Roasted Beans with Garlic and Olives

Roasted Beans with Garlic and Olives

From Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1-lb package frozen lima beans or shelled edamame (or 3 to 4 cups fresh favas, shelled and peeled)
6 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 heaping cup green olives, pitted and sliced
1 to 2 Tablespoons minced fresh herbs (1 to 2 teaspoons dried): summer savory, marjoram, thyme, and/or sage are good choices.
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 2 Tablespoons olive oil into a 6x9-inch baking pan or an oval gratin pan.

2. Toss everything together directly into the pan and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan tightly with foil.

3. Bake for 50 minutes or until the garlic is tender when pierced with a toothpick or fork. Transfer to a bowl and stir. If desired, you can drizzle on a little extra olive oil and add more salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 4 to 5 servings
Prep time: 1 hour (10 minutes of work)

Tuscan Bean and Pasta Stew

Tuscan Bean and Pasta Stew

From Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven

3 cups uncooked pasta (any small shape) [alternately: 1-lb package frozen corn, defrosted]
1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups minced onion
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 Tablespoon dried basil (or 3 Tablespoons minced fresh basil)
2 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained (or 2 lbs fresh spinach -- cleaned, stemmed and chopped)
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

for the top: ground black pepper, grated parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar

1. Heat a large pot of salted water for the pasta, if using. When it boils rapidly, add the pasta, give it a stir, and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and half the garlic, and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the dried herbs and sauté for about 10 minutes longer. NOTE: if you're using fresh basil, add it later.

3. Add the spinach to the onion, along with the tomatoes and remaining garlic and salt. Stir, cover, and let stew over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.

4. If you're using fresh basil, stir it in now, along with the beans and cooked pasta [or corn]. Don't cook the stew any further at this point -- just heat it gently before serving. When it is heated through, add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, a few Tablespoons of grated parmesan, and/or the vinegar.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep time: About 45 minutes (30 minutes of work)

RECIPE: Chinese Beef and Broccoli

Notes: The original recipe called for oyster sauce, not worcestershire.
I tend to pick minute steak or other cheaper cuts of beef. Cutting across the grain into bite-sized pieces helps to offset the tough nature of the meat.
Do not skip step 3 with the cornstarch (you can use any kind of starch here) or you will not get a good coating of sauce on your food.
Once the final cooking gets going, it goes very fast - chop and mix all ingredients before heating the wok.

SOURCE:  The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook

MAKES:  4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb beef, cut into matchsticks

3 tbsp worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 tbsp sugar

2 teasp dark sesame oil

1/2 teasp black pepper 

2 lb broccoli, stems sliced and florets roughly chopped(~12 cups) 

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp cornstarch 

3 tbsp peanut or canola oil

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp garlic, finely minced

   hot cooked white rice

METHOD:

1. Combine the beef, worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the wine, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside to marinate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes, until the broccoli is barely tender and bright green. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside to drain.

3. To make the sauce, combine the broth, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon wine, and cornstarch. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

4. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until very hot. Add the half the beef and marinade and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to scrape the beef into a medium bowl and keep warm. Return the wok to high heat. Repeat with another 1 tablespoon of the oil and the remaining beef and marinade. Transfer the beef and marinade to the bowl and wipe out the wok.

5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the pan and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss with the broccoli.

6. Return the beef to the wok. Whisk the sauce and pour into the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly coats the beef and broccoli, about 1 minute.

Serve immediately with the hot rice.

Seed Starting

It's the first day of February...  A day when it's usually below 0°F in Albany, NY.  There is usually snow on the ground.  The cabin fever is *usually* fierce.

The seed packets and catalogs taunt me this year as it rains and the wind blows through 55°F air OUTSIDE.  My brain and body are both confused, both feeling like they might have skipped right over February and jumped right into mid-March.  Did we miss something?

This year, the winter-that-wasn't, I feel like I'm behind somehow.  But February 1, I'm starting some seeds.  I've decided it's time to start some herbs so I've sown the Lavender (Elegance Purple) seeds that I never got around to planting last year and three types of parsley: "Giant of Italy," "Titan" and "Forest Green."

Good luck kids!  We're ALL gonna need it...

My brain juices are flowing... all over the place right now.  I want to start planning the garden, but I don't know where to start.  I want to create new garden beds, but I don't know where I want them to be.  I have to put them somewhere they won't get mowed over...

Just so you know, you don't have to come on this journey with me.  This is my set of ramblings, and I don't insist you come along for the ride...  Just in case you do, this is a blog, and is for all intents and purposes and public forum.  If you're coming along, chime in!

The veggie garden currently has 5 raised beds 4'x8' dimensions with drip irrigation installed.  In those beds, we plant tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, peppers, onions, peas, beans, carrots and some lettuce.  There are two 4'x4' beds outside the west side of the garden which grew potatoes last year, and this year will house the garlic, albeit poorly I predict.  To the east of the garden, we have installed 15 thornless raspberry plants which will hopefully produce a nice crop of berries this year.

There are other things I'd like to plant, but feel there may not be room for in the current garden layout.  I'd like a proper herb garden, I'd like asparagus (definitely not room in the garden...), strawberries, okra.

I found an incredibly helpful page today:

http://www.rogerbolger.com/Seed_Calendar.pdf

Looks like I'm starting my seeds indoors on February 25...  I've put all the dates into Google Calendar and maybe I'll be more organized about it all this year.  I'm getting excited already.

The garden porn has started appearing in the mailbox.  Yesterday I received the Burpee catalog, Jung seeds catalog and Nourse Berry Farm catalog.  Spring can't be long now...