Down To Earth Recipes

String Beans and Shallots

2010-09-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

String Beans with Shallots

(from Barefoot Contessa "Family Style")

1 pound French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
3 large shallots, large-diced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 1/2 minutes.
Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.
Heat the butter and oil in a very large saute pan (12-inch diameter) or large pot
and saute the shallots on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until
lightly browned. Drain the string beans and add to the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon
salt and the pepper, tossing well. Heat only until the beans are hot.

(*Note: If using regular string beans, blanch for about 3 minutes, until they're
crisp-tender).

Thank you, Ronda!

Cabbage Ideas

2010-09-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

3 Easy Ways to Prepare Both Green and Red Cabbage:

STEAM IT.
Chop the cabbage in half, cut into wedged chunks, and steam. Salt and serve.

SQUEEZE IT.
Chop cabbage head in half. Using a very sharp knife, thinly slice long shreds of cabbage. Sprinkle sea salt liberally over shreds. Using your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage shreds until it all becomes tender. Alternatively, let salt sit on cabbage overnight to tenderize it.

One way I like to flavor this cabbage once it is tender is with olive oil, cumin powder, cumin seeds, and lime juice (if I have it). Makes a great salad addition to Taco Night!

SAUTE IT.
Thinly sliced cabbage can be sauteed in hot olive/ coconut/ peanut/ or sesame oil. Consider adding garlic, onions, carrots, peppers, parsley into the saute pan for a hot salad or as a tasty pairing with soba noodles.

More flavor options to add to this dish include: peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, cilantro, Bragg's Amino acids, apple cider vinegar, and sesame seeds.

Alice Water's Lentil Salad

2010-08-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

from thedailygreen.com. SERVINGS: Four
INGREDIENTS
1 cup lentils (French green lentils or black Beluga lentils are the best varieties to use for lentil salads because they have lots of flavor and they hold their shape when cooked.)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions or
3 tablespoons finely diced shallot
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

PREPARATION
1. Sort and rinse the lentils. Cover with water by 3 inches and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook until tender all the way through (adding more water if necessary), about 30 minutes. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Toss the lentils with the red wine vinegar, salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and vinegar if needed.

3. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, scallions or shallot, and parsley. Stir to combine. If the lentils seem dry and are hard to stir, loosen them with a bit of the reserved cooking liquid.

VARIATIONS
Add 1/2 cup diced cucumber.

Dice very fine 1/4 cup each of carrot, celery, and onion. Cook until tender in a couple spoonfuls of olive oil. Cool and stir into the salad in place of the scallions or shallots.

Garnish with 1/2 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese.

Toast and crush 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds and add to the salad. Substitute cilantro for the parsley.

Dice 1/4 cup flavorful sweet peppers, season with salt, and let stand to soften. Stir in with the scallions or shallots.

Zucchini and Fenugreek Seeds

2010-07-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

Zucchini and Fenugreek Seeds
Serves four

6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 fresh green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh gingerroot
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp chili powder
1 lb/450 g zucchini, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
chopped cilantro, to garnish

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom skillet. Add the onion, green chilies, ginger, and chili powder, stirring well until mixed.

Add the sliced zucchini and tomatoes to the skillet and stir-fry for 5-7 minutes.

Add the fenugreek seeds to the zucchini mixture in the skillet and stir-fry for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the zucchini and fenugreek seed mixture to serving dishes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Farmer's Zuppa Toscana

2010-07-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Contributed by Marco Ascoli...
Ingredients

- Tuscan Bread (2-3 days old)
- Kidney Beans 300 g (or a can for the shortcut)
- Olive Oil (extra virgin), 40 g
- Water, 1 litro
- Savory Cabbage (the one with wrinkly leaves) , 1/4 of a ball
- Tuscan Black Kale, as much as or more than the savory cabbage
- A bunch of chard (I find this optional)
- 1 Onion
- 1 Leek
- 2 small potatoes (I find this optional)
- 2 carrots
- 2 Zucchini (green!)
- 1 full Celery stalk
- Optional pork back fat or Prosciutto skin (what is cut out before slicing it)
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Tomato paste (concentrated) or Tomato canned chopped or whole (avoid any sort that has "freshness" ingredients like calcium chloride and citric acid, they just do not taste right)

