Morning Fruit

My local grocery store is selling organic mangoes. Yum.

This week I've been combining mango, pomelo and pink grapefruit for pretty bowls of morning fruit.

Winter Vegetable Stew in Kabocha

We bought the prettiest kabocha squash at the market last week. It made a beautiful serving dish for a rather colorless (yet delicious) winter stew.

I washed the squash with my Planet dish soap and cold water. Then I dried it and put it in the toaster oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes, until a knife slipped in easily.

I let it rest a little to cool off, then sliced off the top, scooped out the seeds and goop, and filled it with the bean stew. Very pretty. I scooped some of the squash into our bowls along with the stew, and it added a little sweetness and color.

Winter Vegetable Stew
1/2 cup dry white lima or gigante beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb carrots, diced
1/4 lb turnips, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
3/4 lb shredded cabbage
2 cups water or stock
1 tbsp dill (opt)

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, about 90 minutes depending on the age of your beans. This can be done a day ahead. Or use 2 15oz cans of white kidney beans or cannelini beans.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, turnips and onion. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes and cabbage and stir again. Pour in the water or stock. (I used 3/4 cup roasted vegetable stock from the freezer and 1 1/4 cups water.) Cover the pot and simmer 15 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary so it doesn't burn.

Season to taste and stir in the cooked beans (or the drained and rinsed canned beans) and the dill. Cook another 15 minutes, uncovered.

Serve over rice or in bowls or in a roast squash.

Borscht

We watched the closing ceremonies while eating borscht - a traditional Russian soup that I modified in ways that would probably horrify Russians.

But I thought it tasted really good. And it was a very pretty color. There was also enough to feed a hockey team - I went a little overboard while cutting the root vegetables.

The rosy hue comes from beets. There actually aren't a lot of beets in the soup, but it looks like there are because they stain everything pink. Larry found this a little hard to handle, and found that one bowl was enough. I plan to eat the leftovers all week - I'm sure the soup will get even better as it rests.

Borscht
1 tbsp oil
3 cups diced onion
2 cups diced beets
2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced parsnips
1/2 cup diced celery
28oz can tomatoes
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups cabbage

Fry the onion in the oil until tender. Add in the remaining roots as they are prepped. Add the celery, canned tomatoes with liquid (mash the tomatoes against the side of the pot as they cook), and about 5 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and add the salt and cabbage. Let simmer, covered, about 20 minutes until tender. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Serves 8-10

Sunday Shopping

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning to watch the gold-medal hockey game.

I had thought I would putter around, cleaning out the fridge, planning the week's menus, making a shopping list while watching the game.

But instead I curled up under a blanket with a mug of tea, the game on the t.v., and the Canada hockey blog on the iPad mini. And there I stayed until almost 7 a.m. when the medals had been awarded and Canadians around the world who had also been following the hockey blog were submitting schmaltzy celebration photos.

After all that excitement, I did not feel like doing anything as mundane as thinking about food. So we went to the Hollywood Farmers Market with no list, and not even any thoughts about what we'll be eating this week.

This is what, in my sleep-deprived yet quite happy state, we came home with:
1 butternut squash
1 orange kabocha squash
2 white sweet potatoes
5 small red potatoes
1 jar almond butter
2 dozen eggs
2 onions
broccoli
carrots
red lettuce
celery
2 fennel bulbs
5 pink lady apples
9 oranges
collard greens
1 quart and 4 cups plain yogurt
6 grapefruit
2 bartlett pears
1 pomelo
6 satsuma tangerines

Simple Supper

I wanted a simple dinner last night, so I scrubbed two white sweet potatoes and threw them in the toaster oven at 400°F, and then rooted through the fridge for other simple-to-fix ingredients.

I found a bunch of beet greens and a pack of firm tofu.

I sautéd an onion and some garlic, threw in some chili flakes and stirred in the washed beet greens. I covered the pot and let the greens stew down, stirring occasionally.

I sliced the tofu and fried it in a little oil in my cast iron fry pan. I poured a few drops of soy sauce on each piece as it cooked, to add a little extra flavor.

