Wednesday, March 18, 2009

RMRF 14: JAMES’ GARDEN IS FEEDING US!

Not only are the greens in the garden plentiful right now, but the pea pods are poppin out and there are even a couple of shoots of broccoli. (And I take this to mean that they're good at the Farmer's Markets as well.) James paired those couple of shoots with a big bunch of baby broccoli from our CSA – it almost looks like Broccoli Rabe, but ask, cuz if its baby broccoli it is sweet and tender and no blanching necessary. We also got some flank steak from J & J Grass Fed beef – they are now at the Beverly Hills market and the Burbank market every other Sunday – and this BEEF & BROCCOLI STIR FRY was excellent. Morgan loved the whole thing, Audrey the beef.

Tonight we had another GRITS & GREENS pairing, this time no mushrooms and Chard instead of Kale. Nice and simple and yummy with a bit of sausage on the side. Interestingly, Morgan tried the grits and greens separately and hated them. I said, “try it again with them mixed together” and she ended up with a second helping. I think it was a texture thing. Audrey almost choked trying the grits and though she tried the greens, she is the exception for the pretty good rule that if kids help grow and cook food, they’re more likely to eat it. She was so proud that she helped saute the greens but only ate a sliver. I guess she did try it, though?

We rely on smoothies to get some vitamins into Audrey, and when it gets warmer, they are a nice after school snack. I also like vegetable juices, especially when I feel a cold coming on, and they’re a nice way to use vegetables that aren’t very pretty. I got an interesting tip from the Australian guy who sells veggies for Weiser Family Farms this weekend: when you’re juicing (or smoothieing) keep the apples in the middle, between the veggies and the fruits and keep the pineapples in the middle between the sweet fruits and the citrus. He said that including apples with vegetables in juice helps the body to digest the vegetables (I also like a bit of ginger). And with fruit, don’t include citrus with berries or stone fruit. You can include pineapple with citrus or berries/stone fruit, but everything else has to stay on its own side. This made sense to me, as I always have an upset stomach if I make (or buy) a smoothie with orange juice, but apple (or peach, etc.) juice as a base treats me fine. And my smoothie tips: If you have extra, put it in popsicle forms or ice trays and store in the freezer for a treat another day (got this from Savannah’s mom) and if your kids don’t eat their berries because they’re ugly, put them in the freezer for smoothies later. Finally, if you were entranced by some blood oranges but they’re a bit too sour to eat, juice them half and half with Valencias and you get a beautiful sweet tart treat. Audrey actually loved this.

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