Delivery 4

Leftover from last week: one zucchini and a little purslane. 

This week's haul:

Tropicana Lettuce - 1 head 
Romaine Lettuce - 1 head

Encino Lettuce - 1 head

Escarole - 1 head

Summer Spinach - 1 bunch

Mint - 1 bunch

Garlic Scapes - 8

Kohlrabi - 1 bunch

Summer Squash - 2 pounds

Three new things! Still more of the same. Etc! Highlights:

Lettuce

I have not had nightmares about lettuce but I may start. A friend suggested juice. Or braising. Or soup. I found (my fav) a tart- bonus for also using zucchini, and being from Kayser. Tropicana Lettuce reminds me of my hair, but beyond that I can't find anything special about it.

Escarole

Escarole looks like lettuce but it isn't- it's a broad-leafed endive. The internet is telling me it's less bitter than other varieties of endive- but apparently the leaf I tried hadn't heard that fact. It's a decently sized head, and beyond the standard saute with onions and garlic, I'm not sure what to do with all of it.

There's a simple braise, I'm not sure what to call this rich bready goodness but I want it, or maybe stuffed with rice. I could do that last one with any of my lettuces, too.

Or green harissa (bonus for mint). I've been meaning to try out this condiment. The only thing is now that I'm no longer in Spanish Harlem, grocery stores don't just automatically have all the varieties of peppers this calls for. A field trip is in order.

Mint 

Always very excited for fresh herbs. Not terribly long ago in my mind mint was just for desserts (though honestly I don't like mint ice cream) or toothpaste. But with a gentle touch I've liked it in more savory things lately. Would be nice and cooling for summer.

Beyond the harissa above, I have a small backlog of herbs from my last few weeks of cooking. May whip up a variation on salsa verde.

Summer Squash

I have a BBQ on the 4th, would love to make this zucchini salad. May even have enough leftover for that tart above. Or just sauteed/broiled in a little butter.

Dish 26: Breakfast for Dinner & A New Shiny

Sunday's normal breakfast was coopted by tomatoes and pizza, so I was jonesing for scrambled eggs. These were somewhat kitchen sink to clear out more room in advance of today's delivery, too. 

Chopped up garlic scapes and started those in a pan some oil. Once those had sizzled a bit added the remains of my Swiss Chard and some Romaine. After those had wilted added the eggs. You know how to scramble them.

I served it with some nommy SCRATCH sourdough and some sliced Kohlrabi, which I'd topped with a little salt and some olive oil- the salt enhances the flavor and fat helps deliver it.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, however, I bought a fancy Japanese knife :)

On the one hand, yes, I spent a lot on it...and the sharpening stone, and the case. But this thing will last forever as long as I take care of it. Quality over something easy and cheap. Part of my attempt to be an "Adult" and also "take this cooking thing seriously." I'll believe those things enough someday to not have them in quotes.

And! I signed up for a knife skills class at 3rd Ward, so hopefully I'll learn to not chop off my fingers. It's sooo sharp. Just need to think of a name.

Dish 25: Spring Rolls / Salad

I had a little more variety in this delivery so I thought it would be a good idea to revisit spring rolls.

Ingredients: vermicelli (again with toasted sesame oil), carrots, zucchini, kohlrabi, and buttercrunch lettuce. 

They were assembled as before. I still haven't gotten the right taut-ness down in the wrappers. 

It wasn't entirely successful. The ingredients had more texture than before which was nice, but none had a particularly strong flavor. I also prepped way too much of everything- dinner was already leftovers from my tart and the tomato, purslane and egg deliciousness.

I ended up prepping way too much of everything, so I used the leftovers in a salad. 

It was very similar- I think I used a little romaine as well. Again too many bland flavors- the dressing was a simple vinaigrette, and with the grated carrots it for reminded me of KFC cole slaw. I'm not sure what that means: watery and vaguely sweet?

Note for improvement: stronger flavors- either with ingredients, marinates, or dips. Maybe roast/broil some of the veggies?

Dish 13: 3/4 Salad

Tasty as it is blurry.

I checked out an awesome book from the library- The Flavor Bible. I've only started to delve into it. The main draw for me was the flavor matchmaking section. Pick an ingredient and its very likely in the book with recommended pairings. 

There were a few quotes for salads (I know, you're thinking, again with the effing salads)- one that I liked was from Sharon Hage: "Every salad should have elements of bitter, salt, heat and texture." It goes on to describe some things she does at her restaurant, but in general it's a good starting point. But I'd say something more along the lines of sweet, salty, bitter and umami?

The greens were just a mix of romaine and red sails lettuce (a little bitter). I had a little less than a quarter loaf of last weekends sourdough getting stale, so I cubed it and made croutons with a little oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper (salty). I made them on the stovetop which I don't recommend.

My favorite part of the dish were the pickled beety onions (a little sweet). They're leftovers from my adaptation of this awesome recipe from Alton Brown. I use a lot of rosemary. Pickled beets are summer to me.

The salad got a little oil and apple cider vinegar for dressing, then some sunflower seeds. That all had an unctuousness that was nice.

I really enjoyed it, not sufficient for a meal but definitely tasty.

Delivery 2

Delivery 2 was much like Delivery 1. I'm happy there's levels of consistency and variation so I can build on prior experience but not get too stagnant- but I do wish kale had carried over. So it goes.

