Filed under: Veggie Sides
These are baby turnips, also called salad turnips, and are different from the purple and white, large storage turnips you might be used to seeing in the store. They’re more like radishes. You can eat them raw, as they’re tender even without being cooked, and have a pretty neutral flavor with a little bit of a radish-like bitter bite.
I still had a bunch of turnips from last week’s CSA, as well as a bunch from this week. I’ve tried mashing, roasting, and pan-frying turnips before, and I just don’t love them. They always seemed a little watery and tasteless. I figured I hadn’t tried throwing a bunch of cheese on top yet, so that was the treatment they got tonight!
I originally thought I’d try Ree’s Turnip Gratin, but I couldn’t visualize how all that liquid was going to come together in the baked dish. So instead I turned to my own Cauliflower Gratin, halving the white sauce (1 Tbsp. butter, 1½ Tbsp. flour, 1 cup of hot 1% milk, seasoned with about a 1/4 tsp. each of nutmeg and garlic powder, plus black pepper) but using a little more cheese (about 6 oz. of Gruyere). In retrospect, I should have included the turnip greens with the gratin — I think it would have been tasty and would have better balanced the amount of cheese I used. Truthfully I was a little irritated with the darn turnips and just threw the greens away.
The gratin baked for about 40 minutes at 375°, until it was bubbly and golden brown. It was surprisingly delicious! My mom thought the dish was made with potatoes, and aside from being a little runny it definitely tasted like a completed dish, not just some turnips with cheese baked on top.
I served the turnips with challah, hard-boiled eggs, and steamed green beans (yes, there are yellow green beans too): (more…)
September 29, 2009
By dinnertime on Monday I had had it with leftover Rosh Hashanah brisket, and so had J. We had about 6 slices left, which went into the freezer for sandwiches in a few weeks, when we’ll be excited about it again.
Instead of leftovers, I washed and roughly chopped a gallon-size bag of broccoli rabe and Red Russian kale from my farm share (make sure to chop up the stems, which are a lot more tough than the leaves). After caramelizing a thinly-sliced onion in a little olive oil, I dumped the greens on top and cooked them over high heat for about 5 minutes, until they were tender but not soggy. A little kosher salt on top finished them off. After a couple of days of heavy holiday eating, the greens were a welcome respite.
I served the greens separately from some whole wheat penne, hoping the boys would try some but knowing that if they didn’t, at least there was their favorite, pasta and shredded mozzarella for dinner. Sometimes A. will try the vegetables, especially green ones. No dice on the greens that night, and just for fun G. decided he no longer likes plain pasta. He actually pitched a fit about the penne, demanding something else instead. Sorry, buddy. That’s dinner. Eat it, or don’t — it’s your choice. He chose not to eat, and then surprised me by sitting nicely with us for the rest of the meal once he realized there was no alternative forthcoming.
If I can’t count on plain pasta, what can I count on?
September 23, 2009
My family is spoiled. J.’s grandma, GG, makes her own gefilte fish from scratch. It is delicious, and even though I rarely like fish I look forward to her gefilte on the holidays. It is truly a labor of love, both because it is time consuming and because she has to make a lot to feed us all! Because of that effort, it just seems wrong to put jarred horseradish on top of something so lovingly homemade. So although J.’s grandpa Poppy, the originator of the family horseradish recipe, is no longer with us to celebrate and make his horseradish himself, his recipe lives on. Lauren has made it for Rosh Hashanah and Passover for several years, and I was lucky enough to have her teach me the method this time around. Even if your family doesn’t eat gefilte fish, prepared horseradish is great with roast beef, in dips, and more.
I was warned that the fumes coming off the grated horseradish root are even more potent than a strong onion, but I felt it was just barely more manageable than that. Still, I had to walk away from the recipe more than a few times, just to clear my eyes and be able to see what I was doing! (Every time I opened the food processor, a fresh wave of blinding fumes hit me.) Lauren’s expression cracked me up when I did this — she smiled a little knowingly, indulgently, and then moved to take over whatever step we were in the middle of while I lunged for fresh air. Clearly, she is a seasoned pro! You’ll want to heed the instructions she included on the recipe: “Windows open and door open — you’ll appreciate it!” A fan might be nice, too.
Poppy’s Horseradish
Makes 4-5 cups of prepared horseradish, which in our family is enough for two nights of about 12+ adults each night eating liberal amounts with their gefilte fish, plus a little left over
2 large horseradish roots (about 1.5 lbs.)
