Leeks and Beet Greens

I was looking through my stock of produce trying to figure out what use in this weeks quiche and realized that I had a few leeks and some more beet greens to use up.  Leeks are interesting to me because I am not much of an onion person and for years never wanted to even try them.  But then someone taught me the proper way to use them (may have been Alton Brown or some online cooking show, who knows?) and ever since then, I have bought them when they looked beautiful or taken advantage of them when available from the CSA.  The term I have often heard in conjunction with cooking leeks is "melting" and there is a reason they call it that.  These vegetables, which have a flavor reminiscent of garlic and chives, when cooked properly, do sort of "melt".  They become rather creamy and beautiful!

I decided that leeks and beet greens, with the contrast of garlic and chives and the sweetness of the beet greens would make a lovely combination for my quiche today.  Unfortunately, I was out of Swiss cheese, so I had to settle for sharp cheddar, but then I decided that sharpness would only add to the flavor profile.  Finally, I took some fresh basil from my garden and chiffonaded it and put it on top before baking the quiche.  There is a danger that the basil will turn blackish as it cooks (why you shouldn't add fresh basil to your tomato sauce until the very end), but I thought that the flavor would heighten the flavor profile.  And besides, when you have fresh basil available, why not use it?

Leek and Beet Green Quiche

• 3 small leeks*
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 small bunch beet greens, stems removed*
• 1 cup sharp cheddar
• 5 farm fresh eggs*
• 1 1/4 cups 1/2% milk
• salt & pepper
• 6 basil leaves**

Cut leaves and roots off the leeks leaving only white and light green portions.  Slice leeks in half and rinse to remove sand; drain well.  Slice leeks to 1/4 inch slices; set aside.  Wash and drain the beet greens; set aside.  Wash and drain the basil leaves; set aside.

 Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat until the butter starts to bubble.  Add the leeks and saute, stirring frequently, until they start to "melt" (this is fairly easy to see as the texture seems to change).  Tear the beet greens into bite-sized pieces and add to skillet.  Cook until the greens wilt and most of the water is evaporated.  Place these vegetables into your prepared baking dish.

Beat eggs until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the milk and mix until completely smooth.  Pour eggs over the vegetables.  Sprinkle with shredded cheddar.  Roll the basil leaves and slice very thinly (known as chiffonade).  Sprinkle the chiffonaded basil over entire quiche.  Bake for 35 minutes or until knife, inserted into center, comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients
**Farmers market ingredients

Nutrition (1/8 quiche)
Calories        136
Fat                    9g
Cholesterol   131mg
Sodium         162mg
Potassium     159mg
Carbs                6g
Protein              8g

Dutch Baby

The nice thing about having herbs growing in my flower box and all this wonderful produce around are all the possibilities.  This morning, I wanted to do something a little different for breakfast.  It's been a number of years since I have made a German pancake and since I now have a cast iron skillet, it was time to give it a try.  I always forget how easy they are to make. 

The last time I made one of these, it was a sweet apple pancake.  But at some point in time, we had gone out to breakfast and had a savory version that I really enjoyed.  So, this morning, I decided to make a savory one myself.  I need to use up some of the basil I've been growing (the plants are probably 3 times bigger than they were when I planted them).  And I have a bunch of beet greens to use up as well.  Combined with sharp cheddar, I was hoping for a very tasty combination.  I was not wrong! As an added bonus, I used almond flour, so this is a gluten-free dish.  I will have to pass it along to my uncle who is allergic to gluten.

Savory Dutch Baby Pancake

• 1/2 C unsalted butter, sliced
• 3/4 C almond flour
• 3/4 C skim milk
• 3 large farm-fresh eggs*
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 handful beet greens*
• 1 heaping Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2/3 C sharp cheddar

Place cast iron skillet into oven and preheat oven to 425F.

Wash and dry basil and beet greens.  Chiffonade the basil and cut beet greens into bite sized pieces.  Set aside.

Blend eggs in a blender.  Add flour, milk and salt and process until very smooth.  Scrape down sides, if needed, until all flour is incorporated.  Add basil and greens and pulse until incorporated (do not worry about chopping, the pieces are fine).

Place butter into skillet and return to oven until melted.  Pour pancake mixture into hot pan and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake about 15 minutes or until edges are browned and the center is set.  Remove from oven and allow to further set 5 minutes before serving.  Makes 2-4 servings.

