Friday, June 20, 2008

Fresh Farm Meals

No snacks this week since it's the first week of summer vacation!
On the weekend I made everyone's favourite dinner "The Yummiest of Yummy Tofu Dinners" as Ryan calls it, or ma po tofu with veggies:
I think I could make this every
night for a week and nobody
would complain. And it's a great
way to use green vegetables,
especially asian greens and beans.
This week I used our baby bok
choy from the farm.


Yummiest of Yummy Tofu Dinners

1 T. peanut, canola, or safflower oil
3 chopped scallions
2 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or a small diced hot pepper
1 large head bok choy or 2-3 heads baby bok choy, chopped with stems & leaves separated
1 lb. firm tofu, cut into bite-size triangles
1 small can sliced bamboo shoots
2 cups frozen haricots verts or green beans
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. rice vinegar
3 T. cooking sherry
1 T. sugar
1 cup vegetable broth
2 T. cornstarch + 4 T. water
2-3 packages ramen noodles or rice noodles, cooked & drained (optional)

Heat oil in large pot or wok (I use a large cast iron pot) with scallion, garlic, ginger & hot sauce.
Add bok choy stems and stir fry about 2 minutes.
Add tofu and bamboo shoots and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes.
Add bok choy greens.
Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, cooking sherry & sugar. Add to pot.
Add vegetable broth and green beans. Stir and cook at a low boil for about 5-7 minutes, or until greens beans are just wilted and soft.
Turn off heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Serve in big bowls over noodles or as is.

Father's Day:

The day began with a bunny
stick puppet show and pancakes.
I wasn't up to doing anything
extra special...being very
pregnant and having 3 boys
is enough!



For lunch I made this absolutely
fabulous "Pea Shoot Salad with
Avocados and Bacon" from the
Gourmet's Fresh cookbook. The
dressing was fantastic. And I used
Lightlife fake bacon that cooks
up crispy.


We ate out at a Mexican
restaurant for dinner, then
came home to enjoy an
apple-rhubarb pie with
Soy Delicious Neopolitan
ice cream. Dada is a big
pie fan.


Monday:
Husband's lunch: bell
pepper strips; steamed
asparagus; grape tomatoes;
purple grapes; more pea
shoot salad....there was
plenty of leftover dressing
for a few more servings.



Another recipe from Gourmet's
Fresh: "Farfalle with Roasted
Garlic and Pea Puree". A yummy
way to use peas. I decided to add
the pea greens to the pasta
cooking water at the very end
instead of adding them raw.
Very tasty.

Tuesday:
Another one of Ryan's creations:
a sandwich filled with Tofutti
cream cheese, carrot, grapes
& avocado. He loves to tell me
about when he grows up how I
can come visit him and all the
delicious meals he'll cook for me.
I can't wait! LOL.




Wednesday:

I must admit I am not a fan
of raw radishes. But they are
easy to grow and we always
get plenty from the farm, so
I am determined to find new
ways to prepare them so I
can enjoy them. I tried this
simple Pickled Radish recipe
online. It is so easy to slice
radishes, throw them into a
glass jar or container, shake
a few times, and in 24 hours
watch them transform into
something new and delicious.
I ate the whole batch myself!



Lunch: chinese-style asparagus
and super spicy eggplant over
rice.
Our last item from the previous
farm season is garlic, still hanging
in the basement stairwell, plant
tops and all. I just snip off a head
whenever needed.

CSA share:
- 1 bunch summer savory
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch rainbow swiss chard
- 1/2 lb. spinach
- 1/2 lb. mixed baby greens
- various herbs: sage, oregano,
thyme, sorrel
- 1 bunch pea greens
- 1 bunch scallions
- 2 quarts strawberries
- 1 quart sugar snap peas

Dinner: child & adult portions of:
strawberries; snap peas; sauteed
swiss chard with garlic & raisins;
tofu herb ravioli with sauce.

Wednesday:
Dinner: pasta primavera with
leftover pea sauce. Lots of
veggies including peas,
broccoli, carrot & bell peppers.





Thursday:
local pickins from the Farmer's Market: red & yellow new potatoes; flat-leaf parsley; a loaf of white bread (what a treat!); yellow squash & zucchini; 5 hothouse tomatoes.

I was so exhausted after a
visit with my midwives and
food shopping that I wanted
a simple comfort food dinner.
I whipped up a sun-dried
tomato & parsley hummus
spread on some onion focaccia
bread & topped with capers.
Oh, my, gosh...soo good. That
and a salad & some snap peas to munch was all that we needed.

Next week Ryan starts CSA farm camp...so I'll have at least a couple of kid lunches to post!

1 comment:

Eroteme said...

Woooow! That looks absolutely gorgeous! One thing good about North America is that you probably get nearly everything out there (for instance, we don't get capers or kafir lime out here). I am sure there are few things that we get only here but still... :-(