portentous...

..is the word.

so, there is a greek component to my family. this means, as a deeply non-religious person, that i get to enjoy all the benefits of greek easter but without any of the sacrifice. it is almost a perfect situation - almost, because if i am wrong, and there is a god, s/he won't be terribly happy with my usury here.

in any case, i won't know about this until it is too late, so i'll enjoy it while i can. a big greek easter feast was held and it was lots of fun as always. as part of the tradition, my sister in law read my coffee cup (love greek coffee by the way!). so, after it was done i turned it upside down and twisted it three times in a counter clockwise direction. it was then left to 'dry', in a contra-normal state for a couple of minutes.

here is the future...

so, what can you make out here? granted, you can't see the whole thing, so it is only part of my future you are looking at. what does the cup predict? what does it tell me about the current situation??? make your predictions in the comments and i'll award a prize to the closest prognostication.

p

boxes 18 and 19...

are overdue. box 18 was bountiful. see...

there was pumpkin, corn, zucchs, apples, two types of pear, shallots/onions, brocc, an avo, tomatoes, spuds, beans, shrooms, cos and some cavolo nero. this was a bumper box. i think it had a lot to do with collection the day before good friday, so they were trying to get rid of stuff. absolutely not a complaint!! 

the cavolo nero went into a white bean and winter green soup (you can find it on cuisine.com.au, another good dupleixian recipe). it's really easy and delicious. make some!!

i picked up box 19 tonight. it is not a prolific, but still a tasty collection of pro-dooce. here is a photo...

a curly leaved lettuce thing, beans, shroom, apples, pears, carrots, zucchs, broccs, onion and some feijoa! also, an obscene eggplant. look!!

it should have a name...it looks like grug

other suggestions welcome in the comments. also, some tips for a handful of feijoas are welcome. can you just eat them or are they better in things?

p

the potato solution

long time readers of this blog (and those who have fortuitously read the right posts) will know that i have been suffering from a potato anti-famine (glut is probably the adult word). i have struggled for starchy inspiration given the absence of potato preservation techniques, and the pile of offending tubers wouldn't avert their eyes, even the ones with things growing out of them...'use me' they pleaded, but still no light bulb.

until tonight.

the solution...

ROESTI. ingredients here are potato, salt, pepper and some oil and butter for frying. how 'honest' is that? the trick, according to a recipe on the sbs food site, is to cook the raw, grated potato for a couple of minutes before pressing it into the cake. this ensures that the middle is smooth and puffy while the outside is crispy and golden. cooking on a low heat for a longish time is also important (about 15 minutes). this photo is (obvs) post flip - which also happened without incident.

the roesti was the base of a stack of things - some mayo, some san daniele proscuitto, some box salad and a poached egg. here is a photo...

yum. this definitely falls into the 'breakfast as dinner' category, but that usually happens by the end of the week around here anyway.

so, the potato anti-famine resolves itself deliciously. add roesti to the rotation (regular but not frequent - like a fave 80s flashback song).

p

MEGA-BOX-POST

so i've been lazy. that's it really. there has been no other reason. i'm ok with that.

box 16, from some time ago...

some tiny potatoes (not as ridiculous as the 50 centers), and some nice beans and corn. celery was very celery too. others as expected. i don't mean to sound unimpressed, its just this was from a while ago...


you may recall the inclusion of some eggplants in box 15. i finally manned (personned? sorry) up enough to make some baba ganoush. i prefer an alternative spelling - baba ganooj - because it is more fun to say, especially if you emphasise the nooj. try it...in a deep voice and drag out the nooj.

anyway, the hurdle here was placing the eggplant directly on the burner. it was wrong and uncomfortable. the results are worth it. it didn't really make a mess, and there was next to no smoke. here is a picture...

see, wrong! it took about 10 minutes to get it evenly cooked and properly charred, turning every couple of minutes. when cooled, cut it in half and scoop out the soft flesh, taking care to avoid black bits of skin. the guts are mixed with some tahini, yoghurt, cumin, lemon juice, garlic and a little salt and pepper. here is a picture...

i 'jamied' a bit too much oil on the top, so ignore that. the ganoooooj was delicious - really nice and smoky, tangy from the ghurt and the lemon juice. i ate it a lot.

now, tonight's box - box 17 (!!)

a nice autumnal selection - pears, apple, onions, potatoes, zuccs, tomatoes, shrooms, corn, brocc, cos, carrots and a couple of very crunchy capsicums. these may become 'gemista' - stuffed with rice and other things and baked...i have to get the recipe from my sister in law!!

i have enjoyed the apples and pears in previous boxes, especially with some thin shavings of parmiggiano reggiano that have been cleaved from a big chunk. heading into posh nosh territory here (youtube it if you haven't seen it - funny).

so, that's it for now. more box next week...

p