OK, now, seriously – We will get to the rest of the mother sauces, but frankly, the mail bag has just been far too good to ignore!
First off comes this from Dean, over in Wisconsin –
Eben,
I hope you are well.
Just a reminder about keeping summer greens for winter soups, stews and special breads. We cut the green tops off of our onions and cut up and froze in ice cube trays, and later store in a bag like you suggested green peppers one time. Also freeze beet tops, carrots tops etc. for winter greens….
Love your blog!
Dean
That is brilliance worthy of note, gang. This covers two really important points, here at this time of year when gardens overflow with good things. First off, we all too often don’t use everything we could and should from the stuff we grow, and greens are a perfect example. Dean’s email is spot on in that regard, because far too often greens and tips are tossed out as waste – Sure, they’re good for compost, but they’re far better for eating. Secondly, saving such stuff for winter is another must do. The cold months make it that much harder to get good fresh tastes, let alone all the good things they harbor.
Turnip greens hold more vitamins and minerals than the turnips do. Beet greens are rich in vitamins K, A, C, B1, B2, B6, and E, as well as a raft of trace minerals. Spring onion tops offer vitamin C, plus hefty antioxidants. Carrot tops are rich in vitamins and minerals as well, and contrary to old wives tales, they’re not toxic – In fact they’re a market vegetable in many parts of Europe.
Greens should be frozen to last until winter, and as such,they’ll do well with a quick blanching. As with so many things, freezer burn can be an issue, so getting as much air out of whatever you store them in is key. Alternately, you can sauté greens with a little. Olive oil, salt, and pepper, and freeze them that way, or use them to make stock for soups and stews. As Dean noted, greens are a perfect thing to freeze in ice cube trays, so that you can pull out one or two to liven up a cold month meal.
The second note we got came from Israel, where Udi was kind enough to send this,
Just to let you know that my 10 month old daughter adores sloppy joe made according to the recipe on your blog. I serve it mixed with an equal amount of rice, mash it up a bit with a fork and she just cant get enough. You should see her. She’s like a junky, taking one bite and her entire body moves and she shakes her hands till the next bite is served.
And as you can see, he wasn’t exaggerating at all.
We get a lot of mail, and I try to answer it all – now and again, something really touches home for me, as these do. Thank you to all of you who subscribe, write, email, PM, or call – This is why we are here.
UrbanMonique 