Foodle Canoodle

[magid]

I did a bit of experimental cooking this week. Nothing really pushing boundaries, but still enough different to feel like I was noticeably permuting things.

Friday I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the chicken thighs I would be cooking. I didn't have time to do anything too complicated, and roasting seemed right. I started looking around for veggies to put under the chicken. I diced a couple of onions, then sliced some carrots. I was bored, looking for some kind of inspiration, since I've done something like this a zillion times. I poked around in the fridge, and found the beets I'd gotten with last week's farm share. Beets are root vegetables.... I cut off the greens, peeled the beets, cut them into chunks, and added them to the pan. Chicken on top, then some garlic powder and sage on them, and into a hot oven.

I ate this for Shabbat dinner, and it was wonderful. The beets worked, caramelizing just a bit, turning the onions and carrots red. I was surprised to see that the juices were, in fact, red, not the deep magenta I expect from cooked beets. I don't know if this is a function of how they were cooked, or what. It was all good, though!

Sunday night, I had more chicken to cook, and I was in a bit of a rush, since I was home late from a gathering, and hungry. What to put with the chicken this time? I thought a bit, then remembered the beet greens still waiting to be used. I chopped them up, added some onion, and topped them with the chicken pieces. I was nervous about the greens drying out, turning into unpleasant ashy things, but it didn't happen. With the chicken on top, the greens cooked down beautifully while the chicken thighs roasted. An hour later, I was happily eating chicken and greens.

Tuesay, I decided to make some pasta, and was astonished to find that I didn't have any, except the mediocre macaroni that comes in the mac-and-cheese-in-a-box (it's a vice, I know, and I'm not likely to give it up!). Instead of the orange powder, I diced a couple of farm tomatoes, and ripped up a couple of handfuls of arugula. I stirred this into the hot pasta, then added a third of a package of feta, crumbled, and some black pepper. I debated black olives, or mozzarella, but didn't add either, which I regretted later, since the pasta needed more stuff in it. Still, I found that the arugula does well wilted in pasta.

I've started thinking about what to do with all the farm bounty from this week, especially the pounds and pounds of squash and carrots. I've started having some ideas.

For the squash:
I could bake them now, mix in whatever seasoning (I vacillate between the more usual cinnamon-nutmeg sorts of flavors and salsa), and freeze it/them for Thanksgiving. The idea of having a couple of things done in advance is pretty appealing. I could make some of that for now, too. Or perhaps a butternut squash pie. Or squash gnocci. Or simmer some squash in apple juice, then add sage and caramelized onions, and turn that into ravioli filling, using wonton skins as wrappers. Or make some kind of savorty squash tart, perhaps with leeks, sage, and cheese in a puff pastry crust.

For the carrots:
Of course I could roast some, with onions, or potatoes (or both), or perhaps some other root veggies (parsnips!). I've gotten a suggestion for mashed carrots, or carrot cake. They go well in lots of soups, too. I'm not feeling nearly as inspired about them, so other suggestions would be useful.

Hm. And all this starts me thinking about a Thanksgiving menu. I went looking to see what I'd made last year, and I don't have it written out as a menu in one place. I shall have to remedy that this year. Current thoughts: herbed rolls (made with sage, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, which I did for the first time last year) (some of which will become stuffing), turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, winter squash, green salad, possibly mashed neeps, with dessert to follow. Probably pumpkin pie, perhaps an appley something. And things like nuts and dried fruit and bits of chocolate for later munching. I feel like I should try something new, though, if just one dish. Does anyone have any favorites to suggest?

Comments

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

For something different with the squash (or pumpkin, works about the same), I've had good luck mixing the roasted meat with feta cheese, then stirring in a cup or two of cooked basmati rice. The result is seductive, creamy and fragrant. Run through a food processor, it makes a nice ravoli filling, and tastes pretty good right out of the bowl as a savory side dish.

For carrots I love them tossed with other root veggies (turnips are a favorite.) in a glaze of sesame, soy, and maybe a little mirin, roasted on a cookie sheet until they caramelize a bit. Serve them with soba noodles and a bit of miso broth for a good vegan cold-weather dish.

And roasted beets are one of my favorite things in the world; that chicken dish sounds wonderful. :)

[cellio]

Squash: tarts sound yummy. I've made squash pies that ended up being dessert-like (a cousin of pumpkin pie, I guess), but I would like to try to cons up a savory one. I'll be interested in hearing what you come up with. I like the ravioli idea, too!

Carrots: you could turn some into carrot-raisin salad. There might be some bread experiments to be had here, too. (If you can make cake from them, why not bread?)

Thanksgiving: I usually feel the lack of green veggies at Thanksgiving dinners (which are mostly starch and bird), so I think this year I will contribute a spinach tart. They freeze well.

[queue.livejournal.com]

Ooh, what about that carrot salad with black mustard seeds thingy?

