For the love of Produce...

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.

pjg2015 wrote: »

roasted butternut squash over lentil stew

@pjg2015 - looks like an awesome hearty stew for a cold day!!

Napa cabbage is mild and crunchy. I like it raw, shredded into a salad.

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.

ridiculous59 wrote: »

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?

Delicata is super easy to cook SO many ways. It's kine of in between a summer and a winter squash. Either cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds (wash and roast) and bake upside down (after adding your favorite seasonings) or make rings and maybe even fill the centers with rice and something fun like cranberries. Super easy and tasty. The skin is thin enough to eat if you like, or not.

Napa is great for salads, stir fry, or if you're adventurous, a nice little jar of kimchi.

pjg2015 wrote: »

Salad with rosemary lemon chicken(The rosemary came from one friends garden and the lemon came from another friends lemon tree) cubed apples, Craisins, banana peppers, peanuts, on a huge bed of mixed greens.

Looks delicious! This is my kind of meal

Papaya. Usually way too expensive to be a regular purchase for me, but they are in season now and a great price and taste so good. I get 4 servings out of a large one.

@snowflake954 -yum! I love soup. I know I’m cheating with this, but I had two huge cans of Italian green beans that I purchased right when there were food shortages when the pandemic hit hard. I had to make something so I made a crockpot Italian green bean and potato stew with fresh herbs (thyme, parsley) and topped it with chicken breast and crispy bacon. Very hearty.

I keep making soup too. I started with a big batch that I froze and vacuum sealed some, just because. It's always a variation on mushroom barley miso vegetable soup. Depends what veggies I have in the fridge. I had a lot of chanterelles to use that first batch. Since then it's often just been "grocery store button" mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). The white ones, the brown ones, and the big ones called portobello mushrooms are all the same species.

For yesterday's batch, as a treat, I pulled out a small package of frozen sauteed chanterelles to add. Always nice. I didn't have any parsnips, so it's just mushrooms, barley, onions, celery, and lots of garlic. And miso, of course. And some dried chile (aleppo and cayenne).


Apologies for the terrible image.


I've got some tempeh in a lemon, garlic, soy, sesame, and olive oil marinade that I'll bake today. Yummers.

I am also going to open up the gallon jar of sauerkraut. It's been just over two weeks, so it should be on the half- to three quarter fermented stage. I'll put at least some in smaller jars in the fridge, and I might let some keep bubbling away. And I'm going to eat a bunch. Maybe I'll start scheming the next ferment which will probably be more of a kimchi.

I've been able to slow down on eating those tasty rolls I've been making from sourdough. But it's so much fun playing with the dough. My neighbors agreed to accept more goodie bags next time I bake, so everyone gets fresh bread. Unlike bagels, this recipe seems to keep fairly well in a plastic zip-seal bag.

I'm surprised I haven't been roasting as many vegetables this winter. I guess it's because I just keep making soup.

I've been on a huge soup kick too. Most recently made a cod chowder, and then chicken and dumplings, and also have been playing around with different broccoli-based soups and a kale, sausage, white bean soup. All have produce too, so fit the thread.

snowflake954 wrote: »

Vegetable pie.

Wow!! 🥧 💕