What Vegetable do you Love?

Series: Produce Box, May 12, 2010 Deliver; Published Blog 8

An important change occurred in my relationship with food, I have a better strategy in understanding the forged relationship where my brain, taste buds, and stomach have to meet. I constantly refresh my brain with nutritional data from food documentaries, books, and health websites. This leads me to creating recipe ideas using various ingredients that my taste buds will find interesting so that my stomach is satisfied. A catalyst is the major change is the transforming from processed and convenient foods to cooking with raw ingredients.

Think for a moment about how you would start making water into soup. You would want in the end flavor and satisfaction of filling comfortable full. A recipe provides the avenue in the of starting with raw ingredients to ending it with a meal. Then as you accomplish a good blend then you can additional nutrients or vegetable flares. There are two vegetables: sweet potatoes and fava beans in my produce box deliveries that provide additional nutritional value for my body. Although these vegetables are really good to eat there's been much difficulty in finding their niche in my recipes. At last I figured a good one out... it includes using both of them with a vegetable I love- potatoes!

I share with you my latest recipe:

Pan Roasted Tater Medley

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

8-10 cubed Klamath pearl potatoes

½ c. chopped sweet potatoes

½ c. minced fava beans

1 diced spring red onion

2 tsp. chopped garlic

1 T. worcestershire sauce

¼ minced cilantro

Salt & Pepper

Add the cubed potatoes to the heated oil. Add in the sweet potatoes, fava beans, and spring red onion. Cook for about 7-10 minutes. Then add in the garlic, worcestershire sauce, cilantro, and season with pepper & salt to taste. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender to taste.

Seasonal Vegetable Substitution

No sweet potatoes on hand- try ½ c. chopped Nantes carrots

No spring red onions on hand- try using a shallot or onions.




A common thread in most of my meal creations is the of planning ahead. Consciously think about what can be made now to save time later. Here's a technique as camping season is approaches. I would like to introduce some charcoal barbecue recipes.



Sausage Packet

In the mountains every resource needs to be used to its fullest potential. This can be made the night before for breakfast. I cooked this while also prepping dinner on the grill.

Place your raw sausage meat onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold it in half. I would suggest wrapping it a second time to secure it.

Place it on the grill and let it cook. Flip it a couple of times to allow even cooking on both sides. It takes about 20-30 minutes to cook up the chub.



Breakfast Pizza

This recipe is really simple and totally tasty. In the woods, I like to bring along a ready made pizza crust. Find your favorite brand or try pita bread.
For this recipe here's the steps I take while I'm surrounded by mountains and pine trees:

Heat up your grill.

Grab the aluminum foil. Cut and pull about the size of the pizza crust. I like to make mine about 4-5 sheets thick for a little sturdiness and reduce burning on the bottom.

Add a layer of tomato paste onto the crust.

Next arrange on the cooked sausage.

Heat-up your frying pan to scramble about 5 eggs for medium size pizza. Under cook the eggs but not runny. Then spread evenly over the sausage.

Optional: Sprinkle red pepper flakes

Finally add the cheese.

Place the breakfast pizza in its aluminum foil pan onto grill. Place on the top. Come back and check every 5 minutes to rotate.
It will be done cooking as the cheese melts, eggs are cooked and then bottom has slightly brown.

This Week's Delivery

Series: Produce Box, April 7, 2010 Delivery; Published Blog 2

"Eat all your vegetables" was the mantra going through my head while I used up the produce box delivered a week ago. My family in good humor has helped accomplished the task of eating their fair share of vegetables. Plus, I made sure each meal included a good selection of fruit and vegetables. On hand I had some carrots, lettuce, and chard.

I venture into this week's box with the hope to create new and exciting dishes. Also try to spread it out into two weeks of eating all the produce.

Here's what I got to plan around...

oranges

apples

lemons

zucchini

chard

beets

artichokes

2 big baskets of strawberries

sweet potatoes

cabbage

avocados

baby lettuce

head of lettuce

spring red onion

broccoli

Zucchini With Balsamic Caramelized Spring Red Onions

This dish was a simple creation that used a few items. I chopped up one spring red onion and let it cook in a skillet with olive oil. Next I added some chopped garlic. Let it cook a little about 1-2 minutes. Next I splashed about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Seasoned with pepper and salt.
Let it simmer to reduce the liquid. Next toss in about 1 cut zucchini.Let it cook for another 2 minutes. Remove while the zucchini is still crunchy. Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese. Great for the summertime!

Salads and Fruit

A dinner salad can be added as a side to any meal. Its about selecting as many vegetables that can be added to it. I selected a few for this meal. I used baby lettuce, strawberries, fresh orange slices, and apples. I used a complimentary dressing such as Briana's poppy seed (or other varieties) to drizzle over it. It was be refreshing with homemade bread croutons.

Breakfast Food for Dinner?

I love to enjoy a hearty breakfast but some mornings I run out of time. So instead I will make it for dinner. Here's some meal ideas....

Hash browns
Start with 3 peeled potatoes. Dice them up.
Turn on a skillet to medium heat. Wait for the skillet to heat up and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Potatoes love to soak in oil to become crispy. If the pan is too hot the potatoes will burn but if the pan is too low they will not brown. So find a combination in between.
The potatoes will take at least 20 minutes. At the end of cooking, I might turn up the fire to get that quick crispy potato that I love so much!
Season the potatoes with pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

Options:
Add a diced up onion while the potatoes are cooking.
Add a diced up apple while the potatoes are cooking.
Add bell peppers while the potatoes are cooking.

One thing I wouldn't suggest is cheese. Add it on after you remove the food from the pan.

Ham, Chard, and Scrambled Eggs

A cool tip I noticed was to use chard as a replacement for spinach.
I had some leftover ham and deli meat. I first heated my skillet and added the ham. As it is cooking, add the chard. Let it wilt down with the meat liquid. When its almost done cooking, pour in your beaten egg. Leave the heat on for 1 minute and turn off. The egg will finish cooking on its own from the leftover heat.

As I reflect upon my dinner, it was pulled together with a lot of vegetables. I didn't need to open any boxes or cans. Changing the way of eating from a world of convenience with prepared packaged food to simple down to earth ingredients takes effort. It is the constant push of what can I create today while the vegetables are still fresh... so I did a little meal planning to make sure it will turn out to be a great experience.
This week's will consist of the following meal ideas:

• Beet and Beef Stew
• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Stir Fry
• Stuffed Artichokes