Radishes, radishes, radishes

Daikon radishes two weeks in a row is not something I'm every going to be fully prepared for, but I did find a few creative ways to use them that I didn't know last year. I threw them in this radishes two ways avocado toast I came up with and I've eaten it more times than I can count this month.

When the first bunch arrived, I went with a variation on this pickling recipe from the NYTimes in which I used pretty purple carrots that came in the same week's CSA to get the beautiful dark rich color you see on the radish carrot mixture on the top of the avocado toast above. They are a great addition to any asian style rice bowl that I like to bring for lunch or a little snack all by themselves.

Avocado Toast with Radishes Two Ways
serves 1
1 slice of good quality bread (I used homemade wild culture sourdough)
1/4 of an avocado
8-10 mandolin thin slices of daikon radish
Juice of half a lemon
Sprinkle of fleur de sal to taste
Sprinkle of table salt
8-10 Daikon and carrot pickles

Place slice of bread in the toaster. Thinly slice daikon radish with mandolin or knife and mix with juice of half a lemon. Add a sprinkle of table salt and let sit while preparing the rest of your dish. When the toast is done slice the avocado in half and use a butter or other dull knife to slice the thinnest wedges you can imagine and spread one at a time onto the bread into a even layer. Sprinkle the avocado with fleur de dal. Add the lemon daikon radishes and then the pickled carrots and daikon to the top. Enjoy!

Winter Squash Carbonera

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit's.

This is the warm and comforting treat that is great for any cold winter day. I was motivated to explore different ways to work with winter squash when my CSA gave me so many acorn, kobucha, and butternut squashes I needed something new. I think that it's best with kobucha, but try it with whatever you have. This is not vegetarian, but I love how little meat is used to get so much flavor. I have been toying with what I could use instead of bacon though. If you have ideas, let me know!

Winter Squash Carbonera
serves 4
1 medium to large acorn or kobucha or other winter squash, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces or so
1 small onion diced
2 slices of bacon or pancetta if you can get it, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
Salt to taste
2 cups of vegetable broth
12 oz of spaghetti
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 teaspoon chili flakes
up to 1 cup starchy pasta water

Put on a pot of water to boil for pasta.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet until cooked through and to your desired crispness. For me this was about 12 minutes, but this wasn't particularly crispy. Leave all of the fat in the pan, but remove meat. Add onion to the bacon fat coated pan and saute until translucent before adding garlic for 1 minute and then the squash. Add a generous sprinkle of salt over the squash, chili flakes and broth before cooking uncovered stirring every so often so the squash doesn't brown, but cooks until soft and the liquid has been reduced by 2/3 (this took me about 25 minutes).
While the squash is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to your preferred texture (don't forget to save the starchy water!).
Add the squash mixture (including remaining liquid) to a blender and puree until smooth. A powerful blender is a real help with this.
Return the pureed mixture to the pan and assess thickness. Depending on the size of your squash and how liquidity you like your sauce, you'll add up to 1 full cup of starchy pasta water with cup of frozen or fresh peas and slowly stir to incorporate additional liquid into the sauce. Feel free to add even more pasta water (or even plain water) if the sauce is too thick.
Add spaghetti to sauce and serve with bacon bits you removed earlier sprinkled over the top. Enjoy!

Green Bean Summer Salad

Adapted from Marie Simmons Fresh and Fast Vegetarian (this is a great cookbook and you should get it!)

This may be the best time of year for those of us who try to eat locally and thus with the seasons. Tomatoes are finally here! This along with everything fresh, bright, and crunchy that makes you think of summer (I'm looking at you corn!). This almost absurdly simple salad looked too boring to be delicious, but I was wrong! It really reminded me of an episode of the a Chef's Life on PBS in which Chef Vivian Howard opts to simplify her dishes in the spirit of letting the ingredients shine. There is something really beautiful about that concept and this salad is a great way to celebrate it.

Green Bean Summer Salad
1 pound green beans split into 1 inch pieces  (wax beans work here too!)
2 ears of corn, kernals cut off the cob
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/4 cup basil, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste (don't hold back!)

Combine all ingredients vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Make sure that the toss has spread out the basil thoroughly since it's the heart of the flavor profile Combine olive oil and lemon juice and give them a good stir before pouring it over the salad. The freshness of the ingredients is key here, so consider this a good option to make as soon as you get home from the Farmer's Market or store.

Kimchi Coleslaw

Sometimes you're craving the bite of kimchi but in a more approachable eat on its own kind of way. I think this is a fresh and bright, but still spicy satisfier that you can eat on its own or paired with a heavier entree. 

