*Adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater
Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl and use it as you would baba ganoush. This is fresh and bright.
And this is the eggplant sauce served along with cauliflower and beans you are getting in your share. I blanched the vegetable for about a minute and served the eggplant sauce on the side.
– Mo
I often look through Heidi Swanson’s books for ideas. I saw this recipe Tortilla Salad and made my own version of it with the vegetables we got this week.
You can use any vegetables you have of course. I followed the recipe for the dressing except I added a little cumin, and used the beans and cauliflower again. This is very good. I’ll make this again.
Gently warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet or pan, until it is just hot. When hot remove from heat.
While the oil is heating, lightly pound the rosemary, thyme, and oregano in a mortar and pestle.
Stir the paprika, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and salt into the oil. Then add the bruised herbs and lemon juice.
You can use this now, but know – the oil just gets better as it ages over a few days. Keep it in a refrigerator for up to a week/ten days-ish. It thickens up when cold, so if you need it in a liquid state, place it in the sun or in a warm place for a few minutes.
-Mo
*Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Start by dicing your tomatoes. I had some beautiful heirlooms, including a Green Giant from the Friday harvest.
Put your diced tomatoes in a colander set over a medium-sized bowl, so the juices can drain while you chop everything else. You can either leave your salsa chunky or run it through your blender for a smooth version. If you are planning on blending your salsa (which I did), don’t worry about chopping things too perfectly.
Next, chop your garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and onion and layer on top of your tomatoes in the colander.
I used about half of a Red Wagon jalapeno with the seeds and veins. You can either remove the seeds and veins for a little less heat, or leave them in to turn it up a notch. Either way, be forewarned, our jalapenos definitely pack a punch.
Once you think enough juice has drained from your tomatoes (15 minutes was fine for me), you can empty the bowl and add your chunky vegetables. Next add your lime juice, salt, cumin, and pepper and blend until smooth or leave it chunky. This is what mine looked like when it was finished.
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Just for fun, we made our own tortilla chips to go with the salsa. I realize this doesn’t involve any of your CSA veggies, but it’s really fun and tasty!
Heat some oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. The exact temperature isn’t that important, just make sure it isn’t going to burn your chips. While your oil is heating up, take some nice corn tortillas and cut them into quarters.
Fry them in oil, flipping a few times, until they are bubbly and a nice golden brown. Don’t overcrowd your skillet.
Remove the chips from the oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt, and voila! Happy munching.
– Maddie
Yield: 2 loaves of bread or approximately 24 muffins
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners (or grease and flour 2 8×4″ loaf pans).
Grate your zucchini using a box grater, or a food processor if you have one. 2 cups is about half of a big zucchini or a whole medium zucchini. If you have a big one on hand, make a double batch with 24 muffins and 2 loaves of bread and freeze the bread for later. It really freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap a few times, and will be great to have a few months from now when you’re in zucchini withdrawals.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add to egg mixture.
Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
– Maddie
I wanted to show you another way to cook greens. You can use this method for any greens. Collards, kale, broccoli raab, chard…any of the greens you get in your CSA share.
First roughly chop your washed greens.
Then throw those into a hot pan that has oil in it and maybe some garlic too.
This will really steam up and sputter. It cooks down pretty fast.
Pour about a cup of broth or water in the pan and let that simmer until the greens sort of melt.
At this point you can add some beans and serve it over rice for a really quick healthy meal. This is great with eggs and toast too or just a quick side dish. Use your imagination.
Have a great week.
– Mo
adapted from Joy of Baking
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls then mix together. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Scrape batter into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
I like to leave my zucchini really big when I bake bread with it. I like to see the vegetables, because then it is good for you, right?
– Mo
Submitted by Amy (CSA member)
This is a suggestion I received from Amy a few weeks ago. She said she doesn’t really measure anything. Just use any and all of the ingredients to taste and according to your personal preferences.
More protein/fiber additions:
Massage kale with salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Add maple syrup and red wine vinegar to taste. Toss with craisins and nuts of your choice and top with avocado and/or smoked salmon.
Submitted by Susie (CSA member)
“This beet and carrot coleslaw has been popular with my six year old and pretty simple.”
Blend diced vegetables with apple cider vinegar and a small amount of olive oil. We like it on the drier side so for half a head of cabbage I did 4 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. I also added a bit of honey to counter the vinegar for the kids.
Also I have found that blending cooked beets with applesauce is a great way to introduce the beets to 1 and 2 year old types.
Susie
I enjoy cooking with things that remind me of home. Having grown up in New England, two of my favorites are sharp Vermont white cheddar and maple syrup. One of my favorite ways to prepare carrots, which I picked up from eating at fancy restaurants with my grandparents as a child, is a warm puree.
Ingredients:
Optional
Simply boil the carrots until they are soft enough to easily stick a fork into, throw them in a food processor and add cinnamon and maple syrup to taste. Nutmeg as well as cayenne pepper also go really well in here. Tread lightly when adding the syrup and the spices so you don’t mask the flavor of the carrots too much. I find our carrots from the farm to be particularly sweet anyway. I prepared this back in June as a side paired with our ripe sugar snap peas for a new take on peas and carrots, but I find this carrot puree to be a very versatile side that goes well with any sort of white fish or chicken. I’ve also used it in burritos with rice and beans in the same fashion that one might use a sweet potato.
Connor
I love this salad. If you try it let us know how you like it. You could use any of the greens you get this week to make this salad. Mizuna, spicy salad mix, or kale.
Preheat the oven to 350F
Dump the washed and chopped kale and coconut with the oils and the soy sauce (and crushed red peppers if using) into a bowl.
Make sure you mix the sauce all over the kale and coconut evenly.
Spread the contents of the bowl on a baking sheet and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes until the coconut starts to toast. You might need two baking sheets. Stir the kale once or twice while it’s cooking.
You can eat this as a side dish or I like to add some grains for a meal. I had some leftover jade rice. This is a great make-ahead dish and the leftovers are really good for lunches.
– Mo