Napa Cabbage Slaw with Miso Peanut Ginger Dressing

October 18th and 19th I attended the School Nutrition Association of Vermont's fall conference.  It is always nice to step away from my children for a couple days and have the opportunity to miss them, plus I got to spend time with a close friend who already works for Burlington School Food Service.  However the highlight was being surrounded by people who are passionate about children and how to feed them.  There is so much press right now about what is wrong with school meals and little understanding of the federal program that funds school lunch and the limitations it has.  Then there is the challenge of making nutritious meals that the kids will actually eat with limited funds.


Before I worked as a lunch room monitor I dreamt of making lunch longer.  Every day my kids would come home carrying most of the lunch they took to school.  However now I know that most students eat their lunch in the first 15 minutes, and as soon as they are done eating the behavior issues begin.  Now my dream is to have a math and science teacher for every school.  Then teachers could have a break while their students were learning math and science, and they could be with their students for lunch and recess.

However this post is not really about what needs to change in lunch, or even ways that innovative food service staff is working to change it already.  Instead this post is about Napa Cabbage and what the $#@%!  I was supposed to do with the one Lewis picked up at the CSA while I was at the conference. Somehow he did not notice what I seem to be happy to bring home and what I only take when there are no other options.  So I was left last week, on the day before my CSA pick up, with a head of Napa Cabbage as the only vegetable option for dinner.  I ended up channeling several Asian slaw recipes, including the ginger carrot dressing I love so much.  The Napa Cabbage Slaw with Miso Peanut Ginger Dressing I made was light and bright with a understated richness from the peanut butter.  Sebastian declared to his brother, who was stubbornly refusing to eat it, "You should really have some.  Even I like it, and that's saying something."  But Julian stuck to the role reversal and refused a cabbage salad his brother was happily eating.  If you cannot serve peanuts in your house, try it with sun butter or tahini instead.

Napa Cabbage Slaw with Miso Peanut Ginger Dressing

2 Tbsp Ume Plum vinegar (you can sub rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar if you really have to, but the ume plum vinegar is really special)
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white miso
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 - 1 1/2 Tbsps finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp smooth peanut butter (sub sun butter or tahini if there are any allergy issues)
2 -3 small to medium carrots (about 4 1/2 to 6 oz's)
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 to 3 pound head of cabbage finely shredded (I did not shred the bottom 4 inches and saved them for a stir fry another night)
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced thinly, slices then cut into thirds (optional, I omitted this the second time I made it)

Place the ume plum vinegar, water, miso, sugar, mirin, ginger, peanut butter, carrots, and grape seed oil in a quart jar and blend until smooth with an Immersion Blender or puree in a mini food processor or blender.  Pour the dressing on the shredded cabbage and red peppers.  Mix well and serve.

Good Meat Cookbook Giveaway!

For the last several years the cookbooks I have added to my collection have mostly been focused on vegetables.  As my cooking evolved to be as seasonal as practical I found myself most at a loss when I stared down the same vegetables every week.  At the same time we began buying sustainable and humanely raised meat from local farmers by the whole or part animal.  Most of the time I could find an appropriate recipe in my collection of cookbooks.  Although I did face a stumbling block with many of the organ meats and other lesser known cuts lurking in my freezer.

The organ meats are listed as "optional" on the cut sheet but I could not bring myself to say no.  Many factors went into that decision.  Firstly, I had paid for the animal, ALL of the animal.  In addition I feel it is more respectful to the animals we eat as well as our planet not to waste what we don't know how to deal with.  The world could live off of what we in this country throw away.  However I still struggled with some of these cuts.

One year I made one of my families favorite dishes, an Armenian lamb and beef sausage, using the heart and kidneys of that years lamb.  The smell when I ground the meat prevented me from enjoying the finished product.  As I was alone in the kitchen when I made them the rest of my family enjoyed the finished product as they normally would.  Sebastian looked a little surprised when I did not limit the number he ate the way I usually do.  We shared them at a neighborhood pot luck where they were enjoyed by my neighbors as well.

