Bottom of the Week Stew/Stir Fry

So, it’s Sunday evening, and we’re hungry, and we’ve eaten all the meals we planned out.  So, this:
1 red onion, chopped medium-small
1/2 white onion, chopped medium-small
1 leek, white and pale green parts only, sliced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped small
1 eggplant, cubed
5 small carrots, cut into coins
1/2 small head red cabbage
1 handful fresh cilantro

Yogurt

Tomato Cilantro sauce (yes, we did cheat with this one, it’s a lovely Indian tomato and cilantro sauce.)

1. Cook the onion,s garlic, and leek, for 5 minutes with pepper and olive oil on medium-low heat.

2. Add the carrots, tomatoes, and  eggplant, turn down the heat a little.  Add a tablespoon of the tomato cilantro sauce.  Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add the cabbage, cover, cook for 10 minutes or until everything is cooked.

4. Add a few more spoonfuls of the tomato cilantro sauce.  Stir in the fresh cilantro and let sit, covered, off heat for 5-10 minutes.

Eat with yogurt and bread or rice.  We baked some bread (I know it may not sound like a quick dinner when it involves making fresh bread, but we had our no-knead bread dough in the oven, so it was easy to pull some out)

Roasted Veggies and Salad

Our salad days are beginning:

Tonight, a balsamic and parsley glaze over roasted beets, carrots, and turnips with a cilantro and chickpea salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Beets, Carrots, & Turnips:
4 beets, cut into small pieces
6-8 small turnips (3/4-1/2 inch diameter), roughly chopped
8-10 small carrots, roughly chopped
1 small spring onion, chopped small
a medium handful of garlic scapes, chopped small
A small handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced OR a teaspoon of scape pesto
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

What to do:

1. Put the beets, turnips, carrots, onion, and scapes in an 8inch pan and toss with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

2. Roast at 400 until somewhat soft, not mushy.

3. While the veggies are roasting, combine the parsley, garlic/scape pesto, and walnuts in a saucepan.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and a teaspoon balsamic vinegar (or more if you like).  Cook over very low heat for several minutes then set aside.

4. When the veggies are ready, pour the glaze over the top, stir a little, and eat.

Chickpea and Cilantro on Salad:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Handful of cilantro (maybe 6-7 stalks), chopped finely
Generous handful of snap peas, shelled
6 small radishes, chopped finely
7-8 garlic scapes, chopped finely
Green part of 2-3 scallions, sliced
Enough salad greens to fill your salad bowl (we added some spinach to the mixed greens & head lettuce)
Olive oil, salt, pepper
Dressing:  More olive oil & vinegar of some kind (chive is excellent; white wine or balsamic is great too)

1. Chop up the cilantro, shell the peas, chop the radishes and garlic scapes, and slice the scallions.  All of these things are optional except for the cilantro so mix & match to your heart’s content.  Put it all into a bowl and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir it together well and set aside.

2. Wash your salad greens and tear/cut them into pieces of a manageable size.  (Librarian has a certain aversion to too-large salad greens, but feel free to skip this step if you’re not so inclined.)  Put into big ol’ salad bowl.  I like to add some salt and pepper to the greens and mix it all around a bit.

3. We mixed together the two parts of this salad (greens vs. cilantro/chickpeas/radish mix) individually, and added oil and vinegar to taste.

Homemade Croutons:

Then, on top of the salad, these excellent croutons, from the closet-dweller’s brother-in-law:
Eaqual parts olive oil and butter, salt, pepper, slices of bread, cut or torn into small pieces.
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan with an equal amount of olive oil.

2. Mix in salt and pepper quickly.

3. Put the bread in and stir constantly over medium heat until crispy and delicious.

4. Eat.

Carrot Soup

Yummy carrot and coconut soup from our Scottish CSA cookbook, The Boxing Clever Cookbook by Jacqui Jones & Joan Wilmot.  This is the recipe doubled so we would have some leftovers.

About 2 cups of grated carrots

three chopped onions

some olive oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup red lentils

about 2 pints water or stock

2 tablespoons coconut milk

 

1. Cook the carrots, tomato paste, olive oil, and onions for a few minutes, then add the liquid and lentils.
2. Cook until the lentils are soft.
3. Add coconut and simmer for several minutes.
4. Season with salt and ground pepper.
5. Eat!