Category: Vegetables

Side Dishes, Vegetables

Bittman’s Glazed Carrots

by Wendi3 Comments on Bittman’s Glazed Carrots

As I type this, which has no connection to when it will flash across the interweb as a published post, I am a few short days away from embarking on a week’s vacation away from computers, blog, interwebs, and tweets.  My brain seems to already be in vacation mode, leaving me searching for something interesting to say about glazed carrots.

Frankly, I’ve got nothing.  Not even a picture to tempt you with their glazed deliciousness. All I can say is that in less time than it will take us to pack up our car for the trip, you can be serving up some glazed carrots.

Now that I think about it, these would make a great side to pack for our road picnic.  Great; now in addition to packing, cleaning the house, and finding a swim suit that I will not be embarrassed to wear in public, I need to make a batch of glazed carrots to save me from the temptation of rest stop french fries.

Why didn’t t anyone ever tell me how much work it is to go on vacation?

Bittman’s Glazed Carrots

Adapted from Mark Bittman

BAH Note:  This recipe is quite versatile and adaptable to whatever flavor combinations you prefer.  Prefer savory over sweet?  Substitute balsamic or soy for the orange juice.  Or get edgy and use ginger beer for a sweet and spiced flavor.  You “could” use whole carrots that you have peeled and cut into rounds or sticks.  I choose to use baby carrots straight from the bag.  Mr. Bittman says to use a saucepan 6 inches or less across.  I used a 2 quart saucepan just fine and suspect that I would have even been ok using my 10 inch frying pan.

  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into rounds or 1 pound baby carrots
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup orange juice

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Remove the lid and cook the remaining liquid down until it is nearly evaporated.  Serve the carrots with a bit of glaze.

{printable recipe}

Side Dishes, Vegetables

Molly’s Butter Glazed Radishes

by Wendi8 Comments on Molly’s Butter Glazed Radishes

What the heck does a picture of the cherry blossoms have to do with butter glazed radishes?  Your choices are:

  1. a)  Pink
  2. b)  Things that I “discovered” this year
  3. c)  A distraction for not having a picture of butter glazed radishes

Ok, this one is actually a trick question because it’s all of the above.

It’s funny that I just talked about food prejudices and how I have been guilty of letting my dislike of one form of a food keep me from enjoying it in any form.  I must add radishes to that list.

My previous knowledge of radishes was limited to them as hard rounds in my iceberg lettuce salad.  Not even fresh and peppery, they were blah and bland; so I banished them.  I read curiously about radishes and butter, wondering how people could find that enjoyable.  I could not comprehend the attraction to radishes anymore than I could understand why sane, rational people would brave the crowds of tourists to see the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC.

And then I did.

I realized that people come from all over the world to see the cherry blossoms in bloom.  Here I am with them a short metro ride away and I had never been bothered to see them.  I missed the peak blooming period but was still awed by their gentle grandeur.   I don’t think much can rival the beauty of cherry blossoms falling in the breeze like snowflakes.  And since I got there early enough to avoid the crush of tourists, I enjoyed that beauty in quiet solitude.

I think my visit to the cherry blossoms was right around the same time I decided to give butter glazed radishes a try.  Something about the way Molly described them made me curious…”…sweet, almost, and very delicate.  It’s quiet.”  I admit, I had been wrong about the cherry blossoms.  Maybe I was wrong about the radishes too?

Not only did those butter glazed radishes taste absolutely delightful –  tender and delicate, warm and buttery – the cooking transformed them from hard red to a soft, gentle pink.  Clearly I hadn’t given radishes enough credit to be more than just something crunchy in salad.

So on both accounts, I stand corrected.

Molly’s Butter Glazed Radishes

Adapted from Molly Stevens (All About Braising) as seen on Orangette

  • 1 pound radishes
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/8 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

If your radishes are not already trimmed, trim the roots and greens.  Soak the radishes for 10 minutes in a bowl of water to loosen any dirt then drain the water and scrub the radishes.

