I just made something quick to take to the beach with me tomorrow as I am really trying to use everything up! I used some leftover cous cous, added lime juice, cilantro, sauteed kousa squash, snap peas, wilted arugula and tons of salt and pepper. Perfect cold salad to take to the beach, healthy and nutritious!
I am struggling to cook when it is as hot out as it has been here. I don't have air conditioning and it's been very humid and in the high 80's. I am planning on making a pesto with my remaining spinach, arugula, and garlic scapes, serving it over pasta with grilled zucchini, summer squash and snap peas. I am trying to convince my girls that we should be going out for desert, not dinner! If I say I'm cooking, maybe they will try my creation?
On another side note, I am in the process of fixing up my camera so I can actually post pictures of my recipes and my weekly haul from Farmer Dave's, so be on the lookout!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Week 2, Meal 2
I feel like I probably have eaten a turnip before, it's not a crazy vegetable. Most people have heard of them, maybe in a soup, maybe roasted. I looked around for recipies for how to cook them, what they taste good with and saw one that had you sautee the turnips and serve them with the greens and some spinach. I amended it to what I had and added flavor since it only had olive oil, salt and pepper. Here's my version of Haruki Turnips with Greens, Asian Style.
1 bunch Haruki turnips, greens separated and set aside
1 lb of greens, spinach and arugula worked well
Olive oil
1 t. of each ginger and garlic
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. orange marmalade
Salt & Pepper
Start by thoroughly washing all vegetables, including the turnip greens and then chopping them in to bite size pieces. Set aside. Slice turnips in to rounds, about 1/4 " think. Mine were very juicy, so I dried them off before I put them in a pan on medium high heat and cooked them on both sides until golden brown in just enough olive oil to cook with. Set aside and season liberally with salt and pepper.
Next take your greens and put them in to the pan, turning the heat down to medium low. Add the ginger and garlic. (I have a jar of ginger and garlic already made in to a paste in my refrigerator and I pull it out frequently for things like this. If I had to go through the trouble of chopping garlic and ginger every time I wanted it, I would never use them fresh. I just put some olive oil in it and it keeps well). Cook 1-2 min, then add the soy sauce and marmalade, and cover until greens are finished. Add the turnips back in and enjoy! I served this with some cous cous cooked with vegetable stock and seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper. There is a sauce that comes together from the soy and marmalade that is delicious over the cous cous. This is definitely something that I would make again!
1 bunch Haruki turnips, greens separated and set aside
1 lb of greens, spinach and arugula worked well
Olive oil
1 t. of each ginger and garlic
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. orange marmalade
Salt & Pepper
Start by thoroughly washing all vegetables, including the turnip greens and then chopping them in to bite size pieces. Set aside. Slice turnips in to rounds, about 1/4 " think. Mine were very juicy, so I dried them off before I put them in a pan on medium high heat and cooked them on both sides until golden brown in just enough olive oil to cook with. Set aside and season liberally with salt and pepper.
Next take your greens and put them in to the pan, turning the heat down to medium low. Add the ginger and garlic. (I have a jar of ginger and garlic already made in to a paste in my refrigerator and I pull it out frequently for things like this. If I had to go through the trouble of chopping garlic and ginger every time I wanted it, I would never use them fresh. I just put some olive oil in it and it keeps well). Cook 1-2 min, then add the soy sauce and marmalade, and cover until greens are finished. Add the turnips back in and enjoy! I served this with some cous cous cooked with vegetable stock and seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper. There is a sauce that comes together from the soy and marmalade that is delicious over the cous cous. This is definitely something that I would make again!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Week Two
So I learned a few things during my first week, mainly that it is pretty hard to eat that many vegetables without some serious planning and consideration. I realized that I needed something quick cooking grains to go alongside my produce, as well as garlic, ginger, lemons and limes. With these things and a little imagination, I was able to eat nearly everything. The only things that went bad were a couple of radishes. Everything else was eaten or saved for the next week (both heads of lettuce). So for my second haul, without further ado.
