eG Foodblog: heidih (2011) - A slice of life in the South Bay of Los A

[heidih]

I think it is well past time to get cooking! Here are my thoughts on using what I bought as well as the minimal bits I have to use up in the fridge.

Beet Greens: In a Thai style soup with coconut milk, ginger, serrano chiles, the last bit of turkey from Easter, fish sauce, turkey stock, and some shirataki noodles. Maybe some Korean hot pepper paste to meet the earthiness of the greens. Other spices will be on deck

Beets: I tend to nuke whole, then peel and roast if they need more flavor concentration. I have been craving a creamy horseradish sauce (sure I saw it on eGullet). I hate to pick up a whole jar of horseradish- part of my using what I buy. But I have a tube of wasabi so I may pick up some Greek yogurt tomorrow and make up something. I like to snack on the beets slightly warmed (yes I really really use my microwave) with some of the cold sauce.

Cauliflower- this one was not my wisest choice but I plan on some vegetarian Indian take out later in the week. It is steam table and I generally get saag paneer and a chickpea dal. I plan on some vegetable laden cornbread with it so I am open to suggestions.

Green onion: I have a bit of pineapple left from Easter so I am going to dice it up with the onion, cilantro, fresh chile and ???

Cucumbers: Into a bowl with salt, sugar (Splenda) black pepper, orange juice and vinegar - this will need several days to come together

Green garlic: the stem will go into the soup above and the garlic if not too strong will be incorporated into the fish dish

Baby kale: I am going to chop and toss with orange juice, some of that feta/pesto/dried tomato dip I mentioned above along with more olive oil. That will keep for days and maybe improve with age.

Dinner idea is forming....along with the fava bean prep

[PopsicleToze]

The first teaser shot showed iced tea in a vintage pitcher so I thought I would address my iced tea. It is my all day beverage. Several years ago I picked up a brewing method from a friend that is simple and works for me. I nuke a cup of water in a pyrex measuring cup and then add 4 to 6 tea bags, depending on the type. Today I used 3 bags of the Safeway brand black tea and 2 of Bigelow Perfect Peach. I let it steep for a few minutes, again depending on the tea, pour into the pitcher and fill with water from the tap. As summer approaches I will have different flavors going in pitchers. Anyone an iced tea fiend?

Great pictures and report from the market, Heidi. Everything looked wonderful. I'm amazed by the huge avocado tree, too, and the wild fennel. Never heard of the fish you bought, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how you cook it.

Huge fan of iced tea, too. I've almost eliminated Diet Coke from my life now that I take the time to make iced tea everyday.

[Pam R]

Anyone an iced tea fiend?

Yes.

Like Dejah, I woke up to snow on the lawn, and a good few inches of heavy snow to clean off my car. What a treat to see the farmer's market -- it's the thing I'm most envious of you southern dwellers. I don't mind the cool temperatures up here (most of the time) but I hate the shorter growing seasons and the fact that our short farmer's market season rarely has the produce variety we get to see in your pictures.

[rarerollingobject]

Beets: I tend to nuke whole, then peel and roast if they need more flavor concentration. I have been craving a creamy horseradish sauce (sure I saw it on eGullet). I hate to pick up a whole jar of horseradish- part of my using what I buy. But I have a tube of wasabi so I may pick up some Greek yogurt tomorrow and make up something. I like to snack on the beets slightly warmed (yes I really really use my microwave) with some of the cold sauce.

So funny you say this! I leapt upon a fresh horseradish root when I saw it in a shop yesterday and have been pondering ever since what I'm going to do with it. Beef is obvious, but I was actually thinking in bed last night about using it with beetroots, either grated fresh over a beetroot carpaccio type thing, or as some kind of sauce..can't wait to see what you do with yours.

I've never microwaved a beetroot, how long do you reckon you blast it, and at what temp?

[heidih]

I've never microwaved a beetroot, how long do you reckon you blast it, and at what temp?

I put them in a covered glass dish with just a splash of water and start out at two minutes. Then I let them sit awhile to let the residual cooking happen and then give them a poke with a sharp knife and go from there.

As to horseradish- oh my - I have not used fresh since childhood. I have a friend who had a bunch growing and her gardener dug them up.......but they came back so maybe this year. Our traditional horseradish sauce was the grated root simmered with a bit of vinegar. Then it was mixed with sour cream and seasoned with salt and sugar to taste. It needed to sit a while to mellow and then we re-seasoned.

