Garlic Scape Pesto

I'm learning that making a fresh pesto is as easy as blending up whatever greens and garlic you may have on hand with some lemon, nuts, olive oil, and water.  No special measurements needed.

For this pesto, I used some lovely garlic scapes from my CSA in place of mature garlic.  [Garlic scapes, I learned, are the "thinnings" from the garden.  To grow garlic (or anything else, really) you plant a bunch of seeds, and then pick some of the shoots to thin them out as they grow.]

For the greens, I used kale and beet greens.  My bullet-style blender is small, so I blended the greens and garlic with the lemon, oil, and water, and put the results in a bowl.  Then I blended the walnuts with some oil and water and mixed the result into the same bowl.  It made for an artsy and unusual pesto presentation that tasted just the same as regular pesto when spooned over whole-wheat pasta.

Beet Smoothie

Beet smoothies.

They look beautiful and they sound good.  They seem to be the darlings of vegan and raw food bloggers.  What could be wrong with a raw beet (I love beets!) whirred up with some orange juice and frozen strawberries?

Everything.

Do not be fooled by this beautiful looking drink.

It was gross.  I think I need to let beets be beets.

Asparagus Mushroom Soup

This soup was so easy, I think it counts as fast food.  In fact, the instructions for presentation are more complicated than the recipe itself.

1 bunch of asparagus (an amount that you can hold easily in two hands)
1 portobello mushroom
4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (preferably homemade)
6 heaping teaspoons of fat-free Greek yogurt
lemon zest, to taste
cracked black pepper, to taste

Chop up the asparagus, reserving a few of the prettiest tips for garnish.  Chop up the mushroom.  Toss both in a pot with the chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, and allow to cook (at a boil) for about ten minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before putting it in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  [If you have a blender that also heats, you can make this recipe in said blender without stopping to cool.]

Ladle into bowls and put 1 heaping teaspoon of fat-free Greek yogurt into each bowl.  Top with lemon zest, black pepper, and asparagus tips.  Enjoy this tart and tangy, earthy and green treat!

Kenyan Curried Cabbage

I am normally not very partial to cabbage (which is why I still had some kicking around from last week's CSA delivery).  But this recipe changed my mind.

Cabbage is now at the top of my list!

[Which is a very good thing, because I still have another whole head of it in my fridge.  The CSA stops for no woman.]

My father-in-law has high blood pressure.  He recently researched foods that could help him to control it.  At the top of his list was turmeric.  My in-laws are AMAZING cooks, but turmeric is not a spice they're used to using.  I promised to research some recipes for them.

It turns out that turmeric is a key ingredient in curry powder.  Curry is a staple food in my house, but my in-laws don't prefer "hot" foods, so I imagine that they don't eat curry very often.  I didn't want to suggest a curry that they wouldn't enjoy, so I went looking for something a little more unique.

I thought this recipe for Kenyan Curried Cabbage, adapted from Kayotic Kitchen, would appeal to them.  The recipe uses wheat flour and milk, both of which are off limits to my poor father-in-law.  However, I imagine that gluten-free flour, and soy or nut milk, would work equally well in place of the wheat and dairy here.

1 medium head of cabbage
1 medium onion
2 medium carrots
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup low-fat or skim milk plus 3 tablespoons of low-fat or skim milk
1 teaspoon curry powder (contains turmeric!)

Shred the cabbage, onion, and carrots.

[I should note that I had gorgeous blue/purple carrots from my CSA, but that any kind of carrot would work fine.]

Put the olive oil in a skillet and cook the onions for about two minutes over medium-high heat, until they begin to soften.  Add the cabbage and carrots.  Cook for an additional two minutes, until the cabbage begins to soften.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, 3 tablespoons of milk, and the curry powder.  Stir until the lumps are gone and it forms a smooth paste.

Add the paste to the onions, cabbage, and carrots.

