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Author: mo

  • Tabbouleh Salad

    Tabbouleh is a simple salad using lots of chopped vegetables, lots and lots of parsley-usually mint and bulgur wheat. That is all tossed with lemon and or lime and olive oil for a bright salad that stays fresh for days and travels well.

    Tabbouleh Salad

    • 1 cup dry bulghur wheat
    • 1 1/4 cup boiling water
    • 1 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/4 cup lemon and or lime juice
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 cup chopped onions or scallions
    • 2 or 3 cloves of garlic chopped
    • 1 cup chopped packed parsley
    • optional additions; mint, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, any fresh vegetables chopped bite sized like cucumber, carrots, tomatoes.

    1. Combine the bulghur wheat with boiling water and salt and let that sit for a half hour or so then add the lemon juice, garlic and onions, oil and mint if you are using it. Refrigerate at least 2 or 3 hours or even overnight. It mellows and blends and rounds out all the sharp flavors. So letting it sit and mellow is important.

    2. Just before serving add the parsley and whatever vegetables you like. Be really generous with the parsley and vegetables. You should have more vegetables than bulghur.

    3. Toss it all up and add feta cheese if you like. I usually add more lemon juice and a little more salt and sometimes olive oil. Taste it-it should be bright and vibrant tasting.

    Feel free to riff on the vegetables you add. This is a great salad for cleaning out the refrigerator and using what you like and not being tied to a rigid formula or recipe.

    Happy eating.
    Mo

     

     

  • Storing Greens

    We get lots of greens here at Red Wagon CSA, be it bagged, bunched or cut heads. 

    We weigh and bag lettuce or greens right before you pickup your CSA share. Everything is harvested then rinsed (aka rejuvenated) in the wash station. Next we spin it to dry it as best we can. Crops like arugula, spinach and cut lettuce get weighed and portioned into bags. Greens like kale, chard and collards are bunched.

    You can store the greens in the sealed bag you get them in from us if you like, but remember; you still need to wash everything before you eat it. Greens will last at least 5 to 7 days stored in plastic bags. Kale and chard and collards all need to be stored in air tight containers and will last at least a week.

    I like to have my greens ready to eat, so I wash and dry them right when I get home from pickup so they are ready to cook or eat for meals during the week. I find they last a little longer too, at least a week and maybe a little longer if I take this extra step. The greens in the top photo were washed, dried and stored in air tight containers  and are all 8 days old!

    Here is my routine; I carefully snip the little red tape that seals the bag so I can reuse the bags, then I wash and dry the greens and put them back in the bag I got them in. That is why I don’t just rip into the bags, I snip carefully! If you have a salad spinner and room in your refrigerator, the spinner is a great storage container. I only have one salad spinner. If I had more I would use it to store more of the greens, I don’t,  thus the reuse of the bags.

    I wash all the greens the same; dunk them in clean cool water and drain and dry them. Things like cut lettuce and arugula I spin in the salad spinner to dry. Drying the greens, all types, is important for long storage.

    IMG_0168

    Placing paper towels or dry dish cloths in the container you are storing the greens in keeps the vegetables damp, but not soggy in the bag so you don’t get those weird slimy leaves that make the whole bag go bad.

     

    It just takes a few minutes to do and I find I and more inclined to use the produce if it is ready to eat.

    I hope this is helpful.

    Happy eating.

    Mo

  • Turnip and Arugula Salad with Honey, Almonds and Mint

    Turnip and Arugula Salad is simple and satisfying using only a few ingredients. Add grains like quinoa or protein like grilled tofu or salmon for an easy meal.

    Turnip and Arugula Salad with Honey, Almonds and Mint
    Makes about 4 servings

    3 or 4 hakurei turnips thinly sliced
    2 T fresh lemon juice or more as needed
    1 t honey)
    3/4 t salt
    4 cups washed and loosely packed arugula
    A small handful of fresh mint leaves or basil or parsley
    2 T Olive oil or more as needed
    Optional but delicious so you should add one or more! 1/4 c sliced almonds-or any nut chopped-Cheese, avocado, grains, any additional toppings you like!

    Directions:
    Combine the sliced turnips in a small bowl with the lemon juice, honey, and  salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally.  (I put the mint in there, opps)

    Combine the arugula and mint in a medium bowl, drizzle on the oil. Add the turnips and dressing to the arugula and toss to incorporate. Taste, and season with more lemon juice, oil, and/or salt as needed.