2 bags of snow peas
1 bunch of haruki turnips
1 bunch of radishes
1 summer squash
1 zucchini
1 kousa squash
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 large bunch of Spinach
2 or 3 large stalks of arugula
I did use the swap box this time to unload another head of lettuce and get some more radishes. I actually ended up cooking the leftovers from week one with some additions from week two in a fantastic Cous Cous Salad with Peas, Zucchini, Arugula and a Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette. It was delicious and is something that I will be making on a regular basis because it was that good. The vegetables are all interchangeable, I can't imagine you could put something in this that did not taste amazing.
Cous Cous Salad
3/4 C. whole wheat cous cous
1 & 1/4-1/2 C. of vegetable stock
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 T. olive oil
1 zucchini
1/2-3/4 C. snap peas, shelled and lightly steamed
1 C. arugula, washed and copped
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Enough olive to brown vegetables
I prepared my cous cous to package directions, but did toast it in a pan over a medium heat until it got some color. Add the stock, covered and let it sit while you prepared the rest of the food. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and let come to room temperature.
I actually cooked my zucchini the evening before and enjoyed that it was cold, but do what time allows you to do. Cut the zucchini in to long slices, brown both sides on medium high heat and then season with salt and pepper. Using a grill would be even better! Chop the zucchini in to bite size pieces, add the peas, arugula, cilantro and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add additional olive oil if it seems dry.
I served it with a salad of mixed greens with a balsamic vinagrette, sliced almonds and dried cranberries. This makes enough to serve 2 as a main course.
2 bags of snow peas
1 bunch of haruki turnips
1 bunch of radishes
1 summer squash
1 zucchini
1 kousa squash
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 large bunch of Spinach
2 or 3 large stalks of arugula
I did use the swap box this time to unload another head of lettuce and get some more radishes. I actually ended up cooking the leftovers from week one with some additions from week two in a fantastic Cous Cous Salad with Peas, Zucchini, Arugula and a Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette. It was delicious and is something that I will be making on a regular basis because it was that good. The vegetables are all interchangeable, I can't imagine you could put something in this that did not taste amazing.
Cous Cous Salad
3/4 C. whole wheat cous cous
1 & 1/4-1/2 C. of vegetable stock
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 T. olive oil
1 zucchini
1/2-3/4 C. snap peas, shelled and lightly steamed
1 C. arugula, washed and copped
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Enough olive to brown vegetables
I prepared my cous cous to package directions, but did toast it in a pan over a medium heat until it got some color. Add the stock, covered and let it sit while you prepared the rest of the food. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and let come to room temperature.
I actually cooked my zucchini the evening before and enjoyed that it was cold, but do what time allows you to do. Cut the zucchini in to long slices, brown both sides on medium high heat and then season with salt and pepper. Using a grill would be even better! Chop the zucchini in to bite size pieces, add the peas, arugula, cilantro and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add additional olive oil if it seems dry.
I served it with a salad of mixed greens with a balsamic vinagrette, sliced almonds and dried cranberries. This makes enough to serve 2 as a main course.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Beets!
So I was feeling like I wanted a snack and had a bunch of beets left from last Wednesday. I learned two things. Beets are messy and they are delicious. I can't remember ever trying one before. They always looked so messy and the though of something other than a pickle being pickled just, well...grossed me out. I googled for recipies, but nothing caught my eye. Then I can across an old episode of Good Eats. I love Alton Brown and he taught me a lot about beets and I decided to try his simple suggestion.
Roasted Beets
1 bunch beets, cleaned
Olive Oil
Earth Balance buttery spread
Salt & Pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Rub olive oil on beets and place in a pan. I had to cut one of mine in half because it was much larger than the others. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until tender. Peel off skins with paper towels, being careful because they are hot. Slice, put on butter, salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Next time am adding rosemarry or thyme. They were so good, a perfect snack!
