Here is a link to a page showing the plant hardiness zones for the US:
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PH...

You can see zone 7a and 7b are the pale greens.

We're also getting lots of strawberries and sweet potatoes in ours in addition to all the greens.

I love CSAs. I too am new to them this year.

You can make Vietnamese summer rolls with some of the mint, plus most of the other things you have in your box.

Last week I got fresh bamboo shoot and tatsoi greens in mine. I have eaten lots of bamboo shoot from cans, and in restaurants. But I have never processed from scratch.

Here is a story with pictures of what they look like when just out of the ground:
http://www.npr.org/2011/07/06/1363941...

I didn't know before this that bamboo shoots must be boiled to remove trace amounts of prussic acid. But that's easy to do. I peeled the outer leaves, sliced off the tip, sliced the remainder, and boiled for 20 minutes in water that I had used to rinse rice, along with salt, red chilli powder, and a pinch of sugar.

There are regional Indian recipes for bamboo shoot, but I went with a basic stir fry with the tatsoi, and some fresh green onions. It was really very good. Home processed bamboo shoots definitely beat the canned version hollow (pun?).

Here in zone 7 we are still getting lots of greens.

Yes it is neat, innit?

Products like yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc are ways to preserve dairy for longer times and travel before refrigeration. So let's not lose sight of that. Yogurt is one of the perfect foods for travel, and cheese sticks another.

Mayo is risky because of the egg, but yogurt with live and active culture is actually good for a few hours at room temp because the same beneficial bacteria that colonized the milk and made it yogurt, will continue to multiply.

FYI: Young children (maybe up to the age of 2 or 3) need a higher percent fat in their diets (whether from milk or any other source). The lipids help brain development and bodily growth. So, it's not the milk that is the concern, it is the percent fat.
If your child is not very overweight and is active, skim vs whole milk should not be a concern.

You've been given lots of good ideas and recipes, but here is another to try: hummus. There are lots of good recipes out there, ranging from made-totally-from-scratch to made-with-canned-chickpeas. Or just buy it from a store - regular grocery stores across most of the US carry it now. Sabra is considered a good brand.

Kids usually love hummus and he can dip anything else he likes into it, or just eat it directly with a spoon.

I personally think there is no distinction between healthy and tasty food - they are one and the same (e.g. the hummus example).

Have you tried him with cut up fruit?

The other thing is - it is very very typical for toddlers to be picky in their food and to change what they like from day to day. Just keep up with a) offering it to him consistently like the others have suggested and b) the rest of the family modeling good eating, and he will get there.

All best.

These are some really elastic definitions of bread.

Papad/papadum (made from dal or rice pastes) are crackers not bread, they are eaten as snacks or sides, with rice, and not used to scoop up the side dishes as bread (roti) or rice would be eaten. Would you call crackers/potato chips/other crunchy snacks breads?

Dosais are "bread" like crepes are "bread". Idlis are steamed dumplings, not bread.

Dosais and idlis (unlike papad) are eaten "like" bread as the staple that you scoop up the accompaniments with. But why the need to call them bread, when other English words more accurately describe them?

South India has an actual "rice bread" - rice flour rotis, aka "akki rotis".

All over India are the crepelike items like besan cheelas, moong cheelas, pesarattu, adais, etc. (these are not fermented, are made from chickpea flour, moong bean flour, dals, etc.). All these are gluten free.

The teacher was not really such a dimwit.

Caffeine can alleviate attention and focus difficulties, though it is less effective than prescription stimulant medications. For properly diagnosed people, stimulants activate impulse control and focus neurotransmitters in the brain (like stimulating the brakes on a runaway car).

Lots of people "self medicate" with coffee and colas.

The problem was giving a large amount of black coffee, when a milky and sweet latte type drink might have gone down better :)

The red, salty, hot, chunky mango pickle in Hyderabad (and the rest of the Andhra region) is called avakaya pickle.

The most common Kerala pickle is a little different - tiny chopped pieces of mango with mustard seed, hing, fenugreek, red chilli, etc.

South India also has a tiny whole-baby-mango pickle (vadumanga) which are little sour-salt-chilli bombs, like incendiary olives.

These of course do not even scratch the surface of all the different pickles of South India, to say nothing of the rest of the country.

You can get most of them in bottles in the Indian stores, and experiment until you find a brand you like.

Oh Khan of uncalled-for snark, I would suggest that if, for e.g., you find okra slimy, try a non-slimy recipe and see?

I do not know how many recipes people have tried, but when they consistently characterize a vegetable by one characteristic and don't mention that they have tried other recipes that eliminate that characteristic, then definitely there is room to try again.

Have you never eaten chana masala? Food of the gods! It's easily one of the world's top ten dishes.
(maybe that's another thread: your list of the world's top ten dishes)

That is because "chili powder" in the US is the spice mix used to make the dish "chili". Elsewhere in the world, "chili powder" refers to powdered chilis (spelt chiles in the US). This causes endless confusion for people making, e.g., Indian recipes that call for red chili powder (just powdered red chillies) as an ingredient.

