Fennel, Red Pepper and Purple Carrot Salad

Photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

JP tells me that the final main season share from Glade Road Growing for 2017 will include about a pound of purple carrots, a fennel bulb a red sweet pepper and an onion.  This combined with some potatoes and garlic would make a great pureed soup, but it would not take advantage of the visual of the purple carrots, so I decided on a salad instead. Mine includes lentils, so that it will make a whole meal.

The first of the purple carrots were available at the farm stand this past Friday.  They were purple on the outside with an orange core (go Hokies, eh?), so I suggest shaving them lengthwise into ribbons with a vegetable peeler.

The photo above doesn't include the carrots (or the lentils), so let me give you an idea of what the carrot ribbons will look like in this photo by Marie (no last name given) of the blog Proud Italian Cook:

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Serves 4


Ingredients:

Salad

2/3 cups of lentils, cooked and cooled
1  trimmed fennel bulb, quartered and cut into very thin crosswise slices (reserve the stems and leaves to puree in smoothies)
1 red sweet pepper, seeded and cut in thin 2-inch slices
1 tablespoon minced onion
4 purple carrots trimmed and shaved lengthwise into ribbons
2 ounces of shaved Parmesan or Asiago, shaved into ribbons


Dressing

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 small garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoon of fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoon miso

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


Directions:

1.  To cook lentils, cover with 1 1/3 cups of water and bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.  Rinse until water runs clear.  Add water to original level, add a bay leaf and return to a boil and then simmer until soft and water is absorbed.  Remove bayleaf, drain if necessary and chill in the refrigerator.

2.  While lentils are cooking, prep veggies and combine in a large bowl. When lentils are cool, add them and cheese and toss together. 

3.  Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Toss with the salad and serve.

Cauliflower Couscous with Dried Fruit and Almonds

Photo for Epicurious by Chelsea Kyle.

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JP tells me this week's bag from Glade Road Growing should include cauliflower.   While I like my cauliflower in florets or steaks, you can also use it in "rice" form as a low-carb and gluten-free substitute for semolina (a coarse grind of high-protein durum wheat) in couscous.

Apparently, Trader Joe's has found its "cauli-rice" so popular that it instituted rationing this summer, as reported by Well and Good.  While folks have never been able to nab a location of that popular chain for Blacksburg (or even Roanoke), it's easy to make your own "cauli-rice," using a grater (or food processor). 

For other ways to serve cauliflower, check out my recipes for Beet, Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad and Aloo Ghobi Chana Masala (Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower and Chickpeas).

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into quarters.
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons miso
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup golden or conventional raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced dried apricots (I prefer California apricots which are tarter)
1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
1/2 parsley, cilantro, basil or a combination chopped

Directions:

1. 1.  Toast almonds in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
   
   2.  Using the largest holes on a box grater, grate cauliflower into a large bowl until rice-like in texture.  If you prefer to use a food processor, fitted with a blade, you can coarsely chop the cauliflower and pulse, working in batches as needed.  This will make about 4 cups.
2. 3.  Thin miso with water and whisk together with honey in a small bowl.
3. 4.  In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add cumin, turmeric, paprika, and cinnamon and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Immediately add cauliflower and stir to coat. Season with pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until cauliflower is softened, 3–5 minutes. Add honey-miso mixture, raisins or cranberries and apricots; stir to combine. Cover and continue to cook until just tender, 3–5 minutes more.
4. 5.  Transfer cauliflower mixture to a serving platter and stir in half of almonds. Top with remaining almonds and chopped apples and herbs before serving.

Lima Bean And Dill Kuku

Photo from Sanam Lamborn of The Persian Kitchen blog.

This week, JP tells me Glade Road Growing's bag will contain dill.  While it's too late in the season potatoes or cukes--two of my favorites with fresh dill--the herb is used as a common ingredient in Persian cooking.  You can combine it with rice or try my adaptation of Sanam Lamborn's recipe for Lima Bean Kuku, which is she describes as a Persian version of a frittata or quiche. 

Since pomegranates are in season, you might want to pair this with a Persian salad consisting of salad greens topped with pomegranate sees, walnuts and feta, with a dressing made of pomegranate juice or molasses, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.

Lamborn's recipe, shown, serves four and is cooked in a non-stick skillet.  I don't like non-stick skillets, so I  bake mine in the oven.  For a more ornate version served by chef  at the Obama White House, see this New York Times recipe.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 pound of lima beans (frozen or fresh)
1 medium onion peeled and diced
6 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
6 duck or chicken eggs
1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper1 bunch of fresh dill, washed and roughly chopped
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice flour
1/4 extra virgin olive oil

1.  Add lima beans to salted boiling water and wait for water to return to a boil.  Then turn down heat and simmer until tender.

2.  Heat cast iron skillet until a drop of water evaporates and turn down to medium low heat.  Melt butter and coat pan.  Sauté until translucent, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and cook until both are golden in color.  Cool to room temperature.

3.  Heat oven to 400 degrees and line a 9-x-12-inch baking dish with parchment paper.

4.  Crack eggs in a mixing bowl and pierce yolks with a fork.  Add salt, pepper, rice flour and baking soda and whisk together.  Fold in onions, garlic lima beans and lemon juice.

