Sunday Shopping

Spring is here - radishes, asparagus, baby artichokes, strawberries and blueberries. It was a delicious time at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. This is what we bought:

1 bag spinach
6 baby artichokes
strawberries
blueberries
dates
red radishes
baby turnips with greens
arugula
asparagus
6 grapefruit
broccoli
1 red onion
4 yellow onions
2 heads garlic
sauerkraut
habanero olives
spicy pimento stuffed olives
pinto beans
white lima beans
red fife cracked wheat loaf of bread
1 quart plain St. Benoit yogurt
1 lb coffee from Cafecito Organico

Simple Stir Fry

I came home after a long day of work, put brown rice in the rice cooker, and sat down for a rest.

Then I put together this simple stir fry to go with the rice. We also had some cole slaw I'd made in the early morning before work and refrigerated. It was a simple, healthy and tasty meal.

As I wrote down the recipe, I realized it sounds long and complicated. It's really just two simple sauces, pre-cooked broccoli and tofu, and a few vegetables. Once you get into the swing of it, it's an easy recipe to pull together in under 20 minutes.

Simple Stir Fry
3 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp brown rice vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red chile flakes
3 tbsp arrowroot powder
4 cups broccoli (florets and stems in 1 inch pieces)
14-16oz firm tofu, cut in 1/2 inch dice
2 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp organic canola oil
1 leek
3 large red radishes (3/4 cup diced)
8 large cloves garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
6 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Whisk together tamari, maple syrup, vinegar, chile flakes and 1 1/4 cups water. Set aside.

Separately, stir the arrowroot into 1/4 cup water. (Arrowroot is an easily digested starch that comes from roots. You could use organic corn starch in place of it, but that's less easily digested.)

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and cook the broccoli and tofu for 3 minutes until the broccoli is tender crisp. Drain and dump in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Then drain and set aside.

Cut the root and dark greens off the leek. Cut it in half and wash out all the dirt. Slice crosswise into thin slices. Remove the stems from the mushrooms (reserve for vegetable stock) and slice the caps thinly.

Heat sesame and canola oils over medium-high heat. Add the leek, radishes, garlic and ginger. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring, until fragrant - about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened - just a few minutes.

Add the tamari sauce, turn heat to high, cover and cook until bubbling, about 2 minutes. Then add arrowroot mixture (stir it first to reconstitute), stirring until the sauce is glossy, under 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes and reserved broccoli and tofu. Stir fry until heated through, 3-4 minutes. Serve hot over brown rice.

Baby Fava Beans

I'm growing fava beans this year - all beans give nitrogen to the soil, so they're a good crop to grow to enhance the soil - plus, I really love favas.

Because I'm growing my own, I can pick them small. I picked some the size of my little finger today, and steamed them, and ate them whole. They had the texture of green beans and the flavor of fava beans. Amazing.

tiny fava beans

Green Soup

I dug through my fridge yesterday and found radish greens and rutabaga greens. I combined them in this delicious green soup that was healthy and pretty to look at.

It's an easy recipe that can be made with whatever greens you have on hand: spinach, chard, rutabaga, turnip, dandelion, mustard. I like it with spicy radish greens from the large red and black radishes. I added the cabbage-y rutabaga greens because I had them - they added a nice base note.

We ate bowls of this soup for Sunday lunch - it was warm on the sunny patio, and the soup went well with crackers and cheese.

Here's how I made it:

Green Soup

3 lbs radish and rutabaga greens

2 small bulbs fennel

1/2 large onion (about 3/4 cup)

1 clove garlic

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp butter

2 cups vegetable stock

The weight of the greens is approximate. After weighing them, I cut off the thickest stems and discarded yellowed leaves. (I don't feel bad about this because they go in the compost.) Then I washed them well, chopped them coarsely, and set them aside.

I diced the fennel bulbs. Usually I cut out the tough core, but since this soup is puréed, I didn't bother.

I sautéed the fennel, onion and garlic in the olive oil and butter until the onion was tender. I added the greens and the stock, stirred well, covered the pot, and let it cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

I took it off the heat and let it cool a little. I puréed half at a time in the blender, then reheated in a clean pot.

Great nutrition and comfort food in one.

(You can omit the butter and just use olive oil if you want a vegan soup.)

Sunday Shopping

It was a grey morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market, and the piles of greens shimmered in the light. I showed great restraint because the collards, purple mustard greens and lettuce in our garden are flourishing.