The sweet potatoes were a revelation. They were not as dense and sweet as the orange kind of sweet potato. They had a mild soft flavor, and a texture similar to a potato. Even Larry enjoyed them. I sliced them in half and we added butter and salt and pepper. With the greens and crisped tofu, it was a simple yet yummy dinner.

Sunday Shopping

My list was very short for the Hollywood Farmers Market this week. Yet somehow Larry got weighted down before we were halfway through the market.

A few non-list vegetables did appear in the bags. I wasn't going to buy a squash this week, but Jared had beautiful little two-person spaghetti squashes. I'll serve it this week as a side, tossed with garlic butter. And Finley Farm had bunches of parsley root. I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but they're cool so I had to bring them home.

Fortunately, Cafecito Organico was able to make an Americano to fortify us for the shopping and hauling experience.

Here's a list of the organic produce I unpacked onto our dinette this morning:
2 onions
2 bunches of carrots
cilantro
parsley
ginger root (not organic, but locally grown)
khadrawy dates
eggs
parsley root
6 limes
6 grapefruit
1 lb coffee from Cafecito Organico
12 oranges
spring onions
fennel
1 spaghetti squash

Bean and Rice Salad

I really love leftover rice. I freeze it to use later in rice and greens casserole (I wrote about a version with dandelions here). I toss it with vegetables to make fried rice.

However, this week I had an annoying amount left over, about 1 cup, not enough to serve the two of us. So I added it to my lunchtime salad.

I cooked 1/3 cup of appaloosa beans and tossed them with the rice. I added 2 tangelos and some cilantro. I tossed the salad with lime juice and olive oil.

Beans and rice together create a complete protein, and the citrus is extra good during cold and flu season. The cilantro helps the body release heavy metals.

But I really enjoyed it because it tasted good. If you have leftover rice, I encourage you to toss it with beans, citrus and cilantro to make a fun and colorful salad.

Heart-Healthy Soup

Tonight Larry and I will be eating leftovers.

Yes, I know it's Valentine's Day, and we should be eating a special, romantic meal. That was the plan. I had selected a tofu recipe which includes lemongrass from our beautiful garden. (Tofu is a great Valentine's Day food because it is good for the heart. I served it up a couple of years ago. You can read that story and a great tofu recipe here.)

Unfortunately, in re-reading the recipe I was going to cook tonight, I found that the tofu has to be pressed for 4 hours, then marinaded in the fridge overnight. Way too much work during the work week. So that recipe will be saved for the weekend, and tonight we will be eating soup.

But not just any soup. This soup, which we first ate earlier this week, is full of heart-friendly garlic. Garlic is well known for its ability to lower high blood pressure and tonify the cardiovascular system.  The split peas that form the bulk of the soup are full of soluble fiber which binds with cholesterol-containing bile and escorts it out of your body. They also help reduce the amount of plaque in your arteries.

The browned onion and garlic give the soup an intense flavor even without the use of vegetable stock.  The seasonings are inspired by a recipe in Ruta Kahate's book Quick-Fix Indian. The split peas make it a meal that sticks to the ribs - no crackers or biscuits required.

Split Pea Soup with Spinach
3/4 cup yellow split peas
4 oz spinach
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

Rinse the split peas and put in a pot with 3 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the peas are tender but still hold their shape, about 20 minutes. Do not drain.

Stem and wash the spinach and slice it thin.

In a 2-quart saucepan, warm the oil and sauté the onion until it is browned. Stir in the turmeric and coriander. Add the spinach and toss to coat with oil. Pour in the dal and its cooking water, and one more cup cold water. Stir in salt, bring to a boil, and simmer about 5 minutes.

In a small frypan, warm the ghee or oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seed and cook, covered, until the seeds stop sputtering. Add the garlic and cook until browned. Add to the soup. Stir and serve.

Serves 4

Parsnip Potato Mash

Mashed potatoes are comfort food. Add parsnips and garlic and you've increased both the health benefits and the flavor.

Parsnips have a lot of soluble fiber (essential for blood sugar regulation among other things) and a variety of vitamins and minerals including potassium and folate. Garlic is a heart-healthy food. And potatoes have health benefits too. (See my healthy potato post here.)