Stir well to coat.  Cook for about one minute, and then add an additional 1/2 cup of milk (I measured the milk into the same bowl I used to make the paste, in order to grab the remaining curry powder).

Cook until the cabbage and onions reach your desired consistency.  For me, I like my veggies to be barely cooked.  The equivalent for a steak would be "still mooing."  I cooked my version until the cabbage and onions were softened on the outside, but retained a nearly "raw" crunch on the inside.  I achieved this in two to three additional minutes.

The result was sweet, spicy, creamy and crunchy, all at the same time.  Something about the taste and texture of this recipe made me really want to add raisins to it, so I sprinkled them over my individual serving.

Ahem.  Serving(s).  I went back for seconds, thirds, and fourths.

I hope you enjoy it, Bud, and that it has the intended effect!

CSA Week #5

This week's CSA delivery included some beautiful blue carrots that I'm really excited about, as well as red cabbage, asparagus, beets, garlic, sage, rosemary, and kale.  Yum!

Bok Choy Salad

I had an entire head of bok choy and no appetite for anything Asian.

So, I took to Google and searched for "unusual bok choy recipe."

To my delight, I found an idea from a blogger who I happen to know in real life (outside the blogosphere!).

The Dirty Radish had a recipe for raw baby bok choy salad.  Like her, I had never before considered the possibility of eating bok choy raw.  It's amazing!

Her recipe still skewed a bit Asian for my taste last evening, but I used the concept, and sliced the stems very thinly, as she suggested.  My bok choy was decidedly not "baby" bok choy, but it wasn't too bitter at all.  The resulting salad was delicious.

My husband and I split what turned out to be about four cups of bok choy.  What a way for each of us to get 1/3 of our recommended daily allowance of calcium (more, in fact, than in a glass of milk).

Head of bok choy, leaves chopped and stems sliced thinly
Raisins (to taste)
Walnuts (to taste)
Olive oil (to tatste)
Balsamic vinegar (to taste)

I am in the middle of reading "Eat to Live" by Dr. Furhman.  This salad was my recognition that "the salad is the main dish."

Veggie Dip

Necessity is the mother of all invention.

I remembered last night at about 10 p.m. that I signed up to bring a veggie dip to my kids' school for their Easter party.  Oops.

Thankfully, I was able to pull together a healthy dip in about 5 minutes using the lovely parsley from my CSA.

2 cups fat-free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 onion, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, minced

Put it all in a bowl and mix well.  Serve with veggies for dipping.  [Or, if you're feeling naughty, potato chips.  This is a perfectly healthy onion dip!]

Beet Gnocchi in Butter Sage Sauce

Gnocchi are surprisingly easy to make!

They did involve a bit of a mess, but they came together in just about the time it took to boil a pot of water.  I used a potato-less recipe because I didn't have any potatoes on hand, and ended up lightening up a recipe I found at Always Order Dessert.

Yes, I used the beets from last week's CSA delivery.  I'm behind, but thankfully my local produce is still fresh!

1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1 cup roasted beat puree (approximately 2 large beets, roasted, peeled, and pureed)
2 cups whole-wheat flour, plus additional for flouring work surface
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 stick butter
bunch of sage, torn

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt and ricotta until smooth. Add the beat puree and mix until evenly combined.

Add the egg whites, one at a time, followed by the nutmeg and pepper.

Slowly add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until it is all incorporated into the dough. If your dough seems a bit too wet, feel free to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour.

Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured work surface and knead for a few minutes. The dough will still be fairly wet, but you should be able to handle it.

Working with about a handful of dough at a time, roll out a long snake about an inch thick. Use a floured knife to cut out the gnocchi every inch and a half or so. Roll each gnocchi along the tines of a fork (or simply indent by gently pressing the back of the fork into the side of each nugget).

Place the formed gnocchi on a floured baking sheet.

When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the gnocchi in batches. Let cook until they bob to the surface and then cook for an additional 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to pull out of the pot.

