For the love of Produce...

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Replies

  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    edited December 2022
    acpgee wrote: »
    Because I wanted to make room in the freezer, I cooked lentils tonight in crayfish bisque instead of water. Wow. I will use stock from now on to cook legumes. Why didn't I think of this before?
    I am staying away from lentils for now, because of the calories and because of the excess digestible carbs, but cooking lentils, and any other legumes or grains in stock/broth can give them a very good taste indeed. I've done that for years in my rice cooker. It is totally effortless and the results can be truly delectable. One of my favourites is to cook lentils with sardines.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,951 Member
    I was wondering if I should post this here or on the cheese thread. Turkish salad of watermelon, feta and mint dressed with a little drizzle of pomegranate molasses and olive oil.
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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,951 Member
    A boiled artichoke and hollandaise. The artichoke didn't have much flesh under the leaves. Is that a seasonal thing?
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  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    A boiled artichoke and hollandaise. The artichoke didn't have much flesh under the leaves. Is that a seasonal thing?
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    I have never seen artichokes that had a lot of flesh under the leaves. I quite love them, but never eat them. It is just not worth the effort in my opinion. Of course, perspectives can differ. My tiny bachelor-suite galley "kitchen" encourages minimalism where cooking is concerned.

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,231 Member
    @acpgee

    Did you get them cooked all the way?

    The artichokes I grow tend to be on the small side compared to some of the giant things I see in the store. I find if I don't cook them long enough, the meat doesn't soften up; it seems like it's not there. Of course if I cook them too long, they just fall apart. I steam them upside down rather than boiling. Sometimes I'll steam them halfway and then cut into halves or quarters and roast with maybe some garlic and butter on the cut side. I ran some through my smoker before it stopped working.

    I can also imagine that if the artichoke had been in storage or transport a while, it might dry out. When I cut artichokes from my garden, I cut very long stems and keep them in water rather than the refrigerator. I don't know if you could do that to store 'chokes to "bring 'em back," but if you try it, cut a little bit off the stem first so it will be opened up to let water in. Of course they trim 'em pretty close for the retail market so it may not be possible to rehydrate them.

    I only eat artichokes for the six or eight weeks that I harvest them from the back yard. The plants have become perennial. They have also mutated; the points of the leaves point OUT rather than be a nice globe. They hurt when they stick you. They also are so much more packed with flavor than any I've had from the store. They are so tasty, I often don't even use any butter. A little clarified butter mixed with olive oil and garlic can be a nice addition, but if I cut them and steam them right away, they don't need anything else.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    I know nothing about artichokes or their culture.

    What I've observed in limited personal experience: When I ate them in prime artichoke growing areas close to harvest season (someplace around Monterrey California at the time), then were nice and meaty, i.e., thick leaves.

    When I'm buying them here at a store in Michigan, whether in season WRT their place of origin or not, they're feeble things by comparison, more fibrous and not as thick-leaved.

    I don't know whether it's culture, shipping/storage time, the varieties that ship best, or something else. Sometimes they're a little better here, sometimes a little worse - seems random . . . but they're never as good as they were when I had them close to when/where grown.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,231 Member
    Yeah. My garden is awfully close to my stove....


    :joy:
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,951 Member
    @mtaratoot
    My artichokes got overcooked actually. They weren't as big as the monsters I find at the greengrocers midsummer which I normally try to steam instead of boil. I boiled these for 30 minutes as I was in a hurry to cook after going into the office all day and the outer leaves fell off really easily.
  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I like beans, and I like to sprout them and cook them. I mostly cycle through black beans, garbanzo beans, and mayocoba beans. I add some others from time to time, and I also do lentils and green peas, also pulses, but not exactly "beans."
    Lentils used to be my favourite. I cooked them in the rice cooker, just like rice, and it worked out great. Having to reduce carbohydrate and energy intake led to a ban, but I am still eating soybeans and lupini beans. Soybeans are, in my opinion, the tastiest beans there are while lupini beans are higher in fibre and protein and lower in fat and digestible carbohydrates.
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,453 Member
    Lately have been into soursop. Any soursop lovers?
    Didn’t realize how versatile it is.