Roasted Beets
1 bunch beets, cleaned
Olive Oil
Earth Balance buttery spread
Salt & Pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Rub olive oil on beets and place in a pan. I had to cut one of mine in half because it was much larger than the others. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or until tender. Peel off skins with paper towels, being careful because they are hot. Slice, put on butter, salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Next time am adding rosemarry or thyme. They were so good, a perfect snack!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Week 1, Meal 2
In my quest to use all of my produce I decided to make a stir-fry. It's my favorite thing to eat, it's easy and it's always different depending on what I have in my refrigerator and cupboard. I started off with some ginger and garlic sauteing in a pan with some olive oil. I browned some cubed super firm tofu that had marinated in soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Out came the tofu and I threw in the zucchini and a few drops of sesame oil. When the zucchini was done I added some peppers from my freezer and a can of baby corn. The tofu went back in and then soy sauce, coconut milk and a dab of peanut butter made up the sauce, served over basmati rice. It would have been better had I not undercooked the rice for the first time in my life, but it was good.
The only new part of my meal was the side dish of bok choy that I made which was actually quite delicious. I've never cooked it before so I didn't know what to do with it. I looked around and it seemed pretty easy so I made Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic. I would make it again, but next time I'm just adding it to the stir fry because that's where it went once I tasted it.
Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic
1 head of bok choy, stems separated from leaves and washed.
1/4 t. sesame oil
2 T light soy sauce
Sesame seeds to garnish
1 t. each of garlic and ginger
1/4 t. corn starch
Start off by mincing the garlic and grating the ginger. Get it going in a small amount of sesame oil. I then added the stems so that they could start to cook before the leaves went in. I added 1 T of water and put a lid on it for 3 minutes of so, then added the leaves and put the lid back on. 2 or 3 minuted later, it was tender so I added the soy sauce and corn starch and let it thicken up to a light sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top when finished. I ended up adding this to the rest of the food but it was great by itself.
I think next time I will try to do something else with the bok choy, but I could really use some ideas!
Happy Cooking!
Jaclyn
The only new part of my meal was the side dish of bok choy that I made which was actually quite delicious. I've never cooked it before so I didn't know what to do with it. I looked around and it seemed pretty easy so I made Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic. I would make it again, but next time I'm just adding it to the stir fry because that's where it went once I tasted it.
Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic
1 head of bok choy, stems separated from leaves and washed.
1/4 t. sesame oil
2 T light soy sauce
Sesame seeds to garnish
1 t. each of garlic and ginger
1/4 t. corn starch
Start off by mincing the garlic and grating the ginger. Get it going in a small amount of sesame oil. I then added the stems so that they could start to cook before the leaves went in. I added 1 T of water and put a lid on it for 3 minutes of so, then added the leaves and put the lid back on. 2 or 3 minuted later, it was tender so I added the soy sauce and corn starch and let it thicken up to a light sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top when finished. I ended up adding this to the rest of the food but it was great by itself.
I think next time I will try to do something else with the bok choy, but I could really use some ideas!
Happy Cooking!
Jaclyn
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Week One
This is going to be the story of my journey through a 20 week season of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture. I love food, love to cook and find it really satisfying to just make random things in the kitchen and see how they come out. I know that there will be some mishaps (hello roasted veg soup in which I forgot to peel the onion skins thoroughly), there will be meals that I won't want to ever look at again, but I also know there will be some hidden gems thrown in with some new veggies I haven't tried before. I will post another time about my eating habits and beliefs (I am a vegan, have been for nearly 2 years, and before that a vegetarian for 17), but for now I want to be able to tell you about my first CSA adventure.
I belong to Farmer Dave's and I have been looking froward to picking up my first share for weeks! When I got the the pick-up location, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were still plenty of great looking fresh veg out and that they gave me a great tote that looks like it will be very useful in the weeks to come.