*CSA ingredients

Beet greens and Quinoa

I decided to do something a bit different with my quiche this week.  At the farmers market, they had beets with the most beautiful green tops I have seen in a long time.  Beet greens are my preferred green because they have a unique flavor that is very subtle, but nice.  I have wanted to try and come up with a crust for my quiches because sometimes they come out quite liquid-y depending on what vegetables are in the quiche.  I believe the reason you have a crust is to absorb some of that off-liquid.  So, this morning, I decided to try and make a crust out of quinoa.  The reason that I chose quinoa is because the grain stays compact and has 4 grams protein per serving.  These are useful qualities for a person who has had gastric surgery.  You have to put together the crust and bake it.  Then once done baking, you fill the crust with your fillings and bake the quiche.  Today's quiche will have caramelized candy onions, Michigan ham and beet greens and stems.  To finish the flavor profile off, I have a nice aged Swiss cheese.

Beet Green and Ham Quiche with Quinoa Crust

Quinoa Crust

• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 large farm-fresh egg*

Filling 

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium candy onion**, sliced
• 1 small bunch of beet greens and stems**
• 1 cup Michigan ham, diced
• 2 oz aged Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
• 5 farm-fresh eggs*
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp garlic powder (I didn't have fresh garlic)
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  To make crust, cook quinoa as directed (I chose to use the microwave).  Beat egg; then mix quinoa, cheese and eggs completely.  Press into the bottom of prepared pie plate.  Bake for 15 minutes or until edges brown. Remove from oven.

Reduce oven to 350F.

Thinly slice the onions, set aside.  Wash and dry the beet greens and stems.  Separate stems from leaves.  Cut stems into 1/2" pieces.  Stack leaves and roll up; cut into 1/2" pieces.  Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and mix well.  Cook until just translucent, then reduce the heat to med-low.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions begin to caramelize.  Add stems and ham to pan and continue cooking until stems start to become soft.  Add leaves and mix well.  Cover and cook until greens just begin to wilt (about 5 minutes).  Cover and set aside allowing mixture to steam for about 10 minutes.

 In a medium bowl, beat eggs.  Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Pour in milk and beat until completely smooth.

To assemble, place fillings into crust.  Layer with thinly sliced Swiss.  Pour egg mixture over fillings.  Bake for 30 minutes or until knife, inserted into center, comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients
**Farmers market ingredients

Nutritional information (1/6 quiche):
Calories                                 279
Total Fat                                  14
Cholesterol                            194
Carbohydrates                         21
    Fiber                                      3
    Sugar                                     2
Protein                                     18

Fresh Michigan Produce: Beets, Greens and Asparagus!

I LOVE summer!  And I love being in Michigan in the summer.  This week's farmers market purchases included fresh Michigan asparagus and beets with beautiful greens!  I also found candy cane onions and garlic scapes.  But this post is about the first group of produce.  I needed to find a way to use those beet greens before I leave for my conference, so I took a look at what I could do with those and my CSA eggs.  What I found was a strata recipe that sounded very yummy.  I had pancetta in the freezer, so I thawed that to use for flavoring.  I also had a loaf of beautiful Italian sourdough that I really need to use before I go as well.  By combining these items with my CSA eggs and a queso quesadilla cheese, I came up with a beautiful strata.

The beets and the asparagus, I roasted.  I will put the directions for each further down in this post.  I just adore fresh summer vegetables and cannot wait to start receiving my Harvest Share the week after returning from my conference.  It will make teaching summer semester much more bearable ;).

Beet Green Strata

• 3 slices herb pancetta, diced
• 1 bunch beet greens**
• 1/2 loaf (about 3 cups) Italian Sourdough bread, broken into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 3 large farm fresh eggs*
• 1 cup queso quesadilla cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• salt & pepper, to taste

Wash beet greens by placing in a large bowl with water.  Change water several times to ensure removal of all grit.  Cut stems from leaves and cut into 1/2" pieces.  Layer the leaves and cut into 1/2" strips.  Set aside.  Heat large skillet over medium heat.  Add pancetta to pan and cook until browned.  Remove pancetta from pan and set aside.  Add beet green stems and mix with pancetta drippings. Cook about 4 minutes or until the are just starting to get tender.  Add the greens, a portion at a time, and cook until just wilted.  Add a splash of water, cover, and cook 2-3 more minutes or until stems are soft.  Add cooked pancetta, half the chees and bread cubes.  Mix well and then pour into a 13 x 9 baking pan.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs and milk with salt and pepper to taste, until custard consistency.  Sprinkle remaining cheeses over filling and then carefully pour egg mixture over the filling.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning, warm casserole to room temperature.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake strata for 40-45 minutes until the top is brown and bubbly. 

