The Family Table: Sing, sing a song
As I often do, I spent a chunk of my weekend cooking.
Two pounds of ground lamb turned into kofta. Three pounds of ground beef transformed into cheese curd stuffed burgers. Three pounds of potatoes — sweet and regular — were foil packed and grilled, as were dozens of garlic scapes, broccoli and cauliflower, and beets picked from our garden. We also grilled more than two dozen pieces of steak, pounded thin, and rolled up with fresh veggies inside.
Feeding a family of five lunch and dinner daily is no joke. It takes time, coordination and a team effort with Mike. On a personal note, music and the occasional glass of wine help the process, too.
The kiddos all know it’s cooking prep time when the music starts in the kitchen. They wander through, singing along to the ones they know, and asking questions about the songs they don’t.
Over the years, all three in our household — Gabe, 16; Wes, 11 and Josie, 9 — have come to recognize songs from the 50s on, but they all have an affinity for musicals. Wes, for example, likes the music from “Chicago,” though he’s far too young to see it. Josie’s top pick would be “Hamilton” – and hearing her rap the edited version is a mix of amazing and hilarious. Gabe’s favorite, perhaps because he watched it so many times as a toddler (it was also his pap’s favorite) is “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
They sing loud and proud, even though none of them is going to be the next winner of America’s Got Talent. So do I, though I couldn’t carry a tune in a bushel basket either.
Any time we’re outside working in the garden, music is also part of our plan.
It seems to make tending to the veggies a bit more fun, and perhaps it benefits the plants.
For the past four years, we’ve enjoyed hearty crops of tomatoes, zucchini, dinosaur kale and beets. We learn a little every year about how to do it better and try new things.
This year, it’s edamame and tomatillos. We also dedicated a bed to garlic. Everything looks pretty happy.
When we had a warm spell in April, I planted beets and kale. We’ve started havesting both already.
Over the weekend, I pulled a baker’s dozen sizeable red, striped and golden beets to grill. The root itself is always delicious, but I love trying to find things to do with the greens, too. Because they cook down to nothing, I like to experiment with different ways of doing them.
This weekend, amidst the music, I turned them into a spicy sausage side dish for our weekly lunches. They were a bit spicy for Josie, but otherwise a hit.
Sauteed beet greens
5 cups sliced beet greens (from 13 beets in my case)
戮 pound bulk andouille sausage
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Splash stock or water
Sautee the sausage until cooked through and crumbled. If there is a lot of fat, drain off most. Add the onion, and cook until wilted over medium heat. Turn the head down a bit more, and add the garlic, stirring into the sausage and onion until it starts to cook – about 3-4 minutes.
Gently stir in the beet greens, turning the heat back up to medium. When they start to wilt down, add a splash of water and cover the pan so they steam down a bit more.
When the greens are fully wilted, stir in the beans and remove from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.