Smoothie #6

Today's snack smoothie to take a break from chores. Very orange, a nice mix of sweetness with earthy tones and tanginess.

Smoothie #6
1 mango, peeled, cut in chunks
1 carrot, peeled, cut in chunks
250 mL unsweetened almond milk
250 mL cranberry/pomegranate juice

Put mango and carrot chunks into blender with liquids. Blend until carrot is fully incorporated.

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What else can we do with mustard greens?

I brought some mustard greens home from the supermarket last week in the hopes of making something with them myself instead of only relying on the packaged pickled mustard greens I like to get at the Asian grocery and serve on white rice.

The ideas tried so far:
1. sauteed mustard greens with turkey kielbasa slices and onions, served over leftover colcannon
2. more mustard greens and the kielbasa/greens leftovers in a curried potato soup
3. raw mustard greens on sandwich of corned beef on rye
4. bell pepper, zucchini and shredded mustard greens stir fry with sweet soy sauce and fresh ginger

All these applications of mustard greens were delicious, and my husband was downright shocked at the difference in spiciness between the very mild and limp cooked greens and the raw greens on his sandwich, which were as peppery as nasturtiums.

In five minutes of poking around on the Internet, I've found recipes that treat the mustard green much like greens of other sorts:
1. just like collard greens with pot liquor
2. just like sauteed kale with garlic and chile flakes
3. just like bok choy, stir-fried and braised and served with soy sauce and sesame oil
4. as part of a mixed salad, especially baby greens

With their frilly edges and bright, spring-green color, the mustard greens available here are just begging me to use them more often with less cooking time. Perhaps blanched and simply dressed as a wilted salad, or tossed into a pot of beans at the last minute so they don't lose their peppery bite.

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Creating again in time for St. Pat's Day

I've had a short hiatus because I wasn't doing any recipe creation that was noteworthy for a few weeks. I experimented with some new recipes from the New York Times that turned out to be fantastic, the Hungarian casserole rakott krumpli and vegan enchiladas (but used a canned sauce I like, so can't comment on whether this chef's enchilada sauce is good). I did some home versions of recipes I liked from work. But nothing that I could call my own and write up here.

For St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to bring home some of the excitement that was going on in the kitchen at work as our chef and baker turned out Irish-inspired dishes for the holiday: soda bread, potato and mushroom soup with cabbage, and the most decadent colcannon ever topped with sausages. And cheese. That colcannon was delicious, but had crazy amounts of cream and meat. Waaaaay too rich for me to eat more than one bite.

So, it was back to the drawing board at home, going for something a little more in the traditional meatless variety of colcannon. I won't claim that this is a low-fat dish. In fact, if I were to make it again next year, I'd probably go whole hog and use more cream and (maybe) less butter.

Colcannon with Kale
serves 4 to 6
serve as a main dish with other brightly colored vegetables, as a side to a soup or Irish stew, as a colorful topping to a shepherd's pie

2 pounds red potatoes
2 medium-sized onions
1 pound bunch of kale
8 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk (dairy milk or unsweetened soy/almond/rice milk)
dash of mace
white pepper and salt to taste

Scrub potatoes well and cut into large chunks. Peeling is optional. Place in large pot, cover with water, and boil until tender (approximately 20 to 30 minutes). Wash the kale and strip the leaves off the tough stems. Cut the kale into ribbons or other small shapes. Saute the onions in 4 Tbsp of butter until tender, then add the kale and saute for 5 to 10 minutes until tender. When the potatoes are ready, drain them and let them dry a little in the colander or in the pot. Warm the milk, then mash together the potatoes with the milk, 4 Tbsp butter, mace, pepper and salt. Stir in the kale/onion mixture and serve hot.

The leftovers of this dish taste great browned in a pan as hash the next day.

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CSA fuels my anticipation

Just got the word back from the farmer: we're in as members of the Henry's Farm CSA, sharing a 25-week share with two of our friends. Looking outside at the latest snowfall that is starting to melt and thinking about how much I'm going to enjoy fresh vegetables.

For those of you who may be asking "what's a CSA?" Let me back up a little bit. The acronym stands for Community Supported Agriculture. My analogy is buying stock. The farmer sells shares to generate capital for this season's expenditures for seeds, plants, and equipment. I purchase a share for a set price, and I accept some of the financial risk for the season. In return, I expect to receive a box of vegetables once a week. Hopefully, the farmer has made good choices for what foods to grow for the soil conditions and the caprices of Central Illinois weather. If the harvest is good, my weekly box has monetary value of 1/25 of my share, or I get even more food as "dividends," and the farmer has extra vegetables to sell for profit. If bad, I don't recoup my costs, but I do get some food items every week and the farmer is not going to be insolvent and can farm another year.

As an additional benefit for all of us going into the CSA business together, we have a partnership around local organic farming. Shareholders are invited to visit the farm. Some CSAs, although not this one, require a certain number of hours of farmwork for a lower-priced share. The farm serves as a clearinghouse for recipe ideas. Our particular farmer has an educational focus on his farm website and he is also an author (as is his sister, who has also written a book about the farm).

If it all shakes out as the farmer and I expect it, most weeks will have an abundance of the most successful crops and a smattering of those that are not planted in large amounts or those that don't fare so well this season.

Based on the information provided about last year's seed purchase, I expect that this year I'll have a chance to taste some things I've never eaten before and will have a steady supply of some favorite summer vegetables. Also, I'll have to figure out what folks will trade me for tomatoes, which I don't eat and of which Andrew eventually will have too many.

Happily anticipating the first box at the end of May.

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Colorful winter potluck dish

This dish garnered many positive comments at a potluck today. The original recipe comes from the cookbook Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmer's Markets by Deborah Madison. Here, I have adjusted the amounts of just about everything to make the dish for a larger group.

Sweet Potatoes Braised in Cider

Also good for winter squashes, perhaps yams, and carrots

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks (prepared weight is about 3 pounds)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter (for vegan version, use vegan margarine)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 c or more of apple cider, enough to nearly cover vegetables in pot
salt and pepper if desired (I used none)
apple cider vinegar to taste (optional, I also used none)

Melt butter in a large pot, cook the rosemary on medium heat about 3 minutes to flavor the butter. Toss the vegetables in the butter, add liquid until vegetables are nearly covered. Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until vegetables are tender. If the juices have not reduced to a glaze yet, uncover and boil quickly on high heat until liquid reduces. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar to taste.

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