1 15-oz. can sliced beets, drained + reserve liquid
3/4 – 1 c. red wine vinegar (other vinegar is fine)
3/4 – 1 c. granulated sugar
2 – 4 tsp. salt (to taste)
Trim and peel the horseradish root, then cut into large chunks that will fit into your food processor. Using the shredder/grating blade, process all of the horseradish root and the drained beets, then remove to a large bowl. (Poppy’s original recipe has you put the shredded horseradish through the food processor again so it is double-shredded, but I don’t think this is necessary.)
Starting with the smaller quantities suggested, add vinegar, sugar, and salt to the horseradish and beets. Mix well. Change out the shredder in your food processor for the chopping blade. Add the contents of the bowl back into the food processor, and pulse until pureed. If needed, add some of the reserved beet juice back into the mix if it is too thick — this will also make it a deeper purple color.
Once horseradish has reached the consistency you want, taste it and adjust the vinegar, sugar, and salt — just a tiny taste does the trick. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container (Horseradish.org says for up to 4-6 months!). The strength of the horseradish will diminish as it ages.
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September 20, 2009
I’m in the middle of a busier week than usual, but when my parents asked last night if I’d like to just order take out instead of cooking, I was happy to be able to say no (that’s the plan for Thursday night, anyway). This is why I meal plan: when the day seems crazy, there is peace in knowing that at least dinner is taken care of. I had a simple meal planned that took our schedule into account, and we stuck to it. Even if the plan is yogurt, fruit, and crackers, I really like not having to think too hard about dinner at the end of a day.
We had whole wheat spaghetti, some komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) quickly sauteed in olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic, and Parmesan cheese grated over the top. Raw celery, carrots, and red pepper on the side. The greens were very good — pleasantly bitter, tender, yet still with a fresh crunch.
This dinner is exactly why I love my farm share. I would probably not have bought this bunch of greens on my own, even though we do eat a lot more vegetables in our CSA off-season than we did before we were members. Lately I’ve been focusing on talking to the boys about trying vegetables because they’re delicious, rather than because they’re healthy, and with a meal like this that’s easy for me to do. They did not try the komatsuna, but A. did like the smell of the garlic cooking, which I’ll take as a small, but open-minded, step in the right direction.
September 16, 2009
J. is still playing around with his new smoker, and since we’re planning on using it to make the brisket for Rosh Hashanah next Saturday night, we decided to do some experimenting today. He also made a couple of chickens, one perched on a beer can with a spicy rub, and the other done with a lemon & pepper rub (with a lemon stuffed in the cavity while it smoked). And a small minute steak. Oh, it’s all so delicious! This was his first time trying to smoke chicken, and the turned out wonderfully — juicy, flavorful, not overly smokey.
My dear friend Sus of Susanna’s Sangria fame demanded asked nicely if she could come up and try some of J.’s cooking, and within a day we had a small bunch of friends ready to come and eat with us. Great company, great food, great weather after several days of rain. It was a perfect afternoon.
On the plate: tomatoes and basil with balsamic vinegar, smoked chicken, minute steak, brisket, Fig and Carrot Salad (thanks, Sus), and Mustard Vinaigrette Potato Salad. And plenty of leftovers for Monday night, too.
September 13, 2009
This is a quickie dip, all whirred up in a food processor. Combine a 15.5-oz. can of white beans (rinsed and drained), a large clove of garlic, the juice and zest of a lemon (reserve a little zest for garnish), salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to bring the dip to the consistency you want — just a a tablespoon or so. Puree until smooth. Serve with pita, pretzels, crudite, or just use your finger (I won’t tell).
September 13, 2009
Last week I felt overwhelmed by tomatoes — how would I ever use them all? I thought sauce was in my immediate future, and Carol suggested stewing tomatoes and freezing them as an alternative to sauce. Turns out, we had no problem just plain eating them (friends and family helped). I still had a pint of Juliet tomatoes from last week’s farm share, and I used those Thursday in Basil Green Beans with Tomatoes.
We sliced several tomatoes onto bagels (the beefsteaks are huge, and some are even exactly the right size to cover a whole bagel half), and made almost-daily salads, like the one above which also includes the red-leaf lettuce from this week’s share. My father-in-law took a couple of plum and beefsteak tomatoes home.
Today, to go along with chicken and brisket J. smoked, we made a quick salad out of the CSA basil, most of a pint of Golden Raves, and a pint of red Ping Pongs. A little sea salt and a splash of balsamic vinegar finished the dish. It’s a simple, perfect light side for a barbecue: 
I’m left with two beefsteak tomatoes to use up before Wednesday. So instead of a glut, I may actually wind up with a tomato-free day before my stock is replenished.
