Bean Soup

I finally managed to do some cooking today.  I actually remembered to soak beans last night. So today, I made 15 bean soup.  I had chicken leftover, so chose that as additional protein and used vegetables that I had as well. This is a rather Italian style soup (I used Italian seasoning), so I also decided to garnish with parmesan cheese.  Very nice combination!

Italian-style 15-bean Chicken Soup

• 1 lb 15-bean soup mix
• 2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 cup mixed sweet peppers, diced
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 1 can roasted tomatoes
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 1 bag mixed baby greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard)
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• Sea salt to taste

Soak beans overnight in about 6 inches of water.  Drain and discard soaking water.  Combine all ingredients except greens in Crockpot.  Cook on High for 3-4 hours or until beans are cooked.  Service with parmesan, if desired.

Eggs With Bacon and Greens

This morning I was packing up Renee's part of the share and decided the young greens we got looked really nice. I had also picked up some thick-cut bacon, so, I thought maybe scrambled eggs with bacon and greens would make a good breakfast.

Eggs with Bacon and Greens

3 slices thick-cut bacon*
1 small handful baby greens*
2 farm-fresh eggs*
1/4 cup skim milk*
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 ounces cheddar-jack

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Place the slices of bacon in the skillet and cook, turning once until the edges start to brown. Remo e from pan and drain on paper towels. When cooled, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Wash greens and dry on paper towels (or a salad spinner if you have one), cut into bite-size pieces. Drain bacon grease from pan, reserving 1 tbsp. Heat pan again, add greens and cook until wilted. Add bacon back to pan. Whip eggs with milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour eggs over greens and bacon. Sprinkle with cheese and cook, stirring, until just cooked.

*CSA ingredients

White Beans and Kale

The pork I cooked was so good this weekend, but alas, it is gone! Because of that, I decided it was time to use the kale we got 2 weeks ago. There is a blog I keep running across thathas the yummiest recipes called Kalyn's Kitchen. This week, I found her recipe for Cannellini and Kale Soup and just had to try it. I only had about half the kale I needed, so I balanced with turnip greens. The soup has such a great animal and, personally, I think its quite pretty (Kalyn says it won't win any beauty contests). Well worth the effort.

 Slow-Cooker Cannellini Soup with Kale and Turnip Greens
  Adapted from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/10/slow-cooker-vegetarian-kale-cannellini-soup.html

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onions*, chopped small
• 4 cloves minced garlic*
• 2 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning (contains oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme and rosemary)
• 2 cans (15 oz. can) Cannellini beans and juice
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) whole tomatoes with juice, broken up
• 4 oz. finely chopped kale*, washed if needed (about 4 cups finely chopped kale)
• 4 oz. finely chpped turnip greens*
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock*
• 1/2 tsp. dried rubbed sage
• 1-2 pieces of Parmesan rind to add flavor (optional) 
• freshly grated Parmesan, to garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan; add the onions and cook 4-5 minutes or until they are just starting to brown.  Add the garlic and Italian Seasoning and saute 1-2 minutes more, being careful not to let the garlic brown.  Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray; then put onions and garlic into the slow cooker. 

While the onions are cooking use a food processor to puree the cannellini beans and juice, keeping them a little chunky if you prefer.  (If you're using freshly-cooked beans I would add about 1/4 cup water.)  Finely chop the kale and turnip greens (cutting away thick center ribs if you have them) and wash kale in the salad spinner if you're using garden kale.  

Put the pureed beans, chopped kale, chicken stock, canned tomatoes and juice, and sage into the slow cooker with the onion mixture.  (Add one or two pieces of Parmesan rind if desired for extra flavor.)  Cook 4 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.  Serve the soup hot, with grated Parmesan if desired.

 

*CSA ingredients

 

Greens galore

Our CSA is getting a lot of greenhouse greens this time of year. In this bag alone, I have mixed braising greens (top left), spinach (top right), leaf lettuce (bottom right) and baby bok choy (bottom left). Because I am in the midst of holiday baking and concert season, I will probably blanch most of them and freeze them for later use.  Then there's the broccoli, squash,  onions and carrots as well. Being in a CSA certainly keeps me on my toes!

