This Week’s Vegetables

The veg box from our farm share this week had all the colors of the rainbow, save blue*.

CSA veggies 9/10/09

I used the salad mix with a fresh tomato, garnished with chopped bacon, with blue cheese dressing made with Big Wood’s Blue from Shepherd’s Way Farm–adding blue to the week’s rainbow!

Blue Cheese Dressing, from Cook’s Country, Serves 6

If buttermilk is not available, use milk to create a somewhat lighter dressing.

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
5 tablespoons buttermilk
5 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Using fork, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together in small bowl until mixture resembles cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

I made caprese pasta again, with the onion and other tomato, and served it over spinach as a warm salad.

Carrots and melon went into Drake’s lunch. And he ate them!

Drake's Laptop Lunchbox

For the remaining spinach, I unearthed this recipe:

spinach salad

Wilted Spinach Salad with Miso Dressing, adapted from one by Ron Barron

2 slices whole wheat bread, buttered and toasted
1 medium garlic clove, sliced in half

1/2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbl. white miso
reserved garlic clove

1 bunch spinach, stemmed
1/4 c. kalamata olives

2-3 Tbl. olive oil

Rub cut side of garlic over buttered side of each piece of toast. Mince or press garlic and reserve. Cut toast into half-inch square croutons.

In large bowl, whisk together vinegar, miso and garlic. Top with spinach and olives.

Heat olive oil in small saucepan till shimmering (not smoking). Pour over salad. Toss to coat and wilt. Add croutons and toss again. Serve.

And the Veggie Slaw turned into a vehicle for almost all the remaining veg:

Veggie slaw

Veggie Slaw, starring broccoli, adapted from the Broccoli Slaw at Smitten Kitchen

Makes about six cups of slaw

1 heads of broccoli, trimmed
1 bunch celery, trimmed
2 or 3 carrots, peels and chopped
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/3 cup dried golden raisins
3 scallions, finely chopped

Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken (or mix 1/2 c. whole milk and 1/2 Tbl. vinegar or lemon juice; let sit for 5 min.)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 scallions finely chopped

Optional: 2 slices bacon

Cut broccoli, celery and carrots into large chunks, then chop into smaller ones, or use a mandoline or food processor. Stems of broccoli are OK, even good.

Toss the sliced veggies with the peanuts, raisins and chopped scallions in a large bowl. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients in a smaller one, with a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss well.

For optional bacon: fry in pan until brown, drain well on paper towels, then chop.

Season well with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped bacon.

Adaptations: substitute difference crisp veggies, like cauliflower, kohlrabi or turnip. Use different nuts or dried fruit. Use different onions like red, sweet or shallots.

*On an episode of Top Chef, Tom Colicchio claimed, in a voice of authority, that there were no blue foods. I suspect he maintains that all foods we think are blue are actually green or indigo. I can’t find anything to support his claim, but many to refute it: blue cheese, blue potatoes, blueberries, blue grapes, blue plums, and chokecherries, and blue-colored herbs, including borage, hyssop, rosemary, sage.

Interestingly, because blue foods are rare, the color blue is an appetite suppressant.

Comments are closed.