Romaine lettuce, broccoli, bok choi
celery
bananas, tomatoes, kiwi, Jonagold apples
onions, garlic, parsnips, carrots, sweet potato and navel oranges
As you can see, we didn't get anything very interesting or exotic in this week's share. Not that I don't appreciate and savor this colorful and healthful bounty. I do! I think I'm just in a creative rut. I make the same things over and over again and I'm getting bored! Salad with apples and nuts, roasted broccoli, greens sauteed in garlic and olive oil, parsnip fries, carrots and celery in soup or stew... all on auto repeat. Help! I need some inspiration!
If you came home with this box of vegetables, what would you do with it?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weekend Cooking, a weekly blog event hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food related post to share--a food related book review (fiction or nonfiction), cookbook review, movie review, a recipe, random thoughts, gadgets, food quotations, photographs, etc. Please visit Beth's blog for more information and join the fun! Note: your post does not have to be posted on the weekend, but do visit Beth's blog over the weekend to link up your post.
I'm really into roasting veggies right now. I'd roast the garlic, onions, parsnips, carrots and sweet potato. I love adding roasted onions to eggs or sandwiches. Carrot and sweet potato soup is yummy as well.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see what you make!
Sadly, I'm allergic to Kiwi so I wouldn't make good use of it. As for everything else...
ReplyDeleteI would use the onions, parsnips and some of the carrots for a parsnip soup. The celery for chicken salad. I would slice the rest of the carrots thin and pickle them. The tomatoes in a guacamole. Banana's in smoothies. Oranges would go in the fruit basket for the kids to snack on. Broccoli would be used as a salad topper (lettuce!) Apples, I would use to make an apple crisp. Bake the sweet potato and serve it with grilled salmon.
I haven't cooked bok choy yet but there is a recipe in a Cooks Illustrated mag I've been wanting to try where it's steamed, tossed with sesame oil and served with Teriyaki pork chops.
My favourite bok choy recipe is an asian chicken soup/noodle thing. I will see if I can find the link.
ReplyDeleteAs to the rest, I don't think I have ever roasted broccoli. I generally just haved it steamed or sometimes au gratin. I would have no idea what to do with the rest! lol
Found the link...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theintrepidreader.com/2010/11/weekend-cooking-anna-gares-deluxe.html
My first thought was some kind of stew with the celery, onion, carrots, garlic, and sweet potato. You could use the orange rind and juice of the orange as part of the stew's sauce.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what co-op do you get the produce through? I have been wanting to join one for a while and that haul looks quite nice.
ReplyDeleteI was told just today that roasted parsnips were beyond delicious. The baby's favorite food on earth is celery. How weird is that? With pb, with cream cheese, with ranch, or plain, doesn't matter. She will drag us to the fridge to get a stalk.
ReplyDeleteI see those veggies and think soup or stew. But, I also love to back and am imagining an apple and carrot breakfast muffin....
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide to do, I hope you share your decision and results.
Happy Friday!
YOU'RE ALL HIRED! Menu planners, personal chefs, etc.. you guys are great!
ReplyDelete@Linda .. I've been roasting vegetables a lot, too. It's so easy and roasted vegetables always taste amazing. Carrot soup is a great idea! I'm roasting the sweet potato tonight. I like it with a touch of brown sugar or maple syrup [always REAL maple syrup, of course] and a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
@Brie .. allergic to kiwi! Aww that stinks. :(
Pickled carrots! I love that idea. Sounds so refreshing.. how do you do it?
Great idea having the broccoli raw in a salad! I have been roasting it with garlic and olive oil in the oven and the family has been loving it.. but raw might be a nice change for me!
My husband loves bok choi. The kids are kind of meh about it. I usually just stir fry it with garlic and a touch of sesame oil. I've always wanted to try it grilled, but it's too cold and I'm too lazy to use the grill until it's warmer outside!
@Marg .. Ooo thank you so much for the link to the asian chicken noodle soup with the bok choi! I think I'm going to do that! I have all the ingredients except the mushrooms. Maybe I'll omit them or use something else.
You should try roasting broccoli! I used to always steam or stir fry it, but discovered roasting it several months ago and as I stated above, my family devours it roasted!
@Shannon .. omg! How ARE you? *pounces and hugs* I'm SO happy to hear from you. I thought we were supposed to try to get together now that you live in New Jersey? Let's still try to do that. :)
Great suggestion using orange in stew. I love that!
I belong to the Purple Dragon Co-op. purpledragon.com The website has a lot of info about how it works. If you decide to join or try it out.. let me know. :)
@Lisa .. I used to put parsnips in soup or stews and no one really liked it so much, myself included, unless it was in a pureed soup. Then I tried this recipe for parsley root fries [although I used parsnips]... and whoa. So good. I make them this way all the time now.
@Brandy .. Breakfast muffins are a great idea! I know the girls are getting tired of cold cereal in the morning.
Thanks for the inspiration, everyone!
Yay!! The weekend is here. :D
wow! good luck getting some cool recipes, I'm helpless with veggies other than carrots and potatoes. :P
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy seeing what you get :) It always looks so colorful, nice and yummy! :)
ReplyDeleteApple crisp! I love adding orange sections to my salads. Banana bread? Roasted root vegetable puree. Fruit salad.