Preparation

Put the beans in a bowl well covered with water for about 8 hrs, then boil them in 2 liters of water for 2 hrs. In a pot lightly brown an onion sliced thin or minced with the prosciutto skin if that's the case, add 1 by 1 the other vegetables coarsely cut and let them mush-out (become mushy or loose their rigidity) for about 10 minutes, add most of the boiling water of the beans and half of the beans. The other half of the beans need to be processed/blended, add this blend to the pot. Adjust salt and pepper let simmer for about 2 hrs. At this point you can make layers of sliced toasted bread and soup in a large bowl or in alternative just add the sliced bread toasted in the pot, mix and then simmer for 10 more minutes.
Let rest and serve with just a line of extra-virgin olive oil and ultra-thin sliced onion if you like.
It is best served the second or third day.
Keep in refrigerator.

Raw Kale Salad

2010-07-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

The kale is in full swing! Ever enjoy a raw wilted kale salad?

There's two reasons I love this salad:

1- It lasts for a week or more in the fridge.

2- It brings out kale's full tenderness and flavor without cooking it.

Ingredients:

Bunch of Kale, chopped

1 lemon, squeezed over kale

1 tsp - 1 TBS Sea Salt

1 TBS - 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl, using the smaller amount of salt and oil to begin. With your hands, massage the lemon, salt, and olive oil into the kale. This combination of ingredients actually breaks down the kale so that it becomes tender. Keep on rubbing into the kale. If it doesn't seem to be tenderizing, add more salt and olive oil. Smoosh between hands until the kale is a dark green glistening color. Voila! Now you have a raw kale salad!

This can be eaten deliciously as is, or it can be added to.

Tasty add-ins: tomatoes, beans, avocado, green peas, fresh lettuce, feta cheese, olives, shredded cabbage, garlic scapes, pine nuts, radishes, ect.

For more flavor, consider chopping in parsley, oregano, and basil.

~Feedback from Ingrid 07/17/10:

I just tried this and it is delicious. I added avocado, cucumber and grape 
tomatoes. I would recommend using 1/2 a lemon to start if you have a small 
bunch of kale- the farm share. I will be serving this with grilled salmon, 
so the extra tartness is ok, but I'm not sure it is to everyone's taste.

Raspberry Roasted Zucchini Salad

2010-07-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

This salad has four main parts:
1. Base of Spinach with Parsley and Dill chopped in
2. Roasted Zucchini
3. Roasted Tofu
4. Raspberries, Goat Cheese, Dressing, and Thyme on top

How to do each:
1. Wash and chop the spinach and herbs, arrange as a base on the plates.
2. Roasted Zucchini can be made ahead of time. Slice zucchini rounds about 1/3 inch thick. Toss them with balsamic vinegar, tahini, olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Bake in the oven at 425 until they are browned and roasted. Maybe 30 minutes?

3. Roasted Tofu: Chop a 1 lb block of firm tofu into cubes. Marinate those cubes overnight in a dressing- I used miso ginger. Make a 'bread crumb' mix of 1/3 cup sunflower seeds and 1/3 cup kasha grain (roasted buckwheat) by grinding or cracking the seed and grain together (coffee grinder of high power blender). After it's marinated, drain the tofu and roll it around in the 'bread crumb' mixture. Bake at 400 or so for about 30 minutes until it's golden brown.

4.
~Local raspberries, picked fresh. There's lots of black raspberries growing in Stafford right now.
~Bush Meadow farms has awesome goat cheese for sale on Rt 190 between the farm and 84.
~Fresh thyme is plucked and sprinkled all over the salad
~To make the dressing, combine in a jar with a top: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, orange juice, honey, dried thyme, sea salt. Shake it up and pour over that salad!

Put all these exciting things on top of the greens and enjoy!

