Stir fried Napa cabbage, green garlic, and carrots with chopped peanuts and spicy sesame oil

I made this a couple of weeks ago and will be making it again with the head of Napa cabbage from this week's box. I started with a stalk of green garlic, a head of Napa cabbage, and some carrots. If you don't have green garlic, an onion would be a fine substitute.

First, prep the veggies. Peel and chop the carrots into 3/4" chunks. Wash the cabbage leaves, then give them a rough chop.  Finally, wash the green garlic and cut the white part into 1/4" pieces.

Start by cooking the green garlic in olive oil.

After a few minutes, add the carrots.  Then a few minutes later, add the cabbage. Cook the veggies to your desired tenderness.  I like the carrots to still have a bit of bite in them.

Just before serving, add a bit of sesame oil.  I used hot sesame oil this time.  I also put some chopped unsalted peanuts on the stir fry before serving.  I think the crunch and taste of the peanuts really made the dish.  Highly recommended, if you don't have peanut allergies in your house.

We ate the stir fry with some steamed dumplings that the husband had purchased frozen in Chinatown.

Japanese-style parsnip and carrots

I found this recipe for parsnip kinpira when searching for something to do with parsnips and carrots that would be a good accompaniment to a soy-glazed fish preparation that the husband was planning for dinner.  I started with two parsnips and three carrots, basically doubling the recipe.

Peeled them and cut into rather large matchsticks.

First, steam the veggies for 3 minutes (add 1 cup of water to your pan and cover it).

Then drain off the water.

Add some olive oil and stir fry for three minutes.  (When writing this post, I see that I was supposed to use sesame oil as well as olive oil, according to the recipe.  I didn't see that before, so I just used olive oil.  I do remember reading once that you shouldn't cook with sesame oil though, because it doesn't hold up to heat; instead it should be used as a drizzle after cooking -- but maybe that isn't true or I'm just not remembering what I read long ago correctly?)

Then add 2 T of soy sauce, 2 T of sesame seeds, and 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes.  I continued to stir fry the veggies for another minute or two to let the soy sauce cook in.

I liked them very much with dinner and then even more cold the next day in my lunchbox.

I still have many parsnips and carrots in my fridge, so will be making this again.

What's in the box, 6/12/14 edition

On the right day, there are boxes available for pick up.  Welcome to the first week of the summer CSA season.

In this week's box: green garlic, French breakfast radishes, cilantro, broccoli rabe, two kohlrabi (one green, one purple), a huge head of Boston lettuce, Napa cabbage, two small heads of broccoli, a bag of spinach and a bag of arugula.

I think I am going to try to make pesto with the arugula, because I've been on a pesto kick.  I don't think spinach would make a good pesto.

What's in the box, 6/11/14 edition

What's the in the box today?

Nothing, as noted by the photo my husband emailed me upon his return from the farm -- because I sent him there on the wrong day.  Last week was the last spring pick up, which I knew, but I neglected to remember (or read in the email sent by the farm) that this marked the switch to the summer pick up days.  Ours is Thursday; today is Wednesday.

To everyone at Siena Farms: I'm sorry that your lunch was interrupted by my idiocy.  

To my husband: Well, you're a bit more used to my idiocy, but I'm still sorry to have sent you on the wrong day.

Greens: salads and quiche

Last week's box had a fairly large bag of braising greens, largely baby kale, that I made into a quiche. For the basic quiche recipe, see the post on mushroom and pea tendril quiche. 

I removed the stems and washed the greens. I sautéed the white part of the green garlic, chopped, for about 5 minutes, then added the greens, covering them cook faster.  I added them to a par-baked pie crust to which I had first added some grated cheese.

As the greens packed the pie shell, I decided to just use 3 eggs for the filling with 3/4 c of milk.  Once I poured in the filling, I pushed down any greens that were poking up, as much as possible, to prevent them from drying up and burning during cooking.

Verdict: it was excellent.  A great way to use a huge bag of greens that was a bit like spanakopita, despite the fact that there was no spinach in the bag.  Had I used feta instead, I think it would have been even more like spanakopita.

We had salads with the quiche.  The first used the green oakleaf lettuce from last week's box with tomatoes, cucumbers, chopped kalamata olives, and some feta, with some pepper and olive oil to dress it.

The second was a fruit salad, with watermelon, nectarines, and an odd little yellow and purple melon that the husband brought back from the grocery store.  I added chopped mint and a drizzle of peach balsamic vinegar.

Kale and walnut pesto

I am starting to believe that the answer to all greens is pesto. Tonight, I started with a bunch of kale.

I washed it and removed the stems.

Then I blanched the kale for two minutes in boiling water.

After draining, I sat the strainer back in the pan to continue draining.  I ended up using some of this water to thin the pesto, instead of using pasta water, keeping more of the kale flavor.

I toasted about a 1/4 cup of walnuts, maybe a bit more, on the stove.

Then put the kale, walnuts, a bit of salt, the bit of kale water from the pan, and some parmesan into the food processor, blending well.  I've used up all of my green garlic from this week and last week, so didn't have any to add to the pesto.  That said, I don't think the pesto really needed garlic.

Husband, normally not a fan of kale, enjoyed the pesto. I think the walnuts were a good pairing with the kale, giving it a bit of sweetness that I don't think other nuts would have provided. I will definitely make this again, particularly as we start to get more kale each week.  I like kale in salads as well as kale chips, but the pesto is now my favorite kale preparation.

The end of the purple top turnips

I feel the need to mark this occasion. Last night, I finished the last of the purple top turnips in my fridge, turning them into turnip cakes.

Now I just have some parsnips and carrots to finish, then the last of the root storage will be gone! I am definitely ready for some summer veggies, especially tomatoes.