About Winter Savory
Winter Savory is great with any legume. It is known to aid digestion of beans, so is good to add to any bean dish during cooking. It can also be added as a seasoning after cooking.
For a simple and quick dish, you can add some fresh sprigs to butter beans or cannelini beans or another choice and cook them with onions and celery. Add lemon zest (or juice) at the end. If you want some added heat, add some chili or other bit of hot pepper.
It is good added to recipes for mixed winter braised or roasted vegetables, such as root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots or celery root and parsnips.
It is a good addition to stuffings whether for meat, fish or vegetables.
As it is savory by nature, it can be used to season a dish alone without salt or pepper, if desired.
Though it has its own flavor, you might substitute it for Thyme in many recipes.
Submitted by Patti Andrews
Showing posts with label About.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label About.... Show all posts
Greens -- ANY Greens... About...
Some greens are, well, just greens: spinach, tat soi, bok choy, collards, kale, Asian greens, etc. A whole bunch of other greens are also "greens" even though they come attached your vegetables: the greens from radishes, kohlrabi, beets, turnips, parsnips. These should be pulled or cut off your vegetables as soon as you get them home. Wash them in a big bowl of water so that any remaining soil falls off, and crisp them in a bowl or bag in the fridge.
Within a day or two you can use these greens for a very fast and tasty simple stir-fry.
1-4 T Olive Oil
1-5 garlic cloves or spring garlic bulbs and scapes
2-8 cups of greens, any that you have, washed and chopped either like confetti or in thin (1/4-1/2") short strips (2-4")
Put the olive oil and garlic in a shallow pan, heat them together.
Add the greens.
Stir all together for 4 - 10 min.
Serve as a side dish, over rice or pasta, or any other way you like.
P.S. As a bonus, especially if you don't have quite enough greens to serve, you can chop up some broccoli of any other vegetable you'd like to add in to the pan.
Submitted by Patti Andrews
Within a day or two you can use these greens for a very fast and tasty simple stir-fry.
1-4 T Olive Oil
1-5 garlic cloves or spring garlic bulbs and scapes
2-8 cups of greens, any that you have, washed and chopped either like confetti or in thin (1/4-1/2") short strips (2-4")
Put the olive oil and garlic in a shallow pan, heat them together.
Add the greens.
Stir all together for 4 - 10 min.
Serve as a side dish, over rice or pasta, or any other way you like.
P.S. As a bonus, especially if you don't have quite enough greens to serve, you can chop up some broccoli of any other vegetable you'd like to add in to the pan.
Submitted by Patti Andrews
Kohlrabi, About...
Kohlrabi is a crisp, juicy vegetable that is delicious either raw or cooked. The easiest way to use it is to peel the outer skin and chop it into little square or short sticks and add it to any salad or crudite plate. With some added dressing to dip, the kohlrabi sticks will disappear fast. Once the kids figure out how to peel off the skin, it may disappear in the car before you get home -- though if you have only one kohlrabi and more than one child, it would only be fair to cut it up before they start munching.
If your kohlrabi makes it home, give it a wash and trim off the leaves. The leaves can be added to stir-fries, soups, or green smoothies. After peeling off the outer skin, you can chop or shred it for instant tasty crunchiness to any salad.
Ways to cook kohlrabi are limitless, though we never get that far. You can steam, braise, or roast it, You can make fries, purees, risotta, shredded in roll ups, chopped in salsa (yum!), and a few tried and true recipes are offered by our members on this blog.
Submitted by Patti Andrews
If your kohlrabi makes it home, give it a wash and trim off the leaves. The leaves can be added to stir-fries, soups, or green smoothies. After peeling off the outer skin, you can chop or shred it for instant tasty crunchiness to any salad.
Ways to cook kohlrabi are limitless, though we never get that far. You can steam, braise, or roast it, You can make fries, purees, risotta, shredded in roll ups, chopped in salsa (yum!), and a few tried and true recipes are offered by our members on this blog.
Submitted by Patti Andrews
Garlic Scapes, About...
Garlic Scapes are the spring garlic bulb, leaves and center "scape" before the garlic matures into a full bulb with separate cloves. The spring bulb has plenty of garlic flavor and can be used both fresh and cooked, Use spring garlic and garlic scapes in any way you might use garlic or leeks or scallions.
We prefer not to trim too much, cutting the stem at about an inch or two above the garlic leaves, as long as it's not too thick or woody. Then pull off the leaves and discard these, but keep the center tubular "scape."
We tend to either use in any stir fry recipe, soup, or salad, but recipes abound, with some favorites posted on this blog. More to try would be a garlic scape pesto, mayonnaise, bruschetta, fresh sauce for pasta or over potatoes, added to roasted meats and veggies, mixed into butter or cheese spreads, minced in dressings, or even made into pickles (!)
Submitted by Patti Andrews
We prefer not to trim too much, cutting the stem at about an inch or two above the garlic leaves, as long as it's not too thick or woody. Then pull off the leaves and discard these, but keep the center tubular "scape."