5.  Brush prepared baking dish with 1/4 cup oil. This may look like a lot, but it gets absorbed into the batter. Add batter, smoothing out the top and pushing it to the sides. Bake until center is set, about 20 minutes, and transfer to a cooling rack.

6.  Cut into 6 equal pieces. Serve hot or room temperature, with pita and yogurt, if desired.

Beer-Braised Greens

Photo by David Loftus

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Braising greens makes them more tender.  My recipe uses porter or stout for a richer taste.  The alcohol evaporates.  If you'd rather not use beer, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of tomato paste thinned with water to make 1/2 cup.


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Serves 4


Ingredients:

Kale, beet greens or chard or spinach, turnip greens, collards, and/or arugula, rinsed well and torn into 2-inch strips to make 4 cups.  I prefer a mixture.

• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled and finely sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup stout or porter
  2 cups of cooked, drained black or white beans (optional)
• 4 tablespoons miso, thinned with a bit of water
• Directions:

1.  In a large pot bring 2 quarts of water and a large pinch of salt to a boil. Add greens a blanch for 1 minute.  Remove to a colander to drain.

2.  In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and  sauté  for 1 minute. Add greens, pepper flakes and beer, cover simmer until tender (about 6 minutes). If you'd like to make this a complete meal, add 2 cups of cooked, drained black or white beans and stir to warm through.  Remove from heat.  Stir in thinned miso and serve.

Bok Choy and Tempeh (or Chicken or Pork) Stir Fry with Mushrooms, Sweet Peppers and Onions

Photo by Susanna Liang at Divine Healthy Food.  Her recipe uses a red chili pepper so it's spicier.


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Sally wrote me after I had developed recipes for tomatillo salsa, to say that the bag for Glade Road Growing this week would instead include bok choy, salad turnips, red pepper, red onion, arugula, lettuce mix and tomatoes.  Here's my recipe for a stir fry using the bok choy, red pepper, red onion and tomatoes with tempeh.  If you prefer, you can use cooked chicken or pork, sliced thin and added in with the tomatoes.

Plus check out the recipe Sally found for the newsletter for  grilled bok choy and turnip rice bowls with soy sesame sauce by Oregon "farmer turned foodie Andrea Bemis" at her blog Dishing Up The Dirt.  (And while you're there, check out the other recipes!)



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Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups of brown rice

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
8  cremini mushrooms, sliced (sometimes called baby portobellos)
1 red onion, thinly sliced with one tablespoon finely chopped and reserved for garnish
1 package of tempeh, cut into thin strips (or 1 cup cooked chicken or pork)
1 sweet red pepper, stemmed, seeded, membrane removed and cut into thin slices
4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and chopped
fresh ginger, chopped to make 1 tablespoon
4 medium bok choy, chopped into thin slices
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons of balsamic or rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons of miso
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped


Instructions

1.  45 minutes before you start the stir fry, bring 2 cups of brown rice and 4 cups of water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed lidded pot.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Rinse rice until water is clear, add water up to the original level and bring again to boil for another five minutes.  Cover pot, turn off the heat and let steam for 40 minutes until the water is absorbed.

2.  Heat a dry cast iron skillet over a medium heat until a drop of water boils off.  Toast sesame seeds until they pop.  Immediately transfer to plate and reserve for garnish.

3.  Add olive or peanut oil to the skillet and heat until a bead of water sizzles.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender.  Add the onions and cook until translucent.  Add the garlic, ginger, paprika, red pepper flakes, red pepper and bok choy and cook the vegetables are tender. 

4.   While the veggies are cooking, in a small bowl, make a paste of the cornstarch, water, miso, sesame oil and vinegar.  Turn down the heat to low and add mixture to the skillet, stirring until it thickens.  Stir in tomatoes (and meat, if you are substituting for the tempeh) and turn off heat and let warm through.

5.  Stir the rice with a fork to fluff and divide among four bowls.  Top with stir fry, garnished with toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro and  reserved, chopped red onions.

Photo by Andrea Bemis of her grilled bok choy and turnip rice bowls with soy sesame sauce.

far


mer turned foodie, Andrea Bemis  

Three Tomatillo Salsas: Chopped, Blended OR Grilled

Photo accompanied a recipe by Kate Ramos at Chowhound (no photographer listed).  You can find more of her "nueva Latina" recipes at her blog, ¡HOLA! JALAPEÑO.


JP tells me that this week's bag from Glade Road Growing will include tomatillos and other makings for salsa.  I've included my favorite recipe for an easy peasy fresh salsa, plus more traditional recipes for a blended salsa verde and a roasted tomatillo salsa.

All of these recipes can be served immediately or covered and refrigerated for several days.  In that case, let the salsa come to room temperature before serving.


1.  Chopped:  Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

Makes about 5 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and diced small
1 medium onion (white or yellow) peeled, root  and stalk end trimmed and diced small
1 or 2 medium jalapeños, seranos or chipotles, seeded with membranes removed and chopped coarsely
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
2-3 fresh limes, halved and squeezed (or enough to make 1/4 cup juice)
2 teaspoons sea salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a glass mixing bowl, stir to combine, adjust seasoning as necessary, and serve.

