What is The Vegan(ish) Experiment?

Our family (me, my husband D, and our four-year-old Molly) started 2009 with a mostly-vegan, macrobiotic-inspired diet (although I have to admit, the strict macro rules have pretty much gone out the window). I have seen a marked improvement in my chronic migraines, and I'm enjoying proving that we can make amazing, mouth-watering, memorable food without animal products. For a more in-depth intro, click here.

I stopped updating this blog quite awhile back, when life got in the way. I'm still keeping a mostly vegan kitchen, though, and loving it. Have fun browsing my recipes!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Day 151: Spinach and Fiddleheads Siciliano

We had a wonderful trip to Los Angeles last weekend, and when I came back, I had to bring my laptop to the Apple Store for repairs. I still haven't gotten it back (it's been 5 days, and they said 5-7 days), so I finally broke down and am writing this post on our desktop at home. (And, just as I had first started this post several hours ago, our iMac started to crash ... I had to find the startup disk in the basement and repair the main volume of the hard drive before I could finish. Sheesh.)

Have you tried fiddleheads? They are baby ferns, only available for a few short weeks starting in May. They look funny, but they are oh-so-tasty. I think they smell kind of like asparagus, but D doesn't agree with me - so you'll just have to try them yourself to see, if you can still find some now that June is upon us! This recipe is inspired by the Escarole Siciliano from AllRecipes.

Spinach and Fiddleheads Siciliano

Ingredients:
1/2 bag (5 oz.) spinach
1 lb. fiddleheads
2 T. capers
6-10 olives, chopped
2 T. canola oil
lemon juice to taste
fresh-ground black pepper

Directions:
  1. Wash the fiddleheads well - I tend to scrub them with my fingers to get all the grimy stuff off. (This is the step that takes the longest!)
  2. Trim any ends off of the fiddleheads that stick out more than half an inch or so. There shouldn't be any long stems.
  3. Heat canola oil over high heat in an extra large sauté pan or large pot.
  4. Stir-fry the fiddelheads until they start to become fragrant (maybe you'll think they smell like asparagus, but maybe you won't) - about 1-2 minutes.
  5. Add spinach and toss well. Cook for another couple of minutes, until spinach is wilted down.
  6. Remove from heat, add capers and olives, and season with lemon juice and pepper until desired taste is achieved.
That's it! Super-easy and SO good.
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3 comments:

  1. CathyJune 1, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    What's the "red" in the recipe?

    ReplyDelete
  2. beckiwithaniJune 1, 2009 at 10:47 AM

    Chris - thanks for stopping by! If you make it, come back and let us know how it went.

    Mom - the red is kalamata olives. You could also use green or black olives, if you don't like kalamata ones. I like the flavor and the color they add.

    ReplyDelete
  3. HuaJune 6, 2009 at 12:31 AM

    Hi Becki,

    This looks so good. I'll have to find these fiddleheads to try out.

    I'm Hua, the director of Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network, a network of over 2,000 of the best health writers on the web (including doctors, nurses, healthy living professionals, and expert patients). I think your blog would be a great addition to the Network, and I'd like to invite you to learn more about it and apply to join at http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger. Once approved by our Chief Medical Officer, your posts will be republished on Wellsphere where they will be available to over 5 million monthly visitors who come to the site looking for health information and support. There’s no cost and no extra work for you! The HealthBlogger page provides details about participation, but if you have any questions please feel free to email me at hua@wellsphere.com.

    Best,
    Hua

    ReplyDelete

I love it when people come back and tell me how the recipes turned out - please consider doing so! Thanks!

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