Tatsoi is an asian green, also known as spinach mustard, spoon mustard, or rosette bok choy.  It has sturdy, crunchy stalks similar to bok choy, maing it ideal for stir frys.

Tatsoi’s dark green leaves are high in beta-carotene and Vitamins A, C, and K; they also have good amounts of calcium, potassium, phosphorous and iron (source: Tufts University Website).

Ideas for using Tatsoi

Raw in salad

stir fry

soup (see post for Mushroom and Tatsoi soup)

sauteed

added to rice dishes

cooked and tossed with pasta

This soup is perfect for the rainy days we have been having lately.  It would also be good with carrot strips added.

Ingredients and Preparation

This recipe serves one, but can easily be multiplied for more servings.

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat in a soup pan over medium heat

• 1 tsp minced garlic

Saute for about 2 minutes until fragrant

• 1 cup mushrooms- sliced in half, then into thin pieces
• Stems of tatsoi leaves  (whatever is left from cutting one cup of tatsoi leaves)
• 1 tsp oregano
• Salt and pepper

Add mushrooms, tatsoi stems, oregano and S&P to the pan stir to coat in olive oil.  The mushrooms will soak up the oil, so stir them frequently to prevent burning.  Saute until the mushrooms have a nice golden brown color.

• 9 cubes homemade veggie stock (see previous post) or about 2 cups of non frozen stock
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Add stock and vinegar, and bring to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

• 1 cup tatsoi leaves, sliced into strips

Add the tatsoi leaves, recover and simmer for a few more minutes, until the leaves have wilted.  Your soup is ready to enjoy!

-Ellen

Welcome 2011 Shire Members!

For those of you who haven’t met me, I am Ellen O’Neill- a nutrition student at Colorado State.  My challenge for the summer is to provide ideas and recipes so you can put your Shire veggies to good use.  Be sure to check back here regularly for more posts.  I look forward to meeting you all on Thursdays and to hearing your ideas and feedback.  If you have a recipe you’d like to share, I’d love to post it!

-Ellen

Veggie Stock

A good way to make veggie stock is by saving all of the scraps you create when you are prepping for your meals.  Most vegetable scraps can be saved- onion roots and peels, garlic peels, carrot ends, squash pieces, celery ends, bits of herbs, kale stalks, etc.  At my house, I save all of the scraps in a plastic bag in the freezer until I have enough to make stock.

The easiest method is to use a crock pot: put the veggies in the crock pot on low with enough water to cover the scraps.  There is no need to thaw them first.  After about 6 hours, the stock can be strained and cooled.  The veggie scraps will be drained of their flavor, so they are ready for the compost bin if you have one.

If you don’t have a crock pot, you can simmer the vegetable stock on the stove for about an hour instead.

I like to pour the stock into ice cube trays, freeze it, then transfer the cubes to another plastic bag.  This way, when I only need a little stock, I can take out what I need.  Making stock this way prevents vegetable waste, and gives you a flavorful, low sodium stock to use in the recipe of your choosing.

-Ellen

The great thing about stuffed peppers is that you can put just about anything in them.  Its a great way to use leftover rice and whatever else you have on hand.

You can make the peppers stand up by cutting a level surface on the bottom, but they will turn out just fine on their sides as well.

Ingredients:

4-5 Bell peppers or any type of pepper large enough to stuff, tops cut off and seeds removed

1-2 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 pound ground beef

1 cup yellow squashed, diced into small cubes

1 cup cabbage, cut into small pieces

2 cups rice, preferably cold leftover rice

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp rosemary

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Preparation:

1) Preheat the oven to 350

2) Heat a skillet and oil over medium high heat.  Saute the ground beef with the fennel and rosemary until cooked about halfway through, breaking the meat into small pieces with a spatula.

3) Add the squash and cabbage and continue to saute until the meat is nearly cooked through.  Add the rice, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to the skillet and stir together.

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the egg whites.

5) Stuff the peppers with the mixture

6) Place the peppers in an ovenproof dish with about a 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the peppers are slightly tender.

A stir fry is a blank slate.  I turn to it when I have lots of fresh veggies and not a lot of time.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1 small sliced onion

1 cup sliced assorted peppers

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 cup sliced eggplant

5 stalks bok choy, sliced (you can use the greens and the whites)

1 cup kale, sliced or torn

2-3 yellow and red tomatoes, diced

Preparation:

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce.  Set aside.

3.  Saute the peppers, onion, garlic and ginger until the onions begin to look translucent

3.  Add the eggplant, bok choy and kale to the pan.  Pour the sauce mixture over the stir fry and saute until the bok choy begins to get tender, about 5 minutes.

4.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes.  Serve over rice or noodles.