"edamame" news and stories

We usually turn to fellow bloggers for our food porn shots, but this salad at Epicurious.com looked so tasty that I had to share. The ingredients are simple: just combine asparagus, fava beans, arugula, sliced Pecorino Romano cheese, and a mix of olive oil and balsamic for the dressing. They also suggest that you can use shelled edamame in place of the fava beans, though I would be inclined to add both, myself. You can check out the complete recipe at their website via this link.

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I recently went to The Penthouse, the new restaurant at the top of The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. While the food was a little less than spectacular, the view of the Pacific from that high up was pretty stunning. However, there was one thing I ate that got my attention, which was their Green Crunch Salad.

The mix of crunchy greens tossed with a spicy vinaigrette was awesome, so I decided to re-create it at home, with my personal preferences, of course. The Penthouse's salad was composed of fresh sugar snap peas, cooked regular peas, and steamed edamame, which I did as well. However, instead of lightly steamed asparagus tips, I used raw snow peas cut on a bias. I dressed my vegetables with a spicy balsamic vinaigrette (3:1 olive oil: balsamic vinegar + finely minced garlic + salt/pepper + crushed red pepper) and the result was good. In fact, I might say that I liked my version with the balsamic vinaigrette a little more than The Penthouse's Asian-inspired sesame dressing.

After a week of summer vacation and trying to feed anywhere from four to five constantly ravenous teenaged boys everyday, I lost it. For six consecutive days I trudged to the grocery store stocking up on boy friendly foods, and spent the greater part of my food budget on the ungrateful oafs. In an effort to combat this problem, we decided to use our new Costco membership card and make the trek to the land of economy sized packages.

A Costco visit is no small effort on our part since we must drive about 175 to the nearest store; but when I weighed the one time trip against standing in the grocery line everyday while my toddler tried to pull everything within reach off the shelves, it seems like a swell idea. 

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I've heard it a number of times either in a friend's kitchen or at the drop off line at school, it's always mentioned in somewhat hushed tones. "She's a vegetarian now, you know." Or, "No, he won't eat that anymore, he's a vegetarian all of a sudden."

These comments are usually met with eye rolls and knowing nods of the head. For many households, the switch of a teenager's diet means two different meals to prepare, more shopping to do and yet another battle with the resident teen. Statistics show that many teens currently classify themselves as vegetarians. The reasons vary widely: health, religion, ethics, weight, fashion, environment. Whatever the case, the trend is growing.

Evidence that vegetarian eating is more and more abundant: veggie burgers, edamame and soy products are available at more grocery stores. Fast food restaurants are offering more vegetarian options.

I became a vegetarian when I was 15. By the time I was 19, I was a full fledged vegan. I read John Robbin's Diet for a New America and became inspired to abandon all animal products. However, when I had a child at age 22, the efforts of preparing vegan meals became too much and I fell off the wagon and stopped by a KFC. If my teenager were to suddenly give up ham and pepperoni, I think I would support him and maybe even join him.

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Hummus is typically made with garbanzo beans, but for Spring, I love the bright green of edamame, young soybeans.

Cook a bag of frozen edamame in their pods as directed on the package. Rinse the pods to cool them, then shell the soybeans. Each bean has a thin, transparent "skin" that you also have to remove. This takes a little bit of time, so do it on the couch with a couple of bowl on your lap while you're watching Rachael Ray make a fool of herself again.  

Puree the shelled and skinned edamame in a food processor with about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 minced clove garlic, ½ c. water (or you can use whatever liquid you want, like chicken or vegetable stock), and about 2 Tbsp. sesame oil. Salt and pepper to taste. You could also add tahini paste, which is an ingredient in regular hummus, but I didn't because sesame oil is fairly strong. Use more liquid to thin the hummus to the consistency you desire.

You can either serve the edamame hummus in a large bowl as a dip, or plop tiny spoonfuls on toasted flatbread, garnished with sesame seeds. Assure your guests that it's not wasabi, because that's what it looks like.