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2.  Blended:  Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Photo by Danny Kim for Bon Appetit

Makes about 2 cups


Ingredients:

1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed and quartered
½ medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 jalapeños, serano or chipotle chile, seeds and membrane removed and chopped coarsely

¼ cup fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Purée tomatillos, onion, garlic, chile, and cilantro in a blender, adding water as needed, until smooth; season with salt.

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3.  Grilled:  Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

Photo by Colin Clark for Fine Cooking.Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

10 medium tomatillos, husked and washed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2-3 fresh limes, halved and squeezed (or enough to make 1/4 cup juice)
1 medium clove garlic, smashed peeled and chopped
1 jalapeño, serano or chipotle chile, seeded, membrane removed and chopped coarsely

2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1/4 cup  scallions chopped

Directions:

1.  Grill the tomatillos on gas or charcoal grill, covered, until charred on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until charred on the other side, 3 minutes more.  If you don't have a grill, you can roast them on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler.

2.  Purée the tomatillos, onion, lime juice, garlic, chiles and a pinch of salt in a blender until it makes a smooth sauce.

3.  Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl.  Add the cilantro and scallions, and season to taste with salt just before serving.

Red Pepper, Spinach and Sweet Potato Hash

Photo by Karielyn Tillman

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This week the bag from Glade Road Growing will include sweet peppers, and baby spinach. This hash makes a nice side to serve with leftover roast chicken or pork.

If you'd like to make it a vegetarian meal instead, after the hash is cooked, stir in 2 cups of cooked drained black beans.  Divide the hash into four sections.  Make a slight well in the center of each section and crack a duck egg (or chicken egg) into each well.  Turn down heat to medium low and cover and cook for for another 4 minutes.  For a vegan version, substitute tofu "sour cream" for the eggs, but only heat until it's warmed through.


Serves 4


Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely diced
1 red bell red bell pepper, diced
1 or more cups of  baby spinach, chopped, with 2 tablespoons reserved for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed peeled and minced
fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped to make 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

1.  Add oil to a cast iron skillet and heat on medium until a bead of water evaporates.  Saute'  onions, garlic and ginger until translucent and add the sweet potatoes, red pepper flakes, cumin, cardamom, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.  Continue cooking until the sweet potatoes are soft and slightly crispy on the outside.

2.   Add the diced red bell peppers, chopped spinach (except for the reserved amount) and gently toss for about 1-2 minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Remove from heat, garnish with fresh chopped spinach and serve.

Peperonata (Sautéed Bell Peppers With Tomato, Onion, and Garlic)

Photo by Vicky Wasik for Serious Eats.

The bag from Glade Road Growing this week will include salad mix, bell peppers and tomatoes.  If your bell peppers have a reddish or yellowish tint, you can let them ripen on the counter and they will be sweeter.  The traditional southern Italian recipes I've seen call for the colored peppers, but this is delicious with green peppers, too.  You may want to add demerara  sugar or  honey, though, at the end, a little bit at a time, until the flavor is balanced, to make up for the lack of sweetness.

This makes a nice side veggie hot, or chilled, it's a great spread on bread or can be tossed with cooked pasta or quinoa.  If you want to make it a whole meal, along with the pasta, stir in 2 cups of cooked chickpeas or white beans or lentils and serve over salad mix.

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Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 medium cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, root end removed and thinly sliced
1 medium yellow onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 large bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick
Tomatoes, chopped, to make 2 cups
1 sprig basil,  sliced into ribbons, with stem discarded (or save for veggie broth) or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:


1.  In a cast iron skill, heat 4 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in onions, increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 20 minutes.

3.  Transfer to a large pot and add tomatoes and basil and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower heat to maintain simmer. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers are very soft, about 1 hour. Stir in remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stir in vinegar and the sugar or honey, if necessary.  Serve right away, or chill, then serve reheated, slightly chilled, or at room temperature.

Beth's Vegan Chili

Photo for Tracey Medeiros's The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook by Oliver Parini of Burlington, Vermont, which features a recipe for the chili served at Burlington's City Market/Onion River Co-op.
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JP tells me that this week's bag share from Glade Road Growing will include tomatoes and peppers, so I thought I'd give you my recipe for vegan chili.

Last week, I mentioned that I had attended a pot luck on Sunday.  One cook, a vegan, told me that she never used fake meat when she cooked for herself or her husband, but that she used it to make recipes my "special" for meat eaters.

I disagree!  Meat eaters know what meat tastes like and fake meat and tvp, besides being highly processed, really don't taste like meat.  Instead I suggest that you use spices and whole ingredients. To add a bit of richness, my chili recipe includes cocoa powder, cinnamon and paprika, in addition to the more traditional spices, plus some miso, instead of salt to give depth of flavor.  You could also deepen the flavor by adding diced roasted sweet potatoe instead of the carrots and some sautéed chopped mushrooms.  To get the texture of the meat or tvp, I suggest cooked barley, or if you're gluten intolerant, quinoa.  Because I don't have any Mexican oregano, I also use some fresh chopped basil in the garnish.

I top my chili with greek yogurt or labneh, but of course that's not vegan.  Instead you can use this recipe for tofu "sour cream."

