Eating Locally, Acting Globally - Session 3

We cooked SO MUCH food! And we ate almost all of it! Unbelievably there was only some soup, a very few turnips and the raw kale to take home!

This group is picking up steam as we figure out how to form mini-groups of 2 and 3 and work around the other little groups in the small spaces of a home kitchen which are not designed for ten!

There were some gorgeous baby turnips in the boxes from Tomato Mountain this time and those went into three things – a Chinese style salad, an Indian flavored dish with Swiss chard and brown rice and into the chopped salad S led a group in putting together.

S contributes the Chopped Salad recipe:

Young turnips julienned
Broccoli cut into small florets
Red bell pepper julienned
Flat leafed parsley – chopped
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Fresh garlic slices
Grated ginger
Slivered almonds
Cumin seeds
Salt
Sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all together

People seemed to be kale-d out. Last time kale had been the main player but this time the group put the bags of kale aside to take home and instead got to work on the rainbow Swiss chard. Several people said they had never cooked or eaten it but others knew how to use it and took the lead. In the Mexican preparation the leaves were stripped from the stalk, steamed and then laid into a baking dish with Parmesan cheese grated on top before being put into the oven.

In the Indian style preparation La lightly browned baby turnip chunks in hot oil with cumin seeds before adding chopped up chard (stalks and all) together with some brown rice, grated ginger, turmeric, crushed coriander seeds and coconut milk. This was stirred and covered to cook on medium heat with tiny bits of water added from time to time, no more than a quarter cup maximum. She explained to people that one sign that the dish is done is that the oil can be seen to have separated from the other liquids.

Another large bunch of chard was cooked with tomato, sour cream and turkey sausage. This led to a detailed discussion of how to make sure the sour cream does not curdle. Li had tips and the rest of us listened intently. She told us you just need to add the sour cream little by little into a very hot pot mixing very well and letting the temperature rise before adding the next bit.

A couple of people worked with a participant from China learning how to slice up the bok choy, fleshy stems and green leafy parts separately. New to most of the other participants.

Our hostess An made Mexican style potato soup using a technique new to many of the participants. Potatoes were peeled, cubed and lightly sautéed in oil. While this was on the stove An put chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic and onions in a blender until they were smooth. Then the potatoes were cooked until soft in this mixture.

There were a few potatoes left so Li quickly chopped them up and cooked them with sweet and hot peppers – a spur of the moment decision that tasted great!

An said “For me it was a wonderful and fun experience, being able to share my kitchen with women from other countries, having delicious ideas and getting different dishes made with the same products – potatoes, turnips, chard and squash”.

I heartily agree!

Here’s a list of the things we cooked –