Tag: Farm Fresh Vegetables

OVEN ROASTED ASPARAGUS (Part of A Farmers Market Lunch)

Posted in FoodTagged , , , , , , , 8 Comments

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. I was so thrilled to find a big, fresh brunch at our local farmers market, which is held every Saturday from 9AM to noon in the beautiful Parque de Los Enamorados.

This beautiful asparagus was grown by Debbie of Chinaberry Farm. She also grew these hydroponic lettuces.

They are the best lettuces I have ever had. I also love that they look like a bouquet. I overheard a woman at the market say that she would like to have one of these lettuces as a bridal bouquet. I thought that was a great idea.

Debbie has these lettuces every Saturday along with a variety of seasonal vegetables. Yesterday, her San Marzano tomatoes and sweet Italian basil caught my eye, so I bought those too. These ultra fresh ingredients inspired me to make this simple salad. When I have such great produce, I keep things simple in order to let the ingredients shine.

I just hand tore the lettuce and basil. Sliced the San Marzano tomatoes and tossed the salad up with an olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. The dressing is easy to put together. Take a mason jar and add 1/2 cup olive oil and 3 table spoons of red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can add in your favorite herbs and spices, such as, chili flakes, dried oregano, thyme, garlic powder and onion powder. Once all the ingredients are in the mason jar, close it tightly with its lid and shake vigorously.

After I left Debbie’s booth, I walked around and saw a lady, AnDy VZ (on Facebook), selling farm fresh eggs from her own chickens. I just had to buy some of those. I thought to myself, that I could make a pistachio pesto omelette stuffed with herb goat cheese that I have at home. The pistachio pesto came to mind because I had the fresh sweet Italian basil from Debbie and I had a bag of pistachios in my pantry. Most of my recipe ideas come from the ingredients I have on hand.

The omelette would go great with the salad and oven roasted asparagus. There it is. My farmers market inspired lunch. It was delicious if I do say so myself.

I am going to show you how I made the asparagus in this post. The omelette is easy. I made classic pesto, but substituted the pistachios for the pine nuts. I broke open 2 eggs, added a table spoon of the pistachio pesto along with a splash of cream. I whisked everything together and added it to a warm pan with melted butter. When the eggs were almost set, I placed some crumbled herb goat cheese in the center and folded the eggs over to form the omelette.

If you want my pesto recipe click on this link for Pesto Eggs “Benedict”. I show how to make the pesto on my eggs benedict post.

Ingredients for the Oven Roasted Asparagus:

  • 2 table spoons of my Italian Spice Mix
  • 1 large bunch of asparagus
  • 3 table spoons of olive oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepping The Asparagus:

Snap the end of the asparagus. Do not throw the ends away. I will show you how they can be used.

Some of the asparagus was thick and some was thin. In the photo above the thick stalks are in the glass baking dish on the left and the thinner ones are on the right. The ends are in the glass bowl. The reason I sort out the sizes is that the thick ones will take longer to cook. If you put them all in the same baking dish they will cook unevenly.

Once the stalks are prepped sprinkle them with the Italian spice mix, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and toss so the asparagus is evenly coated.

Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C. Place the seasoned asparagus in the oven and roast until the asparagus tips are browned.

This can take 10 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the stalks. Halfway through the cooking time turn the asparagus over with tongs. I like to cook them so they are tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Do not overcook them because they will loose their lovely green color and turn mushy.

As for those asparagus ends. Slice them into discs and store them in the refrigerator. They can be added to soups, sautéed up with onions for an egg scramble or used in place of peas in any recipe that calls for peas. I am sure you can also think of other uses.

In order to minimize waste, It is best to slice each stalk individually because each stalk gets fibrous at a different point.

The fibrous portion is the stem of the asparagus and is not edible. When I had my own chickens, I used to feed it to them. I hope to have my own chickens again, but for now I am buying the eggs from Andy at the local farmers market.