Place the radishes in a single layer in a 10 inch skillet.  Add the butter, water, salt, and sugar and bring to a simmer.  Cover the skillet and continue to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until a paring knife can easily pierce the radishes.

Remove the lid and carefully shake the skillet to roll the radishes all around the sauce.  Continue simmering another 5 to 10 minutes or until the liquid cooks down to a glaze that coats the radishes, increasing the heat if necessary.

{printable recipe}

Breads, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Flashback Friday – +2

by Wendi6 Comments on Flashback Friday – +2

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 10/13/08 at Exit 51.

+2

Despite my recent foray into decluttering my recipe files at home, I can’t help myself when it comes to printing new recipes to try.  Until someone comes up with a rehab program for this affliction, I’m just going to have to do my best to stay on top of it.  This may be easier said than done but I’m going to give it a shot.  And I’m going to start by trying these two new recipes that I stumbled across online.

The first is the infamous No Knead Bread, which Mr. Bittman has recently reworked to take less time and to be whole grain friendly.  Seeing as how I have almost five pounds of whole wheat flour taking up space at home, this is a no brainer addition to my to do list.

The second is a variation on roasted squash from the Washington Post’s Recipe Finder.  Since I don’t want SFC to get bored seeing plain roasted veg on his plate, this looks like a good place to start.

And I’m thinking that these two would go great together with something as simple as some hearty mushroom soup, salad, a quick frittata, roasted chicken, or Mr. Bittman’s Roasted Salmon with Pinot Noir Sauce.  Looks like I’ve got most of the makings of an entire meal right here.

Fast No Knead Whole Wheat Bread

Mark Bittman – New York Times

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup whole rye flour
  • 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • Oil as needed.

Combine flours, cornmeal, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Oil a standard loaf pan (8 or 9 inches by 4 inches; nonstick works well). Lightly oil your hands and shape dough into a rough rectangle. Put it in pan, pressing it out to the edges. Brush top with a little more oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour more.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread about 45 minutes, or until loaf reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees. Remove bread from pan and cool on a rack.

Yield: 1 loaf.

Herb Crusted Butternut Squash Wedges

Stephanie Witt Sedgwick – The Washington Post

  • 3 small butternut squash, about 8 ounces each (a total of 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence (see headnote)
  • 1/3 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Slice off the stem and root ends of each squash. Working with one at a time, stand the squash on its root end. Cut the squash in half vertically from top to bottom, then cut each half into 2 or 3 wedges, discarding the seeds in each wedge. Repeat with the remaining squash. (The squash can be peeled, if desired.)

Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet and toss with the oil until well coated, then arrange so that the wedges’ points are facing upward. Sprinkle with the herbes de Provence (crushing them between your fingers as you work) and salt, then season with pepper to taste. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and let the wedges roast for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on their size), until they are fork-tender and starting to brown. Let sit for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before serving. (As the squash is eaten, it is scraped off its baked skin.)

Side Dishes, Vegetables

Garlicky Green Beans

by Wendi16 Comments on Garlicky Green Beans

I may have mentioned before that we’ve gotten kind of bad about making sure our meals include some kind of vegetable.  Occasionally, I manage to include a veg on the plate.  More often than not, I don’t.  Here’s one of the ones that actually made it into a meal.

Garlicky Green Beans

Adapted from Kim O’Donnel

BAH Note:  KO’D recommends testing your oil by dipping the end of a green bean in it.  When the oil is ready it will sizzle.

  • 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed, snapped in half
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
  • 1 teaspoon white wine
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil, optional

Combine soy sauce, sugar, chili-garlic sauce, and wine in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan set over high heat until hot but not smoking.  Add green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.  Add the water, stir, and cover the pan.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the beans are crisp-tender, approximately 5 minutes.  Transfer the beans to a plate and drain off any remaining water.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the pan and place over medium high heat.  Add the ginger and scallion and cook approximately 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Return the green beans to the pan, give the soy sauce mixture a stir and add it to the pan.  Cook, stirring constantly until the liquid is almost evaporated, approximately 1 minute.  Drizzle with sesame oil, if using, and serve immediately.

