Roast Cauliflower

"Cauliflower steaks" seem to be popular at the moment, so when I saw organic cauliflower at the Hollywood Farmers Market, I picked one up to make into "steaks".

I used the oven-roasting technique Marie Simmons describes in her book Fresh & Fast Vegetarian. It's still cool in the evening these days, so turning on the oven felt good.

The "steaks" are actually thick slices of cauliflower. This only works in the center section of the cauliflower. The outer florets fell off and got put back in the fridge to be steamed another day as a side dish.

Roasting the cauliflower until tender, then seasoning with lemon juice and mint from the garden, made for a really delicious side dish. I served it along with roast asparagus alongside a dish of millet and arugula. Vegetables are great!

Roast Cauliflower
1 medium cauliflower (about 1 lb)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1/2 lemon

Place a cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to 450°F for 10 minutes.

Rinse the cauliflower and place it, stem side down, on a cutting board. Cut straight down into 1/2 inch slices. The edges will probably crumble into florets. That's okay - save them for another dish. I got three good steaks out of my cauliflower. Brush the steaks on each side with olive oil.

Remove the hot cookie sheet from the oven and place the cauliflower steaks on it. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast until the cauliflower is getting golden on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Turn it over carefully using a wide spatula, and bake another 10 minutes until golden on the other side and tender.

Put the cauliflower on a serving dish. Sprinkle with mint and lemon juice.

Serves 2-3

Sunday Shopping

The spring sunlight slanted through the Hollywood Farmers Market at 8 a.m.. The produce glowed and beckoned. This is what we brought home:

snap peas and slender carrots from Finley Farms
4 pink lady apples and a dozen eggs from Ha's Apple Farm
5 small containers of plain St. Benoit yogurt
3 limes, 1 pomelo, 3 tangelos, 4 grapefruit and 1 haas avocado from Jorge
1 bunch of radishes from Flora Bella
a kabocha squash, parsley, 2 onions and 1 sweet potato rounded out the load

Russ sharpened two knives for me while we shopped

Greens and Rice

There is nothing better than looking in the fridge and seeing a container of cooked brown rice. Stirred up with some greens, it makes an easy dish for dinner.

The other day I cooked up a bunch of purple mustard greens along with the greens from a bunch of red radishes, then stirred in some cooked brown rice to dampen the heat a little.

It's a simple technique that can work for any cooked grain and any greens you have in your fridge.

Greens and Rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 bunch purple mustard greens
greens from 1 bunch red radishes
2 cups cooked brown rice

Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes.

Wash the greens and cut into one-inch strips. Add to the pan, sprinkle on some salt, stir well and cover the pan. Let cook 5-10 minutes until the greens are soft and tender. (The time will depend on the type of green you are using.) Stir in the brown rice, cover and cook until the rice is hot and the flavors are blended.

Season with salt and pepper, lemon juice or hot sauce to taste.

Serves 2-3

Poached Eggs

One of my goals for 2014 was to learn to poach eggs.

I've tried a few times over the years - swirling the simmering water in a pan, adding a splash of vinegar to keep the egg intact, gently sliding in the egg - but I always ended up losing half the eggwhite in the water.

However, I was determined to master this technique because I really enjoy poached eggs. I often order them when we eat breakfast out, and I was aggravated that I couldn't eat them at home.

Then I found these nifty little egg poachers. They're ceramic non-stick dishes that keep the eggs intact while they cook in the water. I suppose technically the eggs are steamed, not poached, but the result is close enough for me.

First I butter the little pods, then crack in the eggs, I place them in a skillet of simmering water and cover with a lid. I check the eggs after 5 minutes - trying to remember that the whites will continue cooking after the eggs are removed from the pan.

We've enjoyed these poached eggs on toast, on cooked greens, on a bowl of rice, and on roasted root vegetables.

Very satisfying. I'll check that goal off my list.

Sunday Shopping

Vegetables, tulips and seedlings of peppers and tomatoes.

Spring has sprung at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Snap peas, asparagus, and more greens than I can name: It was tough to limit myself at the market today.

Larry would say I didn't - many pounds of produce came home with us. This is what we bought:

From Finley Farms I bought excellent heirloom spinach (to be used this week in stir-fries and salads), snap peas, tiny zucchinis and slender carrots (excellent for the lunch box) and 3 fennel bulbs.