The whole purpose of this post was to show you how I get recipe ideas from the local ingredients I find. I love going to the farmers market not just for the great produce, but also for the camaraderie with the people I meet there. I feel very lucky to have such a great community.

Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , , 6 Comments

Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew, is the fifth in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road. Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

In India this dish is usually made with spinach and/or mustard greens.  The gorgeous collard greens, in my farm fresh vegetable basket, inspired me to put in a Southern American twist.  I had never seen collard greens in India, but they are widely available here in Texas.  People in Texas love collard greens.

INGREDIENTS:Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew Ingredients

  • 15 large collard leaves
  • 1 1/2 cup of dry chickpeas
  • 3 inches of ginger root
  • 2 inches of fresh turmeric (if you can’t find this use 1 tsp of turmeric powder)
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand.  Here I used, 1 fiery Scotch Bonnet and 2 mild orange baby bells.) Mixing up the type of peppers lets you control the heat level and results in a more complex flavor.
  • 2 red hot Indian chilies for garnish (optional.) My husband eats the garnish.
  •  1 Tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREPPING THE CHICK PEAS:

  • Soak the chick peas overnight.  They will double in size.
  • Drain the soaking water
  • Place in a crock pot along with a bay leaf and cover with water
  • Turn crock pot to high and cook until tender
  • Add salt to taste towards the end of the cooking process

PREPPING THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew Prep

  • Remove the collard green leaves from their stems (Don’t throw the stems away.  Chop them up and use them in recipes in place of celery.)
  • Dice the red onion
  • Mince the ginger, garlic and peppers

COOK:

  • Coat a heavy duty stainless steel skillet with grape seed oil, place it on medium heat.
  • Add the onion, ginger, garlic and peppers.  Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the cumin and black mustard seeds.  Cook until the seeds start crackling.
  • Grate in the fresh turmeric.  If you are using turmeric powder, add it later in the recipe with the other powdered spices.
  • Saute until golden brown
  • Make a hot spot in the center of the pan by pushing aside the veggies
  • Add tomato paste to the hot spot and let it cook for about a minute
  • Stir the cooked tomato paste into the veggies
  • Add the collard greens
  • Saute them for about 5 minutes
  • Add the smoked paprika, garam masala, and the turmeric if you are using the powdered form.
  • Saute for another 5 minutes to let the powdered spices cook and blendCollard Greens Cook 10 add chickpeas

Drain the cooked chick peas and add them to the pan.  If you don’t want to cook the chick peas from scratch, use two 12 ounce cans of cooked chickpeas.  Please drain and rinse the canned chick peas well.

Stir the chick peas in and cover with the lid.  Turn off the heat and let the flavors marry for about 15 minutes.  In Hindi, we call this process of letting the flavors marry, “DHUM”.

Transfer to a beautiful platter and garnish with the red hot Indian chilies.Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

This is a great vegan dish to make for a party.  It can be made in advance because it actually tastes better the next day.

Serve this stew as a side dish with your choice of protein, or it can be served as a vegan main dish with some pilaf.  I like serving this to my vegan guests with Buckwheat Pilaf.

I hope you are enjoying this series of recipes.  I am having a lot of fun creating them.  Next Saturday, I will post the last in this series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

Please leave your feedback in the comment section.  I always love to hear from you. 😊

 

 

Carrot Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta

Posted in Italian FoodTagged , , , , 12 Comments

Carrot Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta, is the fourth in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

Carrots Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta Feature

The fresh carrot tops in my vegetable basket, inspired me to create a playful twist on the classic pesto made with basil.  Another twist is that I mixed in cabbage with the pasta.  The addition of the cabbage ups the nutritional value and lowers the carbohydrate content.  It also tastes great.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch of flat leaf parsley
  • 1 small bunch of carrot tops
  • 1 small head of green cabbage
  • 1 small red onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic–1 clove for the pesto and 2 cloves for the pasta base
  • 1/2 cup of pine nuts
  • 1 cup of grated Parmesan
  • 3 small sweet bell peppers
  • 3 twigs of thyme
  • 1 tsp of dried oregano
  • 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup of white wine (use the same wine that you will have with the pasta.  This way the wine and pasta will pair perfectly.)
  • 1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil for the pesto.  A little bit extra to coat the pan for the pasta base.
  • 2 cups of dried gemelli pasta
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Carrot Tops & Parsley Pesto Prep