Finish the gnocchi in a skillet with the butter and torn sage. Let the gnocchi toast on one side (the contrast makes for an interesting texture) then serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg and additional torn fresh sage.

I assure you that the little bit of butter in this recipe goes a very long way.  Most of it gets left behind in the skillet anyway.  Any because this recipe makes enough gnocchi to feed an army, the amount of butter in any one serving is relatively small.  Enjoy!

CSA Week #4

This week's CSA delivery: Mushroom, asparagus, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, and herbs!

I totally love that my kid "stole" an asparagus spear as I was putting the veggies away.  

Bass-O-Matic

My husband's response to Grilled Carrots with Carrot Greens Pesto:

Bass-o-Matic

Grilled Carrots with Carrot-Greens Pesto

If you Google “carrot greens,” you will come up with a lot of conflicting information about whether or not they’re edible.  I didn’t find any sufficiently authoritative source (a public-health organization like a hospital or a government agency) saying that carrot greens were toxic, but I did find a number of bloggers who posted recipes using carrot greens, and who lived to blog again.

After two weeks of cautiously using carrot greens only for making stock (can you see them in the pictures here and here?), I decided to try a straight-up, carrot-greens recipe.  My husband and I both ate this for dinner on Thursday and -- I’m pleased to report -- survived.

I took the fabulous idea for grilled carrots with carrot greens pesto from Not Eating Out in New York.  I agree with her wholeheartedly that this dish “just makes sense somehow.”  I followed her recipe almost exactly (halving the carrots, blanching the greens, etc.), but used my own pesto recipe (excluding the kale and rosemary).  Actually, my own recipe is remarkably similar to hers, with only the addition of some fresh lemon juice and the omission of salt. 

I served the carrots as a side dish to plain, baked chicken, and put the pesto all over both the carrots and the chicken.  It was amazing.  In contrast to last week’s kale pesto, which blended into a smooth, creamy sauce, the carrot-greens pesto retained the chunkiness that is more characteristic of a typical (basil-based) pesto sauce.  The carrot greens have a fresh, herby, “carrot-y” flavor that is hard to describe but easy to appreciate. 

Even my husband liked the carrots and pesto, though he did complain at the outset that carrot greens are not food, and that they are meant to be thrown away.  The funny thing is, I left about a quarter inch of greens attached to the carrots, and my husband left those behind on his plate.  I pointed out to him that leaving the attached greens behind was silly; they were, after all, the same greens that formed the pesto.  In response, he reiterated his position that one does not eat carrot greens, and then asked me if I was a rabbit.  Some fights are not worth having: He was taking a big bite of pesto covered chicken as he said it.   

This was a great recipe that I’ll definitely make again.  That is, of course, if I live that long after having eaten carrot greens in the first place.

Beet Crostini

A recipe that uses the whole plant and feeds the whole family!  A winner!

1 baguette, sliced
1 beet, including leaves and stems
1 cup of part-skim ricotta cheese

For this simple recipe, I toasted slices of baguette in the oven (425 degrees for 5 minutes).

While the slices of bread were toasting, I diced a cooked beet, raw beet greens, and raw beet stems into tiny pieces.

When the bread had toasted up to a nice, golden brown, I spread cool, part-skim ricotta cheese on it and then topped it with the diced beets, beet greens, and beet stems.

The result was a salty/sweet, crunchy/smooth, warm/cold treat that was a study in opposites and, therefore, a perfect snack no matter what you might be craving.

My daughters loved this.  My three-year-old enjoyed using a butter knife for the cheese and assembling all the ingredients on the toast.  My one-year-old liked eating the bread and beets as finger food, and then had a blast smearing the cheese around with a spoon.

For my part, I found that I could pretend that I was eating an appetizer at a fancy restaurant.  That's pretty impressive, considering I was sitting in my kitchen with two kids who were turning their hands bath-worthy purple with beet juice while I ate it.

Bay Leaf Wild Rice Pudding

I had to hit the web to figure out what to do with some of my herbs this week. 