[magid.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I tend to prefer almost any other squash to pumpkin, at least when dealing with it in its whole state (well, except for Hubbard squash, which I've never managed to take on).

Squash, feta, and rice sounds good, though part of me wants to add some herbal undernotes in there. I don't have a food processor, but hopefully this would be something that the blender would deal with equally well.

I've tended to roast root veggies with olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper, sometimes adding some green herb (sage, rosemary, lavender, etc). I'm going to have to try your glaze now, too. Hmm. I haven't tried roasting turnips yet, either. All sorts of experiments ahead!

I'd made beets roasted in foil, but not peeled first and roasted uncovered; I'm glad to find another way to cook them that doesn't involve producing a huge pot of magenta water that wants to color my kitchen :-). I had to make extra bread to sop up all the juices...

It looks like my errands this week will keep me from the last Brookline farmers' market tomorrow afternoon. Sigh. Now I want to get beets to play with.

[magid.livejournal.com]

That doesn't ring a bell at all, though it sounds good. More description? Or a recipe pointer?

[queue.livejournal.com]

Ask Cheryl about the recipe. It's in an Indian cookbook she has. But it's pretty simple. Shred some carrots, put some lemon juice on them. Then heat some oil, put the black mustard seeds in the oil, just until they pop (this happens fairly quickly, and you'll want to have a lid handy to stop them from popping all over the floor). Pour oil and seeds over carrots. Stir and eat, either cold or room temp.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Squash: if I make a savory tart, it'll be with the butternut squash; I can't face trying to peel acorn squashes. I might use InfiniteHotel's idea of squash with feta and rice for a ravioli filling, too.

Carrots: for some reason, I've never managed to wrap my brain around carrot-raisin salad. I look at it, and have no desire to eat it, at all. Bread, though... I think I have a squash bread recipe, that could be for carrots or squash (decorated, in the latter case, with pumpkin seeds on top :-).

Thanksgiving: I, too, feel the lack of green veggies. I like the idea of salad because it's not only green, but crunchy, so provides alternate texture as well. I used to tend towards broccoli, though. Spinach pie also sounds good, though I tend to shy away from adding anything pie-like to this particular meal... :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever used black mustard seeds before, and I know I haven't popped them in oil. Time for some experiments... this sounds good. :-)

[theora.livejournal.com]

I think this (http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/1/A01448.shtml) is it.

If you need some black mustard seeds, I could donate a tablespoon or two. Or you can get them at most Indian grocieries, I would think.

[queue.livejournal.com]

Yup yup, that's it.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yum. That sounds good.
There are Indian groceries around Central, I think, so this will give me impetus to go exploring.

[curly-chick.livejournal.com]

BTW:

I totally forget when and where are we meeting this evening?

Excuse my slowness...

[magid.livejournal.com]

7.15 at the Harvard Film Archive, 24 Quincy St. I'll likely be there earlier (I don't remember what I said in the email, but in double-checking now, the film starts at 7.30, not 7.).

Here's a map.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Ack! I'm having second thoughts, trying to remember what I said in the email (6.45? 7.15? 6.45? 7.15?).
The Hillel site says the movie is at 7.30. Must hold on to that, not stress about it. Yeah, right.

Er, see you tonight, then :-).

[magid.livejournal.com]

Just checked the tickets, and they say 7 pm, though the web site says 7.30 (sigh). I'll be trying to get you by phone, too...

[emotionalgoat.livejournal.com]

I wanted to see what carrots would do in a blender (I had huge amounts from the garden) so I threw in as much as the blender would hold, and kept adding bits of water to keep it going. After nearly killing the blender I had a pretty carrot mush, which I strained. It looked like pumpkin, so naturally I seasoned it with allspice, ginger, cinnamon, hmmm... some other stuff... maybe nutmeg... brown sugar until it tasted good, but it had turned all watery again by that time, like applesauce. Instead of being able to bake it into a pie or tarts or something, I decided to make cookies out of it, and loosly followed the Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie recipe (of course I left the PB out). I guess I put in too much carrot glop; I kept having to throw more flour in because the dough never was firm enough. It turns out I put in too little sugar, too much baking powder (whoops! Slip of the brain) and about half as much butter as was needed, but they came out looking and tasting like perfect tiny autumn scones. We buttered them up and gobbled them down. Deeee-licious! Hooray for experimental cooking! My mom suggested that since the carrots came out like applesauce, that I should've tried to use a recipe that had applesauce in it. Phooey, that's just taking the easy way out, I think.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fun experiment, all around.

I think I might've used the carrot mush to make a yeasted bread, or baked with some egg and cream (maybe) into a sort of crust-free pie. Scones sound good, though.

I have a banana bread recipe that uses applesauce; now I'm curious how well banana and carrot would go together.