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Serves 8

2 cups dried beans (your choice of black, navy, kidney, red beans or lentils, or a combination thereof)
1 cup of barley or quinoa

Spices:
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups diced heirloom tomatoes (about 2 medium--you can use canned diced unsalted tomatoes, when tomato season is over)
2 cups of water
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
4 tablespoons of miso, thinned with water

Garnish:
Greek yogurt or "tofu sour cream"
1 cup of chopped heirloom tomatoes
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of fresh basil, cut into slivers
1 shallot, peeled and sliced thinly (or substitute a bit of red onion)


Directions:

1. The night before or at least 3 hours before you start the soup, bring beans to boil with 4 cups of water in a heavy-bottomed pot with a tight lid then turn down heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse well. Bring back to a boil, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes and then let soak for an hour or overnight. Rinse a second time and bring back to boil with a bay leave and cook until soft. Drain.

2.  After you start the beans, bring the grain of your choice to boil with 4 cups of water in a heavy-bottomed pot with a tight lid then turn down heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse well. If you are using quinoa, bring back to a boil, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, turn off the heat and leave covered for at least 20 minutes until it absorbs the water.  For barley, you will need to cook it longer for it to be tender, so after it sits for the 20 minutes, cover the barley with water and bring back to a boil and then simmer until it is tender and the water is absorbed.

2. In a dry, seasoned cast iron skillet, toast the spices and set aside.   Add the oil to the skillet and cook onions, until they are softened. Add the celery, the peppers, the carrots and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes.  Transfer to a large heavy-bottomed pot.  Add the tomatoes and water, the tomato paste, the cocoa, the cooked beans and grain and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

4. Stir in the spices and simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

6. Take off the heat and season soup by stirring in the thinned miso.

7. To serve, divide soup into  individual bowls, garnish with yogurt or tofu sour cream, chopped fresh basil, cilantro, tomatoes and shallots.

Beth's End of Summer Minestrone Soup

Photo by J. Kenji López-Alt, who is managing culinary director of Serious Eats magazine and author of its column, The Food Lab.  

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Hope you had a happy Labor Day!

I got to celebrate the weekend with two potlucks (one on Friday on Terry's porch and another on Sunday at Miko's) plus a house concert on Saturday with John Bullard thanks to Beth Kelsey and Bud Bennett to benefit the PEO International scholarship fund  (with yet another potluck--and Bud let me know the interview he did with John for RU's Archives and Special Collections are posted here: part one and part two).

Monday night friends' Mike Gangloff and Matt Peyton DJed world beats at Rising Silo at Glade Road Growing, which meant dinner by Tabula Rasa on Glade (a zucchini panino on rosemary focaccia), roasted beets, blistered shishito peppers and a pint of green tea kombucha/ginger beer.)

All this to explain while I'm not posting as usual on Sunday night.  When I was talking to JP on Saturday about the share it was pretty cold and he suggested a soup.  Minestrone came to mind. Or maybe pasta fagioli, although I wasn't as sure of the recipe.  I heard the librarian at the Newman circulation desk tell another patron they'd be open for Labor Day, so, with all the cooking, good food, music and friends, I waited until Monday before going to the farm to walk over to Tech to post this.  I found the doors locked. Maybe I misheard.  Next time I'll look up the schedule!

The one consolation for filing this later than usual is I get to tell you exactly what is in this week's Glade Road Growing bag and tailor the recipe accordingly for: celery, potatoes, carrots, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and summer squash.  The only additional veggies you need for my version are and onion, greens and basil.  The version pictured uses green beans, in addition.  But as the chef who made it, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt writes:

If all were right in the world, there would be as many recipes for minestrone—the Italian soup of simmered mixed vegetables and beans—as there have been individual pots of it cooked. That's because it's really more of a process than a fixed recipe. It's a hearty, easy, delicious meal that you can make with a couple of pantry staples and whatever fresh vegetables you happen to have on hand.

He has a handy table here on how to prepare most any veggie you might want to add.

Traditional minestrone often has pancetta or bacon (about a quarter pound for this amount of soup.) Although my recipe is for the vegetarian version (for vegan omit the cheese), Ben Wilke of Strong Earth Farm has pork bellies in the Pork Honesty Freezer at Glade Road Growing.  Just chop the pork and add it with the onions. Or smoke it first, to make bacon.  Or cure it in the fridge and hang to dry per Our Daily Brine.  Or Ben suggests that you can bake it in the oven at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes.

This recipe serves four for a main dish, but if you want to stretch this further, for each additional serving, add one quarter cup of dried beans, 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of dried pasta and one ounce of cheese, shredded.   If you want more than double the recipe, I'd add additional vegetables.   If you don't have enough fresh tomatoes, you can substitute canned diced tomatoes to supplement. It will keep 4 three days in the fridge.

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Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried beans (cannellini beans are traditional traditional, but you can substitute other white beans such as Great northern or navy beans and I like to combine the white beans with garbanzos and red beans or kidney beans--probably because I grew up eating canned soup.)

