EAT YO GREENS! Happy Spingtime Cooking with Dark, Leafy Vegetables

        

           While a cruise through ones' local  farmers’ market is splendid on the eyes and taste buds, it can be overwhelming for even the experienced chef. The standard American diet and cooking style isn’t known for incorporating these lesser-known vegetables. Kale, a prolific growing vegetable in mountainous regions, is a dark green leafy vegetable that is incredibly healthy. It is one of the first vegetables to show up in the garden and the last to die, often living after snow falls. Swiss chard is another leafy green that loves the cool nights and short growing season of southwest Colorado. Greens, as in garlic greens, garlic scapes, spring onion greens, beet greens, turnip greens, braising mix, chard, kale, spinach and bok choy, are offered abundantly at the farmers’ market the entire growing season. The classic way to prepare garden greens is a simple sauté with garlic, olive oil, and a splash of tamari or soy sauce. Substituting kale or chard for spinach in recipes is a great way to try out the various flavors of garden greens as well.

SWISS CHARD, SPINACH AND SEITAN TAQUITOS

served with avocado creme and guajillo chile tomatillo sauce

These taquitos are a healthy way to get one’s taco stand fix. They are savory and highly addictive! This recipe is a great way to use Farmer’s Market spring offerings but adjustments can be made for all year round.

3 cups finely chopped Swiss Chard and Spinach 

1 clove garlic minced

1 small spring onion with onion greens (1/4 cup chopped leek or yellow onion can substituted)

1/3c garlic greens chopped (optional- available in spring at Farmers’ markets)

1 cup chopped Seitan*

2-3t Tamari

10 corn tortillas

1T oil

1 recipe Avocado Sauce (recipe follows)

1 recipe Guajillo Tomatillo Salsa or salsa of choice
1 cup shredded green leaf lettuce and/or cabbage
2 diced romas tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute all greens, garlic, onion together in oil. Season with Tamari to taste. Cook until greens have shrunk and are fully cooked, about 5 minutes. To assemble: first, soften tortillas so that they are pliable to work with. To soften heat gently both sides of a tortilla in a lightly oiled skilled. Repeat with all tortillas. Place 2 T of filling on tortilla. Filling should be placed in a line on bottom 1/3 of tortilla. Then roll up the tortilla tightly around filling. Place taquito seam side down on baking sheet. Continue with until all taquitos are made and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy. Place all taquitos on large plate and garnish with shredded lettuce and/or cabbage, shredded cheese, and diced romas.

 *Seitan is a high protein vegetarian food made from wheat gluten. It has a meaty, chewy texture which is why it is a great ingredient to use in place of meat.

 Taquito filling saute, Preparation of tomatillos and tortillas, Rolling of taquitos

Guajillo Tomatillo Salsa and Avocado Creme

Avocado Creme

Fresh juice from ½ a lemon

1-2 T water

1 Avocado

½ sea salt

Puree in food processor or blender till smooth. Add enough water so it has a good dipping consistency.

Guajillo Tomatillo Salsa

Boil 3lbs Tomatillos, husked, for 5 minutes or just until their color changes slightly. Don't overcook. Take them out of water and place into blender.

Meanwhile, place the following ingredients in dry iron skillet over medium high heat:

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup sliced yellow onion or spring onion

4 arbol chiles

3 Guajillo Chiles with seeds and stems removed

Stir frequently until all ingredients are lightly toasted, about 4-6 minutes. Put chile mixture in blender along with prepared tomatillos. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes until mixture resembles a smooth, taco stand salsa.

A Winter of Soups, A Parsnip Infatuation, and Heartbreak

Root Vegetable and Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder

            It has been officially 10 months since I've blogged. This is absolutely ridiculous considering my zealous cooking nature. Oh what a crazy 10 months it has been! A Fall season of  unabashed love and a winter of  deep illuminating heartbreak brought me to my kitchen in happiness and despair. As always, the vegetables and spices awaited me with their comfort and familiarity. Dependable to soothe me through whatever avails as my kitchen knife cuts and dices away all of lifes' frustrations. It was a winter of soups. Soup is such a universal food in which almost all cultures cook and enjoy. The versatility and open ended creation that can take place within soup making reminds me of the possibilities inherent within our own daily lives. What have you been throwing into your personal soup pot lately, and how is it cooking up?

          The following recipe was created for my boyfriend at the time, who quickly took me into a whirlwind of relationship fervor. I gladly cooked food full of adoration and gave my heart within every stir of the soup pot. He left me as the winter snows fell heavily, but thankfully I discovered a new love quickly: the parsnip. This handsome root vegetable swept me off my feet with its' subtle sweetness and charming adaptability into my recipes. When peeled and diced, the parsnip is a tasty addition to your soups' mirepoix. The mirepoix is a french technique for starting the soup. It is traditionally a saute in the soup pot of carrots, onion, and celery with a light coat of oil or butter. When the onions get glossy, all the other soup ingredients are added. The mirepoix is the prelude to the final culmination. Experimenting with the types of oil used in the saute along with switching up the traditional vegetables takes soup making to the next dimension.

