~~Tempting the Tasebuds~~

The last couple of grocery shopping trips I have bought a veggie we've never had before to try. Since we live in a small town area with a small Super Walmart, Piggly Wiggly, IGA, and a Greer's our choices are limited and it being winter, but we have had success in finding some items. When I am in a bigger area I will try to stop and get something that a bigger store might have that I can't get here.

So as a post idea I think I will feature a veggie we've tried and let you know the outcome and how we prepared it. Since it is winter I am focusing on items we can grow as a fall or winter crop and when spring and summer come I'll switch. That way when planning the garden I can add what we liked to the growing list.

First on the list... Leeks

Leeks belong to the garlic and onion family, and actually look like a big green onion.

Leeks are easy to grow from seed and tolerate standing in the field for an extended harvest. Leeks usually reach maturity in the autumn months, and they have few pest or disease problems. Leeks can be bunched and harvested early when they are about the size of a finger or pencil, or they can be thinned and allowed to grow to a much larger mature size. Hilling leeks can produce better specimens. Wikipedia

Leeks can be boiled, sauteed or even raw, I didn't want to boil or make the standard Potato Leek soup, though will be trying that this week.

Our first try was this recipe: Salmon with Caramelized Leeks

Verdict: This recipe was tasty I really liked the flavors of the leeks and carrots caramelized together. We used Tilapia instead of Salmon and we didn't use white sugar we used Rapadura.

The next recipe is the one that didn't call for them but were so good mixed in I followed the directions to caramelize them and then added them to the dish. Yummy!

Sweet, Sticky, and Spicy Chicken

On this recipe we omitted the brown sugar all together and just stuck with the honey only and we used one of our turkey breasts we grew this summer instead of chicken.

This is a veggie we will grow since we enjoyed it very much. I see it being one to cut up and freeze for stir frys when we have extras.

If you have used this veggie let me know how you used it, I would love to see how others have liked it.

Next up....Napa Cabbage


Love,

Erika

pictures from Wikipedia