books books books books

It's getting close to the time of year when I start to think about gifting books so I was perusing my 2011 books read list and trying to decide which were the clear winners.  I came up with 6 total.

For YA readers (particularly girls because the main characters are so terrific) and adults who like YA:
Plain Kate by Erin Bow
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Blood Red Road by Moira Young

For adult readers (who won't/don't read YA):
Percival's Planet by Michael Beyers
A State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Doc by Mary Doria Russell

Some of these are no surprise. A State of Wonder is already showing up on lots of people's/publications' best of lists and Chime was nominated for the National Book Award.

Any clear winners on your lists? I'm always on the look-out for the next wonderful book.

Tantre Farm Share, week 20

Top row: bag of baby lettuce, bag of spinach, three onions, two sweet potatoes, garlic, carrots, broccoli rabe

Middle row: melon, dumpling squash, delicata squash, red potatoes, hot peppers

Bottom row: arugula, shitake mushrooms, broccoli florets, sorrel, green beans, turnips and greens

Brian just left town for a week which is crummy timing for the last share. So some of this will get blanched and frozen and some of the stuff that will last like potatoes and squash will be set aside until my dinner (and life) partner returns.  I eat a lot of vegetable, but even so, I think I'd have to be eating round the clock to consume all this myself before it starts to spoil.

Menu plan:

• peanut sauce with brown rice, tofu and steamed vegetables: broccoli, beans, carrots, sweet potato and spinach
• salad w/arugula, lettuce, and carrots for lunch through the week 
• scrambled eggs with shitake and sorrel, whole grain toast
• broccoli rabe, turnip greens and some of the green beans will be blanched and frozen
• sweet dumpling squash will be stuffed and baked with quinoa, feta, walnuts, scallions and dried cranberries, served with either steamed broccoli or green beans
• spinach will be blanched then sauteed with plenty of garlic and used to top cheese ravioli

Tantre Farm Share, week 19

Top row: spaghetti squash, bag of baby lettuces, kale, beet greens, turnips and greens
Middle row: delicata squash, hot peppers, onion, sweet potatoes
Bottom row: fingerling potatoes, tatsoi, carrots, green and yellow beans, eggplan, radishes

Menu plan:

• roasted chicken thighs with roasted delicata squash, braised turnips and salad with lettuce, radishes and carrots
• calzones with blanched kale, turkey sausage, ricotta
• Spaghetti squash with Indian Spices, daal, rice, and turnip and radish greens cooked up saag style.
• sweet potato coconut soup (recipe below)
• there will probably be a stir fry in there somewhere to use the tatsoi, green and yellow beans and hot peppers.
• no plans yet for the eggplant or beet greens; the fingerlings won't spoil so I'll wait for a chilly day to roast them. It's too beautiful outside right now to crave roasted potatoes.

Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

Relish (This is not an extra, but a must)

1 T oil (use coconut oil if you have it)

1 T butter (or more coconut oil)

1/8 t red pepper flakes

1 or 2 sweet potatoes (med to large), peeled and diced small

Salt/pepper

¼ fresh chopped cilantro

Soup

1.5 T oil

1 small red or yellow onion chopped

2 t grated fresh ginger

1/8 t red pepper flakes

3.5 cups vegetable broth

1.5 sweet potatoes (med to large), peeled and diced large

1 can coconut milk

2 T honey

¼ t cinnamon

For relish: Heat oil and butter over medium heat, add red pepper flakes heat for 10 seconds. Add the

diced sweet potato, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, COVERED, stirring occasionally until softened, about 15 minutes. Uncover, increase heat and cook until potatoes are golden brown, another 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix with cilantro.

For soup: Heat oil over medium heat, add ginger and onion, cook until soft (about five minutes), and

add red pepper flakes. Add broth, bring to a boil and then add sweet potatoes, bring to a simmer

and cook until soft (20 to 30 minutes). Blend soup until smooth. Simmer over low heat.

Whisk in coconut milk, honey and cinnamon. Cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with a large spoonful of the relish on top.

Tantre Farm Share, week 17

Top row: Basil, radishes, onions, broccoli rabe?, Italian kale

Bottom row: purple potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, purple and yellow beans, salad mix, tomatoes, sorrel

Maybe I'm just feeling curmudgeonly but for this time of year, this week and last week's shares have seemed smaller than I'd expect. Two tomatoes? That's it? Isn't September tomato bounty time in Michigan? It's a good thing I'm not trying to provide vegetables for 4 humans since my kids remain ridiculously picky and will just nibble the occasional carrot or cucumber slice. But even so, there isn't enough there to last a week.

