regarding the counter space, it’s all just looks. My kitchen and counter are SO small :D Cooking anything in there is often a challenge; on Christmas I literally ended up putting some of the dirty pots and pans out on the porch since there was simply no space left. But we make it work! Your friends mom sounds very resourceful!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,935 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Those look tasty; I bet they are. Do you use convection or just regular oven? Do you steam them first or just roast? I imagine they take much longer than potatoes or beets.

    I am envious of your Vitamix. And all the uncluttered counter space. My kitchen is a challenge for me, although I still love cooking there. I remember someone I used to work with said her mom used to be able to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the little space between the sink and the edge of the counter.....

    I adapted how to make roasted potatoes from my much loved book “The Best Recipe”. Basically cut and season with olive oil and spices (I always use salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders, and an herb or two. This time I used ground sage), put in one layer onto a parchment lined pan, tightly cover with foil, and roast at about 400F for about 20 min. Remove the foil and return them to the oven for another 30ish minutes until they’re roasty and fully cooked. I did that exactly here but you are right, it took longer since it was squash and not a potato!

    Regarding the counter space, it’s all just looks. My kitchen and counter are SO small :D Cooking anything in there is often a challenge; on Christmas I literally ended up putting some of the dirty pots and pans out on the porch since there was simply no space left. But we make it work! Your friends mom sounds very resourceful!

    I've never covered veggies when I roast. I use convection at 425F. I think the oven has a "brain" and turns itself down 25 degrees when it's on convection. I slice different sizes depending what I want, and it takes about a half hour. I think I might roast an onion today; maybe some potatoes.

    The sauerkraut might be done in a week. I am so tempted to take some out now; looks good.
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I've never covered veggies when I roast. I use convection at 425F. I think the oven has a "brain" and turns itself down 25 degrees when it's on convection. I slice different sizes depending what I want, and it takes about a half hour. I think I might roast an onion today; maybe some potatoes.

    The sauerkraut might be done in a week. I am so tempted to take some out now; looks good.

    The advantage of covering something like a potato for a while while roasting, as explained in my book, was that it will sort of par-steam it and keep the inside nice and moist, and the uncovered part of the cook makes the outside browned and crispy, at least in a “normal” oven. You’re so lucky to have a convection oven; it really is choice for roasting a vegetable because of the air circulation!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I made a cod chowder that was mostly to use up some Alaskan cod I needed to use, but ended up being about the produce I also needed to use: carrots, celery, a bit of potato (not much), turnips, onions, mushrooms, and then some frozen corn since I just thought the sweetness would go nicely (a higher carb meal than I in theory was aiming for, but delicious).

    I also have been trying out virtual cooking classes for ideas (and to support them) from my local cookware store, which pre covid did in person classes (I have picked up some better knife skills). Today's was about chicken and dumplings, but also had a great green bean, radicchio, onion, and apple salad with an apple cider vinegar + mustard vinaigrette, which I am definitely making.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Those look tasty; I bet they are. Do you use convection or just regular oven? Do you steam them first or just roast? I imagine they take much longer than potatoes or beets.

    I am envious of your Vitamix. And all the uncluttered counter space. My kitchen is a challenge for me, although I still love cooking there. I remember someone I used to work with said her mom used to be able to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner on the little space between the sink and the edge of the counter.....

    I adapted how to make roasted potatoes from my much loved book “The Best Recipe”. Basically cut and season with olive oil and spices (I always use salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders, and an herb or two. This time I used ground sage), put in one layer onto a parchment lined pan, tightly cover with foil, and roast at about 400F for about 20 min. Remove the foil and return them to the oven for another 30ish minutes until they’re roasty and fully cooked. I did that exactly here but you are right, it took longer since it was squash and not a potato!

    Regarding the counter space, it’s all just looks. My kitchen and counter are SO small :D Cooking anything in there is often a challenge; on Christmas I literally ended up putting some of the dirty pots and pans out on the porch since there was simply no space left. But we make it work! Your friends mom sounds very resourceful!

