Don't Walk, Run To Your Farmers' Market!

[MegInNOLA 531]

I have always enjoyed "eating green" and for a few years was a vegetarian and for two of those, a vegan (as in, no animal products at all--no meat, dairy, honey, Worchestershire sauce, eggs). So I have a sort of fondness for that way of eating--my body did feel fabulous and I did lose weight when vegan; however, as we all know, the trouble really isn't losing it, it's keeping it off! Thus, the sleeve.

This time around, at a weight considered "normal" post-surgery, I'm finding that I need to focus on eating for nutrition. Because I have a fairly picky sleeve that doesn't tolerate some big categories of food (grain products, meat/fish--although shrimp, crab, crawfish, and scallops work okay), I have to think about my overall diet in terms of nutrients, and not just Protein. I've been looking for ways to maximize the nutrition in my food while still being able to enjoy it--I do love to eat (don't we all!), and I want my food to taste great AND be the best for my body!

Enter our local farmers' markets...there's one here in Covington, where I live, and one close to my job in New Orleans. I have recently started going back to shop, and I have to say, there is NOTHING like fresh-grown, fresh-picked produce and dairy produced at a family farm!! One of the markets has a "box" deal, where you pay a flat fee and go through a line, filling your box with whatever is available (for instance, there might be sweet potatoes, and it says, "Take 2," or for baby turnips, "Take 8," etc.). Sometimes the box deal has produce that I'm not familiar with preparing; I just got some beautiful Swiss chard, and now I get to figure out how to fix it. There are some GREAT resources online for vegetable recipes.< /p>

Here's a couple of recipes that I made up--they're delicious!!!

Last weekend, the box had a bunch of beets in it. I had never made roast beets before, although I had seen chefs on TV do it, but I decided to be brave and try. SCORE!

ROAST BEET AND MICROGREENS salad WITH FETA cheese AND ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

Preparing the beets:

Take your beets and scrub them carefully. Take off the tops, leaving about an inch of stem, and take off the roots, leaving about an inch. Wrap them in foil (they've still got their skins on). Wrap them individually and then put the wrapped beets into a baking pan to avoid any potential seepage during roasting. Roast for an hour at 400 degrees; I just put them in and left them alone, and they did fine. After that hour, pull them out and allow them to cool. Get a pair of plastic gloves or slip your hands into some produce bags for protection--working with beets will stain your hands and no amount of soap will help! Carefully unwrap the cooled beets and pinch off the skins; I was surprised how easily the skins came off. Put the cooled, peeled beets into a bag, secure, and refrigerate until ready to use. This sounds like a bunch of work, but I promise, it's fast and easy!

Dressing:

Whisk together with a fork:

1/2 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice (I used the juice from one very small orange, and I used the pulp that I could squish out of there, too)

1 teaspoon of prepared Dijon mustard, Creole mustard, or hot/sweet mustard

Add 1/8 c. good quality olive oil while mixing with the fork.

Serving:

Arrange 1/2 c. microgreens or lettuce on a plate along with 1/2 c. sliced or cubed roasted beets. Spoon dressing over the top. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese.

RESULT: YUM!!! Gourmet-quality food from the farm to your table. I use the rest of the dressing to pre-marinate more of the beets; sometimes I add a bit of chopped shallot or a squeeze of lime juice or some herb that I'm trying to use up--it's just going to help flavor the beets for next time's enjoyment.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD

So much better than cooking it down to a dark green icky mess with a bunch of salty meat--eww.

Prepare your vegetables:

Take the bunch of chard and wash it thoroughly; it has big leaves and some tough stems. Pat with a paper towel but don't worry about getting it all the way dry. I rolled the leaves together like a cigar shape and trimmed them into long strips, and then I ran my knife through to cut into fairly large pieces. I cut the stems into short lengths and split the especially wide ones so that they would cook faster. I stuck all of this into a bag and refrigerated it--I cooked it a few hours later, but if it was going to be longer before I cooked, I wouldn't wash or cut that early (don't want icky mold or anything).

To cook:

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan that has a lid. Add 1 clove of garlic that you minced up really fine--don't burn your garlic--just get it sort of warmish in the pan. It will finish cooking, don't worry. After a minute or so, add your chard. It probably won't all fit, so put some in and stir it around until it wilts; then add more until it's all in the pan. Add 1/2 c. of stock or water--I used vegetable stock--and put a lid on the pan. After a few minutes, stir the chard around--if it seems to be soft, turn up the heat and cook and stir frequently until the stock or Water has reduced to a minimal amount--you have steam-sauteed your greens, which should now be gently salted and removed from the pan and eaten!!! I like a squirt of lemon juice on these, but you might want the traditional spritz of vinegar. Chard is delicious and very good for you!!

ROASTED VEGETABLES

It's a method more than a recipe. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your pan--I like to use a heavy baking pan, sprayed with nonstick spray. Prepare your vegetables--scrub thoroughly, cut into regular-sized pieces (you want everything you're cooking at the same time to be approximately the same size--or do what I do, heat the oven once and put several different pans of veggies in to roast--you can take them out as they are done, leaving the ones in the longest that take the longest to cook). Sprinkle with a LITTLE olive oil--do not over-oil your veggies!!! Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper--I also like to use powdered garlic sometimes. If I have a few sprigs of rosemary, I will add that to the pan.

Pop these pans into your hot oven, uncovered. In around 30 minutes, check your veggies and turn them over. If you're roasting asparagus, you'll want to check it after 10-15 minutes because it can easily burn. Other root veggies are pretty forgiving and flexible.

I like roasted turnips, roasted cauliflower (like candy, I'm telling you), Brussels sprouts--my sprout-hating husband now fights me for these, broccoli, sweet potatoes, eggplant chunks, carrots, peppers--you name it, you can roast it, and there's just not a veggie in the world that doesn't get improved with roasting, in my opinion (well, maybe lettuce).

I always make extras and save them in the fridge--you can make a terrific salad out of roasted veggies and vinaigrette, or add them to eggs for a frittata (if you can eat eggs!)--I like them with hummus on top. If you can eat wheat products, tabbouli or couscous with roasted vegetables is fabulous--I'd use a lemon-juice/olive oil dressing for that with plenty of herbs--can't eat wheat, but that's what I'd do if!!

[Pookeyism 1,143]

Bad! In a good way!

You have made me sooo hungry!

[kimmy*custis 276]

I am sooo hungry now...I love all my vegies and cant wait to try these recipes!

[favoredone 590]

Awesome!! Have you tried roasted curry cauliflower??!!!! OMG!!! It's delicious... Either sprinkle or lightly toss in curry and a little oil and roast....

[bturner0385 2]

Swiss Chard is delicious when prepared sauteed like spinach remove the red vein, sautee with I can not believe it's not butter add little garlic some pine nuts and courrant. soooo good!!

[VACookey 111]

I've been to the farmer's market here once just to see what it was like. There were veggies there I had never seen before, couldn't name, and certainly couldn't cook if I had to. I'm anxious to go back this year and see what kind of goodies they have. But I'm not sure when I'll be able to eat them.

[Ssilian 67]

MegInNOLA thank u for posting all this! I am two months from getting an answer from my ins co. @VACookie - are u in Virginia? I'm in Newport News. This forum is the best! I've learned so much!!

[VACookey 111]

Yep, I'm in Northern VA

[Kimmie-sleeve 34]

OMG... I can't wait til I start our community supported agriculture harvest!! I bought a juicer, and look forward to more veggies in my new healthier life!!

Kimmie