Yummy Yards CSA Box #10

I spent the week juicing apples, making a birthday cake, and baking cookies for goody bags.  I was so busy we had pizza  5 times!  The party was Saturday, so Sunday night I finally got a chance to cook some of the lovely veggies in the box.  Figured I’d better cook a lot of them, since with (unbearably) gradual entry to school next week I don’t imagine I’ll get much time in the kitchen.  Made a variation on the Indian Greens from a previous post.  Here’s what I did this time:

Mixed Greens, Indian Style, Version 2

• 1 tsp. cumin seed

• 1/2 tsp. black mustard seed

• large chunk of fresh ginger, chopped

• 1/2 tsp. turmeric

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. ground coriander

• 2  onions, chopped

• kale and beet greens, chopped

• squash stems and leaves, peeled (see below)

• 3 bird’s eye peppers, seeds removed, minced

• 6 tomatoes, peeled and quartered

• 1 batch carrot top pesto from last week

• 2 tbsp. dry, unsweetened coconut

• lemon juice

• 1 goodly pinch of sugar

• salt to taste

To prepare the squash greens, peel from the cut ends of the stems, like taking the strings out of celery.  This gets rid of most of the nasty prickles.

Heat oil in pan. Add cumin seed and black mustard seed. When it starts to pop add ginger, turmeric, salt and coriander. Stir in onion and hot peppers. Sauté until translucent, adding a splash of water if it begins to stick. Add chopped greens’ stems.  Sauté 2 or 3 minutes.  Add leaves, tomatoes and carrot top pesto. Cover and steam about 15 minutes. Stir in  coconut, lemon juice to taste and sugar.  Process well with immersion blender.

It turned out very tasty, especially good with a dollop of mango chutney, and we’ll be eating it for the rest of the week.  A welcome change from pizza.  At least for the grown-ups.

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It was the first time I’d juiced apples.  We have a very old tree with good-tasting, but super scabby apples in our back yard.  I don’t even know what kind they are.  They crash to the ground day and night through August and into September.  I still have applesauce from two summers ago, and there’s only so much apple crumble and apple muffins a  person can make, so borrowed a friend’s friend’s juicer and went to town.  I thought I was making the biggest treat for my son, who complains bitterly about the lack of juice in our house.  He almost didn’t try it.  It looked… different.  And had froth on top.  He had one small glass, and that was it.  So, I froze several mason jars full of it, and I’ll enjoy it myself.  As a friend of my son’s exclaimed, “It tastes just like apples!”

Later, I did skim off most of the scum, and even strained the last batch, and ended up with about 3 cups of thick, revolting-looking apple scum (there’s just no other way to describe it)  that I plan to try in a batch of muffins, along with raisins and chai tea spice mix from the Indian spice section of Superstore.

Just ate two Apple Scum Muffins and I declare them a success.  Spicy and fragrant.  Use the Basic Muffin Recipe but for the “2 Cups Whatever Fruit” substitute all the apple scum, one grated apple, a handful of raisins, a handful of chopped walnuts and about 1 Tbsp. dry chai spice.

Next I threw a bunch of carrots into the juicer.  The juice was fine;  mixed it with apple juice and didn’t share any.  Couldn’t bear to throw out the carrot pulp, so will try it in muffins, too.  Will school please start already!!?

Today’s lunch:

Roasted Root Veg with Parmesan Cheese

Peel and cut into bite-sized chunks: kohlrabi, crookneck squash, carrots, green onions.  Toss with a splash of olive oil, a little sea salt.  Shake the pan to distribute evenly, then sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese.  Bake in convection oven at 350 degrees until barely tender.  The cheese will begin to brown, and there will be some yummy crispy bits at the bottom of the pan to fight over.  Kohlrabi is really delicious this way.

As for the cake, I made my same-old-same-old chocolate pound cake recipe from the cookbook that came with my mixer.  It never fails, even when I bake it in a pan that is too small and it takes a full 30 minutes longer than it should.  Dense and rich, iced with vanilla butter cream and decorated with bullets shooting the cake.  Yes, bullets.  The party theme was “Shooting”.  How far I’ve strayed from my pre-children parenting ideals.  And how unbearable I must have been…

Note: I highly recommend Laser Dome Plus in North Vancouver for birthday parties for very active children.  It was clean and friendly and not at all smelly or dark where it counted.  They supplied everything but the cake, fruit and goody bags.  I didn’t need to pack or worry about: Pizza, drinks, bowls for the chips and fruit, cutlery, a good cake-cutting knife, a cheerful, bright party room, plates, cups, matches, etc.  Nathan, our party guide, was friendly and efficient: he set up the party room before we arrived, got the kids ready to play, corralled the gifts, took photos, served the pizza and drinks, cut the cake, cleaned up the mess. He even wanted to carry the cake to the birthday boy and lead the singing!  But that is one of the perks of being a mother that I’ll never give up!