*Middleton Farms CSA ingredients
*Farmers market ingredients

Roasted Beets and Asparagus

• 1 bunch beets*
• 1 bunch Michigan asparagus*

Preheat oven to 400F.

Scrub beets and remove tops.  Place in a baking dish with a splash of water.  Roast, covered, for 45 minutes.  When beets are done, you should be able to pierce them with a knife without resistance.  Remove from dish and cool enough to handle.  Using a paper towel, slip the skins from the beets (they skins should just slide off).  Cut into wedges and place in a bowl.  Sprinkle with olive oil and basalmic vinegar; mix well.

Break woody ends off asparagus (hold at either end and bend.  The woody end should break off).  Place in a ziploc bag.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Shake bag to coat evenly.  Place asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Roast for 8 minutes.  Remove the pieces that area cooked (the thinner ones) and turn the remaining pieces.  Roast for another 5 minutes.  Check to see if the thickest pieces are cooked.  Remove to a plate and serve.

*Farmers market ingredients

Farmers' Market Finds

Mom and I went down to the Midland Farmers' Market this morning and I was surprised how the produce selection has expanded.  It took everything in me not to just buy all of the beautiful vegetables available this morning, but since I head out on Wednesday next week, I resisted.  But there was everything from beets to zucchini and yellow squash to eggplant to cucumbers to tomatoes and so on.  Yes, did you see that they had almost everything for ratatouille?  Oh, I so wanted to get everything and make a batch, but then I would have to leave it for Mom and Dad to eat and that wouldn't be fair.  I settled for beets with beautiful beet greens and blueberries.  Mom got tomatoes, pickle cukes, rhubarb and cherries.

When we got home, I quizzed them on whether they would like to try quiche with the beet greens.  Mom said she usually gave the greens to Lyn (she's actually never tried them before!).  They agreed to try it, so I cooked up the greens, cut up one of the riper tomatoes and then added ham and sharp cheddar.  They thoroughly enjoyed the quiche for lunch and we have leftovers for breakfasts.

Beet Green with Ham Quiche

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 small bunch beet greens with stems*
• 1 medium tomato*
• 6 oz Michigan picnic ham
• 3 oz extra sharp cheddar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic powder

Wash beet greens, dry and cut off stems.  Cut stems into thin slices; set aside.  Cut beet leaves into bite-sized pieces; set aside.  In a large skillet, heat oil.  Add stems and cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add leaves and cook, stirring, until the leaves begin to wilt.  Cut tomato into thin wedges and arrange in bottom of prepared pan (I used a round cake pan this time).  Sprinkle greens evenly over the tomatoes.  Finely dice the ham and cheddar and sprinkle evenly over the vegetables.  In a medium bowl, whip eggs with milk and seasonings until smooth and slightly bubbly.  Pour over the fillings.  Bake in preheated 350F oven for approx 35 minutes, or until a knife, inserted into the center, comes out clean.  Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.

*Farmers' Market ingredients

Lasagna after Bariatric Surgery

After bariatric surgery, you have to educate your stomach again.  You also have to reeducate your mind when it comes to eating.  While I would love to believe that I could continue to eat my beloved Italian pasta, I am now realizing that I just won't be able to indulge in that ever again.  I can have a few strands of spaghetti or a couple pieces of shaped pasta, but it will never be a "meal" for me again.  That said, I still love the flavor of lasagna.  When I was on blended foods, my favorite dish was deconstructed lasagna (basically ricotta cheese topped with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella).  Yesterday, when I was at the Murray Hill Market, I found some beautiful early zucchini's and decided to make a noodle-less lasagna.  To make it even easier and not heat up my apartment, I decided to make it in my crockpot.

Crockpot Noodle-less Meatball Lasagna

• 2 medium zucchini
• salt
• 1 small bunch beet greens*
• 16 oz ricotta cheese (part-skim)
• 2 cups mozzarella, split
• 1 egg*
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
• 6 small meatballs
• 2 cups homemade marinara

Slice zucchini 1/8 inch thick and lay out on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and let sweat for 30 minutes.  blot zucchini slices with paper towels. Wash and tear beet greens into bite-size pieces.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta, egg, 1 cup of mozzarella and parmesan.

