For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 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?

    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.
  • Jelaan
    Jelaan Posts: 815 Member
    pjg2015 wrote: »
    mc3dompahj7q.jpeg

    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 :)
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
    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.
  • o0Firekeeper0o
    o0Firekeeper0o Posts: 416 Member
    carakirkey wrote: »
    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.

    Cubed and frozen papaya makes an EXCELLENT addition to smoothies. It makes a creamy, almost milkshake-like texture
  • pjg2015
    pjg2015 Posts: 28 Member
    @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. 8pddflz9muzg.jpeg
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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    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).

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    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.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    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.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,930 Member
    edited January 2021
    I opened up the sauerkraut. It smelled good. I put a quart in the fridge and the rest back in the place it's been fermenting.

    It's still crispy, has a nice sour, and not too salty. I was a little surprised the garlic had turned turquoise. I am not used to this. Apparently, the allicin in the garlic reacts with acid, in this case lactic acid from fermentation, and turns blue.

    When I take the rest out of the fermentation jar, I might start on some kimchi.

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    But I think I put just a little to much cayenne in the tempeh.

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    Tempeh isn't really produce per se. It is made from soybeans, and those come from plants. And I'm dialing in the recipe. But got heavy handed with the 90,000 Scoville unit cayenne. I used Aleppo for flavor, and I wanted more heat. I should have grabbed the 30,000 unit cayenne or the smoked cayenne. Oh well. Maybe it will be AWESOME with some Greek yogurt.
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    Vegetable pie.yfcbospdrvc0.jpg

    Wow!! 🥧 💕
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,551 Member
    Does anyone do their own sprouts? If so, tips welcome.

    Mung bean sprouts are so perishable and I am tired of throwing them away two days after buying them. Hoping that sprouting my own will allow me control quantities for recipes that call for them. I have peas on the counter in a bamboo steamer in a dark corner of the kitchen now. Must remember to buy some mung beans.