September 13, 2009
The delicata squash I received from my CSA was relatively small and harmless looking, so I was surprised by how hard I had work to get my chef’s knife down the middle of it! J. would have had a heart attack had he witnessed my knife skills last night. I did finally split it in half lengthwise, and scooped out the seeds. I plopped the halves flesh-down on a baking sheet misted with non-stick cooking spray, and roasted them in my toaster oven at 400° F for about 40 minutes. The cut side got beautifully dark and caramelized, and the sweet smell of the squash wafting through the house as it cooked made it feel like Thanksgiving.
I’d thrown together some Slow Cooker Ratatouille a few weeks ago with random vegetables from my farm share, including carrots, eggplant, peppers, onions, and of course, tomatoes. I defrosted about a cup of it, and topped the cooked squash with that and some small cubes of queso blanco.
I’d intended to try some ricotta salata on top, but I was at a different supermarket than usual, and they didn’t have any. They do, however, have a lot of Hispanic customers so there was a wide variety of cheeses to choose from that I don’t normally see. I picked queso blanco, which is light and fresh, pure white as the name suggests, with a tiny bit of squeak when you bite into it, like Indian paneer. I liked it, even though it didn’t melt well when I put the cheese-topped delicatas under the broiler. They wound up looking like I topped them with roasted mini marshmallows, don’t they?
J. and I both enjoyed the end result, although billing it as “pizza squash” did nothing to entice my eldest to try it. I never see delicata squash around my market, so unless I get another one from my CSA I’m sorry to say that’s it for the year. I would have liked to have been able to make Maple-Glazed Delicata Squash Rings for Rosh Hashanah again.
September 10, 2009
I’m dragging my feet getting back into cooking. I think daily cooking, unless you have a passion for it, is something you have to keep up with or else it reverts to feeling like a chore. I have been in really good runs where I enjoyed trying new recipes several times a week, and it felt easy to start parts of dinner in the morning when I had more time. But I am really not in that frame of mind right now! I pushed through it tonight, knowing I would feel better having cooked and used up a whole bin of our share before tomorrow’s pick up.
I combined a bunch of farm share veggies to make this dish: 2 Anaheim peppers, 2 red Carmen peppers, 2 small heads of bok choy, and a bag of tom sim. The Anaheims are barely spicy, but when I cut one open I was struck by how fruity it smelled — like a sugary chewing gum. They were not that sweet in flavor, though. As far as the tom sim goes, I can’t find any mention of it anywhere. Roxbury Farm describes it as an Asian cooking green, and although it was mild enough to eat raw (I tried it), the texture was sort of dense before it was cooked, almost like the leaves of a succulant plant.
All the vegetables went into a hot saute pan with a bit of olive oil, and I cooked them quickly over high heat. At the very end I added a couple of tablespoons of Soy Vay (and now I’ve finally finished the bottle). It was an easy, healthy meal. I’m glad I didn’t just defrost a bagel instead. But now I’d like someone to come and clean up my kitchen for me.
September 8, 2009
J. grilled rib eyes Sunday night (I know, they are missing from this picture — there wasn’t room on the plate!). Thankfully we had family over to help us chip away at our farm share from the past week or so — without much cooking going on this past week, it’s been piling up. I had 10 ears of corn and I just wasn’t ready to start putting stuff up in my freezer yet.
Along with the steaks, I made a beet salad with the CSA beets from this week and last. I boiled them and then slipped off the skins Saturday night, quartering most of them to make bite-sized pieces. Then the day-of I created a dressing with about 1/4 c. orange juice, 1/4 c. red wine vinegar, a teaspoon of ginger (I used ground, from a jar), and a half teaspoon of crushed garlic (about 1 clove). Salt to taste. My in-laws loved this preparation, but to me and J. it was not better than our usual.
We also threw all the corn on the grill, and I had to ask J. if he’d added any sugar to it while it cooked. I couldn’t think of why he’d do that, but it was so incredibly sweet it seemed possible. Of course, he had not. The corn is just really that sweet. Even the boys ate some.
Finally, I made a quick salad out of the red and yellow tomatoes and cucumber from our farm share. I also minced some onion, and then tossed it with a little salt, rice wine vinegar, and olive oil. In retrospect, I think the oil was unnecessary.
Every bite of veggie was happily consumed at this meal, and after Renee took home some yellow tomatoes and a couple of peppers, I had a manageable amount of produce to take me through until Wednesday. Is it silly that it’s such a relief to use up the share? It feels like a bit of a contest each week.
August 18, 2009
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 5 and 7, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 