  • Separate the parsley and carrot top leaves from their stems–set aside for the pesto
  • Toast the pine nuts–set aside a handful for garnish.  The rest will be used in the pesto.
  • Chop the head of cabbage into strips that are about the same size as the pasta
  • Chop the red onion, peppers and garlic
  • Separate the thyme leaves from their woody stems

MAKING THE PESTO:

  • Add the parsley, carrot tops, 1 clove of garlic, and extra virgin olive oil to a small food processor
  • Blend till smooth

  • Add the grated Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts
  • Blend till smooth
  • Taste the pesto.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed.

COOKING THE PASTA BASE:

  • Coat a heavy duty stainless steel pan with extra virgin olive oil and place it on medium heat
  • Add the red onion, peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, thyme and oregano
  • Saute till lightly brown.
  • Make a hot spot in the center of the pan by moving the sauteed vegetables aside
  • Add the tomato sauce, let it cook down for 2 minutes
  • Deglaze the pan with the white wine
  • Add the cabbage and saute till it is ‘al dente’ (firm to the bite)
  • While you are cooking the cabbage base, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.  The pasta should also be cooked ‘al dente’.
  • Add the pasta to the cabbage and toss.

Since the cabbage is about the same size and shape as the pasta it doesn’t even get noticed.  Next add the pesto to the pasta and toss.

Adding the Pesto

Plate the pasta onto a beautiful platter and garnish with toasted pine nuts and extra grated Parmesan.

Carrots Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta Feature

Serve with a glass of the same wine that was used during cooking.  You will be surprised at how good the cabbage in the pasta tastes.  It adds an unexpected twist of flavor and texture.

I hope you like this dish.  Next Saturday, I will be posting the fifth in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

I am having a lot of fun creating these recipes.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section.  Bye for now 🖐

 

Carrot Tops & Coriander Chutney

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , 9 Comments

Carrot Tops & Coriander Chutney, is the third in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

Carrot Tops and Coriander Chutney

In my previous post I served the chutney with Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis (cutlets)

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis

Traditionally, this chutney is made with mint and coriander.  Since the vegetable basket I received, had fresh carrots with absolutely lovely carrot tops, I decided to make carrot tops and coriander chutney.  I know there are some people who dislike coriander (also known as cilantro.) In my experience, people are either cilantro lovers or cilantro haters.  For those who don’t like cilantro, please substitute mint.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot Tops and Coriander Chutney Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of fresh carrot tops
  • 1 bunch of coriander leaves
  • 1 large lime
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 1 spicy chili pepper.  I like the long Indian Chili pepper if I can find it.  But a Serrano pepper will also work.
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp of red chili flakes
  • 1 tsp of dried pomegranate seeds.  These add an extra depth of flavor and tartness.  If you don’t have them then use sumac, tamarind or extra lime juice.
  • 1 tsp of garam masala
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Carrot Tops and Coriandet Chutney Prep

  • Separate the carrot top leaves from their stems.  Do the same for the coriander leaves.  If you live in Asia, where the coriander has really fresh roots, use the roots as well.
  • Roughly chop the ginger, garlic and chili pepper
  • Squeeze the lime so you have the juice ready

MAKING THE CHUTNEY:

Place, all the ingredients in a small food processor and blend into a smooth sauce.  You may have to add a little water to help the blending process.  Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and acidity as needed.  Sometimes I end up adding a little extra lime juice at the end for an extra pop of flavor.

