Som Tam with Purple Beans

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats and eggs from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, cut flowers from Tiger Lily Art Company, and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including lettuce, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, and beans.

With the hot temperatures I have been searching for no cook, refreshing dishes, and had a craving for Thai flavors. I found just what I was looking for in Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's Hot, Sour, Salt, Sweet: a version of green papaya salad, but made with long beans. Swapping in Camas Swale's purple beans was the perfect way to preserve their brilliant color while infusing them, after a good pounding in a mortar, with vibrant lime juice, fish sauce, chiles, crushed peanuts, and tomatoes.

Som Tam with Purple Beans

from Jeffrey Alford's Hot, Sour, Salt, Sweet

1 large garlic clove
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp dried shrimp, minced
1 to 2 bird miles, minced
pinch of sugar, or more to taste
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 plum tomatoes or 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
1/2 lb long beans or green or purple beans, trimmed, cut lengthwise in half, and the cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch lengths. (Note, if the beans are large and tough, you can parboil them briefly in boiling water and refresh them in cold water before trimming and cutting).

Accompaniments
Lettuce leaves
1/4 head Savoy cabbage, cores and cut into small wedges

Place the garlic, salt, peanuts, dried shrimp, chiles, and sugar in a large mortar or in a food processor and pound or process to a paste. If using a processor, transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, then add the chopped tomatoes and a generous handful of beans. If using a mortar, stir in the lime juice and fish sauce, the tomatoes, and the handful of beans. Pound with the pestle or the back of a wooden spoon, being careful not to splash yourself, to mash the beans a little and combine them with the flavorings. Gradually add the remaining beans, mashing and blending as you do. Taste for salty-hot-sweet balance and adjust the flavors as you wish.

Mound onto a serving plate lined with lettuce leaves. Place the wedges of cabbage around the edge of the plate. Serve immediately. 

Roasted Cauliflower Larb

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you will find fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and an abundance of fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including: 

incredible pearly white cauliflower (try the larb recipe below)
brussels sprouts (great stir fried)
leafy greens (delicious roasted)
winter squash pumpkins (try a pumpkin gruyere soup) 

I love cauliflower, but I always cook it the same way, roasted, possibly with onions. I haven't yet succumb to the cauliflower rice craze that caused Draconian rationing measures at Trader Joe's. While I could keep eating roasted cauliflower every evening, I sensed some ennui on the rest of the family. This recipe from Bon Appetit caught my attention as a way to turn roasted cauliflower into something entirely new: toss it with fish sauce and fresh herbs as filling for lettuce cups. 

This is an unconventional version of the Laotian meat salad called larb or laab. The recipe has quite a few ingredients that require a trip to an Asian market (lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves), but a pared down version with just the fish sauce and fresh herbs is delicious. The one ingredient that makes it larb, rather than roasted cauliflower filling, is the toasted rice powder. You could skip this too, but it's easy to make while the cauliflower is roasting, and after browning and grinding up a 1/4 cup of rice, you'll have enough for multiple batches, which is a good thing because in our family lettuce wraps are always a big hit. 

Roasted Cauliflower Larb 

lightly adapted from Bon Appetit, serves six

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into large florets with some stalk attached
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 green Thai chiles, finely chopped (or keep on the side for people to add separately)
1 3-inch piece lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, finely chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped, or use lime zest
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup glutinous (sticky) rice
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped mint
Kosher salt
Sliced Persian cucumber and Bibb lettuce leaves (for serving)

Preheat oven to 450°. Toss cauliflower with oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and well browned, 35–45 minutes. Let cool slightly; chop into pea-size pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Add chiles (if using), lemongrass, lime leaves or zest, fish sauce, and lime juice; toss well.

Meanwhile, place rice in a medium skillet and set over medium heat. Toast, shaking pan constantly to keep rice moving, until evenly browned, 10–15 minutes. Transfer to a plate; let cool. Grind in spice mill or with a mortar and pestle to a semi-fine powder.

Toss scallions, cilantro, mint, and 2 tsp. toasted rice powder into cauliflower mixture; season with salt. Serve with lettuce, cucumber, reserved chiles, and remaining rice powder to make lettuce cups.

Thai Sweet Meat Winter Squash Curry

In our last share from our Open Oak Farm summer CSA, we received an Oregon Homestead Sweet Meat winter squash that was about the size of my son when he was born. It felt like a big responsibility to process it. I roasted and froze some for my favorite Thanksgiving pumpkin praline pie, a second aliquot went into a spicy bean and pumpkin soup with stock made from the pulp, and the final third I used in a rendition of my favorite Thai dish: pumpkin curry. I was lucky enough to have some especially fresh and fragrant ginger and lemon grass that I picked up at last week's Saturday Market, which I blended into an approximation of a red curry paste.

