Category Archives: Vegetables

Summer Vegetable Gratin

Veggies are good for you!

It’s that time of year. The time when farmer’s markets abound with a profusion of summer produce: eggplants and pattypan squash and green zucchini with their bright yellow cousins. Ears of corn call to be shucked and eaten raw, right off the cobb. An abundance of tomatoes and basil sends one rushing for the good olive oil and oozy burrata. Beautiful golden squash blossoms call out to be stuffed and fried… Even at work, one of my coworkers with a prolific garden brings in trayfuls of her extra produce, to be snatched up by the garden-slackers (i.e., me).

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Wild Mushroom Crostini

DD rambles far and wide in his search for edible wild mushrooms, but he takes every opportunity he can to find them close to home as well. This past Saturday, he spent 8 hours up north in a rather fruitless search save for half-a-dozen or so candy caps. On Sunday, a 90-minute ramble through the park with the puppy yielded some nice Agaricus Augustus and Agaricus Lilaceps, which he turned into some beautiful mushroom crostini.

Say what, you mumble… Agaricus what? You were expecting something with chanterelles perhaps? Continue reading →

Caldo Verde: Portuguese Greens Soup

Caldo Verde

Another old but excellent and easy one-pot standby, this hearty soup makes a regular appearance at our table every couple of months or so. As with many of these kinds of peasant soups and stews, there are an infinite number of variations. I believe at a minimum, the soup calls for some sort of green (kale, collards and cabbage are most common in the recipes I’ve seen cited); some sort of starch – usually potato; some form of allium – onion and or garlic; and finally, sausage. This time I used broccoli rabe (for the first time ever) and while it turned out delicious, perhaps sticking with sturdier greens is preferable. I also add tomato (which is not classic) since I like the acidity that comes from this component; other recipes that don’t include tomato sometimes call for the addition of a few spoonfuls of vinegar. Finally, in this last go-round I eschewed potatoes and included a cupful of pearled (fast cooking) farro. Continue reading →

Tonjiru and Nanohana

Tonjiru and Nanohana, Rice and Pickles

The Asian recipe for this week is Tonjiru – or, Japanese pork and miso soup with root vegetables. I’ve made it a couple of times and love its ease, tastiness and generally healthy (are pork belly and “healthy” allowed in the same context?) contents. I also like this soup since it’s so flexible, and you can add or subtract ingredients to your liking and taste. For instance, the version below uses sato imo, or taro root instead of potatoes, and omits goubou (burdock root). Instead of just using Akamiso (red miso), add a little of the sweeter Shiromiso (white miso) for balance. Also, the amounts below are estimates, so please adjust as necessary. The rest of the meal included nanohana no karashi, or broccoli rabe/ rape flower with mustard dressing, rice of course, and pickles. Continue reading →

Pea Sprouts/ Snow Pea Leaves

Sauteed Pea Sprouts

Note: I originally wrote this post on my old blog, delectation. I haven’t found a great way of easily porting old posts over, so I’m attempting this manual method for now. I’m also slightly editing and updating the post from its original.

I adore this vegetable. It is, without a doubt, my favourite green, the foodstuff which I am constantly craving if I go more than a couple of days without it. Some of the Chinese restaurants in the city offer pea sprouts. Sometimes they are indeed the sprouts themselves, tiny, thin-stemmed multitudes, like so many green needles, crisp and crunchy in fragrant garlic sauce. Other restaurants, such as Brother Seafood Restaurant on Irving and 19th, ~~the Go-Go Cafe on Irving and 19th~~ (note: now closed), and Ton Kiang on Geary, actually serve pea leaves (Ton Kiang lists them as “Snow Pea Tips” on their menu) — which I’ve come to prefer over the more traditional sprouts. If you’re near the Tenderloin, Ken’s Kitchen will deliver within a certain radius (i.e., Alamo Square). In the restaurants I believe they can also be called Tom Yau, or To Miao, or even Tau Miao.