the arugula files

Last Chance Kale

When Josie was a baby, she ate a lot of kale.  Most of the time she ate it with cheese-y grits.  Perfect food for feeding a 9 month old: soft, green, delicious.  No worries about choking, but still real food.  

Then one day she said, no thank you and stopped eating kale. I kept putting it on her plate, but she would just work around it.  Not long after, she proclaimed it yucky.  Sigh.

This dish is my last chance kale.  I thought, kids like little pies so why not give it a try?  And, guess what, she ate it.  She actually picked off the sides of the phyllo crust and just ate the green parts.  For real.  So much for my little pie theory.

Last chance kale.  

Get it while you can.

 

Spicy Ginger Beef and Bok Choy

Week night cooking is exhausting.  Totally exhausting.  I'm constantly searching for week night meals that meet the following criteria (1) short prep and cook time; (2) use some of my CSA veggies; (3) fresh, light, and healthy; (4) rely mostly on kitchen staples (no trip to the super market required) (5) tastes good.  I've been hitting my target with the book Good For You, Easy Healthy Recipes for Every Day.  This Spicy Ginger Beef and Bok Choy is a great example.

It's Decorative Gourd Season! Pumpkins, Apple Picking, Donuts, the Apple House, and a Recipe for Caramel Corn

What's your take in swearing in blog posts?  Sometimes I really want to throw some F-bombs out there, but I wimp out.  My mom reads this blog!

The thing is that sometimes swearing is really funny.  Take this McSweeney's article,  "IT’S DECORATIVE GOURD SEASON, MOTHER*******."  Decorative gourds mean fall, as the article hilariously notes.  I've held off on welcoming fall until this last week.  I've been strolling around town in sandals, mostly tightless--in denial, really.  

Time for apple picking, pumpkins, our annual trip to the Apple Donut House, and, bonus!, a recipe for caramel corn.  

This sh*t is going to be so seasonal.

Learn How to Fry Okra from a New Englander?

The other day someone referred to me as a southern gal. I almost spit my diet coke out across the room. What? No slight against southerners intended, but I just had never thought of myself in that way.  

I'm a New Englander.

I'm not one of those Northern elitists, either.  I count myself as a New Englander not because I think I'm better than southerners, but because I like my ocean the same way I like my beer: cold.  When it comes to shellfish, lobster reigns supreme. I like to transition to sweaters at night in the summer. Fall is my favorite season; apple picking my favorite pastime.  I have a soft spot for Ben Affleck.  I am an Italian-Irish American!  I am nostalgic about snowstorms, and, during the winter, I am constantly rooting for more.  AND I can ice skate.

From the Market

A few weekends ago I had the luxury of shopping around the farmers market by myself.  Just me and my camera.  No stroller.  No toddler.  The early summer season is showing her portfolio: tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, peas, purple onions are gracing the runway.  It's time to tuck away the kale and sweet potatoes. For the first time this year I bought tomatoes.   The taste of those tomatoes, dressed with a bit of oil, aged balsamic, pepper, and salt, remind me why I avoid super market tomatoes.  Real tomatoes are worth waiting for.  

How in the Heck Do You Eat These Things? Grilled Sugar Snap Peas with Sriracha Mayo

These green things set off a big debate in my house.  First off, what are they called? Sugar snap peas, snap peas, snow peas, english peas?  And, second, can you eat the entire pea pod, or are you suppose to only eat the peas inside by using your teeth to scrape the outside thereby popping the pea out of the pod and into your mouth (sorta like edamame)?  

To answer the first question, these are sugar snap peas.  And, yes, you can eat the pod, but it depends on the age of the pea.  Older sugar snap peas tend to be more fibrous, making the pod hard to chew.  These were, unfortunately, just past their prime, so we dipped them in Sriracha mayo and ate them like edamame. Josie loved them, which is interesting since her reaction to frozen peas is to open her mouth and let them fall out.  

To make these, start by washing the pod and then cut the tips of each end.   Toss in olive oil.  In either in a grill basket or on a piece of foil, place on a hot grill.  Grill for about 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly charred and tender.

Toss with a little sea salt and serve immediately with a dipping sauce.

Sriracha mayo is easy to make.  Just combine store bought mayo with one or two tablespoons of Sriracha. Make it as spicy as you like.  

Radish, Chimichurri, and Butter Toast

Let's see, what do I have to say about radishes?  Not much really.  

They are nice to throw on top of salads for a little crunch.  Radish and butter toasts are delightful, but let's all admit that it has more to do with the butter, not the radishes.  I've never actually purchased radishes from the farmer's market or a super market. Not even once.  

So last week when a bunch of radishes came in my CSA box I had to look around for radish recipes. You know what I found?  Not much really.  

I ended up making radish and butter toasts.  Lucky for me I had some chimichurri stashed in my fridge.  A little dash of crack parsley makes everything better.

Sweet Potato and Lemon Drenched Kale Tacos

A winter CSA means I have more sweet potatoes and greens than I know what to do with.  The easy solution is to roast the tubers and saute the greens and then put them in (or on) something, like this taco, for example.

I'm not sure what makes a taco a taco.  As I see it, if food is placed in some type of tortilla (flour, corn, wheat) then it's  a taco (especially if it's sprinkled with cheese).  I like to describe this dish as a taco rather than the alternative description, wrap, because a wrap sounds like bland health food and taco sounds tasty. This dish is both healthy and tasty so maybe I should call it something else entirely.  Wraco?  Oh dear. I think I'll stick with taco.