Savory Basil Corn Muffins

2010-07-08T12:06:00.001-07:00

This is my new corn muffin recipe. It has a lot of flavor and is tasty as a side to salad or summer soup. It's a vegan muffin when the cheese is omitted.
Here are the ingredients. Put all the dry stuff in one bowl, and all the wet stuff in another bowl. Flax seeds go into the wet bowl. Combine both bowls together. Mix gently.

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk (make your own by adding 1 tsp of vinegar to 1 1/2 cups of soymilk, almond milk, cow milk, goat milk, what have ye)
2 TBS ground Flax seeds (grind in coffee grinder or with mortar & pestle)
1 3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt

These are all the ingredients that are just imagined up for flavor.
Do your thing! Here's what I did:
1/3 c. shredded Parmesan
1/2 cup basil sliced
1/3 cup roasted peppers, diced
1 small pepper of whatever kind
4 shakes garlic powder
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Bake at 425 degree for 2o-30 minutes: until the top of the muffin is golden brown. Makes about 15-18 muffins.

Sweet Pea Basil Salad

2010-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

With our tasty peas, basil, and greens, I'm feeling nostalgic for a great summery salad Steve makes. It's so tasty and simple! Chop up:

Sweet Peas/ Snap Peas/ or Green Beans
Fresh Basil
Garlic Scapes

Additional stuff that can be added: + radish +lettuce +shredded kale
+hemp seeds + chopped walnuts

To dress the veggies,
Pour olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt over them.
Eat as is or serve over a bed of lettuce.

Yummy!

Radish Ideas from Ingrid

2010-07-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

Ingrid doesn't eat radishes raw. Here she shares two of her favorite ways to eat them. Check it out!

1 Simple Radish Pickles
Slice thin and sprinkle with salt. Press between two plates with a heavy
weight on top. Let sit for a day. Rinse well and eat. - No more heat!

2.  Radishes are delicious cooked in a simple miso broth.  Slice a few
radishes and cook in water with a few leaves from one of them, scallions and
dried mushrooms.  Add a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Crumble in rice
vermicelli and simmer 5 - 10 minutes. Add a dollop of sweet yellow miso and
remove from heat.  Stir well and let sit to cool a bit. Good both hot and
cold.  The cooking takes the bite out and leaves a nice radish flavor.

Throw-it-all-in Veggie Pot Pie

2009-09-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking and we absolutely love it. I'm including here the ingredients recommended in the original recipe, but I tend to throw in whatever I have and leave out what I don't. Parsnips are a key component though - they really add something great that I don't go without if I don't have to. Those overly mature beans from last week's harvest were terrific in it - we just pulled the beans out of the pods and threw them in.

Chop up and keep separate so you can saute each to perfection...
2 medium red onions cut in thick slices
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 celery root, peeled and cut
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut
1 acorn squash, peeled and cut
8 oz. portobello mushrooms cut in thick slices and halved

Heat 3-4 T olive oil and 3-4 T butter in skillet. Saute the vegetables each until slightly soft but not brown, first onions, then carrots and parsnips, and so on down the list. As you finish with each, throw it in a casserole dish and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400.

Add to veggies 2 T chopped fresh marjoram or 1 T dried. Mix and pour over the veggies 3 c. veggie stock (the recipe recommends 4 but I find it makes the recipe too soupy). Cover and bake until veggies are just tender, 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make cheddar biscuit crust (this is my easy recipe, not Joy of Cooking):
3 c. flour
6 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. cream or half and half (milk if you don't have those)
6 T. oil
1/4 t. cracked black pepper
Stir together and then add 3 cloves minced garlic with a generous handful of grated cheddar cheese.

When veggies are just tender, pull out and add biscuit crust in big dollops over the veggies. Any extra can be turned into biscuits! Bake until biscuit crust is browned 20-25 minutes. Remove, let stand for 10 minutes, and serve.

