Thursday, May 7, 2009

Market to Table - May 7, 2009

Welcome back to Pantry Week (Round 2) where I'm trying to eat some of the preserved goodies out of the pantry before my spring and summer harvest begins (and it's coming!). There were lots more soup and rice dishes this week, but also some wonderful fresh goodies in the mix as well. Let's get right to it!

"Souped up" Rice - Ok. I know that just last week I said my canned veggie soup from last fall couldn't be improved up and just had to be eaten as soup. Fine. I admit it. I was mistaken. Throw in a little rice and let that flavorful soup soak right in and this dish went from "delicious" to "for the love of all that is good in the world, this rocks!" The soup, again canned from last fall, contained all-local mushrooms, potatoes, onions, purple hull peas, and spinach. With a little local brown rice, the dish was perfection. The bad news is that I used up the last of the bean soup (all that's left now is cabbage). The good news is I savored every last bite. I don't mind admitting to my mistaken notions about cooking. Especially when they taste this good! 

Breakfast Burritos and Strawberries - I had been skipping breakfast lately (I know. I know) and am trying to get back into the habit. So, I decided, if I was going to eat, it was going to be irresistible and I'd been drooling over Dave's breakfast burritos last week. So I made my own gosh darn breakfast burritos. Basically it's my homemade whole wheat tortillas (wheat flour from farmers' market) filled with sauteed kale, green onions, broccoli stems, lambs-quarter, mushrooms, rice, and some tofu I had to get rid of in the fridge before it went bad. I know it doesn't sound very breakfast-y, but stay with me here. Everything is local except the tofu, of course, and much of it (kale, broccoli, green onions, and lambs-quarter) came from my backyard. And these burritos are just as delicious as they sound, even though it doesn't sound so breakfast-y. Of course, a side of local strawberries certainly doesn't hurt things, does it?

Crash Hot Potatoes - When I saw these "Crash Hot Potatoes" on a recent post of Farmer's Daughter, I just had to try the recipe for myself. It really is simple. Boil small red potatoes in a sauce pan. When they are soft enough to put a fork through, lay them out on a baking sheet that has been drizzled with olive oil. Using a potato masher, smash the potato, then turn masher 90 degrees and mash again Note: I mashed a little too hard - I think this takes some practice to not obliterate them. Anyway, then you brush them with olive oil and top them with some salt, ground pepper, and fresh rosemary. Pop 'em in your oven (or in my case the toaster oven) for 25 minutes at 450 degrees and voila. I'm in potato heaven! Although I think I'll call them "Smashed potatoes." Who cares, they're awesome!

Well, that brings us to the end of another Pantry Week. I'm starting to feel like things are a bit more under control, though I still have 9 jars of soup and 13 jars of stewed tomatoes in the pantry. I think we'll do this whole Pantry Week thing one more time (though I'll be sure to toss in some fresh produce here and there to keep me inspired). 

Have a great Thursday, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating!

3 comments:

kristamay@earthlink.net said...

This all looks great, Heather! I also made these potatoes. They're very good! And...I mashed too hard, too. Some potatoes were all smashed out, but...still very tasty. I am going to try this one again. Thanks for pointing it out.

Krista

Sam said...

My crash hot potatoes also turned into obliterated potatoes. I need more practice with these potatoes.

hmd said...

Krista and Beany - the nice thing about these potatoes is that even if smash the heck out of them, they still taste REALLY good :) Practice makes perfect, but in the meantime, even the poor results are a treat!