In the past few days we’ve had vegetable-bean soup made with Moro beans from Rancho Gordo, fresh tomatoes on toast made from Simple Kneads’s sourdough bread, tossed green salads with peppers and radishes, pickled red onions, fresh guacamole, orange-grapefruit salad sprinkled with pistachios, green grapes, cherry tomatoes, and fresh blueberries. And there is almost always homemade bread made from my husband’s hands with King Arthur’s whole wheat flour.
Our meals do not exactly have a theme, but they always have a lot going for them. It’s all about vegetables, and fruits, and color. On a regular basis we make our way through red, green (light, medium, and dark), white, yellow, brown, orange, purple and blue produce. That’s a lot of colors. And, as my mom taught me, the more colors at a meal, the better.
Each and every different color represents a different nutrient, and so the greater the variety, the more likely you are to be getting a wide variety in your diet. Also, I want to share that the deeper the color, the more nutrients are in your food. This is why you hear so much about dark greens (kale, chard), oranges (sweet potatoes) and purples (like beets) being considered “super foods.”
A story about produce would not be complete without a couple of great recipes. Here are some colorful ones that were given to me a long time ago by Cleveland’s noted cook and author, Joan Kekst. She included a half-teaspoon of sugar in each of these recipes, and you can certainly add it back if you’d like, but I have a feeling that they will be sufficiently delicious without it!
BROCCOLI SLAW
1 lb. shredded broccoli stems, julienned
2 large carrots, julienne
2 red onions, julienne (approx. 2 cups)
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme leaves
2 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Combine broccoli, carrots, onions and olives in a medium-large bowl. Toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add thyme. Allow to blend for 30 min, stir occasionally.
Garnish with parsley, and serve chilled or at room temperature. Keeps well for up to 5 days. Serves 8.
COLORFUL VEGETABLE SLAW
1 lb. Chinese or green cabbage, cored and shredded as thinly as possible
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded thinly with a vegetable peeler
1/4 lb. snow peas
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded
1 green bell pepper, seeded
12 green beans
1 small red onion
2 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small pinch celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Empty cabbage and carrots into a large mixing bowl. Julienne pea pods, peppers, green beans and onion; and slice corn kernels from the cob.
Combine all the vegetables, and add vinegar, celery seed, oil, salt and pepper. Allow to blend for 20-30 min. Keeps in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
TOMATO BASIL SOUP
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large carrot
1 large celery stalk
1 large leek, white only
1 large garlic clove, cracked
2 lb. plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, plus more to garnish
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized soup pot, and cook the carrot, celery, leek, and garlic 5–7 minutes until soft. Add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Allow contents of pot to cool.
Puree soup in batches, and refrigerate up to 3 days. Serve warm or cold. Adjust salt and pepper prior to serving. Garnish with fresh basil leaves if available. Makes 6 one-cup servings.
Bon appetit!