What I'm Eating Now

Even if you aren't a member of a CSA, the meal plans and written or linked recipes that will be the focus of my reinvigorated blog can still be of interest because the vegetables referenced will be seasonal and should be readily available at good prices at most grocery stores (though seasonal fruits and veggies do vary in accordance with geography).

Key items in this week's box (for those of you that don't also receive a box from Abundant Harvest Organics) are: broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, spinach, carrots, potatoes (Idaho and Sweet). There were other goodies, too, but I'm just listing the stars that I'm focusing on this week.

Here's a list of the recipes on the menu for the next week or so. Subsequent blogs will provide more details (and maybe even photos) of recipes, particularly those without links.

Cauliflower & Sausage Casserole (a blog on Cauliflower is definitely coming soon. It's a great ingredient - and a wonderful carb substitute.)

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza - the recipe references kale, but given our box I'm going to do some with arugula and some with Spinach. I'm also making mine mini pizzas, instead of a big pizza, because I have pita that needs to get used.

Potato Salad with Arugula and Herbs - I always have plain yogurt on hand, so this recipe was naturally attractive. I'm not using dill, but might use mint or just not include an herb. Sandwiches have been a common lunch meal in our house, so this potato salad will be a perfect side dish.

Penne with Spinach Sauce - I was going to try Jaime Oliver's Creamed Spinach recipe, but then realized I had absentmindedly boiled some penne. Oops. So, I'm going to do this pasta dish instead, adjusting the sauce a lot based on the ingredients I have on hand.

White Bean and Radicchio Gratin (I still have radicchio leftover from a previous box) - details coming soon.

Ethiopian Stew - I still have turnips from a previous box and plan on adding my rutabaga in with this. I'll be making major spice adjustments to fit what I have on hand and won't be including the leeks, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

I hope these recipes are helpful. I'm sure I'll also make stir fry one night as it is one my favorite ways to use broccoli. I'll also report back on which items the 2 year-old will actually eat. I know his favorite items from the box will be the pears and oranges. He LOVES fruit. I'll take it!

Healthy Side Dish or One-Pot Meal

A quick note on my potato leek soup, I made a vegetarian/vegan version recently, which required 2 simple changes. Just sautee the onions and leeks in olive oil instead of butter and use vegetable stock or broth instead of chicken broth/stock. The recipe already avoided the use of cream.

Tonight a made a Spicy Green Bean/Kale recipe that could be used as a side dish, but I added some left over quinoa I had and it became a yummy (and healthy) one pot meal.

Also, you'll notice in my blog that the same ingredients having been popping up, that's because my cooking right now, thanks to Abundant Harvest Organics, is centered around the produce I get in the box and because I like to use what I have on hand and not waste (by throwing things out before they get used or by wasting gas on a trip to the grocery store that might be avoided by adjusting recipes and using what I have).

Tonight's recipe was my take on Giada's (Everyday Italian) recipe. Remember, my portions are scaled, roughly, for 1 (or 1 with some leftovers), which is one way my recipe differs from hers. I also removed and added a few ingredients (she had mushrooms, I do not. I have bell peppers, shallot and garlic, she did not).

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1 shallot, chopped (diced)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1/3 pounds green beans
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• white wine vinegar
• chicken or vegetable broth
• (optional) a trio of bell peppers, in strips (red, yellow and green) - I like to always have the frozen package of these from Trader Joe's on hand, It's a great addition to lots of recipes or to jarred pasta sauce (and so easy and affordable).
• 1 1/2 packets of red pepper flakes (from the pizza place - yep, that's what I had. This is obviously amateur cooking).
• 2 handfuls (I have small hands) kale rinsed, stemmed, and roughly chopped (I actually just tear my kale)
• 1/2 of a lemon (to juice)
• Parmesan cheese (to top it off)
• chives/green onion (to top it off)

Preparation

1, Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. (I used enough olive oil to coat the pan)

2. Add shallots and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.

3. Add garlic, cook for just about 1 minute, then add broth, enough to cover the pan and keep garlic from burning.

4. Add green beans (I used frozen, but fresh would obviously be better. If you only have canned, I wouldn't even bother. I like string beans, not cut beans.), salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add a dash of white wine vinegar (Giada suggests white wine, which is probably better, but I didn't have it, so I used the white wine vinegar instead, since I already had some broth in there I think it worked fine). and continue cooking until the green beans are almost tender, about 3-5 minutes.

6. Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes.

If you want to serve it as a side, squirt lemon juice on top (from half a lemon -- don't over use) and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

To make it a one-pot meal, I added my leftover quinoa to the pot while the kale was finishing cooking, just to warm the quinoa, and added the lemon juice and parmesan cheese once I had put a serving in a bowl. I also added some chives on top.

I think this would also work on top of rice or tossed with pasta, in which case you might also want to drizzle with some olive oil at the end.

This Week's Lunchbox: No-Mayo Egg Salad Sandwich with Kale Chips

I try to pack lunch so that I am not tempted by fast food or don't end up at the after-school program getting "lunch" out of the vending machine. It's tough, though, because I don't like deli meats, hate mayo, and can't really get into pb&j that much as an adult. Plus, bringing something that needs to be heated up doesn't always work either.

As I result, found myself just taking boiled eggs with me because the protein is definitely filling or taking a can of tuna and just eating it (again, I hate mayo so tuna salad is no good). Recently, though , I found an egg salad recipe that didn't use mayo (yeah!!), but did use avocados (yeah again). I've created my own variation on it and I love it. I pack the bread and salad separate and eat it open-faced. If you have a nice, crispy romaine, put it underneath the egg salad. Even better.

Egg Salad

Ingredients

• 3 boiled eggs (I like mine soft-medium boiled, not runny but not hard)
  
• 1/2-1 avocado
  
• 1/8 cup shelled and cooked edamame
  
• 1 squirt of spicy mustard (or whichever mustard you choose)
• 1 dollop sour cream
  
• 1 small, chopped shallot (I typically don't use shallots, since I had some, I added it).
  
• Red onion (just a little bit for some bite - eyeball it)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Boil eggs (to the hardness you desire). When eggs are cool, dice them. I use an egg slicer and do it 2 ways and then break the egg apart a bit more in the mixing bowl with a butter knife.
2. Cook edamame
3. Chop edamame, onions, shallot and avocado
4. Mix together the egg and other chopped ingredients.
5. Add sour cream (I typically use 2-3 spoonfuls) and add 1 squirt mustard (I like to use spicy brown - go easy on it. I find if you add too much mustard it can overpower the other flavors)

Serve as mentioned above.

Kale Chips

• Kale (as much as you want - just tear it off the stem)
• Olive Oil
  
• Sea Salt and Pepper

It's best to just refer you to Kath Eats Real Food and The Kitchn, the two blogs I referenced and pulled from to make my Kale Chips.