Need a Fast Dinner or Lunch?  Make Creative Use of Your Refrigerator’s Treasures

I promise to stop talking about beets–but not yet.  After our final class on beet relish last night at Isabelle Farm, I came home with another pile of beet greens–my third in as many weeks.  And three times I experimented with Sautéed Beet Greens Composed with Bacon, Chopped Eggs and Walnuts.  So it was time for something new.  I was scratching my head for new ideas until I remembered to do what I usually do for a case of mealtime boredom:  Look at what’s hanging around in the frig.

Turns out that we had a number of interesting bits and pieces leftover from class last night:  a chunk of ginger, a cooked hamburger, the deglazing juices from the hamburgers, the green tops from the onions. . . .  No surprise that these items, which all came together for a nice dinner menu, were equally compatible in a single dish.  We just needed something for flavor.

For a vegetarian version, use garbanzo beans instead of hamburger and vegetable broth instead of the de-glazing juices. For an alternative color option, use yellow squash which is very much in season now. Saute small pieces a couple minutes before adding the onion greens.

Curry powder presented itself as a good compliment for beet greens.  In class, we learned about how spice blends like curry powder are the busy cook’s solution for bland dishes.  No mixing, matching or consternation, just add a teaspoon or two and you’ve instantly got a professionally seasoned dish!  When it comes to spice blends, I’ve had great luck with the blends made by the folks at Savory Spice.  The medium curry blend in this dish was no exception, especially when bumped up with a little fresh or prepared ginger and garlic.

So here’s how my odd assortment of leftover ingredients came together:

• Slice tops from 1 green onion (about 2 cups), saute in 1 Tbsp. safflower oil, then add
• 2-3 tsp. minced garlic (to taste)
• 2-3 tsp. freshly grated ginger (to taste)
• 1-2 tsp. Savory Spice medium curry powder, cook just a minute or two, then stir in
• 6-8 cups beet greens, chopped into 1-2″ squares (sounds like a lot, but they cook down a lot)
• Enhancements:  I had a couple tomatoes on the counter, about to go bad; diced to 1/2 “, they made a colorful addition
• 1-2 cooked hamburgers, crumbled
• 1-2 cups deglazing juices (or broth)

Simmer everything until the beet greens are limp and tender (about 10 minutes).  Serve over heated rice.  Fast and delicious.

Join our Seasonal, Healthy Cooking Classes.  Learn more about creative cooking, using herbs and spices, seasonal cooking and lots more.  Three more classes coming up at Isabelle Farm:

1. Tuesday August 21  5:30 – 7:30pm
2. Thursday, Sept. 20   5:30 – 7:30pm
3. Sunday, October 7   2:00 – 4:00pm

Register and more info here.