Another problem I have found when cooking with a whole animal is scale.  I once pulled apart my freezer searching for 2 more lamb shanks to complete a recipe.  The problem was the recipe called for 6 lamb shanks, a recipe designed for cooks who are disconnected with the farmer's who grow their food and the cuts available per animal.  I needed a meat cookbook that explained the techniques necessary to prepare grass finished meats, that shared how to prepare everything, not just the choice cuts.

This Fall after reading an article about Deborah Krasner's new cookbook, Good Meat,  I knew right away I needed this cookbook.  I needed it not only because Krasner's cookbook collection makes mine seem small, I needed it for all the insight on how to cook sustainable meats.  I have now been cooking with it for half a year and I only have one complaint,  it is so large that it topples over my cookbook holder.  Every time I use it I have resorted instead to balancing it precariously on a step stool or the box from my new food processor.  However I am really not complaining about a cookbook so filled with recipes and advice on how to fill out a cut sheet that it is too big, or at least not complaining a lot.  Every recipe I have tried so far from this cookbook has been a success.  Some have even elevated cuts of meat my family usually disdained to favorite dinners.

I contacted the author, Deborah Krasner, and I was able to arrange a copy to give away to one of the readers of this blog.  A copy that is now signed by the author!  To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment telling me which of the following recipes you would most like to see on my blog.  I will share the top vote receiving recipe here after I announce the winner of the cookbook.  In addition I would also love to know if there is a specific cut of meat you need help finding a recipe for.

I am not going to give out multiple entries for this giveaway, mostly because I am not good at keeping track of many different things.  However if you are a regular reader of Hippo Flambe sharing this giveaway with your friend's means cookbook publishers are more likely to give me books to giveaway in the future.  I am also not going to use a random number generator to select the winner, because I have two very random boys who would be crushed not to have a role in the fun.

Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives

Brightness from preserved lemons, richness from olives and complexity from ginger, cumin, saffron, cinnamon, paprika, parsley and cilantro.

Salt and Spice Cured Loin Lamb Chops

You start by mixing up the salt and spice cure, a blend that will add complexity and subtly to other meats as well.  The blend is then mixed with olive oil and herbs before being rubbed on to the lamb chops to marinate.  After the meat is grilled the lamb is savory and sweet and irresistible.  A dish I prepared and then told the boys they better hurry up and come to the table, before I ate all of the lamb.

Salt Seared Burger with Red Wine Reduction

This technique for cooking a grass fed burger is inspired.  It produces a juicy, caramelized burger with a red wine reduction to gild the lily.  The same technique can be used for a perfect sirloin steak.

Beef Liver Mousse

As a young child I used to enjoy the "sport" of ordering beef liver in restaurants.  I never enjoyed the dish itself, but I could worry down a few bites in order to enjoy the reaction from the waitress when I ordered it.  Happily this pate does not taste like that liver did, instead it is reminiscent of chopped liver and french pate.

Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs

I was prepping this dish while hanging out with a friend.  As I crushed the cardamom she smelled them in wonder.  "I would look at a recipe that calls for cardamon and just ignore it.  I would not have realized it smells so wonderful."  The smell of the cardamom comes through in the finished thighs as the perfume of the cardamom is blended with the oregano and garlic on these succulent thighs.

To be entered into the cookbook giveaway please leave a comment telling me which recipe (Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives, Salt and Spice Cured Loin Lamb Chops, Salt Seared Burger with Red Wine Reduction, Beef Liver Mousse, Roasted Cardamom, Oregano, and Garlic Chicken Thighs) you most want me to share.  Please tell me as well if there are any cuts of meat you need recipes for.  I would also love to know who you, my readers are.  Please make sure I have a way of contacting you.  So either include your e-mail address in the comment, (you should use spaces in your e-mail address to avoid unwanted spam), or send me your e-mail address at: robin at hippoflambe dot com,   a blog address in the url, or link to a blogger profile that is not private and includes a way to contact you.  If try to contact someone and I do not have a way to do so I will draw a new winner.  Entries are closed at 11:59 PM (eastern standard time) Sunday February 27th.

