thoughtful consumption

I love fall food. Lettuce, onions, and mushrooms! Oh, my!

• eggs
• arugula
• Pioneer porridge
• Three types of lettuce: red, green, and frisee
• watermelon radishes with greens
• spaghetti squash
• salad enhancers (arugula, sorrel, other odd leaves, pea pods, and green onions)
• apples
• garlic
• Shitake mushrooms
• broccoli (pictured below)

And here’s what I got from the store

• Shitake mushrooms
• sorrel
• orange mint

Broccoli

Last night, I made another shepherd’s pie with turnips, garlic, and the leaves and stem of the broccoli.

I got such a shock when I cut through the stem of the broccoli. It was about 1 ½ inches in diameter, so I braced myself to force my way through it. But it sliced like an apple! So soft! And it made a great pie.

I plan on making some kind of stir-fry with the broccoli florets, green onions, pea pods, and one of the radishes. Haven’t looked around for recipes yet. Maybe one with shrimp.

Watermelon radishes

The watermelon radishes look like turnips on the outside but live up to their name on the inside.

They’re also very mild for radishes, so we’ll happily add slices to our salads until the lettuce runs out. Then I’ll make baked radish chips with the rest.

I’ll probably blanch and freeze the greens. I’m becoming much more realistic about the greens we’ll eat, but there’s always a chance I could add these to a casserole sometime next month.

Mushrooms!

We had back-to-back mushroom meals. I’ve learned not to wait too long to use mushrooms. The fresher they are, the more incredible they taste.

Last night we had sautéed Shitake mushrooms with risotto and a big salad. The salad had the three types of lettuce, sliced radish, and some green onion parts.

For lunch today, we had baked potatoes with sautéed mushrooms and more salad. I sautéed the rest of the mushrooms with shallots and garlic, a little white wine, and some herbes de Provence and then put all of it on top of the potatoes along with a dollop of sour cream.

Sorrel snacks

Sorrel and goat cheese is my chips and dip – the perfect afternoon snack as I wander in and out of the kitchen. Here are detailed instructions:

1. Pull out the goat cheese and sorrel and leave it out where it’s easy to get to for mindless snacking.
2. Pull off a chunk of cheese and put it on a stemmed leaf.
3. Roll up the leaf and enjoy.
4. Repeat many, many times.

Spaghetti squash

Spaghetti squash is different from other squash because the insides are the yummy part. Which is fun because then you can use the outer part to make a squash-o-lantern.

People tell you to serve spaghetti squash like it’s spaghetti, but I’ve never had any luck with that. I’m going to try to make some kind of hashbrowns instead. Last time I tried, it didn’t work so well, but I think I was crowding the pan so the strands couldn’t brown. I’m going to give it another shot.

Pioneer porridge

I love porridge as a late night supper or snack. It tastes great and makes me feel sleepy, warm, and content. It does take a while to cook, though. I’m going to soak some ahead of time tonight and see if that speeds things up.