ReplyDeleteWe love roasted veggies, and the root ones you got - parnsips, carrots and add in the sweet potatoes -- would be good. I would use the bananas and apples in a smoothie maybe throw in the oranges too?
ReplyDeleteI would make parsnip&lentilpie and an applecrumble.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would do is go to food.com. They have a function where you can enter one or multiple ingredients and then the site spits out recipes that match. That is what I generally do when I have an ingredient or two and need inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteSoup! here is my recipe for St. Patrick's Day Irish Boxty
ReplyDeleteI agree with Beth F- banana bread and I add oranges to my salad too. I would probably make some soup with the vegetables. My family likes homemade applesauce as well.
ReplyDeleteI'll join the clamor for roasted root veggies or a fresh vegetable soup.
ReplyDeleteParsnips fried in butter are good, or microwaved. For all those carrots? I'd make copper pennies. Stir fry for the bok choy.
Is there anything quite so beautiful as a collection of vegetables?! It looks like a bouquet of flowers.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, this fruit and vegetable box. And, with the carrots, broccoli and bok choi, I would definitely make a stir-fry.
ReplyDeleteI'd roast them and make a salad of roasted vegetables or a roasted veg soup. Banana pancakes with the banana's. Or Banana's Foster!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, orange juice? *grin*
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I'm in the middle of making pasta sauce, so the onion, garlic and carrots would go straight in that :)
I love sweet potatoes, they're good on the grill cut on a thick bias and brushed with olive oil and salt and pepper. My husband told me he had candied carrots with big carrots instead of the usual baby ones and they were delicious. Parsnips in soup are good. Make an onion with garlic and broccoli frittata. Bananas foster, well that is just so good!! Try braising the bok choi and then quick saute with sliced apples.
ReplyDeleteHave fun : )
Paula
Love the content of your bag!! I'd probably either make a fruit salad or make different green smoothie blends throughout the week (yes, with bok choy too!). I'd roast the parsnips, carrots and sweet potato I think. Part of it could be blended into a soup.
ReplyDelete@nath ... I love how colorful and healthy it all looks, too!
ReplyDelete@Beth F ... I added orange sections to my salad last night and LOVED it! Thanks so much for the suggestion.
@TheBookGirl ... Roasted veggies and smoothies. That's been a lot of my winter diet! lol!
@breieninpeking ... parsnip and lentil pie? Do you have a recipe or simple instructions for that? Sounds really interesting!
@Libby ... Thanks for the tip about food.com! 1,199 recipes for parsnips! Wow. Who knew?
@Peggy Ann ... I often turn to soup with a lot of these winter vegetables. It's easy, nutritious and warms me up! Your recipe for Irish Boxty looks divine! I'm going to do that with left over mashed potatoes next time. My girls will LOVE that.
@Diane ... The oranges in salad was a fantastic tip! Everyone should try it. Yum! I love making homemade applesauce.. but already I have fewer apples so not enough for applesauce! ha!
@jama ... Parsnips fried in butter! Yum I bet that's delicious. Might just try it.
@Nan ... I agree! A colorful collection of vegetables is indeed as beautiful as a bouquet of flowers. I've gotten into the habit of laying out all my produce from my co-op box on the table and photographing it [and posting on instagram & twitter] before putting everything away. I really enjoy doing that!
@jannyan ... I think I'm going to make an asian-inspired soup with some of the bok choi [using Marg's recipe above] and then stir frying the rest in another day or two.
@Carol... We eat A LOT of bananas in my house. Out of hand, in cereal, oatmeal, smoothies. Everyone loves banana bread but we always eat them before they ripen enough! Banana's Foster.. oh wow. I haven't had that in ages!!! I want to do that now!
@orannia ... orange juice haha! Great idea to put some carrots into pasta sauce. I used to do that when the girls were little to get more vegetables in them--it's really tasty!
@luv46kdz ... Grilled sweet potatoes sounds amazing! Will have to remember that when it's warmer and I actually want to go outside to cook! lol! We ate the broccoli already--roasted in the oven with garlic and olive oil, but there are a few pieces left over. I am going to follow your suggestion and make a frittata with the left over broccoli, onion and garlic on Monday night with salad. Bok choi with apples! What a great idea!!!
@Chinoiseries ... Would you believe I have only started making and eating green smoothies this year in January? I love it! So clean tasting and I get 3-4 servings of vegetables with breakfast! Can't beat that. I roast root vegetables often and make root vegetable soup, too. It's the perfect solution for left overs!
Thank you all for your suggestions and inspiration!!! Xoxo
I tend to roast all my vegetables (I am in a creative rut too!) but I would definitely peel one of the bananas and eat it right away.
ReplyDelete@Lisa .. You can't go wrong with roasting vegetables, right? You can only get tired of it.. lol! And yeah.. there's never a problem eating the bananas. We go through them very quickly and I usually buy a bunch at the grocery store at least two times between my co-op boxes, which are every other week.
ReplyDelete