Spaghetti Squash

I am always tempted by spaghetti squash at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Larry does not understand this, and would prefer I lost my fascination with this vegetable. So I restrain myself most of the time.

Until the other day when I served spaghetti squash tossed in olive oil and garlic. Now I think Larry will not look so askance at my purchases.

I prefer not to cut into hard raw squash if I don't have to, so I wash the skin and then put it whole in the toaster oven at 350°F until it's soft. That can take 30-60 minutes, depending on the size and age of the squash. I have a slender knife I slide in to see if it's done, and I also squeeze it with my hand to see if it gives. When it's cooked, I leave it on the counter to cool a while, then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and the guts. With spaghetti squash it can be tough to discern the guts from the squash, but I err on the side of caution. With two forks I separate the strands a bit.

Ready for the garlic oil.

Then comes the good part. I warmed 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and threw in 2 cloves of minced garlic. When they smelled good, I added the squash, stir-frying it so it got coated in the wonderful garlicky oil.

Even Larry enjoyed it.

As I always say, you can't go wrong with garlic butter - or even garlic olive oil.

Vegetable Stew

Once the vegetables are prepped, this stew cooks quickly. It's a satisfying, comforting stew, suitable for this season of cool evenings before the summer vegetables hit the farmers market. It's a good winter stew too -- add some hot chilies to give it a kick, if you like. The turmeric gives the potatoes a pretty yellow color.

Serve it on brown rice with a crunchy salad on the side. It makes great leftovers too.

Vegetable Stew

1 large onion

3 red potatoes

1 small butternut squash

2 large carrots

1 tbsp olive oil

14-oz can diced tomatoes

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground turmeric

14-oz can chickpeas, drained

Chop the onion coarsely in roughly 1 inch pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them in 1/2 inch chunks. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Peel it, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp, and dice the flesh into roughly 1/2 inch chunks. Peel the carrots, cut off the ends, and slice in 1/2 inch rounds.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Add the potatoes, squash, carrots and the canned tomatoes with their juice. Pour in enough water to barely cover the vegetables, cover and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cumin and turmeric, cover the pot, and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, and season to taste with salt and pepper. You'll need at least a couple of teaspoons of salt. Simmer over low heat another 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Serves 6-8

Sunday Shopping

We received sad news as we left the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. Every Sunday for the last 10 years we've picked up a Sunday New York Times at the newsstand on Cahuenga near Hollywood Blvd. We hear stories of the Saturday night fights and police activity from the overnight guys, or admire the outfits of Diz, the daytime cashier. Today she was wearing a black and white outfit, and told us the sad news that the newsstand is closing. Today. We were so shocked that we left without the paper we paid for.

Fortunately we had already stowed our vegetables in the car, so we came home with them. Here's what we bought:
10 red potatoes
1 small butternut squash
1 portabello mushroom
bloomsbury spinach
cabbage
cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini
4 pink lady apples
6 avocados
1 dozen eggs
1 bag oranges
2 heads garlic
6 shallots
asparagus
hummus
pita
pistachios
4 satsuma tangerines
1 shasta gold tangerine

Fattoush

One summer afternoon a few years back I had lunch at Cafe Santorini in Old Pasadena. On the menu was fattoush, a salad with purslane and toasted pita bread. It was bright and lemony and I loved it. I returned to have it again a few months later, and it was off the menu. Apparently purslane is not easy to come by.

So when I saw a packet of golden purslane seed at the garden center back in February, I knew I had to try it.

Purslane is a lemony-flavored edible annual succulent that grows well in warm weather and well-drained soil. I sprinkled some seed in a pot on our patio (next to the pot of watercress) and hoped for the best.

And the other day, I picked my first harvest in order to make this delicious salad.

I'm going to tell you what I did, even though I'm sure it's not a traditional recipe. But I really enjoyed it.

For the dressing, I whisked together the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the zest of 1/4 lemon, 1 small clove of garlic that I crushed but left whole, a sprinkle of salt, and 2 tbsp of olive oil. I let it rest to get garlicky, but not overly so. (I removed the clove of garlic before I added the dressing to the salad.)