    Add delicious optional ingredients and dig in.

    Happy eating — see you at pickup! Mo

  • One-Pot Kale & Quinoa Pilaf

    This is a super fast and easy, one-pot light, citrusy, healthy, satisfying dish. The original recipe calls for kale but any leafy green vegetable will work. I used collards but I have used spinach and chard. It’s all good. *At the bottom of this post there is a photo of this dish I made doubling the greens and adding some clementine oranges. Feel free to play with this recipe.

    I pretty much follow the Food52 recipe with just a few changes. It’s so simple the changes don’t really matter though.

    Kale Quinoa Pilaf slightly adapted from a Food52 article

    • 2 cup salted water
    • 1 cup quinoa
    • 1 bunch of kale or any leafy green like collards or spinach, washed and chopped
    • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
    • 2 scallions, minced (I used onions)
    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (I used a mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit)
    • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (I actually had this but  use any cheese)
    • Salt and pepper

    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 add the kale to the pot and re-cover. Simmer another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow to steam in the pot for 5 more minutes. (I let mine steam off the heat for more like 30 minutes and it was fine. The photo is when the quinoa has been simmering for 10 minutes and I just added the kale)

    While the quinoa and kale are steaming, take a large serving bowl and combine the lemon juice and zest, scallions (or onions), oil and goat cheese in a serving bowl.

    When the quinoa and kale are done, fluff the pilaf, and tip it into the waiting bowl with the lemon and oil mixture. As the hot quinoa hits the scallions and lemon it should smell lovely. Toss to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper, add more lemon juice and top with nuts and seeds if you are using them.

    Leftovers are great for several days. I like to add a little lemon and oil to freshen it up after a day or two in the refrigerator.

    • double the greens and added citrus

  • Cooking Beets in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

    I am a recent convert to cooking beets in a pressure cooker. For years I exclusively roasted beets or stewed or braised them.

    I learned that cooking them in a pressure cooker or instant pot is so quick and the beets are tender and super easy to peel. The slight flavor boost you get from roasting is easily mitigated by dressing the beets in a beautiful dressing or sauce.

    Beets in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.

    You’ll need some beets, scrubbed clean and roughly the same size. If not the same size cut them into similar sizes.  You’ll need a cup of water to add the to pot and if your pressure cooker or instant pot has a steam rack use that. If it doesn’t it’s fine. Just put the beets in the pot in the water.

    Add a cup of water and the rack if using and the beets. If you have more beets add them, it won’t change the cooking time. I only had 4 medium sized beets.

    Seal the pot and cook all beet sizes on high pressure
    * Very small (1 1/2” to 1 3/4” diameter) – 15 min
    * Small (2” diameter) – 20 min
    * Medium (2 1/4” diameter) – 25 min
    * Medium-Large (2 1/2” diameter) – 30 min

    When the time is up I like to allow the pressure to release naturally. I have never had my beets over cook to be too soft from allowing for a natural pressure release. I have had to cook them more because I released the pressure after a few minutes off the stove and they were still firm. So, I like to do a natural release.

    Here is a photo of them cooked. It’s hard to see ‘cooked’ lol.

    Here they are peeled. You can see how the skin slid off and they almost look like peaches.

    This is the big reason I like using the pressure cooker, it’s so easy and fast and the beets are done to perfection.

    Your beets are ready for using or you can store them until you need them covered in the refrigerator for a week.

  • Greens with Brown Butter, Raisins and Nuts

    A CSA member (Hi Nancy!) sent me a recipe from an old vegetarian cookbook. It sounded elegant, simple and delicious so I had to try to make it! It is basically sauteed greens tossed in a sauce of brown butter, currents (I used raisins) and nuts.

    Greens with Brown Butter, Raisins and Nuts Adapted from Field of Greens by Annie Somerville.

