For the love of Produce...

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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    Produce based dinner. Risotto with mushrooms and asparagus and roast cherry tomatoes on the side.
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,953 Member
    I admit, it doesn't look that photogenic, but it tasted good, and it used up a good bit (557g) of zucchini - a definite bonus at this time of year. That's a 10" pie plate very full of food, 570 calories, 38g protein, with over 800g of produce.

    What is it? Shredded zucchini, lightly salted then drained (pressed a bit) in a fine-mesh strainer; sauteed onion + a whole coarsely-chopped head of fresh garlic; lots of sauteed sliced cremini mushrooms; 2 glorious ounces of Cypress Grove Psychedillic chevre; all of it atop a serving of red-lentil spaghetti, with a pretty heavy fresh grinding of black pepper. Yum. (The drained zuke went in the pan on top of the sauteed onion/garlic/mushroom mixture, covered, just long enough to heat through.)

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    I'm thinking I might make the leftover zucchini juice into a light cocktail later. If I do, need to decide gin, vodka or rye; if vodka maybe some olive bitters? Sparkling water, too? We'll see.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    I'm on a rhubarb kick still. Chop it up, mix with just a bit of honey, and roast at 425 for 5-8 minutes.

    This is intriguing. I like rhubarb, but resent how much sugar (or other regular, caloric sweetener) I need to add to make it taste best.

    I know that in some ways, you and I have similar tastes. I've never roasted rhubarb. Roughly how much honey do you find you need to add (per hundred grams of rhubarb, or whatever)?

    Thanks!

    Sorry, just saw this, since I haven't been logging in here.

    I don't measure, but I use very little, maybe 1 tsp. I just make sure to mix it around well so it spreads across the rhubarb. It is still tart, but the roasting mellows it, and I like the tartness that is left.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    I had a big bunch of coriander in danger of spoiling so I made zhoug. I put one container in the freezer. I freeze pesto, so why not zhoug.
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  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 231 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    I had a big bunch of coriander in danger of spoiling so I made zhoug. I put one container in the freezer. I freeze pesto, so why not zhoug.
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    Acpgee, this isn't the first time you've lured me down a google rabbit hole to a wonderful new (to me) recipe. Thank you!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    Hubby brought home a kohlrabi for the first time, as he enjoyed having it in a restaurant. I peeled and spiralized it in a slow made with ranch. Nice crunchy texture, slightly sweet. It struck me as an excellent substitute for green papaya in SE Asian salads.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,953 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    So tonight was the third time I tried the Chinese aubergine salad that was so astonishingly violet when my mom's girlfriend brought a batch over. Have not been able to duplicate that colour with steaming as opposed to deep frying the eggplant. Tried a new recipe because the first one which dictated a 5 minute steam was not long enough.
    https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-eggplant-salad-recipe/

    First time I used western aubergines which remained very dark purple. Second time with Chinese aubergines the colour was closer but paler, especially because I did the steaming step a day in advance. Tonight I used one western and one eastern aubergine. The western one remained dark purple and the Chinese got closer to the striking violet colour. The Chinese eggplant absorbed less water during the steaming process.

    Despite failing to get that stunning violet colour I will make this regularly. Steaming instead of frying aubergine gives a nice texture that doesn't taste greasy.
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    I finally tried this, @acpgee - thank you, it was really tasty. I was hesitant about steaming eggplant - I don't think I've ever done it before, worrying it would collapse into slime, basically. But it was good! Just fresh-steamed, the linked recipe's description as "cloud like" is not far off, if a little poetic. I made more than I could eat in one meal, and after spending the night in the fridge the texture was less . . . airy? . . . but not unpleasant.

    After tasting the dressing on its own, I was worried it would be over-spicy, but the eggplant moderated the heat to a nice level. (I used some peppers my neighbor had brought me, one red and one green - they had some pretty good heat.)

    After finishing the cold salad today, there was dressing left in the bowl, so - since I'd already calorie-counted it 😆 - I heated some tofu cubes in it, added some dark miso, and mixed in some chickpea "rice". Not bad. It would've been better if I'd added the long beans I have in the fridge, but I was too hungry and impatient.

    Thanks for sharing this idea: A nice change of pace, for me.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    Hubby brought home a kohlrabi for the first time, as he enjoyed having it in a restaurant. I peeled and spiralized it in a slow made with ranch. Nice crunchy texture, slightly sweet. It struck me as an excellent substitute for green papaya in SE Asian salads.

    I'm fond of it raw, with a bit of salt, or else cooked where I would use turnip.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    Griddled romaine half dressed with ranch. If you grill outdoors this is a great thing to put on early as they take maybe 3-5 minutes so people have something to munch while the wait for meat. This was done inside on a cast iron grill pan.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    Ajo blanco. Do almonds count as produce? I added an applie blitzed into the body of the soup with the almonds and garnished with grapes that mostly sank to the bottom. You can use less olive oil than most recipes call for.
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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,123 Member
    @acpgee

    I had never heard of this dish. I looked it up. Now I want to make some. Seems like the grapes were just an excuse to make it though. I'd say almonds are produce. They grow on trees ya know.

    Growing up, my mom made something she called gazpacho that was white in color. It wasn't based on almonds - it was mayonnaise if I recall. This sounds much better. We used to have pounds and pounds of hard tack bread in the freezer. We would bust them up and let them soak in the soup. Now I'm thinking the whole thing was a modification of this dish.

    Do you think it could be made with almond butter instead of using whole almonds and grinding them in the blender? Seems like it would eliminate one step.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    @mtaratoot

    I typically make ajo blanco with flaked almonds or ground almonds, but have skinned them myself which is less trouble than it sounds as once boiled they slip easily out of the skins with a gentle pinch. I have never tried with almond butter but I don't see why not with with some bread soaked in dairy or almond milk, and maybe blitzing with a peeled apple or some peeled and de-seeded cucumber to make it lighter. You probably need to slowly whisk water into the almond butter to get a smooth emulsion instead of almond pellet soup. This dish is nicest served very cold so make in advance and chill well.

    Last night's version was per person

    1 clove of garlic
    25g of crustless bread soaked in whole milk
    55g of almond flakes
    30ml olive oil
    half a peeled and cored apple
    enough water to thin down to the texture of a light cream soup
    sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste
    garnished of halved grapes, toasted almonds, a drizzle of olive oil.

    We liked it, but found it too rich for a starter and will try with half the amount of almonds next time. This is the first time I did it with apple which I saw in one of the recipes I googled and liked the addition of something fibrous but light blitzed into the body of the soup. When I first started making ajo blanco 15 years ago my first recipe called for peeled grapes as garnish. My husband would beg me to make it, and even offered to peel the kilo of grapes needed for a dinner party. But have since discovered that halved seedless grapes has the same mouth feel as peeled grapes.



  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    I sprouted some mung beans this week and will use them in Cantonese Hor Fun tonight. Maybe a more experienced sprouter can explain what I have learned by trial and error. I get plumper sprouts when I crowd the container a little. Also rinsing is not something I need to do religiously. Two times a day seems to be sufficient. Lining the strainer with paper towel also seems to help.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,589 Member
    @BarbaraHelen2013
    Hubby came home with figs today! Roasted in the air fryer with a drizzle of honey, served on a salad with feta and candied (burnt actually) macadamians and a honey vinaigrette.
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