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I am now at about 75% of normal. Whew.
In my continuing quest to find good neighborhood restaurants, I visited Surfas, the new cafe that's par of an ultra-fancy gourmet food and cooking supply place. I was not impressed. Although the snickerdoodle was delicious, the strawberry-basil soda had so much ice that it drowned the delicate flavor almost immediately, and the pastrami sandwich had so much mustard that the bread was sodden. I might try it again for the baked goods, but it's not replacing Clementine. And although I now know where to go should I want a whole goose or foie gras, all the other ingredients I might have bought were priced triple what they would have been had I bought them at any Asian market.
On my way back, I discovered the Culver City farmer's market. Had I but known, I would have gone there for lunch. I decided to stop and buy some greens to stir-fry, but there were no stir-fry greens in sight, only salad greens. I asked the lady about her dollar-a-bunch greens, which had flat, broad, tapering leaves and bunches of buds and tiny yellow flowers. She informed me that it was "ha choy" (I think), that yes, I could stir-fry it, and yes, you eat the flowers. Has anyone heard of this? How do I cook it?
I also bought purple potatos (again, there was a language barrier, but I am pretty sure the guy told me that they were like fingerling potatos, which I believe you roast?), a blood orange, a grapefruit/orange hybird, a mandarin orange, a bunch of carrots, organic beef jerky, garlic, peas, onions, and hot pecan pralines. While inhaling the pralines I heard a familiar voice. It was Sensei Gary! I was very surprised to run across him, as one is when one runs across people one only knows from one location. Apparently he'd also been driving past, then pulled over.
Any suggestions on simple ways to cook all this stuff, together or separately, would be appreciated.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
oyceter, what's the pea recipe again?
In my continuing quest to find good neighborhood restaurants, I visited Surfas, the new cafe that's par of an ultra-fancy gourmet food and cooking supply place. I was not impressed. Although the snickerdoodle was delicious, the strawberry-basil soda had so much ice that it drowned the delicate flavor almost immediately, and the pastrami sandwich had so much mustard that the bread was sodden. I might try it again for the baked goods, but it's not replacing Clementine. And although I now know where to go should I want a whole goose or foie gras, all the other ingredients I might have bought were priced triple what they would have been had I bought them at any Asian market.
On my way back, I discovered the Culver City farmer's market. Had I but known, I would have gone there for lunch. I decided to stop and buy some greens to stir-fry, but there were no stir-fry greens in sight, only salad greens. I asked the lady about her dollar-a-bunch greens, which had flat, broad, tapering leaves and bunches of buds and tiny yellow flowers. She informed me that it was "ha choy" (I think), that yes, I could stir-fry it, and yes, you eat the flowers. Has anyone heard of this? How do I cook it?
I also bought purple potatos (again, there was a language barrier, but I am pretty sure the guy told me that they were like fingerling potatos, which I believe you roast?), a blood orange, a grapefruit/orange hybird, a mandarin orange, a bunch of carrots, organic beef jerky, garlic, peas, onions, and hot pecan pralines. While inhaling the pralines I heard a familiar voice. It was Sensei Gary! I was very surprised to run across him, as one is when one runs across people one only knows from one location. Apparently he'd also been driving past, then pulled over.
Any suggestions on simple ways to cook all this stuff, together or separately, would be appreciated.
oyceter, what's the pea recipe again?![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
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The purple potatoes are no different than any other potato. You can boil 'em, fry 'em, bake 'em... You name it, they're tasty. IIRC they lean more towards a red bliss type of texture than a russet texture, so if you like waxy potatoes they're a decent substitute (this would explain why my mom rarely bought them, since she prefers russets).
There aren't often stir fry greens at the market unless they're in season. If you walk up to Von's, they usually have decent bok choy. I'm not sure what ha choy is, but it sounds like it might be related to "choi sum" which is a plant with ridged green stalks and small yellow flowers. If the stall vendor said you could stir fry it, I'd start there :). Everyone who sells at the market has a pretty fair notion of how to cook. It might also be broccoli rabe/raap/rape, and that's a good stir fry target too. Now I'm cursing my going thud this afternoon, since I rather like brocoli rabe, and I'm in the mood for stir fry.
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The flowers are usually white or yellow, more often yellow, and they're always edible. Some people don't care for the texture of the flowers and remove them. But you'll see them on gai lan, ta tsoi, weng cai, toongsin tsai, etc etc etc.
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I haven't tried broiling the purple potatoes before, but I cooked them like normal potatoes, and it works. They're a little harder and waxier than normal brown potatoes, but a little softer than the red ones. Broiling should be fine (with olive oil and salt and rosemary will probably be tasty!).
You have peas!!!!!!! I haven't been to the market for two to three weeks! I must go!! PEAS!!!!
Ahem, right. Anyway, after you shell them, I generally sweat them over low heat with a sprinkling of salt, pepper, dried parsley and olive oil. Um. I wish I could tell you the amounts.... just... add half a teaspoon of the salt, pepper and parsley and increase to taste. The olive oil, I just add about a teaspoon full, I think. And then keep them over low heat until the peas turn bright green and soften a little, but take them off the heat before they turn mooshy.
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Gai lan is Brassica oleracea -- they're related but not the same, as you guessed. Gai lan is closer to cai soong/choy sum in taste. Gai lan is closer to broccoli, cai soong is closer to mustard greens, or so I think (I'm sure there are people who would disagree with that though).
But I think your thoughts about oyster sauce are mmmmmmmmmmm. I haven't yet met the brassica that didn't get along well with oyster sauce.
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Anyway, you can probably make twenty-clove garlic chicken now!! Get about five chicken thighs and rub them down with paprika (you can use breasts, but I like dark meat). You actually don't have to use the paprika if you don't have any, I just like it. Just rubbing down with salt and pepper is good too. Chop up the potatoes and carrots, peel twenty-some cloves of garlic (more if you like).
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Put all the veggies in a pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and olive oil. Put the chicken on top. Stick pan in oven and cook for approx. 45 min. or until the chicken looks done. It's nice because the chicken juices will run out on the veggies and soften them. This is also really, incredibly good when you substitute yams for potatoes, or any other root vegetable you like.
Here's the actual recipe: http://upsy-daisy.livejournal.com/259808.html
From:
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Carrots are incredibly yummy pan-braised in a little water or diluted apple juice (cover until they start getting tender, then remove the lid and let the liquid cook down, finished with fresh citrus juice (esp. orange juices). Also nice is a salad of shredded or julienned carrot and sectioned mandarin orange with a little bit of rice vinegar and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Small potatoes (of any color) can be happily roasted. One of my favorite ways to do that is to toss them with some olive oil and salt and black pepper and thyme (or zataar if you have some), roast 'em in a single layer in a large pan until they're done, sprinkle liberally with lemon juice and pop back in the oven just long enough to dry off some of the lemon juice. You can throw in small onions or quartered large ones like this too (if you quarter them without cutting off the root end first, they'll hold together better).
As for the peas if they're young and tender and fresh, just blanch them in boiling water, strain off all but about a tablespoon of the water, toss in a knob of butter, and hold the pan over the heat while you swirl the butter into the peas and it melts. Eat immediately, with freshly ground black pepper. Do not share with anyone, as this is one of the real joys of springtime and it pays to be selfish.
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Heat some oil, add garlic, a tinge of ginger, soy sauce, and a few drops of sesame oil. Stir fry the papchoi in it, and add some chopped mushrooms for the flavour. Add 1/4th cup of water, cover when it boils and steam for a few minutes.
I know it is essentially the same as the recipe posted above but I knew so few recipes...
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