Roasted Beet Karamadu (South Indian Vegetable Stir Fry)

South Indian preparations of vegetables are often very simple in order to highlight the quality and freshness of the vegetables themselves. The most common preparation - at least one that I ate often while growing up - is a quick high-heat saute of finely chopped vegetables in oil that has been flavored with urad dal, mustard seeds, and dried red chiles, with a handful of shredded coconut added at the end to round out the dish.

Polenta with Root to Stalk Radishes

Cooking with all of the parts of a vegetable - from the root to the stalk - isn't a new concept, but I think it's one that many people still don't embrace because they're not quite sure what to do with parts of vegetables that aren't included at the supermarket.  Just last weekend at the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket, I was given a gentle lecture on how to use the greens on the bunch of golden beets I had purchased.

I patiently listened but then told the purveyor that I always cook beet greens, sometimes roasting them like kale and sometimes sauteeing them like swiss chard - which he was surprised by, because apparently many people he talks to at the market ask him to cut off the greens and that many others ask him what to do with the greens aside from throwing them out.  Hearing this made me remember how underused (and wasted) so much of our food is, some of which is driven by simply not knowing what to do with it.

Celery Root, Apple, and Fennel Soup

I always make soup for Thanksgiving, and it's usually of the butternut squash or cauliflower variety.  As I mentioned before, this year I was really trying to use as much of my CSA share as possible for my Thanskgiving meal and make only a few supplemental purchases from the Carroll Gardens and Union Square Greenmarkets, which meant I had to be strategic about my menu planning.

My CSA share didn't provide us with cauliflower this year or the last (although though they do grow it at the farm) and I had already planned to make butternut squash ravioli and was making a kabocha squash cheesecake, so I didn't want to overdo it on the squash.  What else could I use for an autumnal soup?  The big celery root staring me in the face answered that question.

Chioggia Beet and Yellow Plum Salad

Well look who it is.  I'm back from my accidental hiatus, and I've got a ton of recipes to post courtesy of the cupcakes I made for Matt's brother's wedding and some excellent meals I've made courtesy of my CSA share.  I have no real reason for disappearing other than neglect and preoccupation with other things, but I've refocused and am hoping to get back into my regular blogging groove once again.

First up: this simple yet stunning salad.  It came together on a whim while I was searching my fridge for items to make into a pretty plated salad.

Sunchoke and Fontina Pizza

If I had to pick one food to eat for the rest of my life, it would most definitely be pizza.  Maybe it's because I was born and raised in New York, or maybe because pizza, that magical combination of bread and cheese, is so satisfying, but, whatever the reason, pizza is my number one.  Be it a classic margherita from Roberta's, potato and rosemary from L'Asso, brussels sprouts and ricotta from Motorino (hold the pancetta), or green pepper and onion from Singa's Famous Pizza, I'll devour it (well, of course, with certain obvious exceptions).  And then there are my two other favorites, Pepe's and Bar in New Haven, the latter of which I ate at about twice a month when I was in college (bet you didn't know that, mom, although if you knew it was always the mashed potato and garlic you might be a little jealous).

Made with 8 oz Trader Joe's pizza dough that I accidentally left uncovered at room temp for an hour -  hence the crackly crust.  It still tasted good, so I guess the moral of the story is that pizza is awesome.

A few days ago, I realized I still had some sunchokes left in the fridge from our last CSA share of 2010 (yes, that last share was a few days before Christmas, but thankfully root vegetables keep reeeeeeeeally well in cold storage).  I had previously cut them into big chunks and roasted them (so easy and so good) and turned them into a puree (equally as good), but I was a little bored of those preparations.  So, being the pizzaholic I am, I decided that these sunchokes would adorn a pizza.

Zorba the Beet Sandwich

Go ahead, laugh at the cheesy name of this sandwich.  I'm laughing, too.  But it's the perfect title for my favorite sandwich.  I'm a little bit obsessed with roasted beets, especially when they're marinated in balsamic vinegar.

One of my favorite sandwiches is the beet, goat cheese, and arugula sandwich from Grandaisy - mostly because it's packed with roasted beets - but I quickly grew tired of spending $7 for a somewhat small sandwich that wasn't really all that exciting in terms of flavor.

Celery Root, Fennel, and Apple Salad

This salad is a miracle for me. If you had told me just last year that I would be eating raw celery root and fennel, I would have laughed (and then possibly vomited). There are really only two foods in this world that I ever say that I strongly dislike: fennel and, even more so, celery.

My aversion to celery goes all the way back to kindergarten, where I would get in trouble on a daily basis for scooping the peanut butter and raisins out of my ants on a log, leaving the gutted celery sticks behind. (In retrospect, I wonder why my teacher didn’t stop giving me this snack when it was very clear that I hated celery and nothing was going to make me eat it.) My distaste for fennel developed recently, but that’s because I never ate it until a few years ago. I’m not a fan of anise/licorice flavors in general and huge fennel bulbs taste really strongly of that flavor and I just can’t stomach it.

Balsamic Marinated Beets

Well I've been a bit delinquent, haven't I. Life got really busy and, although I've been cooking just as frequently as I used to, I just haven't put aside enough time for blogging. That will be changing right...now.

I'll save the long story on this recipe. I just love roasted beets and I wanted to prepare them somehow that wasn't just plain roasted and then tossed into a salad or grain dish or pickled, as I wasn't really feeling all that vinegar. The solution: a simple balsamic marinade with a little twist - pomegranate molasses. You can't really taste it, but its tart-sweet flavor makes these beets special. Don't worry if you don't have this ingredient or can't find it - I've made these beets without it many times and they're still great.

Sanguine Salad (Roasted Beets, Blood Oranges, and Pomegranate)

I made this last week as part of dinner for Valentine’s Day because, although it is red, it is comprised of a variety of components that are all a deep, bloody shade of red – perfect for a dinner made by someone who hates Valentine’s Day!