3 cups of water

1/4 extra virgin cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 rib of celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 sweet pepper, diced
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped (If there are not enough in the farm share, you can use 6 tablespoons of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water for each cup you must substitute to make 2 cups.)
4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and finely chopped
1 or two summer squash, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 pound potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch dice.  If the potatoes or Purple Majesties, you may want to peel them, as they have a thicker skin
1/2 pound greens (kale, chard, arugula, spinach or cabbage or combination) rinsed, drained, stems discarded, and the leaves chopped (about 6 cups)
2 cups of water
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons of miso, thinned with water
1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano rind (about 3 by 1 1/2 inches--optional, if you prefer to make this recipe vegan plus 4 ounces of cheese shredded.)
fresh basil to garnish

2 cups dried whole wheat pasta (ditalini--shown--is traditional, but you can use elbow, fusilli, penne, shells, orecchiette or any other small pasta.)

Directions:

1.  The night before or at least 2 hours before you start the soup, bring beans to boil with 3 cups of water in a heavy-bottomed pot with a tight lid then turn down heat to simmer for 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse well.  Bring back to a boil, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes and then let soak.  Rinse a second time and bring back to boil with a bay leave and cook until soft.

2.  In a cast iron skilled cook onions, until they are softened.   Add the carrots, the celery, the sweet pepper and the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the squash and the potatoes and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the greens cook the mixture, stirring, until they are wilted Add the tomatoes, the water and the cheese rind and simmer the soup, covered, for 1 hour.  Remove the rind and bay leaf.

3.  Drain the white beans, reserving the liquid.  Purée half of them , in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of the reserved liquid, and stir the purée and the remaining white beans into the soup.

4.  Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes, thin it if desired with some of the remaining reserve liquid.

5.  While the soup is simmering, put on the pasta to cook according to directions and drain and toss with a bit of olive oil.

6.  Season soup with pepper and miso.   Add pasta if you are serving immediately or if, not, refrigerate pasta and soup in separate lidded jar(s) for up to three days and combine and reheat before serving.

7.  To serve, divide soup into hot soup in individual bowls, garnished chopped fresh basil and shredded cheese.

Onion Marmalade

Photo by Kentucky native Becky Luigart-Stayner



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This week JP tells me the bag share from Glade Road Growing will include 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of onions.  He asked for a recipe for onion marmalade.  This makes a great topping for bruschetta, pizza or pasta.  It's delicious in a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich or to top chicken, pork, beef or fish.  I even like it as a savory addition to yogurt, along with steamed potatoes and squash (or, let's face it, straight out of the jar!)

I think the traditional method is worth the extra time, but I've included an alternative way, which cuts the cooking time to about a half an hour.

Yield:  2 to 3 cups ( 1 serving is 2 tablespoons)


Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter (or extra virgin olive oil for vegans)
3 tablespoons demerara sugar, maple syrup or honey
8 cups thinly sliced sweet onions (about 4 large)
 4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and minced
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions--traditional method:

1.  Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.

2.  Add onions and garlic, salt and pepper to pan. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until onions are very tender, stirring occasionally.

3.  Add the sweetener and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cook stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the onions appear dry.

4.  Uncover and add vinegar to onion mixture and reduce heat to low.  Continue cooking stirring occasionally for up to an hour until the onions are soft and dry.

5.  Serve warm or at room temperature. Store the marmalade in the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks.

Directions--quicker method:

1.  Melt butter in  skillet over medium heat and add sweetener, cooking a minute or so until it's completely dissolved.

2.  Add onion and garlic to pan. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until onions are very tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add vinegar. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Stir in salt and pepper.

Moroccan and Asian Ribbon Salads with Carrots, Cucumbers and Peppers

Photo from Sarah Britton of My New Roots, her food blog based in Copenhagen, Denmark.


Ribbon salads are lovely. If you don't have a mandoline, a simple vegetable peeler works well.  I've added a cucumber and chopped peppers to the salad pictured above.   Britton's inspiration is Moroccan, but if you prefer Asian,  you might could substitute edamame for the lentils and use the Asian dressing recipe I've included instead.  If you'd like to make this a meal, serve the Moroccan salad over 2 cups of cooked quinoa or the Asian salad over 2 cups of cooked whole wheat, buckwheat or rice noodles.


Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils or edamame, cooked
2-3 large carrots
1 cucumber, peeled, halved,

½ pepper, sweet or poblano
1 small onion, 1/2 medium onion or 1/4 large onion
¼ cup each mint and cilantro

Marinade:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon water

Moroccan Dressing:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ tablespoon anise seeds
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey (or agave, for the vegan version)
3 tablespoon extra virgin oil
1 tablespoon miso

6 prunes, pitted and finely chopped

or

Asian Dressing:

1 ½  tablespoon sesame seeds

2 teaspoon of  honey or agave

2 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon miso
1 pear, seeded, cored and julienned into small strips

1.  Cook the lentils or endame and rinse.
2.  Whisk the marinade together in large bowl.
3.   Wash the carrots and wash and peel the cucumber.  Using the peeler, peel long ribbons lengthwise and place in the bowl with the marinade. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the veggies.
4.  Stem and seed the pepper and chop finely.  Peel onion and chop finely.
5.  Make the dressing of your choice. First, toast the whole seeds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant.  Let cool.  Add with remaining dressing ingredients to a jar with a tight lid and shake well.
6.  In a large bowl, add lentils or edamame and the veggies.  Pour on dressing and toss well.  Store covered in refrigerator until ready to serve.
7.  Divide the salad among four individual bowls and garnish with washed and chopped herbs.  

