Category: Food

Vegetables From Down The Road

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On Saturday, my husband went down the road and brought home these beautiful vegetables from our neighbors, Fruitful Hill Farm.  We a lucky to have such nice neighbors.

I was inspired to make 6 dishes.  I did a marathon cooking session which included creating, testing, cooking and photographing the 6 dishes.  I will be posting one dish per week for the next six weeks.

Here is a list of the dishes I created:

  1. CURRIED BABY TURNIPS–TOPS AND ALL
  2. SWEET POTATO & KALE TIKKIS (CUTLETS)
  3. CARROT TOPS & CORIANDER CHUTNEY
  4. CARROT TOPS & PARSLEY PESTO PASTA
  5. COLLARD GREENS & CHICKPEA STEW
  6. MUSTARD GREEN SAAG PANEER

Nothing went to waste.  I used every part of the vegetables.  I also made Roasted Carrots but I did not list it because it is a recipe I have already posted.

I had so much fun doing this marathon cooking session.  I am looking forward to sharing the dishes with you.  Please look out for them.  I hope you like them.

A big thanks to the folks at Fruitful Hill Farm for growing the vegetables!!!

Roasted Golden Beets with Chimichurri

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Roasted vegetables are my favorite, especially in the autumn and winter.  They are delicious and easy to make.  I found some beautiful golden beets at the neighborhood farm stand.  I decided to roast them and use their fresh leaves in a chimichurri.  Nothing goes to waste around here.  Either we eat it or we feed it to our animals.

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Golden Beets with Chimichurri Ingredients

  • 4 medium beets.  Their tops will be used in the chimichurri
  • fresh leaves from the tops of 4 beets
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro leaves (leave this out if you don’t like cilantro)
  • cilantro stems chopped up (cilantro stems have a lot of flavor)
  • 1 serrano chili (optional)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp. chili flakes (optional)
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2 Tbsp. of my Italian Spice Mix for coating the beets
  • 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to coat the beets
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil for the chimichurri
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

PREPPING THE BEETS:

Golden Beets Preped for Oven

  • Cut off the tops and bottoms of the beets
  • Save the fresh beet leaves for the chimichurri
  • Coat the beets with olive oil amd my Italian Spice Mix
  • Add salt and pepper to taste
  • Roast in a 400 F oven until fork tender (about 15 to 20 minutes)

MAKING THE CHIMICHURRI:

While the beets are roasting make the chimichurri.

  • Toast the cumin seeds.  Let them cool to room temp.  Grind them into a powder in the spice grinder.
  • In a small food processor add the following:Chimichurri Ingredients in Blender
    • beet leaves
    • parsley leaves
    • coriander leaves and chopped up stems
    • 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
    • 1 serrano chili, roughly chopped
    • chili flakes
    • toasted cumin powder
    • 1/4 cup of olive oil

Whiz everything up.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chimichurri

Cut the roasted beets into half inch slices.

I prefer thicker medallions.  If you want to make them thinner that is totally fine.  Place the beet medallions on a platter and top off with a dollop of chimichurri.Roasted Golden Beets with Chimichurri Feature

This is a delicious appertizer or side dish.  It can also be served as a main vegetarian or vegan dish if you increase the portions size.

Chargrilled Veggies

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Spring is here.  My husband fired up the charcoal grill for the first time this year.  I was inspired to do some quick and easy meal prepping for the week.

Take whatever fresh veggies you can find.  Slice them into thick pieces.  If you have peppers, leave them whole.  Just poke a hole in each pepper so that it does not explode during the cooking process.  Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with my Italian Spice Mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chargrilled Veggies Prep

In the photo above, I have tomatillos, baby carrots, baby turnips, eggplant, and a variety of peppers and squashes.  I also have Roma tomatoes but my husband put them on the grill before I had a chance to take the photo.

Grill the veggies till they are tender and charred.  I prefer charcoal but you can use whatever you like.

Chargrilled Veggies on The Grill

Once all the veggies are done.  Make a plate for today’s meal and refrigerate the rest in glass containers covered with plastic wrap.

Chargrilled Veggies Stored

 

Then all you have to do for the rest of the week is reheat the veggies and add proteins.  My husband also cooks different meats on the grill and reheats them later in the week.  I prep seafood for myself and cook what I need as my protein for the week.

Delicious, healthy and quick meals are easy to put together all week long.