Eat Your Vegetables

I'm not really organized enough to stagger harvests.  I can intellectually appreciate how useful it would be to plant carrots or lettuce every few weeks for a continuous supply, but in reality once I'm on a roll, I just plant a bunch of stuff at once and hope for the best.  In my defense, I have a feast-or-famine professional schedule that can force me into such patterns.  For the same reason, while I enjoy picking a few lettuce leaves here and there for my sandwiches, I often end up with a large crop on the verge of bolting.

Thus, this weekend I realized it was time to clear out some space for the next crops.  My next big project is corn (both popcorn and sweet corn), which requires some space, even with the intensive system that I use.  The days are also getting hotter, which means I need to change out for some more appropriate crops.  At the end of yesterday morning, I had several large carrots, an obscene amount of bok choy, beets, broccoli, Swiss chard, and a few Japanese eggplants.

Once I bring veggies in from the garden, I want them cooked ASAP, as from previous experience home-grown varieties don't have the shelf life that store-bought does (I'll take that tradeoff for flavor and nutrition).  After everything was cut and washed, and the scraps (carrot tops, tough stems etc) thrown to the chickens, I separated leafy parts from stems, roots and chunky parts.  From this came a couple of base recipes for use over the next several days.

Roasted Vegetables

You can roast just about anything and it will taste good.  Use your imagination for herbs and spices - one of my favorites is to toss in fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme, although this time I left it plain because I was going to be using these in both Asian and Italian type dishes.

Ingredients

• Fresh vegetables like carrots, chard stems, eggplant, potatoes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, asparagus, bok choy stems etc., cut into bite size chunks
• Minced fresh garlic to taste
• Sea salt (start with 1 tsp and add more to taste)
• Oil (extra virgin olive oil is my favorite)
• Juice of one lemon
• Herbs, spices, etc. 

Directions

1. Separate thick root vegetables from more delicate items like eggplant
2. Toss with salt, oil, lemon juice, and herbs until well coated
3. Bake the root veggies at 250 Fahrenheit on a cookie sheet, checking and stirring every thirty minutes OR double wrap in tin foil and cook on the grill
4. Once you can stick a fork in the root vegetables, add the rest and toss to coat
5. Bake until tender
6. Use immediately, or cover tightly and refrigerate.

Sauteed Leafy Greens

1. Wash well and chop leafy vegetables such as chard leaves, spinach, or bok choy leaves
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat
3. Toss in the greens and stir while they cook - they will initially steam from the water still clinging to the leaves, then get crispy as the water evaporates
4. Use immediately or refrigerate for future use

Day One:  Asian Pan-Fried Noodles with Sauteed Bok Choy and Swiss Chard

Ingredients

• Leafy greens, above
• Fresh asian noodles, such as yaki soba or saimin
• Optional:  Tofu, chicken, or other protein
• Sesame oil, canola oil and/or peanut oil

 Directions

1. Heat skillet over medium-high heat
2. If you're planning on cooking chicken or some other meat, sautee in span with a little salt now
3. Remove the meat and put the noodles in the pan with 1/4-1/2 cup water, cook until tender, adding more water if needed.  This should only take a few minutes.
4. Add some oil (I like the flavor of sesame and a little goes a long way) and allow to cook until the water has evaporated and the bottom becomes crispy
5. Toss noodles and fry a bit longer (you can use as much oil as you like, but the more you use, the crispier they will be)
6. Add the greens and, if you're using it, tofu, continue to cook gently until heated through

Day Two:  Pasta Primavera

Cook a pound of your favorite pasta according to the package directions and drain.  Toss with the roasted vegetables and your favorite sauce, plus or minus Parmesan cheese, protein etc.  Since my kids seem to eat everything at room temperature, I usually add the other stuff to the pasta straight from the fridge, but you could heat it in the microwave first.

Save your leftovers for....

Day Three:  Pasta Frittata

 My secret weeknight weapon - this comes together fast!  Adapted from Jeanne Lennon's book Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.

 Ingredients

• Four cups of leftover pasta recipe
• 1/4 cup milk
• 5 eggs, beaten
• Extra cheese or salt, if desired (or needed - with a salty base pasta recipe I usually leave it out)

Directions

Combine the eggs and milk, then stir in the pasta and cheese.  Bake in a greased pie plate at 375F for 15 minutes, give the top a quick stir with a fork, then bake an additional 10-15 minutes until the center is almost set.  Cool and cut into wedges.

Bi Bim Bap:  Pretty, no?  Look closely - that egg
is our first double-yolker!

Day Four:  Bi Bim Bap

Bi Bim Bap is a traditional Korean dish consisting of grilled meat and vegetables served over rice and topped with an egg.  This is my bastardized version.

Ingredients

Roasted vegetables, sauteed greens, meat, tofu, beans sprouts, whatever
Egg(s)
Cooked rice

Directions

Prepare or reheat vegetables, grill the meat, etc.
Heap cooked rice in a bowl and arrange the meat and veggies on top
Fry or poach an egg (heck, scramble it if you want) and place over the veggies

For more information on this versatile and yummy dish, as well as a recipe for the traditional Gochuchang (pepper) paste that, in my opinion, makes the dish, go here.

Now go chow down!