I received three, fresh bay leaves.  Hmmm.

I had never used a fresh (rather than dried) bay leaf before.  I knew that dried bay leaves were good in things like soup and stew, and that they imparted flavor during cooking, but that they needed to be removed before serving.  But what about a fresh bay leaf?

It turns out that you use it the same way. 

But the funny thing about the Internet is that it provides both really normal suggestions (“make a tomato sauce” and “roast a chicken”) alongside really unusual ones (“make a rice pudding – trust me”).

And I am always drawn to the unusual ones.

As if using bay leaves in my rice pudding was not unusual enough, I decided to give my rice pudding an extra twist by using wild rice instead of a more traditional pudding variety.  Wild rice is actually a seed, rather than a grain.  That’s awesome for me, because it means that there is more protein and fewer carbs in wild rice than in white, or even brown (whole), rice.

I also decided to use whole milk, which is a huge departure for me.  I very much prefer to use low-fat or skim milk in all of my recipes.  However, my husband and I BOTH noticed that we were running low on milk, and EACH of us separately stopped at the store on our ways home from work to get more.  Which left us with FOUR gallons of whole milk and only one member of our household (the 13-month old) to drink it.  The cats volunteered to pitch in, but someone else was going to have to do something with all of that whole milk. 

This recipe is almost embarrassingly easy, although it does take a long time.  Patience is key.  I started the pudding when I arrived home from work (6 p.m.) and finished it when the kids when to bed (8 p.m.).  Thankfully, the first hour and a half required almost no effort; I literally left the pot on the back burner while I made the kids dinner, cleaned the kitchen, gave the kids baths, read them stories, watched a television show (our only one of the day – we believe in being active!), and put them to bed.  Only the final ten minutes were hands-on.

1 cup of uncooked wild rice

4 cups of whole milk

3 bay leaves

2 egg whites

Maple syrup (to taste)

Cinnamon (to taste)

Put the rice, milk, and bay leaves in a pot on the stove.  Cook, covered, on low for 90 minutes.  Check it every so often to make sure it is just simmering, rather than boiling or not bubbling at all.  It will remain very liquidy for almost the entire cooking time.  But it will start to thicken at the end. 

After 90 minutes, almost all of the milk should be absorbed (though it won’t seem quite “pudding-y” yet), and the wild rice should be plump and open.  At this point, stir in the egg whites very slowly (to ensure they don’t scramble). 

Keep stirring constantly for the next five to ten minutes over the same low heat; the pudding will thicken.  Be sure to stir constantly and really keep an eye on it, because as the pudding thickens, it could burn if you’re not careful.  Stop stirring and remove the pot from the heat when the pudding reaches ALMOST the consistency you would like.  It will thicken further upon standing for a few minutes off the heat. 

Remove the bay leaves and serve with a drizzle (about 1 teaspoon for a ½ cup serving or 2 teaspoons for a 1 cup serving) of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

The complex flavor of the bay-spiked pudding itself is glorious; adding the maple syrup at the end allows you to control exactly how much sweetness you want (and adds something nice to the presentation).  The wild rice gives the pudding a welcome bit of color and crunch compared to a more traditional version. 

This was a weird, risky recipe, for sure, but it turned out really well.  I’ll have a hard time using fresh bay leaves for anything else in the future!  

Beet and Feta Salad

The Cheesecake Factory has a lovely “Beets with Goat Cheese” salad that, in addition to beets and goat cheese, includes apples, arugula, and pecans.  That salad -- which I have had on many occasions -- was the inspiration for this dish.

I cooked the three beets I received from my CSA by placing them in a baking dish with about 1 inch of water, covering the dish with tin foil, and then putting it in the oven at 400 degrees for one hour.  After removing the beets from the oven and letting them cool, the peels slipped right off and the beets were ready to dice into a salad.  I used only one beet for this recipe, and put the other two in the ‘fridge for another use.