Then I cut a pita in half to make 2 circles. I brushed each half with olive oil and toasted them under the grill until crisp. When they were cool, I tore one half in pieces and saved the other half for another use.

Into a bowl I put about 3 cups of home-grown golden purslane, largest stems removed, and torn into bite sized pieces. I added 1/2 cup cooked white beans, 2 tbsp chopped sweet onion, 2 tbsp cubed feta, and a heaping tablespoon of mint. I tossed it with half the dressing and the pita pieces. I let it rest a few minutes before serving with the remaining dressing on the side.

Makes 1 large serving.

Simple Sunday Supper

After a long day of digging in the garden, it's nice to have a simple supper.

Last night I boiled up some penne and tossed it with stemmed and chopped arugula, goat cheese, and enough of the pasta cooking water to make a sauce. Plenty of black pepper, and we had a meal worthy of a good Italian restaurant. But we were able to eat it at home, on our patio, enjoying the garden.

Sunday Shopping

Early summer has arrived at the Hollywood Farmers Market - as evidenced by the first zucchinis and apricots. While I bought a few apriums (a cross between an apricot and a plum), I was dubious about the plums - it feels a little early for them to be good - so I just bought a couple for Larry to try.

The strawberries, however, look delicious!

Here's what we bought to eat this week:

eggs

shelling peas

strawberries

portabello mushroom

3 shiitake mushrooms

4 zucchini

1 quart plain yogurt

spaghetti squash

8 red potatoes

1 onion

cipollini onions

coffee

6 apriums

2 plums

arugula

golden beets

2 butter lettuce

1 romaine lettuce

spring onions

4 pink lady apples

Simple Casserole of Greens

With some fresh greens in the fridge, an easy and delicious meal is not far away.

Yesterday I picked some collard greens from our garden and combined them with the greens from a bunch of beets and some cooked brown rice to make a simple nutritious dinner.

I sautéed some onion and garlic in a little olive oil, then added the washed and chopped greens. I covered the pan and let the greens steam/sauté until they were wilted, stirring a few times so they didn't stick to the pan (although a little browning is no bad thing).

Brown rice bubbled away in the rice cooker, and when it was cooked I stirred in the greens and an egg. I put it all in a casserole dish, grated a little cheese on top, and baked it in the toaster oven at 350° for about 20 minutes. The egg helps the rice and greens hold together so it's more of a casserole. The cheese adds a little flavor and makes it all smell great while cooking.

It was a simple supper on a cool spring evening.

Spring Salad

Lettuce is fresh and colorful in the spring, and the garden and farmers market are brimming with herbs. I combined some spring greens and herbs, fresh fava beans from our garden, and a mustardy dressing for this attractive addition to last night's dinner.

This is a recipe that is a springboard for whatever you have growing in your garden. No fava beans? Then use peas or snap peas, or even organic edamame. Use whatever herbs you like, and try to have some peppery greens and some soft.

It will be like eating spring in a bowl.

Spring Salad
3 cups colorful spring greens, preferably including red and green lettuce leaves, nasturtium leaves and watercress
1 1/2 cups chopped mint, tarragon, dill and chives
1/2 cup cooked, shelled fava beans
2 tsp dijon
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the greens and herbs together with the fava beans. Separately, stir together the dijon and vinegar, then slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Toss some of the dressing into the greens, and serve the rest on the side.

Serves 2

Sunday Shopping

Organic cherries arrived at the Hollywood Farmers Market today. It's a short season, but boy do I love it while it's here. There's nothing like sitting under a tree with a bowl of cherries on a warm spring day.

Here's what else we bought:
feta
tarragon
dill
lettuce
scallions
radishes
4 mushrooms
snap peas
cherries
arugula
5 tangerines
5 pink lady apples
4 cups and 1 quart of plain yogurt
2 onions
3-pack of strawberries
4 lb bag of oranges
pistachios
2 dozen eggs

Beans and Greens

Regular readers of this blog have probably figured out that I consider beans and greens foundation foods. If we all ate them everyday, we would be a lot healthier.

