Heirloom Tomatoes

It is not often that I buy heirloom tomatoes. They look pretty, but I'm not convinced the taste appeal is worth the hefty price tag. I put cherry tomatoes in our salads; otherwise I tend to cook tomatoes, and the regular red organic ones are fine.

This week, however, I decided to serve heirloom tomatoes as a side salad. I sprinkled them with olive oil, salt and pepper and lime juice. They went beautifully with a simple dinner of tofu and rice.

Chestnuts

Chestnuts always mean fall to me. Usually the locally available ones are imported from Italy, which is a ridiculous use of fuel. Fortunately, Ha's Apple Farm in the Tehachapi Mountains also has chestnut trees, and last week I bought some of the first crop of the season.

The nuts are currently part of our fall decorations, but soon I hope to roast them in the fireplace and burn my fingers. I don't expect them to end up in a fancy recipe. I'll just enjoy the fresh roasted flavor, and the smell of woodsmoke in the air.

Sunday Shopping

The temperatures fell into the 70s this week, good fall weather, perfect for pumpkins and squash, pomegranates, red lettuce, and the first nuts of the season. It's a good time for eating.

Here's what we bought at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning:

2 grapefruit, 1 pomegranate, 14 oranges, 1 dozen eggs, 3 orleans apples, 2 bartlett pears, 1 red sails lettuce, 1 ambrosia cantaloupe, 2 small butternut squash, 2 bunches of spring onions, 1 box cherry tomatoes, 1 small pumpkin, 1 cucumber, 1 bunch radishes, celery, 2 small green and 1 small red romaine lettuce, 2 bacon avocados, 2 heirloom tomatoes, 1 bunch carrots, 1 celery root, 8 large shiitakes, 3 fennel bulbs, green beans, 6 small sweet potatoes, 4 red tomatoes, and chestnuts from Ha's Apple Farm. 

Beans and Greens

Yes, I'm a little obsessive with my beans and greens. If we all ate these every day, we would be much healthier.

There are many ways to cook these nutritious and delicious ingredients. This is what I did on Sunday.

I cooked the beans early in the day and drained them. (You could use a 14-oz can of beans.) Later I cooked the tomato sauce. Just before eating, I reheated it, steamed the spinach separately, and then combined them.

There's enough sauce to make this a great dish to eat with rice or another grain. However, I also like it in a bowl just as is.

My body is thrilled to be eating all these good nutrients. Yours will be too.

Beans and Greens
2/3 cup large white beans
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 tbsp olive oil
14oz can tomatoes
6 oz spinach

Cook the beans in plenty of simmering water until tender. Drain and set aside.

Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until softened. Add canned tomatoes and cook until they are broken down. Add the cooked beans and mix well.

Wash the spinach, pull off any tough stems, and chop coarsely.

Put it in a pan with an inch of boiling water, cover, place over medium heat, and let steam 3 minutes until tender but still a little crisp.

Toss the spinach and beans together. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 4

Tomato Chili Pickle

A few weeks ago I planned to cook ratatouille. I bought peppers and tomatoes but couldn't find any eggplant at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I was thwarted in my plan.

So instead I turned the tomatoes into this tomato chili pickle. This is not pickle like Americans understand it. It's a form of British chutney, like lime pickle, a spicy relish to serve with curries or meats.

It's similar to sambal oelek, although a little less hot.

I'm giving you the recipe I used, but I have to warn you that in order to be completely food safe you should cook the full jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes - I describe that in our salsa recipe.

I didn't do that, because I was feeling British. My grandmother made all sorts of preserves and put them in sterilized jars with a layer of greaseproof paper on top. No one died. This chili pickle has so much vinegar and chilies in it that I felt fine not boiling it, but the food safety police would be on me if I recommended such recklessness to you. It should be fine poured into a sterilized jar and refrigerated for a few months (if you can keep your family away from it).

I recommend serving it on with grain dishes or squash or veggie burgers - anything that might need a little zip. It rescued our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner from blandness.

The heat will vary depending on your peppers. I used jalapeños from my droughty garden - extra hot.

Yum. It disappears quickly. I should have made more.

