thoughtful consumption

The butterhead lettuce was delicious. My 18-year-old stepson wanted to make sure I posted that it’s the best lettuce ever. That’s a pretty nice endorsement, huh?

We also had arugula and a mystery green that was pretty tasty in salads. We ran out of butterhead first, so our salads became stronger as the week went on. The fix is to use sweeter dressings. We added some raspberry jam to our vinaigrette to even out the stronger taste of the greens.

We didn’t get through all the greens, so I blanched and chopped the remainder. Not much but enough for some spinach-artichoke dip.

The radishes are still yummy, but it’s hard to get through them all when you’re slicing them thin for salads. I’m going to have to up the radish ratio on our salads next week.

The pretty apples were delicious this week. I love them as afternoon snacks.

We made omelets with the eggs and some of the tomatoes and parsley. Classier and faster than scrambled eggs but a little more nerve-wracking, too, because the timing’s so quick. Me, I’m just as happy with scrambled.

We made eggplant parmesan again. I think I’ve created a monster. I don’t want to have to do this every time we get eggplant! I’m thinking about insisting on trying to broil the eggplant rather than fry it. Healthier, easier, and less mess. But there is sort of a rush to making the real thing. I feel like such a chef when it goes in the oven.

The broccoli was fresh and delicious steamed. On the second batch I put the stem pieces at the bottom of the steamer and the crowns on top. I took the crowns out after about three minutes and left the stems in a little longer. That way everything’s cooked right.

The basil became pesto as predicted. I’m a big pesto fan.

I blanched and froze the pretty green beans.

Persimmons… hmm. Well, I learned some things about persimmons. One is there is a world of difference between unripe and ripe persimmons. By chance, the first persimmon I cut into wasn’t ripe. I think it was the only unripe one in the bunch. Not knowing persimmons, I tried a bite and it was awful – chalky with a lasting unpleasant aftertaste. I guess that’s the plant’s way of telling creatures, “Not yet.” Anyway, ripe persimmons are squishy and have a pleasant mild taste. I wanted to make persimmon pulp or puree to bake with, but I had a hard time figuring out what was pulp. The seeds made up a big part of the persimmon. I tried to gather the pulp with a knife, but next time I’m going to try a food mill. I didn’t get a lot of pulp…

Verdict’s still out on persimmons. I hope I get another chance at some point. Let me know if you have any advice.