Adventures in Food

Rather than cook the Bloomsdale Spinach, I decided to eat it fresh in a salad. According to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market Cookbook - which is all I seem to be using nowadays, this variety of spinach (which has bumpy/nubby leaves) is low in tannins, and pretty sweet - and even the stems are sweet. So I tasted some, and it did taste pretty good.

Here's the salad I made. I chopped up the spinach into a chiffonade - which is kinda hard to even distinguish since the leaves are so bumpy. I added some Topo Avocado - this variety has a very thin skin... the vendor said it's even edible - and it is soft indeed. I prefer the flavor of the Reed Avocado I tried a couple of weeks ago. It was much richer and tastier than this one. Opal Basil & Pomegranate seeds (mascerated in Grand Marnier) were tossed in for color.




Normally I hate Okra. Not just because of the fuzzy skin (which can be gag inducing) - but the slimy innards. This recipe (again from the SMFM Cookbook) calls for roasting them.

First I rinsed the Okra, then with a Kitchen towel, I rubbed the fuzzy skin off. I shelled the fresh peanuts, chopped them coarsly then spread the Okra & Peanuts out on a roasting pan. Tossed them with Maldon Sea Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Olive Oil - then popped it into a 425 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes.

The Okra wasn't slimy!!! As a matter of fact, the dish isn't bad at all. However it was rather labor intensive - shelling the peanuts & rubbing each okra. I kept pecking at Sunday's green beans & yesterday's roasted chicken - that by the time the okra came out of the oven - i wasn't hungry any more. it's a pity because i actually liked this dish. I hope it holds up well in the fridge.