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  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    edited December 2022
    Lately have been into soursop. Any soursop lovers?
    Didn’t realize how versatile it is.

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    I have never had soursop for one sad and simple reason: I have never seen them in my neighbourhood, and not even in Chinatown. They are supposed to be quite delicious, so I would buy them immediately if I could. Lucky you.

  • spinnerdell
    spinnerdell Posts: 233 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hitting the produce for Christmas Eve dinner: Roasted stuffed Winter squash, with chickpea "rice", smoked tofu, onions, garlic, sage, eggs, smoked goat gouda, gruyere; on top, dry gluten chunks pulverized into panko-esque submission with some broth and parmesan added. (Maybe I should post this on the cheese thread? That's a lot of kinds of cheese.)

    Not sure what the squash is: It was recommended by my local farmers market squash/pupkin specialty grower, but I don't remember the name. The sage was chancy: I decided to go dig in the snow, see if some sage in the garden was useable, since it's a tough plant. It was.

    Side salad: Spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion, with red wine vinegar and pumpkin seeds.

    Got some zinfandel (red!) going, too.

    Happy Holidays, whatever holidays you celebrate!

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    Thinking maybe kumquats for desert: I got a nice bag of them at the local Asian specialty market.

    Such an inspiring, health-giving feast!
  • SafariGalNYC
    SafariGalNYC Posts: 1,453 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hitting the produce for Christmas Eve dinner: Roasted stuffed Winter squash, with chickpea "rice", smoked tofu, onions, garlic, sage, eggs, smoked goat gouda, gruyere; on top, dry gluten chunks pulverized into panko-esque submission with some broth and parmesan added. (Maybe I should post this on the cheese thread? That's a lot of kinds of cheese.)

    Not sure what the squash is: It was recommended by my local farmers market squash/pupkin specialty grower, but I don't remember the name. The sage was chancy: I decided to go dig in the snow, see if some sage in the garden was useable, since it's a tough plant. It was.

    Side salad: Spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion, with red wine vinegar and pumpkin seeds.

    Got some zinfandel (red!) going, too.

    Happy Holidays, whatever holidays you celebrate!

    xm3hr3c8tvul.jpg

    Thinking maybe kumquats for desert: I got a nice bag of them at the local Asian specialty market.

    @AnnPT77 - beautiful!! Love the colors!! Happy holidays!!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    I wonder whether some of you think I choose my holiday foods because they're "healthy". I assure you that this is not the case: I'm a hedonist, on holidays subordinating everything else to selfish indulgence . . . but I lummesome veggies. 😋 If nothing else, the sheer quantity of good cheese (and wine) alongside the meals - and chocolate alongside fruits for desert - that ought to persuade.

    For Christmas, I was thinking some kind of quiche-y main dish pie with a sweet potato crust. Maybe black beans in it? Sadly, the only black beans I had on hand were canned refried beans. It'd have to do.

    The sweet potato crust is versatile and easy: I'll do it again for sure. Today's filling was good, too: Spinach, gruyere, onion, eggs, refried black beans (from a can), firm tofu (pureed in a food processor with some of the other ingredients), garlic, chevre. I did some servings plain, some with smoked tomato-y salsa . . . liked both.

    Some progress photos, starting with the crust before pre-bake - I may've rearranged a little after photo, it's just thin slices with spray avocado oil under/over;

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    Scary mud-looking filling, pre-bake:

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    Still slightly scary post-bake, but tasty to me:

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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,231 Member
    Yer makin me hungry.

    That's not really a bad thing. I need to fuel up. Maybe some frozen Trader Joe's latkes.
  • annk18
    annk18 Posts: 85 Member

    AnnPT77 wrote "The sweet potato crust is versatile and easy: I'll do it again for sure. Today's filling was good, too: Spinach, gruyere, onion, eggs, refried black beans (from a can), firm tofu (pureed in a food processor with some of the other ingredients), garlic, chevre. I did some servings plain, some with smoked tomato-y salsa . . . liked both.

