Random Edible Oddities of the Week
Random Edible Oddities of the Week
Given how much I eat, you'd think that I would know these things already, but I learned two new food fun facts over the weekend:
First, you can buy baby octopi at Whole Foods.
Until I saw these guys on Saturday night, I didn't know that octopi came so tiny. Or, you know, trapped in a perpetual swim in a plastic-covered tin. My question is, once one buys a package of these adorable little guys, how exactly does one eat them? Raw? Dipped in sauce? On crackers?
Secondly, green beans come in colors other than green.
This is a purple green bean from my best friend's garden. It tastes just like a normal green bean (and is, oddly enough, green on the inside). Apparently, these are fairly common. They're also delicious when eaten raw.
Until I saw these guys on Saturday night, I didn't know that octopi came so tiny. Or, you know, trapped in a perpetual swim in a plastic-covered tin. My question is, once one buys a package of these adorable little guys, how exactly does one eat them? Raw? Dipped in sauce? On crackers?
Secondly, green beans come in colors other than green.
This is a purple green bean from my best friend's garden. It tastes just like a normal green bean (and is, oddly enough, green on the inside). Apparently, these are fairly common. They're also delicious when eaten raw.
3
Leave a Comment
Otto
That's actually a baby octopus salad. It has carrots and peppers and celery in it. Also a sort of wine vinaigrette dressing. You can just eat it straight like a salad. No need to add anything.
July 5, 2011 11:44am
Benito
You'll see baby octopus in a few different preparations--you can buy them in bulk frozen at the International Market at Kirby/Winchester, or you can find the pickled red ones at Chinese buffets around town. The latter are typically pretty rubbery and low quality. The best I ever had were in Italy on the Ligurian coast, where fresh baby octopus would be quickly sautéed with olive oil and pesto or dipped in a thin batter and flash fried as part of a fritto misto.
On the green beans, they also come in bright yellow and a sort of bluish-green, and I've previously found rattlesnake beans at the farmer's market. They're green with purple speckles, but the purple disappears when they're boiled or steamed:
http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2007/05/benito-vs-farmers-market-rattlesnake.html
July 5, 2011 4:22pm
Molly
And I got some dragon-tongue beans from Downing Hollow Farms at the Cooper Young Farmers Market last weekend. It is just a varietal of pole beans.
July 15, 2011 1:52pm
Comments Make Us Happy