Greek Potato Salad with Tomatoes, Quick Pickled Onions and Soft-Set Eggs

Photo by Stacie Billis


Serves 4

Ingredients:

Pickled onions

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon honey

1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

Potato salad:

4 large potatoes scrubbed and cut into one-inch cubes
2 cups of tomatoes cut into wedges
4 soft set duck or chicken eggs

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Garnish:

3 tablespoons of chopped herbs (cilantro, parsley, mint, dill, basil or a combination)

Directions:

1.  Mix together vinegar, water spices for pickled onions.  Bring to a boil and take off heat.  Pour over onions and let cool.  Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

2.  Steam potatoes in covered pot boiling water until tender, about ten minutes.  Transfer to a bowl to cool.

3.  Meanwhile cook eggs in a large saucepan of boiling water until whites are set and yolks are still slightly soft, about 7 minutes. (You can cook the eggs a minute or two longer if you like them more set.) Drain and rinse in cold water until cold.  Drain and peel.  Set eggs aside.

4.  To make vinaigrette, whisk lemon juice, mustard, and honey in a large bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually add oil; whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

5.  Add vinaigrette to potatoes, tomatoes and pickled onions and toss.  Transfer to four individuals bowls.  Quarter eggs and tuck one in each bowl between veggies.  Garnish with chopped herbs.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Photo from Jenny Park and Teri Lynn Fisher's blog, Spoon Fork Bacon.



JP tells me that this week's bag will contain shishito peppers and suggested that I feature them in the recipe.

Of Japanese origin, folks describe shishito peppers as  grassy and citrusy,  sweet and mild in taste.  Except when they aren't.

Some say that about one in ten or twenty are hot, which makes them a fun kind of surprise.  In Scoville heat units, they measure  50 – 200, meaning that at their hottest, they are still 13 times milder than jalapeños.  Matt Bray of Pepper Scale writes that it's likely that the shishito has its roots in the padrón, another pepper which varies in heat.  That pepper likely ended up in Spain in the 16th century from South America.  He speculates that the Japanese soil mixed with continued growing of the mildest peppers likely converted the taste and heat to what we have today.

On the other hand, Sandi Gaertner writes in her Fearless Dining blog that "I have yet to find a hot one….and I have had at least four pints of shishito peppers in the past month in our farm box." Despite not finding any hot ones, they are still a favorite and she has recipes for a variety of chilled soups including pepper,  pepper and mango and gazpacho,  as well as for a shishito sauce to serve with chicken over cheesy polenta and a shishito stir fry.

Since shishitos have thin walls, they can be roasted whole and eaten, except for the stems.  I am giving you directions on how to blister them in an iron skillet.  Since it would take at least a half a  pound to serve four as an appetizer,  I'm suggesting that if there are fewer you halve them lengthwise and use to garnish this week's tomatoes and cucumbers in the quinoa salad or use them to supplement other sweet peppers in Gaertner's recipes.

*

Serves 4

Salad ingredients:
2 cups of chickpeas or black beans, cooked
1 cup heirloom tomatoes, chopped coarsely quartered
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 cup quinoa, cooked
2 tablespoons onion, minced
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, minced
4 tablespoons lime juice
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Blistered pepper ingredients:
whole shishito peppers, washed and dried
1 tablespoon non extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil or ghee
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, plus more for drizzling at the end
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

Directions:

1.  The night before, to cook the beans, in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan, cover one cup of dried chickpeas with three cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for five minutes.  Let soak overnight.  Drain and rinse the chickpeas and repeat, but this time simmer until soft, about an hour to an hour and a half.  Drain and rinse a second time.

2.  To cook the quinoa, add the 2/3 cup of raw quinoa and to two cups of boiling water and return to boil. Take off stove and rinse well. Add back in a scant 2 cups of water and return to stove and bring to a boil. Turn down to low. Cover. Cook 15 minutes. Let stand for five minutes and then
fluff with a fork.

3.  In a medium large bowl,  combine all the salad ingredients, cover and store in refrigerator to chill. 

4.   Place cast iron skillet over medium heat.  When a drop of water will evaporate add sesame seeds and cook until they pop and transfer to a dish.

5.  Turn the heat to high and add the oils.

6.  Carefully add peppers to pan and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, moving them around the pan frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

7. Once peppers have charred/blistered all around and have begun to wilt remove from heat.  Cut in half lengthwise.

8.  To serve, transfer the salad to four individual bowls, top with half a pepper (or more, if they are available)  and toasted sesame seeds and drizzle with additional sesame seed oil.

Hummus Heaped with Summer Salad

Photo by Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen

JP tells me that the tomatoes are again in abundance this week at Glade Road Growing, as are onions and green peppers, so I thought I'd come up with a recipe inspired by this picture by Deb Perelman, who notes that "throughout the Middle East, there are hummusiots/hummsias, places that serve hummus warm and freshly made, often a little softer than what we get here, usually heaped with other things."

