Delicious ways with random bits

One of the things I love about our vegie box is the way that it makes me more creative in the way that I use vegies. I will shamefully admit that in the early days I used to give lots of the 'non-edible' bits (like silverbeet stems, carrot tops and beetroot leaves) to our chickens without stopping to wonder whether I could eat them myself. But after several years of getting regular boxes, I started to notice that lots of the lovely young produce still has leaves or stems attached, sometimes bits you never see when the vegies are sold in the supermarket. This made me wonder what other people did with their 'random bits' and after some googling and experimenting, I have developed a small (but expanding) repertoire of things to do. Some ideas (I have also included a few links with ideas from the web - there are plenty more out there!):

Baby beetroot leaves - if they're small, add them straight to salads (use like swiss chard), and they can also be sauteed or stir-fried.

Also see this page on how to use beetroot leaves.

Fennel leaves - a delicious addition to tomato-based pasta sauces (chop finely and add towards the end).

Check out this page on what to do with fennel leaves.












Silverbeet stems - (this also applies to rainbow chard) - delicious chopped very small, sauteed with onion and garlic and the silverbeet leaves, and added to a frittata or pizza.

Check out this recipe for braised silverbeet stalks.


 




Daikon leaves (sorry, no photo!) - I love daikon and often just chop it and eat it raw. I have also discovered you can use fresh leaves like rocket in salad (though they are milder in flavour).
See this page for ideas on how to use daikon leaves.

My latest discovery is carrot tops. They always look so lush and green and edible - why don't we usually eat them? In my seaches, I came across this wonderful webpage which has all sorts of great suggestions such as making them into ravioli filling or wilting them with bacon. Check it out!

Other things you might not have thought of...

Mother-in-law introduced me to the wonders of bok choy as a delicious salad vegie. She uses it two great ways:

- an entree in which you wrap delicious delights like slivers of lychee, small pieces of chilli and tiny bits of lemon up in large bok choy leaves as tasty asian-inspired parcels.
- a raw chopped vegie to sit over crispy fried noodles, topped with sauteed chicken or fish and a spicy coconut sauce.

These days I will often just slice it finely and add it to any kind of salad - it has a great combination of mild leafy greens and crunchy stems.

P.S. Speaking of using the bits of our vegies that we often just compost, those of you with kids, did anyone see the corn dolly made out of sweetcorn husks on Playschool last week?

Posted by Lien

Quinoa with fennel and anchovies

I love a hot lunch. Even when I am home alone, I will make up a vegie pasta and then indulge myself in a solo meal (sometimes getting to catch up on a novel). So one weekends, when we are all at home, hot lunches are pretty much obligatory.

Today, being Sunday (read: day before vegie box arrives) we are in 'using up bits' mode. I still had some fennel left over from last week and half a zucchini, so decided to make a fennel and anchovy one pot wonder to feed the hungry family. If you'd like a vegetarian option, just substitute the anchovies for a few black olives (I might throw some of those in too!).

To feed 3 people (two big, one little) I used:
1 small onion, diced (I had half a medium sized one left from something else)
2 cloves of garlic
I bulb of fennel (chopped), bulb and leaves
half a zucchini, chopped into small pieces.
6 salted anchovy fillets (to taste)

Sautee the onion, garlic, fennel bulb and anchovies for about 10 mins or until soft. Add 1 cup of quinoa* and 2 cups of water or stock. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 mins. Stir in the chopped fennel leaves and season with pepper (there should be enough salt from the anchovies or olives). Cook for a few more minutes until the quinoa is ready.

Enjoy!

Note: I like a large proportion of vegies to my grains, but you can play around with amounts to suit your taste.

*Quinoa is a gluten-free grain that can be substituted for rice. It's available in the health food section of most supermarkets.

Posted by Lien

Beet, Orange, Fennel & Kale Salad

Beets are great with walnut. The beet leaves from this weeks box are small , so make lovely salad leaves. 

Orange and fennel have always been friends & this week's tiny fennel bulb is perfect for salad.  Together with walnuts it gives great crunch.

Lien was right about eating the small kale leaves raw, the nutty texture and flavour is amazing. So I made a salad from this week's box:

Beet, Orange, Fennel & Kale Salad

From the box:

Beetroot

Fennel

Kale

Oranges

and you need:

extra virgin olive oil (EVO)

lemon juice

salt/pepper

walnuts

Method:

Chop the stems off the beets and cook till soft in vinegar and water.  The beets are so small you don't have to peel them, just pull the hairs off.  When the beets are cool cut in half.

Peel and segment an orange.

Cut the beet leaves very roughly.

Take the fine kele leaves.  Slice nice and fine.

Rough chop walnuts.

Finely slice (or shave) one fennel bulb.  Keep the fluffy tops (it goes great in soups, scrambled eggs etc).

Make a dressing from EVO & lemon juice.  Or from balsamic and EVO. Season your dressing if you want.

Assemble the salad.

Eat with rice.

Posted by Kerry T.