June 17, 2008 at 10:03 pm (General Information)
Tags: books, resources
Debbie
dkgeelhood@yahoo.com | 66.189.177.9
This is our first year in a CSA, so we are learning a lot about new kinds of vegetables.
We have found the following books helpful, as they have storage tips, cooking tips, diagrams of the vegetable (for us new-timers trying to figure out which is which) and recipes:
*Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables
(This one has crops organized by seasons, but there is an index. It was recommended to us by folks in a CSA on the other side of the state)
*From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce
(This one has vegetables in alphabetical order making it easy to find and is probably our favorite)
We bought both books on Amazon.
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June 17, 2008 at 10:00 pm (Recipes)
Tags: asparagus
Bobbie Bull
rjrdbull@earthlink.net | 4.242.150.143
Since we can look forward to asparagus again this week, I thought I would submit this family favorite. Unfortunately, I am not sure of the source.
Oriental Asparagus Salad
1 pound asparagus, cut in 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vinegar (rice wine)
1 ½ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted
¼ to ½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground cumin
Cook asparagus until tender crisp (3-4 minutes). Cool in water. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Combine soy sauce, oil, vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger and cumin. Pour over asparagus. Toss to coat. Chill for at least one hour before serving. Serves 4.
Note: Very easy and good. I usually add a bit more cumin. Also sprinkle a little sesame oil before tossing. The dish can be served warm or cold.
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June 17, 2008 at 9:59 pm (Recipes)
Tags: apples, kale
Bobbie Bull
rjrdbull@earthlink.net | 4.242.150.143
Braised Kale with Bacon and Cider
Cooking Light, January/February 2004
2 bacon slices
1 ¼ cup vertically sliced onion
1 pound chopped kale
1/3 cup apple cider
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 ½ cups diced Granny Smith apples
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Place a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon; cook 5 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tsp. drippings in pan. Crumble bacon and set aside.
Increase heat to medium high. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add kale and cook 5 minutes or until wilted, stirring frequently. Add cider and vinegar; cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add apple, salt and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until apple is tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Yield: 6 2/3 cup servings of 75 calories each.
Notes: This recipe can be used for all greens-kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, etc. To modify it for a small family, I use less than a pound of greens, 1 slice of bacon; 1 slice of onion, diced; 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp. water, and pepper. I cook the bacon, add the onion to that and stir-fry until it is tender-crisp, add the greens and cook until somewhat wilted, then add the water, vinegar and seasoning. This is a very tasty and easy way to prepare and enjoy greens.
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June 17, 2008 at 9:54 pm (Recipes)
Tags: kohlrabi
Lynn Neitzel-Cleavenger
LynnNC@yahoo.com | 71.115.223.47
Shredded Kohlrabi with Butter and Parmesan
3 medium kohlrabi peeled and grated
2 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the kohlrabi and and cook over medium heat, stirring often. After about 8 minutes add the parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and cook just until the sheese melts.
This is a slight adaptation a recipe in the book “Vegetables Every Day”. It was super easy and we loved it!
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June 8, 2008 at 9:08 pm (Recipes)
Tags: spinach
from Melanie
This recipe comes from the Harvard School of Public Health
Serves 4
• 1 cup brown rice, rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 3 leaves fresh basil, julienne cut
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Salt (optional) and pepper to taste
In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add rice, stirring, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until all the water has been absorbed, about 40 minutes.
While the rice cooks, combine oil, garlic, and oregano in a separate bowl. Gently toss in tomatoes and feta cheese.
When rice is finished cooking, remove from heat and let rest for a minute. Fold tomato mixture, spinach, and basil into rice. Pour lemon juice over rice and mix again.
Season with salt (if desired) and pepper to taste, and serve.
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June 7, 2008 at 9:01 pm (links)
Tags: vegetables, website
1 Comment
June 7, 2008 at 8:31 pm (Recipes)
Tags: chickpea, kale
Mary Gates
megates509@charter.net
I made soup with chick peas, kale, onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and some dried tortellini (from Trader Joe’s). Also added some pesto (homemade and frozen from last summer). I rarely follow a recipe, though I use them for inspiration.
