Let's Get Some Spice On!

When I saw the green beans in today's box, for some reason my mind jumped to curries.  I often use a mix of veggies in my curries, but for some reason I almost always include green beans.  We can use the potatoes and the sweet potatoes we've gotten recently, and if you have any carrots left, those would be good too.

Curries originated in southeast Asia, notably the area around Thailand.  From there, they expanded west across India, parts of the Persian Gulf, and into eastern Africa, jumping with the slave trade to various parts of the Caribbean; and they expanded west to places like Fiji and other islands across the Pacific.  At its most basic, it's a dish using lots of spice and almost always includes chilis of some sort.  Some are more like a soup, usually served over rice, others are more like a stir fry with a heavy sauce, again served with rice.

Photo via about.com

The key ingredient in curry is curry powder, which is simply a blend of spices.  That's it.  Take half the spice drawer, put it all together, shake until mixed, and voilà, curry powder.  Well, not exactly.  it is a measured quantity of each of certain spices, then shake 'em all together and you have curry powder.  Which spices are going to vary wildly by region, but most of them have cumin and turmeric as a base.  For example, Thai curry powder usually contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger and chilis as its starting point.  As you move west through India, you'll start seeing less coriander and more cardamom, for example.

Photo via Jamie Oliver

Curries are usually quite simple to prepare.  Some are yogurt based, some start with a tomato sauce, others use coconut milk.  In essence, you start with the base, add the spices, add whatever half-cooked veggies and browned meat you'd like, and let it cook together until the meat is finished and the veggies are soft.  Some other recipes I've tried and liked are found here, here, and here.

Most of the time, curries can be prepared really quickly with whatever veggies you have on hand.  Great for those weeknights when you need a dinner in 30 minutes or less.

Photo via Food & Wine

More Than Cucumbers

So, are your pickles ready?  Mine are just to that nice, sour point and they're going in the fridge today.  (When they get to the right sour level for you, then they need to go in the fridge.  Otherwise you get pickle mush.  Blech.)

So last time we talked about classic pickles.  You can put these in jars and process in a water bath, and they're shelf stable for about a year.  That makes them, "canned pickles."  There are two other types, "refrigerator pickles" and "quick pickles."  Quick pickles are ones you cook in the brine for a brief period, chill, and eat right away.  Refrigerator pickles use a higher vinegar content, and ferment in the fridge.

But all of these methods can be used on any firm vegetable.  Below are some pickled vegetable recipes I've used – and enjoyed – in the past.

Photo via Food and Wine

Here's a recipe for general pickled vegetables.  It calls for a collection of beans, etc., but you can really use just about anything with a solid texture.  I use this recipe when I'm giving away preserves as gifts.  Choose a variety of vegetables with an assortment of colors and shapes.  Take your time and arrange them in the jar carefully and artistically, and it makes a nice gift.

Photo via handjobsforthehome.com

Cauliflower should be in season in just a couple more weeks, and these curried pickled cauliflower florets are amazing.  Probably the most common pickle I make, other than cukes.

Photo via rosemarried.com

The herb-y sourness of these green beans is really divine.  Be advised, a little bit of lemon peel goes a looooong way, particularly if you make enough of these that some will be on the shelf for a few months.    I usually cut the lemon peel by a third.

Photo via Serious Eats

Finally, let's talk carrots.  There's classic dilly carrots, which are a great way to remember summer come wintertime, but these spicy carrots have a lot of character.  Again, a word of caution.  It calls for slightly more than a tablespoon of red pepper flakes per jar.  I use a scant teaspoon, and they'll still really curl your toenails.

Anyone have any other pickled veggie recipes you like?

Yet Another Ethnic Tongue-Twister Dish

I guess I have a penchant for cooking things that are difficult to pronounce.  Green beans are becoming quite abundant, and tomatoes are starting to come in.  What’s that mean?

Fasolakia!!

Go ahead, spend a minute trying to figure out how to pronounce it.  I’ll wait.  Meanwhile, I'm going to dig deep into the nightmares of pledge semester and see if I can write that with the Greek alphabet.  Hmm... Φασολακια  Is that right?