Tomato Chili Pickle
10 jalapeños, stemmed
1 oz fresh ginger root, peeled
1 tsp tumeric
3 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp organic canola oil
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp salt
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 1/4 lbs tomatoes, cored and cut in 8ths

Grind the jalapeños, ginger root, turmeric and cumin together in a small food processor or blender with a little oil.

Warm the rest of the oil over medium-high heat until quite hot. Stir in the puréed peppers and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring. Lower the heat and add the garlic, sugar, salt and vinegar. Keep stirring. When the sugar has dissolved, stir in the tomatoes and cook down until it's pulpy.

Pour into sterilized jars, cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Makes about a pint.

Sunday Shopping

The colors at the Hollywood Farmers' Market were beautiful this morning: purple eggplants; red, yellow and green peppers; all shades of greens and many colors of winter squash. I managed to come home without a squash, but everything else jumped into my bag.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:
1 red onion, 3 yellow onions, 1 bunch carrots, 4 large yellow potatoes, 3 red peppers, 2 green peppers, cilantro, 6 san marzano tomatoes, 3 bartlett pears, 5 pink grapefruit, 1 dozen eggs, 4 small plain St. Benoit yogurt, red grapes, black grapes, 2 fuyu persimmons, sun gold cherry tomatoes, 3 cameo apples, 2 mutsu apples, 3 small eggplant, 2 butter lettuce, 1 yellow pepper, rainbow chard, lacinato kale, 1 cantaloupe, spinach, green beans, and Jorge had found the last 3 pomelos in his orchard and brought them for me.

We also restocked some staples: ginger root (not organic but locally-grown - the ginger root at my local grocery store is shipped from China), 5 lbs brown rice from Koda Farms, 1 lb walnuts from Rancho LaVina, and 2 bulbs garlic.

Lazy Sunday Cooking

This is day-old pesto stew - the pesto turned
brown, but it was still delicious!

Sometimes I wake up on Sunday morning with no desire to think about food, even though we're about to head to the Hollywood Farmers Market to do our weekly grocery shopping. When this happens, I turn to Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker to inspire me to make Sunday dinner.

(Then I buy a lot of good-looking vegetables at the market and figure out what to do with them later.)

Every recipe I've made from her book works and is delicious - unlike some of the other vegetarian slow cooker books I have (see my post on squash and barley risotto - not from Robin's book.)

On a recent Sunday morning,  she inspired me to make white beans with pesto. Yum. I had vegan pesto (no cheese) in the freezer from last fall, so it was simple to defrost and stir into the stew before serving it.

It cooks for 6-8 hours, so I had time to make it when we got home from the market - I soaked the beans while we were out so they would cook more quickly.

Usually I don't bother peeling tomatoes, but it really is an easy thing to do once I've boiled the water, and it makes a textural difference. So I rose to the occasion.

Larry usually only likes pesto on pasta, but he thought this stew was just great. I hope you enjoy it too.

White Bean and Pesto Stew
1 cup dried white lima beans or other white bean1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion (about 1 cup chopped)
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
3 tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
1/4 cup pesto

Pick over the beans and discard any stones. Wash them, then put in a saucepan, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Put the lid on, and let the beans simmer gently until they are tender, 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the age of your beans. When they are tender but not soft (no hard center), drain them and set aside. (At this point they can be refrigerated for 2-3 days until you're ready to use them.)

Warm the oil and sauté the onion until softened, about 5 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Cut an X through the skin at the base of each tomato. Put them in the water for 30 seconds, then lift them out and put them in a  bowl of ice water. Let them cool enough to handle, then peel off the skin with your fingers, starting at the X. Then cut each tomato in half along the equator and scoop out the seeds with a small spoon or your fingers. Chop them coarsely, removing the stem end.

Scoop the cooked onions into a 4-quart slow cooker. Add the diced red peppers, chopped tomatoes, cooked beans and water or stock. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Just before serving, stir in the pesto.

Serves 4-6

Sautéed Lacinato Kale

I always snap up lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale or cavolo nero or Tuscan kale, when I see it at the Hollywood Farmers Market.

It's a sturdy kale that lasts well in the fridge, and cooks into a side of greens with texture and a little chewiness.

I served this dish at Canadian Thanksgiving. It goes well with grain dishes (or stirred into cooked brown rice), and with baked squash - any time you want an easy green side dish.