[heidih]

The pineapple has been dealt with - cut up in smaller bits with some cucumber, green onion, Meyer lemon juice, dried cranberry, sushi ginger (my Korean market makes their own and it does not have that chemical taste), serrano chile, tomato, and fish sauce. It is more of a salad than a salsa and I will add some fresh mint when serving.

The cucumbers are sitting out to release some juices before they get finalized. They have salt, pepper, Splenda, Meyer lemon juice, orange juice and rice vinegar as the liquid.

[JAZ]

Here's a recipe I've used for beets (and the greens) with horseradish cream sauce. It's great: Beets with horseradish sauce.

[heidih]

I am off to the Japanese market to get shirataki noodles. We have a great konnyaku topic here.

[heidih]

I want to share a story about my food loving neighbors. The two women are best friends and live next door to one another. Yesterday they stopped as they were driving by to chat and related that they had spent some time trying to locate fresh raspberries as Win's mother in law wanted homemade raspberry jam for her birthday. They actually got enough to make a small batch. By the time I walked over hours later the pretty jars had all popped. The KitchenAid was going full speed as she was making layers of cake that would become a neopolitan cake (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) - not sure what fillings. I smelled something nice and smoky - she had two turkeys in the smoker for the party today. Now these are my people! Isn't it cool when you find folks who "get" your food enjoyment?

[Kim Shook]

Gorgeous farmer’s market. I live in the south, but my town just doesn’t have a really great market. And I love the sound of those cucumbers. We have a bowl of them going in the fridge all summer long, but I’ve never thought to add OJ – that is a great idea!

[heidih]

Gorgeous farmer’s market. I live in the south, but my town just doesn’t have a really great market. And I love the sound of those cucumbers. We have a bowl of them going in the fridge all summer long, but I’ve never thought to add OJ – that is a great idea!

Kim! -you got me started on the perpetual cucumber bowl with this topic. I just did not do onions this time. The citrus is a function of my trying to use what is right in front of my nose for free- a ton of citrus.

[heidih]

The soup is done and ready to cool. I started with turkey stock from the Easter turkey (we are not ham peeps) and added the stem of the green garlic, some green onion, fresh ginger, coconut milk, turkey, beet greens, a packet of shirataki noodles (clear ones), the last habanero from the garden (via freezer), and a few peas and roasted corn kernels (TJ). Fish sauce was the "salt". It needs some citrus as an acid when serving and some fresh herbs (thinkin mint from the garden). I like it despite the pink color.

The beets have been nuked - just need to peel and get some sauce going tomorrow

I went to a small local Japanese chain for the shirataki noodles- Nijya. There was a guy doing samples of one of my favorite comfort foods- Japanese curry- this was House Brand spicy with tofu

Here are some more market shots

[heidih]

I talked about pineapple cores here. I ended up tossing them in the freezer. As I was trying to cool down the soup discussed earlier I thought "why not toss one in"- it cooled the soup and I will see if it makes sense to chop and eat along with the soup. I really do not want to waste things so this made me happy.

[toolprincess]

I am trying to break the diet coke cycle and have been drinking more tea. I grew up in the south so tea is my roots. Except now I drink it unsweetened with Splenda rather than the true "sweet" tea. I know tea has caffeine naturally but it does not keep me awake like DC and it is also better as I don't get as much acid reflux (something that seems to be plaguing me now that I am older).

I should totally start keeping a perpetual cucumber bowl - that is part of my southern roots also - we always had cukes with vinegar and onions all summer long (from the garden).

[heidih]

I ended up checking in at the neighbors to see if I could get a shot of their smoked turkey and cake. It was all gone but I picked some tasty bits off the carcasses, tasted some macaroni salad that was more eggy than sweet, and sampled the neopolitan cake (she did a light cream cheese frosting between the layers which worked surprisingly well and whipped cream on the outside). By the time I got home I was not hungry but I put the fish in the oven. I cut it in large chunks and rested it on the fennel fronds and green garlic with sliced meyer lemon. One of the neighbors has kids in Hawaii and is familiar with the fish. She cautioned me that it could go mushy quickly - and it did. Very mild flavor. I will use it in a fish cake or salad prep during the week. I had planned potato with lemon slices roasted with garlic and olive oil but my potatoes were more bin than oven worthy. I am finishing up the day with some popcorn (microwave- but I am keen on starting to use the "real" stuff)

[Darienne]

Am lovin' this, Heidi.