{printable recipe}

Side Dishes, South Beach Diet, Vegetables

Flashback Friday – Oven Hot

by Wendi10 Comments on Flashback Friday – Oven Hot

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 9/24/08 at Exit 51.

Oven Hot

This recipe is coming to you courtesy of last week’s Food Chat over at the Washington Post. The timing was perfect since I’m trying to find new and interesting ways to work those SB Friendly veggies into our meals. SFC has already established that he’s a fan of the sweet potato. But I didn’t know how he’d feel about squash.

Hitting the Oven

He came in the kitchen as I was cutting and chopping and asked, “Is that squash?”  The tone of his question didn’t tell me whether he was excited or not.  He went off to the basement, to do whatever it is he does down there, and I went back to getting the squash, shallots, and rosemary ready for their coating of salt, sugar, and olive oil.

About thirty minutes later, after the vegetables had come out of the oven and the pork chops went in for a quick roast, he came upstairs.  Making his way over to the cooling veg, he said, “Something smells good.”  Before I could say a word, he started stealing bites off the sheet pan.  Guess that means that he won’t mind if I make this again.  I hope not, because I picked up another squash at the store this weekend.

My only gripe with this is that there’s no reference to oven temperature.  I started out with my oven around 400 degrees.  After the first 20 minutes of roasting, I cranked it up to around 450.  I think the squash was a little too crowded on the sheet pan.  I had more of a steamed veg than a roasted one.  No matter though.  We ate it all.

Butternut Squash Roasted with Rosemary and Shallot

From The Washington Post, who credits it as being adapted from Fine Cooking magazine.

This side dish achieves long-roasted flavor and caramelization in a half-hour’s time. To double the recipe, use 2 baking sheets; if roasting both sheets simultaneously, increase the final roasting time to 20 to 25 minutes.  This can be made several hours ahead and reheated just before serving.

4 servings

  • 3 cups 3/4-inch diced butternut squash (from a 2-pound squash)
  • 4 medium shallots, cut into quarters
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Distribute the diced squash and quartered shallots in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over them and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the rosemary, salt, sugar and pepper over the vegetables and toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, stir the vegetables and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve hot.

Side Dishes, South Beach Diet, Vegetables

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

by Wendi20 Comments on Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

 

image from http://www.istockphoto.com

I’m going to tell you a secret.  I have gotten very lax when it come to vegetables.  I know I should “Strive For Five” and all that but it is not happening.  It’s not that I don’t like vegetables.  Why just recently, I discovered that leeks are perfectly lovely and I’ve learned to love beets.  I think I just get tired of having the same vegetables the same way all the time.  And I can’t very well pretend that french fries represent the kind of vegetables that I should be consuming on a regular basis.

I want to be better.  But I think I need some help.  So tell me, how do you keep from getting stuck in the same old, same old vegetable rut?

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

Adapted from South Beach Quick and Easy

BAH Note: When I eat roasted cauliflower, I could almost swear I was actually snacking on fries.  I think it has to do with the oil and salt and the texture once the cauliflower is roasted.  It will never be as good as fries but it’s a compromise I can live with.

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Combine the cauliflower, oil, ancho chili powder, and salt in a medium bowl or directly on the prepared sheet pan.  Arrange into a single layer on the pan and roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and well browned.

{printable recipe}

South Beach Diet, Vegetables

Notes on a Recipe, Molly’s Spicy Pickled Carrots

by Wendi4 Comments on Notes on a Recipe, Molly’s Spicy Pickled Carrots

Prepped

The following originally appeared on 5/11/09 at Exit 51.

Notes on a Recipe – Molly’s Spicy Pickled Carrots

That Molly, she doesn’t mess around.  Those pickled carrots, they knocked my socks off.  First, because they were good.  Second, because they were HOT.  SFC thought they were just right but they were too spicy for me.  So depending on your tolerance, you might want to turn down the heat by reducing the red pepper flakes and maybe not cracking the black pepper corns.

