REMINDER: No delivery next week! You'll get a delivery credit for the week unless you requested a refund. Deliveries will resume the week of November 10th. See you then!
ITEMS
Carrots
Bok Choy
Oyster Mushrooms
Cilantro
Dozen Eggs
Kombucha
PRODUCERS
Amaltheia Organic Produce - Belgrade
Sweet Root Farm - Hamilton
SporeAttic - Bozeman
Gallatin Valley Botanical - Bozeman
"Straight From the..." Farm Fresh Eggs - Bozeman
Back to the Mother Ferments - Missoula
Egg Drop Soup
I've found myself perusing a cooking blog called The Woks of Life a lot lately. It's a solid compendium of Asian foods from classic "American Chinese" restaurant dishes like Chop Suey to a wide range of Japanese, Korean, and SE Asian cuisines as well. This recipe is from there - it's comfort food if you're under the weather, or an easy starter dish if you're making Chinese food at home. Serves 4-6 as a side.
4 C good-tasting chicken broth
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper (you can use white pepper if you have it)
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 Tbs cornstarch
3 eggs, lightly beaten
A palm-full of chopped cilantro, to garnish (or scallions, or both)
Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a medium soup pot. Stir in the sesame oil, salt, sugar, pepper and turmeric. Taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Mix the cornstarch with 1/3 C water to make a slurry. It needs to be mixed well - the cornstarch settles very quickly. Stir the soup continuously as you drizzle in the slurry or you'll get clumps of cornstarch in your soup. Use more or less starch for a thicker or thinner soup. You can also add the starch in a couple small batches, let the soup simmer for a couple of minutes, then check to see if the consistency is to your liking.
Next you'll add the beaten eggs. The speed at which you stir the soup when adding the egg determines whether you get large “egg flowers” or small "egg flowers" (the swirly bits of egg). Use a ladle to stir the soup in a circular motion while slowly drizzling in the egg until you've added it all. The hot broth will cook the egg quickly, so it should be done once the egg is added. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with cilantro and/or scallions, and serve hot.
Toasted Coconut Rice with Bok Choy, Mushrooms, and Fried Eggs
It was tempting to put most of today's items together in a big stir-fry, noodle dish, or fried rice (and you definitely could!) but I was drawn to the simplicity of this dish. If you like a runny egg, maybe give it a swirl with the veggies and rice as you dig in. If you don't like fried eggs, try scrambling an egg or two in a generous amount of butter or oil with a small pinch of chili flakes. Cook it quickly, folding until it's just set for silky eggs. Adapted from Genevieve Ko, NYTimes Cooking. Serves 4.
4 large eggs
3 Tbs coconut oil
2 C jasmine or other medium-grain white rice (12 ounces), rinsed in a sieve and drained
Kosher salt
8 oz bok choy - about half a medium head
4 oz oyster mushrooms, cut or torn into thin stips
Chopped cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce or tamari, and Sriracha, for serving
Remove eggs from the fridge to warm up a bit before you fry them.
Melt 1 Tbs of the coconut oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the rice, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until the grains start to look translucent and smell toasty, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and steam for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, trim the bottom off the bok choy and rinse stems and leaves well. If the stems are large, halve them lengthwise, then cut leaves and stems crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Tear or slice the mushrooms if you haven't already. Scatter the mushrooms over top of the rice (the water should be mostly absorbed) and sprinkle with salt. Spread the bok choy on top of the mushrooms and sprinkle with more salt. Drizzle or dollop another 1 Tbs coconut oil over the greens. Cover and steam until the greens and rice are tender, about 10 minutes.
With about 5 minutes left on the rice, heat the remaining 1 Tbs oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and fry until the whites are set and the yolks runny (or however you like them).
Divide the rice and vegetables among 4 dishes. Slide an egg onto each. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds, if using. Season to taste with soy sauce and Sriracha.
Notes: The original recipe calls for bok choy and green beans. I think mushrooms will work well (you could also pan fry them and combine at the end). I think carrot matchsticks or bell pepper would work, too, or whatever veggies sound good to you.
Additional Recipes & Suggestions
Here's a Fried Rice recipe I use often
Ramen is another favorite in our house - it's hard to replicate the rich broth without making bone broth at home, but here are a couple less authentic versions you can experiment with... there's also no shame in simply dressing up a package of instant ramen with some fresh veggies, cilantro and an egg! Or try this homemade Vegan Ramen or a hybrid Mushroom Ramen
If you don't love kombucha by itself, try making it into a cocktail or mocktail. This acidic, fruity beverage could also be used in cooking and baking, though I have less experience with that. You'll have to experiment!