Leek soup

Feeling terribly lazy and overfull from an indulgent weekend, during which I hosted a mini rebellion and declared a temporary vegetable hiatus. Pork buns and Hakata ramen from Ippudo, 짜장면 and 짬뽕 and fried dumplings at Dong Chun Hong, hot coconut bubble tea at Saints Alp...

There were a few moments when I thought I might pop from overeating.

So when I floated back to earth from my food-induced haze, the only thing that really appealed to me was simple fare. Like, really simple. I made leek soup. I forget who taught me this recipe, but I remember them telling me they read it in a book. I think you're supposed to eat this soup for an entire weekend to detox, but that obviously wasn't happening. Oh well! It's quite tasty though.

Simple Leek Soup
1. Cut off dark green leek tops and roots. Strip off outer layer. You should be left with only the white and very light green parts. You can keep the dark green tops for soup stock.
2. Cut leeks in half lengthwise (split it down the middle hot dog bun style).
3. Rinse leeks very thoroughly under cold running water, fanning out the leaves on each side to remove all the dirt. Not sure how to describe this, but it's almost like flipping through the pages of a book under running water.
4. Drop leek halves in a pot of water.
5. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, until leeks become tender and slightly transparent.
7. Separate the leeks from the soup.
8. Drink the soup as is or season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Drizzle leeks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

I also cooked my eggplants, but I haven't had the chance to eat them yet, since I forgot to take them with me to work yesterday. I'll probably have them for dinner today. I cooked them the same way as I cooked the chard (minus the blanching part), meaning I finally managed to use up all my thai basil. Success! We'll see if it tastes good later today... It smelled good though, so I have high hopes.

UPDATE: The eggplant is delicious! Japanese eggplant has a thinner skin and the texture is much more delicate than the normal American varieties. Eggplant has been called bland, tends to absorb oil, and can degenerate into a slimy mess, but I think I managed to avoid most of the pitfalls. I circumvented the blandness by using liberal quantities of garlic and thai basil. And I only used a tablespoon of olive oil (max). All you really need is to infuse the garlic flavor into the oil so that the eggplant gets coated with plenty of flavor while it's cooking. It's a deceptive vegetable, this eggplant, looking dry and sad in the pan, almost begging for more oil. But don't be fooled! Just keep stirring and flipping pieces over and soon enough, the eggplant will become tasty and tender.

CSA Share #9

This drought must be heavily affecting Free Bird Farm. Supposed to get a ton of rain this weekend though. Good for them, bad for me, especially since I have no clue where I put my umbrellas as I was moving to my new apartment.

Anyways, this week's share:
- 2 japanese eggplant
- 2 light green bell peppers
- thai basil
- carrot and carrot tops
- 3 leeks
- swiss chard

CWTC: leeks! I'm thinking about making leek soup this weekend. om nom nom.
TAV: Carrot tops. Must find a new use for them, as I would very much prefer not to repeat last week's toasted grass experiment.
WTF: Thai basil. What to do with MORE thai basil???

I've actually managed to do pretty significant damage to this week's share already. Down to the eggplants, one bell pepper, the leeks, and some thai basil. But before I get ahead of myself, I must admit that it's probably just because the drought is reducing the sheer volume of our shares.

Since my update is a bit delayed, I already made a few things with this week's share, with varying degrees of success.

Bell pepper and carrot sticks make for lovely office snacks, especially with a bit of 된장 or hummus.

Carrot top tea is...interesting. I couldn't stomach (haha) the thought of eating more woody, chewy, bitter stems, so I decided to try carrot top tea. Besides, I fucking love tea. Apparently, carrot top tea is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and detoxes your kidneys. I probably need a liver detoxifier more than anything else, but any kind of detox is probably a good idea for me. Pretty straightforward stuff.

1. Wash and trim carrot tops.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Drop carrot tops into the pot and wait one minute.
4. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let cool.
6. Strain out carrot tops.
7. Refrigerate and enjoy.

