Another week and another batch of produce. This week, we had quite a large assortment of vegetables--so much so that, I admit, I'm a little stumped as to what to do with it all! So, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them. And, with no further ado, the vegetable goodies were: spring onions, fresh garlic, carrots, fava bean pods, beets, field greens and swiss chard. The fruit was very similar to last week, with one minor addition: pink currants, black currants and cherries. All in all, a varied haul. Thus far, I've made a Garden Harvest Cake, using twice as many carrots and ignoring the zucchini; a Carrot, Turnip and Mint Salad with Raisins, finally finishing the turnips from so long ago; and these Caramelized Beets with Garlic, the idea for which I took from this wonderful ode to beets on Farmgirl Fare.
Although beets have gained a bad reputation, we needed no convincing of their deliciousness. However, I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy vegetables and these caramelized beets were so easy that I knew I had to try them. I only wish I had more beets! We enjoyed them with deviled eggs with anchovies and white beer. This was also the first time I made beets forgoing the messy task of peeling them. Enjoy!
Caramelized Beets with Garlic
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add beets and cook, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes. When beets are soft, add garlic, salt and cardamom and cook undisturbed 1 minute. Mix everything together and cook 1 more minute so flavors meld. Serve.
Links to other beets noshes:
I will not miss another blogging event. I will not miss another blogging event. My excuse? I moved. Again. This time to sunny Southern California and I won't be leaving, except to go to New York, until May. So this is the last time I can use that excuse for almost a year. Period.The worst part is, I participated in At Our Table's IMBB (Summer's Flying, Let's Get Frying!) in San Francisco! Or, at least, I made a dish for it. It was ridiculously simple and quite good. I had read about using the Greek soup, Avgolemono, as a sauce for vegetables all over the internet and I was anxious to try it out myself. So I fried some eggplant and poured it on. It was creamy, refreshing and delicious. I'm sure the sauce would be just as good with other foods as well, such as artichokes or even chicken breasts.Fried Eggplant with Avgolemono SauceAvgolemono Sauce1 cup Chicken Stock2/3 tablespoon CornflourWater3 EggsJuice of 1 LemonIn a saucepan, bring Chicken Stock to a boil. Mix Cornflour in a cup with just enough Water to make it smooth. Add to Stock, stirring as it thickens.In a bowl, beat Eggs until fluffy and mixture is all one color.Add the Lemon Juice and boiling Chicken Stock. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Be sure it does not boil.Prepare the Eggplant:Fried Eggplant1 Egg, beatenSalt and Black PepperOil for frying1 Eggplant, slicedMix Egg in a bowl with Salt and Black Pepper to taste. Heat Oil in frying pan over high heat. Dip Eggplant slices in Egg mixture and fry in Oil until crispy.To Assemble:Place Fried Eggplant on plate and drizzle with Avgolemono Sauce.Serves 2 as a side dish.Update: Check out Linda's fabulous Round-up!IMBB #18 +
Vegetarian +
Recipe
Chopped Eggs and Onions on ToastThere once was a meme for eggs on toast
That a South African gal did host.
Chopped onions and eggs,
Soon there'll just be dregs.
Now both poem and recipe I post. This being the limerick edition of EoMEoTE (End of Month Eggs on Toast Extravangza), hosted by Jeanne of Cook Sister!, I have begun the post with a limerick.Chopped eggs and onions is my family's version of egg salad. Mom's family served it instead of hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt water on Passover seders, but Gomps (Mom's Dad) liked it so much that I think of it as a year-round food. The raw onions give it a nice bite and you should definitely add generous amounts of salt and pepper. It's a great snack, breakfast, whatever! And, which I discovered because of this meme, delicious on toast!This is Mom's recipe, taken from her cookbook, Gefilte Variations.Chopped Eggs and Onions3-4 tablespoons good Olive Oil1 Onion, thinly slicedSalt and Black Pepper1 Onion, finely chopped6 large hard-boiled Eggs, cut into eighths.Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over high heat. Add sliced Onion and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Salt and Pepper, then return from heat to cool.Scrape Onion and Oil from skillet into a bowl. Chop coarsely. Add Eggs and raw Onion and continue to chop until mixture is well-blended, but still chunky. Add generous amounts of Salt and Black Pepper. If the mixture separates too easily, add more Oil. Chill well, removing it from fridge at least 15 mins. before serving. It's great on toasted Pain de Campagne (country bread) or scooped up onto endives or lettuce leaves.