Onion Soup

2009-09-25T18:11:00.001-07:00

6 Alisa Craig Onions
4 Red Potatoes
Parsley, small bunch (Chop stems into little pieces. Reserve leaves for garnish)
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Water
Ume Plum Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
2 TBS dried Thyme
2 tsp Paprika
dash of red pepper
fresh cracked pepper
A whole lot of Sea Salt

Slice onions thin. Chop potatoes into small pieces. Heat olive oil in the base of a stock pot. In hot oil saute: onions, potatoes, and parsley stems until the onions are translucent. Then add thyme, paprika, pepper, red pepper, and sea salt to vegetable saute. Once spices are combined well with the onion saute, add enough water to the pot so that it looks like soup. Let simmer for a half hour (or more if you can). Taste the soup to be sure there's enough salt. Add a dash of vinegar to each bowl before serving, and garnish with parsley leaves. It's extra tasty with some cheddar cheese on top too!

Hidatsa Stuffed Sugar Pumpkin

2009-09-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

1 Sugar pumpkin, 4-5 pounds
2 t Salt
1/2 t Dry mustard
2 T Rendered fat
1 lb Ground buffalo, venison or beef
1 Medium onion, chopped
1 c Cooked wild rice
3 Eggs, beaten
1 t Crushed, dried sage
1/4 t Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove strings and seeds. Reserve seeds for another use. Prick the cavity with a fork and rub with 1 teaspoon salt and the mustard. Heat fat in a large skillet, add meat and onion and saute over medium-high heat until browned. Off the heat, stir in wild rice, eggs, remaining salt, sage and pepper. Stuff pumpkin with the meat mixture. Place 1/2" water in the bottom of a shallow baking pan. Put pumpkin in the pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Add more water to the pan as neccessary to avoid sticking. To serve, cut pumpkin into wedges, giving each person pumpkin and stuffing.
Spirit of the Harvest

Garlic Herb Pasta with Egg on top

2009-08-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

Serves 2 as a filling meal, serves 4 as a side dish.This may have been the best pasta I've ever made- and it's so easy! Garlic pasta is a dish made traditionally in northern Italy- especially (I'm pretty sure) in Emilia-Romagna. It's traditional to ladle a bit of very high quality balsamic vinegar over the dish. Here's my recipe:

1/2 head of Garlic
Olive Oil to generously coat saute pan
1/2 pound whole wheat pasta
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of basil
a few stems of oregano
4 eggs, fried or scrambled
2-4 tsp. balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
salt and pepper

First, boil water for pasta.

Then chop up all the herbs. Set aside.

In a saucepan, saute garlic in plenty of olive oil over medium heat. Let the garlic cook until it is translucent. Don't let the garlic brown, or else it will become bitter. As the garlic is cooking, fry eggs in another pan.

If eggs or garlic is ready early, just remove the pan from heat and cover with a lid.

Cook pasta in the waiting water, drain.

Separate pasta into bowls. Pour garlic saute over pasta, then mix in the fresh herbs. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar over pasta, then place eggs on top of dish. Salt and Pepper. If you wish, sprinkle some parmesan on top as well. Mange!

Tabouli

2009-08-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe for the awesome tabouli Kristin prepared for us at this Tuesday's work day, compliments of Caroline from Frankie Lappe’s "Diet for a Small Planet."

TABOULI (Zesty Lebanese Salad)

1. Pour 4 cups boiling water over 1 1/4 cups raw bulgur (cracked wheat) in a bowl. Let stand covered, about an hour, until light and fluffy. To remove excess water, shake in a strainer and squeeze with hands.

2. Combine Cooked Bulgur with

3/4 cup garbanzo beans, cooked or canned, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups fresh, minced parsley

3/4 cup fresh minced mint

3/4 cup chopped or sliced scallions

3 medium tomatoes chopped

1/2 cup (or more) lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

3. Chill at least one hour. Serve on raw grape, lettuce or cabbage leaves.

Red Bean Dip

2009-08-19T11:01:00.001-07:00

Mary Ellen reminded me to share this recipe for the Red Bean Sauce/ Dip I made at the first work day this year. Here it is! Also, I used this same recipe last night with black beans instead, and that was tasty too.
1 can of Red Beans (Kidney Beans), drained
1/4 cup Olive Oil
half a Jalapeno Pepper
2 splashes of Red Wine Vinegar (or a big splash of Apple Cider Vinegar)
2-3 cloves Garlic
splash of Water
Pepper Salt

Blend everything together in a blender. Great served as a crispy veggie dip or over a salad.