Of course, it's also extremely healthy. Kale is a member of the cabbage family which offers protection against many cancers. It's also full of antioxidants, and is known for its anti-inflammatory and pro-cardiovascular benefits. Cooking it in a little oil helps break down the cell walls so our bodies can better absorb the nutrients.

Plus, it's really simple to wash, chop and cook.

Sautéed Lacinato Kale
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 bunch lacinato kale

Warm the olive oil in a skillet. Chop the onion and cook it until it's tender.

Wash the kale and chop off the bottom of the stems. Chop the leaves down the center, then stack them and cut across in rough 1 inch strips.

Stir the kale into the onion and let it cook down a little, stirring occasionally.

Now you have two options. At Thanksgiving, I was making it a couple of hours ahead and reheating it, so I scooped it from the skillet when it was softer but not fully cooked, put it in a covered casserole dish and left it at room temperature. About 15 minutes before we wanted to eat, I put it in the toaster oven at 350°F.

If you're going to eat it sooner, let it cook, covered, in the skillet until it's the texture you like. If it browns on the bottom a little, that adds to the flavor. If it's ready before you are, turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, until you're ready to eat it. Reheat quickly and serve.

Serves 2-3

Canadian Thanksgiving

Canadians do Thanksgiving differently to Americans. To start with, it's earlier - the second Monday in October (although most people eat Thanksgiving dinner on the Sunday). Leaves are turning and the harvest is coming in. It's the weekend to close up the cottage, clean out the garage, tune up the snow blower and put away the lawn mower.

Turkey is the traditional dinner centerpiece, but there's not the same focus on gluttony that there is here in the U.S. In fact, I can't remember a traditional Thanksgiving dessert. I asked my mum and she couldn't remember what we used to eat for dessert either. (She had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house where they ate apple crisp from apples the family had picked that day at a local orchard. That sounds like a good tradition.)

Larry and I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in Los Angeles yesterday with a day in the garden and then dinner eaten outdoors under the stars. This year we ate barley and squash cooked in the slow cooker, with sides of lacinato kale and baked acorn squash.

The barley dish was a new one - and I won't be making it again. It was bland - probably because I have run out of my excellent roasted vegetable stock so the liquid was plain water. But honestly, I'm not sure even vegetable stock could have saved it.

Fortunately, I served it with Tomato Chili Pickle, a relish I made in August when we had extra tomatoes. (More on that another day.) That made it delicious.

On the side were cooked kale and baked acorn squash. It was a pretty autumnal meal.

And fortunately we didn't have room for dessert. Because I hadn't made one.

Sunday Shopping

It was misty and cool at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning, a welcome respite after all the heat.

By the time we got home, the mist had burned off and the sun was shining in on our dinette - making a beautiful picture of the great organic produce we had brought home with us.

It will be another beautiful day in Southern California.

Here's what we bought to eat this week:
8 limes, 5 poblanos, 1 quart of plain yogurt and 4 small unmarked but hopefully plain yogurts from St. Benoit (who really need to get their act together with the labels), 3 red onions, 2 red peppers, 1 green pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 bunch celery, 1 bunch cilantro, 1 cucumber, 1 baby romaine, 5 early girl tomatoes, 3 bartlett pears, 3 summerville apples, 3 mutsu apples, 1 red sails lettuce, 1 cantaloupe, 12 oranges, 3 grapefruit, 4 brown onions, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 small acorn squash, 1 bunch lacinato kale, 1 treviso radicchio, a couple of handfuls of green beans, 1 bunch parsley, 1 medium red cabbage, 4 yosemite gold tangerines, 1 dozen eggs, and 1 head frisée chicory.

Eggs and Peppers

When the red peppers appear at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I take some home to make into this luscious breakfast dish.

I sauté onions, peppers and tomatoes until juicy and sweet, then top them with poached or fried eggs and sprinkle a little feta on top. If we're feeling decadent, as we were a week ago, we mop up the sauce with slices of baguette.

I used to poach the eggs directly in the sauce, but then it all needs to be eaten at brunch, because the leftovers are distinctly unattractive. This time, I cooked the eggs separately so any leftover sauce could be saved and enjoyed over potatoes or with rice.

Eaten on the patio in the slanting fall sunshine, this is a seasonal feast.