Store the chutney in an air tight container.  It will keep in the frig for about a week.  Mine usually doesn’t last that long. 😊

I was so amazed that I could use carrot tops that would normally end up in the trash, to make such a tasty chutney.  I didn’t have the heart to throw away the carrot tops because they were so fresh and they had a great fragrance.  I am really glad I used them.  It turned out to be a successful culinary experiment.

After I used the carrot tops for the chutney, I still had some leftover.  So I used them to make Carrot Tops & Parsley Pesto Pasta.  I will post the recipe for that next Saturday.

I am having so much fun creating recipes inspired by my basket of fresh vegetables.

Hope you enjoy them too.  Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis (cutlets)

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , 17 Comments

Hello everyone.😊  Hope you are all doing as well as possible during this global pandemic crisis.  I find myself temporarily unemployed for the very first time in my life.  I am using the time to catch up on all the things that I have left on the back burner.  I am now finally catching up with my blog posts.  I have created and photographed so many recipes that I have not had time to post.

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis, is the second in a series of six recipes inspired by  Vegetables From Down The Road.Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis

Classic tikkis are usually made with regular potatoes and peas.  The bundle of vegetables that I received from Fruitful Hill Farm, included sweet potatoes and kale, so I was inspired to create a new version.  Not only is this version more healthful, but the sweet heat combination makes it taste even better.  Great with a cup of Masala Chai.

INGREDIENTS:Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis Ingredients

  • 2 lbs of sweet potatoes
  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 4 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand.  Here I used 2  fiery Serranos, a medium – heat Fresno and a sweet orange baby bell.) Mixing up the type of peppers lets you control the heat level and results in a more complex flavor.
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional if you want to make the dish more spicy.)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala (I make my own, but you can purchase it at an Indian grocery store or a spice market.)
  • 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREPPING THE SWEET POTATOES:

  • Some of the sweet potatoes were small and some were large.  I cut the large ones in half, so that all the pieces were of a similar size.  This way they will cook evenly.  Coat each sweet potato with a little oil.
  • Roast them in a 400 F oven until they are fork tender.
  • Let them cool so they can be handled without burning your hands.
  • Peel the sweet potatoes.
  • Mash then with a pastry cutter.  Add a dash of salt and pepper.

PREPPING THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis Prep

  • Separate the kale leaves from the stems.
  • Don’t throw the stems away.  Instead chop them up into little pieces to use in the cooking process.
  • Chop the onion.
  • Mince the peppers, ginger and garlic.

COOKING THE KALE:

  • Add the chopped up kale stems, the onion, peppers, ginger and garlic to a heavy duty stainless steel pan on medium heat.
  • Add the cumin and black mustard seeds.
  • Add the grape seed oil and saute till golden brown.
  • Then add the powdered turmeric, smoked paprika and garam masala.  Saute for another minute or two until the powdered spices are incorporated.
  • Add the kale
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Let the kale wilt down.  This should take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Once the kale is ready, fold it into the mashed sweet potatoes.  Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Kale Base Combined into a Hash

Let the mixture cool to room temperature before you start making the tikkis.

MAKING THE TIKKIS:

  • Take a heaping tablespoon of the sweet potato kale mixture and form into flattened discs.
  • Coat a non-stick skillet with grape seed oil.  Place on medium heat.  When the oil is shimmering add the tikkis.  Do not over crowd the pan.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side to get a brown crispy crust.

Place on a platter and serve with chutney.  They are so yummy.

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis, cooked

Traditionally, tikkis are served with a mint and coriander chutney.  Since my vegetable basket had fresh carrots with absolutely lovely carrots tops, I made a carrot tops and coriander chutney to serve with the tikkis.  It turned out so well.  I do my best to use every part of every vegetable so that we don’t have waste.  It leads me to make some very creative recipes.  What we don’t eat, gets fed to the goats or the ducks and chickens.  Nothing goes to waste around here.  Deliciously, doing our part to be in harmony with the planet and Mother Nature.

