Hon Tsai Tai, Sunchokes and Veggie Storage Tips

Okay, so my Chinese friend was interested in helping me a little more with my hon tsai tai. He suggested another way to prepare it using bacon. His advice was to chop bacon into small pieces and cook bacon with a little bit of stir fry oil. Then, remove the bacon, and cook chopped hon tsai tai in the remaining oil. Add back the bacon and mix it all up, and voila! One more way to serve this beautiful veggie! He said in China they have a kind of smoked meat that we don't have here, and that bacon is probably our closest equivalent.

I tried his advice, along with some Sunchoke and Potato American Fries. I could kinda feel my arteries clogging as I ate all that bacon (maybe I'd use less next time?), but it was pretty good for a once-in-a-while kinda meal. I should also say that I did add a handful of spinach and some of my leftover green garlic puree to the stir fry too.

A coupla tips for the sunchokes - boil a few along with some potatoes ahead of time, then keep 'em in the fridge. It seems you can add sunchokes almost anywhere you'd use a potato. I've been adding a bit of my chopped pre-cooked sunchokes and potatoes to some eggs in the morning for breakfast. Yum! Another great use for sunchokes is this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G sunchoke dip. It's something akin to hummus and you can use up the whole batch of sunchokes in one batch if you want. I made mine without the chiles since I wanted it to be friendly for my four-year-old.

And lastly, one thing this city girl struggles with when I get a new box of veggies is how to best store 'em. Occasionally our Harmony Valley Farm newsletter will have some advice such as 'wrap in a damp paper towel and store in the crisper'...but not always. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a site with great info on how to store nearly any veggie. And of course I'm gonna share it with you! Enjoy!

Vegetable Storage Guidelines (courtesy of Angelic Organics)

Hon Tsai Tai, Pea Vine, and other Veggie Delights

Wow. I am so enjoying the bounty of our latest box of goodies from Harmony Valley Farm. So far, we have made from our box:

Pea Vine, Hon Tsai Tai Stir Fry
Orange Pea Vine Salad

Roasted Rhubarb and Apples

Rhubarb Bundt Cake

And I have to say that the stir fry was hands-down the BEST stir fry I have ever made! I am so far psyched with the green garlic, hon tsai tai and pea vines. My four-year-old still says 'eeeew....I don't like that....' at most dishes featuring these new veggies but the veggies shall not be defeated! I read somewhere that a child needs to be introduced to a new food some umpteen number of times before they will decide to like it. So if he has to eat peanut butter and jelly all summer (the old stand-by once he's tried a few bites of the prepared dinner) until he finally gives in that's fine by me! I have faith that he will come around because these dinners have been some of the best this city girl has cooked up in a LONG time!

And yes, you read right, that was ROASTED rhubarb on my list!! This was definitely a recipe for those who like the more natural tart taste of rhubarb. I think next time I will add more sugar or throw some splenda into the mix. The original recipe came from The Wednesday Chef but of course City Girl had to make a few modifications based on what was on hand:

Roasted Rhubarb

7 ounces rhubarb
1 large apple, peeled and sliced
1 lemon
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/4 c brown sugar (or more to taste)
whipping cream (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the rhubarb strings by using a knife to cut under the top of the string just a bit and then peel it off, down the length of the rhubarb, with your fingers. Cut the rhubarb into 2-to-2 1/2-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl with the apples.
2. Grate the zest of half the lemon into a small bowl and then squeeze the juice of the whole lemon into the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and sugar and stir to combine. Pour over rhubarb and apples and toss to coat.
3. Pour the rhubarb and apple mixture into a baking dish and arrange the pieces so that they lie flat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

*Some feel that de-stringing the rhubarb is not necessary. I have read that it's better to do so and so gave it a try this time around. It was actually kind of fun to do and the little strings of rhubarb curled up when peeled off and made a pretty little pile on my cutting board.

And last but definitely NOT least, here are the other amazing delectables we cooked up over the past few days.

Pea Vine, Hon Tsai Tai Stir Fry

2 cups of loosely packed pea vines - woody stalks removed, softer stalks and leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 c chopped hon tsai tai - chopped, purple thick stalks separated from the rest
1 green garlic - stalk only, thinly sliced, reserve the garlic head for another use
2 green onions - sliced
1-2 T stir fry oil
Soy Sauce

Cook the chopped purple pieces of hon tsai tai in stir fry oil over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until they begin to soften, stirring often. This part of the hon tsai tai is much 'woodier' than the rest and will require longer cooking time. Once they are beginning to soften, add the green garlic and green onions and cook for 1 minute. Then add the pea vines. The woody stalks of pea vines can be quite tough too, which is why I removed the bottoms of mine. The top half and the leafy parts seemed tender enough. When the pea vines are beginning to soften, add soy sauce to taste. The green garlic and hon tsai tai in this dish lend an AMAZING flavor to the stir fried greens!

You can add any meat you like to this, by stir-frying the meat first until almost done. We stir-fried some chicken separately so that our four year old could have some plain old meat with his rice.

