On Monday afternoon I collected the first food bag from Foundry House Food Hub as part of the Wales Community Food Distribution (WCFD) network. It contained onions, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, a white cabbage, a head of broccoli and a cauliflower. All were good quality and fresh looking.
I first made coleslaw using finely shredded white cabbage, finely sliced onion and grated carrots. In a large bowl I added some sliced red cabbage, sliced celery, a couple of spring onions, a few sliced radishes, a couple of diced gherkins and a chopped unpeeled apple, all of which I had in my fridge, and mixed everything together, seasoning with salt and pepper. Next I made a dressing using a couple of spoonfuls of ready-made mayonnaise, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and juice from a freshly squeezed lemon. Mixed together in an old empty jam jar! I poured this over the bowl of coleslaw and mixed everything well and checked the seasoning. I could have added some nuts such as walnuts for added protein and texture but forgot!
The coleslaw was perfect for a quick lunch packed inside a split, warmed pitta bread with some hummus!
With the cauliflower, I broke it into florets and cooked them in water briefly, just so they were not falling apart, then added them to a sauce I had made a few days before for some pasta, and gently reheated. The sauce was made with sautéed onions, garlic, celery, green pepper, carrot and a tin of tomatoes all blitzed together using a hand blender. This then formed a side dish to accompany some leftover mashed potatoes (fried) and some large chestnut mushrooms cooked in olive oil.
A simple way to use the broccoli was in a pasta dish. I cooked the florets in the same saucepan as the pasta and for roughly the same time too. When just done I transferred pasta and broccoli to an oven dish, pored over a simple tomato sauce and grated cheese on top. I used a mixture of Pecorino and Cheddar then put it in the oven to melt the cheese topping. Easy and delicious.
For today’s meal I have peeled and sliced the potatoes and fried them in olive oil until browned and cooked through. An onion was sliced and fried too with a clove of garlic added towards the end to prevent it from burning, then combined with the potatoes and allowed to cool slightly before adding them to a bowl of lightly whipped and seasoned eggs. Pour the mixture into the frying pan cooking gently to set the eggs. If wanted you could add some peas and top with any grated cheese browning under the grill. Delicious either hot or cold!
It’s soup day today. I’ve diced onion, carrot, celery and the stalk of the broccoli and sweated them in a large saucepan with the lid on.
When all the sautéed veg were soft I added a clove of garlic and a quarter of the white cabbage, sliced and cooked for a few minutes before adding tomato paste and smoked paprika. Finally I tipped in a tin of beans (I used borlotti but cannellini or chickpeas would work too) and topped the saucepan up with vegetable stock bringing it to the boil then simmering gently and stirring occasionally until a soup consistency develops.
I served it with my freshly made bread and a knob of cheese!
The final meal of the week using vegetables from the Food Hub will be roast potatoes, honey roasted parsnips, buttered carrots and some sort of lentil pie yet to be decided!
All the vegetables lasted really well! I look forward to picking up the next bag on Monday!