Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Purple Pleasures: Purple Carrots, Purple Beets, Purple Cabbage, Purple Onion Relish

Purple Pleasures: Purple carrots, Purple Beets, Purple Cabbage, Purple Onion Relish


Summer is the only time we visit the farm often, naturally. During each of these farm visits that are primarily focused on berry-picking, I exercise my right to loiter in the market attached to the farm, mentally salivating and resisting the urge to grab a bunch of each and every single produce there. That is, until the other adult gently but insistently escorts me to the checkout.

While the escort maneuvre was in progress last weekend, I held up a bunch of purple carrots grinning from ear to ear. But you have a pound of carrots at home already, he reasoned. Ah, but they are not purple, I clarified. You are going to be eating a lot of carrots this week, the wise septuagenarian co-shopper explained to him genially, all the while beaming at me. I could have hugged her right then.


Purple Pleasures: Purple carrots, Purple Beets, Purple Cabbage, Purple Onion Relish




The bright purples were irresistible at the farm market and so they came home with me, with no particular agenda except to use them as wisely as possible: purple carrots, purple cabbage, purple beets, purple onions. Well, sometimes the cabbage and beets fall under the "red foods" category, but, they seemed quite the purple to me this time so purple they shall be.


Ingredients
¼ cup finely chopped garlic
2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium purple/red onion grated
1 cup grated purple cabbage
2 cups grated purple beets
2 cups grated purple carrots

Flavoring:
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup balsamic
1 teaspoon dried caraway seeds or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 Tablespoon red hot chili powder or ground black pepper (adjust to taste)
4 Tbsp brown sugar
salt to taste

¼ cup oil

Preparation
  1. Heat the oil in a pan, add garlic, ginger and onions, saute till aromatic
  2. Add the grated beets, carrots, cabbage, some salt, and stir in the rest of the flavoring ingredients
  3. Allow to simmer till liquid evaporates and the relish comes together to a coarse spreadable consistency
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning
  5. To preserve it, canning is done in a boiling water bath, just standard procedure


Purple Pleasures: Purple carrots, Purple Beets, Purple Cabbage, Purple Onion Relish


Ways to savor the Purple Carrot Beet Relish:
  1. Mix with goat cheese and cream cheese and use it as a sandwich spread
  2. Stir some in with thick Greek yogurt and use it as a Wrap sauce
  3. Add a dollop of it to crackers and enjoy with cheese
  4. Toss some cooked pasta with the beet relish, top with feta or other favorite cheese and enjoy a quick tasty meal minus the tomato sauce
  5. Spread it on a pita or naan, top with avocado, watercress, snow peas and spring onions, fold in half or roll it up

Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad


Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad

Trips to Farmer's Market make me giddy. So many colors, so many fresh and earthy goods  make it hard for me to pick just a handful to bring home.

Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad

Today, I couldn't resist the bunch of purple carrots and a lovely green papaya. So, they came together for a Thai-style salad with some other items thrown in.

Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad



[image source: Amazon.com]

Ever since last Winter when I got this Spiralizer as a present, it has been a temptation to put all possible vegetables through it and see how they turn out. Everything from zucchini, carrots, potatoes to beets, green papaya and raw green mangoes have been Spiralized over the months.

Rather than Mandolin slicer that I am mortally afraid of, I went with Spiralizing the veggies for this salad.

Ingredients
1 to 2 cups Spiralized or Julienned raw green papaya
1 purple carrot Spiralized
1 orange carrot Spiralized
A handful of spring onions sliced thin
About a handful of thinly sliced red onions
2 green chilies thinly sliced
Chopped cilantro
Crushed roasted salted peanuts
lemon wedges for garnish

Dressing
1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp rice vinegar

Preparation
1. Combine the dressing ingredients and stir well 
2. Layer the papayas, carrots, chilies, red onions, spring onions, and dress as preferred
3. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts





Labels: , , , , ,

Friday, July 24, 2015

Roast Tomatoes Flavored with Home Garden Fennel and Basil


Roast Tomatoes Flavored with Home Garden Fennel and Basil

Sometimes, the simplicity and the earthiness is what makes a recipe special to me, not the long list of ingredients and complex steps to achieve the results. No doubt, traditional multi-tiered recipes have their merits, especially around holiday traditions and wintertime, but summers are for wholesome simplicity.

No one else in the household likes or appreciates tomatoes like I do. The youngest will quaff ketchup if I let him, the older child will turn up her dainty nose on all things tomato, and the other adult will accept adequate amounts of tomato sauce on pizza or pasta. Which leaves me as the sole consumer of copious amounts of  all varieties of fresh tomatoes in season in the family.


Although this summer's heat wave didn't excite me to turn on the oven, the lure of roast tomatoes overpowered my disinclination. 

Caramelized deeply thanks to balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of brown sugar plus olive oil, this plate of roast tomatoes with fresh mozzarella pearls and home garden fennel and basil was my special treat, for no reason except to celebrate the start of the tomato season, in my mind.

Roast Tomatoes Flavored with Home Garden Fennel and Basil

And, since no one else cares for fresh tomatoes from the home garden, I decided to grow my snack tomatoes in the Upside Down Hanging Contraption that was popular a few years ago. I have some Yellow Pear, Sweet Cherry, and Grape tomatoes in there, plus some tomatillos just for the fun of it. They are barely surviving, but, am hoping they'll give me plenty to munch on over the next few weeks.

Roast Tomatoes Flavored with Home Garden Fennel and Basil


Any old recipe would do for roasting tomatoes, the thickness of slices might affect the results. My preferred method for this batch was to cut the vine tomatoes into quarter-inch thick slices, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, sprinkle some minced garlic, salt and brown sugar, spray some olive oil and roast in a 460 ° F oven.


Italian basil is flowering and going to seed already in my garden. Between fresh homemade pesto and adding it to tomato sauce and other recipes, it has been a sweet companion throughout. Basil, Fennel, Oregano, Mint, Rosemary and Lemongrass are the only herbs I use frequently as they are readily available in my backyard. The one plant I've always wanted but haven't had success so far is Curry Leaves (Murraya Keonigii). Maybe someday...

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Home Garden Eggplant, Kale, Chard, Mint Rice with Lemon Cucumber Cherry Raita

Home Garden Eggplant, Kale, Chard, Mint Rice with Lemon Cucumber Cherry Raita


Summer has been rather hot around here, and I haven't been cooking anything new or interesting. Just the same trusted comfort foods. And a lot of salads. Home garden lettuce and kale have come in handy for the salad base so far.

Home Garden Eggplant, Kale, Chard, Mint Rice with Lemon Cucumber Cherry Raita


Ichiban eggplant, kale, chard, mint and chilies from the garden came together for this simple Indian rice dish flavored with mild spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, plus star anise, cardamom and cloves, along with some crushed ginger and garlic.


Home Garden Eggplant, Kale, Chard, Mint Rice with Lemon Cucumber Cherry Raita


Typically, raita is a cooling yogurt accompaniment served with spicy dishes in India. This time, I went with lemon cucumbers from my garden (pictured in the right bottom corner of the collage above), plus some mint and cherries, as well as colorful mini peppers and red onions.



Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Newer›  ‹Older