1 beet, cooked, peel removed, diced

Greens from one beet, removed from stem and chopped

3 large leaves of kale, removed from stem and chopped

3 leaves of romaine, chopped

1 green apple, diced

1 small handful of raw almonds

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cracked black pepper, to taste

Arrange everything on a plate.  Drizzle with olive oil, balasmic vinegar, and cracked black pepper.  Enjoy!

Kale Craving

This week's CSA delivery included two mushrooms. 

They looked beautiful, but the truth is that neither my husband nor I is very partial to mushrooms.  Actually, that's being generous.  Both my husband and I hate mushrooms. 

So, we decided that we would give any mushrooms we received to people who could truly appreciate them.  Hence, the mushrooms are bagged up and ready to deliver to my parents.

With the mushrooms out, I was on the hunt for some additional veggies. 

Thankfully, there is a wonderful little honor-system farm stand on my way home from work; it just opened for the season and has lots of local kale.  I rarely carry cash, so when I pulled over to it last night, I had to stand on the side of the road, shaking my purse and turning my wallet upside down, in the hopes of scraping together $3 worth of quarters so I could buy a bag of kale. 

It occurred to me that a similiar scene used to play out frequently in front of the office vending machine, when I was craving Cheetos or Famous Amos cookies. 

My how my tastes have changed --  Now I crave kale!   

Fear not, I found enough quarters and got my fix.  ;-)

CSA Week #3

"Mama, the farmer brought us vegetables again!"

My two year old really gets a kick out of checking for the CSA delivery on Mondays.  Who says vegetables aren't fun?!

Here she is with the beets ("radishes" according to her...which I thought was actually a pretty good guess...):

And with the mushrooms.

And tickling her poor sister with carrot greens.

Here's the full bounty: Beets, lettuce, carrots, mushrooms, sage, thyme, and bay leaves.

I cannot wait to roast up those gorgeous beets!

Avgolemono

This week's stock: chicken.

I pulled all the meat off of the leftover Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Chicken and set it aside.  Then I put the carcass into a stock pot, along with all my veggies trimmings from the week, and made a rich, wonderful stock.

I tasked my husband with finding a chicken soup recipe that he'd like to try.  He came up with Avgolemono from the January 2012 issue of Cooking Light.  It turned out to be the perfect choice, because I had lemon garlic chicken to add to this lemon garlic soup!

I followed the original recipe pretty closely, using slightly less oil and omitting the salt.  For garnish, I used sage and thyme, which I had on hand, instead parsley and basil.  And it was amazing.  My husband claimed this was the best soup he had in a long time.  Maybe even ever.

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
6 and 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken stock (preferably homemade!)
1/2 cup uncooked rice (I used wild rice)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
2 tablespoons thyme
2 tablespoons sage

Put olive oil in a pan and brown onions and garlic.

Add onions and garlic to a large pot and add stock.  Bring to a boil and then add rice.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Combine juice, cornstarch, pepper, and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Slowly pour egg mixture into the pot, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Add chicken to the pot.  Cook until the soup thickens and the rice is done (about 5 more minutes).

Serve with thyme and sage on top.

Eat This and Live Three Hours Longer

Garlicky, lemony kale and Brussels sprouts salad has become a go-to recipe for me.  If I blogged every time I made it, I would probably blog about little else.

I make variations of this salad several times a week.  Sometimes it's just kale; sometimes it's just Brussels.  Sometimes I use garlic; sometimes I omit it.  But I make this over and over and over again.

Which is great, because it's apparently adding at least three hours to my life each time I do.

My friend Drew emailed to thank me for this recipe, saying that he's pretty sure that it added "upwards of 3 hours to my life" and that it will "only continue to do so every time I make it."

He was even gracious enough to include a photo, complete with what looks like delicious trout (the filename was "making drew live longer one blog post at a time.jpg").

So glad you enjoyed it, Drew!  I'll do whatever I can to keep you around longer!