Here's what we brought home:
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms
2 leeks
6 oz shiitake mushrooms
5 grapefruit
2 dozen eggs
4 small St. Benoit plain yogurt
2 onions
blueberries
1 small butternut squash
8 tangerines
1 pomelo
1 bunch spring onions
1 bunch baby rutabagas
12 oz hot onion garlic pistachios
1 small red cabbage
1 small green cabbage
1 bunch beets
2 bulbs garlic
2 bunches asparagus
8 pink lady apples
1 red onion
1 bunch cilantro
2 bunches carrots
1 packet Spring Hill smoked firehouse Mike cheddar
1 pound of El Carmen coffee (grown in Acatenango, Guatemala) from Cafecito Organico

Collard Greens

I forgot to take a photo until after we had
started eating.

I harvested the first collard greens from our garden the other day, and cooked them up with a little garlic for a tasty side dish with roasted root vegetables and an unusual amaranth casserole.

I'm growing collard greens because they're Larry's favorite greens, however their health benefits make them a great addition to anyone's diet. They both lower cholesterol and prevent against cancer. Rush out and buy some today.

Traditionally collards are cooked for hours with bacon, but a short cook in garlicky olive oil makes tender greens that are healthy and flavorful. Give them a try.

Collard Greens with Garlic
1 bunch collard greens
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp olive oil

Wash the greens. Cut off the thick tough stems. Stack the leaves and roll them like a cigar, then slice across in 1/2 to 3/4 inch ribbons.

Warm the olive oil over medium heat. Peel and chop the garlic and toss it in. Cook until golden, then add the greens. Toss to coat with the oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes until the greens are tender but still hold their shape.

Serve immediately, or turn off the heat and let them sit, covered, for up to 15 minutes until you're ready for them.

Serves 2-3

Roasted Root Vegetables

We had some totally cute root vegetables in the fridge this week: baby rutabagas, tiny turnips - I decided to roast them for dinner last night.

Usually I roast vegetables by tossing them in olive oil and salt and pepper and then cooking them in a covered casserole for 40 minutes or so until they're tender.

But last night I decided to roast them on a cookie sheet. This way they would get a little more browned in places, adding more texture.

And I think it was a success, even though I forgot to add the sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden.

Here's what I did.

Roasted Root Vegetables
1 bunch baby rutabagas
1 bunch small turnips
1/2 a small butternut squash
4 shallots
4 medium red potatoes
2 large radishes
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 sprigs rosemary (optional)

Remove any greens and save them for another use.

Peel the rutabagas if they're hairy. Peel and chop the larger turnips, but leave the small (1 1/2 inch) ones whole. Peel and dice the butternut squash. Peel the shallots. Scrub and dice the potatoes. Peel the radishes if the skin is thick, and dice the flesh.

Toss all the roots in a bowl with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Spread on a cookie sheet, add the rosemary if using, and cook at 450°F 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are tender when poked with a small knife. (The time will depend on the size and age of your roots.)

Serves 3-4

Squeezing Oranges

Every Sunday, Larry squeezes oranges so we can have fresh juice with our eggs and potatoes.

For years, he used an old juicer from the 60s that we picked up at the Pasadena Flea Market. But it gradually wore out. So about a year ago I bought a new version of it, and it was quite successful. But over time, bolts have sheared, the gear and clogged, and I went out to find yet another one.

And I bought this incredibly simple hand-held squeezer at Sur La Table.

Last Sunday, Larry tried it for the first time, and found it worked really well.

I like it because there is very little that can break, and it cost under $20. I hope it lasts more than a year.

Sunday Shopping

It was hard to choose from all the beautiful produce at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning. The warm weather after the rain has everything flourishing.