Giveaway is now Closed.  My children will draw the winner later today (February 28th)

The Posts I Cook From: 2010

I have been reading all sorts of round up posts over the last week as bloggers summarized their year in blogging.  Most were a list of the tops posts based on page views or number of comments.  Perhaps I am just more cynical then some but I don't fully trust my statistics or their significance.  I know that largely my most popular pages are the ones that are featured on Foodgawker and Tastespotting.  Comments seem like a more accurate method, although even then it could just be most controversial, heart wrenching, timely, or just the ones with the most visits, or the best photos.

So instead I decided to give you a list of the posts I actually refer when cooking.  As an added bonus this means I know the recipes work as written. These are the posts I actually pull out my computer and cook from, the ones where I have to refer to what I have written to get it right.  Originally I was going to include 2009 as well as I never thought to do this last year.  However the list complied form both years was far longer then I was expecting, so I will save that for a another post.

Sesame Glazed Baby Bok Choy

My CSA has not grown bok choy for the entire time I have been a member (this summer will be our 12th season) so it is not one of the vegetables I am constantly looking for new preparation methods for.  Maybe if we had it more often we would grow tired of this recipe.  So far we all still love it (okay, I admit it, Julian as refused this dish every time I have made it.  So we all still feel the way we did the first time I made this).  The leaves have a concentrated umami, earthy flavor while the stalk is tender and almost melting and juicy.  If our CSA adds bok choy to the rotation I may need to search out other recipes, but for now we are happy.

French Crepes

These crepes have been a regular weekend breakfast for several years now.  Sebastian and Julian would much prefer they were served on the weekdays as well.  If my week day routine allowed for either Lewis or myself to spend the time at the stove making them everybody would be happy.  The recipe is for a true french crepe, taught to me by a lovely french women.  Most of the time we serve them with an array of jams, although I have been known to make chocolate ganache or warm up some Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce to spread on them.  They also work beautifully with savory fillings.  On the rare occasion there are any left after breakfast I have created delicious dishes just by filling them with leftovers.

Sour Cream Banana Muffins

The more I make these muffins the more I appreciate them.  Which is a good thing, as they are on the menu for the preschoolers breakfast so I am making large quantities of them once a month.  I have started to use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and only 1/4 cup of white flour.  I plan on trying it with all white whole wheat next time.  The first time I made them at work I baked 12 extra for the staff to share.  However they had a little trouble sharing properly, with some people helping themselves to a second muffin before other folks even had one.  I received this e-mail about them recently:

Hi Robin,

I thought you'd be happy to know that this year, as holiday gifts . . . I baked banana bread using your recipe for banana bread muffins. Anna, Tavi and I had a loaf for brunch today and it was delicious. I consider that to be a testament to the recipe more than the chef as I am a strict instructions follower. In fact, I was terrified to see that the bread hadn't cooked through after twenty minutes. Tavi had to talk me down, reminding me that muffins bake through much faster and that I would probably have to wait an hour.

Best,

David

Banana Cocoa Pancakes

These have not usurped our regular pancakes in our normal breakfast rotation but they sneak in every now and then.  I just made them again yesterday morning and had the inspiration for this post as I pulled out my computer and used my own blog for reference.  They have a heartier taste then a standard pancake with a pronounced sweetness from the banana (or maybe that is the maple syrup I generously pour on top).  They also reheat really well for later enjoyment.  The flavor profile is mostly banana, I know one readers husband was disappointed that the cocoa was not more pronounced

Oatmeal Lace Cookies (can be gluten free)

Since I posted these they have quickly become my favorite cookie.  They have a subtle flavor with a pronounced vanilla flavor.  Crisp in a delicate shattering way.  Most of the time I prefer chewy cookies to crisp ones but they are still delicate and tender in their texture.  Plus they have a sweet nutty flavor from the oats that may even convince you they are health food.