    • 3 Tablespoons Brown Butter
    • 2-3 Tablespoons raisins or any dried fruit
    • 2-3 Tablespoons any nuts or seeds, I used pecans
    • 2 large bunches of greens, kale, chard, collards, spinach or any mix (I used collards and spinach) washed chopped. I chopped up my stems, you can discard the stems if you don’t like them.
    • Olive oil for sautéing, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes if you want a little heat

    To make the brown butter put the butter in a deep sauce pan, deep so it doesn’t splatter everywhere and just heat it until it’s brown. Stand at the stove and watch it. If you walk away it might burn, the browning happens pretty fast. It goes from this…

    ….to this in a couple minutes. It doesn’t look that brown in the photo but you can smell the toasty nutty butter. Stop before it gets too dark or it might taste burnt.

    Chop your greens and cover your raisins with some hot water, just a little water, you want to plump them just a little you don’t want them mushy, and chop your nuts too.

    Get a big pan and heat your olive oil and add the greens.

    Let the greens cook a little bit until they wilt then add most of the brown butter, raisins (I added the soaking water, but you can drain it if you want) and nuts and toss until the greens are wilted/cooked to  your liking, taste it for doneness and if it needs salt and pepper or more of the brown butter and mix it up really well.

    This fork is loaded with a perfect bite, some greens with nice taste texture from the nuts and sweet chewy from the raisins and the brown butter is elegant in the background. Yum.

    I had some roasted cauliflower so I added that to the finished dish and it was soooo good. I think any vegetable would be great prepared with the brown butter and raisins and nuts as a dressing.

  • Wyatt’s Favorite Coleslaw

    This is Wyatt’s go-to coleslaw. It a really nice balanced-tangy, punchy, barely sweet dressing.

    You only need 6 ingredients, that I bet you have at hand.

    Wyatt’s Favorite Coleslaw

    • 1/2 to 3/4 cup any kind of mayonnaise, vegan or even full fat yogurt work here.
    • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey, or more to taste-Wyatt said he uses powdered sugar sometimes to get the right consistency. You’ll have to ask him about that, I’ve never tried powdered sugar! I’ve used maple syrup or honey and it was just fine
    • ¾ (or more!) teaspoon celery seeds
    • Salt and lots of pepper to taste at the end
    • optional any other vegetables you want to add like radishes, carrots, jalapenos, onions, turnips. Oh! Nuts and fruit like apples and dried fruit are really good too!

    Shred some of your cabbage as thin as humanly possible and cut some of the cabbage in small bite size pieces, I like the contrast. You can use a food processor and make it all the same size of course, but I always just use a knife and cut different sizes. You’ll need at least 8 cups of shredded cabbage/vegetables for this much dressing.

    In a bowl mix together the mayo, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, celery seed and a little salt and pepper. Taste it before you add it to the cabbage and make sure it tastes balanced. It should be tangy and just a little sweet and you should barely taste the mustard and celery seeds. If you want to taste more of anything add it now. It’s easier to get it right before you add it to the cabbage. Grab a piece of cabbage and dip it in the dressing to see if you are happy with the sweet-tangy-creamy-punchy dressing goal.

    Mix it all up when you are happy with the dressing and add any other vegetables if you want to now.

    Serve it right away or keep it covered in the refrigerator for about a week. It will collapse a little and need to be mixed to refresh it but, honestly I like it as much if not more after a few days ‘marinating’ in the refrigerator.

     

  • Creamy Dreamy Cauliflower Soup

    Fast and easy, 6 ingredient soup. No roasting anything, just dump-simmer-blend-eat.

    What’s not to love?. You cut up your vegetables and add-in whatever liquids you like, simmer for about 30 minutes, blend it and dinner is ready!

    You can add roasted vegetables like leeks and make cauliflower leek soup or serve it with grilled cheese ‘croutons’ or leftover rotisserie chicken for a hearty meal. I chopped up some roasted green chilies and added cheese for a really delicious souper (haha) easy meal.

    Cauliflower Soup slightly adapted from a recipe by Recipe Tin Eats.

    • 1 medium cauliflower, florets broken off
    • 2 small potatoes (peel if you like) roughly diced
    • 1 onion peeled and chopped
    • 2 cups milk any kind, non dairy or dairy
    • 2 cups broth, any kind or even water will work
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • endless optional add-ons like roasted leeks or any other vegetables-carrots, leeks, rutabagas, celeriac. Top it with cheese, herbs, roasted chilies or even things like apple slices would be great

    Put everything in a pot and bring it to a simmer for about 30 minutes (that round thing at the top of the photo is frozen chicken stock and some milk splashed on it…just reference for what you are looking at)

    When the potatoes and cauliflower are soft enough to mash use and immersion blender or just a potato masher and blend the soup. This photo is before I blended it when the vegetables were all done.

