Plantains, Beans an Rice

Today I swung by Market Basket in Chelsea for some things, and found a bunch of dented cans of black beans on sale for 30 cents, and a pile of beautifully yellow plantains. I also had some leftover cilantro from last nights supper, and rice. that seemed like a good start for dinner.

When I worked at a non profit residential program for kids in trouble (throw em a couple of bucks if you can), one of my favorite guys on staff was named Manolo. His family was from the Dominican Republic, and he would make platanos, beans and rice for the kids. I used his method for tonights dinner:

Peel the plantain (it's pretty much like peeling a banana except it helps to use a knife to get started because the peel is so thick). Slice into 1 inch slices. Fry on each side in a pan of cannola oil.

From More Cupcakes

Then drain on a paper towel

From More Cupcakes!

Use the bottom of a glass or some other flat object to squash the fried plantain,

From More Cupcakes!

then refry again in the oil,

From More Cupcakes!

Drain again on paper towels, and salt and pepper the finished product and enjoy!

From More Cupcakes!

For the beans I chopped up an onion and three cloves of garlic and sauteed in butter. Then I chopped up a tomato and a cup of cilantro and added a can of black beans. I seasoned them with some adobo, which is a combination of salt, pepper and spices. If you don't have it, then salt, pepper and cumin should do. Rice was just rice, so...that should be easy :P

H Mart, Bok Choi, and Korean Style Salmon

Today I went to Burlington to get Ninja (my Ford Focus Hatchback) an oil change at sears, with plans for a trip to H Mart. H Mart is a Korean grocery store that is GINORMOUS, with a food court (I had some fresh rolls from the Vietnamese booth "Pho Sure") and lots of people set up sampling foods. We got Bok Choi and Cucumbers in the farm share, so I figured I'd do something with the Bok Choi, with some salmon for supper tonight, and then make some Sushi Salad for dinner later this week (maybe Monday before trivia). I LOVE asian grocery stores. They have great prices on produce (lemons are even cheaper at H Mart than at Market Basket, which seems impossible) fun products (ask my roommate G about Red Bean Ice Cream Pops sometime) and ingredients that are hard to find.

Anyhow, for dinner tonight I made Bok Choi with peanuts and cilantro (which I love) and Korean Salmon.

Bok Choi with Peanuts and Cilantro (recipe from What Did You Eat)

2 bunches bok choi washed, and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbsp neutral oil (peanut or canola)

1/4 cup peanuts

pinch red pepper flakes

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp liquid (I used water, but OJ or lemon/lime juice would be interesting I think)

1 cup cilantro (aka Chinese parsley) chopped

heat the oil in a pan/wok and then fry the peanuts and pepper flakes and a pinch of salt for a minute

cook the onions and ginger for another minute or two

add the bok choi and cook until just starting to wilt 5 min or so

add the liquids and cilantro and simmer til the sauce thickens a bit

I used this as a side, but you could toss in some chicken or tofu and make a meal out of it. Especially over some soba noodles

As for the salmon, I made a sauce that I found on Morsels and Musings that uses a Korean ingredient called gochujang (my bottle was spelled Chogochyjang, which wikipedia tells me is actually a different product, made with gochujang with extra ingredients).

From More Cupcakes!

it looks a bit like ketchup, but it's made from red peppers and is fermented and has a nice kick. The sauce I made based loosely on the recipe from Morsels and Musings:

2 tbsp each

Miso Paste

Chogochyjang

Orange Juice

sesame oil

2tsp soy sauce

I combined them all, and then basted the salmon with it and broiled it

Fist Full of Blueberries

We got a little container of blueberries in the farmshare, and I saw a recipe on The Gingered Whisk for Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes. Blueberry pancakes tend to be a bit too fluffy and sweet for me, and don't stand up well to the blueberries. This recipe is fluffy, with some crunchy. I added some lemon zest to enhance the flavor of the blueberries. I also used 2 cups milk and the juice of one lemon instead of buttermilk.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes (Eat Live Travel Write)

From More Cupcakes!