ROOT VEGETABLE AND ROASTED POBLANO CORN CHOWDER

Saute in medium saucepan the following peeled vegetables for 5-7 minutes:

1 cup diced Celery Root 

2 medium sized Parsnips diced

2 medium sized Carrots diced

1 lg. Russet Potato diced

1 sm. Sweet Potato or Yam

1/2 leek chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

3 Tbsp Virgin Sunflower or Olive oil

Add the following to vegetable mixture:

1.5 quarts filtered water* 

1Tbsp Thyme

1Tbsp Sage

1 cube good quality vegetable bouillon**

Bring soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for an hour stirring occasionally.

The next step is to puree 1/2 of the soup in a blender, leaving the other half in the soup pot as is (chunky for the chowder). Add soup puree back into the soup pot.

Add:

2 ears sweet corn shucked off of cob

2 chopped Roasted Poblanos***

1-2 Tbsp sea salt, more or less to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Let soup simmer for another 30 minutes so flavors can assimilate. Take off heat and serve.

Optional:

Miso is a way to enrich the flavor of certain soups and add unami. After soup cools slightly and is off heat (so not to kill the beneficial enzymes of miso) a slurry of 2-4 Tbsp Miso mixed with warm water can be added to the soup. If this is done, reduce the amount of sea salt added before in previous step. Miso is incredibly healthy and adds a natural saltiness while deepening the soups' flavor.

*I choose to use filtered water in all of my soups and in all of my cooking. It is easy to refill a jug at ones' local grocery stores' water filtration station. Tap water is full of chemicals, chlorine, heavy metals  and  other toxins, which are ingredients I don't want in my food.

**Make sure to read all labels when searching for a good vegetable bouillon option. MSG and many other funky, unhealthful ingredients lurk in stock bases. As usual, health food stores usually carry the best option for purchase. I like the Rapunzel brand.

***Please go to my blog post The Joy of Cooking en Mexico for instructions of how to roast poblanos. 

Mirepoix for Yellow Split Pea Soup

            

          My Yellow Split Pea Soup features parsnips and leeks. The soup is finished off with 2 diced Roma Tomatoes. The tomatoes add a nice acidity which balances well with the root vegetable richness inherent in this vegetarian version of classic split pea soup. Hearty multigrain artisan bread slathered in butter is a must have accompaniment as well as 1-2 feet of snow falling outside the door.

YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH PARSNIPS AND LEEK

Saute the following vegetables in 2 Tbsp Olive oil or Butter for 5 minutes:

1 Celery stalk diced

1 Carrot peeled and diced

1 lg. Parsnip peeled and diced

1/2 Leek chopped

Add the following:

2 Liters filtered water

2 cups Yellow Split Peas

2-3 Tbsp sea salt to taste

1 Tbsp Sage

1 Tbsp Thyme

2 diced Roma Tomatoes

Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat so soup simmers. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Take off heat and serve.

yours truly basking in the fall sunshine  kitchen queen style

ROOT VEGETABLE GREEN CHILE POSOLE 

Posole is a revered soup in the Southwest region. Coveted recipes are proudly served in this soup that features hominy corn. Hominy corn is usually purchased in its' dried, canned, or frozen form. I prefer to buy it frozen. If using dried, allow extra cooking time (i.e. hours) and add extra water to recipe. Hominy was eaten by the Natives of Mexico and Guatemala dating back to 1200 BC. Traditionally, chicken or pork, is added to the Posole. I choose to stray from tradition and add a saute of root vegetables instead. Do not use canned green chiles in this soup. One can find frozen green chile in the freezer section at most grocery stores in the southwest or at specialty hispanic food stores. Even better is to use freshly roasted green chile if available. It is important to serve the soup with a squeeze of fresh lime juice as it combines beautifully with the broth. 

Saute in medium sized thick bottomed saucepan for 5-7 minutes:

2 Tbsp Expeller Pressed Sunflower or Safflower Oil

1 sm. Parsnip diced

1 Carrot diced

1/2 stalk Celery diced

1/2 Leek chopped

1/2 cup Sweet Potato diced

1.5t Cumin seeds

Add:

6 cups filtered water

2 cups frozen or canned Hominy

20 oz frozen chopped green chile (mild or medium heat)

2-3 Tbsp Sea Salt, to taste (add 1 Tbsp at a time to taste)

1 Tbsp Oregano

2t Thyme

Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat and let soup simmer for at least 2 hours. Take off heat and serve in bowls with recommended garnishes. Serve with heated flour tortillas.

Garnish each soup with the following:

fresh squeezed juice of 1/2 a Lime

dollop of Sour Cream

chopped Cilantro

diced Avocado