A heaping tablespoon of this wonderfully fragrant, if not terribly red paste, combined with coconut milk and the cubed squash, cooked up a delicious pot of rich, thick curry. Because I had fuyu persimmon salad on my mind, we had an extra orange meal with sliced persimmons on salad greens with lime juice dressing and peanuts. And now I have a good half cup of curry paste remaining. When I'm all cooked out after Thanksgiving, and we've had our fill of cranberry turkey sandwiches, I plan to whip up another pot of Thai winter squash curry as a perfect vehicle for leftover turkey.

Thai Sweet Meat Winter Squash Curry

~6 cups sweet meat winter squash or pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 to 2 Tbsp red curry paste (recipe below)
1 red or yellow sweet pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 scant tsp sugar
thai basil leaves or cilantro leaves

1. Heat a large Dutch oven or cooking pot over medium heat. Open the coconut milk can and scoop out the thick coconut cream. Melt this in the pot until it sizzles and then add the curry paste. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, until it is very fragrant. 

2. Add the chicken pieces and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring to coat in the curry paste. If using cooked turkey pieces, omit this step and add the turkey once the squash is cooked.

3. Mix together the remaining coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Add this to the pot, along with the cubed squash, peppers, and onions. Bring the stew to a simmer, turn the heat to medium low, cover, and cook until the squash is tender, about 30 or 40 minutes. Uncover, taste and adjust seasonings, (add cooked turkey at this point, if using) and simmer for another 10 minutes or so until the sauce is desired consistency. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil or cilantro leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

Red Curry Paste

1 Tbsp coriander seeds
6 small dried chile peppers (such as de arbol)
1 tsp black pepper corns
2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 shallot
2 large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp cilantro stems
1 lemon grass, coarse outer leaves removed
2 inches ginger root

1. Toast the coriander seeds for a minute in a dry skillet until fragrant. Then toast the chile peppers until the puff up, but do not burn. Remove the seeds from the peppers. Using a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder, grind the coriander seeds, chile peppers, pepper corns, and coarse salt into a powder.

2. If you want a good work out, you can process the rest of the ingredients in a large mortar and pestle, or combine them all in food processor and process together into a smooth paste. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator or freeze single portions in an ice cube tray. This makes enough for multiple pots of curry.

Pad Thai with Arrowhead Cabbage

The past couple of Sundays, Sweetwater Farm at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market has had a bounty of cabbages, including that charming arrowhead cabbage in front, a character straight out of The Point. 

I used this fellow, along with Sweetwater's fresh peppers, Songbird Farm's carrots and leeks, and SLO Farm's garlic, to whip up Mark Bittman's pad Thai recipe (I highly recommend the accompanying video that is truly empowering for anyone with linger reservations about cooking this dish).

As Bittman advises, you want to get all your components prepped before you start stir frying. Here I shredded the carrots for quick cooking, using a great little peeler that my mother-in-law brought me back from Thailand. This combination of vegetables -- the mild and tender arrowhead, the sweet leeks, and the colorful carrots and peppers -- created an especially delicious version of this dish. We had neither cilantro nor lime in the house, but torn basil and a squeeze of lemon did the trick. 

Pad Thai with Arrowhead Cabbage

adapted from Mark Bittman

7 ounces wide rice stick noodles
I small head cabbage, such as arrowhead
2 small sweet peppers or 1 bell pepper
1 carrot
1 leek
1 clove garlic
2 eggs
1/3 lb shrimp or 1/2 lb cubed extra firm tofu (or omit and use another egg)
neutral oil such as grape seed

for the sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp tamarind paste
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

for garnish
roasted peanuts
chopped cilantro or basil leaves
lime (or lemon in a pinch)
hot sauce such as Sriracha

1. Soak the rice stick noodles in a bowl with boiling water for about 20 minutes until soft but not mushy. Drain and toss with a little oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.

2. Remove any torn outer leaves of the cabbage and chop fairly finely. Slit the white part of the leek lengthwise and wash very well to remove dirt between the layers. Cut into 1/4 inch slices. Shred or julienne the carrot and cut the peppers into match sticks.

3. Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside. Mince the garlic.

4. Heat a large skillet that will be able to hold all of the ingredients. When hot, add approximately 3 Tbsp oil. If using tofu, add it now and let it brown without stirring it too much. When most cubes are seared on several sides, remove to a plate and add more oil if necessary. Then add the garlic and cook it for a minute. Crack the eggs into the pan and mix around to make some loose scrambled eggs. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, for a few minutes over high heat. Add the leeks and cook for a couple minutes, stirring. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring. Add back the tofu and the shrimp, if using, and once they are pink, add the noodles and the sauce. Toss together and cook for a minute until the noodles are hot. Remove from heat.

5. Serve the pad Thai topped with peanuts and fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime juice. Serves four.