1.5 cups cornmeal
¾ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tso coarse kosher salt

zest 1/2 lemon
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
¼ cup canola oil
Melted Butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
Maple syrup for serving

Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, and oil.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisk to blend, and let stand for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and place a baking sheet in the oven to warm.
Preheat griddle/cast iron skillet over medium heat and brush with some melted butter.
Working in batches, spoon ¼ - ½ cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake.
Sprinkle each pancake with a tablespoon of blueberries.
Cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.
Transfer to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm until you are finished cooking all the pancakes.
Serve with maple syrup.

5 Spice Ginger Pickles

I love love LOVE pickles. And I love love LOVE ginger. And cucumbers go bad fast, so I decided to make some "quickles" aka quick pickles. Basically these are refrigerator pickles. You slice the cucumber (and onion in this case) and then soak them in a brine in the fridge. I don't bother going through the canning process, mostly because I'm lazy and afraid of botulism.

1 cucumber sliced

1 half sweet onion sliced

1/2 cup mirin (sweet rice seasoning)

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tsp five spice powder

1/2 tsp salt

combine the liquid in a jar, then layer the pickles and onions and toss in the fridge. The longer they soak the more flavorful they get.

I have a bunch of Kale at my house from our CSA, and I figured I'd make some stew with potatoes and beans. I like the way the stew has both sweet and salty flavors. Zeke had a great idea of adding peanuts for some crunchy, which I would definitely do next time.

Moroccan Veggie Stew

Ingredients
1 onion chopped
4 cloved garlic minced
1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
4 potatoes peeled and cubed
1 bunch kale, stems removed cut into 1 inch strips
1 can diced tomato and juice
3 cups veggie broth
1 cup dried lentils
1 can garbonzo beans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tsp aleppo pepper (or 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper)
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dried apricots
2 tbsp butter

in pot melt butter and sautee onion and garlic
sautee kale for 3 min
add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until lentils soften

Dandelion Green Pasta

Dandelion Green Pasta, a photo by kel h on Flickr.

Got some Dandelion Greens in last week's farmshare. They are mighty bitter, which is why I added the butter to the recipe.

From Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka

Ingredients:
3 cups penne
1/4 c olive oil
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 small white onion chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
bunch dandelion greens with thick stems removed, cut into 1 1/2 inch strips
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese for serving

cook penne in salted water per instructions. reserve liquid

heat olive oil in pan, cook garlic and onion until just beginning to brown

stir in red pepper flakes until starts to sizzle.

cook dandelion greens 3 min until bright green

add butter and 1/3 cup pasta water and bring to boil in skillet. cook til reduced by half. salt and pepper to taste.

Toss to coat with sauce and serve with grated parmesan

Fiddlehead Pasta with Beurre Blanc

Fiddlehead Pasta with Beurre Blanc, a photo by kel h on Flickr.

this is the second time I've gotten fiddleheads in the CSA farmshare. They're interesting, with a mild, fresh, green taste and interesting texture. The important thing seems to be choosing something that doesn't overwhelm the flavor, which is why I chose Beurre Blanc sauce and angel hair pasta. If I had frozen peas I would have added some of those too. Could also work with a mild protien like shrimp.

Ingredients:
1 bag fiddleheads
1 box angelhair pasta
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon
1 small shallot grated
2-3 garlic cloves grated
handful parsley chopped
salt and pepper

Directions

Boil a pot of water

soak and gently rub fiddleheads with paper towel and cut off ends as needed

drop fiddleheads in for 3-5 min until "tender crisp", then put in cold water bath to keep from over cooking

add salt to water and boil pasta per instructions

zest lemon and set aside

in saucepan heat up wine, juice from lemon, shallot and garlic. simmer until sauce reduces by half.

add two sticks of butter and zest a tablespoon at a time.

once sauce thickens, add parsley, salt and pepper to taste and toss with pasta and fiddleheads