Short And Sweet Break

Our much awaited bundle of joy has arrived.Yes,my daughter gave birth to a baby boy Siddarth on May 11th.Since he is keeping his grandmom busy round the clock,I think I have to take a short break to blogging.But I will soon be back with the recipes of food items which is good for the new mom.For more details of the little star please have a look at the innovative poster made by his dad and mom.

Agretti

Here is one of the wonderful surprises of this week's CSA box. As Andrew Griffin explains in the newsletter, agretti is the Italian cousin of the American West's tumbleweed. It starts out with slender succulent leaves with "a unique marine flavor and toothsome quality". As it matures, agretti becomes, like it's American cousin, a sprawling, dry and prickly shrub, which no-one would eat!

Here is what we did, with the help of the newsletter's recipes and advice:

Serves 2

• 1 bunch agretti, clean (we pulled the leaves from the hard branches and rinsed in cold water twice)
• 4 slices prosciutto
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Tear the prosciutto into small pieces and pan fry until crisp. Remove from the pan and reserve.
2. Heat up the olive oil and sauté the agretti until wilted (3 or 4 minutes are enough).
3. Toss the agretti and prosciutto together and serve warm.

It was a little too salty for my taste (the original recipe called for pancetta) but the crunchiness of the agretti was great and the flavors really pleasant.

Pachai Kondakadalai Pirattal (Fresh Chick Peas Curry)

Another vegetable which made me curious in US is the fresh Chick peas ,right from the garden inside the pod. I found this in one of the big korean store called Lotte Plaza. I broke one pod and tasted the pea. It was tender and tasted like fresh peanut in the shell. I thought there will be at least 2 chick pea in each pod but in almost every pod there was only just one pea.

chick pea curries are always very tasty and will go well with roti, chappathi, curd rice etc.I decided to make the traditional chettinad pirattal with the chettinad masala. The curry turned out very tasty. Those who don't want the masala can make the curry adding a teaspoon of sambar powder alone
Ingredients
Chick peas-200gms(shelled out)
Big onion-1
Tomato-1

Ingredients for the Masala (optional)
coconut grated-2 table spoon
Red chili-4
Small jeera-1 teaspoon
Fennel seed-1 teaspoon
Ingredients for seasoning
Mustard seed-1 teaspoon
Fennel seed-1 teaspoon
curry leaf-little
Procedure
Take out the chick pea when you have time and store it in the fridge. Mince the onion. In the mixie or blender smash the tomato little so that it will get cooked fast. Keep the kadai in the stove.In a table spoon of cooking oil season the curry with the items given in 'To season'. Saute the onion and the smashed tomato.If you choose not to grind coconut paste, add 1 teaspoon of sambar powder( kuzhambu milagai thool)to the sauted mixture.When the sauted mixture boils add the chick peas and close the kadai. Check in between that there is enough water for the chick pea to get cooked. It will get cooked within 10 minutes.Once the chick pea is cooked soft , add the salt needed and the grinded masala.Cook in medium fire till the masala gets cooked and oil starts separating

Vegetable Soup with Asparagus

I loved the soup made with Asparagus by one of my daughter's friend Amudha's mom in DC. Her mother Mrs Vasantha Achi is a permanent resident of Singapore. She makes lovely soups and some other items right from the scrap. I was really impressed by the soup. Since it does not require any white sauce or such other things, it is very easy to make and at the same time good for kids. So with her permission to blog the recipe, I made it at home. Those who don't get Asparagus need not worry. They can substitute it with beetroot or any other veg. Beetroot will give better colour for the soup. She uses vegetable stock cube bought from the stores like Wegmans.We can substitute it with the real stock made at home like chicken or mutton stock. I had mutton stock which I saved while cooking mutton for podimas.

Ingredients (For 4 to 5 cups)

carrot-1

Big onion-1

Asparagus-Half bunch

Tomato-1

Green chili-1

pepper powder-1 teaspoon

Vegetable stock cube -1 (Bouillon without msg).Any brand that you get can be used.