When my husband was getting on my case this afternoon for taking the time (yet again) to photograph my lunch ("Can't we just EAT it already, please?!"), I had my come back ready.

"You saw the email from Drew.  Be patient -- I'M SAVING LIVES HERE."

Kale, Asparagus, and Feta Frittata

It was coming to the end of my CSA week, and I still had a fair amount of kale and asparagus left.  So, I searched the web for kale and asparagus recipes and came up with an idea for a frittata.  I was super-excited (Frittata!?!  Why didn't I think of that?!?), especially because my dad makes amazing frittatas and I love them.  

A frittata is sort of in between an omelet and a quiche.  And my version, as usual, omits the egg yolks.

1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup kale, chopped
1/2 cup  asparagus, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
10 egg whites
1/4 cup feta cheese

Turn on the broiler so the oven has a chance to heat.

Put the olive oil into a pan on the stovetop THAT CAN LATER GO INTO THE OVEN.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and then add the onion.

After a few minutes, add the kale, so it can wilt.

When the kale is wilted and the onions are starting to brown, add the asparagus, eggs, and feta.  Give it all a quick stir at the start so that the ingredients are evenly distributed, but then DON'T TOUCH IT AGAIN.  You want the eggs to set, not scramble.

When the eggs are starting to set along the edges of the pan (the eggs should be about 2/3 cooked, but still runny on top), remove the pan from the stove top and put it in the oven under the broiler.  Watch it carefully from here.  You want the frittata to puff and brown, but not burn.  You can check to see if the eggs are set by wiggling the pan (if it still wiggles, they're not set).  When you think the eggs are fully set (no wiggle!), put a knife through the frittata to make sure it comes out clean.  If it does, you'll know the frittata is set all the way through.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for about ten minutes.  Then, run a knife around the edges to loosen the frittata and then, carefully, using the knife and a spatula, remove it from the pan and onto a plate.

You can slice it up like a pizza for serving.  It's protein and vitamin packed, and excellent with a side of green salad!

Asparagus Feta Pizza

Saturday was a VERY busy day for our family.

In fact, it was a frozen-pizza-for-dinner kind of busy day.

That happens sometimes, and that's okay.

But it's not an excuse not to eat any fresh, local, seasonal veggies.

It took me about 1 minute to add fresh asparagus, a sprinkle of feta cheese, and some cracked black pepper to the frozen pizza before popping it in the oven.

Even on our busiest days, we still have 1 minute!

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Chicken

I am really starting to love roasting whole chickens.  They turn out so much juicier and more delicious when cooked from scratch that way.  [Chickens should, of course, be free range and pastured.]

My most recent bird was rubbed with 2 cloves of garlic, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cracked black pepper (to taste), and some snips of fresh sage and fresh thyme, all of which I muddled together with a mortar and pestle.

I stuffed the bird with the quartered lemons from which I had squeezed the juice, and the woody sprigs from which I had stripped the sage and thyme leaves.  Then I cooked it at 400 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes.

The resulting meat was so fragrant that I didn't even stop to photograph it before tasting!

Bok Choy and Shrimp Soup

Last week’s CSA delivery included two, large bunches of bok choy.  Bok choy is not a vegetable with which I’m particularly familiar.  I knew enough to know what it was, but that’s about it.  The only memory of eating bok choy I could conjure was a really delicious soup with bok choy that used to be served in my college cafeteria (more than ten years ago, ahem).  So, after using the first bunch in a stir fry, I knew what I would have to try with the second bunch.

Luckily, I had a huge container of home-made vegetable broth at the ready!

2 carrots, chopped

½ large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1-inch diameter nub of fresh ginger, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, chopped

1 large bunch of bok choy, chopped

1 teaspoon of olive oil

10-12 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably homemade!)

