I just picked up the CSA share, and the selections are beginning to shift.
We have snap peas for the first time. No radishes for the first time. Lots of lettuce, as usual. Good thing I carry salads for lunch.
The first root vegetables are turning up - onions and beets. And kohlrabi - I've wanted to try that, so now I have some.
And summer squash. I assume we're going to be eating a lot of summer squash... luckily we both enjoy it, both cooked and raw in salad. More herbs. (This time the basil is green - no more lavender colored sauce!)
Himself is not home for dinner tonight, and might not be tomorrow, which presents me with an ethical question. Surely the snow peas should be eaten at once, while they are perfectly fresh. But then - he wouldn't have them! Must consider this...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Lavender silk
I am at a time in my life when I have found it to be a good idea to have some soy products on a regular basis. I also want to somewhat decrease the amount of meat I've been eating lately, while maintaining an amount of protein that makes me feel well, and the two goals work together well. I am, therefore, working on doing this in a more interesting way than tofu in my lunch salad every day.
I have seen recipes that suggest blending silken tofu to make a cream sauce. Now, I've used it in soups, to make them creamy, with very good effect. So, the other night, having some lovely fresh basil and some homemade noodles, I decided to try this.
First note - purple basil makes sauce that is, well... purple. Lavender, really, blended in the tofu. It's not the most appetizing looking food I've ever produced in my kitchen, particularly tossed with the light brown noodles.
Second - the texture was amazingly good. I have issues with dairy, and I've been missing a lot of those creamy textures - this was great.
Third - it was also a bit bland. Part of that, I think, was the basil - I'd had it nearly a week, and it was losing flavor. It was also the tofu, though, which absorbs flavor. I do remember reading that you need to season it much more than you expect - have to remember that, next time.
On the whole, though, we both liked it - voted "an experiment to repeat." The mouth feel (very important to me) was great, the taste was OK, just needed a bit more punch. (Seasoning added liberally at the table helped a good bit.)
Now, silken tofu has less protein in it than firm, so it was not enough alone. I have to serve it over something. I ended up tossing the sauce over cooked noodles, chunks of cooked turkey, and zucchini.
I made the sauce with 1 14 oz. package of fresh silken tofu, several cloves of cooked garlic (left from a garlic chicken dish I'd made) and a bunch of purple basil. I chopped the basil roughly, put it and the garlic into the container for an immersion blender, and blended them smooth. Then I added chunks of the fresh tofu.
I sauteed onions and zucchini, added the already cooked turkey. When it was hot, I tossed in the cooked, drained fresh noodles. Then I added the sauce, tossed just until it was heated through, and served immediately, with freshly grated romano cheese.
One of these days I'm going to try adding pictures. Believe me, though - this was no loss. Odd looking stuff. Did taste pretty good, though, and I'll definitely do it again.
I have seen recipes that suggest blending silken tofu to make a cream sauce. Now, I've used it in soups, to make them creamy, with very good effect. So, the other night, having some lovely fresh basil and some homemade noodles, I decided to try this.
First note - purple basil makes sauce that is, well... purple. Lavender, really, blended in the tofu. It's not the most appetizing looking food I've ever produced in my kitchen, particularly tossed with the light brown noodles.
Second - the texture was amazingly good. I have issues with dairy, and I've been missing a lot of those creamy textures - this was great.
Third - it was also a bit bland. Part of that, I think, was the basil - I'd had it nearly a week, and it was losing flavor. It was also the tofu, though, which absorbs flavor. I do remember reading that you need to season it much more than you expect - have to remember that, next time.
On the whole, though, we both liked it - voted "an experiment to repeat." The mouth feel (very important to me) was great, the taste was OK, just needed a bit more punch. (Seasoning added liberally at the table helped a good bit.)
Now, silken tofu has less protein in it than firm, so it was not enough alone. I have to serve it over something. I ended up tossing the sauce over cooked noodles, chunks of cooked turkey, and zucchini.
I made the sauce with 1 14 oz. package of fresh silken tofu, several cloves of cooked garlic (left from a garlic chicken dish I'd made) and a bunch of purple basil. I chopped the basil roughly, put it and the garlic into the container for an immersion blender, and blended them smooth. Then I added chunks of the fresh tofu.
I sauteed onions and zucchini, added the already cooked turkey. When it was hot, I tossed in the cooked, drained fresh noodles. Then I added the sauce, tossed just until it was heated through, and served immediately, with freshly grated romano cheese.
One of these days I'm going to try adding pictures. Believe me, though - this was no loss. Odd looking stuff. Did taste pretty good, though, and I'll definitely do it again.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The CSA is gradually picking up. There was enough this week that Himself declared that, if I'm not with him next week, he may take the cart.
We have, as usual, eaten greens and salads throughout the week. But last night I experimented. I have a recipe from The Tassejara Recipe Book for spinach with strawberries, and tried it. Very interesting - favorably so. We decided that, while I won't make it often, it's something we'll want that two or three times a year - in June, with fresh spinach and the fresh, local, slightly tart strawberries. I personally don't think it would work as well with with the big, sweet, bland supermarket berries.
Then, I used the dill and a mix of sour cream and yogurt to make a dill sauce for catfish (non-local and farmed) and mashed potatoes. Quite nice. And the spinach and berries made a nice splash of color on the plate, next to the white fish/potato/sauce combination.
- Multiple heads of lettuce.
- Chard and spinach and bok choy, rather than a choice.
- More radishes and a nice big bunch of dill.
- And, as the fruit share still hasn't started, a throw in of strawberries. (I think I mentioned that we didn't get the fruit share, as we don't really eat much fruit. We'll just supplement from Greenmarket.)
We have, as usual, eaten greens and salads throughout the week. But last night I experimented. I have a recipe from The Tassejara Recipe Book for spinach with strawberries, and tried it. Very interesting - favorably so. We decided that, while I won't make it often, it's something we'll want that two or three times a year - in June, with fresh spinach and the fresh, local, slightly tart strawberries. I personally don't think it would work as well with with the big, sweet, bland supermarket berries.
Then, I used the dill and a mix of sour cream and yogurt to make a dill sauce for catfish (non-local and farmed) and mashed potatoes. Quite nice. And the spinach and berries made a nice splash of color on the plate, next to the white fish/potato/sauce combination.
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