You can can!

Canning at home is one of those things that makes you seem like magic.

Making your own jams and spreads, pickles and chutneys, sauces and delicious things, and preserving them for another season is a fantastic combination of art and science, frugality and fanciness, and demonstrates your mastery over death and decay. At least of the fruit and vegetable variety.

Basically, home canning relies on a couple basic scientific processes–sterilization and oxygen removal. Heat and water are the mechanisms by which these processes work. Whether you’re canning by boiling water bath or pressure canner (the only two methods recognized as safe in the United States), your goal will be to create an environment in which bacteria, including good ol’ deadly Clostridium botulinum which can trigger botulism and KILL US ALL, just like in East of Eden, when Kate covers up her slow poisoning of the madam at the brothel by making it look like the home canned green beans weren’t safe. Canning is Steinbeckian, y’all.

Continue reading “You can can!” →

10 Things to Do with All Those Greens in Your CSA

I don’t actually have a regular CSA this year

In the past I’ve had a weekly CSA share, and I heartily recommend them to everyone. This year, I can’t quite swing it because of A) my glamorous freelance life (aka, money is tight), and B) my glorious garden. If you’re looking for a great way to bring organic veggies into your life while supporting local business, a CSA share cannot be beat.

It’s no secret that we’re supposed to eat our greens. They supply us with vitamins, and calcium, and folate, and fiber. They protect against some kinds of cancer. They’re good stuff…but sometimes we end up with a lot of them.

I currently have two swiss chard plants, and four red kale plants. Since I cut off the leaves I need and leave the plants growing, I basically have…unlimited chard and kale. While this is a vegan fantasy, it’s also a lot of greens.

So what to do with them? Here are ten, that’s right, ten of my favorite ways to use greens. Again, I mostly use chard and kale, but most ideas are adaptable to spinach, collards, whatever you’ve got around.

Smoothies- Toss a few leaves in, or make it a complete green monster!
Saute- This is what I do more often than not. Tear greens into bite-sized pieces. Saute some garlic and fresh ginger (let’s say 1 clove and a teaspoon, respectively, but who really knows?) in a little oil. Throw in the greens, cook until wilted and soft. Add a good shake of tamari or shoyu and a spoonful of sesame seeds.
Soup- You can fit an astonishing amount of greenery into a pot of minestrone or lentil soup. I’m also looking hungrily at this old-timey kale and potato soup recipe.
Raw- I am actually not thrilled with raw greens, however, I can manage massaged kale in a salad. It’s exactly what it sounds like–tear up kale in bite-sized pieces, add to a balsamic vinaigrette (I don’t think oil-free would be good here) and then…massage it. Squish it around, beat it up a little, rub the oil into it for about two minutes. The texture will change, and suddenly, I will be able to eat it. Add other veggies as desired, I’m fond of sweet potato or butternut squash.
Colcannon-If left to my own devices, I could eat colcannon all winter long. It hits all the right comfort notes–my mom used to make it, it’s Irish in origin, and potatoes feature prominently. It’s also thrifty and delicious. Recipes vary, but basically, stir some kale (or chard, or spinach, I guess) and chopped onion into mashed potatoes, grease a skillet, fill the skillet with the potato mixture, salt and pepper it, and bake it until lightly browned.
Greens and beans–Saute greens with onion and garlic to taste. Throw in a cup or two of cooked navy beans or cannelloni beans, or really, whatever bean you like. Serve over rice or potatoes or pasta.
Steamed– So simple and so reminiscent of old-time hippy vegetarian restaurants. Lightly steam the greens. The ultimate simplicity is to serve with a little vinegar (rice wine is nice) or a squeeze of lemon juice. Fancier takes include adding a dressing like tahini or peanut sauce. For that ultimate “I am a vegetarian in the 70’s” feel, add a bowl of brown rice and baked tofu.
Greens and tomatoes–Greens and tomatoes are best friends, because the tomatoes Vitamin C makes the iron in the greens easier to absorb (non-vegans probably don’t care about this). Also because they taste good together. Saute your greens with the requisite onion and garlic, add a can of diced tomatoes, and you’re done. Or you can add something proteiny–seitan slices are good here, tofu probably is too.
Chips–This one’s really just for kale, ideally the green curly kind. You can use lacinato, but it will not be the same. Wash the kale, pat it dry, tear into bite-sized pieces. Toss with a little olive oil and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Or just salt and pepper. Or cumin and chile. Whatever you like. Spread them on a greased cookie sheet, or one with parchment paper, and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until crispy. Eat like potato chips.
Wrap things in it–If you like raw greens, you may find they make good wrappers in place of tortillas, spring roll wrappers and the like.

What do you do with your greens?

Victory Garden: First Harvest

My garden is growing like wild!

Behold, the first harvest from my Victory Garden. The Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard is getting tall and strong. Using the self-explanatory named “Cut and Come Again” method, I cut some leaves twice last week. I wrapped them in a damp towel, and popped them in the crisper.

Today, I cooked up my chard bouquet. It’s hot and humid, so I didn’t want too much stove time. Continue reading “Victory Garden: First Harvest” →

In Praise of Porridge

A good morning indeed. — A good morning, indeed.

It’s currently 9 degrees in Chicago.

Of course, after the Polar Vortex of Doom last year, 9 degrees doesn’t sound so horrible, but it’s still cold enough that I think everything should be cancelled except snuggling and cups of tea. Failing that, I decided to start my day off cozily, with porridge.

There’s nothing like a warm bowl of hot cereal to make you feel like a pioneer. And since we all know how much I enjoy feeling like a pioneer (minus the scarlet fever and back breaking labor involved with actual pioneering), I am a fan. Porridge of various sorts is usually pretty inexpensive, nutritious, and doesn’t require any fancy equipment (I’m looking at you, waffle irons). It’s simple to prepare, doesn’t take up much room in your pantry, and makes you feel super healthy, even if you just covered it with brown sugar. Continue reading “In Praise of Porridge” →

A Dinner Pie–Royal Eggplant Pie

This pie is a great addition to your holiday table, or just for lunch on a Wednesday. It’s a single crust pie with an Italian vibe–the cookbook notes that teens might be fans, due to it’s pizza flavors. The original calls for ground beef and regular cheese, but we substituted vegan ingredients, to great success. We used a white whole wheat crust, which was especially tasty.

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed eggplant, unpeeled
.25 cup margarine
.75 cup “Gimme Lean” hamburger flavor (TVP or lentils might be good here, too)
.5 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 TBSP chopped parsley
.25 cup chopped celery tops
1 tsp salt
.25 tsp oregano
solid shake of pepper
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
.5 cup shredded cheese (we used “Follow Your Heart” mozzarella

Directions

Melt the margarine in a deep skillet, and add the eggplant. Cover and cook over medium heat for five minutes. Then remove eggplant, set aside.
Saute the onion and garlic in the skillet, add the ground “beef” and brown. Add parsley, celery tops, seasonings and tomato sauce. Cook over medium for about five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the eggplant, turn off heat.
When the mixture is partially cool, spoon it into a single pie crust.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle with “cheese” bake until melted.