But what I really like about this mash is the rich flavor it gets from the parsnips.

This is a light mash because it has no butter or milk. It is improved with a little sauce - I served it with a bean stew, and it was great.

If you like parsnips, give this recipe a try.

Parsnip Potato Mash
1 lb potatoes
1/2 lb parsnips
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil

Peel and chop potatoes and parsnips, put in a saucepan, and add cold water to cover. Add the salt, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn down to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the garlic in the olive oil and set aside.

Scoop 1/2 cup liquid out of the potato pot and reserve. Drain the potatoes and mash with the garlic and oil. Add the reserved liquid as needed to give a good texture.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Serves 2-3

Pomelos

More than 6 inches in diameter!

I always look forward eagerly to pomelo season. Starting in December, I start asking Jorge, my citrus farmer, when the pomelos will be ripe. Unfortunately, they are often not ripe until March, but I am persistent in my questioning.

So last week Jorge gave me the first pomelo of the year. It had fallen to the ground and he felt it was destined for me. I felt honored to receive it.

Pomelos are an ancient relative of grapefruits, but they are huge. I would love to see a tree of them - Jorge says it is quite a sight to see these large yellow globes hanging from the branches. Last year I planted some seeds in hope of getting a tree of my own. So far my seedlings are about 3 inches tall, so it will be a while before I have a harvest.

In the meantime, though, Jorge has me covered.

There are two main kinds of pomelo I've seen at the market - pink inside and blueish inside. Jorge's are the blueish ones, and I much prefer them. They are tangy like a grapefruit but the flavor is somehow softer. The flesh is firmer and the membranes are thicker, so I only put the inner segments in our morning fruit. They are also very seedy, but the seeds pop out easily with a knife. This does lead to the temptation of planting a few, which is why Larry is worried our backyard will turn into a pomelo plantation.

He is not as big a fan of these as I am. But I recommend that if you see one in the market, you take it home, get out a big knife, and give it a try. You also might be hooked.

First I cut the top and bottom off. Then I use a large knife
to cut down each side, removing the peel and thick white pith.
I cut it in half, then cut between the membranes to pop out
the segments, leaving the seeds behind. 

Sunday Shopping

It was another cool, grey morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. The bright spot was the first tangelos of the year - these are beautiful deep orange citrus fruit with a little bump on the stem end. They taste like oranges, only richer in flavor.

Also rich in flavor are the onion garlic roast pistachios from the Santa Barbara Pistachio Company. Wow, these could get addictive - and they're made without natural or artificial flavors. The ingredients are organic pistachios, sea salt, organic onion and organic garlic. It is true that the real things in life taste the best.

Here's a list of the organic produce we bought today:
2 white-fleshed sweet potatoes
4 onions
1 kabocha squash
1 bunch collard greens
23 small red potatoes
2 dozen eggs
2 bags Bloomsdale spinach
4 cremini mushrooms
16 tangelos
8 oz raw almond butter from Yemetz Family Orchard
6 pink lady apples
1 bartlett pear
1 quart and 6 cups plain St. Benoit yogurt
12 oz hickory smoked pistachios
12 oz onion garlic pistachios

Bean Salad with Beets and Feta

I like to vary the beans in my weekly bean salads. While they all taste pretty much the same, it's nice to have the different colors and shapes in my lunch bag.

This week I cooked up some Tongue of Fire beans. These are a speckled roundish heirloom bean that Finley Farms grew last year. Sadly, this week I emptied my jar. With luck they'll grow them again this year, because they really are a most appealing shape. (There are a few pictures of them in the bean slideshow in the column to the right. They are the pinkish beans with reddish patterns on them.)

I combined them with some leftover marinated beets I had in the fridge. I had roasted and peeled the beets, then tossed them in the juice of a fresh orange, a little olive oil, salt and pepper. They were a fun side dish with dinner, and the next day they made a pretty addition to my lunch salad. A little feta sprinkled on top turned it into a feast. (It looks like a lot of feta in the picture, but it's less than a tablespoon on top of a cup of beans and beets.)

At lunch, I spooned the bean salad over a container of green salad, tossed it together, and ate a colorful pink-tinged meal - very cheerful on these grey cloudy days.