Also, Molly’s basic brine is beautifully versatile.  After the carrots were safely tucked away in the fridge to do their thing, I cooked up a second batch for some asparagus.  Instead of red pepper flakes and thyme, I used fresh dill.  A quick taste hints at a slightly sweeter flavor with a more traditional tang.  Next time, I will wait and add the dill after the brine is off the heat to prevent some slight dill discoloration.  And instead of putting in whole bunches of dill, I will give it a rough chop.  Because having a big dill frond cling to your pickled asparagus is not good eating.

In case you missed the recipe, here it is.  I encourage you to mix things up and use vegetables and herbs and spices that you like.  Because, as I said to our guests as we devoured a plate full of pickled carrots and asparagus, this is ridiculously easy.

Molly’s Spicy Pickled Carrots

From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

  • 2 cups apple cider vinegar, plus more for topping jars
  • 2 cups water, plus more for topping jars
  • 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 6 (5 to 6 inch) sprigs fresh thyme
  • 5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 pounds small (finger sized) carrots, or standard sized carrots cut into sticks about 1/2 inch wide and 3 inches long

Combine 1 1/2 cups vinegar, water, sugar, thyme, garlic, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, salt, and mustard seeds in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.  Add remaining 1/2 cup vinegar.

Put carrots in large heatproof bowl, pour warm brine over them. Cool to room temperature.

While the carrots cool, wash two quart sized canning jars and their lids in warm soapy water.

When carrots and brine are cooled, divide carrots evenly between jars, arranging them snugly.  Using your fingers and wide mouth canning jars makes this easier.  Divide the brine evenly between the jars.  The carrots should be completely covered by the brine.  If not, add a mixture of 2 parts vinegar and 1 part water to cover.

Seal firmly and refrigerate three days to a week.  The carrots take time to absorb the brine.

Side Dishes, South Beach Diet, Vegetables

Eat Fresh

by WendiLeave a Comment on Eat Fresh

Fresh Picked

The following originally appeared on 5/13/09 at Exit 51.

Eat Fresh

Advertising executives may want you to believe that eating fresh means patronizing a certain fast food chain.  To me, it’s something entirely different.  My definition of eating fresh is cutting down, as much as possible, the  journey fruits and vegetables take from the grower to my plate.  Since I’ve come to peace with the fact that I will never be the house in the neighborhood that has a killer vegetable garden, I am eager to find an alternative.  See those beautiful spears of asparagus?  That was my first attempt.

I should preface all this by saying that there was a distinct lack of fresh vegetables in my house as a child.  We ate vegetables, but they came out of either a can or a bag and were destined to be boiled down into unappetizing mush on the stove.  Tomatoes were the exception.  There was always a  plate of  fresh (from the grocery store) tomatoes in the house.  My grandmother would work wonders with even the toughest, driest  tomatoes turning them into blt’s or frying them up in her cast iron skillet until the crust was perfectly browned and crisp.  Those were some of the best summer breakfasts.

So I grew up thinking that asparagus was mushy and tinny and came with an overabundance of sodium.  It has only been as an adult that I’ve discovered the true nature of the spears.  And thanks to the folks at the farm stand, I now know what asparagus aspires to be.  Having just been picked the day before I bought them, these spears still had life.  They were firm and strong, breaking with a clear snap.  The tips, usually the first place to show signs of  having been sitting around for a while, were tight and unbruised.  And the color?  It just screamed fresh.

Best of all was the taste.  The folks at the farm stand, who did the growing, assured me that I would taste a difference.  The only word I can come up with to describe what they tasted like is ‘green’.  It was like I was tasting Spring.  Bright and clean.

Now that’s eating fresh.

Pan Roasted Asparagus

This is our favorite way to fix asparagus (and string beans).  If you don’t have an indoor grill pan, use a large nonstick skillet.  This would also work well on a grill.  Just be sure to lay the spears perpendicular to the grill grates, skewer them together to make an asparagus raft, or use a grill basket.

