Greens, Greens, Greens

 

Yikes, that's a whole lotta greens goin' on! As excited as I was to start eating fresh vegetables again, this list made me just a little hesitant. With a million things to do and more added every day, I was getting anxious just looking at this list, thinking, "too much green stuff to figure out - what happened to the juice - that was easy, just drink". Luckily, Joe was there with a couple of delicious recipes to make my life just a little easier. 

 

 In a beautiful new cooking space, he whipped up a chive pesto and a sorrel risotto...

The risotto was just amazing - and simple too. That is, if stirring at the stove for about a half and hour doesn't send you running to the phone to order in. For me, it was relaxing. All that stirring meant I was only doing one thing at a time, as opposed to the five that it seemed like I was doing all week.

The recipes can be found on The Garden of Ideas site.

I also used the sorrel in scrambled eggs, just add when the eggs are about half way done, cooking slowly. I love the Asian greens in salad - just a bit adds a real spicy kick to a basic salad. 

Happy cooking!!

The Visitors

The challenge when having house guests is making food that everyone will eat. Last night was a surprising success in that department. The goal was to use as much of my share as possible. I started with the Swiss chard. Never having made it before, I checked on line and in some cookbooks I have. In what is turning out to be a treasure trove of excellent recipes, I found a simple, yet interesting one in Olive Trees and Honey, a collection of vegetarian recipes from Jewish communities around the world. It is called Tunisian Braised Chard. As I was cooking for children, I left out the hot pepper.

2 pounds chard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic - I used the cloves from the fresh head I got last week.
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped. Again, I used the tomatoes from the share.
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Separate chard leaves from the stems. Cut the stems into 1/2 inch pieces and the leaves into 1 inch strips.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, then the garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the card stems, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add the leaves, red pepper if using and tomatoes and saute for 1 minute. Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and salt.

With that done, I started on the pasta. I was planning on using the garlic scape pesto again and it didn't disappoint. Just excellent.

Finally, the fish. I made sole, using a basic onion, garlic, white wine base. Once done, I again tried the sorrel sauce. The sauce turned out more of a pesto consistency, but tasted good.

Everyone enjoyed.

Today our guests saw the Garden of Ideas for themselves. We spent a relaxing couple of hours there, first walking around and then just relaxing on a bench while the kids played in the sandbox, creating an entire ice cream factory out of sand. We went into the gallery there where we ran into Joe. After I told him about the sorrel, he suggested just sauteing it with oil and putting over pasta. Sounds good to me........

"I Like This, I Like All of It",

exclaimed Ariana, of her dinner last night. At the discerning age of 6, for her to eat everything on her plate is a huge accomplishment. We made grilled salmon with a sorrel sauce and sauteed spinach with garlic and lemon along with some rice. And she ate all of it, continuously remarking how much she was enjoying it. "Can we have this on Wednesday"?, she asked. Sure, honey, if you are going to eat like this, I'll make it every night of the week!

Never having used sorrel before, I took a look through The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavorings, one of those books I don't remember buying, but is stacked along side various cookbooks in my kitchen. It certainly came in handy last night and I'm sure it will be a regular reference for me now. Apparently, Sorrel has been around since the pharaohs ruled Egypt and was used to aid digestion. I must say, it is a very pretty herb, with lovely green leaves and deep red stems. Filled with vitamins A and C, and a good source of potassium, it has a very subtle scent that is more evident once cooked.

While my husband grilled the salmon outside, I made the sauce, first sauteing onions, then adding the leaves and a little milk (should have been cream, but I didn't have any), salt and pepper. According to the book, the leaves were supposed to "melt", but when they didn't (may not have cooked it long enough), I just took out my small processor and pureed the mix. Nervous to just spoon it over the fish, just in case it tasted awful and not wanting to ruin a beautiful piece of fish, I put the sauce on the side. There was no need to worry though, because after one taste, we just slathered on top. Rich, creamy, yum! No wonder Sorrel is popular in France as they are experts in good food.

The spinach was a whole different experience from the bags you buy in the grocery store. Instead of thick dark leaves that are slightly tough, these were lighter all around. The color was fresh "just picked", the texture was much softer and the taste, aided by a little garlic, oil and lemon was terrific. Even Ariana couldn't stop eating it!

Perhaps it was just beginners luck, but the meal was a success for all of us. Ariana can't wait to go back to the farm. Knowing the food we ate came from there makes the experience so much more "real" for her. Plus, they have a rockin' sand box!