If you live in (or near) Blacksburg and want something more special than store-bought but don't feel like baking pitas  or yogurt flatbreads, you can get great pita bread from Jess Schultz and Pete Macedo at Blacksburg Bagels at the Farmers' Market or from Aaron Grigsby at Tabula Rasa on Glade, the Glade Road Growing farm kitchen.

Perelman is somewhat "persnickety" and peels her chickpeas.  (Or since she lives in NYC, she can go over to Lexington Avenue and buy dried peeled chickpeas, say what?)  I, on the other hand, am more laid back, other than to refuse to make my hummus from canned chickpeas, which I swear a cookbook author suggested at a demo the Virginia Festival of the Book.

*

Serves 4


Ingredients:

Hummus

1 cup of dried chickpeas
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
3-4  cloves of fresh garlic, smashed, peeled
3 tablespoons of lemon, lime or orange juice
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin


4 large pita breads or yogurt flatbreads

Salad

1 1/2 cup of heirloom and cherry tomatoes, chopped small,
1/2 pound of small cucumbers, washed, unpeeled, chopped small
1 bell pepper, chopped small
1/4 medium red or white onion, chopped small
1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons herbs (cilantro, parsley, mint, oregano, thyme or chives or a mixture of those), finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ground sumac (optional, if you cannot find it.)


Directions:

1.  The night before, in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan, cover dried chickpeas with three cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for five minutes.  Let soak overnight.  Drain and rinse the chickpeas and repeat, but this time simmer until soft, about an hour to an hour and a half.  Drain and rinse a second time.

2.  Heat a cast iron skillet lightly coated with extra virgin olive oil until a bead of water evaporates.  Cover bottom of skillet with raw sesame seeds and toast until they just pop.  Transfer to a bowl to cool.  Repeat until all the seeds are toasted.

3.  In a heavy duty blender or food processor combine the cooked chickpeas, the toasted sesame seeds and the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.  If your hummus seems too too thick, you can thin it with cool water.  (You can also substitute water for the olive oil to make a lower fat version, but really, why?)

4.  Warm 4 large pitas or flat breads, one at a time, in a cast iron skillet and cut into wedges

5. Mix tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. If you have sumac, add about 1/4 teaspoon. Stir in half of herbs, reserving the rest for a garnish

6.  Spread hummus on a large plate with the back of a spoon, creating swirls and cavities. Drizzle it lightly with additional extra virgin olive oil.  Heap salad on hummus and arrange pita wedges around the edges of the plate. Finish with a sprinkling of the remaining sumac and fresh herbs.

Gazpacho

Photo (no photographer credited) from Epicurious


JP tells me that this week's farm share will include lots of tomatoes of various types.  They're so pretty you could just sliced them on a platter or dice them with watermelon in a salad.  If it cools down, they'd be delicious in tomato pie.  If it doesn't, here's another way to serve them, in a simple gazpacho which doesn't, like the more complicated versions, require blanching the tomatoes and seeding them.  I use quinoa in this soup,  rather than bread cubes, which still provides a smooth texture while having the advantage of being gluten free, if you have friends that are on restricted diets.

*

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups of tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 cups cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup sweet pepper, chopped
1 1/4 cups onion, chopped
3 cups canned tomato juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (such as tarragon, thyme, basil, parsley and/or cilantro)
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves smashed, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 cup of cooked quinoa
sea salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions

1.   In a bowl, reserve 2 tablespoons each of the tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion, plus the herbs to garnish.
2.   Purée the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, adjusting the seasoning to taste with lime juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
3. Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
4.  Serve in chilled bowls garnished with the reserved vegetables

Beet and Carrot Salad with Curry Dressing and Pistachios

Photo by Marcus Nilsson for Bon Appetite. 


*

Serves 8

JP says the July 18 bag share will include carrots and beets, so I thought a salad with a curry dressing might be nice.  I liked this picture accompanying a recipe by Rebecca Collerton, who at the time had just finished a stint at Brooklyn's Mr. Curry.  I could find no news of where she is now.  The recipe called for "curry powder."  The spice blend in this dressing is my own.

Ingredients:


1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 tsp sea salt

Curry spices:
1/2 tsp ground cumin 
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, smash, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon miso
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 small beets or 2 large beets quartered, peeled and sliced thin
4 medium carrots, peeled, shaved lengthwise into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 tablespoon lime juice


Directions:

1.  In a warm, oiled skillet, toast pistachios until golden brown and season with sea salt.  Let cool, then chop coarsely.

2.  In a small saucepan, toast curry spices over medium heat, add oil and bring to a simmer, swirling occasionally.  Let cool.

3.  In a blender, process garlic, miso, vinegar, and mustard.  With the motor running, stream in curry oil. Blend until dressing is smooth.  This dressing can be made up to two days ahead of time.

4.  Toss beets and half of dressing in a medium bowl; season with salt. Let sit until beets soften slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrots and remaining dressing and toss.  Season with lime juice.

5.  Arrange on a platter or in individual bowls and serve topped with pistachios.

Beet, Chickpea and Cauliflower Salad

Photo from Nine.com.au Kitchen


JP tells me that the farm share from Glade Road Growing for July 11 will include cauliflower, beets and red onions, so I thought this salad might be good.