    Some progress photos, starting with the crust before pre-bake - I may've rearranged a little after photo, it's just thin slices with spray avocado oil under/over;"

    That looks good. Did you precook the sweet potatoes, or just prebake before adding the other ingredients?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    annk18 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote "The sweet potato crust is versatile and easy: I'll do it again for sure. Today's filling was good, too: Spinach, gruyere, onion, eggs, refried black beans (from a can), firm tofu (pureed in a food processor with some of the other ingredients), garlic, chevre. I did some servings plain, some with smoked tomato-y salsa . . . liked both.

    Some progress photos, starting with the crust before pre-bake - I may've rearranged a little after photo, it's just thin slices with spray avocado oil under/over;"

    That looks good. Did you precook the sweet potatoes, or just prebake before adding the other ingredients?

    Just thin-sliced the raw sweet potato, arranged in lightly oiled pie plate, sprayed with oil, baked.

    Got the idea here:

    https://www.cookinglight.com/food/vegetarian/sweet-potato-quiche-crust
  • annk18
    annk18 Posts: 85 Member
    Thanks for the link AnnPT77
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    @ mtaratoot - Perfect post! I too have an abundance of quinoa in my fridge! Left over from a salad a made for a potluck party I went to...I too live alone and using all this left over stuff is overwhelming...I will attempt to recreate your 'fried quinoa-'rice' dish today! Either that, or in the freezer it will go 😂
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,231 Member
    @PAPYRUS3

    I bought a ceramic cooktop range several years ago. I love the convection oven, and for the most part love the cooktop. It does make it hard to use my beloved cast iron. Using a proper wok is right out, and that makes me sad. This dish would be really good in a wok. I just used a fry pan. Not the same; doesn't get that "fried rice" flavor. But it was good, and I'd do it again. I bet it would also work with barley.

    I always start onions first and add garlic at the very very end. I like my garlic less cooked and coarsely chopped. As I added the carrots, I realized how often I unintentionally use a mirepoix when I make vegetables. So there it was. Just with some grocery store mushrooms and of course the garlic. I would have used more garlic, but being laid up, I don't want to run low on supplies.

    What other leftovers do you have?

    A few years ago on a Grand Canyon trip that we had outfitted by a commercial outfitter rather than pack our own food, one of my cook nights had a orzo salad. I've never made orzo salad. We had realized early on that the outfitter packs TOO MUCH pasta when there is a pasta meal. We would always leave one package uncooked. Well, I had no idea how much orzo to cook. We left out one package. It still made SO MUCH orzo. I didn't even use it all in the salad. Good thing, because it would have been awful. Too much orzo and not enough of all the stuff that gives it flavor.

    The next day was a layover day. One of our group got up and left early for a long hike. When I got up, I realized we had a couple eggs that weren't called for in any other recipes. I made "orzo pancakes." I mixed up the leftover orzo with some spices and a couple eggs, then made patties and fried them on the griddle. Everyone loved them. One of our group called them "taratoots." They went over very well; I'd make them again. I was inspired from something I had seen "The Frugal Gourmet" make maybe back in the '80s that he called "spaghetti pancake." Later in the trip, maybe on another layover morning or maybe the last day, the same guy said, "Make those taratoots again." I told him we hadn't cooked orzo the night before, and we had no more eggs. It's fun to experiment, especially if it comes out good. You could make quinoa pancakes! You could even mix in a few veggies. I think you might need some flour or other binder; I'm not sure the egg would hold 'em all together.