Here's the (grumpy) menu plan:

• That's supposed to be  broccoli rabe (according to the Tantre share email) but it looks a lot more like turnip greens to me... I haven't made spanikopita since spring so I'll probably use the rabe/turnip greens, radish greens and maybe the kale too to make one.
• Roasted vegetables: butternut squash, purple potatoes, onion and garlic. Maybe topped with feta and maybe accompanied by a roast chicken (if I'm up to wrestling a raw chicken into submission).
• Salad with salad mix, tomatoes, carrots and radishes, hard cooked eggs, blanched purple and yellow beans and some tuna.
• Thai chicken with basil (from this general recipe) with lots of purple and yellow beans added to the mix. Rice on the side.

And that about does it for the week...really, only four meals? 

Tantre Farm Share, week 15

Top row: basil bush, broccoli crowns, curly kale, eggplant, 2 heads garlic, thyme bunch, watermelon, potatoes

Bottom row: tomatoes, hot peppers, cabbage, red peppers, lettuce, purple beans, purple onions, cucumber

(Sorry for the crummy exposure--it's a gloomy day here so no daylight to help illuminated the right side of the photo.)

Menu plan:

• Potatoes, some of the purple beans and garlic will go into this potato green bean salad with lemon miso dressing.
• A little bit of the thyme and some more garlic will go into this Magic Sauce recipe which sounds like it can boost up any number of dishes.
• I'll make some pizza dough and top it with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, thyme, red onions and some eggplant that I'll thin slice and pre-cooked a little. Serve it with lettuce/shredded cabbage/red pepper salad.
• Some more of the purple beans, cabbage, red pepper, garlic, a hot pepper and basil will go into the old standby Thai-style noodles, with cucumber and red onion salad on the side.
• There isn't quite enough broccoli to make the garlic sesame cured broccoli salad so I'll stretch out the recipe with some shredded cabbage and red pepper, maybe some kale too. Sounds like that would go well with a dinner of roast chicken.

I also bought a peck of peach seconds and plan to make a big old peach pie and freeze the rest for peach pie in the depths of winter.

Thai noodles and cucumber salad

I'm finally getting around to posting this thai noodle recipe, which I have adapted from a recipe that Ruth Reichl posted on her blog. The version shown in the photos below is from a couple of weeks ago. 

First soak your noodles:

You need 8 oz of rice noodles. I usually make them with this width, but sometimes go with wider ones. I cover them with hot tap water and let them soften (usually for about 1/2 hour) while I'm prepping the other ingredients.

Might as well make your side dish now too. Use a mandoline to thin slice a cucumber (peel and seed if necessary). Then thin slice about 1/2 of a small or a 1/4 of a large onion (red is pretty, but white or yellow onions work fine.) Chop up a little cilantro and toss it all together in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of rice vinegar, a sprinkle of salt and sugar. After it has sat for a while, taste a slice and adjust seasoning. Pop in the fridge to chill while you're cooking.

Next comes noodle ingredient prep. I usually start with the sauce:

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 c of white or brown sugar, 1/4 c of fish sauce, 1/4 c rice (or white) vinegar and 2 T of black soy sauce (you can skip this if you want--black soy sauce is almost like a salty molasses so it gives and extra sweet/salty kick). Set aside.

Next prep your first round of add ins: these are the vegetables and stuff you want to have cooked, not merely warmed up. This is also where you get to add lots of variation. I also like to make this with green beans, scallions (the white part here, the greens added at the end), red peppers, sweet potato leaves, kale, etc.  If you are ok with shell fish you can add some fresh shrimp instead of the tofu.

1/4-1/2 lb tofu cubed, green peppers, shredded cabbage, thin sliced carrots, sliced onion. There are probably around 3 cups of vegetables plus the tofu here.

Next prep your other stuff. Again, there are a few standards (1/4 c chopped peanuts, 2 limes, 2 cloves of pressed garlic) and room for additions. This week I was just chucking in some basil leaves at the end, but other weeks I've added spinach, bean sprouts, scallion greens, cilantro etc. to this phase.

