ludicrous 4 lemongrass ?
a farmers market,resurfaced appetite + recipe notes on paste e fagioli
To whom it may concern:
I regret to inform you that if one is expecting the rumored Taco Diaries™, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, if the matter can be appeased with a dose of Bay Area Produce Chronicles [pending ™], please read on for the following amendment.
I will now present two quick scenes from two different cities off of the Pacific Coast, accompanied by an examination of produce hauls acquired on yet another fruitful layover in CA, and subsequent meal planning come to life (aka dinnertime).
On-wards.
That bad boy (er, magnificent citrus) has since made its way into a Thai pomelo salad ↘️
Keeping track.
Not pictured: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 3 packs of heirloom tomatoes, genovese basil, thai basil !
The plan / How do I deal with this much produce:
Take serious inventory.
Prioritize - What’s FRESHEST?! What's up first? How are we storing everything? What did I miss? What can wait a bit? What is down for a stir-fry? What isn’t? Where did that one thing go?
Meal plan! Channel cravings, get inspired, flip through cookbooks, talk to the spouse, jot down ideas, etc !
Eat, eat, eat.
Reassess the situation (the veg). Give props to farmers & your carry-on bags.
Get cooking, keep cooking, eat well, etc.
Repeat!
After two weeks away and most of it S-I-C-K, it felt so good to cook again!
To enjoy a substantial meal again! To cook fresher veg than usual ! ! Seasonal produce ! ! !
Egads.
This next one is a take on laksa / aka the dish that welcomed my appetite & tastebuds back, baby.
It had a semi-cheater base of garlic, ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk powder, miso (stepping in for shrimp paste) and red curry paste. Seriously, SWOON-TASTIC.
Getting my groove back.
Paste e fagioli take #49503820505028.20 (approximately): First, soak 3/4 cup of white beans all day long (well, or open a can). Next, sauté almost too much minced garlic in a glug of extra virgin olive oil in a dutch oven pot until golden. Throw in the soaked & rinsed beans with a bay leaf, cover with water/stock by a good inch or two, bring to a boil & then cook covered on low until soft and much of the liquid is absorbed. An hour? Two ? Sure. Simmer away (or 10 minutes is A-OK if you went with canned fagioli).
Once bean-able, toss the bay leaf out, add maybe ½ cup more water, a good sprinkle of salt, and bring to a boil again. Now it’s time to cook 4 oz ditalini right in the pot, and half-way through instructed cooking time, stir in half a bunch of roughly chopped mustard greens - stalks & all (or similar bitter green). Cook, cook, cook - and toss in a handful of minced flat-leaf parsley and basil leaves, some more salt, freshly ground black pepper, a little chili flakes, and the juice of one lemon. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Ladle yourself a bowl for dinner. Finish with a little olive oil, chili flakes, and perhaps some parm. Grab a big spoon. Contemplate a side of bread and realize this really is all you need (and I’m not talking about some creepy diet shenanigans, I’m going with rustic excellence). Even better in a different way, reheated for lunch tomorrow.
Here’s another Italian-vibing meal, a summer/winter pasta remembered from Keepers by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion (really, an intentional summer dinner, with our bonus winter/lower west coast produce).
Lastly, here is the first thing I baked upon our return: chocolate chip cookie (applesauce!) bars because my spouse is a generous luggage & produce hauler & caretaker & cookie devourer…..and I was too exhausted to make individual cookies, duh.
I’ll leave y’all with this table of my dreams, piled high with baby choy & tender pea shoots….
What have you been cooking lately?
References + Relevant Links:
Fake Meat by Isa Chandra Moskowitz - brand new cookbook!!!! eeek!!!!
Keepers by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion
Korean Fried Chicken, My Korean Kitchen (the basis for the soy curls’s sauce in the soba dish above)
Nap time.
It blows my mind that you are able to just take produce home with you from different places. In Australia, not only can we not bring fresh produce into the country, you are not even allowed to bring it between different states!
hello YUM