Rhubarb Apricot Jam

When I first created this jam I had a moment of panic that we would never have enough to last the whole winter.  At the rate it was disappearing I was not even sure we would have enough for the summer months.  When friends who live by a Trader Joe's came to visit I requested the California apricots I needed to make more (okay, I may or may not have threatened denying one of my visitors, who is known to spread obscene quantities of jam in any breakfast item, a taste of the new jam if they did not bring some).  We now have a healthy stock pile and I feel confident we have enough to last until spring. However our love for it is still strong.

Tomato Orange Marmalade

Tomato Orange Marmalade became a kitchen responsibility the first time I made it.  A preserve my family suddenly needed to have around that could not be found in the store.  Happily it is also one of the canning projects I find the most satisfying.  It bubbles away on the stove for a long time looking nothing like a cohesive preserve.  Instead it looks like a pot full of liquid with random citrus peels floating in it.  Then there is a moment when everything comes together and looks like one thing.  All year long we happily spread it on toast, peanut butter sandwiches and crepes.  It does not taste like tomatoes, instead it has a mellow bright flavor without the usual bitterness of marmalade.  The taste is good enough that when I offered the Burlington Free Press photographer a taste when he was here for an article on canning he could not keep himself from double dipping.  I did think of killing him, but instead I gave him a jar.

Pumpkin Pie with a No Roll Crust

I have probably baked more of this recipe then any other I have mentioned here.  After preparing it with the preschoolers I taught folks how to make it in a cooking class.  The following week I added to my tally by baking over 25 of them for the Family Room's Family Supper.  Even when baking it in quantities that involved pouring several quarts of heavy cream and 36 eggs in a large vat some people said it was the best pumpkin pie they have ever had.  Then for Thanksgiving my boys and I baked it with a friend I used to babysit for when he was a baby.  It was his contribution to a pot luck Thanksgiving.  I have also used the crust, without the sugar and cinnamon, on quiche.

Annie's Salsa

This recipe is not one that I have tweaked or played with for several reasons.  The first one is safety, it is safe as written, so I change how spicy it is by swapping hot peppers for mild ones or vice versa, however the basic ratios and amounts all remain the same.  The other reason I don't play with it, putting my own personal flavor profile on its established framework, is it is perfect, as written.  My friend Annie put in all the work finding the right balance and then having it tested for safety.  Now I just receive the compliments.

Soy Braised Cabbage

I just prepared this again the other night using only soy sauce (no Bragg's) and green instead of red cabbage.  I asked Sebastian to take a taste from my plate and he screwed up his face in disgust and then obliged.  He chewed, thought for a minute and began making place on his plate.  "I'll have some of that." Pretty good from someone who does not like cabbage.  However this recipe does not have the bite of raw cabbage or the flavor of most cooked cabbage.  It is darkly rich and savory and one that most people would never think was cabbage.

Triple Chocolate Triple Layer Peppermint Bark

The only reason not to make this recipe is you have a New Year's resolution not to eat sweets.  I gave some to a neighbor when she was out walking her dog and she told me she ate all of it before she returned home.  I am not usually a fan of white chocolate but this one only serves to make the peppermint smoother and contrast with the other chocolates.  The holiday season may be over but this recipe still deserves to be enjoyed.  If you need an excuse, make it for Valentines day.  Although if you make it now you will need a new batch long before February.

Saffron Green Bean Hash

My childhood memories of Halloween are very simple.  My brother and I made our costumes ourselves and then we went trick or treating with my cousins.  We never had to worry about what the weather was like because we never left our apartment building.  Now it feels like Halloween is a week long event.  As a child we did not attend school Halloween parties and we certainly never went on costumed bike rides with 150 other people and a police escort.  My boys have been treating the start of the school year, and perhaps even the summert as the Halloween season.  They had endless conversations about what their costumes should be.  They even tried to convince me that we should make the front of our house scary.  Given that both of them still gave a wide berth to any house that is even marginally frightening I vetoed this idea.  As a mother who has comforted her terrified children as I carefully escorted them past Halloween decorations, I will never knowingly make my house scary.