Put a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok, heat it up and add your garlic and 1/2 lb ground meat--I use pork or turkey and both turn out well.

When the meant is no longer pink, add the onions (or white parts of the scallions) and the tofu. Continue to stir fry until the meat starts to brown a little. This is also a good time to add dried red pepper flakes if you want it spicy (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon).

Drain your noodles and dump them in the wok, use a spatula to scrape your sauce ingredients over the noodles and toss while they cook so that the noodles absorb the sauce.

When the sauce is about 1/2 way absorbed, add the vegetables that need some cooking. If you want egg in your noodles (I didn't use egg this week), this is also a good time to make a little space in the wok and crack in an egg or two. Let them cook a little, then scramble with your tongs and toss with the rest when they are firm.

When the sauce has been absorbed and the vegetables sufficiently cooked, add your final ingredients: chopped peanuts, fresh herbs, scallion greens and bean sprouts, if you are using them, and squeeze the two limes over the top.

Give it all a good toss and serve in bowls with a portion of cucumber salad on the side and some sriracha sauce if you like it spicy.

Enjoy!

Tantre Farm Share, week 13

Top zone: pint of cherry tomatoes, quart of red potatoes, 4 heirloom tomatoes, leaf lettuce, parsley, melon

Bottom zone: green and wax beans, 4 red peppers, sweet potato leaves, red and yellow onions, hot peppers, kale, 3 cucumbers, two ears of corn, 2 huge shitake mushrooms 

(not pictured: a basil bush)

We're heading out of town for a week so the following will come with us to be prepared very simply in a cabin kitchen: kale, onions, melon, red potatoes, one or two of the firmer tomatoes

Here's the plan for the other stuff:

• red and hot peppers will get roasted and jarred in a garlic/vinegar/olive oil mixture. 
• green beans, sweet potato leaves, shitakes and some basil will get made into thai noodles (recipe in the next post, really!) with cucumber salad
• lettuce, tomatoes, parsley and remaining cucumbers will make a simple salad, and corn will just be enjoyed on the cob with a nob of butter, as sides with something basic like turkey burgers or grilled chicken thighs.
• cherry tomatoes just for snacking!
• more pesto for freezing to get us through the dark winter months.

Tantre Farm Share, week 12

Gaps and delays: we were out of town for week 11 and this week picked up our share on Saturday rather than Wednesday. Gotta get eating since our next share pick up is this coming Wednesday!

I present to you, the star of the show:

Shitake and oyster mushrooms

Also in the share: Collards, sweet potato leaves, red and yellow onions, red potatoes, garlic, green beans, 2 red peppers, eggplant, poblano, jalapeno and shishito peppers, summer squash, 4 cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes (2 huge, one more normal sized), cherry tomatoes, basil bush, sorrel

Menu plan:

• Fish in a packet with some sweet potato leaves, summer squash, onion, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and feta
• sauteed mushrooms with garlic for breakfast, served with soft scrambled eggs with sorrel and Ed's Bread multigrain toast
• green beans (and basil and jalapeno) with tofu and nuoc cham
• some pesto for freezing
• roasted eggplant salad with red and poblano pepper, basil, garlic and feta
• baked potatoes, chicken thighs on the grill, collard greens braised with garlic, onion and apple cider vinegar, and tomato salad
• sesame cucumber salad, to be combined with tofu and brown rice (and maybe a few stir fried sweet potato leaves if there are any left) for a quick rice bowl lunch or just snacked on when the urge hits

Tantre Farm Share, week 10

Top row: 1 quart yukon gold potatoes, swiss chard, green pepper, carrots, lettuce, garlic, eggplant, two (huge) stems of basil

Bottom row: sumer squash, red russian kale, beets, cucumbers, onion, shishito peppers

not pictured: 1 quart red new potatoes 

Menu plan:

