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June 24, 2006
Farmers' Market Haul - 6/18/2006
I took a photo of some of my farmers' market bounty last Sunday, but didn't get around to posting until today.
Last Sunday was all about fruit. I bought:
- Some apricots
- Some peaches and nectarines
- 2 pounds of cherries
- Some teeny tiny baby Asian eggplant (the smallest ones were just a little bigger and thicker than one of my fingers).
- An enormous bunch of basil
The eggplant and some of the basil went into a really yummy fritatta. A bit more basil went into assorted salads, but I wasn't able to use it all up before it wilted. Next time I buy basil at the farmers' market, I should make a big batch of pesto. We've eaten half of the apricots, and most of the cherries, but the bulk of the peaches and nectarines remain stubbornly hard as rocks. (I did get a single ripe nectarine a couple of days ago, which I ate for breakfast.) I'm bemused - the batch I bought the week before at the farmers' market ripened fully in a few days. If these don't ripen soon, I may end up cooking them.
That sounds like a threat, doesn't it? Picture me shaking my finger at my fruit bowl, saying, "Now, if you don't ripen soon, I'll have to cook you!"
I have a backlog of things I want to post about - I've tried a couple of interesting recipes in the past week. I'll try to get caught up this weekend, but I probably won't be able to post any more today - we're off to my annual company party soon.
Posted by spaceling at 04:48 PM | TrackBack
June 13, 2006
Roasted Green Beans
I tried out a recipe tonight for roasted green beans, from Andrea Chesman's The Roasted Vegetable. I hadn't really thought of green beans as good roasting vegetables, but Chesman's description of this recipe as one that could turn green bean haters into green bean lovers made it too intriguing to pass up.
The recipe is really simple: Take 2 pounds of green beans, ends trimmed. Spread them out in a single layer on 1 or 2 pans. Drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil, and pop them in a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. (I shook the pan a couple of times, but the beans just slid around rather than turning over, so they browned mostly on one side. Next time, I think I'll stir - or use a deeper pan, so I can shake more vigorously.) When done, put the beans into a bowl, add salt to taste, and serve.
The beans did not look very pretty when they came out of the oven. They were brown on one side, drab olive green on the other, and somewhat shriveled. However, they tasted wonderfully caramelized and delicious. The recipe lived up to its billing - Mr. Spaceling, who does not like green beans, had two helpings.
And he asked me to roast some more vegetables soon. I wonder what I should try roasting next?
Posted by spaceling at 10:27 PM | TrackBack
June 11, 2006
Farmers' Market Haul - 6/11/2006
It's been much too long since I've been to the Japantown farmers' market. So much for my intentions to eat locally in May. While I was away from the farmers' market, summer finally happened. There were three fruit sellers there that I don't normally see in winter, and the place was overflowing with peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, and strawberries. The vegetable stands were not to be outdone, offering eggplant, onions, multiple varieties of squash, fresh herbs, and what I think were cucumber shoots. The trick was in deciding how much of this stuff I could possibly eat before it went off. Here is what I got:
- 4 white peaches
- 6 small white nectarines
- 4 small daikon radishes
- 4 small cucumbers
- ~2 pounds of green beans
- 1 bunch basil (I think it may be thai basil)
And I still didn't manage to spend more than $10.
I think I'll make a salad with the cucumber, daikon, and basil, and dress it with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and maybe a splash of fish sauce. I think I may try roasting the green beans - this is purportedly makes them tasty to non-green-bean lovers. I have not yet sold Mr. Spaceling on green beans. The peaches and nectarines will probably just get eaten out of hand, though I may try making a fruit salsa if the mood strikes me.
Posted by spaceling at 10:17 AM | TrackBack
June 10, 2006
Provencal Green Bean and Tomato Salad
I have no idea if this dish actually resembles anything actually eaten in Provence. But I was going for a sort of Provencal combination of flavors. This makes a really quick and scrumptious side dish. It made me do the happy dance when I tasted it.
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb. green beans, trimmed into 1 to 1.5 inch lengths.
- 1 container cherry tomatoes, halved (the tomatoes, not the container)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- A few sprigs of fresh herbs, minced. (I used fresh chervil. I'd never tasted chervil before. It's a lot like tarragon, with maybe a hint of dill. I like it, but you could use parsley, basil, tarragon, thyme, or probably even mint, and I think the salad would still work.)
- One decent-sized shallot, minced
- olive oil
The Steps
- Blanch the green beans in a pot of simmering salted water for about 1 minute. Drain and run under cold water to cool. (Note: this produced green beans that were still very crunchy and raw tasting - it you want them more cooked, increase the time.)
- Toss the beans, tomatoes, shallot, herbs, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Drizzle in olive oil to taste. Crumble in the goat cheese, and toss again.