Ha's Apple Farm had fragrant Pink Lady apples - I bought seven along with a dozen eggs (the picture at his stall of the hens eating their vegetables is priceless - we need to remember that chickens eat greens, not just corn, and that the more greens they eat the better the eggs are for our bodies). And Mr. Ha gave me an Easter gift of a bunch of lilacs that remind me of spring (May/June) in Montreal where they grow in hedges of scented purpleness. Our garden doesn't get enough chill for lilacs - Ha's farm is in the mountains where they get the chill they need to flourish. The bunch is on our hall table - sweetly scenting our whole house.

From Jared we bought a red onion, a yellow onion and 2 potatoes.

From Jorge we bought 16 oranges which made the most delicious juice ever for our brunch, 2 pomelos (including a really gnarly one which should provide me many ripe seeds for my future pomelo plantation) and 3 grapefruit for our breakfasts this week.

We bought 5 organic tangerines for Larry's lunches this week.

From Flora Bella in Three Rivers we bought beautiful bunches of chard and purple mustard greens.

South Central Farmers Cooperative had enormous bunches of curly kale that Larry had a hard time fitting into our cloth bags.

Two bunches of asparagus from Lompoc, a cabbage and small cauliflower, and a bunch of radishes rounded out the produce.

We also bought pistachios and walnuts. The walnuts are from a farm in Santa Rosa that has been growing walnuts since the 1800s. You might have heard we're in a drought. The biggest water consumers (farm-wise) are almond farmers - many of which have recently planted trees hoping to sell their nuts overseas for big bucks. Young trees are water hogs. Older ones have sent their roots deep into the earth and can handle drought better. So I try to buy nuts from old established orchards. I'm not sure about our pistachio supplier though. This eco-responsible thing is tough.

(Did you know residential - indoor and landscape - water use accounts for less than 10% of the water used in California?)

We also bought a loaf of bread so we could have toast under our Easter brunch poached eggs. And hot cross buns. Not healthy, but delicious.

And Russ sharpened three pairs of scissors for us while we shopped.

It was a good day at the Hollywood Farmers Market.

Watercress and Avocado Sandwich

I placed the chicken wire over the pot to
keep the squirrels from digging up the earth.

Our watercress is growing well on the patio. It wilted in the recent ridiculously hot weather, but it bounced back with cooler (70s) weather.

I picked some spicy sprigs the other day and added them to a sandwich with an excellent avocado on Alvarado St. sprouted wheat bread.

There's nothing like fresh-picked greens to make a meal special.

But even if you have to buy your watercress at the market, you can have a delicious sandwich. (Although I recommend sprinkling some seeds on a pot of earth and seeing what you can grow.)

Before the top piece of bread is added.

Watercress and Avocado Sandwich

whole grain bread
avocado
watercress
lime
salt and pepper

Peel and slice the avocado. Put slices on one piece of bread. Squeeze lime juice over it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Mash a couple of slices on another piece of bread. Place watercress over the mashed avocado.

Put the two pieces on top of each other. Enjoy.

Five Years!

It was five years today that I published my first post on this blog. Amazing. It doesn't feel like I've been writing for that long, but it also feels like I've been doing it forever.

I celebrated by giving a talk at the Natural Agriculture Conference at the Shumei Center in Pasadena. My topic was Food: an Appreciation. I talked about food and life force - two of my favorite topics!

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful array of produce I took with me. But if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know how great it looked.

Celery Salad

The other night I wanted a crisp crunchy side dish to go with a buckwheat casserole, and this celery salad fit the bill beautifully.

Best of all, the leftovers were excellent for lunch the next day. I love a recipe that goes above and beyond.

I combined the celery with a tart Granny Smith apple, then tossed it in a full-flavored honey mustard vinaigrette. Some toasted walnuts rounded out the dish.

It's a good winter salad. Just remember that celery is a heavily-pesticided vegetable, so only eat it if it's certified organic.

Celery Salad
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
1/3 cup olive oil
6 large stalks celery
1 granny smith apple
1/3 cup walnuts

Whisk together lemon juice, mustard and honey. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Set aside.

Wash celery. Separate stems from leaves. Slice the stems in long thin diagonal slices. Mince leaves to make about half a cup. Cut apple in quarters, remove the cores, then slice crosswise into thin triangular pieces.