In the feature photo, you can see the Carrot Tops and Coriander Chutney, served with the tikkis.  The chutney recipe will be posted next Saturday, as the third in the series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

These tikkis are very versatile.  Serve them as a snack with tea, as a fancy Hors d’oeuvre at a cocktail party, or an appetizer at a dinner party.  They are always a hit.  You can also make them the day before, and then warm them up in the toaster oven just before serving.  The toaster oven lets the crust stay nice and crispy.  If you have any left over mixture it make a great hash, topped off with eggs, for breakfast.Sweet Potato & Kale Hash topped with Poached EggsI really enjoyed creating this recipe and sharing it with you.  Let me know what you think of it in the comment section.

I always, appreciate your support and feedback.

P.S.: Today my husband decided that I needed an outing because I haven’t left the house in a week.  He drove me in his MG convertible, so I could enjoy the sunny day, down the road to Fruitful Hill Farm.  I picked up another beautiful bundle of vegetables.Vegetables From Down The Road 15 May 2020

More inspiration to come up with some creative dishes !!! 😃

Vegetables From Down The Road

Posted in FoodTagged , , , , , 10 Comments

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!!!

Golden Beet Salad (topped with crispy goat cheese)

Posted in SaladTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Golden beet salad is one of my favorites.  I love the happy yellow color and the earthy, but mellow taste of the golden beets.  The salad can be individually plated for an elegant dinner or arranged on a large platter to be served family style.

Ingredients:

Golden Beet Salad Ingredients
  • 9 medium golden beets (these were grown by JBG Organic Farm in East Austin)
  • 1 large bag of mixed greens (also from JBG Organic Farm)
  • fresh thyme leaves from 2 large sprigs
  • fresh oregano leaves from 1 large sprig
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • white balsamic vinegar
  • 8oz log of goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • Italian Spice Mix
  • salt and pepper to taste

Prepping The Beets:

Golden Beets Preped for Oven
  • Remove the tops and bottoms from each beet ( if the beet greens are fresh use them in the salad with the mixed greens)  Note: these beets are so fresh that I have left the skins on.  There are a lot of nutrients and fiber in the skins, so leave them on if you can.
  • Use a damp paper towel to clean any dirt off the beets
  • Arrange them on an ovenproof baking dish
  • Coat each side with olive oil
  • Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper and my Italian Spice Mix
  • Roast in a 450 degree oven until tender
  • Slice the beets and set aside while you prep the rest of the salad components
Golden Beets Sliced

Prepping The Goat Cheese:

Golden Beet Salad Prep2
  • In a pie plate, mix together, 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon of my Italian Spice Mix, salt and pepper to taste
  • In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg with a pinch of salt and my Italian Spice Mix
  • Cut the goat cheese log into 10 slices.  We will use 8 slices for frying.  Crumble up 2 slices and set aside to top the salad
  • Using a pastry brush, coat each slice of goat cheese with the egg mixture.  Then coat each slice of goat cheese with the panko breadcrumb mixture
  • Place in the refrigerator for an hour to chill.  This will allow you to fry the cheese without melting it
  • Coat a non-stick skillet with olive oil.  Heat the skillet to medium-high.  Fry the cheese medallions till they are golden brown
  • Set aside while you assemble the salad

Prepping The Salad Greens & Dressing:

Golden Beet Salad Prep1
  • Wash the salad greens and tear them into bite size pieces.  Dry the salad greens using a salad spinner
  • The salad dressing is very simple.  In a small jar, add 1/2 cup of the best extra virgin olive oil you have, 3 table spoons of white balsamic vinegar, oregano, thyme, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.  Shake to combine.

When you are ready to serve, toss the greens with the salad dressing and place in the center of a large platter.  Arrange the sliced beets surrounding the salad greens.  Top with the crumbled goat cheese.  Finish by arranging the crispy goat cheese medallions on top.

This is a yummy and  satisfying salad that can also be used as a vegetarian main course, along with some crusty bread and a glass of your favorite white wine.