There was so much food! I purchased a 'small share', enough to feed 1-2 people. I'm vegan and I am thinking that I won't have to supplement fresh ingredients too much if I plan carefully and cook creatively.
My box contained:
1 bunch of large radishes, red & white
1 bunch of beets
1 head of Romaine lettuce
1 head of Boston lettuce
1 bunch of garlic scape's
1 head of tatsoi
1 kousa squash
1 Zucchini
1 bag of snap peas
1 head of bok choy
I asked to get the pre-boxed share since it's going to be a bit of a tight squeeze to get to my pick-up sometimes and I couldn't have been more pleased with what I got! I only had to look up 2 items in my haul, the Tatsoi and the Kousa. I've had Kousa before and it's delicious, I just couldn't remember what it was called. I somehow made room in my refrigerator for all the leafy greens and then proceeded to think up dinner.
I had had garlic scape's before in a risotto, but felt that there must be a better use for them. While I looked through cabinets, I snacked on a radish that was the largest I have ever seen, just putting some salt and pepper on thin slices. It was so fresh! I have only ever had dried out radishes from the grocery store before and this was a serious upgrade. After looking around, I decided to saute about half of the head of Tatsoi in olive oil and just do a simple seasoning of salt and pepper and I enjoyed it. My final creation involved a Garlic Scape Pesto with Almonds, Artichokes and Cannellini Beans over pasta, I used Campanelle because I thought it would hold the sauce well. To top that off, I also made a Strawberry and Sesame Salad with some of the romaine lettuce. I didn't measure anything, I was just looking through my cabinets, refrigerator and thinking of what has worked with similar vegetables.
Garlic Scape Pesto with Almonds, Artichokes and Cannellini Beans
1 bunch of garlic scape's
1/4 C. almonds
enough olive oil to make a sauce, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 C.
2 T. water
2 t. basil, I only had dried but fresh would be best.
1/2 cup of cannellinni beans
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
3/4 box of pasta
Salt & Pepper
I set a big pot of water to boil and then set out to make the pesto. I took all my scape's and chopped them in to roughly 1" pieces. I put them in my Magic Bullet (food processor) with the basil and olive oil. They were pretty tough to puree, so I ended up having to add water to looken it up a bit. Once it was close to my desired consistency I added the almonds and then took it to a pretty pureed texture and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. Once the pasta is finished, reserve some of the cooking water, you will need it once everything mixes. I added the artichokes, beans and pesto to the pasta and then served some panko bread crumbs over the top that I had toasted with Earth Balance vegan spread. This came out amazing! The bread crumbs were the perfect addition and the house smelled wonderfully garlicky. It's surprising that the pesto did not taste to strongly of garlic (is that possible??) but it was really perfect. I will be making this again, possibly with different nuts just to try something new.
Strawberry and Sesame Salad
10-12 medium to large strawberries
3 C. lettuce, I used romaine but it even better with spinach
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. sesame seed oil
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1/2 C. olive oil, a combo of olive and grape seed is best.
Salt & Pepper
Tear greens up to pieces that you won't have a issue eating and slice then take 5-6 strawberries and slice them up. Next, take the mustard, vinegar, oils and puree. Season to taste and serve over the romaine with a sprinkling to sesame seeds on top. This salad makes a wicked pink colored dressing and is so much fun to serve to other people. I have only ever made it with almonds, walnuts or pecans but the sesame seeds were a nice change.
I had so much fun cooking everything, but next time I will try to pay more attention to how much I am using. Just use your judgment about the quantities of oil and if something is off, let me know and I can adjust accordingly. My plan is that I will get to write the recipe down every time I use an ingredient from my CSA box.
I'm still not sure what to do with my bok choy or what I'll do with my remaining tatsoi, but I'm sure i figure it out.
Happy Cooking!
I belong to Farmer Dave's and I have been looking froward to picking up my first share for weeks! When I got the the pick-up location, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were still plenty of great looking fresh veg out and that they gave me a great tote that looks like it will be very useful in the weeks to come.