Orange Pea Vine Salad
(City Girl's new fave summer salad!)

3 c spring salad mix, loosely packed
3 c spinach, loosely packed
1 c pea vines, loosely packed
1 sunchoke, cut into thin matchstick pieces
1 orange, peeled and diced

Dresssing:
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 T sesame oil
Few dashes of soy sauce
1 T sugar

Mix the salad ingredients first in a large bowl. In a separate dish mix the dressing. Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss. The dressing will make enough for a few salads, so you can store the rest in the fridge for later use. This salad is a refreshing spring treat, and the splash of orange flavor with sesame oil gives it a bit of Asian flare! Enjoy!!

CSA - Week 3

I get my box every two weeks - so there is no week 2 here. Straight from week 1 to week 3. And boy is it another great mix of veggies! Here's what we picked up today: A garden herb pack (NINE real herb plants that I can add to my garden!! What a treat!), Green Garlic, Green Onion, Parsnips, Sunchokes, Spinach, Salad Mix, Spring Radish, Pea Vine, Rhubarb, Asparagus, Hon Tsai Tai.

Hon-what? Yeah, that's what I thought too! I Googled this one and found next to nothing on it, but did find out it's an Asian green. So I asked my co-worker who is from China if he's cooked this vegetable before and had any tips. Turns out he had! Here's what he said:

"I really love eating this vegetable. It's only available in certain places in China, but it's very popular in my home town! You're very lucky by asking me...Oh, here is how we cook it: add oil and some chopped fresh garlic if you like, then stir fry with some salt, add a little vinegar at the end. Hope this helps."

He couldn't believe I was getting it here in Minnesota! Don't I feel lucky now?!!

I also want to share this FABULOUS guide posted in my CSA's newsletter last week. I think I'm gonna have to print this one and post it in the kitchen somewhere. It's chock full of good advice for us first time CSA subscribers! Enjoy!

How to Approach an Unfamiliar Vegetable for the First Time
(Courtesy of the Harmony Valley Farm May 21, 2009 Newsletter)
1.Try it raw. Cut a piece off and taste it. Face your fear head-on and give it a try. Most veggies are at least edible raw, and many are quite tasty. (If any of our veggies are toxic in their raw state, we promise to warn you first.) This will give you an idea of what it tastes like, what its properties are, what flavors will complement it, and what you may want to use it for. You should try your veggies each week, since the flavor and texture will change based on the weather and the plant’s maturity. The recipe that worked so well for green garlic in its first week might not work as well two weeks later, as the plant has had more time to grow and the leaves may be quite a bit tougher.

2.Is this like any vegetable you are used to? Most veggies can be sorted roughly into the following categories: a)Garlicy or oniony b)Firm and crisp c)Firm and starchy d)Leafy and tender e)Leafy and firm/tough f)Veggies not otherwise specified

3.Cook or prepare your new veggie the way you would prepare a similar veggie. If you find a veggie that reminds you of a carrot in flavor and texture, how about using it in a dish in place of a carrot to see how it turns out? In general, here’s some simple rules of preparation for our veggie categories:
a)Many variations of onion and garlic and their relatives will show up in your box throughout the season, some with slightly different flavors. They can all be used in place of plain old garlic cloves or onions in your usual recipes; simply adjust the quantity to your liking. Strength or flavor will vary from one plant to the next, and from week to week, so be sure you are aware of the potency of your onion or garlic before using it in a recipe.
b)Firm, crisp and pleasant raw: think carrots, radishes, etc. Slice or grate and add to sandwiches or salads.
c)Firm and starchy: think potatoes, sunchokes, winter squash, etc. Moisture and slow cooking times are needed to break down starches. Try boiling, steaming, or slow roasti ng with plenty of oil.
d)Leafy and tender: salads! Some of the more strongly flavored greens you may wish to mix with milder ones. It depends on your taste.
e)Leafy and firm or tough: kales, chards, etc. Usually, remove the center rib if it is very tough, cut into bite-size pieces and steam or sauté. I also like many of the tougher greens raw, but they must be cut very small or you will spend a lot of your day chewing them.
f)Veggies not otherwise specified: okay, not everything fits neatly into five categories.

4.Get adventurous. Try a new recipe, or add your new veggie to an existing recipe. Toss it into your spaghetti sauce. Add it to your chili or chicken soup. Most times that I have used this approach, I have not been disappointed. Many times, I have been delighted.

5.Use available resources. Our website has a great archive of recipes for most of our produce, as well as previous years’ newsletters and veggie info sheets that give cooking tips. You should also try to get your hands on at least one good cookbook geared towards seasonal eating. I find that when I search “conventional” recipe sources, I end up finding lots of recipes calling for foods that are not in season at the same time and I must make lots of substitutions and adjustments. (Substitutions and adjustments are okay!) I think that willingness to try something unfamiliar and make substitutions to work with what you have are key to enjoying your CSA experience.