• Tonight I'm going to make a vegetable stew (sort of like a ratatouille but without tomatoes) with eggplant, basil, onion, garlic, a couple of shishito peppers and the big summer squash, maybe a couple of potatoes too if I feel like making it thicker. I'll grate some pecorino over it at the end and serve with baguette. I wish I had some good marinated olives to go with it, but I'm too lazy to go out to the store today.
• Pasta with a kale/fresh rosemary/garlic/walnut/feta sauce
• One cucumber will be diced and mixed into drained plain yogurt with some crushed garlic, salt and pepper. I can eat this by the bowlful on its own but will probably make some of Fiona's favorite lamb patties to go with it, make a simple beet vinaigrette salad and serve it all with fresh pita.
• Some of the potatoes, the three small summer squash and some basil will go into this gratin. I made a half-sized recipe of this with some of the extra squash last week and Brian and I almost licked the pan out. I'll probably just saute up the chard with garlic as a side dish and make some sort of simple meat protein (chicken breasts or pork tenderloin) to serve with it.
• Brian is off on a work trip for most of the week so that calls for one cucumber to go into a single girl's rice bowl (while I make something bland and boring for the critters).
• Lettuce, carrots, cucumber and green pepper will become basic salad. If we're in need of a main course I might boil up some potatoes, hard cook and egg or two and open a can of tuna in olive oil and make it into a big main course salad.
• I haven't decided what to do with the other shishito peppers yet. 

Tantre Farm Share, week 9

Whoo hoo! I found the camera again. It was not, as suspected, buried in the boy-critter's sty of a room (though I am ardently hoping that his missing iPod is in there somewhere). I found it at the bottom of my purse, having been dislodged from its case due to the girl-critter's energetic scrounging for gum, so I can still blame my kids for its disappearance.

Top row: cabbage, lettuce, kale, sorrel, leeks, basil

Middle row: garlic, summer squash and zucchini

Bottom row: green beans, carrots, onion, 8 more cucumbers, tongues of fire shelling beans, 2 quarts of new potatoes

Menu plan:

• Tongues of fire shelling beans will be cooked up with some garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Then the kale will get added in. When ready to serve, I'll put them in deep bowls, squeeze in some lemon, shred a lot of parmesan on top, drizzle with good olive oil and serve with crusty bread and a glass of red wine. This is a meal I look forward to all year.
• It's another week of crazy cucumber bounty and I have a couple of new recipes to share that I tried out last week and loved (linked to below this menu plan). One is for a crazy refreshing cucumber-lime-mint agua fresca and the other is for sichuan cucumber salad. That'll use up about 3 or 4 of the 8. I'm sure one will get sliced up in salads, another will get sliced thin and put on my favorite sandwich (tuna and mayo with cucumber on a baguette) and another one or two will get consumed in the beer snack. And I might gift one if I'm feeling overwhelmed at the end of all that.
• I have a poblano pepper in the house that I'll roast and add to the summer squash, zucchini and onion for calabacitas. I'm thinking I'll add some corn, cooked and cut off the cob, at the end to make it a little more exciting. I'll probably serve it with some sort of tacos, maybe pinto beans and pork, since the kids will eat tacos without a fuss and that is not something I can say about most of the food I make.
• Green beans, carrots, cabbage, garlic, onion and some basil will go into thai noodles, which I just realized I've been blabbing about repeatedly (since I make it almost once a week) and have yet to post the recipe. I'll take a picture and rectify that here soon.
• I doubt that Brian will ever taste the sorrel that comes from our share because, yep, I've already eaten it in an omelet. I think a sorrel, feta or goat cheese and chive omelet might be my favorite of all time. Maybe sometime I'll be generous and share one with him...or maybe not!
• Not sure what to do with all the potatoes, but at least they don't rot right away so I have a little time to figure it out. Last week I boiled some as a dinner side and just drizzled olive oil, snipped fresh chives over the top and sprinkled them with fleur de sel and they were pretty delicious that way. Of course the leeks and potatoes obviously call for vichyssoise but for some reason I love it when other people make this for me, but have never appreciated it as much when I make it myself... 

And now, two things to do with all those cucumbers:

It looks green and frothy and a lot like a pitcher of pond scum. But it isn't.

It's cucumber-mint-lime agua fresca.

This stuff is pretty intense, but amazingly good after you've been out working in the yard in the hot sun. Rather than add the ice cubes to the pitcher as they recommend in the recipe, I fill up a glass with ice and consume the stuff a glass at a time. Ice is essential to dilute the intensity.

I don't have a photo of the sichuan cucumbers, but there's a picture here where I got the recipe. I love the lip and tongue tingling effect of sichuan peppercorns and served this with dan dan noodles so it was a double dose of numb. And very tasty too!

(The following has nothing to do with cucumbers.)

 Paddy's favorite mode of transport. I think he might be part kangaroo.