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Author: mo

  • Freezing Whole Tomatoes and Tomatillos

    Just a quick post to let you know that you you don’t have to make sauce or peel and prepare tomatoes or tomatillos for later use. You can easily freeze pop your whole tomatoes or tomatillos and it couldn’t be simpler.

    Just put your washed and dried tomatoes or tomatillos in the freezer on a tray until they are frozen hard.

    When they are completely frozen move them to a plastic bag for long storage and to take up less room. Return them to the freezer, use them in 6-9 months.

    When you’re ready to use your frozen tomatoes or tomatillos, just let them thaw at room temperature. Once they’ve defrosted, the tomato skins peel right off! Use the tomatillos without peeling.

  • Storing Shredded or Spiralized Zucchini

    It recently dawned on me that I can shred or make ‘zucchini noodles’ (like they sell at Whole Foods) at home, at a fraction of the price, and store it for at least a week in containers in the refrigerator.

    I find (and Whole Foods knows) if I have food prepared and ready to use I am more apt to make things like zucchini bread, quesadillas or zucchini pancakes. Once the zucchini is shredded, making other at a later date isn’t overwhelming and literally takes a few minutes and there is almost no clean up.

    Shred your zucchini with a box grater or your food processor or if you have a spiralizer use that. Pop the prepared zucchini in the container and cover it until you are ready to use it.

    This zucchini has been stored for 8 days and still looks great. I put a paper towel in the bottom of the container and I think it balanced the dampness of the vegetables. I think for baking and cooking the spiralized noodles I like the stored zucchini better than freshly grated. 

    I am positive that carrots and winter squash will store just as well like this. I’ve never frozen zucchini but I think I’ll try it and I’ll report back. If you have luck freezing zucchini let me know how you do it. Until then I’m off to make some zucchini bread!

  • Herb Packed Cucumber (or Zucchini) Salad

    This is a great summer salad when cucumbers and zucchini are crisp and tender and herbs are abundant.

    You can use either zucchini or cucumbers here and any soft herbs-mint, basil, tarragon, parsley, chives, dill, cilantro. I like to mix and match what I have.

    Herb Packed Cucumber Salad

    • 1 pound of cucumbers or zucchini sliced thin. I love my mandoline for this but you can use a knife
    • 1 small onion sliced thin
    • juice of one lime
    • 1/2 teaspoon honey, agave or sugar
    • 1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt, you can use any dairy free options too if you like
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil (I forgot this in the photo)
    • 1/2 -1 cup chopped soft herbs. I had chives, mint and parsley today

    Place cucumber (or zucchini) in a colander with a pinch of salt and leave it to drain for about 1/2 hour. Put the sliced onion, lime juice, agave and a pinch of salt in a bowl to marinate while the cucumbers drain.

    After 1/2 hour put everything (add herbs, sour cream and a little olive oil) in a serving dish and mix it up really well. 

    Taste and see if it needs more salt, sweetener (for balance) or lime and enjoy!

     

     

     

     

  • Chard Smoothie

    I love making green smoothies. Kids love making green smoothies too. It’s kind of magical turning vegetables into something so seemingly decadent.

    The amounts of greens and add in ingredients are infinitely adaptable to seasons and dietary preferences.

    All you need is something green, a liquid for easy blending and for me bananas are a must ingredient and the rest is up to you.

    The basics for two smoothies are;

    • one bunch of chard leaves (stems removed) about 4 cups
    • 2 bananas, some people like to freeze their bananas, I don’t. I like smoothies not too frozen
    • 1 cup liquid like almond milk, coconut milk, orange or pineapple juice
    • 2 or 3 Tbsp. seeds or nuts. I love cashews or hemp seeds, almonds are good too.
    • optional ingredients, more fruit or vegetables, I added a couple clementines, cucumbers are great in smoothies, apples, celtuce, herbs like mint or basil, ice if you like it thicker. Dates are good if you like a sweeter smoothie.

    Put everything in a blender and let it rip. I try to always make enough for two smoothies, one for today and one for tomorrow.

