GREENS!!!!!!!

This weeks theme seems to be GREENS!  We have Swiss chard, spinach, beautiful beet greens (and if you have been reading for long, you know I LOVE beet greens) and kale this week.  I am slowly learning how to cook the heartier greens in this bunch (kale and chard), but beet greens are so much easier and so beautiful with their red stems.  Tonight, I was in the mood for quinoa, so I searched the net for ideas.  Here is a recipe I adapted from another blog: Food52

One Pot Beet Greens and Quinoa Pilaf
Adapted from http://www.food52.com/recipes/2434_one_pot_kale_and_quinoa_pilaf

• 2 cups salted water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 bunch beet greens*
1 meyer lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 cup quark*
salt and pepper

If your beet greens are attached to beets, cut them about 1" above the roots.  Place in a large bowl and soak for about 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse, making sure all sand is removed.  Cut off stems and store for other uses.  Cut greens into bite-sized pieces.

Bring the water to a boil in a covered pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it is just enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then top with the beet greens and re-cover. Simmer another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to steam for 5 more minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, take a large serving bowl and combine half of the lemon juice (reserving the other half), all of the lemon zest, scallions, olive oil, pine nuts, and goat cheese. 

Check the quinoa and greens when the cooking time has completed -- the water should have absorbed, and the quinoa will be tender but firm, and the greens tender and bright green. If the quinoa still has a hard white center, you can steam a bit longer (adding more water if needed). When the quinoa and greens are done, fluff the pilaf, and tip it into the waiting bowl with the remaining ingredients. As the hot quinoa hits the scallions and lemon it should smell lovely. Toss to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper, and the remaining lemon juice if needed.  Makes 2 to 4 servings.


*CSA ingredients

Wk 5: Ready for the Fourth of July!

This week with Independence Day around the corner we will feature some picnic-friendly items.  For the newsletter, we'll have some great recipes for beets, all derived from the Beet Beet Revolution event we had at the Grovewood Tavern earlier in the month. 
This week's contents are:

Small CSA:
1 bunch beets with tops (Betsy)
1 bunch carrots with tops (Leland)
1 head cabbage
2 ct zucchini (split)
2 ct squash (split)
1-2 cucumbers depending on size (split?)
1 quart yogurt (split since I ordered an extra quart)
1 head bibb lettuce (Betsy)
Approx 1.5 lbs tomatoes (split)
Approx 2 lbs sweet black cherries (split)
1 lb grassfed ground beef

Large CSA:  the small package plus the items below
1 bunch kale (Betsy)
1 bunch spinach (Leland)
1 bunch swiss chard (Betsy)
1 rack pork spareribs (approx 2.5 lbs) (Leland)
1 lb Chorizo sausage links (Leland)

We ordered 2 6" Strawberry Rhubarb pies (split) this week and are still waiting on beef short ribs (Betsy), canadian bacon (Betsy) and whole wheat pizza dough (split).  The parenthesis indicate how I think we will split the bag this time.  There are a couple items (cabbage and ground beef) that we will have to decide later.  Although, looks like the makings of stuffed cabbage possibly?

But this looks like an exciting share.  I will have to come up with yet another new way to cook all that wonderful squash (I love summer squash!).  Pickup on Thursday!

Noodle-less Veggie lasagna

So today's adventure starts with two medium zucchini's.  I have both zucchini and yellow squash, some beautiful tomatoes and swiss chard.  Since I have never worked with swiss chard and I have always wanted to try lasagna with zucchini "noodles", I decided to try and use all of these items and throw together a lasagna.

Swiss Chard Tomato Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles

• 1 bunch Swiss chard*
• 3 large tomatoes*
• 2 medium zucchini*
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil (I would use fresh, but I don't have any)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 (15-oz) container part skim ricotta
• 1 large egg*
• 2 cups part-skim mozzarella, split
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, split

Wash chard and remove stems; coarsely chop.  Fill a large Dutch oven with water; bring to a boil.  Add chard to water and simmer for 1 minute (after returns to boil).  Quickly remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water.  Squeeze water from the chard and lay out on paper towels; set aside. 

Wash and cut and X into bottom of tomatoes.  Bring water to boil in same Dutch oven.  Carefully put tomatoes into boiling water.  Allow to boil for 1 minute or until skin starts to pull away from flesh.  Remove to ice water.  Peel tomatoes, remove cores and dice into 1/2 inch dice.  Heat oil in large skillet.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.  Add Swiss chard and cook until heated through.

Wash zucchini, cut ends off, then thinly slice lengthwise (1/4 inch slices).  Boil water, add slices to water and then simmer for 2 minutes (after water boils again).  Remove to ice water, then layd out on paper towels to dry a bit.

In a medium bowl, beat egg.  Add ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mmozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan; mix well. Heat oven to 350F.

To assemble lasagna, spray large baking dish with cooking spray.  Place a layer of zucchini "noodles in bottom of pan.  Spread 1/2 cheese mixture over "noodles".  Spread 1/2 tomato chard mixture over cheese. Repeat layers.  Add third layer of zucchini noodles and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.  Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown.  Makes 8 servings.

Note: because there is no starch, this is a very wet lasagna.  Serve in a bowl with a spoon.  The liquid could be drained to make it easier to serve, but I find it very tasty and serve it with the lasagna.

*CSA ingredients

And For Dessert - Fresh Raspberries

I know this is technically not CSA because we grew them ourselves, but my husband brought me some beautiful fresh raspberries last night.  While we were at the grocery store, I found some beautiful buttermilk biscuits and decided we would have strawberry raspberry shortcakes tonight for dessert.  Then I remembered that I also had a new batch of farm-fresh yogurt.