Here's the haul:

Bok Choi - 1 head

Chinese Cabbage - 1 head

Red Sails Lettuce -1 head

Romaine Lettuce - 1 head

Buttercrunch Lettuce - 1 head

Mustard Greens - 1 bunch

Mizuna - 1 bunch 

Sorrel - 1 bunch

Sage with Flowers - 1 bunch

Garlic Scapes - 6 scapes
 

And the highlights:

Sorrel: I had no strong feelings about this guy when I saw it on the list, but then I ate a leaf...awesome! A really nice citrusy bite, especially the stems.

From Wikipedia: "The plant's sharp taste is due to oxalic acid, which is a poison. In small quantities sorrel is harmless; in large quantities it can be fatal." Neat!

Lots of stuff to do with this guy- there are drinks, pesto, or some kind of tart? I read the flavor mellows when it cooks, so I'm thinking the pesto.

Butter Crunch Lettuce: This is the cartoon lettuce shaped lettuce- does it come across in pics? The leaves feel nicely pliant so I may use it in a wrap situation. Like this.

Sage (with flowers): Don't get me wrong- this is very pretty- but doesn't the effort of growing flowers take some of the oomph out of the leaves? Apparently sage is good with chicken liver- which I know, gross, but I need to eat more iron and that's one of the best sources. Also- liver mousse? Nom. Here are a few choices for when I'm looking.

Garlic Scapes: The sign said take six out of the bin, so I did. Apparently they ran out of rhubarb last week- I have a feeling the shareholders showing up last minute may be scapeless. There are interesting looking dips (apparently suuuper strong, so it's in the lead), on a pizza, or in okonomiyaki or biscuits. So- basically- all the things.

And our good friend Mr Chinese Cabbage. Obviously not new, but I got a monster-sized head. It's already been cut up for a second, appropriately spiced, batch of kimchi.

Oh and I found a little slug on my kale. He was kind of cute (no pics, sorry), but yeah, guess we know it's organic!

Dish 10: Tofu and Greens, Updates

Today was a "hey quick lets use up what's left" kinda day. That was kale and romaine- those got a quick sauté with onions, garlic, ginger, tofu and a little soy sauce.

Oh and I went shopping today so yay, sriracha!

Perfect. There's still oregano left, but it doing fine and I'm ok with waiting.

And the updates: kimchi moved to the fridge to continue fermenting. And I made some dumplings!

I guess there's a reason they also call 'em pot stickers. Way to play to stereotypes, guys. Good thing you're so delicious.

Dish 9: Another Salad and Some Thoughts

Threw together another salad this morning. Epic cooking nights do not mean I prep anything for my actual meals.

The salad is few leaves each of my remaining greens- kale, romaine, and bok choy. Did the Sahadi's hummous dressing thing again- thinned it out a little more. It actually looked and acted like a dressing this time, which pleases me more than I'd like to admit.

I threw in some quinoa because it needed something. It still needs something more, but I feel better about this one.

It's probably odd I'm obsessing over this- it's occupying a weird space in my head. One that's attached to a larger concept or two.

For one- a lovely link came through my twitter feed this morning on how restrictions boost creativity. The salad concept is a little too varied for me to just do something and feel good about it. If I were to pick a style- maybe this is like a Caesar- then I could play around. Figure out what to add to achieve a similar result. There would be enough structure to feel like I'm moving forward on something. I briefly brought that up in the first salad post.

There's something else though. The idea that there are things I should just know how to do- like make a salad. Which is bull. The concept of should just produces guilt- like there's some external force that's judging me. So I'm trying to remove the word from my vocabulary- or rather, replace it.

When I'm saying I should know something- it's more accurate to say that I wish I knew- or, more than that, want to know. A want to know drives you forward, while the should holds you back. Instead of getting defensive and attempting to explain away this gap in my knowledge, admit it and move forward to filling it.

Also- if you come across someone who doesn't know something you assume is common knowledge- there's an XKCD comic for that:

Dish 3: Simple Salad

Is there a theory on how to compose a salad? Like what's the focus supposed to be? The greens, the toppings, the dressing? Or I guess ideally everything should just come together in some kind of harmonious whole. Or it depends on the situation. 

Obviously I'm over thinking this whole salad thing. Just realized lately that I never really ate them growing up. And though I eat them now I'm still not sure I "get" them. Whatever that means. 

This is a very simple salad. Too simple? I think I chickened out on going too much with any particular flavor and ended up with something not bad but bland.

I started with a base of romaine. Added the remains of my mustard greens and an equal portion of mizuna. Then I chopped up some radishes and carrots. 

The whole thing was tossed with a simple vinaigrette I'd thrown together the day before: rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, a little olive oil, a little soy sauce, and not enough ginger and garlic chives. And a little salt, pepper, and honey.

It was perfectly serviceable but nothing special. I have a habit of being vaguely disappointed when I do certain things- I think it's because I don't set clear goals. It's hard to be satisfied with your results when you didn't establish what qualifies as successful. 

So later tonight after unpacking a bit I threw together another super strong dressing. Maybe it's too strong? I'll call it the Immune Booster as its a lot of the things I've been told to eat when I'm getting a cold:

Ingredients (approx- mostly eyeballed and adjusted)

1.5 Tbs grated ginger

3 cloves grated garlic

1.5 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 Tbs olive oil

1.5 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp honey

Pinches of salt and pepper

There is no way this is bland, but at the same time no idea if it actually works with anything either. The goal was to attack my face and that it does.