It’s Greek stewed green beans.  No crispy onion straws involved.  Yay.  Unfortunately no bacon either.  Boo.  This is the sort of dish that it’s easy to get going, then leave on the stove for forever to cook.  Without further delay…

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. green beans, ends snapped off, washed

1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cups diced fresh tomatoes

1 cup water

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley, oregano, or a combination thereof

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, more to taste

Salt & pepper

Directions

Gently heat olive oil over medium flame (not to smoking).  Add onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes until translucent.

Add green beans, tomatoes, water, and herbs.  Let simmer over low heat at least 30 minutes, but it’s okay to leave it a lot longer than that.  (I’ve had no problem with it cooking for 2 hours.)  Stir occasionally.

Remove the lid and bring flame to medium, let reduce 10 minutes.  You still want the beans in liquid, but it shouldn’t look like soup.  Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

That’s a pretty easy one, but the flavors are amazing.  I like making this when I’ve got a number of other things to cook, and I can just let it go while I’m busy elsewhere.

Any other ethnic dishes out there you can share with me?

Ginger Beef with Green Beans & Mushrooms

Last Friday I whipped up the Szechuan Noodles with Cabbage & Broccoli and you know if you've made it before, it makes a TON of sauce, so you always have about a l/2 pint of it in reserve to use for another dish.  I'd always thought it would make an amazing beef marinade, so I gave it a whirl!  Knowing we were getting green beans in the Crop Share, I couldn't resist grabbing a pint of mushrooms, to turn this into a spicy and fragrant version of some homemade Chinese take-away.  So if you're looking at this week's green beans and all you can think of is green bean casserole, then plan to give your favorite Chinese restaurant the night off and whip up your own take-away at home!

Ginger Beef with Green Beans & Mushrooms

 


1.5 lbs thin sliced beef (I used eye of round)
Half of the Szechuan Noodles sauce (see recipe here)
2" knob of ginger, minced
1 pint mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 lb green beans (about half the bag from the Crop Share), rinsed and ends snapped
1 Tbsp chili oil
Noodles or rice for serving, we used rice noodles for gluten-free


In a large bowl, toss the beef, sauce and minced ginger to fully coat the beef.  Cover and place in fridge to chill and marinate for at least 1 hour.

Once beef has marinated, remove from fridge and allow to come up to room temp while you prep your mushrooms and green beans.

In a large skillet or wok, heat chili oil over high heat.  Once oil is hot, toss in mushrooms and green beans (taking care to watch our for oil splatters) and cook for about 1-2 minutes, continually stirring or tossing with tongs to prevent burning.  Then add in your beef and all of the sauce and ginger,  and cook until you can no longer see pink on the beef and meat is just slightly browned.  It's best to use tongs to help stir and toss at this point.  Remove immediately from heat and serve with rice or noodles.  We stirred our rice noodles into the skillet and allowed to sit for a few minutes to allow the sauce to flavor the noodles.

Thanksgiving Favorites: Green Bean Casserole with Herbed Breadcrumbs

Thanksgiving In Nalls’ Kitchen!

7310 Beulah Street, Franconia, VA 22315

(703) 971-4068 ~ info@nallsproduce.com

Green Bean Casserole with Herbed Breadcrumbs

No soup from a can or Franken-onions in this version!

Ingredients:

2 lbs green beans, trimmed & cut in half

3 lg shallots

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups, coarse ground bread crumbs (panko works great or a larger ground)

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

½ tsp Kosher salt, divided

½ tsp ground black pepper, divided

2 cups reduced fat milk

2 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup flour

Pinch ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil green beans in salted water over high heat, uncovered, for 6 minutes until bright green and slightly tender.  Drain well and transfer to a 3-quart baking dish.

While green beans are boiling, dice 1.5 shallots and then thinly slice the remaining 1.5.  Set aside the sliced shallots.  In a sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add chopped shallots and cook for 4 to 7 minutes until slightly browned.  Pour in breadcrumbs, thyme, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper, stir to fully incorporate.  Cook an additional 2 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.  Set aside in a separate bowl.