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Saturday 2/12/11

When we woke up this morning, we were flipping through the few channels I get with my antennae and ran into Rick Bayless's cooking show.  He was making fresh cheese and then made quesadillas with fresh corn tortillas, serreno ham and squash blossoms (and the fresh cheese) that looked so good.  It got me thinking about the cheeses that I have in the refrigerator from my CSA packages and decided that with those, the eggs and the bread that we got last package, I could make a really yummy savory bread pudding.  I did some research to get an idea of proportions and came up with the following recipe:

Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding

Makes 4 servings

·         3 cups day-old bread, cubed*

·         2 eggs*

·         4 egg whites*

·         1 cup half and half

·         ½ cup 1% milk

·         4 oz feta, crumbled*

·         3 slices turkey bacon, diced

·         2 cups mixed greens, chopped*

·         ¼ cup feta or grated parmesan (optional)

1.       Toast bread cubes in 350 oven, about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through the time.  Leave oven at 350. 

2.       In a bowl, mix together eggs, egg whites, half and half and milk until thoroughly blended.

3.       In a 9X9 baking pan, toss together bread cubes, bacon, mixed greens and feta.   

4.   Add bread cubes to greens and bacon.

 5.       Pour egg mixture over bread cubes.

5.       If desired, garnish with additional feta (or parmesan) for brown crust.

6.       Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until thermometer inserted in to center reads above 145 degrees.

Makes 4 servings.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 8

*CSA package items

While I was putting all of this together, I looked at how long it would take to bake and decided we needed something to tide us over, so I cut two thin slices of the bread (which is very yummy, by the way) and toasted it.  Then I spread the toast with the fresh cream cheese from the last package and some homemade low-sugar raspberry jam.

This reminds me of the biscuits and clotted cream from high tea.  So yummy!

I made the bread pudding lower fat by using egg whites and half and half instead of whole eggs and cream.  I was a little afraid of the texture, but it came out nice and creamy in the end.  To quote one of my favorite movie lines "I know you aren't supposed to say this about your own food, but YUM!" (Julie & Julia). 

While the bread pudding was baking, I threw together another version of the cabbage soup I made last week.  I don't have regular tomatoes, so I had to use Rotel tomatoes with chiles.  Here's today's recipe:

Southwestern Cabbage Soup

• 5 cups cabbage, coarsly chopped*
• 8 oz kielbasa*
• 3 (14.5-oz) cans Rotel tomatoes w/ chiles
• 2 (16-oz) cans tomato sauce
• 1 can water

Mix all ingredients in crock of slow cooker.  Mix well and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours.  Switch cooker to LOW and cook another 4-6 hours.  Makes 8 servings.

Half of this will be going home with John this weekend.  I hope I have freezer space for the rest since I leave for Hawaii on Wednesday.  The next package will come when I am in Hawaii.  I will let you know what I am expecting when I get the email from Trevor.

Making vinaigrette

So, I now have baby spinach and mixed greens in my refrigerator.  I don't normally have a lot of such things so I never buy salad dressings or vinaigrettes.  So, my goal today was to figure out how to make my own vinaigrette.  I looked at various recipes and finally decided to try for a honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette. 

Honey Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup basil infused oil
• 4 Tbsp brown mustard
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Store in the refrigerator. 

I have never had some of these greens before as salad greens (beet greens, etc) and I liked the peppery flavor.  I am also thinking the vinaigrette will be very good on my favorite spinach salad (avocado and grapefruit).  It's a nice change from store-bought dressings. 

I have started planning recipes for the rest of the package.  Since I have cabbage and kielbasa, I will be making a Cabbage Kielbasa Stew in the crockpot tomorrow.  I am also trying to come up with snack ideas for the game tomorrow, although currently, I haven't figured out how I am going to get to watch the game.  Unfortunately, I do not pick up FOX with my antennae.  Hopefully I can find a way to watch streaming online.