All the boys planning and discussions about costumes came to the conclusion I was relying on.  They deferred to my over the top, I have to admit competitive, costume planning.  Sebastian went as himself, a bookworm.  He was a "Bookworm" inside a book.  I spent several hours carefully painting a poster sized cover of Diary of a Worm, although I changed the worm to match his costume.  While trick or treating Sebastian had to suffer for my art as he had to shuffle up and down stairs inside a giant book.

Julian's costume started when he suggested he could be a bunny.  I just elaborated on that idea a little by having him coming out of a magicians hat.  After all without a giant hat around his waist he would be able to walk around far to easily when trick or treating.  As it is each of my children came home with bags filled with candy, I shudder to think how much they could have gotten if they could have walked faster.  Although we have also found sometimes people give you extra candy when your costume is clever. 

For the past 2 years I dealt with the mounds of candy by declaring Halloween night a candy free for all.  Lewis and I would first edit the bags, removing any hard candy that would prolong their festival before letting them go at it.  The first year they both stopped long before I though they would, Julian even ate an apple when he had his fill of candy.  Last year the candy fest continued for longer, but it still wasn't as much as I might have feared.  This year Halloween was on a school night, so our little party has to wait.  However each one of them has been enjoying 2 items of their choice each night after dinner.  After they are asleep their parents eat whatever they want from the collection, childhood really is unfair.

One blogger posted on how to deal with the candy overload, mostly by making it disappear rather then letting your children eat it.  A commenter who spends hundreds of dollars every year on Halloween candy complained.  She felt like she was wasting her money if parents were only going to get rid of what she gave out.  I hope that our approach to the mounds of junk my children collect respects the joys of Halloween as well as the people who gave them their treats.  However I don't want them to be still choosing a dessert of candy over fruit in 3 months.

On Halloween night we planned on having hot dogs for dinner, something that was easy to make between activities with 2 over excited trick or treaters in the house.  I have to admit, hot dogs, even the pasture raised organic ones we now eat, are not much further up the food chain than candy.  At least it would prevent us from going trick or treating without eating first.  It is never a good idea to go out collecting candy when your children haven't eaten.  So I scrounged for something to serve with them, that my children would eat.  Unfortunately the string beans I knew were in the fridge must have shrunk in their container, because I clearly remembered a much larger amount.

Normally I do not serve potatoes as a vegetable, no matter what their role is in the federally funded school lunch program.   However I had a generous pile of potatoes in my fridge thanks to the "extras" at my CSA.  These potatoes were still perfect, if you don't mind peeling heavily and removing brown spots.  So I put together this Saffron Green Bean Hash.  It was a home run with the whole family, just what was needed.  For the record, Julian initially said he was only going to eat the string beans.  However once he tasted it he helped himself to 2 generous helpings.  Saffron is not used much in American cooking so the hash had an elusive flavor that was well balanced by the potatoes and string beans.

Saffron Green Bean Hash

The amounts in here are really just a guide, the amount of saffron was very well balanced but feel free to play with the types and quantities of vegetables

2 cups leftover green beans or blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes with a splash of olive oil

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you may need more, depends on the pan you use)

1 onion chopped

2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

6 cups potatoes scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes (I peeled mine because I had to, normally I leave the peel on)

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

3/8 tsp saffron threads

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan.  Most folks swear by a well seasoned cast iron pan for this, I use my scanpan non stick and see no reason to change.  Saute onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent, approximately 5 minutes.  Add potatoes and leeks and cook over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally.  Add red peppers after about 3 minutes.  If the potatoes start to stick add more olive oil, be liberal when adding oil.  Near the end of cooking time, when potatoes are starting to brown are are tender when pierced with a fork add crumbled saffron (I crumbled it in the palm of my hand before adding it).  When the potatoes are done add the green beans and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir so everything is well blended and the green beans are heated through.