Question: have you only had sweet potatoes in sweet recipes (like the marshmallow covered abomination served on Thanksgiving)? Or have you tried savory recipes? Lots of great ones in various world cuisines.

I agree with Querencia and JudieAU. There are no bad vegetables, only bad recipes. Most of the "haters" here would like the veggies if they had them made well.

When I first ate celery, I didn't like it at all, but then got used to it over the years. I like it more when it is stir fried in some Chinese recipes. I don't think there is a single vegetable I can't/wont eat.

There are several fruits I don't like however: don't like bananas, and I will eat custard apple only if I am starving.

Question for all the okra disparagers: have you had it in Indian recipes, or only the slimy boiled US dishes? If you have not tried Indian okra dishes (google is your friend) or grilled okra, you have bad data for your opinion :)

This thread keeps going :)

Today I made Methi Mushroom Matar Malai (mushrooms with peas, fenugreek, cream, etc.) page 519 IIRC.

Again, this dish showcases one of the greatest strengths of RI's book: simple ingredients with a result that was much greater than the sum of its parts. I didn't have to grind any spices here, though I did have to use the FP.

You grind cashews, garlic, and green chillies in a FP (I also added a little ginger) to a coarse paste. Then finely chop some onions.

Saute the above in oil for a few minutes - this is my one grouse with this cookbook and others like it. RI suggests you saute the mixture for 2-3 minutes - it takes much longer, more like 15 minutes.

Then add sliced mushrooms and saute, again, for way longer than RI suggests.

Add about 1 cup water, scrape and mix. Add peas, and the soaked dry methi leaves. RI goes through some voodoo where he soaks the qasoori methi and discards the water, but I don't see the point. I just soak and add the whole thing in. Add salt and cream, and simmer till done.

Very very tasty. I served with rice and cauliflower sabzi and yogurt.

Lunch, and the prospect of yummy leftovers.

Thank you all for the replies and sorry for not checking earlier.

Musie: yes, CSA = community supported agriculture. It's a great way of getting fresh, local, foods and support smaller local farms. This year our choice was to go with the CSA or to drive every Sat morning to a farmer's market in the neighboring county where a lot of immigrant families come with varieties of produce from different countries/cultures. The CSA won for convenience, but I do plan to make a couple of trips to that FM.
My CSA also has bread, cheese, honey, etc options we can select if we like.

Gayathri: thanks for the shredded carrot+peanut+etc (=kosumalli) suggestion. That is a summer staple in our house, and is definitely going back on the list, as the carrots and cucumbers keep on coming.

Cheesecake 7: your variation sounds great too!

Foodiex2: Thanks for the suggestion, I did make a soup as you suggested: carrot+sweet potato+tomato soup, with cinnamon, ginger, red chili powder, then blended with
peanut butter. Chives floated on top. Adapted from the West African Peanut Stew from the Moosewood cookbook.

Justme: the rutabagas worked fine in the dal, along with carrots. I believe there are no bad veggies, only bad recipes :)

This week's box had more carrots, sweet potatoes, strawberries, radishes, cucumbers, lots and lots of lettuce.

I am going to try a salad with Moroccan style dressing (I don't know if it is actually Moroccan or just called that): olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper. The salad has lettuce, chick peas, oranges, artichokes, olives, shredded carrots.

Thank you all, and keep the ideas coming. This is the first year I have done a CSA and it is a fun challenge to only cook what comes in the box and not buy additional items from the store (though I have had to buy things like onions) unless there is a huge discount.

hetook: In western countries, poor people are fat, and rich people are slim. The food that the poor can find and afford are unhealthy and fattening. Rich people can afford better quality food, eat more healthy diets, and exercise.

You are so right. Biologically, "race" is a fiction. Socially and politically, race is very powerful.
The "eat right for your blood type" diet is scientifically considered a myth. Chowser is right when s/he argues that it makes as much sense as a "eat right for your eye color" diet :)

As for the OP's question: I think it's all those things. People are more sedentary, eating more, eating more processed food, may be more stressed, etc.

OK: has no one signed up for a CSA? Is it too early for most of you?

Does no one have ideas for rutabagas and carrots?

Hello?

I live in Zone 7, so our CSAs have just started. This week's is already a challenge:

pea shoots
rutabagas
carrots
radishes (with greens)
kale
cucumber (hothouse)
tomato (hothouse).

The cucumber and tomato are easy.

The pea shoots had to be used up right away, so I quickly sauteed them with garlic and black pepper and peas, added them to alfredo-ish sauce, and had with pasta shells. Not bad at all. Pinching the tender leaves and tendrils off the tough stems was very tedious.

The radishes are tiny and red, and I think I can slice them for sandwiches.

Rutabagas I may use with carrots for this dal:
http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/...

But that will not use all the rutabagas nor all the carrots. The weather is no longer suitable for oven roasting, so I am still thinking what to do. Any ideas?

The radish greens, kale, and spinach (from freezer) will likely make saag (may add paneer).

Has anyone else started getting CSA boxes? What is coming in them? What are you making?

Such concerns have apparently been around since ancient times (King Tut apparently had a stipend paid to a personal nose-picker, according to some history web sites).

