Write on!

Finally, I start a blog – thanks Vegan MoFo for getting my bum in gear!  If you are wondering if I’ve really begun this blog with abbreviated expletives, check this out: http://veganmofo.wordpress.com/about .  In short, vegans are getting their write on about anything and everything.  And you, dear readers, get to reap the benefits – participants include newbies to the lifestyle and blogging, like me, as well as internationally recognized cookbook authors like Carla Kelly (whose Quick and Easy Vegan Bakesale I tested and you may have eaten for), Bryanna Clark Grogan, and Isa Chandra Moskowitz!  Want information, resources, and, above all, recipes? Well, you are going to get them, virtually every single day of November from over 560 bloggers!  We’ve all committed to at least 20 posts starting today, but I bet you’ll get even more from us both this month and in the future!

Enough with the intro…let’s talk food.

Today, I'd like to take a minute for escarole.  I discovered last night, after weeks of cooking with it, that saying the name of this leafy green makes one sound like Scooby-Doo saying “Eskimo.”  Try it.  It’s giggle-inducing.  You didn't giggle?  Try it again...with a friend...and a mouth full of escarole.  Anyway,  beyond its comedic value, escarole is delicious and versatile.  I don’t have a recipe to share (yet – Tofu and Rosemary-Crumbed casserole to be posted shortly), but I am here to assure you that you should trust the escarole;  escarole is your friend. For me, escarole has been hearty, yet delicate; it has the fortitude of kale and collards without the disappearing act of spinach when cooked and the conundrum of de-stemming that accompanies the hearty greens.

I first encountered escarole at the Arcadian Fields stand (WOOHOO! Their greens ROCK!) at the Hope Street Farmers Market in RI.  It was bursting from its orange plastic bucket and enticed me away from my beloved collard greens and colorful chards by dwarfing them in size and in vibrancy (and all for the same low price!).  Seriously, both purchases of escarole heads have been more like small shrubs than bouquets of chard or heads of lettuce.  Since my new acquaintance had already appealed to my eyes and frugality, I inquired about how it might satisfy my stomach…no one seemed certain of anything but sautéing it.  Fair enough.  In my experiments of the last few weeks, a mere two heads of escarole have been involved in the production of multiple servings of the following goodness:  lentil soup, miso soup, butternut squash lasagna, portabello and escarole ziti with sun-dried tomato Tofurkey sausage, sweet potato homefries and greens (the real breakfast of champions), and Tofu and Rosemary-Crumbed Casserole.  Yes, this bounty –from TWO heads of escarole, and each serving of each dish had between at least one half to one full serving of greens (and you know that does a body good!). 

On that note, enjoy your evening…and some escarole!  I hope you'll post some additional escarole love on the blog -- links to recipes, additional info, etc.

Happy November, and happy MoFo!