Mesclun sauteed with Garlic and Optional Rhubarb

Lately Julian has been asking me when it is summer, my answers to him are complicated.  How do you explain to a five year old that summer "officially"  begins on the summer solstice but many folks mark the beginning of summer as Memorial day?  However for me the start of summer coincides with our first summer CSA pick-up at The Intervale Community Farm.  For all his incessant questioning on the meaning of summer I know that Julian feels this as well.  Both Sebastian and Julian where counting down the hours to our first pick-up and telling me about all the areas of the farm they planned to explore.   Our CSA is not the kind where you drive somewhere and are handed a bag or box and leave.  Instead there are tables set up with produce and signs that say how much to take.  Some items involve a choice, while others just require you to weigh out your share.  There are also pick your own crops such as this weeks strawberries and herbs.

Our first pick-up last week was truncated and short as it was not yet school vacation and that evening I had to rush off to principal interviews at The Integrated Arts Academy.  Happily the principal interviews and search committee meetings are over.  I will not be running out to attend interviews where I can hear why a candidate believes "Art is a defendable value in education." or how they create "A positive school culture."  The search committee met on Monday and we selected 2 candidates that we all would feel comfortable having as our interim principal.  Now I am just waiting to find out which candidate the superintendent chooses.  I have a favorite, so being the patient person that I am (ha!) I have been checking the district website obsessively to see if there is an update.

The end of this process means maybe I can spend a little more time in my kitchen.  I feel like dinners around here lately have often consisted of finding food to fling at my children.  But with the beginning of the CSA and the weekly food assignments it creates, plus the end of additional outside commitments, it is time to get creative.  Creative because at this point we are not receiving the glut of produce that I know is coming.  For now we have been greeted by heads of lettuce, a greens choice, garlic scapes and mesclun mix.  All of these items I can use up quickly except the mesclun mix, (okay, I may or may not have problems with the lettuce as well).

The mesclun mix is a battle that in the past has gone on all summer.  I have a basic character flaw that prevents me from not taking my share.  After all there are signs on the mesclun bins that say, "Please weigh accurately."  Obviously this is a valuable item and I should treat it with respect.  However my children do not eat salads and I don't love salads enough to keep up with the mesclun all summer.  So I end up using most of my mesclun mix to slowly feed my compost all summer.

However this last week I went to prepare dinner one night and found we had no vegetables left in the house except the bag of mesclun.  As I stood grumpily staring at the assorted leaves I had a sudden inspiration to treat them like any of my favorite greens (spinach, chard, kale, lambs quarters...) and cook them with garlic and olive oil.  I decided to play with some rhubarb as well and added some at the end of cooking.  The result was good enough that Julian happily ate some, although he did complain about the rhubarb pieces as he did not like the tart lemon and artichoke flavor of them.  Tonight I served it again, this time without the rhubarb.  Julian took thirds.  With or without the rhubarb I am happy to know I will not need to compost my mesclun mix this summer.

As for Thursdays pick-up at the farm, it was just what the boys and I needed to celebrate the first day of summer vacation.  For the last several years my boys have been allowed to roam free at the farm once I walk them through the parking lot.  They have special hide outs as well as elaborate projects they coordinate with their friends.  While they are playing I pick up our produce and practice adult conversation skills.  This week they began, with a group of friends, discovered a wonderful mud puddle and began by transporting shovels of mud to the sand box.  Eventually Julian and his friend Casey decided to stay and play in the mud.  Slowly their group of friends began to migrate over, one by one, where they all dug, and splashed and explored.

Now summer has begun because we have started weekly visits to our farm.  Last year a fierce argument waged when Julian and Sebastian were talking about "our farm" to our neighbor Ada, whose daddy owns and runs another local farm.  She insisted it was not their farm, she has a farm, but they do not.  I stepped in because I know how fierce my children's attachment is to the farm.  I explained that now the ICF is a co-op and so we own one share of the farm.  I was not going to try to explain to her that it is theirs because they love it so much.

Sauteed Mesclun Mix with Garlic and Optional Rhubarb

This is one of those dishes that is more a technique then a prescription.  The basic idea is to saute some garlic (you can use green garlic, garlic scapes, regular garlic, or even omit the garlic and use onions or shallots) in olive oil or butter, then you add the greens and stir until the greens are completely wilted.  If you want to use the rhubarb just chop up a handful and add it for the last few minutes of cooking so it softens but stays firm enough that it retains its own character and 5 year olds can pick it out.  Please treat this as a guide only.

