Good Morning, and happy December!
Ada here. Hope you all are enjoying this sweatpants and hot toddy weather. My mom is visiting Texas for the week (yay!) and because her bag didn't make it on the airplane, we had to make a quick stop by Target before leaving the city for some basic clothes. I'm the proud new owner of a athleisure-style sweatsuit (currently wearing; wondering if it will ever come off), and all of my food wants these days fit this theme: cozy, warm, family-forward, celebratory but not too fussy. Yes, sweatpants are celebratory. Several of the recipes below (like curried tortellini soup) would be wonderful one-pot dishes to supplement or replace a traditional holiday menu. Perfect to feed a crowd of family or friends, sharing your wonderful Vrdnt produce with those you love.
And now, a roundup:
SWISS CHARD(rainbow or green or white variety) is an underrated green, if you ask me. I think people want it to be spinach, or wish it was the all-too familiar kale, but it deserves its own special attention- it's silky-sexy leaves are really unlike any other. It is my favorite green, especially early in the season when it's especially tender, to sauté with good olive oil, lots of garlic, and red pepper flakes. Here is a recipe, though you don't really need one. Depending on my mood, I either mince, grate, roughly chop, sliver, or just mash-whole cloves of garlic for greens like this. All this to say: there isn't a right or wrong way to to chop your garlics for a quick pan of sautéed greens.
Here is a RICOTTA & RICE STUFFED CHARD ROLLS recipe by the on and only, Martha Stewart.
SOUP.
Seeing as it's both soup and leafy-green weather, it's the perfect time to to make GHORMEH SABZI - Persian Herb Stew, a dish that is considered the national food of Iran. If you're unsure what to do with your herbs, make this kidney bean and herb soup; it makes use of a whole bunch of PARLSEY and CILANTRO as well as GREEN ONIONS. If you had some CHARD laying around, I'd throw that in too. Dried lime can usually be found at one of Phoenicia Grocery's 2 Austin locations. (Don't leave there without stocking up on pita + labneh, too).
I love this tortellini soup: it's bright, yet rich, and can accommodate just about any DARK LEAFY GREEN. The recipe calls for SPINACH, but BABY BEET GREENS (like you may have recently received bagged), KALE, CHARD or FINELY CHOPPED COLLARDS would do well. Do or don't overthink the tortellini bit. The brand Buitoni is pretty ubiquitous and is all they have at my local HEB; it does the trick, and because I don't' buy it often, and so when I do, it feels special... an effortless way to add something dumpling-ed to dinner. I'm sure there are better versions out there that you can find at specialty grocers or the cucinas of Italian grandmothers.