We tend to either use in any stir fry recipe, soup, or salad, but recipes abound, with some favorites posted on this blog. More to try would be a garlic scape pesto, mayonnaise, bruschetta, fresh sauce for pasta or over potatoes, added to roasted meats and veggies, mixed into butter or cheese spreads, minced in dressings, or even made into pickles (!)
Submitted by Patti Andrews
About... Tat Soi !
Tat soi, also known as "Asian spinach" is a delightful, deep-colored, mild-tasting green leaf with a slight tang in the tasting.
Use it fresh and raw as a great addition to any salad, or in any recipe that uses spinach (a tasty addition to stir fry, pizza, or soup). It's easy to wash by putting it in a bowl of water and swishing around. If it's really sandy, repeat, and then give it a twirl in the salad spinner. Leaves can be left whole, or you can slice the larger ones. Thicker stems may be removed or chopped for a soup or stir fry.
Just as with any deep green, a quick prep is to stir fry it with a bit of olive oil and a minced clove of garlic for just a few minutes until wilted, add salt, pepper, lemon or a hint of cayenne and serve (maybe over a bed of pasta)!
Submitted by Patti Andrews
About...Fennel!
Fennel is a light, juicy, crunchy,refreshing taste treat. There is a whiff of licorice or anise flavor to it. Both the tender bulb, stalks, and dill like leaves are edible, though the bulb is used the most. Fennel goes quickly served raw as a crunchy addition to salads, or just on a plate with kosher salt (!) or a dip,or a simple dressing of olive oil,lemon juice and salt. To use, trim the stalks and bottom of the bulb,then cut it in half. Lay each half flat and quarter, slice, or chop as you like. It’s also wonderful for clearing the palate between a meal and
dessert.
Store it loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge. Be careful not to let it get too cold. Like lettuce and celery, fennel's high water content makes it prone to freezing in overly cold fridges. Fennel fresh from the farm will keep up to 10 days. When cooked, fennel is tender and sweet. Add it as wedges or slices to sautes, roast it, add it to the pan with other vegetables when roasting a chicken, or slowly cook it in olive oil or butter until tender and gently browning.
Shhh, don’t tell! As children we loved to chew on fresh fennel. The adults would give us the stalks, which we would put them on our noses and “play Pinocchio,” probably because the Italian finocchio sounded a lot like this character’s name.
submitted by Patti Andrews
dessert.
Store it loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge. Be careful not to let it get too cold. Like lettuce and celery, fennel's high water content makes it prone to freezing in overly cold fridges. Fennel fresh from the farm will keep up to 10 days. When cooked, fennel is tender and sweet. Add it as wedges or slices to sautes, roast it, add it to the pan with other vegetables when roasting a chicken, or slowly cook it in olive oil or butter until tender and gently browning.
Shhh, don’t tell! As children we loved to chew on fresh fennel. The adults would give us the stalks, which we would put them on our noses and “play Pinocchio,” probably because the Italian finocchio sounded a lot like this character’s name.
submitted by Patti Andrews
About...Sorrel!
from: Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book
About Sorrel Jane Grigson writes:
"I learnt the advantages of sorrel in France, where every garden however small -- or at least every garden in Touraine and Anjou -- has a patch of [sorrel] as close to the kitchen door as possible. We visit a friend in the early evening... Suddenly ... she remembers food and rushes to the nearest corner of the vegetable patch to grab a couple of handfuls of sorrel. In a quarter of an hour we are eating a lively soup, fresh and agreeably sharp, that she has made with the minimum of trouble.
In France everyone, it seems, knows about sorrel, and the homely standby of quick sorrel soup... Sorrel soup, sorrel omelette, sorrel sauce with fish or eggs mollet, turn a frugal meal into something special. People wonder if it's spinach with lemon juice? No...
Sorrel comes half-way between vegetables and flavouring. A few chopped leaves can be added to a green salad for zest. A larger quantity can be cooked down to fill omelettes, like spinach, or to make soups and sauces. The best-known of French sorrel soups is made purely of sorrel and water, with an enriching finale of egg yolks and cream."
About cooking garden "things":
"Most people spoil garden things by over boiling them. All things that are green should have a little crispness, for if they are overboil'd they neither have any sweetness or beauty."
~ Hannah Glasse
submitted by Patti Andrews
About Sorrel Jane Grigson writes:
"I learnt the advantages of sorrel in France, where every garden however small -- or at least every garden in Touraine and Anjou -- has a patch of [sorrel] as close to the kitchen door as possible. We visit a friend in the early evening... Suddenly ... she remembers food and rushes to the nearest corner of the vegetable patch to grab a couple of handfuls of sorrel. In a quarter of an hour we are eating a lively soup, fresh and agreeably sharp, that she has made with the minimum of trouble.
In France everyone, it seems, knows about sorrel, and the homely standby of quick sorrel soup... Sorrel soup, sorrel omelette, sorrel sauce with fish or eggs mollet, turn a frugal meal into something special. People wonder if it's spinach with lemon juice? No...
