Blueberries make wonderful salsas and chutneys. If you’re ready for a savory take on blueberries, give this recipe a try.
Blueberry-Ginger Chutney
sauce
Stir-fry Sauce
One of the things I do to make a quick stir-fry even quicker is to keep a jar of stir-fry sauce in the refrigerator. You could buy a jar, but why? When you’re ready for dinner, heat up some vegetable oil, sauté your vegetables (this week you could use bok choy, beet greens, thinly sliced beets, onions, garlic and/or squash) and when it’s just about done, add just enough of this sauce to coat everything lightly. The cornstarch will thicken quickly and your stir-fry is done. I love that I don’t have to haul out the ginger and the garlic and the soy sauce and whatever every time I want to make a quick meal. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Vary the proportions to suit the taste of your household.
Cold sauce: Nuoc Cham
Although it will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator, nuoc cham is best when freshly made.
Warm sauce: Anchovy and Olive Oil Sauce
Instead of trying to dream up with to do with all the individual components of this week’s box, I thought I’d offer an option that would feature several. Where one kohlrabi might not go far in a single dish, combined with some of its neighbors from the box, it can make a really wonderful meal.
I love the way dipping sauces bring things together. Here’s a suggestion for one warm and one cold version. They’d both work well for dipping sliced raw fennel or kohlrabi, carrots and beets (raw or steamed), or you can pour either one over wilted beet greens or Swiss chard. The ideas come from The Splendid Table, that wonderful NPR program on all things delicious.
This is the classic “bagna cauda” perfect for vegetables and bread. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies, although you can leave them out if you absolutely must. And if you have a garlic scape or two left over from last week, try them in this recipe. Also delicious over pasta, maybe with those wilted greens.
1947 Tabasco Sauce Recipe
This week I discovered that a work colleague is a subscriber at one of Riverview’s other CSA pick-up locations. We chatted about the cayenne peppers in last week’s box, and agreed we’d like to have something to do with them beyond chopping them up and storing in the freezer for when you need a tablespoon or two of hot chiles for a recipe.
He and I talked about experimenting with Tabasco-type sauces. I found a great website, www.mexican-barbecue-recipes.com/tabasco-hot-sauce-recipes.html, with a bunch of ideas, and I liked this particular one, maybe because I’ve been working on a story that features recipes from the 1920s and 1940s.
Depending on how many peppers were in your box (that you haven’t already used), you may have to scale things up or down. I guess you could use any kind of vinegar you like, but white vinegar is probably what is meant here. I’ll be working on my sauce this weekend. Let us know if you decide to experiment, too.