But from medieval Europe, here are some instructions:

http://medievalreader.wordpress.com/2...

including telling you:
"Do not claw you head or back as though you seek a flea. Not strike nor prick your hair to remove a louse ... Don’t pike your nose, not let clear pearls drip, Neither sniff nor blow your nose so that you sovereign hears it"
don't stuff your hands into your pants to scratch, pick your ears, squirt with your mouth, lick your dish, and so on.

They didn't say what would happen if you did, but I think the sovereign would not be pleased and would keep this in mind next head-chopping time.

I just made a batch of candied peanuts (you could use almonds, pecans, or other nuts too) from this David Lebovitz recipe:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/04/candied-peanut/

Here is a nuts and pretzels mix:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/12/...

The peanut recipe was very easy, very good, and is quite cheap. There are flavor variations suggested or you could come up with your own. Will stand up to hot or cold days. Another advantage is that they are egg free.

You could google for other recipes and flavors (e.g. chile-lime peanuts, masala cashewnuts/peanuts, etc. etc.)

You could get creative with the packaging, and sell them in the $ 5.00 range.

That's interesting Hobbert: your list has all the things that my mom's kitchen did have when we were growing up, because those are the local ingredients.
Coconuts were plentiful; extract your own coconut water and coconut milk.
All the milk was organic in the sense that this was before the days of large scale commercial milk production, hormones, etc. The problem was that unless your supplier was reputable, the milk was likely watered down.
Without dals and spices there would be no kitchen.
Powdered ginger (sonth) was a specialty, fresh was more common.
My parents were more coffee drinkers than tea drinkers, so masala chai was not a staple, but it was widely known.

Everything was inexpensive because we had to stretch the paycheck and buy seasonal.

Not in my mom's kitchen:
canned food,
boxed food (other than cornflakes),
frozen food,
soya based products (similar to TVP) were just emerging, but things like tofu, tempeh, soymilk etc unknown.
International foods (pasta, olive oil, Thai, Mexican etc ingredients)

I realize now that this is why my pantry has twice the contents of my parents': I have all their staples as well as all mine.

Wow, this thread is going strong, 1000 + posts later.

I grew up in a different time and place from most of you. No processed, canned, or boxed, anything, everything had to be made from scratch. Even snacks. So I don't have the feeling that I must do things differently from my mom.

In fact, I aspire to cook like my mother and grandmother, who were both excellent cooks though neither liked housework. They believed that whatever you do, you should do well, whether you love it or hate it. Just take pride in your work.

I have all the same basic spices and ingredients that my mother had, plus all the dozens of other things that we didn't know about growing up (e.g. Thai, Mexican, etc, ingredients). But I also also have lots of boxed and packaged stuff, and lots of junk food (kids began it and we caved) and convenience foods.

What did my mother have that I don't: household help. She typically had someone to help her in the kitchen. I have to do everything myself, so my standards have plunged.

Plus she had a few old timey gadgets: hand cranked coffee mill (only seen in antique shops and museums), granite grinders (she and I have the electric versions now).
I am seeking stone cooking pots now, much to her amusement.

Traditional accompaniments for parathas include (but are not limited to) raita, and chutney.

Here is a raita made with creme fraiche (Jamie Oliver recipe):

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/lamb-balti

Yes, the link says lamb, but the raita recipe is below that and seems simple, and has the lemony tang you want.

There seem to be thousands of tomato chutney recipes on the internet, and here is just one:

http://localkitchenblog.com/2012/10/0...

It looks like something you can adjust to making with tomato paste.

I have to say this is one of my favorite threads on this entire forum.

"Deploy" food?! Who knew?

The replies and other examples have been so funny and informative too.

eaten with naan bread? :)

Hi Sunshine:

I share the laughter on this thread at the 'cute speak' issues. But one point:

the word "chai" just means tea, not one specific kind of tea. There are similar sounding words for tea in languages all across Asia/Middle East.

The spiced tea that people in the US are thinking of is "masala chai" aka 'chai with masala' aka 'spiced tea'. But somehow the inaccurate usage 'chai tea' or 'chai spices' have taken on a life of their own.

So, everyone should know that chai is NOT a specific kind of tea, but ......

Very true. I have a 230 gm (I think about 8 oz) bottle of mukhwas, partitioned into different flavors. I have handed it around after a few parties and it is still going strong.

I looked at the ingredients and betel nut (supari) is included.

Supari, aka betel nut, aka areca nut is mildly addictive and if chewed in excess for long periods of time , is somewhat carcinogenic, alas.

There is something called "areca nut chewers syndrome", but this is found more among people who chew gutkha (areca nut+tobacco+paraffin+slaked lime+flavors+etc.) which the Government of India is trying to ban.

As said upthread, you only take a tiny bit of mukhwas as a mouth freshener after a heavy meal, definitely not as a daily munchie snack :)

Or make your own at home without supari.

Definitely: guavas, unripe mangoes, and grapefruit are basically vehicles for salt, red chilli powder or chaat masala.

Mixed fruit chaat is also good with salt, lemon juice, and chaat masala.

I also love a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper in lemonade.

Not tried salt on apples or melons however.