Toast the walnuts over medium heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Chop coarsely.

Combine the celery stems and leaves, apple and walnuts. Toss with dressing to taste. Serve extra dressing on the side.

Serves 3-4

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

It's been warm in southern California, but it's still winter, which is brassica season. I remember a Montreal winter where I ate broccoli until it was coming out of my ears - but that's another story.

I have recovered from broccoli overdose, and now look forward to adding it to our dinner table. Broccoli, along with the other brassicas, are essential for colon and breast health. Eat them regularly.

This salad makes it easy, because not only does it contain both broccoli and cauliflower, but it lasts well for a few days in the fridge, making it possible to eat a lot of in a week.

We first ate it as a crunchy side with a dinner of chili and rice, and then as a simple salad with the next few meals.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried crushed chiles
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red onion, halved and slivered
6 cups broccoli florets
6 cups cauliflower florets

Warm oil and chilies in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until the oil begins to bubble around the edges, about 1 minute. Pour into large bowl and cool to lukewarm. Then whisk in the vinegar and garlic. Stir in the onion and let sit at least one hour, tossing occasionally.

Steam the broccoli and cauliflower until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well and add to the large bowl of dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4-6

Sunday Shopping

Today I started preparing for the talk I'll be giving at the Natural Agriculture Conference  n Pasadena on Sunday, Feb. 15th. I'll be talking about my favorite topics: food and life force. And I'll be taking props: squash, beans and greens. Today at the Hollywood Farmers Market I started stockpiling squash. (I love an excuse to buy beautiful squashes!)

Here's what we came home with today: 1 red onion, 5 blood oranges, 2 onions, broccoli, carrots, 3 tangelos, cilantro, cheddar, 3 bartlett pears, 1 red butter lettuce, cremini mushrooms, blueberries, 1 pomelo cauliflower, red sails lettuce, 1 arkansas black apple, 2 red delicious apples, 1 cameo apple, 1 butternut squash, 5 golden nugget tangerines, 1 murcott mandarin, 1 cara cara navel orange, 2 delicata squash, 1 spaghetti squash, 1 japanese heirloom pumpkin, 1 kabocha squash, 1 small banana squash, 1 moroccan squash, 16 valencia oranges, 1 red russian kale

Broccoli Tofu Stir-Fry

Sometimes a speedy dinner is called for, so I turn to tofu and vegetables for a simple meal that goes well with brown rice or can even be eaten alone if I'm really pressed for time.

I've been making this tofu stir-fry for years. I vary the proportions based on what's in the fridge - sometimes carrots or red peppers get thrown in. Sometimes I use curry paste in place of the curry powder. It's always been good.

I thicken the sauce with cornstarch. Make sure to get organic (or at least non-gmo) cornstarch. Rapunzel is a brand that is commonly available at health food stores. I have made this with arrowroot in place of cornstarch - if you try this, make sure not to boil the liquid after adding the arrowroot or it breaks down and won't thicken again.

Broccoli Tofu Stir-Fry
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced across and rings separated
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cups broccoli florets
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp chopped or grated ginger root
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 lb firm tofu, diced
16 cherry tomatoes, halved

Warm oil in heavy skillet. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the mushrooms and broccoli and cook about 3 minutes.

Sprinkle in the curry powder and ginger root. Pour the 1/2 cup water over, stir well, cover and bring to a boil. Let cook until the broccoli is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.

In a small cup, stir together the tamari, cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Add to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the tofu. Cover and warm through. Add the cherry tomatoes, toss well and serve.

Serves 4

Colorful Citrus

Orange, tangerine and blood orange

I am amazed at the varieties of citrus available at the Hollywood Farmers Market in the winter. We eat grapefruit and pomelo for breakfast, juice oranges and tangelos for Sunday brunch, take tangerines in our lunches, and still there are more citrus to try.

I served this little citrus fruit plate with breakfast the other day. The colors alone made the morning cheerful.

It's important to eat some of the pith along with the pulp of the citrus - the pith has the bioflavanoids which help our bodies make better use of the Vitamin C. This is one reason why juicing is of less benefit than actually eating the fruit.

I cut the ends off the citrus fruit, then stand it on one end on my chopping board. I slice down around it, cutting off most of the bitter pith but leaving some of it. Then I cut the fruit in half down the middle, and slice each half into wedges or circles.

