Week 2

Not sure why the Gator chard is called "Gator", but it sure tasted good. Sauteed with a little vegetable stock, soy sauce and olive oil, it was delicious. Did the spinach the same way, only added a touch of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds at the end.

I switched out the turnips for some micro greens - good sprinkled into anything from salads to a saute.
I must admit, the baby beets are still in the fridge. I have a recipe in mind, but need a run to the store to get all the ingredients.

Paid for the radishes because during the season, the best thing in the world are sliced radishes topping a buttered piece of crusty bread. Some people sprinkle with salt, but I eat mine straight.

Ahh, potatoes. My go to recipe calls for sliced onions, minced garlic and olive oil tossed with the potatoes, cleaned and cut into chunks. Sprinkle salt and pepper and put in a 300 degree oven. Tossing occasionally, after about an hour, turn the temp up to 450 for about 10-15 minutes. The potatoes will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside....yummy....

We Have A Winner

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Bok Choy, Radish and Pea Shoots

I say spaghetti, because that is what I had in the house, but you can use anything from rice to any kind of noodle. Cook whatever you choose as usual.

for the sauce:

1 1/2 cups chicken stock
5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

for the dish:

12 shrimp (you could also use chicken)
bunch baby bok choy
3 or 4 radish
handful of pea shoots
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)
splash of soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped Cilantro


Mix the sauce until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok. When hot, cook shrimp for about a minute, just until they loose their translucent color. Set aside. Add the rest of the oil, cook the garlic for about 20 seconds, add the vegetables, cook about 20 seconds, then add mirin and soy sauce. Cook until boy choy leaves wilt. Add shrimp and sauce. Sprinkle cilantro.

Serve over either the spaghetti or rice. You can keep any unused sauce in fridge.

Week 4 - More Radishes, yay!!!!

First of all, I would like to thank Blogger for wiping out my last post. Apparently I am not the only one who this happened to, and I am sure everyone shares my peeviness at having had my efforts disappear into the lost blogisphere. Now, for today....

Who ever thought I would say that? Yay to radishes, of all things. My mother is probably looking down thinking, "I told you so". Ok, fine, I should have listened. My new favorite snack is cut-up radish on buttered bread. Luckily I get to indulge for another week with another lovely bunch in this week's take.

Asparagus is another favorite. I can't wait to try these beautiful stalks. Perhaps on the grill with a brushing of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar..

The carrots are adorably gorgeous - small, an artistic mix of orange and red. I have to figure out a way to make these without loosing the glorious color - roasted perhaps?

More greens, apples and juice round out the week. Happy eating!!!

What to Eat While the Cat's Away

With Arny away for a few days, I thought I would work my way through the leftovers rather than do what I usually do, which is feed Ariana something semi-healthy and then sit down to my favorite dinner of all time - pretzels and ice cream. To be specific, Rold Gold or Snyders with mocha almond fudge. To be even more specific, the pretzels are the spoon and the ice cream is scooped up, resulting in that most mouth-happy combination of salty and sweet. As an added bonus, by eating the ice cream out of the container, there is absolutely nothing to clean up.

That was pretty much the way I ate before I met my husband. While I could cook, I rarely did. More often than not, I would through a bag of salad into a bowl, open a can of tuna and voila!! Once in awhile I would make pasta, but really, when you live in the city, there are so many things you can just "grab" from a store and by the time I would get home from work, the gym, cocktails with friends, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in front of a stove.

Meeting him was a revelation. First of all, he cooked. Real meals. Complete meals - meat, veggie, carb. kind of meals. All by himself, for himself. Meals that actually tasted good. Now, we usually cook together, him handling the meat and me the rest. It works well, most of the time.

Back to the left overs. I finished the quiche, promising myself to make it again - it was simple. I also made the chopped radish on bread with butter - yummy!!. The creamy butter and sharp radish was a great combination. And yes, a salad of greens with a simple vinaigrette. Tonight I am thinking another salad of shredded beet, carrot and celery - recipe thanks to Laura.

Week Three

Radishes, beets, cress micro greens???? I went right home and got on the Internet to learn how to make something my family might not think tastes like "throw up" (see previous post). These are not things my family is used to and while I signed up for the CSA for the express purpose of expanding my vegetable palate, I did not bother asking the rest of my household if they wanted their palates expanded.

I remember radishes and beets from my childhood. My mother would slice radishes on the iceberg lettuce and I would sneer and eat around the scary looking white circles. Mind you, my mother's version of salad was iceberg lettuce with a canned pear or peach on it, swimming in the fruit syrup. Not to blame her, as that is the only way I would eat it.

Beets were shredded into borscht and I NEVER
WENT
NEAR
IT!!
The soup was served cold with a spoonful of sour cream on top. I would carefully watch my parents eating wondering why they didn't immediately fall on the floor retching at the taste of it.

But I'm grown now and only have that reaction watching someone eating anchovies..

One reason I love Garden of Ideas so much is that they provide recipes and this week's selection for the beets is encouragingly named "The Only Way I Can Get My Husband To Eat Beets". I hope it works on 6 year olds too.

With all the greens, this week I am going to work on my salad dressing making ability, which could definitely use some improving. Somehow I always end up with a dressing that tastes 'not quite there', even when I carefully measure each ingredient. Please feel free to post any of your favorite recipes - I'll try them out and let you know how it turned out.

Wish me luck...