A menu plan and recipes 10, 11, and 12

 So, I've decided that at this point, the cooking theme needs to be "make things from CSA veggies."  It's hard for me to work all the different things into some kind of coherent theme, so I figure, I should just focus on using the stuff we get.  That said, I want to do a few Indian things this week to at least try them out.  So, the plan is as follows, and we'll see if it works.

Monday: Veggie stock.  Also, arugula spaghetti and balsamic vinegar pearls!
Tuesday: Potato pancakes with green garlic, plus maybe a side of braised greens
Wednesday: Homemade paneer (Kinda scary!  Let's see if it works...)
Thursday: Saag paneer, if the paneer works out.  If not, I'll make some dish with the spinach.
Friday: Not sure yet, but likely nothing, since I'll probably have lots of leftovers.
Saturday: nothing -- I'll be at a conference all day and at a Yo Yo Ma concert at night.
Sunday: Maybe black bean tacos?  I've got dried black beans to use, though those will keep.  Or maybe something with the spaghetti squash that came in the CSA share.

Now, on to the recipes. As you can see from above, I finally tried molecular gastronomy!  Before I talk about it, I promised Cindy I'd share this conversation she and I had last week about it.  Here it is, in its ridiculous glory:

me: people are a little silly

 unrelated, but my sister got me a molecular gastronomy starter kit for my birthday!

 so i can now make round blobs and foams and random-flavor noodle-looking things!

 Cindy: hahahahaahah

  oh man

  that is the best descriptor of mo-gas ever!

  so true

 me: haha, i'm glad you like it :)

  i haven't tried it yet, but that's certainly my impression of the whole thing

Cindy: yeah

 me: i'm very excited by this, it seems appropriately ridiculous

 Cindy: same here

 me: i'm gonna have to find time to watch the recipe dvd, because it's really something that requires watching and not just reading, at least for me

 Cindy: yeah

  i don't think it's something that you just trial and error

  unless you want a flavorless blob of foam noodle

 me: hahaha, and even then, you probably have to get the additives right

 or you might get random chemical mess, instead

 Cindy: yeah

  like why not just open up the under-the-sink cupboard

  and eat some of that stuff

 me: i hope that the additives that came in my kit are less poisonous...

 Cindy: hahaha

  me too!

 unless your sister is trying to secretly poison you

 me: well, in which case think geek would be secretly trying to poison us all

 Cindy: oh

  yes

  the robots got control of think geek

  and are trying to kill off the human race

 me: that's concerning

  what did the human race ever do to them?

  i guess they're only trying to kill off the foodie subsection

  maybe they're jealous because they can't have awesome food?

 Cindy: yes

  oil and electricity can't be very tasty

 me: but maybe their palates have evolved to enjoy it?

 Cindy: i suppose that's possible  

Despite these suspicions, I decided to finally try my new kit,and the results were awesome and ridiculous.  So, the kit came with tools (a syringe, tubing, a slotted spoon, a pipette, and measuring spoons), a bunch of additives, and a dvd of recipes.  Of the 50 recipes, I decided to try arugula noodles and balsamic vinegar pearls.

Arugula noodles in their tubes

I watched the videos for each one several times and wrote down the recipes, which was helpful.  The only problem was, the recipes were really not that detailed.  Now, after having tried the whole thing, I looked the recipes up online and found a much more detailed version.  So, instead of typing them out, I'll link you to them, since you really kinda have to have all the details.

Arugula Noodles

Balsamic Vinegar Pearls

Balsamic vinegar...clumps

Molecular gastronomy snack!

 All in all, it was an entertaining experiment, and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes and different techniques.  I wish I had used more arugula and actually salted it (the linked recipe says to do so, but mine didn't).  My pearls looked less like pearls and more like clumps -- I think I didn't cool the oil long enough.  But it tasted good, and both Mu and I were highly amused.  All in all, it didn't take very much time at all.  The oil had to be put in the freezer ahead of time, but the rest of the steps took about 15 minutes, total.  Granted, I didn't do a large serving, but still, that's pretty good.  The really nice thing about it being so quick is that I feel OK about experimenting with more random recipes -- it doesn't feel like I'm wasting time.

You can see how the pearls aren't pearly

I'm not sure if the veggie stock ought to count as a recipe, but I'll go ahead and count it, since it's different from the mushroom stock of last week.  I don't have a picture -- veggie stock isn't that exciting -- and I'll do it in a more casual format, since it really isn't a formal recipe.

Basically, what I did was save veggie trimmings over the last week.  I ended up with lettuce cores, some beet greens that didn't get used, some stems from a now-forgotten green and onion peelings.  I added another whole onion and a head of garlic to start, some kale that was going to go bad before I could use it, chard stems from chard I haven't used yet, stalks that I won't use from green garlic, two leftover green onions, and a bit of dill.  I browned the onion and garlic, then added everything else in small batches, giving it a minute or so to cook down.  Then, I added enough water to cover the whole mess, about 5 quarts.  I brought to a boil, added salt, pepper, and pasta sprinkle, then reduced to simmer for about an hour.  Like with the other stock, this ones needs straining.  It cooked down a bit, so I ended up with a little under 4 quarts that I'll freeze.  The flavor was OK but somewhat bland, but that's what I want in a stock, so I don't mind.  I still want to add a bay leaf or two next time, but I haven't had a chance to get any.