A Good Dish

making food simpler

Simple Sautéed Packaged Greens Are My Back Up When I Am Out Of Everything Else (Including Ideas)

Sautéed pea greens
Dogwood Bowl by Birdie Boone
Glazed dark stoneware

Do you ever feel stymied when trying to plan dinner and have no clue what vegetable to make? Me, too. It is easy to choose when you’ve just been to the market and the seasonal vegetables, (like asparagus and sugar snaps now), were plentiful. But there are times when everything looks a little sad or wilted and not very appealing. I try to stock up regularly with the consistently available broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and kale. And there are always frozen peas. But on the days when my fridge seems bare, I rely on the bags or boxes of pre-washed greens I keep stashed for just such occasions.

All kinds of packaged greens are available and can last a few days in the fridge
Sautéed pea greens in a
Dogwood Bowl by Birdie Boone

I have mixed feeling about these bags and boxes, especially since the packaging is wasteful and they have often traveled long distances. I prefer the bunches of local greens at the farmer’s market if they are available but, if not, I often resort to packaged grocery greens. Recently I’ve found local (within state) brands in stores that make me feel a little better about buying them. And, at least, the plastic is recyclable PET. But so much these days is a compromise and if I want ever-ready greens all year long, I buy the “super greens” mixes or arugula, baby kale, pea shoots or spinach and always have greens ready to sauté or toss into eggs, pasta, beans, sandwiches or soups. I add them to smoothies, juices and even my turmeric latte. Almost any green will make a tasty pesto, with or without cheese. The more greens, the more nutrients and fiber so, in this instance, more is more.

Kiss plates with sautéed arugula and mixed greens
Glazed dark stoneware by Birdie Boone

BASIC SAUTÉED GREENS

Sautéing packaged greens is more of a fallback technique than a recipe. I write about it just to remind you that it is easy to add a vegetable to every meal if you have a package at the ready. After a quick washing (I don’t care if it says pre-washed, I always swish at least a few times), I sauté the contents of the whole container or bag, and sometimes 2 (they shrink down to almost nothing), in a little olive oil with minced garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. If you don’t like garlic, use onion or leave it out completely. You can vary them by sautéing mushrooms with the garlic before adding the greens or a dash of soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar or cayenne at the end. Voila – quick and delicious sautéed greens.

Verso of Kiss Plate
by Birdie Boone

 

Birdie Boone makes the kind of pots I want to use all the time. Not only do they look great on a shelf alone or with food, drink or flowers but also feel great in the hand, wash up well, stack easily and make me happy to use. Could I ask for more? (She will be selling new work at the Hudson Valley Pottery Tour in October).

Trellis Vase with flowers by Birdie Boone
Photo courtesy of the artist
Square shallow bowl by Birdie Boone
Photo courtesy of the artist
Stoneware mug with flowers by Birdie Boone
Photo courtesy of the artist

An Easy Bean Salad To Serve Friends (Or Just For Yourself) This Summer

Lima Bean Salad
Cone 1 Red Clay Bowl By Wayne Branum

I try to cook beans at least once a week as a good source of vegan protein. One pound (about two cups) of dried beans makes several meals, more than you would think when you see them before cooking. Dry beans rehydrate, soaking up a lot of water as they cook along with whatever flavors you add as seasoning. I usually cook them with either a piece of kombu (seaweed) or a bay leaf, following the folk wisdom that says these make them more digestible and have had no complaints. Once cooked, which takes 1-2 hours simmering while I am doing something else, I put the beans, with their cooking liquid, in the fridge and have the makings of many possible dishes for the week ahead. When I don’t get around to soaking and cooking, I rely on a backup reserve of canned beans.

Dry Limas Before Soaking

Some of my favorite bean dishes are also the easiest. Black bean soup, chili and baked beans  as well as cold dishes like hummus or lentil salad, especially great in summer. I add black or red beans to nachos and chickpeas or white beans to green salads. My current obsession is a garlicky and citrusy bean salad I make with Christmas Limas but you could make it with any bean that holds its shape. It is quite versatile in that you can adjust both the vegetables you add and the dressing ingredients. For example, sub scallions for onion, red pepper or carrots for celery, and shallot for garlic. Sweeten it by adding fresh or dried fruit (perhaps chopped apple or apricots) and bulk up the vegetables simply by adding more and serving it on a bed of arugula or lettuce. I first made it last summer for the only time we had visitors stop by and were keeping socially distant. I needed something that could sit out for a while without refrigeration and to which people could help themselves. Not only did this salad work, it was a surprisingly big hit. I hope we’ll be able to see many more friends this year and I will still rely on this dependable make-ahead Lima bean salad.

