Red Wagon Farm

Basil Pesto

Posted on August 15, 2023 by mo

Summer is in full swing and we have lots of basil, that means it’s time to make some pesto.

Making it couldn’t be easier. You just need a few ingredients and most of them are pretty much optional. Don’t like garlic? Leave it out. Don’t have any nuts? OK it will be delicious without them. Want it vegan? Leave out the cheese or use a vegan option. Have extra herbs like mint or tarragon or any other soft herb? Add them! It will make it more interesting.

This recipe is for a fairly small batch. You can easily scale this up if you have more basil or other herbs. I gave a span of amounts in the recipe, so start with the small amount and taste and add more as needed.

Start by grabbing your bunch of basil.

This bunch is about 4 cups loosely packed basil, like I said, scale this up or down as needed and taste!
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmigiana (optional)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

You’ll notice I didn’t add salt or pepper. I used Parmigiana cheese and it was plenty salty. Taste and see if you need salt or not.

Strip the basil leaves off the stem. The soft stem on the top are ok to leave.

Combine basil, garlic, nuts, lemon, and the cheese in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the oil and purée until smooth. Taste and add more salt, lemon or oil if needed.

This made a little more than a cup which was plenty for a pound of pasta. If you have any leftover you can put it in a Ziplock bag or ice cube tray and freeze it for winter or add it to any salad, roasted or grilled vegetables or any grain dish. Pesto makes everything better.

I didn’t freeze my leftover pesto. I slathered on a few sandwiches.

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

Posted in 2023, Herbs, Recipes | Comments Off

Leeks

Posted on July 25, 2023 by mo

This week we are getting leeks in our share, they are one of my favorite alliums to eat and cook. Leeks are mild and tender and beautifully compliment just about any vegetable or protein you want to pair them with. The taste is distinct and the texture meltingly tender. We usually see leeks in the Fall or Winter CSA shares where soups and braising techniques are seasonally popular. What a treat it is to have them now, in July!

If you are new to leeks, or really any vegetable, I suggest preparing them simply to showcase their most basic taste and texture. See how to clean your leeks here then maybe try grilling them whole like this? You could serve your grilled leeks with a simple dressing or just olive oil and salt and pepper.

If you don’t want to grill or even have a grill maybe cut them into coins

and sauté them in a little olive oil and or butter. I like to use both. I added some zucchini but you could certainly just have sautéed leeks as a lovely stand alone side dish.

Herbs would be nice added here at the end of cooking. I have some pesto I think I’ll add to this and have it with salmon tonight for dinner. Here is a photo with the pesto. It was really a nice addition, yum.

Have a great week. See you at pickup.

Posted in 2023, Onions and Leeks, Recipes | Comments Off

Green Shakshuka

Posted on July 18, 2023 by mo

Shakshuka generally is a creamy saucy tomato dish made with tomatoes, cream, herbs and spices. This green shakshuka uses lots and lots of greens and herbs. I used nut milk because that is all I had and it wasn’t very creamy but had a nice mild rich flavor. This is one of those dishes that is endlessly adaptable to use whatever you happen to have and customize it to your personal taste.

Here is the recipe I very loosely followed with my changes in parentheses.

Green Shakshuka

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion chopped (I didn’t have an onion!)
3 large cloves garlic crushed
1 1/2 pounds mixed greens (I used 2 bunches of collards. ANY greens will work here), stems removed and roughly chopped.
1/4 cup vegetable stock (I used water)
1 cup packed mixed fresh herbs finely chopped (I used parsley and chives. Basil, cilantro, tarragon, a little mint, any soft herb would work. Feel free to mix and match what you like.)
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño, (I didn’t have a jalapeno. I would have added it if I did)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half, cream, yogurt or nut or oat milk depending on how creamy or saucy you like it. (I used cashew milk)
8 large eggs (I used 4 for two of us and had leftover shakshuka)

Heat a skillet to medium heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 more minute or so. Add the chopped greens and water or broth and cook that for a few minutes until it wilts.

Add the herbs you are using and cream or milk and cook that for a few more minutes until it all sort of collapses and melds together.

Make some dents in the greens, add the eggs then cover the dish and cook that over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

The cream or milk does two things, 1. it steams the eggs so they cook evenly and 2. makes the dish luscious and rich. Serve it with crusty bread, pita or potatoes.

….or maybe tortillas for breakfast tacos

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

Posted in 2023, Greens | Comments Off

Couscous Vegetable Salad with Honey Mint Vinaigrette

Posted on July 11, 2023 by mo

It has been years since I made couscous. Quinoa and farro have been my go-to grains for years and the other day I saw some couscous on the shelf at the store and thought, hello old friend.

Look how the fluffy light grains cling to the vegetables, much lighter and less chew than quinoa and farro.

The honey lemon mint vinaigrette is so good. After I made this salad I immediately made a double batch of the vinaigrette while everything was out so I can dress all my vegetables with it, cooked or raw, this week. You should double the recipe if you try this, you’ll want extra.

The dressing is super easy.

Lemon Mint Honey Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons honey
1-2 tablespoons mustard. I used a grainy mustard, you can use that or dijon
salt and pepper

Put everything in a small food processor and blend until it is smooth. Taste for more mustard or salt and pepper.

For the salad I used;

1 cup of couscous soaked in 1 cup of hot water (package directions)
1 cucumber
1 zucchini
1 fennel
optional; a handful of almonds and at the last minute I added some cherries and some feta cheese, as always, use what you like and what you have.

Slice the vegetables very thinly with a mandolin or with a vegetable peeler.