Heat milk in a saucepan just enough to warm it, but not to boil it.  In the same sauté pan you used for the breadcrumbs, melt butter over medium heat.  Add sliced shallots and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown.  Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes.  Then slowly add milk, and whisk continually to avoid any clumps.  Bring to a boil and continue stirring for about 2 minutes.  Sauce should thicken to the consistency of heavy cream.  Whisk in nutmeg, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper.  Pour sauce over green beans.  Then evenly top with bread crumbs, and bake for 30 minutes until topping is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.

Throwback Thursday: Green Beans With Garlic & Tea

This recipe comes to you back from our Early Spring Crop Share round, but it's one that's great for any time of year.  A healthy and fragrant twist on most traditional green bean side dishes that get slathered in creamy canned goods and topped with suspicious fried onions from a can.  Put down that can of onions and pick up...your tea kettle!

Green Beans With Garlic & Tea

Click through to view original recipe...

Green Beans With Garlic & Tea

Maybe it's the cool night air and the rain creeping towards us that has me on a family recipe kick tonight and thinking of my hometown of Youngstown.  Whatever the impetus may be, you will have my amazing mother-in-law, Heather, to thank for bequeathing me with a copy of the Greater Youngstown Italian Fest cookbook, containing none other than her absolutely killer Green Beans with Garlic & Tea recipe.  And no, I'm not trying to earn points, my mother-in-law is pretty darn awesome, especially when it comes to all things cooking and baking.  Heather is also the queen of tea, there's always a pot steeping every time you walk into her home, so I shouldn't have been surprised the first time she served up these delectable green beans.  Forget the traditional heavy green bean casserole, these green beans are the perfect light and fragrant side dish, especially as we start moving into warmer temperatures.  So get ready to put the kettle on...and make some dinner!

Green Beans with Garlic & Tea

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp Keemun tea leaves (can substitute other Chinese black teas, Oolong or even Prince of Wales)
2 cups spring water
1 or 2 Tbsp almond slices, toasted

Boil the spring water and add the tea and allow to brew.  Steam the green beans in water.  While beans are steaming, saute garlic in oil until opaque.  Add brewed tea and simmer with garlic for 2 minutes.  Remove beans from steamer and put in large serving bowl.  Pour tea marinade over drained beans.  Garnish with the toasted almond slices and serve.

Hot-Sauce Chicken with Grilled Green Beans

This recipe is great for a light lunch or dinner. If you're trying to cut out or limit carbs, this is a great and filling meal.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
Strips of peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, halved
Salt and pepper
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 red onion, thickly sliced crosswise

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/budget-recipes/hot-sauce-chicken-with-grilled-green-beans?esrc=nwdr070212pinc

Thanksgiving Survival Kit

Thanksgiving is only a week away! Can you believe it? I can't wait to to slip into a food-induced coma after all the festivities. We know that you have a lot of running around to do before the holidays. You have relatives to pick up, a mile-long shopping list and dietary restrictions to consider when making dinner. Well, we want to make things just a little bit easier for you. Our Thanksgiving Survival Kit puts everything together for you. We gather quality produce for you along with other great items like butter and dinner rolls and just have you pick up a couple days before Thanksgiving. All you have to do is find the turkey or ham. You can simply print out the form here and bring it in. The deadline is Thursday, November 15th.

Any questions? send us an e-mail at info@nallsproduce.com or call us at 703-971-4068. You can always stop by, we are located on 7310 Beulah St Alexandria, VA 22315 and our hours are 9:00 to 6:00 Monday - Sunday.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

This simple side dish fits in with any meal. It works with fish, chicken, pork, tofu, you name it. The best part is, it only requires a handful of ingredients that are already in your pantry.

Ingredients:

12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/11/roasted-parmesan-green-beans.html

Warm Veggie Sausage & Potato Salad

I discovered warm potato salad a couple weeks ago and I am a fan. I may never have cold again. Now that fall is here, you can transition the favorite summer side dish into the season. 

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs white or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
white wine for cooking (optional)
6 oz green beans
6 oz mini bella mushrooms
1.5 cups grape tomatoes cut in halves
2 veggie or turkey sausages
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
4-5 cups spinach

Dressing
1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 shallot, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.vanilla-and-spice.com/2012/08/warm-veggie-sausage-potato-salad.html