½ cup of low-sodium soy sauce or tamari

2 cups of cooked shrimp

3 tablespoons of spring (green) onions, chopped

Put the carrots, onion, garlic, and ginger in a pan with the olive oil and cook until the garlic and onions just start to brown.  Put the vegetable broth, soy sauce, bok choy, pepper, and the contents of the pan into a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low, cooking for 30 minutes.

If you have raw shrimp, you can add them to the soup at the outset.  I had only the pre-cooked, frozen kind.  I defrosted them and set them aside to add when serving, so that they didn’t become overcooked.  Ditto for the delicate spring onions.

To serve, I put a few shrimp and a few pieces of spring onion in a bowl and ladled the soup over it.  The heat of the soup warmed the shrimp perfectly. 

I’m trying to watch my intake of carbohydrates, so I didn’t add any rice or noodles, but this soup would certainly be delicious served over either one.      

My husband loved it!  He had seconds and even inquired about the best way to bring it to work for lunch without making a mess.  [Freeze it in individual containers so that it’s solid and doesn’t slosh around during the commute, let it defrost during the morning in your lunch bag, and then heat it in the microwave.] 

Shrek Shake

How much kale did your kids eat today?

Mine ate this much -- about 2 cups.

I took this glass of kale, filled it halfway up with skim milk, and blended it.  When the greens and milk were completely smooth, I added about half a cup of frozen raspberries and the sections of one clementine, and then blended it all again.  The result was a light green, Shrek-colored shake that was a cool, sweet, vitamin-filled treat that both of my kids could LOVE.

They have both filled up on "Shrek shakes" before / during dinner for the last several nights in a row...and I couldn't be happier.

Lemony Asparagus Quinoa

1 cup of (dry) quinoa, well rinsed

2 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (preferably homemade!)

Juice of 2 lemons

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped spring (green) onions

1 cup of asparagus, broken into 1-inch pieces (reserve tougher bottom pieces for another use)

I think quinoa is amazing because it “feels” like you’re eating a carb-tastic grain when you’re really eating a protein-packed seed.  You can cook it in water but, just like rice, it is more flavorful if cooked in vegetable broth. 

I had red quinoa on hand and used it for this dish, but any variety would do.  Set the quinoa and broth on the stove, cover, bring to a boil, and then reduce to low.  It will take about 15 minutes to cook.

In the meantime, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and spring onions in a small bowl to make a lemony dressing.  When the quinoa is done, put it into a large bowl and toss it with all of the dressing.  Add the asparagus and toss to combine.  Serve warm or cold (leftover) as a fresh-tasting, spring side dish that appropriately celebrates the arrival of asparagus.

CSA Week #2

OMG!  OMG!  OMG!  OMG! 

ASPARAGUS HAS ARRIVED!!!

Ever since reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I have been patiently (and, at times, not so patiently) awaiting the arrival of spring in order to eat asparagus.  Week after week, I have snubbed the neatly packed stalks from Peru at Trader Joes (yes, the ones I used to buy, week after week, without fail, before reading the book). 

I have missed asparagus.  I have longed for it.  I have eyed it on restaurant menus and dejectedly asked for a side of something "in season" instead.

But now it is here!

I opened my CSA bag last night and actually gasped.  Thin, beautiful, asparagus stalks.  Plenty of them.  Fresh.  Local.  Sustainably-grown.  In season. 

There were other things, too: lettuce, kale, carrots, spring onions, thyme, and sage.  [Admittedly, CSA Virgin had to consult a "Visual Guide to Fresh Herbs" to figure out that the thyme was thyme.]

I couldn't wait to dive in to all of it, especially my long-awaited asparagus.  But it was 9:30 at night -- no time to cook.  So I made another simple salad of the lettuce, carrots, and -- yes -- the asparagus.

It was as glorious as I thought it would be.  I spent the night dreaming of what I would make with the rest.  

Vegetable Broth

When I first considered joining a CSA, my biggest fear was wasting too much food. 