    Taste the soup and add salt and pepper and if it is too thick add more milk or just water and anything else you want to make it your own creation. I doubt it will be too thin. If it is just simmer it a little longer.

  • Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde

    Pretty much every Colorado Native, most Transplants and every Red Wagon CSA member and employee I know has Green Chile running through their veins. We eat it on, and with everything!

    There is no wrong or right way to make or eat it. This is just one simple recipe I like that is adaptable and really fast because it uses an Instant Pot/Pressure cooker and only 4 ingredients if you don’t count salt and spices.

    Chicken chile verde is a great base for lots of quick meals like burritos, nachos, tacos or tostadas.

    You can substitute the tomatillos with fresh or canned tomatoes if you like, and you can substitute pork for the chicken.

    Chicken Chile Verde

    • 1-2 pounds chicken thighs or breasts. You can also use any cut of pork, though perhaps that might be a different blog post…?
    • 1 pound of tomatillos or tomatoes, fresh or canned
    • 1 pound, about 6 or 7 roasted green chilies
    • 1 medium onion
    • garlic and spices are optional, I used 1 teaspoon each of cumin and oregano
    • salt and pepper to taste

    I used a pressure cooker, the times and directions are pretty much the same for Instant pots.

    1. Place the chicken in the instant pot or pressure cooker to brown the skin, you aren’t cooking it, just browning it. You will remove the skin and any bones after cooking but I like to leave it in now for more flavor. If you are using skinless/boneless just brown the meat.

    2. Put the rest of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and whiz that up for a minute or so.

    Hey look, you made salsa verde!

    3. Dump the salsa verde in with the chicken and cook it under medium to high pressure for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes slowly release the pressure. Remove the meat and when it is cool enough to handle discard the bones and skin and shred the chicken.

    In about a 1/2 hour you have some lovely chicken chile verde delicious as is or ready to make into any number of meals through the week.

    This is easily doubled or tripled and freezes beautifully.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Cauliflower with Béchamel Sauce

    *this is an updated post by Mo. The original was posted 2014 by Amy.

    This recipe is adaptable to using Romanesco and or cauliflower. Both are very similar in texture, flavor, cooking methods and time. Béchamel is a basic creamy sauce that is used in many classic dishes. When I worked in restaurants we called Bechamel sauce ‘Culinary Duct Tape’. It pulls textures and flavors together, and upgrades dishes from simple to special, like magic.

    This is super simple and fast dish to make. Gather your (very white if not using Romanesco) ingredients.

    Recipe

    1-2 heads Romanesco and/or cauliflower cut into manageable sizes
    2 Tbsp butter
    1/4 cup flour any flour will do, even gluten free or corn flour
    1 1/2 cups milk, any type of milk works
    1/2 cup grated cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top. This is optional again, any cheese works here. This is where you can get really fancy, try Blue cheese or Brie or English Cheddar or whatever you love. It’s super fun to customize.
    White pepper
    Salt

    Steam the Romanesco and cauliflower until almost tender for about 5 minutes in a covered pan. They will cook more in the oven, so you want to leave them a little bit firm. Romanesco takes a little longer to get tender so check after 5 minutes for cauliflower and 7 or 8 for Romanesco.

    To make the Béchamel sauce. Melt the butter over medium-low heat then whisk in the flour to make a roux.

    Add 1/2 cup milk, whisking constantly. Whisk until the lumps dissolve and you have a smooth, thick paste. Add the remaining cup of milk, 1/2 cup at a time. Each time you should whisk until the sauce thickens. When you can draw a line that stays on a spoon the sauce is the right consistency.

    When the sauce has thickened (roughly the consistency of thin gravy), stir in the cheese, white pepper, and salt to taste. Remove sauce from heat.

    Place half of the florets on the bottom of your baking dish and half of of the Béchamel sauce.

    Put the remaining half of the florets on top of the first layer and cover with the remaining Béchamel sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

    Bake in a pre-heated 375F degree oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

    This is a great side dish for simple weeknight meals or a fancy holiday celebration.