After a couple of weeks of being purely busy, to the point that I'm
even behind on my blogs, I have to say that it's been pleasant at my
house the last few days... Last Wednesday afternoon, I took my son to
the West Racine Farmer's Market on West Blvd & Washington Ave. He
picked out some kale at one of the stands, and I bought some green
onions, that had a nice size knob on the end, and the bunch was a mix
between white and red onions. We also got some sugar snap peas, and a
garlic bulb with all of the greens still on it, including the shooting
star. These shoots are edible. We know that with the warmer weather,
we don't necessarily like heavy meals, so I had an idea yesterday...
But
anyway, I sold a couple of rely local cards today, and the proceeds of
that will be going toward buying more fresh produce at the farmer's
market again... With more recipes to be inspired around the foods that I
buy... So, it's like helping the community businesses, area farms, as
well as offering quality & fresh foods to my family!
red leaf kale
garlic shooting star
I
decided to make Tokyo style scattered sushi bowls, and put all of my
stuff to good use... Take about 12 dried shiitake mushrooms, and let
soak soft in a sauce pan. When soft, add 1/2 cup of dashi, 1/4 cup soy
sauce, 1/4 cup cooking sake, and I like to also add 2TBS mirin. Bring
to a boil, and simmer about 20 minutes. I used a bowl shaped strainer
to put the sliced green onion tops, sugar snap peas, and the kale in it,
and set it on top of the sauce pot, to let the steam lightly cook those
to be more tender for eating. For the rice, make sure you have sushi
grade rice. Rinse well until you don't see the white come out, and cook
as directed. When it's done, have a large pan, such as a rectangle
cake or lasagna pan, and spread the rice in there. Have a mix of 5 TBS +
1tsp rice vinegar, 5 tsp sugar, and 4 tsp salt - blended well. Slowly
drizzle that mix over the rice, while flipping the rice, to mix well.
Let it rest, until cooled down to room temp. Top with various items,
such as the flavored shiitake mushrooms, blanched spinach, takuan
(Japanese pickled radish), egg omelet (super thin), strips of seaweed,
etc... Be creative. We enjoyed supper last night, with more for lunch
today.
scattered sushi
But
anyway, the aroma from the garlic was very pleasant, w/o being
overpowering. So, I took the garlic greens and my "dump bag", in which I
store onion skins, carrot peelings, celery roots, you know, the parts
you don't eat... and made it into a veggie broth.
So,
anyway, I am using the red and white knob ends of the onions for part of
my spaghetti sauce, as well as the fresh garlic, which I already
peeled, and each of the cloves are good sized, with pretty much
uniformity throughout... It should be pretty good. I will be using the
broth in place of the water for my sauce, to add even more dimension to
the flavors. My son's favorite is my home made spaghetti sauce. I
remember once when he was a baby, about 9 months old, he woke from his
nap upon smelling sauce that JUST went on the stove, so it was going to
be a while... He would NOT stop fussing. Not even mashed potatoes nor
pureed pears would do. 90 minutes worth of fussiness, just to get the
spaghetti. Then, when he was 2, we were spring cleaning, and time got
away from us... So we doctored up a jar of sauce, and there was no way
to make it better. My son, seeing the plate of pasta, starts getting
excited. he takes his fork, twirls it... shoves the fork in his
mouth... then proceeds to push the plate out away from him, insisting
that, "I can't want to like that"! Oh my... A spaghetti sauce
connoisseur at age of 2.
spaghetti & meatballs...meatball recipe:
About a generous pound of freshly ground meat (you may be able to substitute a moist, crumbled tofu)
1/3 cup each of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup parsley
2 level TBS oregano, 1 slightly heaping TBS basil
1 egg
1 tsp salt & about 1/8 tsp of black pepper
Mix well with hands. Make into about 1" diameter balls, and they should be slightly stiff. (Yes, stiff balls are good)
Brown
well in the pot that you're going to use for the sauce. Get all sides,
and drain the grease. it will cook the rest of the way when simmering
with the sauce.
spaghetti sauce recipe:
1 medium onion (I prefer regular yellow onion, but any kind are okay) minced finely
1 bulb of garlic, peeled, finely minced.
1 bell pepper (I like green or red) finely minced
12 oz tomato paste (with 3 cans of water)
sliced mushrooms (I prefer portabellos or baby bellas)
4-5 TBS oregano, 3 TBS basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
After draining the grease, place the pot back on the burner, letting the grease drain from the balls while in the strainer.
Brown the onion, garlic and bell pepper until aromatic.
Put meatballs in the pot, to bring them up to temp.
Add
tomato paste with 3 cans of water. Let it absorb into the water. Add
the spices. DO NOT ADD SALT. The balls will be salty, and this will
add to the sauce to blend the flavors. As it comes to a boil, add the
mushrooms, turn down the heat, and let simmer for at least 90 minutes.
If the sauce gets too thick, add water as needed.
Serve with your favorite pasta. Bon Apetito!
Off to make my spaghetti...
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