Christmas Lima Salad

LIMA BEAN SALAD

  • 1 lb large dry Lima beans (I use the Christmas Lima’s ordered from Rancho Gordo,    bought at the 97th St farmers’ market from J & A Farms,  or from North Bay Trading) cooked and drained
  • 1/2-3/4 cup Vidalia or red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley or dill or a combination

Optional add-ins:

Currants or raisins, orange segments, finely chopped carrots, minced jalapeños, finely chopped red, yellow or orange bell peppers, chopped scallions, crumbled feta or goat cheese

Whisk together:

  • 2 large cloves garlic, grated or pressed
  • Zest (about 1 tsp) and juice (about 2 TBs) from 1 lemon
  • Zest (about 1 tsp) and juice (about 2 TBs) from 1/2 orange
  • 1 TBs cider vinegar
  • 1 TBs Dijon mustard
  • 4 TBs olive oil
  • 2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsps kosher or sea salt (a little less or more according to your taste)

Pour dressing over beans and vegetables and mix well, trying not to mash the beans. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 2-3 days. Like most marinated foods, the flavor is better on the second day.

Cone 1 red clay bowl with white slip and blue stain
by Wayne Branum
Verso of red clay bowl
by Wayne Branum

Flank Steak – Marinating Makes It Tasty And More Tender – Just Don’t Overcook It!

Marinated Flank Steak
Porcelain plate by Bernadette Curran

Flank steak isn’t a cut of meat people generally crave but it can be delicious. It isn’t as tender as other steak types but does tenderize with marinating. Since it was the first cut I learned to prepare so it actually tasted good, I have a fondness for it (plus it is lean and not too pricey). I was vegetarian for so many years that I came late to cooking meat. But when I was pregnant and dreaming of roast beef, I started to eat some meat occasionally. Fortunately, my sister is a very skillful meat cook and she shared her technique for flank steak, one she learned from her ex-husband’s aunt. Marriages may dissolve but great recipes live on.

Best to marinate in a non-reactive
container like glass
Grilled marinated flank steak

We still cook and eat meat rarely (beef as food is not an efficient use of land and water) and only when we can find a local grass-fed source. Even in this strange year, we have found wonderful sources for well-raised, well-butchered meat. Almost every decent farmers’ market has at least one clean meat vendor, many farms sell directly to consumers and there are shops and even websites devoted to clean meat sources. I know no one wants to think about these aspects of food but if we are going to eat another creature, let’s do it in the best way possible. Free-roaming, grass fed beef is also better for our health than feedlot corn-fed meat. Yes, it is more expensive but if it is better for you and the animal, isn’t that worth something?

Grilled flank steak on porcelain plate
by Bernadette Curran

MARINATED FLANK STEAK

Marinade:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
  • 2 TBs fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsps olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
  • 1 generous tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder
  • 1 generous tsp granulated onion or onion powder
  • 2 TBs sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (optional)

Marinate 1 trimmed flank steak in a shallow non-reactive container (like a glass baking dish) for at least 2 hours and up to 24.

Remove flank steak from marinade and either grill or broil at high heat, flipping after 3-4 minutes, until the meat registers 130-135 degrees F for medium rare, the optimal way to prepare grass fed meat (so it doesn’t taste too grassy as happens when overcooked). Let sit for 10 minutes and then cut into thin strips across the grain.

Easy, flavorful and a crowd pleaser, this recipe feeds 4 generously so if you are feeding more or want some left to top a salad or make a sandwich, it takes no more effort to make 2.

 

Bernadette Curran makes wonderful, animated porcelain pots with lively depictions of animals and birds that really capture their essence. Her work can be hard to find but I have found it at the Philadelphia Potters Urban Studio Tour, the Art School at Old Church Pottery sale and Schaller Gallery.

Porcelain cow plate with slips/underglaze
by Bernadette Curran
Porcelain llama plate with slips/underglaze
by Bernadette Curran
Verso of Curran plates
Super moon this week

Now That It Is Spring, Fresh Asparagus Is Available Again!

Steamed asparagus
Slipped stoneware plate
by Mary Barringer

Crocus, daffodils and forsythia may be delightful hints of re-awakening but to me the true harbinger of spring is asparagus. The skinny green stalks from Mexico start appearing in grocery stores in March, usually coinciding with Easter and Passover. At the beginning of April, bunches start to arrive from Florida and Texas. By the beginning of May, we can find local asparagus in our farmers’ markets, the first bunches coming from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In a good year, the season lasts through June.

