Planning

[sam_t]

This week's vegbox contains:

carrots
parsnips
celeriac
sweet potatoes
calabrese
leeks
mixed peppers
mushrooms

Comments

[elettaria]

If your veg box is anything like mine used to be, you will become an expert at using leeks. I think they turned up in my boxes every other week, on average. You can do a lot more with them than you'd expect, starting with stir-frys. They're also lovely combined with a couple of other green veg (courgettes, broccoli, frozen peas and so on), garlic, raisins and pine nuts, sautéd in olive oil and shoved on pasta, which is my version of pasta primavera. And if you're into basic miso soup, the sort where you bung in a vegetable or two, diced tofu, fresh noodles, and optionally wakame seaweed and/or sesame seeds, leeks are great in that.

Roasted root veg for the rest?

[sam_t]

I solved the problem by making Pasta With All The Leeks In The World - in other words, lots and lots of leeks, chopped and braised with olive oil, garlic and vermouth (would have used wine if there had been a bottle open), stirred into a small portion of pasta and a small handful of cheese.

I've still got some roasted veg from last week (butternut squash, shallots and beetroot), so I sort of need things to do with roast veg once I've made it! I do like it but have trouble incorporating it into a meal (I've already done 'as a side dish' and 'in an omelette': I'll probably do 'add beans and tomatoes', and then my ingenuity runs out.

I haven't tried miso soup. What sort do I need?

[elettaria]

Fresh stuff, it should be in the fridge at a Chinese or Japanese shop. I prefer white miso, which is actually a yellowy colour but is definitely lighter than other misos. For a single serving, I use a heaped cutlery spoonful. Mix it in the bowl with a little water to make the paste thinner. Put your veggies (e.g. one carrot in matchsticks and a section of sliced leek) in a pan with just enough water to cover, add fresh udon or ramen noodles when the veg are nearly cooked, and put the whole lot into the bowl with the miso (which is why you don't want too much water). Add some diced tofu and sesame seeds, make sure the miso is mixed in, and there we are. The reason you're not boiling the miso is because apparently it destroys its little enzymes or something, and boiling the tofu makes it rubbery whereas if you add it in at that stage it's enough to heat it through. I get lovely fresh tofu from my local Chinese supermarket. You can also put a bit of wakame on to soak at the start and add that in at the end too. The whole thing

[sam_t]

I hadn't seen any in fridges: there's a corner shop near where I work that has a small Chinese/Japanese corner, presumably because of international students, and they have packets on a shelf at room temperature. There is apparently a Chinese supermarket somewhere in the area, though, so I'll investigate that when I have a chance. Thanks!