Ordering the mixed produce box from a food co-op is a little like Christmas and a lot like Chopped, the television show where chefs have to create wonderful meals from a basket of random items. I think the Chopped chefs have an advantage in being able to identify the items in the box (and knowing how to cook…)
This week clearly featured a number of greens-like items. The collards were easy (the rubber band holding them together said, “organic collards”)…but the others were a little more challenging. I still don’t know what they are…kale? turnip greens? and some types of cabbage, I think! Any thoughts?
The other exciting item is shown below. Thanks to internet I was able to tell my iPad “white root vegetable” and I was provided with photos of parsnips…and a few recipes I will experiment with later in the week.
So, today’s big project was taming the greens. I personally have a textural issue with greens (ok, maybe a little taste issue too). I have tried to them cooked traditionally – boiled with ham seasonings…but it wasn’t a favorite. That batch of greens eventually ended up in a frittata. My most successful use for greens was as a filling for lasagna, but that begged the question, “why ruin a good lasagna?” So, what to do with this batch of collards and several unnamed greens, one of which might be more like cabbage?
I opted for Indian, with a recipe including three of the four sets of greens, sweet potatoes (an NC favorite also needing to be used), chick peas, tomatoes, onions, and curry spices. I cooked it in a crockpot, outside on the deck. The end result was a very large quanity of a mass of greens, sweet potatoes, chick peas, tomatoes and onions. It actually tasted fine, but I couldn’t see eating it…not a good plan and a poor start to the week….I experimented further….this time taking a small amount of it and making a soup – much better…same quite tolerable flavor, but not sight or texture of greens…we’ll be seeing a lot of it this week.
Dinner tonight – homemade fettucine (first batch ever)!
Other cooking projects today: pizza crusts for later in the week, French Herb Bread, an unsuccessful attempt at hush puppy muffins (don’t ask!), sweet potato muffins (much better), and ginger cookies…
The pasta was fantastic and very fun to make. The soup is delicious, and I plan to have it for lunch. – pjw
p.s the dog ate your shoes this morning.