  • Sauteed Greens

    Here is a super basic prep for when you are wondering what to do with your bunches of kale, collards or chard. After a quick sauté you can serve your greens hot, at room temperature, or you can refrigerate the greens and store them for up to 7 days and eat as a cold “salad” or add them to a grain or egg dish, pasta or my favorite-added to my morning oatmeal! After cooking the greens are much easier to store-Bonus!

    Sauteed Greens Serves 4

    • 1 bunch of greens, washed and chopped
    • 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
    • 1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic or onion (optional)
    • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Vinegar or lemon juice, optional for seasoning

    Shake the rinsed greens in a colander to remove the excess water, but the leaves don’t have to be completely dry. Remove the tough stems and chop the leaves.

    Heat a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add the olive oil followed by the garlic or onion if using and cook for a few seconds until it is light brown. Be careful not to let your oil smoke or burn the garlic. Add a couple of handfuls of greens and toss with tongs, incorporating the garlic so it doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining greens all at once, or in batches if your pan isn’t large enough to hold it all at once.

    Toss constantly so the greens wilt evenly.

    When wilted, taste first, then season with salt and pepper. Sometimes greens have a natural saltiness so you don’t want to over salt. Continue cooking over high heat, tossing often, until the excess liquid evaporates.

    Turn greens out into a bowl and season with vinegar or lemon juice.  Here is a photo to show how much the greens reduce down for easier consumption and storage. That is two bunches of greens sauteed to fit in a smallish container.

  • Simple Asparagus Ideas

    These two asparagus preparations don’t warrant  recipes, just a couple photos to spark meal ideas.

    Here I washed and trimmed my asparagus and  pan roasted it in olive oil and salt. I added my Hazel Dell mushrooms, you can obviously leave those out, or add something like walking onions or leeks. The point is, compare and contrast textures and flavors. Use what you have and love.

    Sautee the asparagus and whatever else you like in a medium hot pan for about 8 minutes and finished it with a good squeeze of lemon and pepper. Oh boy was this a treat.

    Speaking of treat. Bacon wrapped asparagus bundles are fun to make and eat. Kids love to help make these. You can use any kind of bacon. Turkey, pork, vegan…it all cooks about the same time. You might need to add extra oil if you are using vegan or turkey but just a little.

    Preheat your oven to 400F and toss your asparagus in a little oil and salt and pepper. Wrap two or three spears in bacon and cook for 25 to 30 minutes turning them carefully once or twice until the bacon is done to your liking.

    The asparagus roasts perfectly wrapped in the bacon.

  • Hakurei Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

    Hakurei turnips are a perfect addition to any simple salad. Hakurei’s are juicy and sweet eaten raw. Cooked they become pleasantly soft and buttery.

    I made an old school Honey Poppyseed dressing here. I really like to have a few sauces and dressings in my refrigerator at the ready. This dressing is a great one to have on hand, it’s delicious and keeps for a long time and goes great with any seasonal green or chopped vegetable.

    Poppyseed dressing

    • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
    • 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 3 Tablespoons honey can substitute with agave or maple syrup if vegan
    • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
    • pinch salt

    Put everything in a jar with a lid and shake it really well.

    For the salad wash and dry your greens and other salad ingredients, tear large leaves into bite size pieces and slice the Hakurei turnips as thinly as possible. A mandolin works great here. Toss the sliced turnips with a splash of dressing to coat and separate the slices.

    Toss everything together and enjoy!

  • Welcome 2024 CSA Members

    And…we’re back. Hello and thank you to all new and returning Members.

    The first pickup is always crazy for us, we go from 0-100 in a blink of an eye. It used to be the first pickups were kind of lite and we sort of eased into the season. Not so this year. What a beautiful array of produce we’ll be getting this week.

    If you are new to our CSA or even if you are returning check out this blog for some tips to help you organize and prepare for the week and keep your vegetables fresh and easy to cook until your next pickup.