Sorrel comes half-way between vegetables and flavouring. A few chopped leaves can be added to a green salad for zest. A larger quantity can be cooked down to fill omelettes, like spinach, or to make soups and sauces. The best-known of French sorrel soups is made purely of sorrel and water, with an enriching finale of egg yolks and cream."
About cooking garden "things":
"Most people spoil garden things by over boiling them. All things that are green should have a little crispness, for if they are overboil'd they neither have any sweetness or beauty."
~ Hannah Glasse
submitted by Patti Andrews
About... Asian Greens
Many of us know and love Arugula, which is one of several Asian greens to pick and use raw in salads or cooked. Asian greens can be surprisingly sweet and tender, especially when small, or have more of a spicky "kick" when larger. They are great to add to any salad. Lightly stir-fried, or added to any recipe, these greens add a rich array of vitamins and minerals, as deep-color veggies always do. These can be used in any recipe for other cooked greens.
Maggie's favorite is just to wash, chop, add salad dressing, and eat!
Spicy (or not) Asian Greens with Tofu in 5 minutes!
1 tsp - 1 Tbsp oil (Peanut, canola, grapeseed, or any clear, mostly-flavourless oil with a high smoke point)
4 cloves garlic, moderately finely chopped
1 tsp chilli paste, or fresh chilli chopped (optional)
1 bunch Asian greens, washed and chopped into 2" bite-sized lengths (especially "Water spinach" or kangkung, Chinese broccoli or gai lan, choy sum; or any any sturdy western green in the brassica family, such as broccolini, rapini, tat soi or kale; but maybe not bok choi or other "heart style" cabbages)
Tofu, about 3-4 squares (about 2" square and just under 1" tall) of firm (or the non-sponge fried) tofu to go with one bunch of greens, sliced in thin 1/4" slices
Chinese light soy sauce or Japanese tamari
Heat the oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add the chilli and garlic and stir-fry vigorously until the garlic starts to soften, but not brown. Add the tofu and stir-fry another minute or two. You only need to heat it through and get it coated in the oil/garlic/chilli. Add the greens and a shake of soy sauce and stir-fry until the greens are wilted/cooked. Timing for this will vary depending on the sturdiness of the greens. Serve over rice. Total cooking time: 5 minutes, for the actual stir-frying. The prep work can be done while the rice is cooking. Serves: 2-4
Source: The Oeconomist http://oeconomist.infotrope.net/
Maggie's favorite is just to wash, chop, add salad dressing, and eat!
Spicy (or not) Asian Greens with Tofu in 5 minutes!
1 tsp - 1 Tbsp oil (Peanut, canola, grapeseed, or any clear, mostly-flavourless oil with a high smoke point)
4 cloves garlic, moderately finely chopped
1 tsp chilli paste, or fresh chilli chopped (optional)
1 bunch Asian greens, washed and chopped into 2" bite-sized lengths (especially "Water spinach" or kangkung, Chinese broccoli or gai lan, choy sum; or any any sturdy western green in the brassica family, such as broccolini, rapini, tat soi or kale; but maybe not bok choi or other "heart style" cabbages)
Tofu, about 3-4 squares (about 2" square and just under 1" tall) of firm (or the non-sponge fried) tofu to go with one bunch of greens, sliced in thin 1/4" slices
Chinese light soy sauce or Japanese tamari
Heat the oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add the chilli and garlic and stir-fry vigorously until the garlic starts to soften, but not brown. Add the tofu and stir-fry another minute or two. You only need to heat it through and get it coated in the oil/garlic/chilli. Add the greens and a shake of soy sauce and stir-fry until the greens are wilted/cooked. Timing for this will vary depending on the sturdiness of the greens. Serve over rice. Total cooking time: 5 minutes, for the actual stir-frying. The prep work can be done while the rice is cooking. Serves: 2-4
Source: The Oeconomist http://oeconomist.infotrope.net/
About... Sugar Snap Peas
Eating: eat sugar snap peas as fresh as possible, within four or five days of harvest.
Storing: To store them, put whole, unwashed peas in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.
Freezing: Peas freeze well, but will lose their crunchy texture. Blanch all kinds of peas for 2 minutes, rinse under cold water to stop cooking process, drain well, and pack into airtight containers such as zip-lock freezer bags. [It is best to remove strings from sugar snap peas before freezing: snap off stem tip toward the flat side of the pod and pull downward.]
Tips from From Asparagus to Zucchini
Storing: To store them, put whole, unwashed peas in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.
Freezing: Peas freeze well, but will lose their crunchy texture. Blanch all kinds of peas for 2 minutes, rinse under cold water to stop cooking process, drain well, and pack into airtight containers such as zip-lock freezer bags. [It is best to remove strings from sugar snap peas before freezing: snap off stem tip toward the flat side of the pod and pull downward.]
Tips from From Asparagus to Zucchini
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