There was so much food! I purchased a 'small share', enough to feed 1-2 people. I'm vegan and I am thinking that I won't have to supplement fresh ingredients too much if I plan carefully and cook creatively.
My box contained:
1 bunch of large radishes, red & white
1 bunch of beets
1 head of Romaine lettuce
1 head of Boston lettuce
1 bunch of garlic scape's
1 head of tatsoi
1 kousa squash
1 Zucchini
1 bag of snap peas
1 head of bok choy
I asked to get the pre-boxed share since it's going to be a bit of a tight squeeze to get to my pick-up sometimes and I couldn't have been more pleased with what I got! I only had to look up 2 items in my haul, the Tatsoi and the Kousa. I've had Kousa before and it's delicious, I just couldn't remember what it was called. I somehow made room in my refrigerator for all the leafy greens and then proceeded to think up dinner.
I had had garlic scape's before in a risotto, but felt that there must be a better use for them. While I looked through cabinets, I snacked on a radish that was the largest I have ever seen, just putting some salt and pepper on thin slices. It was so fresh! I have only ever had dried out radishes from the grocery store before and this was a serious upgrade. After looking around, I decided to saute about half of the head of Tatsoi in olive oil and just do a simple seasoning of salt and pepper and I enjoyed it. My final creation involved a Garlic Scape Pesto with Almonds, Artichokes and Cannellini Beans over pasta, I used Campanelle because I thought it would hold the sauce well. To top that off, I also made a Strawberry and Sesame Salad with some of the romaine lettuce. I didn't measure anything, I was just looking through my cabinets, refrigerator and thinking of what has worked with similar vegetables.
Garlic Scape Pesto with Almonds, Artichokes and Cannellini Beans
1 bunch of garlic scape's
1/4 C. almonds
enough olive oil to make a sauce, somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 C.
2 T. water
2 t. basil, I only had dried but fresh would be best.
1/2 cup of cannellinni beans
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
3/4 box of pasta
Salt & Pepper
I set a big pot of water to boil and then set out to make the pesto. I took all my scape's and chopped them in to roughly 1" pieces. I put them in my Magic Bullet (food processor) with the basil and olive oil. They were pretty tough to puree, so I ended up having to add water to looken it up a bit. Once it was close to my desired consistency I added the almonds and then took it to a pretty pureed texture and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper. Once the pasta is finished, reserve some of the cooking water, you will need it once everything mixes. I added the artichokes, beans and pesto to the pasta and then served some panko bread crumbs over the top that I had toasted with Earth Balance vegan spread. This came out amazing! The bread crumbs were the perfect addition and the house smelled wonderfully garlicky. It's surprising that the pesto did not taste to strongly of garlic (is that possible??) but it was really perfect. I will be making this again, possibly with different nuts just to try something new.
Strawberry and Sesame Salad
10-12 medium to large strawberries
3 C. lettuce, I used romaine but it even better with spinach
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. sesame seed oil
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1/2 C. olive oil, a combo of olive and grape seed is best.
Salt & Pepper
Tear greens up to pieces that you won't have a issue eating and slice then take 5-6 strawberries and slice them up. Next, take the mustard, vinegar, oils and puree. Season to taste and serve over the romaine with a sprinkling to sesame seeds on top. This salad makes a wicked pink colored dressing and is so much fun to serve to other people. I have only ever made it with almonds, walnuts or pecans but the sesame seeds were a nice change.
I had so much fun cooking everything, but next time I will try to pay more attention to how much I am using. Just use your judgment about the quantities of oil and if something is off, let me know and I can adjust accordingly. My plan is that I will get to write the recipe down every time I use an ingredient from my CSA box.
I'm still not sure what to do with my bok choy or what I'll do with my remaining tatsoi, but I'm sure i figure it out.
Happy Cooking!
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