Cover bottom of crock with marinara.  Layer zucchini slices over sauce.  Break up 2 meatballs over zucchini and spoon sauce over meatballs.  Layer ricotta over meatballs and sauce, followed by beet greens.  Repeat layers 2 times ending with a layer of zucchini and sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.  Cover and cook 3 hours on HIGH.  Reduce heat to LOW until vegetables are soft.

*CSA ingredients

Ribs and Beets!

I had thawed what I thought was two packages of thick-cut pork chops this week.  When I went to cook them, I found out that one of the packages was beef short ribs.  While I just seared the pork chops and finished them in the oven, I couldn't resist making my favorite Southwestern Beef Ribs in the crockpot.  To use up beets and beet greens, I made Quinoa with Beets and Greens as a side.  If you need an easy way to roast your beets, just cut the greens about 2 inches above the beets, wash them really well, wrap them in foil, put them in your crockpot and let them cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.  They will be perfectly cooked and peel so easily when they cool!

Southwestern Slow-Cooker Ribs

• 1 lb beef short ribs*
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 1 cup fresh salsa
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar 

  Place ribs in slow cooker and cook covered on LOW for 4-5 hours.  Mix tomatoes, salsa and vinegar in a small bowl.  Pour over ribs.  Change to HIGH and cook for about 1 hour.  Makes 4 servings.



Quinoa with Beets and Greens

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 medium roasted beets*
• 1/2 bunch beet greens, washed and cut to bite-sized pieces* 
• Feta cheese

Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  In the meantime,  dice beets to 1/2" dice.  After the 10 minutes, add beets and beet greens to top of quinoa; cover and cook another 5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and allow to steam another 5 minutes.  If desired, sprinkle with a 1-2 Tbsp Feta cheese.  Makes 4 servings.

*CSA ingredients

Winter squash and greens

This week, we had a plethora of greens to choose from!  We got rainbow Swiss chard, mustard greens and beets with beautiful greens.  I took the mustard greens and beets while Leland took the Swiss chard.  Because greens do not keep well, I wanted to use them today and I wanted to do something different with them.  I am not a fan of sauteed greens, no matter how much garlic and/or bacon you add to them.  I think they remind me of Richmond too much.  As I looked through pages of greens recipes, one stood out.  It was a vegetarian chili with winter squash, black beans and greens.  It is definitely a convenience recipe, though, using canned tomatoes, chicken broth and beans.  I have a refrigerator full of vegetables that need to be used, so I developed a fresh vegetarian chili based on that recipe.

Fresh Winter Squash Chili with Greens
Adapted from: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe_details.asp?nutrition_id=43019416

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion*, diced
• 2 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1/2 large acorn squash*, peeled and diced, 1/2" cubes
• 2 Tbsp good chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 3 C chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegan/vegetarian)
• 1 (11 1/2 oz)
• 3 C cooked black beans
• 4 Roma tomatoes*, diced
• 1 lg sorreno pepper*, small dice
• 2 C corn* (from 2 cobs)
• 5 C greens*, coarsely chopped (I used mustard and beet greens)

1. Heat EVOO in a large Dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic; sautee until tender and golden, about 10 minutes.
2. Add squash; cook and stir 2 minutes.  Stir in spices, black beans, stock, tomatoes and pepper with V8. Bring to a boil
3. Cut corn from ears of corn; break up kernals.  Add to pot and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook until squash is tender; about 15 minutes
4. Stir in greens; simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes longer.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary.
6. 1 serving is 1 1/2 cups.  Serve with chopped cilantro or diced tomatoes or red onion, if desired.

*CSA ingredients

Quinoa and eggs

We woke up late this morning and were both very hungry.  So what can you do that is quick and hearty?  I had a serving left of the Beet Green Quinoa salad (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/06/greens.html) I made earlier in the week.  I wondered if that would make good scrambled eggs:

Beet Green Quinoa Scrambled Eggs

• 1 cup Beet Green Quinoa Salad*
• 2 lg eggs*
• 4 lg egg whites*
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Beat eggs and egg whites with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat quinoa salad over medium heat.  Pour eggs over quinoa and sprinkle with feta.  Cook until bottom eggs are cooked, then using a spatula, slowly scramble eggs until they are just wet.  Makes 2 servings.

Note: I am not lucky enough to have oven-safe pans.  If I did, I would have finished this as a frittata instead.  To do this, you would begin cooking the eggs as above, however, once they are cooked about 2/3 through, you place them under the broiler until the top is browned.  As a frittata, this recipe could serve 4 along with a green salad or other vegetable side.

*CSA ingredients

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

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