The Carrot Lentil Burgers were quite good yesterday. I didn't have any tomato paste on hand so I substituted ketchup which seemed to work really well. The batch I make today to freeze should get the carrot overpopulation into check (I hope!) Last night I began the pre-CSA pickup fridge cleaning out event. So along with the burgers we had coleslaw (that used a head of cabbage plus a few carrots) and okra sauteed with more carrots, onions and sundried tomatoes.
There's still a huge bag of kale, a head of mystery greens (I can't remember what it is), two bags of carrots, 2 beets, some onions, a few halves of acorn squash and 3 eggplants cooked but still in their skin.
I'll be making baked mac and "cheese" and use the kale in that. The original recipe called for broccoli but my kids actually like it better with kale, as long as its cut into small pieces.
Since the oven will be on already, I'll cut some carrots, beets and onions into chunks and spray with just a bit of olive oil (tossing with a little olive oil would work well too) and roast them in the oven. I cover the pan I have them in with a cookie sheet initially to help soften them up a bit and then take it off for the last 15 minutes or so to brown them.
The mystery greens and the squash may become soup if the greens aren't bitter. If they are bitter, they will be steamed and into the freezer they will go to be used in a spicy winter soup.
As for the eggplants they will be peeled, chopped and tossed in the food processor with a little minced garlic, a little olive oil and a little salt. This is really yummy and will be used as a spread for Wednesday's lunches.
2 comments:
Judy,
I know you didn't ask ME, but if you thaw it out, the water will most likely have separated and you can drain the partially thawed tomatoes out of it. :) I also heard if you freeze cabbage first it doesn't stink so much. :) I usually add it at the very end of the cooking time.
Ruthie
Sauce is pretty forgiving, even after being frozen. Typically to thicken sauce, you're supposed to cook it down to half of the original amount. You just bring it up to a boil, lower a bit and let it simmer away but it can take some time depending upon how much sauce your starting with.
When I can sauce, I start with 16 quarts of pureed tomatoes and cook it down to 8 quarts. It takes about 9 hours to cook it down.
Another way to thicken sauce is to add a few tablespoons of tomato paste. If all else fails, make some bread for sopping up the runny sauce!
Ah, the lingering aroma of cabbage. A trick to decrease the stinkiness of cabbage is to cook it uncovered. Its not a perfect cure by any means but it lessens the intensity a bit.
If the taste of cabbage overpowers the dish its in, try cooking it seperately next time and adding it just before serving.
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