A110-2455 Dollarton Highway, North Vancouver

604 – 985 – 6033

Yummy Yards Box #8

The Mission: to create a delicious dish out of Brussels sprout greens.

Level of Difficulty: nigh on impossible.

Probability of Success: unlikely.

There’s gotta be something I can make out of those darn, huge leaves that won’t seem like drudgery to eat!  I refuse to dislike a vegetable!

Searched around on the internet for inspiration, and stumbled upon a tasty-looking recipe: Indian spiced greens recipe – Recipes – BBC Good Food.

Made a few changes and here is what I came up with:

Brussels Sprout Leaves and Kale, Indian Style

• 1 tsp. cumin seed
• 1/2 tsp. black mustard seed
• large chunk of fresh ginger, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 onion, chopped
• Brussels sprout leaves and kale, chopped
• 1 or 2 roasted jalapeno peppers
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp. dry, unsweetened coconut
• lemon juice
• 1 goodly pinch of sugar

Heat oil in pan.  Add cumin seed and black mustard seed.  When it starts to pop add ginger, turmeric, salt and coriander.  Stir in onion and hot peppers.  Sauté until translucent, adding a splash of water if it begins to stick.  Add chopped Brussels sprout leaves, kale and about 1/4 cup water.  Cover and steam about 15 minutes.  Stir in cilantro, coconut, lemon juice to taste and sugar.  Coarsely process with immersion blender.

Mission Results: 100% delicious.  A complete success.  More Brussels sprout greens, please! 

Actually, I couldn’t stop “tasting” it from the pan.  My son accused me of trying to trick him into eating greens, “You can stop pretending to like it, Mom.  I’m NOT trying it!”  Too bad for him, and all the more for me.

Which just goes to show, I suppose, that vegetables are like dogs: there are no bad ones; only bad owners.

Rest of the box: made some more salsa verde with the onion, garlic, tomatillos and fresh chiles Emi thoughtfully substituted for this week’s turnips.  Will cook the beet greens tomorrow night  in olive oil and toss in some sea salt and a splash of vinegar.  (Why mess with perfection?)  The beets themselves are cooked and waiting to be peeled.  Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow.  I’m not even going to share the beets.  Anyone who says they taste like dirt doesn’t deserve them.  And for dessert, fresh plums and blackberries and maybe a little pear sauce on vanilla ice-cream.

That was easy…

Yummy Yards CSA Box #5

Holy moly! I had no idea collard leaves were so big!

Had a rare hankering for Glico curry, so I used all the chopped collards with the broccoli and some mushrooms. Happened to have two packages of firm tofu in the freezer. Let them partially thaw, then pressed them with a cast iron pan full of heavy containers on a sloped cutting board. Cubed the tofu and added it near the end with some broccoli. I think the collards cooked for about 45 minutes. They were just right, soft but still a bit of a bite. Served it on rice. Plenty of left-overs.  Should do me until my next craving, about 10 years from now.

Made a honey-mustard wilted coleslaw with the cabbage, broccoli stems and tarragon, along with a few lonely carrots from the fridge and some chives I rescued from the garden of a house that was about to be demolished. It made a huge amount and it was a big hit with one friend who had 5 helpings of it.  Even still, I think I’ll be eating it all week, probably longer. Shred the cabbage, broccoli stems, and a few carrots. Add some chopped chives and fresh tarragon. In a pot heat up about 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard. Add about 3/4 cup oil. Pour over the veg to wilt it. Add salt. Note to self: a whole head of cabbage makes TOO MUCH coleslaw!

What a lovely yellow zucchini. Normally, when zucchinis are coming out the ying-yang, I like to stuff and bake them, but since there was only one, I cut it into chunks and tossed with some baby zucchini from my own garden, a hunk of feta cheese, a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a handful of panko crumbs. It looked a little paltry, so I also threw in some celery to fill it out. Baked at 350 for about 40 minutes. Just a good, simple side dish that looks good, tastes good, yet won’t compete with the main event.

Made yet more kale chips. Here are some before and after pictures to show how much the kale shrinks. Actually, the pan was too crowded, and some of the kale was not quite crispy when the rest was done. Best to not let it overlap at all.

As for the lambs quarters and snap peas, I can’t  imagine they could be any tastier than simply sautéed in a wee bit of olive oil with sea salt and garlic. Maybe tomorrow, with a nice big salad and ginger jam jar dressing: take a nearly empty jar of ginger jam (something I’ve always got on the go), add rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper. Shake to free all the bits stuck to the side of the jar. Makes a very yummy salad dressing.