*

Serves 4




Ingredients

1 cup of dried chickpeas
1 fresh bay leaf
2 large beets or 5 small ones.
1/2 cauliflower, broken into florets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cup greens (beet greens, chard, kale, arugula, tatsoi or combination thereof, coarsely chopped)

Dressing:

4 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 teaspoons wholegrain prepared mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon miso
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes


1.  Cover chickpeas in water and bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse and add three cups of water.  Bring again to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat and soak for at least two hours.  Rinse a second time, add three cups of water and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or until soft.

2.  Dice beets into 1 inch cubes, if large or quarter small beets.  Steam for 10 minutes or until tender.  Let cool and peel, unless skins are tender.

3.  Steam cauliflower florets for about 7 minutes or until tender.  Let cool.

4.  Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and heat until a bead of water evaporates.  Add onions and cook until translucent.  Add greens and saute for 5 minutes.  Add a bit of water and steam for another 5 minutes.  Take off heat.

5.  Combine dressing ingredients in a small jar and stir to combine.  Toss with cooked ingredients and chill in refrigerator in a wide mouth mason jar.  Screw on lid and invert.

6.  Divide among four bowls and serve.

If you like you can top this salad with crumbled feta cheese.  You can also add walnuts, pecans or almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

Grilled Summer Squash

Photo from Oh My Veggies blog.


This week's farm share from Glade Road Growing will include summer squash,  which have a soft, thin edible skin and a mild flavor.  They can be eaten raw or cooked--steamed, sautéed and grilled.  They are also great simmered in soups and pasta sauces.  JP asked for a grilled squash recipe, so here is one of mine.

*

Serves 4



Ingredients:

1 pound summer squash, with stem trimmed off and sliced 1/4 inch thick lengthwise

Marinade:

1 T water
3 T  miso

1 T lime juice

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t honey

1/2 t red pepper flakes

1/2 t cumin
2 green onions, thinly sliced



Directions:

1. Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal.

2.  Combine ingredients for marinade a large bowl.  Reserve half for dressing in a small pitcher.

3.  Toss squash in marinade and let stand in refrigerator for  at least 15 minutes or up to four hours to absorb flavors.

4.  Place vegetables directly over hottest part of coals, uncovered.   Cook for 4 minutes, turn over grill another four minutes or until tender.

5.  Transfer to a platter.

6.  Pour dressing evenly over squash before serving or, if you prefer, serve with tzatziki (my first-ever recipe developed for Glade Road Growing) or grated fresh Parmesian, Asiago or cheddar cheese. (For the latter, grate cheese while the squash is still warm, so that it will melt.)


*

Aaron at Tabula Rasa, Glade Road Growing's farm kitchen, was serving summer squash last night on a sandwich with pesto, olive oil and Meadowcreek Dairy's Appalachian ( a tome-type) cheese. Yum!

Photo from Tabula Rasa on Glade.

Here are some previous recipes for summer squash, which you can make now, before the eggplant and tomatoes come in and you can make ratatouille:
Summer Squash and Potato Torte
Savory Skillet Veggie and Feta Cornbread
Yellow Squash and Onions with Brown Sugar

Cooking with New Garlic

Photo from Clotilde Dusoulier, French food writer based in Paris who blogs at ChocolateandZucchini.com.

*


Chances are when you think of fresh garlic, you picture heads of dried whole garlic, their cloves hidden within papery husks.  In the spring, though, some farmers, including JP and Sally offer new garlic, which will be in Glade Road Growing's farm share for June 27.  (This is not the same thing as "green garlic" which is picked earlier before the bulbs have swelled when farmers want to thin their rows.)

Dusoulier describes  ail frais (fresh garlic) or ail nouveau (new garlic) as "subtle and vibrant." She suggests that if it is tender, the stalk part can be sliced off and used as you would a section of leek,  sautéed with other vegetables or in a soup or broth.

As for the thick ribbed skin that encloses the cloves, she slices it slice thinly and uses it as she would an  onion.

Both of those parts can kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days before using, or minced and frozen.

She turns the fleshy, waxy membrane,into a cream of garlic.  To do this she brings water to a simmer in a small pan, throws in the membranes, and drains them as soon as the water comes back to a simmer. She lets the membranes cool and drain for an hour or so, then processes them with half their weight in extra virgin olive oil and salts to taste. The resulting butter-colored, mayonnaise-like spread can be added vinaigrettes and other salad dressings, blended into a stir-fry of vegetables as a finishing touch, or dolloped onto bread, fish or meat.

As for the actual cloves, she suggests you keep them in a ramekin in the fridge door, to slice thin and either fry them until golden in a little oil, to be set aside and added back into dishes, or used raw in salads. 

Or, if you like, use the new garlic cloves in the Greek spread skordalia, as suggested at the London blog VegetableoftheWeek.com.  He calls new garlic "moreish,"  the British term for food that makes you want to eat more.

*

By the way, JP suggested I provide a recipe for garlic butter, so here it is:

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon minced new garlic

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together butter and garlic until well combined. You can store this garlic butter in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 3 days.  If you want it to keep longer, you can freeze it.