For the love of Produce...

This was a little under-inspired, but produce forward. I got some really pretty small bok choi. Wasn't feeling the stir fry, don't have a grill, so I cut wedges and broiled (with a light mist of oil). They're on top of edamame/mung fettucine, with a warmed light dressing of tamari, fresh garlic, sherry-preserved ginger root from the jar in the fridge, some anaheim pepper flakes, toasted sesame oil, and a bit of mild rice vinegar.

I made the parsnip tatin tonight. Good and easy. I used store bought phyllo and some leftover miso caramel sauce I had lying around the freezer. The other veg was frozen broad beans and peas sauteed in a scant amount of butter with pressed/grated garlic and scattered with lime leaves. The meat was kid chops.

I will make root vegetable tarte tatin again, but will continue to hack and simplify the recipes I see online.

For the veg I would cut half inch rounds and check that it covers the bottom of your baking tray, using smaller pieces to fill in spaces between large rounds. Brown veg in a scant amount of butter and then microwave until almost tender when you prick with a fork. Stir in a little caramel sauce to lightly coat if you have that lying around, otherwise some maple syrup, date molasses or other syrupy goo. Line your baking tray with the lightly caramelized veg.

If using store bought phyllo, melt a little butter in the microwave and lightly brush between sheets. Fold the sheets so they are only slightly bigger than your baking pan (ie fold into a square and then turn down corners if using a circular pan or fold in halves or quarters for a small rectangular baking tray. Place the pastry over the veg, tucking edges down to meet the baking tray. Stab several places with a blunt knife to allow steam to escape. Bake about 25 minutes at 180C until the top is golden brown. If you are using an air fryer line the top with silicon mesh to prevent loose bits of broken phyllo flying around and becoming burnt on contact with the heating elemnt. When top is golden brown invert onto a serving dish.

Half of this big salad came from my garden. I've got mustard greens, chard, tomatoes, basil. The rest is store bought. Mushrooms, olives, Tuscan kale, arugula, onion, scallions, ginger, cucumbers.

For dinner tonight, I made a stew with cannellini and butter beans, carrot, onions and garlic, harissa, and radicchio (inspired by an Alison Roman recipe I read, but with my own twists) + (separate dish) brussels with shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and some chili sauce. Both turned out nice -- I didn't feel like plating them in a photogenic way, so didn't end up taking a photo, but perhaps I will with the leftovers.

Super filling -- I'm way under on cals (and a bit under on protein vs where I'd like to be) but just couldn't have eaten any more.

Welcome!

lemurcat2 wrote: »

For dinner tonight, I made a stew with cannellini and butter beans, carrot, onions and garlic, harissa, and radicchio (inspired by an Alison Roman recipe I read, but with my own twists) + (separate dish) brussels with shiitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger, and some chili sauce. Both turned out nice -- I didn't feel like plating them in a photogenic way, so didn't end up taking a photo, but perhaps I will with the leftovers.

I ate the leftovers of both of these yesterday, but doctored them up.

The brussels I had for breakfast with a couple of runny overeasy eggs on top.

The stew I had for dinner but added to it when reheating some leftover chicken thigh, more harissa paste, green olives, and preserved lemon. It was great.

Pretty boring.

Roasted broccoli.

I am still waiting for the replacement glass for my oven door to come in to the shop. I decided to go ahead and get the convection going anyway. I am trying to avoid any splatters on the glass that will be in the middle of two other plates once the new one arrives. I don't know why I haven't been roasting as many vegetables this winter. They sure are good. I guess it's because I keep making soup, beans, and bean soup. I'm just one person, and I can only eat so much food. SO. MUCH. FOOD!

We roasted belgian endive tonight. Most photogenic when you drizzle with olive and roast cut side up but tastiest when you flip halfway. I need to make this in the oven next time because so little fits in the air fryer. Protein was pan fried sea bass with gremolata.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

I used to use cooked endive a lot, but I'd normally chop it and sautee with other veg. Kind of how I've been using radicchio lately.

Yesterday's dinner produce was pretty simple again: sauteed green beans (side dish with rockfish, which I topped with lemon and artichoke hearts), plus a big salad with romaine, chopped kale, cucumbers, green peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

The standard dutch method for sauteed belgian endive is to combine with a little ginger syrup or ginger marmalade. Pairs very nicely with the bitterness. It's classic to serve it with pan fried fish. Jealous of artichoke hearts.

Mushroom Barley Vegetable Miso Soup.

This dish can be modified to suit your needs or desires. It also can make use of what vegetables you happen to have. I have used potatoes, but don't do that anymore. The barley is hearty enough, I save the potatoes for some other use. When I have parsnips, they go good. Carrots are a little sweeter and add color. Be aware: I love mushrooms and garlic. Adjust amounts to suit your needs.