    Good luck. Let us know what you do with it.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,951 Member
    https://tastecooking.com/best-thing-make-air-fryer-isnt-fried/

    I love this idea for air frying grains tossed in olive oil to incorporate into salads. I do it when I have leftover quinoa or cousous but need to try rice. It makes salad filling enough for a packed lunch.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,951 Member
    I had a bunch of coriander in danger of spoiling so made zhoug. Will smother it on everything this weekend and freeze what is left. My other produce report is chickpeas. I cooked them in the diluted broth saved from the last time I made salt beef. Wow. This follows the revelation of cooking puy lentils in seafood bisque last week. I will never cook pulses in water again.
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  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,231 Member
    I found my jar of black-eyed peas. So sad - there's only like a cup left. I started them soaking anyway. It's OK. I'm only cooking for myself, and it's just for tradition.

    I feel foolish I didn't get buttermilk while I was out yesterday. If I want to make cornbread sticks tomorrow, also tradition, I'll have to scoot out and get some or see if someone else will do that for me.

    Today's produce dish is a little like yesterday's but is more like a big mushy glop. Tasty though.

    Like yesterday, I started with sauteing some onions. This time finely diced instead of sliced. I didn't cook them very long before adding the chopped celery and just a couple sliced mushrooms. A very short cook and I added the garlic and only a quarter cup of brown Basmati rice. When it started to smell toasty, I added some water and broth and then a half cup of red lentils. Turned to low and let cook for 45 minutes. It needed just a little something else, so a splash of fish sauce rounded it out.

    Again, it's enough for two meals. It has a lot of the same ingredients as yesterday except no fish or nuts and added the lentils which made it more of a mushy stew, and oh so good.

    Bring on the new year! I do want to make that cornbread and deliver a bunch around the neighborhood. One of my friends got COVID the other day. I bet he'll enjoy some sticks. The neighbors who fed me a couple days during my initial recovery from injury also love the stuff. Then I'll need to find some other folks to help eat it or I'll eat it all. And I love it. I have enough cast iron corn stick pans to do an entire batch of sticks, and if I make one BIG batch, I can also make those little triangles with my corn triangle pan. I don't even remember the last time I made any.

    Come join me. I'll have enough!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    Another holiday produce-fest for NYE, conceived for personal enjoyment rather than any other value, with willingness to put in a little more effort than usual for the occasion. The soup (stew?) was especially yummy, if I do say so myself.

    Soup: Sauteed onions (in olive oil), elephant garlic added at the last bit; sweet corn (frozen ;) ), rutabaga, red lentils, carrot, couple teaspoons of a vegetable soup base, smoked goat gouda added when I took it off the stove, fresh ground pepper. Really good, one of my better efforts: Veggie-sweet, rich, smoky, satisfying. No leftovers! 😆

    Salad: Roasted cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, English cucumber, orange bell pepper, onion, topped with aged balsamic vinegar, some pumpkin seeds, and a light sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

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    mtaratoot wrote: »
    I found my jar of black-eyed peas. So sad - there's only like a cup left. I started them soaking anyway. It's OK. I'm only cooking for myself, and it's just for tradition.

    I feel foolish I didn't get buttermilk while I was out yesterday. If I want to make cornbread sticks tomorrow, also tradition, I'll have to scoot out and get some or see if someone else will do that for me.

    (snip yummy details)

    Bring on the new year! I do want to make that cornbread and deliver a bunch around the neighborhood. One of my friends got COVID the other day. I bet he'll enjoy some sticks. The neighbors who fed me a couple days during my initial recovery from injury also love the stuff. Then I'll need to find some other folks to help eat it or I'll eat it all. And I love it. I have enough cast iron corn stick pans to do an entire batch of sticks, and if I make one BIG batch, I can also make those little triangles with my corn triangle pan. I don't even remember the last time I made any.

    Come join me. I'll have enough!

    @mtaratoot: I wish . . . especially since I do have buttermilk I could share. I bought some thinking I'd make a batch of Southern buttermilk biscuits (using Shirley Corriher's excellent recipe in Cookwise, a favorite book) for my Christmas feast, but didn't. Maybe tomorrow, we'll see - it's still within date range. There's really no nutritional defense for those biscuits, but they're sooooo good fresh from the oven.