Kimchi Coleslaw

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 yellow/red/orange pepper julienned

2 watermelon radishes julienned
1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup red onion julienned

(If available, use a mandolin to slice all of the above vegetables nice and thin)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup Kimchi

2 tablespoons sriracha

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon salt

Buffalo Cauliflower "Wings"

I have to be honest. I freakin love buffalo wings. When I started to really limit my meat intake, I think wings were one of the treats I missed the most, and I still give into temptation sometimes. This wonderful alternative of buffalo cauliflower really does satisfy the craving for warm, spicy, crunch dipped in a creamy sauce. It will not disappoint!

Buffalo Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 cup butter (use coconut oil for vegan version)
2 tablespoons hot sauce of choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Break down the head of cauliflower into bite size short stem florets.. Mix the flour garlic powder, pepper, and water together to create a simple batter. If the batter looks thin, add a bit more flour until thick enough to drip very slowly off a spoon. Dredge the  cauliflower in the flour and water mixture to thoroughly coat each piece before placing  on a cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.


While the cauliflower is baking, you can make your sauce. Melt the 1/4 cup of butter into a bowl and combine with your hot sauce of choice. I used Annie Sharpe's Belizean hot sauce for half and sriracha for the other half. They were both delicious, so I think you can't go wrong throwing whatever sauce you like together with a bunch of butter.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and let cool until you can pick it up. Spoon the hot sauce and butter mixture over each piece until covered generously. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Lentils

What is better on a cold winter day than the warm comfort of mashed potatoes combined with a gravy and a lot of nutritious vegetables? This was my thought upon returning to harsh winter weather after a lovely trip to Belize last week. A tragic amount of vegetarian shepherd's pie dishes on the internet neglect to include the protein packed ingredient of lentils which is a crying shame.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Lentils
2 lbs potatoes (I like russets, but use whatever!)
1 cup dried lentils
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large head of broccoli, chopped
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire (vegan Worcestershire to be truly vegetarian)
3 tbs soy sauce
3 cups veggie broth
2 tbs cup flour
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
1 clove of garlic (optional if you like your mashed potatoes garlicky)

Mashed Potatoes
My husband had the brilliant idea of cubing the potatoes before throwing them into a pot of salted boiling water and it made them cook so much faster! Boil them for approximately 25 minutes (until soft enough to push a fork through). While these are boiling is a great time to prep your other ingredients. Strain the potatoes  and set aside to cool. Mash in a large bowl along with the butter, greek yogurt, and garlic, if you are opting for garlicky.

Filling
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add coconut or olive oil to a large pan or wok on medium heat. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery for 10 minutes until soft and the onions are translucent. Add the broccolli and stir another couple of minutes before tossing in the lentils, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire and let cook until the lentils are tender. This took me about 15 minutes. If there is not a lot of liquid left at this point, add more veggie stock before throwing in the flour to thicken the remaining liquid into more of a gravy and stir stir stir. Once the remaining liquid has thickened, remove from heat and pour into a rectangular 1 quart baking dish. Layer the mashed potatoes on top until covered. Drizzle with a little olive oil if you like a nice crust and place in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Cooked Forever Broccoli from Food 52 Genius Recipes

I am so completely in love with this new cook book, you guys. I got the most incredible wedding gift from my dear friend Christine of 6 of the best cook books I've ever seen and it has become my new favorite past time to flip through them and try whatever I have the ingredients for. The winner of this fine selection of knowledge has so far been the Food 52 Genius Recipes from the editor of Food 52.com. It's an assortment of the most successful recipes from the internet from all different types of cooks and chefs. When I found myself with an abundance of broccoli to use this week, I headed straight for the book and found the Cooked Forever Broccoli Recipe from the great Mark Bittman. I was skeptical of the lengthy cook time, but it was so incredibly delicious and super easy to execute.

2 lbs Broccoli
3 cloves garlic
2 hot chili peppers
3 anchovy filets (I plan on experimenting with kalamata olives for a veg version of this)
1/4 cup olive oil

Begin by carefully chopping your broccoli into a combination of small florets and 1/2 - 1 inch stems. I was really precise this time and I'm glad I took the time because the lengthy time on the pan means everything really needs to be close to the same size. Slice the anchovies into small strips, mince the garlic, and slice the chili peppers in half before setting aside.

Blanche the broccoli for five minutes and set aside to cool. Add the olive oil to a skillet and begin to heat up the garlic and chili in the oil. Once they are simmering, add the anchovies and begin to stir until they are mostly disintegrated. Add the broccoli and begin stirring so that all pieces get a healthy coat of the olive oil mixture. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours (the recipe calls for 2, but I was really happy with it after an a hour and a half), stirring every 20 minutes or so. Can be served hot or room temperature.