Strawberry Raspberry Shortcakes with Fresh Yogurt

• 2 Buttermilk biscuits (bakery or your favorite recipe)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced*
• 1/2 cup farm-fresh plain yogurt*

For one serving, cut one biscuit in half.  Using half of the strawberries and raspberries, put half between the halves.  Put rest of fruit on top of biscuit.  Spoon 1/2 the yogurt over the biscuit and fruit. Makes 2 servings.

*CSA ingredients

Exploring Greek Cooking

I had purchased another beautiful eggplant this week and wanted to do something different with it tonight.  With the ground veal (grass-fed "free range") I had received last week, I decided to try my hand at Eggplant Moussaka.  I found a recipe that looked easy enough on Allrecipes.com.  When I read the commets, I found complaints about the seasoning and greasiness.  So I adapted the recipe to try and deal with both of those complaints.

Veal & Eggplant Moussaka
Adapted from Allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/veal-and-eggplant-moussaka/detail.aspx)

• 2 large eggplant, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic scape, thinly sliced*
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pound ground veal*
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg yolk, beaten*
• 1 cup milk*
• 1/2 cup feta cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 450F. Spray a 13X9X2" inch baking dish.
2. Place slices in baking pan, spraying each layer with cooking spray.  Roast 15 minutes, flip slices and roast another 10 minutes.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, oregano and cinnamon; cook and stir until softened. Crumble in the veal, and cook until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the tomato paste and beef stock. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. 
4. Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour until smooth, then gradually stir in the milk so that no lumps form. Simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolk.
5. Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the veal mixture, and half of the feta cheese. Repeat the layers, then place remaining eggplant in a layer on top. Pour the sauce over all, and sprinkle with reserved bread crumbs.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered, in the preheated oven, or until browned and bubbly.

*CSA ingredients

Note: I am asking myself why I have waited so long to try making this.  The only answer I can come up with is that I hate making bechemal sauce.  However, now that I have tried it and tasted the results, I believe I may be more willing to try things like this in the future.  The changes gave it a very "Greek" flavor and with the right eggplant (remember, if you press your thumb in and the indetation stays, you will need to salt the eggplant to pull out the bitter taste), it has a very nice sweetness.

An "Executive Decision" Yields Beets!!!!!

We started to put together our order this week and found that not only was there not anything new (you would think that vegetables would be added as they become available), but also things had been removed, we placed a call to Trevor.  We really thought it would be better to be able to choose half of our share, but the choices left a lot to be desired.  AND we were not able to get a lot of the items that came in the large share (beets, for instance).  After talking it over with Trevor, we made the decision to switch our share to the large share.  We will still have a credit to either spend or get refunded.  I am thinking we will continue to take a look at what is available week to week.  Especially since we are both looking forward to having strawberry rhubarb pies next week!

So, when I got the share home and started unpacking, I found that the bunch of beets had 5 very small red beets, however, it also had the most beautiful bunch of beet greens I have seen in a long time.  My husband's family loves beet greens in their borscht and despite the fact that there wouldn't be a lot of beets in it, the greens will more than make up for it.  I know that I have posted this recipe before, but I will post what I did with this particular bunch:

Simple Borscht with Greens

• 1 bunch small beets with greens*
• 6 cups water
• 3 mushroom soup cubes

Cut the greens off the beets about 1 inch above the beet.  Wash greens; set aside.  Carefully wash the beets; place in large Dutch oven with water.  Bring to a simmer and then simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove beets to ice water; reserve cooking water.  When cool enough, peel with a paper towel and dice into 1/2" pieces.  Slice the beet greens and stems; chop leaves to bite-size pieces.  Add beets and greens to water in Dutch oven.  Break mushroom soup cubes up into the water and stir well.  Return to simmer and cook until stems are cooked.  Serve with a tablespoon of plain yogurt or sour cream.

*CSA ingredients

Ratatouille variations!

We received zucchini and tomatoes in our share this week and it's the beginning of summer.....so, it's time for ratatouille!  While I was out running errands this weekend, I stopped and picked up 2 small eggplant.  Combining that with the zucchini, tomatoes, some onion and peppers, I made ratatouille!  I chose to do a roasted version this time, but I am going to post the recipe I use most often as well.

Roasted Ratatouille

• 2 small eggplant
• 1 med zucchini*
• 2 med tomatoes*
• 1 cup mixed sweet peppers
• 1 lg onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450F.  Dice tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and peppers; set aside.  Mince garlic and place in a medium bowl.  Place eggplant, zucchini, peppers and onions into prepared jelly roll pan (or 13X9X2" baking pan).  Mix garlic with oil and salt and pepper.  Drizzle over vegetables; roast at 450 for 20-25 minutes, stirring once.  Add tomatoes and lemon juice and mix well.  Continue roasting 10-15 minutes until tomatoes are soft and their juice has begun to run.  Serve over fresh foccocia or whole grain pasta.  For a meal, add chicken or shrimp.

Stovetop Ratatouille

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, split
• 1 lg globe eggplant
• 1 sm zucchini*
• 1 sm yellow squash
• 2 med tomatoes*
• 1 lg onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 2 sweet bell peppers (I prefer red and yellow)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Thinly slice onion. Mince garlic.  Cut eggplant into a 1/2 inch dice.  Cut zucchini and yellow squash in half longwise; thinly slice both.  Cut tomatoes into thin wedges (approx 8 per tomato).  In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions and peppers and saute until just transleucent.  Add garlic and continue sauteeing until fragrent.  Add eggplant and drizzle with more oil; cook stirring until eggplant is about 3/4 cooked.  Add zucchini and yellow squash and cook until squash is about 1/2 done.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil; lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are done.  Serve as sauce over whole grain pasta or as a stew.