It's like creating a beautiful art piece every morning. 

Warm Quinoa Salad

I'm really enjoying black quinoa. I don't notice a difference in its flavor, but I love the color on a plate. Unfortunately, it is not photogenic, at least not for someone with my limited skills. Don't let this picture turn you off - this is a delicious dish.

It has Asian flavors of tamari (soy sauce), rice vinegar and roasted sesame oil. They completely mask the flavor of the quinoa, and make a yummy dish. I served it with fried tofu and sautéed Red Russian kale for a delicious high-protein dinner.

Larry says this was the best quinoa dish I've ever made. High recommendation - try it soon!

Warm Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup pinto beans
3/4 cup black quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamari
3 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Asian (roasted) sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
1 scallion, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 tbsp almonds, toaste and chopped

Cook pinto beans in plenty of simmering water until tender, about one hour. Drain and set aside. (Can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.)

Rinse quinoa twice in hot water and once in cold to thoroughly remove the bitter saponins. Toast in a skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.

Stir in water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and simmer over low heat until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root and scallion.

Put quinoa in a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Sprinkle with almonds, and serve.

Serves 2-3

Choosing Citrus

Every week for almost a decade I've been buying citrus from Jorge at the Hollywood Farmers Market. With his tutoring I'm getting pretty good at picking out the best fruit.

Today he had the first pomelos of the season. The first pick is always a little tart, but I dug in his crate and found one which looked a little brown and battered - these tend to be the sweetest.

Then I moved on to his crates of grapefruit. The fruit was firm and boldly colored. I asked if he had any old grapefruits left - the heavy wrinkled ones which are so sweet and full of flavor. He said another customer had got there before me and hunted out the old ones. I was lucky to find a few he'd missed. I bought some of the newer ones as well, but they will be a little tart.

Tangelos

This is one of the things I've learned about citrus - older is better. Not older as in sitting on a shelf for a few weeks, but older as in left on the tree longer to get sweeter and riper. Dry weather during the final ripening is good too, because it intensifies the sweetness. The more patient the farmer, the better the citrus. At home, the oranges on our tree look beautiful, but I don't think they'll be really sweet until March. We also have 11 precious tangelos on an ultra-dwarf tree and I'm reluctant to sacrifice one to see if they're ripe. Jorge suggested I wait until March, which I will unless the squirrel makes off with one, like he did our tangerines.

I had been leaving the tangerines on our little tree to ripen further, but the squirrel started eating them. We do not have enough to share! So I picked the lot and found they were fabulous - sweet and juicy, best tangerines ever. Next year I'll know to sample the first one at Christmas - hopefully before the squirrel thinks of it.

So the moral is, with citrus fruits look for heavy fruit that is slightly battered, maybe even wrinkled. And don't buy them the first week they show up at the market. Tangerines from one stall were tart in mid-December, but this week they were sweet and juicy. Extra time on the trees made all the difference.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

There is nothing like roasting to bring out the inherent sweet goodness of winter vegetables.

The other night I served winter squash slices baked with cumin and chiles (you can see my recipe here), alongside roasted carrots and turnips. Yum.

Roasted Carrots and Turnips
3 turnips
3 carrots
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel the turnips if necessary and cut into 1/2 inch thick circles.

Peel the carrots and cut off the stem end. Cut them in half lengthwise and then into 2-inch lengths.

Put the vegetables in a roasting pan and toss with the olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.

Roast in the oven, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender, about 30-40 minutes.

Serves 2-3

Garlicky Rutabaga Greens and Roots

 This week I ate rutabaga greens for the first time. And they were pretty darned good - slightly sweet, thickish texture similar to collard greens, with a little mustardy kick like a turnip green.

The greens came attached to tiny little rutabaga roots which I peeled and boiled, then tossed in garlic butter. I served them over the greens for a yummy little vegetable dish.

If you are lucky enough to find small rutabagas with greens attached (Flora Bella at the Hollywood Farmers Market has been selling them), give this a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Garlicky Rutabaga Greens and Roots

2 bunches rutabagas with small roots and big greens

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, divided use

1 tbsp butter

Rutabaga greens at the start of cooking.

Cut the greens from the roots. Peel the roots and cut into pieces about 1 1/2 inches in size. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to the boil, add the roots and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the stems from the bottom of the rutabaga leaves and discard. Wash the leaves and chop coarsely. Warm the oil in a large skillet. Stir in 1 clove chopped garlic. Add the greens, stir to coat, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover and let cook down until tender, about 5 minutes.