This is what we bought:
1 pound of El Carmen coffee (grown in Acatenango, Guatemala) from Cafecito Organico
black and green olives and feta
a bag of flame raisins from Burkhardt farms. These are the most flavorful raisins I've ever tasted, and are worth the trouble of pulling off the stems as I add them to our granola.
2 dozen eggs
1 butternut squash for roasted vegetables
1 large purple sweet potato - we've been enjoying the white-colored ones as baked potatoes, this week we'll try the purple one
2 onions
2 bunches of spring onions
4 cremini mushrooms to fill our Sunday brunch omelets along with a few leaves of spinach
lacinato kale
deglet noor dates for our homemade granola
9 satsuma tangerines - so sweet and juicy that Larry loves them in his lunch every day
1 large and 4 small plain St. Benoit yogurts
1 bunch asparagus
5 grapefruit and 2 pomelos ($1 each, I can't resist)
4 pink lady apples
broccoli
At Finley farms I picked up a bag of bloomsbury spinach and a container of strawberries. They're not the gorgeous sweet berries of June, but they'll add color to our morning fruit, and I'll use a couple to decorate our brunch plates. While I was paying I noticed a box of small artichokes - small enough we can eat the whole thing - so I grabbed four - I want to try grilling them.
15 oranges for our Sunday morning juice
2 avocadoes
2 bartlett pears
10 small red potatoes
I stopped at the Flora Bella stand and filled my bag with a bunch of tender young rutabagas with greens, a bunch of baby turnips with greens, and 2 bunches of large red radishes that I really wanted for the greens. I'll make radish green soup this week. Another customer asked for the greens to be removed from his radishes, so I offered to take them. Never turn down free greens. I also bought a bunch of wild arugula to stir into rice or millet for a quick side dish.

Too much regulation

We stopped at the St. Benoit yogurt stand on Sunday to get our weekly plain yogurt fix.

This is not just any yogurt. It is made from the milk of grass-fed jersey cows in Sonoma County. There really is nothing like it.

We are not the only fans. The demand has grown so much that the company is expanding, beyond the state even.

Which, of course, means extra attention from federal and state food inspectors. These are the people who don't want you eating poisoned food. Good, I say, I don't want to eat poisoned food either.

Unfortunately, they focus on the small food producers, not big agribusiness.

St. Benoit has had to switch from hand-filling their ceramic yogurt containers to mechanically filling glass containers and then applying a glue-sealed metal lid. The old lids were foil, scrunched on like you would applying aluminum foil to the top of a jar, and then shrink wrapped in a plastic band. Not any more. Now it's all high tech.

The idea is that mechanization is cleaner and healthier than when people are involved.

My main aggravation with this is that the old yogurt containers were re-usable. We returned them each week. The new ones are recyclable - we have to dispose of them in our recycling bins. Environmentalism 101 knows that re-use is better for the environment than re-cycle.

This decree is part of an ongoing program to regulate small producers so they don't put dangerous germs into our food.

There was an article in the LA Times last week about inspectors visiting small organic farmers and telling them they couldn't make their own fertilizers (fear of animal manure contaminating vegetables) or use water from their own creeks (fear of toxins?).

Instead they need to buy fertilizer and water from accredited (big business?) sources.

This is so aggravating. Almost all food poisoning outbreaks are from big food companies or big food distribution companies. Not small farms where the owners eat the food they produce, and are therefore very conscious of the products and procedures they use.

I think the health hazards to worry about are the chemicals that land on our food from the air (what is in that smog?), the ground water (fortunately we don't have fracking near us, do our farmers?), and the tap water used when there is not enough natural water to go around.

But do you see inspectors going after the companies that pollute the air, ground and water? No, of course not. There's no political will for that.

So the small farmers get harassed, and the big companies pollute our planet unimpeded.

What can we do, except continue to support the little guy with our food dollars. And keep all our food dollars away from big agribusiness which doesn't need our support because it gets more than enough from the government.

Sunday Shopping

This morning I once again went to the Hollywood Farmers Market without a list.

Instead of sorting the fridge and planning menus, I went outside to check on my buckets. The rain was so welcome this week - I filled three rain barrels from our downspout, and I also put buckets out on the patio. This morning there was 4 inches of water in each bucket (accumulated since Thursday), and I did not want this precious resource to evaporate in the sunshine while I was at the market. So I transferred all the water to two more rain barrels (large plastic trash cans with lids). Most satisfying, if a little strenuous at 7 a.m.

Then it was off to the market. Here's a list of the organic produce we'll be eating this week:
1 bunch asparagus
8 small red potatoes
2 white sweet potatoes
6 cremini mushrooms
6 shallots
1 red onion
4 yellow onions
1 small spaghetti squash
3 bunches of carrots
1 dozen eggs
1 bunch of beets with greens
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch spring onions
6 satsuma tangerines
5 pink lady apples
2 bartlett pears
2 lb raw orange honey from Martinez apiaries
1 large and 4 small plain yogurt from St. Benoit

And Russ sharpened a kitchen knife for us.

Early-morning bucket emptying

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