image courtesy epicurious.com*
As it turns out, I make a salad. A quite delightful one, at that.
In our first week with the CSA, we got a delivery that included all the vegetable ingredients for this salad - asparagus, fava beans, and salad greens. We didn't have the pecorino cheese that the recipe called for, but I made do with a hunk of parmigiano reggiano. The salad itself was pretty simple - the veggies were tossed in olive oil with a little salt and pepper (is there anything in the world that isn't delicious with just EVOO, salt and pepper?), cheese shaved on top, and doused liberally with balsamic vinegar - but it was light, flavorful, and unexpectedly filling. Definitely a thumbs up.
I'd never encountered fava beans before, and after reading up on how to prepare them I thought it would be a pain - most recipes require you to shell the beans, steam or blanch the beans, and then peel off the outside layer to get the good stuff inside. And, okay, it *is* kind of a pain, but my husband and I were already sitting in front of the TV watching the Red Sox game, so it's not like we had anything better to do than shell and peel fava beans. It went quickly between the two of us, anyway.
I was also a little wary of the raw asparagus in the salad, but boy was I wrong. It was fabulous! I don't know if it was the raw-ness (the tips were blanched, but that was it) or their farm fresh-ness, but it was definitely the best asparagus I've had in a long time. Maybe even ever.
All in all, tonight served to remind me exactly what I love about being part of a CSA: discovering new recipes through having to cook with foods I'd never grab in the supermarket, and the joy of getting those foods super fresh and at peak season (I didn't even mention the fantastic strawberries and CHERRIES!). Plus I get to feel all self-righteous about supporting the local economy and sustainable organic agriculture! Hee.
Next up: What to do with a couple pounds of sugar snap peas?
*my photo skills just can't compare... and our salad was much bigger and messier, anyway!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
What the hell do I do with fava beans?
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Taco Soup
I love eating a nice hot bowl of soup or chili when it's cold outside but I'd never made it myself before.
I found this recipe for Taco Soup on The Food Network's web site.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef (I used about 1.5 lbs ground turkey instead and it worked out well)
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles (I used Ro*Tel)
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish
To make the soup:
-Brown the meat and onions in a large skillet. Ground beef will yield it's own oils and fats for cooking but if you are using turkey as I did, you'll want to add some oil to the pan.
-drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. I don't have a slow cooker so I cooked mine in a big stockpot on the stove.
-Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.
-To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.
This makes what I would best describe as a Mexican chili. It's got the thickness of a chili and the meat and beans made me feel like I was eating chili, especially since I topped it with my favorite chili toppings: cheddar and sour cream. The choice of beans, corn, and spices give it a taco-like taste though. The corn chips on the bottom of the bowl were the best part of the soup. It added a great flavor to the soup. It was delicious.
This makes a HUGE amount of soup. I wouldn't necessarily recommend making less though because most of the ingredients are a whole can. Unless you are making another recipe soon using all the same ingredients, it's not worth it to waste the food. It does freeze well though. I ended up freezing quite a bit of it and eating it over the next few weeks.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Vaguely Mexican Casserole
My husband was feeling creative in the kitchen last night (that sounds a little dirty, doesn't it?) and suggested this funky casserole/one-dish meal. Apparently, it's based on something that was served for lunch last week in the high school he teaches at. Here's what went into it:
2/3 c. rice
1 1/3 c. water
1 can red kidney beans
4-5 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 red bell pepper (green, yellow or orange would work too), diced small
1 large can corn
pinch chili powder
2 chicken thighs worth of cooked, shredded chicken meat
a healthy tsp+ garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
2-3 heavy pinches salt
a couple grinds of black pepper (1/2 tsp.)
shredded cheddar/jack cheese
In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the rice and turn heat to low, cook covered until most of the water has been absorbed (about 5 minutes). Turn the heat up to medium, add kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices to taste - since we were kind of making this one up on the fly, I'm not sure exactly how much of what spices went into the pan - a lot of salt and garlic powder, for sure. Cook together on medium heat until the tomatoes start to fall apart and the pepper gets softer.
Add the cooked shredded chicken (we had cooked two chicken thighs the night before, but you could use cooked breast meat instead - I think you can purchase this in the grocery store now), bell pepper and corn, mix together and cook over medium heat until the chicken has warmed through and everything looks about done. If you prefer your bell pepper a little softer, add it earlier, with the tomatoes.
Test the spicing one last time and add anything that seems to be missing. Spoon onto plates top with some shredded cheese, and enjoy! This made about 4 dinner-sized servings.
---- Apologies for the messiness of this recipe, but we definitely were making it up as we went along. All in all it turned out really well - so much so, in fact, that we ate the leftovers for dinner the NEXT NIGHT, which is unusual and definitely a stamp of approval. It was surprisingly creamy, I'm guessing because the beans and rice broke down a bit, and the corn and bell pepper added some interesting texture. Plus, by my calculations, this dish is INCREDIBLY healthy: lots of fiber, decent amount of protein (between the beans and the chicken), and low fat (just the cheese, pretty much). And so colorful, too!
I'd be curious to see how other people like it...
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Superfast "Cuban" dinner
It's been too hot to do much cooking lately, but this is one dish we have all the time that doesn't take too much effort or slaving over a hot stove. No, it's not fancy, but it is tasty and filling.
The components are pretty simple - one can of Trader Joe's Cuban Style Black Beans (you could use any type of black beans, or, if you want to work a little harder, make your own), rice, and pan-fried bananas with a little brown sugar and cinnamon.
Start with the rice. Bring 1/2 c. rice and 1 c. water to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer 10-30 minutes (depending on the type of rice) until the water has been absorbed and the rice is fluffy. While the rice is cooking, heat up the beans, either in a saucepan or, even easier, in the microwave.
To make the bananas, melt about 1 Tbsp. butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Slice up two bananas, first cut in half, then cut each half lengthwise. [I find it easiest to keep the bananas whole if you leave the peel on, then remove it after the bananas have been sliced.] Fry the bananas in the butter, about 3-5 minutes each side, until golden brown spots appear and the banana is a little soft. Be careful when flipping the bananas as they will be a bit mushy - use a firm spatula (not tongs!) and just tip the banana slice upside down.
Transfer the bananas to your serving plate and sprinkle with [These bananas would also be great for dessert, with vanilla ice cream or something similar] Serve the beans over the rice (or mixed with the rice) with the bananas on the side.