I am fortunate that I collect wild mushrooms. If I have more than I can eat right away, I prep them and lightly saute and then freeze and vacuum seal. I can pull out a litte bag and add it to anything I want that deep delicious wild mushroom flavor. I usually add some "grocery store mushrooms" to help fill it out. The batch I just made used a mix of white and brown (cremini) mushrooms. Note that white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and portobello mushrooms are all the same species, Agaricus bisporus. I call 'em "Grocery Store Mushrooms." You can also add shiitake, but they will need longer cooking or be cut smaller. If you can afford (or find) porcini.... yum.

A note on barley. You can use pearled barley; I don't. Perled barley has not just the hull removed, but it's polished to remove some or all of the bran. Hulled (de-hulled) barley is a more whole grain. I also like the flavor. Lately I've been using what's known as semi-hulled barley. It's a variety called Blue Streaker that was bred in the 1970s to be easy for the hull to fall off. Remember the 1970s? Remember the "streaker" craze? This barley does have blue streaks, but the agronomists who bred it had a chuckle with the name.

Now it's time to cook.

Assemble some delicious ingredients. In this case:

Hulled barley
Lots of mushrooms. I'd say a pound, but I love 'em.
A big yellow onion
Three or four celery stalks
Two or four carrots
A head of garlic. Yes a head.
A little sherry (optional)
Some hot chiles (I used chiles de Arbol this time around; also optional)
A few freshly-plucked bay leaves from the bush outside (or some from the grocery)
Good quality salt
Miso (I use both mellow white and traditional red miso)

First measure out a half or 2/3 cups or so of barley. Put them in a pot. Add three times as much water as barley. Turn on the heat. When it boils, set it to low, and set the timer to about 30 or 40 minutes. After a few minutes, fill a tea kettle with water and put it on the stove to boil.

Meanwhile, slice the celery into delicious sized pieces and set aside. Do the same with the carrot. Slice the mushrooms and set them aside. Cut off the hard end of each garlic clove and peel them all. You can either leave them whole (mine are slightly smushed from smacking them to get the outer husk off) or cut them in half or quarters. Set aside.

Chop the onion into pieces about 1/8 inch. I love cutting onions. If they make you cry, adjust the salt in your recipe.

Get a big saute pan out of the cabinet. Put it on the stove, and get it hot. Add some oil. I use olive oil, but you can use sunflower, grapeseed, or avocoado. Your choice. When it shimmers, add a piece of onions. If it sizzles, add the rest of the onion and cook a few minutes until it starts to soften. You can add some salt if you like, or not. It will soften faster if you put the lid on.

As the onion softens, add the celery and cook another minute. Then add the mushrooms and cook another minute or three. Then add the carrots and cook another minute. At this point, I broke apart the dried chiles and added them.


By now the barley should be about done.

Add the garlic and cook every so briefly. By now these veggies will smell great.

Add all the vegetables to the barley. Heat up the saute pan and deglaze with some sherry.

Add boiling water from the kettle to cover the vegetables. Add as much water as you like. The more you add, the more soup you have. The less you add, the heartier the soup will be.

Bring back to boil, then turn down to low and add the bay leaves. Let this simmer about 40 minutes, more or less.


Meanwhile, put 1-2 Tbsp each of white and red miso into a bowl. Add a little sherry or other liquid and stir to liquify. Set aside.

When the soup is done cooking, take it off the heat. Ladle some of the liquid into the bowl with the miso, then add the miso back to the main pot and stir. You want to avoid boiling the miso. It's a living product. This does mean that when you reheat the soup you have to be careful not to cook it too hot, or else you may lose some of the healthy properties of miso.

Stir.

Ladle a bowl full. Sit down and enjoy. Wait 15 minutes before you get another bowl, because it's pretty filling, and we're watching our calories, right? This soup probably would work well if you added some ginger. It also goes great with a side of kimchi.

I don't typically update my recipe, and when I log it, the version I use actually did have potatoes. I'm not too worried. It's about 64 calories per 100 grams, and a bowl is 250 to 350 grams. Very filling, and very tasty.

My creation last night (based on what I had on hand and wanted to use) was an acorn squash and kale soup (or stew?) with white beans and sausage. It also contained celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and a jalapeno.

For once I took a photo -- usual disclaimer, I'd rather have a photo of it plated nicely, but I had a huge bowl and none of my huge bowls are all that photogenic, and I was way too impatient to eat to stage it. Forgive the sides of the cooking pot after the cooking was finished.



This will also be lunch for today and tomorrow.