Bean Stew with Rosemary and Sage

This is the bean stew I served in a winter squash last week. I made enough that we ate it later in the week as well, spooned over rice.

I used a round yellowish bean the farmer I buy from calls barbecue beans. Navy beans or any other similar bean would do if you can't find barbecue beans. Adding lentils to a bean stew gives a good consistency, similar to the role ground meat or soy crumbles would play, but much healthier.

Yes, I put a whole head of garlic in the stew. But because it's roasted, you really can't tell. It adds a mellow richness to the dish. In flu season, it's good to eat lots of garlic. The rosemary and sage are also good anti-microbial herbs. I roasted the garlic in the toaster oven while the beans cooked. This is a dish which requires you to be home for a couple of hours, but that needs very little tending. The ingredients just roast and simmer away.

If you don't have fresh herbs, leave them out or use dried - about 1/4 of the amount.

Bean Stew with Rosemary and Sage
3/4 cup barbecue beans
3/4 cup brown lentils
1 head garlic
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp minced fresh sage
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3/4 cups diced carrots
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp rosemary
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt

Soak the beans overnight or for a few hours in plenty of cold water to cover. Drain, add to a pot of boiling water, and simmer gently until tender but not mushy. Check after an hour, and thereafter every 20 minutes or so. When they are cooked through, drain and set aside.

Separately, simmer the lentils in plenty of water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

At the same time, roast the garlic. Cut the top 1/3 off the head so the tops of the cloves are exposed. Put in a small casserole and sprinkle with the rosemary and sage, and pour the oil over top. Cover the casserole and bake in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven, lift the garlic out of the oil and set it aside to cool a little.

Warm the herbal garlicky oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and sauté gently 5 minutes until tender. Add the carrots and smaller amounts of sage and rosemary. Stir to coat with the flavored oil, then add the tomatoes with their liquid. Stir to combine.

Squeeze the flesh of the garlic cloves out from the skin. Add the flesh to the pot along with the cooked beans, cooked lentils, and the salt and pepper to taste.

Cook, covered, about 10 minutes, until all the flavors are melded and the stew is hot, adding water as necessary to keep it a good consistency.

Serve with brown rice, or in a bowl with crackers, or in a baked squash as in the picture here.

Serves 6

Cashew Coconut Kale

I like to cook greens a few times a week. They are full of minerals to strengthen our bones and nourish our nervous systems. Usually I either steam the greens or sauté them in a little oil with salt and chile flakes.

But the other day I tried this recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates, and found it to be really good. The picture is of the kale before I added the coconut-cashew mixture. Afterwards it was less photogenic, but really delicious. It's a little more work than just stir-frying the kale, but the flavor of the cashew-coconut sauce is worth it.

Cashew Coconut Kale
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, diced
2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup salted cashews
juice of 1/2 to 1 lime
1/2 cup coconut milk (freeze the rest of the can to use another day)
1 tsp curry powder
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

Sauté onion, garlic and jalapeño in oil about 10 minutes until onion is translucent.

Meanwhile, blender the cashews, lime juice and coconut milk until smooth. Start with the smaller amount of lime juice, and add more to taste.

Add the curry powder to the frying onions. Cook 1 minute. Add the kale, along with the water still clinging to its leaves. Add a sprinkle more water if it looks too dry. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed, 5-8 minutes until tender.

Stir in the cashew-coconut sauce. Stir to coat. Cook until it's warmed through and serve.

Serves 3-4

Sunday Shopping

It was a cold grey morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Fortunately the Americano is back at Cafecito Organico at the Farmers Kitchen, so my hands stayed warm holding a cup as we strolled through the market.

This is what we bought to eat this week:
2 onions
6 red potatoes
1 acorn squash
1 bunch carrots
1 small head broccoli
1 small head cauliflower
2 dozen eggs
5 pink lady apples
2 bartlett pears
4 limes
15 oranges
12 grapefruit
1 pomelo
1 Homeboy baguette
12 oz onion garlic pistachios
1 jar Four Thieves sauerkraut
5 cups plain yogurt