Using all those garden goodies: I will cook and freeze anything which seems to be likely to go beyond its best use time. Colored peppers were on special last week at an unbelievable low price here and so we bought a passel. I roasted them all and into the freezer they went. A dozen uses spring to mind.

Also I envy your having neighbors who are also interested in food, preparation and eating. The best part of living in Moab two years ago for 6 months was sharing with my next-door neighbor/landlady/friend our interests in just this. First and only time in my life to have a next door friend. (I really don't even have next door neighbors now.) Actually, I suppose that's why eG is so important to me.

[heidih]

Good morning. I posted about my pears last fall here. The trees are just starting to show blossoms this week. I want to be more creative this year and also more proactive. By the time I started experimenting with them, the critters had helped themselves to most of the harvest

[heidih]

I zipped over to the 99 cent store for some wild bird food and took a couple photos.

Long wall of canned goods - 90% vegetables

Several views of the produce bins

[heidih]

By late afternoon the produce bins will be mostly empty. I find it really heartening to see families and seniors excited about inexpensive produce. Standing in the check out line I notice that the majority of customers are purchasing vegetables or fruit if they are buying food.

I grabbed a 5 pound bag of Idaho potatoes (99 cents) and a small container of Breakstone reduced fat sour cream for 59 cents. I generally go for full fat but this is what they had. Their expiration dates tend to be in the near future. This one was May 15 and was labeled Kosher for Passover.

A mid morning snack seemed in order so I mixed the sour cream with a healthy squirt of wasabi paste and a dash of dry mustard to top the beets I cooked yesterday. I enjoyed it along with taboulie from the farmer's market, and the salad I made yesterday topped with some of the unsuccessful fish from last night. It was a perfect snack on this warm day.

[PopsicleToze]

Produce at a $0.99 store -- whatta deal! I love your mid-morning snack, too. Such great produce and healthy eating.

[heidih]

I just got back from the Ishibashi Farm Stand which grows its produce along the runway of the Torrance Airport. The family is a farming institution on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Here is a piece on their origins and return after internment. The stand is manned by family members and is a treasure. I get all choked up every time I think about their history.

In the summer their corn is the only corn I will buy. It is yellow, very corny, but still sweet. That and my dad's tomatoes form the basis of my summer eating.

Here are some shots of the stand and the fields. The corn is about 3 feet high as of today.

[heidih]

I did stop in at Starbucks for some Passion iced tea while driving around

I had hopes for this new market. I saw produce on tables outside the other day and a guy sitting in a chair. Today it was locked and peeking inside I noticed no shelving. Perhaps they were just starting to sell product when they were around. I will keep an eye on it

[heidih]

I did pick up a few things from the farm stand. A basket of strawberries because I could not resist the smell- they are on the counter and if it looks like they are headed south I will slice and freeze (ghetto sorbet). The little plump squash will go into my veggie cornbread when I pick up vegetarian Indian this week. The green beans will be tossed as they are - no prep - into salted water until just tender to the bite (al dente?) and dipped into that sour cream/wasabi/mustard I made earlier for the beets. The white package is the way they lovingly package the berries. The other produce is handed over in brown paper bags.

[Shelby]

The first teaser shot showed iced tea in a vintage pitcher so I thought I would address my iced tea. It is my all day beverage. Several years ago I picked up a brewing method from a friend that is simple and works for me. I nuke a cup of water in a pyrex measuring cup and then add 4 to 6 tea bags, depending on the type. Today I used 3 bags of the Safeway brand black tea and 2 of Bigelow Perfect Peach. I let it steep for a few minutes, again depending on the tea, pour into the pitcher and fill with water from the tap. As summer approaches I will have different flavors going in pitchers. Anyone an iced tea fiend?

I used to be until I had a huge panic attack after ingesting iced tea all day long. I really think it was due to all of the caffeine.

I used to have sun tea going all day every day here in Kansas. Makes me want to try it again.....

Loved the market!

[heidih]

Shelby - my tea is half "real" and half herbal. We had some families that did the sun tea thing in the 70's but cold water in the fridge works as well and no risk of yuck in the hot weather. I am planning on going even more herbal with the tea for the next batch - stay tuned