I wasn't sure I would know what to do with half of the "weird" veggies I received.  I was concerned that the volume of vegetables would be more than I could eat.  I was afraid I wouldn't commit to chopping, cooking, and otherwise preparing the food I received.  I simply didn't know how I would handle all of that perishable produce, and was concerned that it would all rot in the bottom of my 'fridge.

I did a lot of research before I joined my CSA on this very question.  And my research all led me to one place.

Broth.

If you don't know what the heck to do with carrot greens, make broth. 

If last week's veggies are still kicking around when you get this week's delivery, make broth. 

It's a CSA coping mechanism, and it's a good one.

As it turns out, though, I used most of my veggies in the first week.  [Success!]

But I did have plenty of scraps (carrot greens, kale stems, cabbage hearts, etc.) that I collected in a tupperware container in the 'fridge over the course of the week.  I threw them all in a stock pot on Sunday evening, filled it with water, brought it to a boil, and then allowed it to simmer on low for 3 hours. 

What emerged was a rich, dark broth that is fat-free and salt-free, but nonetheless flavorful and perfect for making soup or cooking grains.

I strained it into a metal bowl and allowed it to cool overnight in the 'fridge before moving it to tupperware containers.  I put half in the 'fridge for a soup I have in mind, and froze the other half for later use.

I really love making broth from scraps like this.  It must be good karma not to waste a single scrap of plant food, right?

Pork Chops with Braised Vegetables

My grandmother's pork chops are the most moist and delicious pork chops anyone has ever made.  My grandmother doesn't do much cooking these days, but she shared her recipe with me several years ago.

3-4 pork chops
Black pepper, to taste
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 green apple, chopped
1/2 very small head of cabbage, chopped
Teaspoon of olive oil
Water
Apple sauce and sage for serving (optional)

First, she puts pepper on both sides of each pork chop (she also puts salt, but I omit it).  Then she puts a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet and browns the pork chops for a few minutes on each side, just until golden brown. 

[This usually involves a lot of grease spattering on the wall.  And my mother yelling about such grease.  And my grandmother telling her to relax.]

Then she removes the pork chops from the pan (they're still raw on the inside...) and sets them aside.

In the same skillet, she puts a chopped onion, which she cooks until the pieces start to turn translucent in the remaining olive oil and browned bits from the pork chops.  I added sliced cabbage, apples, and carrots, too, but the original recipe is onions only.

Once the onions start to brown, she returns the pork chops to the skillet and fills the skillet with water until the pork chops are just covered.  She puts a lid on the skillet and cooks it on low for an hour.

My grandmother serves it with plenty of the "juice" and all the onions (or onions and other veggies, in my case).  A little apple sauce doesn't hurt, either.  And I had fresh sage, so I threw some of that on top of it, too.

This is a plain dish, for sure, but it is comforting and delicious.  I totally reject the idea that "comfort food" has to involve heavy, fatty food like macaroni and cheese.  Comfort food is whatever has been cooked for you, with love, for your whole life.  Whatever stirs up your memories.

[In this case, my memories involve my mom scrubbing the wall behing the stovetop before dinner was even served.]

I paired my pork chop and braised veggies with a green salad (romaine, kale, olive oil, vinegar, and black pepper).  Maybe one day my kids will think of pork chops and braised vegetables with a green salad as comfort food, too.  I can only hope!

["Mama, what are those SPOTS doing on the wall?"]

Spring Greens and Rosemary Pesto Pasta

Basil isn't in season yet, but that doesn't mean you have to forego fresh pesto sauce!  This version substitutes kale for basil, and is really amazing.

1 pound of whole-wheat pasta
3-4 cups kale, stems removed
1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup of walnuts
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Sprigs of fresh rosemary

Start a pot of water for the pasta.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, put kale, olive oil, cheese, walnuts, garlic, and lemon juice in a high-powered blender.  Blend until smooth.  Top with rosemary.

Drain the pasta and serve with sauce, additional Parmesan cheese, and cracked black pepper.

Who needs basil?!