Fresh asparagus at the farmers’ market

One of the surprises and benefits of moving to a new house as a child was discovering an established (sadly long overgrown now) asparagus patch in the backyard. Having eaten asparagus but never having seen it growing, my sisters and I were amazed at how the spears poked straight up from the ground like some science fiction garden. Our mother taught us how to snap the stalks low to the ground and remove the scale-like leaves with a paring knife rather than peeling, the method I have learned most cooks use. (Cleaning takes time but is also one of those repetitive tasks that can be meditative). The only way we ever ate them was steamed and that remains my go-to method. So simple, the only danger is in overcooking.

A few years ago, my husband and I spent a week in southern Utah and I tried roasted asparagus for the first time there, of all unexpected places. It is a completely different dish than the more common steamed since the oven heat starts to caramelize the spears. Both methods are extremely easy, as are sautéing and stir-frying. Fortunately, besides being delicious, asparagus is high in fiber, folic acid and potassium and low in calories. It makes a good breakfast by itself or with a poached egg on buttered toast. Whichever way I cook asparagus, I always try to make an extra bunch to have leftovers for salads, quiches, frittatas or just plain right out of the fridge.

Roasted asparagus
Stoneware plate by Mary Barringer

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

  • 1 bunch fresh green asparagus, snapped and cleaned
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
  • 1 big pinch each salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread cleaned asparagus in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan (use a piece of parchment to make clean-up easy).

Sprinkle with oil and roll spears around to coat.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, salt and pepper.

Bake 9-12 minutes, depending on thickness. Start testing at 9 minutes, if thin.

Verso of stoneware plates
by Mary Barringer

Turmeric Latte Surprised Me When I Finally Tried It – I Liked It!

Generously large and beautifully painted mugs for a turmeric latte
by Natalie Reed-Goehl/Muddy Paws Pottery

I came late to the turmeric latte or golden milk trend. I’d read about and ripped out recipes for a few years without ever making one. This winter, in a week when all our coffee beans tasted bad to me, I decided it was time to try something different. There in my pile of untested recipes sat three for turmeric latte and I knew it was time. Now it has become an almost daily hot drink.

A flavorful caffeine alternative

Turmeric/Curcumin is one of those recent fad health discoveries but has been used for centuries in Asian cultures. It is purported to cure everything from indigestion to arthritis and other inflammation with some debated results. I am more interested in the culinary applications, both flavor and color, but am happy it has some health benefits. Tejal Rao, the LA-based food writer, makes a version with black tea (which adds a layer of flavor and jolt of caffeine) and discusses its origins as an Indian home remedy. We appropriate all kinds of recipes from India and this tarted up cup (the basic medicinal version is known as Haldi doodh) is another in a long line. Pretty sure this is a cool weather drink because all the spices in it might be too warming on hot days but maybe, like spicy food, it could cool you. Perhaps it would make a good shake or smoothie. I guess that remains to be tested this summer.

Dry spices measured out and ready to mix and bottle

The list of ingredients in the latte varies from recipe to recipe. Some are very basic, using just turmeric, cinnamon or ginger and honey or sugar while others have long ingredient lists including many spices. I took the middle road, using several spices and sweetened it with whole dates. (You can use fresh turmeric (and ginger) roots but if you are like me, your hands will be yellow-orange for a week from grating it). So as to avoid measuring out all the ingredients every time, I mix a big batch and keep it in a glass jar at the ready. The best dried turmeric (and other Indian spices) I have found is from Diaspora Co. – fresh, flavorful and fairly sourced. You can use any sweetener you like (the most common are honey and maple syrup but I use dates or stevia) and your milk of choice (cow, soy, nut, oat and coconut all work) and can be diluted with water). A jar of turmeric latte mix would make a nice house present (when we start visiting again) or a gift for a home bound friend. Oh, wait – that would be almost everyone!

Different turmerics taste slightly different
Diaspora is a great supplier
Turmeric Latte
Large Mug by Natalie Reed-Goehl/Muddy Paws Pottery

TURMERIC LATTE MIX

Mix together:

  • 1/2 cup turmeric powder
  • 2 TBs cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 TBs ground ginger
  • 1 TB ground coriander
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Put in a glass jar with a tight lid. Label with ingredients and directions.

To use, add 1 rounded teaspoon to 1 1/4 cups milk or 1 cup milk plus 1/4 cup water. Add 1 pitted medjool date or 1 spoon of honey or whatever sweetener you prefer. Whir in a blender until smooth and frothy.

Other possible ingredients (all ground):

Jars of Turmeric Latte Mix with instructions

 

Spring springing