  • Fresh asparagus, rinsed and stems trimmed
  • Olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Lemon zest

Lightly oil a nonstick grill pan, using either a silicon basting brush or paper towel to get a thin coat of oil.  Preheat pan over medium high flame.  Add asparagus and a big pinch of kosher salt.  Turn asparagus with tongs as they cook.  The color will turn bright green and the spears will begin to soften.  Dress with freshly grated lemon zest.

Side Dishes, South Beach Diet, Vegetables

Flashback Friday – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mashed Potatoes

by Wendi20 Comments on Flashback Friday – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mashed Potatoes

Flashback Friday

 

The following originally appeared on 8/11/08 at Exit 51.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mashed Potatoes

Some thoughts on our South Beach journey, now into its 10th day.

My desire to bring the camera into the kitchen is not so strong these days.  I’m not yet on friendly terms with these recipes.  I don’t know what to expect from them – will they misbehave?  So I’m more focused on trying to figure them out.  Hopefully as we stumble across ones that become favorites, I’ll be more gung-ho to capture the moments.

Also, all the prep that goes into getting ahead of the curve absolutely wrecks my kitchen.  I prefer a somewhat orderly approach to cooking.  Instead, my weekend cooking days have seen stacks and stacks of dishes on every available horizontal surface.  By the time I get all the week’s “snacks” prepped, it’s time to start fixing an actual meal.  And then all those dishes have to get cleaned up, and oh look, time to start pulling things out for dinner.  It’s a weary cycle right now.  My little dishwasher has gotten more use in the last ten days than ever before, sometimes running twice a day (but it is a really teeny tiny dishwasher). Continue reading “Flashback Friday – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Mashed Potatoes” →

Appetizers, Vegetables

Boathouse Roma Tomato Jam

by Wendi24 Comments on Boathouse Roma Tomato Jam

I  have an affinity for the idea of southern living.  I don’t know if I would enjoy actually living down in Dixie but in my perfect world, life is full of southern grace, charm, and food.  I think it would really depend on where in the south I happened to find myself.

I don’t think I could take the heat and humidity that seems to thrive down south (not that Maryland is any picnic in the summer).  And then there’s the whole tornado thing.  Maryland isn’t much of a tornado alley so the notion of storm cellars and twisters that can level entire neighborhoods makes me kind of uncomfortable.  Maybe it’s just that I’ve seen The Wizard of Oz and Twister too many times not to have a prejudiced notion of what it means to live with the possibility of these storms…god forbid somebody drops a house on me. And then there’s the bugs.  Fire ants, palmetto bugs, and mosquitoes the size of buzzards. My perfect world of southern living does not make accommodation for these pests.

So maybe actual southern living is not for me.  Perhaps I am better served by small doses of southern charm during long weekends away from the Free State. Regardless, thanks to my friend who let me borrow her copy of The Boathouse cookbook, I can bring a taste of that southern food into my own kitchen.  And right now, the south tastes like tomato jam. I wish that I did have a big cellar so that I could make big batches of this and can it for proper long term storage.  In my mind, that’s what my basement is for. Not for seeking refuge from the storm.

I am entering this recipe in the Get Grillin’ Event run by Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans. This week’s theme is appetizers.  Check out all the entries and submit one of your own!

Roma Tomato Jam

Adapted from The Boathouse

BAH Note: I’ve used this as a sandwich condiment, as a topping on flat bread, and on wee rounds of toasted baguette.  I bet it would be fantastic on a grilled pizza with some lovely, salty feta.

  • 1 container roma tomatoes (I guess there were about 6 or 8 tomatoes), coarsely chopped
  • 1 red onion, sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.  Add chopped tomatoes and onion and saute over medium high heat for about 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium low and add the balsamic and brown sugar.  Stir to combine and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 30 minutes or until a jam-like consistency is reached.  I turned off the heat when a spatula run through left a clean trail in the pan.

Serve at room temperature.  Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator.

{printable recipe}