Roughly:
Sautee or caramelize onions and sun-dried tomatoes. Add cooked chick peas and remaining ingredients, plus broth of your choice (or water). Simmer about 20-30 minutes. Serve with toasted whole-grain bread.
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June 7, 2008 at 10:20 am (Recipes)
Tags: bok choy
From the Beatte Family:
PREP: 30 minutes
COOK: about 20 minutes
MAKES: 4 main-dish servings
1 package (about 8 ounces) soba noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2″-wide strips
2 tablespoons soy sauce plus additional for serving
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, cut lengthwise into 1/4″ wide slices
1 medium head bok choy (about 1-1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2″ wide slices
1 cup chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, crushed with garlic press
1 tablespoon grated, peeled fresh ginger (1/8 teaspoon ground )
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1. Heat large saucepot of Water to boiling over high heat; add Soba noodles and cook as label directs. Drain noodles; rinse under cold running water and drain again. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in nostick 12-inch skillet,heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon of soy
sauce, and cook 5 minutes or untill chicken loses its pink color throughout, stirring often. Transfer chicken to plate.
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to skillet; add green onions and red pepper, and cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add bok choy and cook 3 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender-crisp.
4. Meanwhile, in 2-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together broth, garlic, ginger, vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, and remaining 1 tablespoon sou sauce.
5. Add noodles and sauce mixture to bok-choy mixture and heat to boiling; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat the noodles. Add chicken and toss just until heated thruogh. Serve with extra soy sauce if you like.
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June 4, 2008 at 9:30 am (General Information)
The following was shared by Alan in a recent email:
Anyone who takes the effort to seek out a CSA probably has the following characteristics; you care about what you eat, you want better food, you are concerned about health and nutrition, you want some control over what you eat. Pollen’s book is a powerful story that can help you achieve these goals. I was moved by his book and think you might be also.
Here is an except from page 159.
To shop at a farmer’s market or sign up with a CSA is to join a short food chain and that has several implications for your health. Local produce is typically picked ripe and is fresher than supermarket produce, and for those reasons it should be tastier and more nutritious. As for super market organic produce, it is too likely to have come from far away—from the industry organic farms of California or, increasingly China. In a footnote to this sentence, Pollen states that the average organic produce in the supermarket traveled further than the average item of conventional produce
Following are the central tenets of Pollen’s book:
- Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup.
- Avoid food products that make health claims.
- Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
- Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.
- Eat mostly plants, especially leaves
- You are what what you eat eats too.
- If you have the space, buy a freezer.
- Eat like an omnivore.
- Eat well-grown food from healthy soils.
- Eat wild foods when you can.
- Be the kind of person who takes supplements
- Eat more like the French. Or the Italians. Or the Japanese. Or the Indians. Or the Greeks.
- Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
- Don’t look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet.
- Have a glass of wine with dinner.
- Eat meals.
- Do all your eating at a table.
- Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
- Try not to eat alone.
- Consult your gut.
- Eat slowly.
- Cook and, if you can, plant a garden.
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June 3, 2008 at 9:06 pm (Recipes)
Tags: mustard greens
Keith & Jane Abel
kjabel@verizon.net
Below is a recipe for Asian Mustard Greens which we found at the Green Giant site. We did a few substitutions; anaheim pepper for the orange chili pepper and peanut oil for the olive oil. Also added a side of chicken, so it was not a vegetarian meal.
This is not your traditional mustard green dish! The combination of Asian-inspired ingredients with sauteed mustard greens makes this a flavorful and aromatic side dish. Served atop cooked white rice, Asian Mustard Greens becomes a hearty vegetarian meal. But…watch out for that chili pepper. Orange chili peppers can be among the hottest peppers around.
Ingredients
1/4 cup sesame seed oil
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small orange chili pepper, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 bag (1 pound) Green Giant® Fresh Mustard Greens
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Preparation Directions
1. In a large skillet, combine sesame oil and olive oil on medium-high heat. Oil should not smoke. Add garlic, chili pepper and ginger. Stir continuously for 1 minute.
2. Add mustard greens and stir and toss for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. In separate bowl, dissolve sugar in vinegar. Toss greens with vinegar mixture and garnish with sesame seeds.
4 Servings.
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