Melt the butter in a small pan, and cook 1 clove chopped garlic until fragrant. Add the cooked rutabaga roots and toss to coat in the garlic butter.

Put the greens on a serving dish and place the roots on top, scraping all the garlic butter from the pan onto the roots and greens.

Serves 2-3

Spritely Winter Salad

Winter is the season for the more vigorous salad greens - watercress, radicchio, curly endive, cabbages, kale, nasturtium leaves - all of these are great additions to the salad bowl, and are more often found at the farmers markets in winter than summer when the heat causes them to wilt and become bitter (or dead).

I picked some watercress from a pot on the patio and some marjoram from the garden to decorate this salad we ate last night. The dressing is a vigorous combination of citrus juice, capers and oregano, so the greens need to be perky to stand up to it. I used radicchio and frisée on a bed of butter lettuce. Olives and pomegranates are an unusual combination, but added to the fun.

We enjoyed this colorful and zesty salad with a main course of leftover lentil stew and brown rice. It really perked up the meal.

Spritely Winter Salad
2 tbsp orange juice (from 1/2 an orange)
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp chopped drained capers
1/4 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or a sprinkle of dried)
2-3 cups mixed greens
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
4 cured black olives, pitted and sliced

Whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, capers and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but remember the olives will add salt to the salad.

Toss together (or decoratively plate) the greens, pomegranate and olives. Toss with the vinaigrette and serve.

Serves 2

Garlicky Chickpeas and Spinach

I took this picture before the spinach had fully
cooked down.

This is one of those recipes that is too easy to write down, but too good not to try.

The longest step is cooking the chickpeas, and I supposed you could skip that part and just use the canned variety.

But really, this recipe is as good as the sum of its parts. So it's worth taking the time to buy really good dried organic chickpeas and then simmer them until they are cooked but still have a little bite. Then sauté them with garlic and excellent spinach, and you have a feast.

Garlicky Chickpeas and Spinach
2/3 cup chickpeas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 tsp crushed red chiles
14 oz spinach
1/2 tsp salt

Pick over the chickpeas, removing any stones or broken beans. Rinse them well, then put them in a large pot and add water to cover by at least two inches. Bring them to a boil, cover, and simmer gently until they are tender. This can take 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the age of your beans. Remember to check them regularly during cooking, and add boiling water from the kettle as needed to make sure they always have at least an inch of water covering them. When they are tender but not mushy, drain them and set aside.

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and let it warm until fragrant. Add the chile flakes and cook 15 seconds. Stir in the chickpeas and coat them with the fragrant oil. Let them get hot, stirring for about 2 minutes, then increase the heat to high and add the spinach and salt. Stir until the spinach wilts, 2-3 minutes.

Serve immediately as a main course or as a vegetable side.

Serves 4. Makes great leftovers.

Curried Lentil Stew

Lentils make quick and easy highly nutritious dinners. The other night I cooked up some green lentils and sweet potatoes with a little curry powder, and then stirred in some spinach at the end.

I served the resulting stew with brown rice for a meal full of protein, fiber and minerals. Plus it tasted really good.

Curried Lentil Stew
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 heaping tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
2 cups green lentils
28-oz can whole tomatoes
1 1/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz spinach, washed, large stems removed

Warm the oil in a large pot. Peel and chop the onion and add it to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the ginger root, garlic and curry powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add 2 cups water, the lentils, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally and break down the tomatoes.

Stir in the spinach and cook until it's heated through and wilted.

Serve over brown rice.

Serves 6-8

Rutabagas!

I have been bemoaning the lack of organic rutabagas and parsnips at the Hollywood Farmers Market this winter, so imagine my excitement when I saw a large pile of rutabagas nestled next to the turnips at the Flora Bella stand this morning.

The roots were young and tender, and the greens were attached. I enthusiastically bought three bunches.

The larger roots will be mashed with potatoes for Bashed Neeps, medium-sized ones will go into a dish of Roasted Root Vegetables, and the smallest will be steamed, tossed in garlic butter, and served on their own wilted greens (in the same way I serve baby kohlrabi).

This will be a good week of rutabaga eating. Now if only someone would sell organic parsnips.