    Check out this blog as well for the best ways to wash and store your CSA share.

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    You might have a look around here to refresh your memory on past recipes, or if you need inspiration or feel stuck on how to use up your weekly share.

    Also, make sure you bring your bags to pickup and also have enough storage bags and containers to store you CSA haul.

    I’m excited, it feels like it’s going to be a great year.

    I’ll see you at pickup!

    Mo

  • Baked Potato Skins

    Mmmm crispy potato skins filled with your favorite vegetables and proteins and maybe a little cheese.

    Use anything your heart desires, there are no rules, you’ve eaten enough of these to know what you like! Look in your refrigerator for leftover vegetables like broccoli or chard or kale. I had some red chard, meatballs, a little bacon and a few roasted chilies (I wish I had broccoli for the photo) that needed using.  Potato skins are a great way to pull together a really delicious meal.

    To make your potato skins start by baking washed, oiled and salted potatoes in a 400F oven for 40-60 minutes depending on how big your potatoes are. Stab the potatoes a few times so they don’t blow up. Trust me on this and stab them. Make more than you need if you have lots of potatoes that need using up. These freeze beautifully or keep in the refrigerator for several days for quick meals or snacks.

    When the potatoes are done baking, let them cool for a few minutes and cut them in half and scoop out the insides. Save the insides for soups or mashed potatoes. If you’re a bread baker like me, use the insides for making bread or rolls. You can also use the mashed potatoes to stuff the skins and make twice baked potatoes. If you look at the top picture I used mashed potatoes and meatballs for some of my skins.

    Oil the skins and put them skin side up and bake for about 10 minutes to crisp them up.

     

    Then flip them over and fill them with whatever you like.

    Bake them for another 10 or 15 minutes until your fillings are crispy and melty.

    So versatile and so good.

    Have a great week. I’ll see you at pickup.

    Mo

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Celeriac Hashbrowns

     

    I have lots of root vegetables in my refrigerator, I bet you do too. I love making a big batch of various collections of roasted vegetables and using them in different meals throughout the week. This is another way I like to use root vegetables. Like roasted, these pan fried patties make delicious meals easy to pull together. Make more than you think you need. You’ll be happy to have leftovers.

    They look like potato latkes don’t they?

    That’s because I pretty much make them how I make latkes but I prefer to mix and match whatever root vegetables I have. Today I had some potatoes and celeriac. Kohlrabi or rutabagas make great hashbrowns too. Just sub what you have and what you like.

    Aim for about 1 1/2-2 pounds of vegetables for about 8 pretty good sized ‘patties’. Scale this recipe up or down with what you have.

    I used a food processor to grate the vegetables. You could use a box grater if that is what you have.

    • 1 pound celeriac peeled and grated
    • 1 pound potatoes washed and grated. I don’t peel them. I also use whatever potatoes I have. I know people say to only use russet. I use what I have.
    • 1 medium onion grated
    • 1 egg
    • 2 teaspoons cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot or tapioca starch.
    • salt and pepper and optional red pepper flakes

    Throw everything in a bowl and toss/mix it really well. I know for latkes people squeeze out the water from the potatoes. I don’t ever squeeze. There is liquid at the bottom of the bowl, whatever, it always works out. If you want to squeeze your vegetables though, do it!

    All mixed up it looks dry doesn’t it? Don’t worry it will be great.

    Heat a skillet on the stove for a few minutes on medium. When it’s good and hot add a slick of oil and spoon mounds of the mixture into the skillet. Look at the photo below; It looks dry and like it will fall apart when you turn them. It will be fine, the egg and the starch and the moisture from the vegetables are making delicious magic. Let them cook for about 3 minuets and carefully turn them and give them about 3 more minutes on the second side. Set the finished ones aside and finish the rest.

    We ate these with some soup, dipping them into the soup the first night I made them. With the leftovers I made them into a kind of hybrid breakfast burrito/soft taco. I had some leftover refried beans from last week that were great with the leftover hashbrowns.

    Have a great week.

    Mo