Procedure

Cut off the bottom and top portion of Asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut the onion,tomato and the carrot also. Keep a small cooker in the stove. In a teaspoon of butter saute the onion,tomato,carrot,chilli and asparagus. You can add any other vegetable that you like also. Add a pinch of salt and a cup of water. Close the cooker and cook for just 1 whistle(5 minutes). Once the pressure is released allow the vegetable to cool and grind the strained vegetables in the mixie till you don't find any fiber in the asparagus. Usually this will get grounded in a minute if your asparagus is good. Now keep the kadai in the stove and pour the grounded soup into it along with the water strained. Mix the vegetable stock cube in a cup of water and add to the soup. If you have some other chicken or mutton stock that can be substituted in the place of this stock cube. Add water to the consistency you like. Add the salt and pepper to your taste. Allow the soup to boil for 5 minutes.

Red Cabbage Coleslaw

The recent books and TV shows about unhealthy foods are preaching to the choir, at least in my home, but it never hurts to think about one's eating habits and try and improve them one way or the other. I am getting a little more obsessed with the quality and origin of my food every time I read or hear about the subject. It has been many years now since we started buying most of our groceries at Whole Foods Market and on the farmer's market. But until recently I was relying on these "institutions" to make good choices for me; I read the labels without paying too much attention, trusting that all I could buy there would be equally "good". If you look closer, though, not all producers on the farmer's market are certified organic, and not all fruits and vegetables sold at Whole Foods are local (nor organic). To really make educated choices, it takes more than just going to the "right" place, one has to pay close attention to every bit of information (or lack thereof) on everything one buys... Phew.... So in the hurry of grocery shopping with 2 agitated babies, we ended up buying the same things over and over again (read the labels once, buy multiple times!) and it wasn't satisfying our need for variety and creativity.

Thankfully we live in one of the best regions in the world to accomplish what we were aiming for: buy local, organic, fresh, in-season produce without having to think too much about it. We have recently joined Two Small Farms' CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and so far it has been a great experience. We get a whole box of fruits, veggies and herbs every week, along with a 2-page newsletter explaining what's what and how to cook or prepare all these gems. The freshness surpasses anything we could find even on the farmer's market, as everything goes directly from the fields to our box to our fridge the day it is picked. The cost is significantly lower too... But what I like the best is that we don't know what's in the box until we open it (we could find out online... but it would spoil the surprise) and some of the veggies, we are seeing for the first time in our lives. I know it doesn't appeal to everybody, but to me this is heaven. It really feels like discovering a treasure every week and with ingredients that tasty, it's hard not to make something delicious. From green garlic to rutabagas to rapini greens or erbette chards, we never stop learning. Some items are even called "mystery" when the newsletter is printed before knowing what can be harvested that day. Love it!

We have been adjusting quite smoothly to the large quantity of produce getting into our fridge every week. I am guessing that the box is sized for a family of 4 adults. But so far we have managed to eat everything (and eat out for lunch). Hopefully we'll get to walk to the farmer's market once in a while because I absolutely love walking there from home and meeting the farmers and my neighbors. There is a social aspect to it that we lost with the CSA box.

Our first box contained 2 red cabbages. We had eaten red cabbage before (especially in Munich) but never cooked with it. So I turned to my Joy of Cooking, 75th anniversary edition cookbook and adapted the Becker Coleslaw based on what was in my box. It was crunchy, juicy, refreshing...

Serves 8 (nearly two 1.75-qt (7-cup) Pyrex containers)

• 1 red cabbage
• 3 carrots (mine were Chantenay carrots)
  
• 1 heart celery
• 10 sprigs curly parsley
• zest of 1 organic lemon
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp french mustard
• 5-10 dashes hot pepper sauce
• salt and pepper

1. Dice all the veggies (washed or peeled). Grate the lemon. Discard the stems from the parsley sprigs and mince the leaves. Place all in a large bowl.
2. Combine the mustard, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Whisk well. Pour on the veggies. Add the hot pepper sauce.
3. Toss, cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Serve chill.

