CSA Show and Tell #6

After the lovely indulgence – read dessert for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snack — of the holidays, I’m ready to start my weekly cooking and writing again. I haven’t written a CSA Show & Tell since week 2, but I’ll start with week 6, since that’s where we are right now.

I know that many CSA subscribers are concerned about wasting food. I’ve tried to get realistic about what we can consume in one week in my household. This week, I preserved some white Swiss chard and some of the lemongrass for later, since I had double helpings of these from the extras box. The extras box was brimming this week, even though I was one of the last to claim my share. Do not fear the root vegetables and winter greens!

Preserved for later:
I dried my lemongrass and I will eventually pulverize it into a powder. I looked for lemongrass ideas in A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider, a wonderful tome I got for Christmas from my friend Winfred. Serendipitously, I found no-fuss directions for making lemongrass essence to use as a spice later. Here are the basics, paraphrased from Schneider:

Lemongrass Essence (from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider)

TIME

15 minutes active time, plus 30 minutes for the lemongrass to dry in oven

INGREDIENTS

8 stalks fresh lemongrass (I used about 5 stalks)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Cut off the dry upper branches. Only use the white bulb and some of the green part before the plant starts to separate.

Cut the lemongrass into thin pieces.

Spread the lemongrass on a baking sheet and leave in oven until dry (about 30 minutes.)

Pulverize the lemongrass in a food processor or blender at high speed for a minute.

Let the mixture settle for another minute before you open the top, so the powder doesn’t fly out.

Press the powder through a strainer into a clean, dry container. You can use a dry pastry brush to help with this part.

Schneider says this dry spice will last for 3 months, if kept in a cool, dry place and a tightly sealed container. You can use the lemongrass essence when you don’t have the fresh stuff on hand. One teaspoon equals one stalk of fresh lemongrass.

I know, I know, it’s not rocket science. However, this book got me to consider all of the exciting things I can do to preserve foods for later. I’m grateful that this book landed in my hands because it goes beyond recipes to explain techniques and encourage improvising. It’s also teeming with recipes for DIY rubs, marinades, syrups and vinegars from many cuisine traditions.

Anyways, I froze my chard. Why does that sound so funny? Anyway, I cleaned and blanched my extra bunch of white Swiss chard. Then I let it cool and packed it for the freezer.

I know some folks got red Swiss chard. This recipe for Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Red Swiss Chard from epicurious.com is mouthwatering! I sometimes make the sauce just to pour over the red chard. I highly recommend it!

Already cooked:
I used the rest of the lemongrass and the cilantro in a Curried Coconut Seafood Soup, which I adapted from the Coconut and Seafood Soup in my trusty, all purpose Thai: The Essence of Asian Cooking by Judy Bastyra (you know, from the collection at the front of Borders).

You can make this with any assortment of seafood: firm white fish, squid rings, scallops, shrimp. You can also make this ahead and add the seafood on the day you actually plan to eat the dish. Since I usually do all of my cooking on Saturdays, I had other things to eat that day. So I prepared only the soup and left out the seafood (which is in the freezer). Later this week, I’ll defrost my scallops and cook from there for a quick weeknight dish.

Curried Coconut Seafood Soup

TIME

One hour

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups of fish or shrimp stock (or more if you want a less creamy soup)

5 thin slices of ginger

2 lemongrass stalks, chopped

Lime juice or 3 shredded kaffir lime leaves (I know it’s not the same, but use what you have)

Some cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Small bunch of cilantro

1 tsp. vegetable oil

4 shallots (I actually used 1 shallot and ¼ of a red onion)

14-oz. can coconut milk

2-3 tbsp. Thai fish sauce

1-4 tbsp. Thai green curry paste (use less if want a more mild flavor)

1-2 lbs. of seafood of your choice: squid rings, firm white fish, scallops, shrimp.

Pour the fish stock into a large pan along with the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and half of the lime leaves or some lime juice.

Strip the cilantro leaves from the stalks and throw the stems in the pot. Reserve the leaves for later. I just serve the cilantro, chopped, as a garnish since my husband recoils at the scent of it. (But he won’t detect it in the stock <dastardly laugh>!)

Bring to a boil; then simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the stock into a bowl to get all the solid bits out.

In the same (rinsed) stockpot or in a new one, add the oil and shallots/onions.

When the onions/shallots start to brown, add the strained stock, coconut milk, some more lime juice or the remaining kaffir lime leaves, and 2 tbsp. of the fish sauce.

Stir in the green curry paste (Remember to start with less if you don’t know how spicy it will turn out).

OK, here is the DECISION POINT. You can finish now, salt to taste, throw in the cilantro leaves to taste and stick this in your freezer or fridge for later. Or you can keep going and enjoy now…

So, if you continue, add your shrimp. Then add your squid, fish or scallops. Cook for about 5-6 minutes and it should all be done. Stir in cilantro to taste. Season with fish sauce or salt to your taste. Enjoy!

For the second time, I made Catalan Sauteed Polenta and Butter Beans from eatingwell.com. However, this time I substituted my white Swiss chard bunch for the baby spinach. I washed it well and then I chopped it, discarding the white stalks at the ends.

I like topping this cozy dish with some more smoked paprika. The smoky taste complements the manchego. The swiss chard was a worthy substitute!

Those of you who enjoy your anime movies, will remember The Radish Spirit from the movie Spirited Away. After getting my CSA box this week, I was stirred by a revelation. The Radish Spirit was a ….Daikon! He seemed gentle, but he must have had a strong scent–while preparing my radish, the house became filled with the familiar aroma of CSA-years-past. It’s so tasty, but make sure you have baking soda in the fridge, because daikon overpowers all other refrigerator dwellers.

I used my daikon and what I thought was a radish, but actually turned out to be a red turnip root, to make this Pickled Daikon and Red Radishes with Ginger recipe from epicurious.com. It’s an extended process, although very little hands-on time is required. Just note that the vegetables should drain into a bowl for an hour BEFORE you add the other ingredients. Also, make sure you adjust the ingredients (especially the salt) if you don’t have as many radishes as the recipe calls for. I made both mistakes, so I ended up with a tasty but quite salty dish.

I saved my white turnip root for my favorite vegetable dish of late—sautéed turnips with butter and salt.

To be cooked:
I’m going to use my carambola for a simple fruit dessert, once I figure out which ones are sweet and which are sweet-tart. Carambola slices are great as garnishes for drinks. You can put a slice on the side of a cup or float some stars in a punch or sweet fruit iced tea.

I’ve never been much of a fan of the cauliflower. I’m willing to convert though, after tasting the ingenious mashed cauliflower at Michael’s Genuine. I don’t know if they mix it with potato, but that may be my plan. Or I may just prepare it alone as mashed fauxtato!

I’m curious to see what everyone did with their veggies for the week…

Mango & Lime wrote about the CSA veggies this week. Tinkering With Dinner has some intriguing ideas for this week’s cauliflower—perhaps a Javanese stew!