And really, there's no reason not to. With all the varieties of beans in the world (I currently have 16 in my pantry) and the diversity of greens available at the markets in the spring, beans and greens is a dish that never gets old.

I recently made my old stand-by dish with rapini and black olives, and it was great.

Rapini - also known as broccoli rabe - is a cancer-fighting green that is also good for the bones. It is a little bitter, so goes well with salty flavors and with beans.

Here's what I did the other night:

First I cooked 1/2 cup of my standby large white beans. They are grown locally and cook quickly in a large pot of boiling water - they're usually done in 90 minutes even without pre-soaking. I use a large pot of water because then it's unlikely to boil dry when I'm off wandering the garden. When they're cooked I drain them and set them aside until I need them. A 14-oz can of cannellini beans can be substituted if necessary.

Then I warmed 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat, and added 3/4 cup chopped onion and a minced clove of garlic. While this was cooking, I washed a bunch of rapini and removed the largest stems, cutting the rest coarsely. I stirred this into the softened onions, sprinkled on a little salt and pepper, stirred well, and covered the pot to let it cook down for a few minutes. Then I added the white beans and 8 black olives that I had pitted and sliced. I let it cook a few more minutes until all was warmed through, and then served it in shallow bowls.

A delicious and healthy meal.

Summer Barley Salad

I usually think of barley as a winter food - great in soups and stews. But the other day I used it in a salad that tasted of early summer - full of cherry tomatoes and peas and fresh dill.

This ancient grain is soothing to the digestive tract, balancing to the blood sugar, and healing to the heart. It makes a nice change from brown rice, and takes about the same time to cook. Buy barley at the health food store - it should be a brownish color and will be called pot barley. The pearl barley at the supermarket is whiter and more refined - meaning more of its goodness has been removed.

However, when you're eating this salad, you won't be thinking of the health benefits because you'll be too busy enjoying the flavors.

Summer Barley Salad
3/4 cup barley
3 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 stalk celery
2 spring onions
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
3 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the barley in 2 1/2 cups boiling water, covered, until the grain is tender and the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Steam the corn and peas for about 3 minutes until tender. Halve the cherry tomatoes and dice the celery. Slice both the white and green parts of the spring onions. Combine the vegetables, dill and barley in a large bowl. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and extra lemon juice as desired.

Serves 4-6

Sunday Shopping

Today for some reason was citrus day for us at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Here's what we brought home:

lettuce
spinach
12 oranges
4 tangerines
4 pink lady apples
8 tangelos
1 pomelo
3 avocados
2 onions
4 cups yogurt
1 leek
blueberries

Cabbage Soup

I love my slow cooker - I can set it up in the morning, ignore it all day, and sit down to a hearty dinner in the cool of the evening. It's almost like having a private chef.

The other day I used it to make this cabbage soup. While I would never boil cabbage on the stove - the smell would linger for days apart from anything else - cooked gently in the slow cooker over many hours it becomes soft and tender, nothing like boiled cabbage.

I added protein in the form of white lima beans that I had cooked ahead - they only take a couple of hours simmering on the stove. I used 1/2 cup of beans to make the 1 1/2 cups cooked beans the recipe calls for. A 14 oz can of cannellini beans, drained, would work too. The color in the soup comes from the carrots. Also, I added a little red cabbage too because I had it in the fridge. By the time the soup was cooked, it was all pretty uniformly white.

The keys to the great flavor in this soup are the vegetable stock and the liquid smoke. I'm not sure what liquid smoke is, the ingredient is smoke, but I feel it's comparatively natural. And it adds the smoky, dare I say bacon-y, flavor that is traditional in a cabbage soup. Other smoky possibilities, if you prefer not to use liquid smoke, are smoked paprika or chipotles in adobo - which would add a bit of a kick too.

Cabbage Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups shredded cabbage (1 small head)
1 potato, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans
6 cups vegetable stock
4 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke

Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic in the olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a 5-6-quart slow cooker. Add the cabbage, potato, beans, vegetable stock, thyme, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Just before serving, stir in the liquid smoke. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

Serves 6-8. Freezes well.

The finished soup.