The carrot top tea was a pale olive green color and tasted pretty nasty when still warm. Much better after being chilled in the fridge overnight, but it was a struggle to finish the entire glass. I would probably only make two or three cups of tea and call it a night. I don't think I'm capable of drinking more than that in one week. Definitely interesting though!

Sauteed swiss chard with garlic and wilted thai basil
Yum. This was probably the crowning glory of my culinary experiments with my CSA shares this season. I blanched the chard and sauteed it with some aromatics. It's pretty simple, but it's more like a real recipe than anything else I've done so far, so I'll document it as such. Really delicious stuff. Even my coworker thought it tasted good. It probably can't compete with anything from the food trucks or midtown eateries, but hey, one step at a time right? #turtlewinstherace

Ingredients:
- Handful of thai basil
- 7-8 large leaves of swiss chard
- 5 cloves garlic (or to taste)
- olive oil
- salt

1. Wash chard and basil thoroughly.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
3. Drop the swiss chard in the pot of water for about 30 seconds to a minute.
4. Drain and refill pot (with swiss chard still in there!) with cold water. Repeat until water drains cold.
5. Squeeze the water out of the swiss chard, chop into ribbons, and set aside.
6. Slice garlic.
7. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan (medium-low heat). When a drop of water "spits" back at you, add the sliced garlic. Stir occasionally until the garlic just begins to brown.
8. Add chopped swiss chard to the pan.
9. Sprinkle some salt over the pan.
10. Add the handful of thai basil leaves (stripped from their stems).
11. Stir gently until the thai basil is wilted.
12. Remove from heat and serve!

 Yum yum. This weekend will be eggplants and leek soup. We'll see if I can top the swiss chard dish...

CSA Share #8

I love my new apartment! I think a housewarming party this weekend is in good order.

Sangria + CSA produce + friends + summer nights = happy people

In fact, my eighth CSA share seems like it was designed just for a nice summer dinner:
- 1.5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 Italian eggplant
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch red onions

Extras:
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 bunch carrots

CWTC: POTATOES! Eek! I love new potatoes and these are as new as they get. They look so lovely and waxy and yummy... My absolute favorite dish to cook when I'm in a hurry but need a crowd-pleasing favorite for potlucks or dinners is roasted new potatoes. This "recipe" is super forgiving. Quantities, temperature, and timing are all approximate and have large margins for error, which is excellent news for challenged cooks like me.

1. Preheat oven to 350 ish.
2. Wash potatoes thoroughly.
3. Quarter into bite size chunks. Leave the skin on!
4. Drizzle with olive oil.
5. Add a dash of salt, rosemary, and pepper. Extra points if you can get coarse sea salt flakes, fresh rosemary, and freshly ground pepper. I just love the texture and taste of the giant salt crystals on the potatoes. In lieu of rosemary, feel free to experiment with dill, parsley, or plain.
6. Line a pan with foil for easy cleanup.
7. Evenly spread the potatoes in a single layer.
8. Pop in the oven and wait a while. Depending on the size of the potato chunks, this could take anywhere from 15-40 minutes. Check the potatoes by poking them with a fork (or chopstick). If the fork slides in easily, the potatoes are cooked. If not, best leave them a bit longer. If I'm in a huge hurry, I'll slice the potatoes smaller so they cook faster.
9. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary or other pretty things if desired. ENJOY.

I'm getting hungry thinking about this. Oh man. I'll probably roast them along with the beets and onions. I still have another batch of beets from last week that I need to use up too.

WTF: None. I like all these. And I know what to do with mostly all of these.
TAV: Thai basil. Everything else is pretty garden variety, but I'll admit that I'm less sure of how to use this herb. However, I've eaten it in pho and curry countless times, so I know I definitely like it. Brainstorming ideas for this weekend...my best ideas so far are:
  - Thai basil infused lemonade (spiked :D)
  - Eggplant stir fry with garlic and thai basil

If I still have leftover basil, I suppose I could always try to freeze it. Nahhh...moar cocktails! :D