Kalaikkose Pirattal (Brussels sprouts curry )

I was really excited when I saw this vegetable in the H mart,since this is one of the rare vegetable found only in big towns like Trichi, Chennai ,Coimbatore, Madurai etc in Tamil Nadu.The people who conduct big functions like weddings manage to get these from the nearest big city like Trichi. The chettinad cooks make tasty dishes out of kalakkose like pirattal,Kuruma etc.

In my first visit to the hmart itself I got this vegetable. I first made kuruma out of this and I was not very much impressed. I think I overcooked the veg. Next I tried the traditional pirattal and it turned out very tasty. My daughter who hates the smell of cabbage was happy that she can taste something similar to cabbage without the smell of cabbage which many dont like.

This dish can be mixed with rice and can be packed for lunch for those who are not big fans of curd rice. This will go very well with curd rice as a side dish.

Ingredients

Kalakkose-10 to 15

Big onion minced-1

Tomato-1 minced

To grind

Grated cocunut-1 table spoon

Small jeera(cumin seed0-1 teaspoon0

Big jeera or sombu(fennel seed)-1 teaspoon

Pottukadalai-1 table spoon or cashews-6

Red chili-3 to 4

To season

Those who dont want it spicy can season with a teaspoon of small jeera and big jeera.

cinamon-1 small piece

Clove-2

Cardomom-2

For parties you can make the dish spicy else season it simply.

Procedure

Cut the brussel sprouts into 4 pieces. Mince onion and tomatoes.Grind the items given in to grind to a smooth paste adding water. Microwave the veg for 2 minutes in a microwavable vessel for 2 minutes. Now add little salt for the veg and again microwave for a minute. Those who dont use microwave can cook the veg in a kadai with water till the vegetable is three fourth cooked.

Keep the kadai in the stove. Add a table spoon of cooking oil.This curry tastes good with little extra oil.Season the curry. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle some salt to the onions which will help the onions to get sauted fast. Now add the tomatoes.If you feel that the tomatoes you are using is not very ripe and tender grind it for a second in the mixie. Saute the tomatoes till they are really smashed. While sauting you can smash it with a laddle to help it get smashed fast. Once the onion and tomatoes are smashed like a gravy add the grinded masala into the kadai and cook in low fire stirring continously for 2 minutes. Add little turmeric powder and the salt neede for the masala also. Now add the cooked kalakkose along with the little water in the microwaved bowl. Cook in low fire till the masala gets coated in the veg. You can switch off in the consistency you like.Make sure that the veg gets enough time to get cooked in the masala.

Asparagus Pachai poriyal (Asparagus stir Fry)

Many of my readers will be wondering how I managed to get Asparagus in India. Yes,this is a new veg for me,which I saw in a Korean store H mart in DC. I am in US now eagerly waiting for the arrival of my first grandchild. Till the bundle of joy arrives, I thought of experimenting some from the variety of new vegetables available here.I tried quite a few. The most easiest and tastiest was this Asparagus fry. Many will be thinking why I call this pachai poriyal. We usually call a fry Pachai, if no chili powder is used and is cooked little less. Some of the facts that I found from the net about this vegetable is

Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.
Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.

Ingredients

Asparagus-2 bunches

Big onion-1(minced)

pepper powder-1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon

lemon juice-1 teaspoon

Procedure

Take off the bottom and top 1 inch portion from the asparagus. Cut it as shown in the picture. Mix the lemon juice, pepper powder, turmeric powder and the salt needed and keep aside for 10 minutes. Keep the kadai in the stove. Season the fry with a teaspoon of cumin seed and saute the onion for few minutes. Now add the asparagus and mix well. Don't add any water. Cook just for 5 minutes (till the water in the fry is gone).