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Butter or other favorite oil

1 minced clove of garlic (or 2 scapes, 1 small shallot, 1/2  a small onion, 2-3 scallions chopped)

1 lb mesclun mix (or whatever your CSA has gifted you with)

1 large or 2-3 small stalks rhubarb chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces (1/8 to 1/4 cup) optional

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil or butter.  Add the garlic or onions and saute until fragrant, then add the washed and dried mesclun mix and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, mixing and wilting as you add it, if it seems dry add more oil.  Once the mesclun mix is all wilted add the rhubarb and put the lid on briefly until the rhubarb is heated through and softened.  Check the seasonings and serve.

Sesame Glazed Baby Bok Choy

With 2 weeks before my next CSA pick up I ran out of produce. While I try to eat locally and in season I found myself incapable of putting root vegetables in my cart. Instead I came home with four beautiful little baby bok choy with no plans for how to prepare them. Most recently I used bok choy to make this dish. Sebastian loved it but I found it a little boring, and I refuse to be swayed by the fickle tastes of a 7 year old.

So now I had 4 baby bok choy in my kitchen and no plans. So how could I make bok choy sexy and exciting? I don't often have bok choy as my CSA does not grow any. I heard a rumor that the first season they were open the only crop that grew reliably was bok choy. Every week their members would show up for pick up to be faced once again by tables of bok choy. If that is the case, I suspect I will never have any from our farm, which is a real shame as the way I prepared it was easy and yet had a complex satisfying flavor. So now I have added bok choy to the plants I want to grow this summer. A list that is far larger then the space I have available.

Part of the beauty of this recipe is the contrast between the leaves and the stalk. The stalk becomes tender and supple while the leaves become concentrated and earthy. Of course the mix of asian seasonings also brings out and highlights the overall flavors (which for bok choy can honestly be bland without the right seasoning). The original recipe calls for fresh ginger, however I rarely have any in the house. I usually use dried ginger, using half the quantity called for. This does not make enough of a negative impact for me to care, or more to the point enough to make me run out the store with 2 boys. I also subbed extra virgin olive oil for the peanut oil. With so many children having a life threatening allergy to peanuts I feel safer not having peanut oil all over my kitchen from cooking and eating.

The recipe comes from This vegetable cookbook. It is a handy basic reference for folks beginning with a CSA and/or trying to cook more seasonally. All the vegetables are presented in alphabetical order with information on storage and preparation and a modest number of recipes. The recipes are all straight forward and easy to follow. Although I did promise Sebastian I would never make the boiled carrots with North African Spices again.

Sesame - Glazed Baby Bok Choy

adapted slightly from Jack Bishops Vegetables Every Day

1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil

4 baby bok choy (each approximately 3 - 4 ounces, total weight around 1 Lb) halved lengthwise through the bulb

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp dried powdered ginger (or 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger)

2 medium scallions, chopped small

In a small bowl mix the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar. Set aside until needed.

In a large nonstick skillet toast the sesame seeds over medium heat until golden and fragrant. About 3 minutes, when done transfer to a small bowl.

Turn the heat under the non stick skillet to high and add 1 1/2 Tbsp EVOO or grapeseed oil. Briefly heat the oil until shimmering and then add the bok choy, cut side down, in a single crowded layer. Sauté until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. turn the bok choy over and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the bok choy to a serving dish.

Heat the last 1/2 Tbsp oil in the skillet and add the garlic, ginger and scallions and sauté until they are fragrant (30 to 60 seconds). Add the vinegar/soy sauce mixture and simmer until the mixture is thickened (30 to 60 seconds). Add the bok choy back to the pan, cut side down, and cook until coated with the glaze, 15 to 30 seconds. Turn the peices over and cook for 15 to 30 seconds more. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds and serve.