    I've never covered veggies when I roast. I use convection at 425F. I think the oven has a "brain" and turns itself down 25 degrees when it's on convection. I slice different sizes depending what I want, and it takes about a half hour. I think I might roast an onion today; maybe some potatoes.

    The only veg I cover is beets. I should try convection, but I typically just roast.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,935 Member
    I think I would have made two tortillas (or three) and divided the filling between (or among) them. That looks hard to eat!

    I haven't made tortillas in a possum's age.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    I also tend to go light on the tortilla as the cals to nutrients ratio doesn't work as well when one has fewer cals, and tortillas also just aren't something I usually want to spend many cals on. I (sacrilege!) just use a fork.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,935 Member
    Nothing wrong with a bowl of what would go inside a taco. If it's a good taco, the filling should be delicious! But a taco... that kind of screams tortilla.

    A corn masa tortilla is like between 60-100 calories. Same as one egg. Less than an ounce of cheese. A fair bit less than five ounces of tofu.

    Now if you're talking about mass-produced tortillas, they often aren't worth it. Taste like cardboard. But a good, fresh corn masa tortilla, made so it's not tough and chewy but solid enough to stay together when you eat it? Well, it doesn't get much better than that. They're simple to make, but not necessarily easy to make well. I haven't made them in quite a while. I do keep masa in the cupboard; maybe I should make some.

    But not just yet. I've got plans to use some buttermilk that's only got about a week left to make some sourdough buttermilk rolls. Those totally aren't worth the calories, so fortunately I have neighbors.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited January 2021
    Based on prior posts, you love making and eating bread and tortillas and so on, and that's great. I am not into baking (I prefer cooking) and also don't love bread, etc. that much, so prefer to focus on other foods. People vary, and also people have different calorie goals and preferences. (For example, saying a tortilla is about the same as an egg or oz of cheese just makes me think that I would prefer the egg or cheese, usually.)
  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,807 Member
    I'd forgotten about this thread and so glad I found it again 🙂 Since COVID started in March I've been buying a box-a-week of veggies fairly regularly.
    One upside is that I often get unfamiliar items in my order and it forces me to try different foods. Instead of googling recipes on the internet, I thought you veggie-smart people might help me out this week. My box included napa cabbage and a delicata squash and I've never cooked with either before. Any suggestions on how to use them in a yummy way?
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    pjg2015 wrote: »
    5ofmwf5fnhwl.jpeg roasted butternut squash over lentil stew

    @pjg2015 - looks like an awesome hearty stew for a cold day!!
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    I'd forgotten about this thread and so glad I found it again 🙂 Since COVID started in March I've been buying a box-a-week of veggies fairly regularly.
    One upside is that I often get unfamiliar items in my order and it forces me to try different foods. Instead of googling recipes on the internet, I thought you veggie-smart people might help me out this week. My box included napa cabbage and a delicata squash and I've never cooked with either before. Any suggestions on how to use them in a yummy way?

    I don’t have any good recipes per se, but I firmly believe that, when in doubt, roasted squash is the way to go. Either cut in half and seasoned/roasted or cubed!
  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 230 Member
    Napa cabbage is mild and crunchy. I like it raw, shredded into a salad.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited January 2021
    I've never done anything especially exciting with Napa cabbage (I've eaten it in a salad, raw, as well as lightly sauteed on the side or in a soup, all tasty), but this has lots of ideas:https://food52.com/blog/12117-all-about-napa-cabbage-and-how-to-put-it-to-good-use

    I agree about roasting winter squash, and delicata is easy, fast, and you don't have to peel it. I tend to like any winter squash with something spicy or with black beans (often also spicy) or with some sort of pasta-like sauce. I recently made a meat-only (ground beef) chili (lots of veg and spices, just no beans) and ate it over winter squash (a couple of different kinds), and really enjoyed it. I roasted the squash.

    Roasted squash is also nice just as a side dish for anything you'd have a root veg with, or in a soup/stew (although delicata wouldn't be my first choice for that) or with eggs or tossed in a salad.
  • Travelerraven
    Travelerraven Posts: 42 Member
    Butternut squash love it roasted in a salad, as fries and a multitude of other ways.