Fuzzy Patates douces
Intelligent as I am, it did actually take me until a few days ago to realize that sweet potatoes are orange, so mashed sweet potatoes would also be orange. Yeah, I know this kind of sounds like a cop-out, but the Boy left yesterday and I'm here with the Best Friend, or Brother, so I didn't want to do too much experimental cooking. Also, it was the Brother who took the photo, so don't blame me that it's fuzzy. And it would have been more orange if we hadn't mashed it with the skins.Without further ado, here's my mashed yams, which, by the way, are Kosher for Passover even though I didn't happen to make them until after the holiday. And I promise I'll be better about the next IMBB.Les patates douces fondantes2 Sweet Potatoes3 tablespoons Butter, meltedSalt and Black pepperPinch grated Lemon zest1/2 teaspoon ground CinnamonGenerous pinch Brown SugarPreheat oven to 200 C. Poke several holes in Potatoes with the tip of a knife and place in a pan in the oven. Bake until tender, about 60-75 minutes. Remove from oven. Mash with a fork (with or without skins, as you desire). Add Butter, Salt, Pepper, Lemon zest, Cinnamon and Brown sugar. Continue mashing until smooth all over. Serve warm.
Today was another gorgeous day! I was planning on going museum-hopping, since most museums are free the first Sunday of each month. So I headed first for the Jewish museum, only a few small blocks from me. But it was so lovely out that those few blocks weren't enough. On top of that, I was hungry, so I went into the Jewish quarter for a sandwich (Thon venition on an onion pletzel) and a pastry. Normally I don't get pastries with late lunches, but this one looked so much like those rainbow cookies that my grandfather used to buy that I couldn't resist. Unfortunately, it was more like a chocolate-covered raspberry linzer tart. It was good, but not at all what I wanted. I guess nothing is as good as a memory.After eating and reading Proust in a square (kind of appropriate for my lost pastry memory), I finally made it to the Jewish museum to see the exhibit, Juifs dans la Grande Guerre. This was a fantastic exhibit, exploring the presence of anti-semitism and how that affected Jews "trying harder" to fight in the War, really wanting to prove themselves as patriots and French, especially after the Dreyfuss affair. There were also many rabbis as part of the army, one of whom was called "The Jewish priest" and really beloved by many, many soldiers. Some great art and upsetting anti-semitic cartoons. There was also a journal written by a Jewish girl of 9-11 (the journal lasted three years) to benefit blind soldiers. This was by far the most moving, all written by hand. And then the plaque next to it explained that she was later sent to Auschwitz where she died. Really makes you wonder what a "patriot" is. Continuing my Jewish trend, I bought a book on the food of Passover and the next book in the "La Bible au feminin" series. I'm almost done with the first one, Sarah, and it's fantastic. Marek Halter writes the stories of three women (Sarah, Tsippora and Lilah), from their point of view, kind of what Anita Diamant did in The Red Tent. He does a beautiful job, really entering the feminine point of view, unusual for a man. And, perhaps even better, it's originally written in French! He's a Polish immigrant Jew who came here at a very young age. I highly recommend them and plan on bringing as many of his books as possible back to the States.Then I went on a hunt for new potatoes but was unsuccessful, so I came home with fingerlings, also called finger potatoes. I made a light, sour marinade out of my lonely grapefruit and am enjoying them while watching The Godfather, dubbed in French. Al Pacino speaking French is not a pretty sight.Charlottes (fingerlings) aigres7 Fingerlings, peeled and dicedSaltJuice of 1 Grapefruit2 tablespoons dry Oregano1/2 Onion, thinly sliced4 cloves Garlic, minced1 tablespoon Olive OilSugar to taste (optional)Boil potatoes (starting in cold water) in salted water for about 8 minutes. While cooking, combine remaining ingredients. Drain potatoes and pour marinade on top. Let this sit while you prefer the rest of the meal. The longer the potatoes have to soak up the marinade, the better.I didn't use sugar, but it is quite sour with all the grapefruit juice so people who don't like puckering their lips might want it.
Another week and another batch of produce. This week, we had quite a large assortment of vegetables--so much so that, I admit, I'm a little stumped as to what to do with it all! So, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them. And, with no further ado, the vegetable goodies were: spring onions, fresh garlic, carrots, fava bean pods, beets, field greens and swiss chard. The fruit was very similar to last week, with one minor addition: pink currants, black currants and cherries. All in all, a varied haul. Thus far, I've made a Garden Harvest Cake, using twice as many carrots and ignoring the zucchini; a Carrot, Turnip and Mint Salad with Raisins, finally finishing the turnips from so long ago; and these Caramelized Beets with Garlic, the idea for which I took from this wonderful ode to beets on Farmgirl Fare.
