April 2008: Foods for Spring
If you live in the northeast, as I do, Spring may mean starting your seeds indoors for a summer garden. Some of the earliest harvests include radishes, spring onions/scallions, peas, and early lettuce. While I have only a patio garden, this year we plan to plant some cucumbers in a large tub, as well as tiny tomatoes, along with our usual flowers and herbs in window boxes. For now, I need to buy my spring foods at the Farmers’ Market or produce department wherever I can find these foods organically grown.
This month, then, I am featuring radishes and scallions, as well as some greens available now in the stores. However, I have only three recipes in this section, because my book review includes three of the author’s recipes. So please go to Book, Film, and Website reviews for Susie Fishbein’s Passover by Design recipes and review. The recipes are vegetables that can be enjoyed at any time of the year and whatever your religion.
Green on Green
Do you ever notice the many shades of green leaves on the trees in summer? I see the same variety of green in vegetables, from light green cabbage to dark green kale, and all the shade in between. Below is a recipe that uses several greens, so I would serve it with a grated carrot salad or a purple cabbage slaw.
Utensils: Large fry pan sauce pan with deep sides, cutting board & knife
Prep Timee: About 20 min.
Cooking Time: About 10 min.
Ingredients (Pick as many of the green veggies as you like.)
Water or stock
One garlic clove, minced
3-4 slices of leek or onion
one stalk of broccoli, stem peeled and cut & broken into narrower pieces
½ cup (frozen) edamame beans (green soybeans)
6-7 Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced thinly crosswise
one baby bok choy, washed and sliced lengthwise into quarters
handful of leafy greens (frisee, spinach, kale, chard, etc.)
½ cup snow peas or English peas
S & P to taste or Bragg’s aminos; ginger
Toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds
Directions
1. Pour about one inch of water or stock in pan. Add minced garlic clove, slices of leek, and frozen edamame beans.
2. While the garlic, leek, and soybeans are simmering on a low heat, add slices of broccoli and sliced Brussels sprouts, cover the pan, and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Next add quartered bok choy and leafy greens, cover and cook another 2-3 minutes.
5. Finally, add snow peas, and cook one more minute; then shut off heat. Add a squirt or two of toasted sesame oil, a little grated ginger, and salt and pepper or Bragg’s, if needed. (If you use soup stock instead of water, you may not need salt, pepper, or Bragg’s.)
6. Spoon into a large bow, sprinkle on sesame seeds and serve hot.
Variation: Feel free to add cooked chicken or fish near the end.
Radish Salad
Utensils: Cutting board, knife, bowl, food processor or grater
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: None
Ingredients
One bunch multi-colored organic radishes, washed and trimmed
One organic daikon radish, washed well
One bunch organic scallions, washed and trimmed
Leaf of red cabbage
(Sesame seeds added after dressing is used)
Directions
1. Wash and trim multi-colored radishes. Then hand grate or place in a food processor and shred. Place in the bowl.
2. Scrub daikon well and peel if skin looks tough or isn’t organic. Cut into smaller pieces and then grate or place in food processor and shred. Add to bowl.
3. Clean scallions, trim, and slice crosswise into small pieces up to the green or including 1/2″ of green if it isn’t too tough.
4. Toss with your favorite vinaigrette or the sesame dressing below.
Dressing-whisk together
1/8 cup toasted sesame oil
1 Tbl. umeboshi plum vinegar
dash of ginger juice
dash soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
Pour dressing over radishes and toss until well-coated.
Sprinkle on some sesame seeds (black or natural) and serve over a bed of baby greens or with a leaf of red cabbage, as in the photo. (I made individual servings.)
Wild Rice & Snow Peas
Utensils: Pot for Rice, 10″ fry pan
Prep Time: Approximately 10 minutes for veggies; one hour for rice the previous day
Cooking Time: Approximately 10 minutes, if rice is precooked
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup snow peas, trimmed of strings
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced crosswise
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
optional: mushrooms and/or bell peppers, slivered
1- 2 Tbl. olive oil
dash of soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
optional: five spice powder
Directions
1. Cook wild rice the day before, which takes about one hour to cook. This makes stir frying the next day easier, because the rice is chilled and firm. I purchased a 4 oz. box, which made 3 cups of wild rice and used half for this dish.
2. In a 10″ fry pan, pour 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock. Add scallions and garlic and simmer-saute for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add snow peas and simmer-saute another 2 minutes. (You can also add slivers of mushrooms and bell peppers now, if using.)
4. Place cooked wild rice on top of the veggies, cover, and let simmer for about 4-5 minutes.
5. Remove lid, stir, and toss with oil, soy sauce, and five spice powder, if using. Serve warm. Serves two as a main dish, four as a side dish.
Note: If you make the whole box of wild rice (4 oz.), double the peas and spices. If you do not use the whole dish as a hot dish, what is left can be chilled and served as a chilled salad.