Grandma's Kitchen Table

Good Friends Good Food: Fresh Shell Beans - Carrots & Fava Beans Salad

       This week we are cooking with Fresh Shell Beans, chosen by Ellen.  Ellen grows these in the summer in her garden in Iowa and freezes them. While I don’t grown them in the summer, I can find them bagged in the fresh frozen section at my local grocery store.  I saw this recipe for a salad made from fresh Fava beans that I wanted to try for this post.  I couldn’t find Favas in the frozen section, and no fresh ones to be found this time of year, so I substituted Lima beans for the Fava beans.  I made Carrots & Fava Bean Salad. Here is the recipe I used if you would like to make it for yourself: click here. 

 

       The ingredients:  Fava beans (I used Lima beans), carrots, cheddar cheese, hard boiled egg, cider vinegar, walnut oil, sweet mustard, salt, pepper, and fresh basil.

 

       I followed the recipe for the most part, making only a half recipe and substituting Lima beans for the Fava beans, I figured they were just littler cuter versions and would probably work nicely.  It all comes together quickly. It is a beautiful dish with the added advantage that it tastes even better Day 2 and Day 3 when the flavors have had a chance to mingle a bit.  I enjoyed it for lunches on top of salad greens, Mark isn’t fond of Lima beans so I had this one all to myself.  It’s definitely a good way to serve Lima beans and since I still have a partial bag in the freezer, I’m sure I will make it again soon as we are riding out the winter just waiting for fresh spring vegetables to be back in season.

 

       To see what the others made with their Fresh Shell Beans, you can click on the members’ blogs listed here: Peggy, Margaret, Ulrike, Donna, Ellen, and Nancy, 

 

       Next up are Mushrooms, chosen by Nancy, posting date on February 12.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made!

Good Friends Good Food: Greens - Roasted Butternut Squash with Sautéed Chard

     This week we are cooking with Greens, chosen by Donna.  The Southern gals in our group (Peggy, Margaret, Nancy, and Donna) are going to have this covered well, hands down.  I’m hoping to learn a lot from their recipes and posts.  I’m not as familiar with collards, turnip, beet, or mustard greens, and I don’t even know where I would really get those around here, so I picked Rainbow Chard as I love the flavor of chard and I can find it easily. Here is the recipe I decided on Roasted Butternut Squash with Sautéed Chard, click here.

 

       The ingredients:  Rainbow Chard, Butternut Squash, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Red Onion, Garlic, Lemon, and Parsley.

 

       I followed the recipe for the most part, leaving out the parsley as I didn’t have any on hand, and instead of heating up the oven, I just stuck the butternut squash cubes in the air fryer for ten minutes.  It all comes together fairly quickly and is a beautiful dish.  We loved the flavors and this recipe will be guesting again soon and frequently.

 

       To see what the others made with their Greens (Collards, Mustard, Turnip, etc.), you can click on the members’ blogs listed here:  Peggy, Margaret, Ulrike, Donna.  I think Ellen and Nancy are sitting this one out.

 

        Next up are Fresh Shell Beans, chosen by Ellen, posting date on January 29th.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made!

Good Friends Good Food: Carrots - Carrots with Mustard

       This past week we cooked with Carrots.  Several years ago we discovered that we love Carrots with Mustard.  It wasn’t something we had ever tried before, and I’m not really sure how it came about, but I’m guessing that I must have seen a recipe for carrots and mustard somewhere and remembered it.  So now, quite often, we have carrots and mustard and it is quite tasty.  

 

       The ingredients:  Carrots, Stone Ground Mustard, Butter, Salt

 

       There really isn’t a recipe as such…I just steam carrots until they are nicely tender, put in a little pat of butter, maybe a teaspoon for the amount of carrots you see here, and then start adding the stone ground mustard until it looks right to me.  I taste it and then add just a little sprinkle of salt if needed. 

 

       Really, the only reason I chose to post this dish is that I thought it might encourage you to try carrots and mustard (please don’t use the bright yellow kind of mustard but Dijon works nicely if you don’t have stone ground around).  We are mustard lovers here and as I count, we have 11 different kinds of mustard in the refrigerator at the moment with another couple lying in wait in the pantry.  Carrots and mustard are a great combination.

 

       At Christmas I was gifted this beautiful cutting board you see in the photo by my friend Ellen.  Her husband Allen made it for me.  It’s so beautiful that I haven’t used it as a cutting board yet…and decision is still pending whether I will actually be able to do so anytime soon because I don’t want to mar it, so right now it’s Kitchen Art and I am using it in various other ways.  All the woods are special as they were grown on their farm in Iowa…oak, cedar, largo pine, poplar, cherry, bass wood, and arborvitae. My apologies to Allen as my first photo with it here is one of carrots, a vegetable that Allen doesn’t care for at all.  I will do better in the future.

 

       To see what the others made with their Carrots, you can click on the members’ blogs listed here:  Peggy, Margaret, Ulrike, Donna.  I think Ellen and Nancy are sitting this one out.

 

       Next up is Greens (Collards, Mustard, Turnip, etc.), posting date on January 15th.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made!

Good Friends Good Food: Green Christmas Vegetables - Broccoli: Cranberry Almond Charred Broccoli Salad

       In December we cooked with Green Christmas Vegetables.  I found a new variation on an old favorite and it’s now the new favorite.  No doubt you are familiar with the Broccoli Salad that has been serving us all nicely for years and years.  It’s one of Mark’s favorites, so if I don’t make it often enough, he stops by the deli and picks some up.  While I like the old variation just fine, raw broccoli can sometimes not set well in my tummy so I was eager to try this new variation which uses roasted broccoli instead of raw broccoli.  Here is a link to this new variation should you wish to try it for yourself:  https://www.thecookierookie.com/cranberry-almond-charred-broccoli-salad/ 

 

       The ingredients:  Broccoli, Red Onion, Mayonnaise, Honey, Cider Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Bacon, Dried Cranberries, and Almonds (the only substitution I made was using walnuts instead of almonds because that’s what I had and we like those a lot).

 

       The little bits of charred edges on the broccoli bring a whole new dimension to the flavor profile of this salad.  An added plus is that it goes so nicely with the bacon pieces.  The recipe is simple and easy, mostly a matter of assembly (probably why it has been so popular over the years).  The Air Fryer roasts/chars the broccoli perfectly in five minutes.  I am constantly using the Air Fryer for roasted vegetables so I don’t need to heat up an entire oven. 

 

 

       To see what the others made with their Green Christmas Vegetables, you can click on the members’ blogs listed here:  Peggy, Margaret,  Ulrike, Nancy, Donna.

 

       Next up is Carrots, posting date on January 1st.  If you would like to join in, just leave a link to your post in any of the comment sections of the participants and we will come and see what you made!