Eggs and Peppers

1 small onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp hot paprika

1 small clove garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 eggs

2 tbsp crumbled feta

Warm oil in a skillet. Add the onion and pepper and cook, covered, over moderately high heat. Stir occasionally and cook until softened, 7-8 minutes. Add paprika and garlic and cook another minute, stirring. Add tomatoes and cook, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, another 5 minutes or so.

Poach or fry the eggs.

Spoon some sauce onto each plate. Top with 2 eggs. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp feta.

Enjoy.

Serves 2 

Bean Salad with Basil

Bean salads are an easy bread-free way to add protein to the vegetarian lunch box.

Take cooked beans, add some celery or green pepper for crunch, some cherry tomatoes or cucumber for juiciness, and some herbs for flavor. Toss in a simple vinaigrette and you have an easy dish that will last a few days in the fridge, ready to be scooped into cup-sized containers and added to the lunch box.

This week we'll be eating this pretty salad in our lunches.

Bean Salad with Basil
1 cup dry beans (I used a combination of white limas and Christmas limas)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, about 90 minutes. Drain and toss with the vinegar. Let cool at room temperature.

Add the remaining ingredients. Toss well. Season to taste.

Enjoy at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

Sunday Shopping

The slanting October light shone on the piles of pumpkins and apples at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. It will be in the 90s today, but at 8 a.m. it was comfortable, which was a good thing because Larry had a lot of produce to haul to the car.

Here's what we bought:
1 cantaloupe, 3 bartlett pears, 3 mutsu apples, 3 somerville apples, 3 huge pink grapefruit, 1 pomegranate, 4 limes, 7 red potatoes, orange cherry tomatoes, 1 red onion, 5 tomatoes, 2 red peppers, 1 onion, 2 quarts of plain yogurt, 1 quart lemon yogurt (for Larry to take to a breakfast pot luck), 3 small plain yogurts, 12 oz chile lemon pistachios, and 5 lbs san marzano tomatoes to make another batch of salsa. Russ sharpened two knives for us while we strolled the market.

Lemon Tofu

I have little patience for the flexitarian moniker. Basically it means you'll eat anything - you're flexible, an omnivore. Why that needs a special name, I'm not sure.

But I've enjoyed browsing through Peter Berley's book, The Flexitarian Table, and have tried some of his techniques that were new to me. (It helps that he was the chef at a vegetarian restaurant for a while.)

This tofu recipe is one he developed while chef at that restaurant in the 1990s, and it's definitely stood the test of time.

I tried it because both my thyme bush and my lemon tree are producing vigorously. But the main seasonings are the standard balsamic vinegar and tamari, so it's a good substitute for marinated tofu in any recipe.

Lemon Tofu
12 oz package firm organic tofu
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 lemon

Rinse the tofu, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel, and press it between two plates. Put a weight on the top plate (a jar of barley or can of tomatoes or heavy skillet work fine) and let it sit about 30 minutes.

Slice the tofu in 4 1/2-inch thick triangles. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Whisk together all but the tofu and lemon. Put the mixture in a  casserole large enough to hold the tofu in a single layer, and add the tofu. Turn it to coat both sides.

Roast the tofu, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Wash the lemon with a little dish soap. Dry it and slice it thinly. You'll need 1-2 slices for each tofu triangle. Take the seeds out.

Turn the tofu over, put the lemon slices on top, and baste with the small amount of marinade in the pan. Roast another 10-15 minutes until the tofu is well browned and the marinade has been absorbed.

Serves 4

Colorful Garnish

A few weeks ago, I wrote about cooking cherry tomatoes with mint. This week, I cooked them with a little garlic and basil for a side dish that Larry said would go with anything. That was good, because we ate them with tofu, and with eggplant, and with rice. They reheated well, and kept their red color and good flavor.

Here's what I did.

Colorful Garnish
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 scallion, sliced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped basil
salt and pepper

Warm the olive oil in a skillet. Add the tomatoes, garlic, scallion and red pepper flakes. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and start to crack, about 5 minutes. Stir in the basil and cook another couple of minutes until the tomatoes are juicy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Refrigerate leftovers, and reheat in a skillet or in a covered container in the toaster oven. They last a few days in the fridge, if you hide them.

Serves 4