bostonzest

Tag: cutting celery

  • Brussels Sprouts, Celery, and Cottage Cheese Are Mainstream These Days

    Three foods that we feel have reached mainstream status this year are Brussels sprouts, celery (especially the leaves), and cottage cheese!

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    A blackboard special of baby Brussels sprouts with bacon was the highlight of a recent lunch at Select Boston. Considering how much we love the food here and that Penny was having her favorite lobster salad, this veg dish really had to shine to stand out from the rest of the meal. It was a bowl of smoky, salty, sprouty, bacony, fun! 

    However it is not just Boston's star chefs and highly rated restaurants that are presenting great sprouts.

    Sitting around a table of friends at the Corner Tavern on Mass Ave last month, it was the roasted Brussels sprouts that disappeared instantly and were reordered – twice!

    When a vegetable becomes popular at this type of homey neighborhood spot, you know that it has become mainstream. We are both happy to say, “Goodbye kale,” and “Welcome sprouts!”

    Celery? Yes, Celery!

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    We wrote about “cutting celery” which is used for its leaves. Penny has always treasured the leaves on celery and uses them as an herb to finish or garnish dishes. Lately we hear TV chefs and food writers praise this leafy bonus in every head of celery and talk about the importance of celery, in general, in their cooking.

    Cottage Cheese as a Yogurt Alternative

    Cottage cheese has always been a favored snack around our house. (For us and for our Westie Poppy!) But now we see this simple dairy product is appearing paired with more fruits and herbs in single-serving containers. It is a great source of protein and calcium. We're seeing cottage cheese as part of more recipes. You can turn it into a quick dip or a spread by adding herbs, garlic, and perhaps some shredded cheese like a strong cheddar.

    Related Posts

    Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

    What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino – Adapted for BostonZest from one of our Fresh & Local newspaper columns.
    Photos: ©2016-2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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  • Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

    A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

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    The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

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    A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

    Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

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    Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

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    In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

    IMG_8405

    Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

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    One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent. 

    "When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

    If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks. 

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

        

    Details:

    Words: Penny Cherubino
    Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  

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  • Cutting Celery, Chinese Celery, Smallage, Par-Cel, Have You Tried It?

    A few weeks ago, after asking Halley Stillman at the Copley Farmers Market Stillman's Farm stand why so few local farms grew celery, she offered to bring in some of the cutting celery they were trying out back on the farm.

    Unspecified

    The next week, she had it on the stand. I bought it, popped it into a vase of cold water by my kitchen sink to refresh it, and proceeded to add it to a variety of salads, pasta dishes, and other recipes where I might have used celery or parsley. Each morning, I changed the water, washed down the stems, and continued to clip away at my bunch.

    IMG_8215-COLLAGE

    A week later, I was pleased to report to Halley that I loved this product and would be a customer for cutting celery – if it became a regular offering.

    Reporting back to local vendors is important. While some of these experiments may never make it to the mainstream, others will, if they make good business sense for the farmers.

    IMG_8363

    Here it played a supporting role in a Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. It is much stronger in flavor than celery and I learned that the strength of the flavor can vary from bunch-to-bunch.

    516Vg1-IEvL

    In her book, Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, with Recipes, Jennifer McLagan explained that in 15th Century Italy growers began to reduce the bitterness of wild celery and this has continued until it resulted in the blanched stalks we know today.

    IMG_8405

    Cutting celery, on the other hand, still has that strong flavor. It also has hollow stems and was sometimes use as we use straws.

    1675698673

    One of my favorite food writers Deborah Madison in Vegetable Literacy had a great approach for those new to the powerful flavoring agent. 

    "When using the stalks or the leaves of cutting celery, such as Chinese celery or Par-Cel, taste them to judge their strength. Start small and add more, as if it were chile."

    If you have a home garden, you should think about adding this to your herb patch. It's widely used as an herb by Asian and European cooks. 

     

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

        

    Details:

    Words: Penny Cherubino
    Photography: © 2016 Penny Cherubino  

    Related articles
    Mastering Hamersley's Roast Chicken Recipe
    Mussels Are Sustainable, Easy to Cook, and Fun to Flavor
    Healthy Alternatives for July 4th Cookouts, Pot Lucks, or Picnics