Cucumber Tabbouleh Salad

2009-08-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

Kristin's tasty tabbouleh inspired me to make more!
But I didn't have any bulgur wheat.
And I didn't have any quinoa.
But what I did have was lots of cucumbers!
Here's what transpired:
2 Lemons, juice of
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
.... Blend in blender. That's your dressing to put over the vegetable medley below:

Two big bunches of Parsley and one bunch of Mint
~wash herbs and chop finely.
4 cucumbers, copped fine
1 Tomato, chopped fine
cracked Pepper
(Sea Salt- but not until serving. Otherwise the salt will pull all the water from the cucumbers and there will just be a soupy mess.)

Arrange the vegetables in a pretty way on a plate before dressing. Or mix everything together, and make little bunnies with a few romaine leaves!

Citrus Radish Confit

2009-08-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

9oz radishes
1/2 lemon zest & juice only
1/2 orange zest & juice only
2 tbsp sugar
1oz butter
Salt & pepper
Water to cover

Place all ingredients in a wide shallow pan, just enough water to cover ingredients . Bring to boil then simmer until all liquid is reduced down to a few tablespoons of rich buttery syrup. Serve warm.
Can be reheated.

Thanks, Mike!

Zucchini Lemon Lavender Blueberry Muffins

2009-07-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

In the first bowl combine:

1 TBS Lemon Zest
1 TBS lavender buds
1 cup grated Zucchini
1 egg (or omit egg, and use 1/2 cup almond milk total)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 almond milk (or any kind of milk)
1/4 cup orange juice (or lemon juice)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In second bowl combine:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal or polenta
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg

Mix each bowl so that the ingredients in each are well combined. Then add first bowl contents to second bowl. At this point, add:

1 to 1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries.

Combine everything gently. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350 oven, or until golden brown.

Ideally, these muffins should have a tangy sweet topping. Here are two ideas:

~1/2 maple syrup + 1/4 cup orange juice, simmered in a saucepan until thickened, then drizzled over muffins when done baking.

~cinnamon sugar

Serve with a flower salad! The flowers pictured are from our garden and lawn. In the mix are: cilantro flowers, nasturtium, pansies, white clover (this grows wild), white clover leaves, dill flowers, and marigold petals. Flowers are the missing part of our diets- and they're so pretty and fun to eat! For pictures of a few more wild edible flowers, check out Sergei Boutenko's page here.

(I learned how to make vegan muffins from Meredith McCarty, who has an incredible baking cookbook called "Sweet and Natural". All the recipes in it use natural sugars like honey or maple syrup, and use only plant oils instead of butter or eggs.)

Sun Tea

2009-07-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sun Tea can be made with whatever one might make regular tea! Sun tea has a fresh and vibrant taste achieved by the gradual heating of the water- it gently pulls the flavor of the herbs into the water.

I went around my garden and plucked things here and there (except the lemon- I plucked that from the refrigerator).
Here's what's in this tea:

Half of an organic Lemon, sliced very thin
Small handful of Mint
4 Stevia leaves*
1 stem of Thyme
4 Chamomile flowers
1 Lavender flower sprig
1 Raspberry Leaf
1 Strawberry Leaf

Use a big Mason jar. Rinse all the herbs. When putting green leaves into the jar, crush them in your fingers. This will help release the oils. Set outside in the sun, and let it sit there all afternoon. Serve tea over ice and garnish with flowers or fresh herbs.

Sometimes I like to leave mine out all night so it gets moonlight too!

*If you don't have stevie leaves (which make the tea sweet), perhaps try a little dollop of honey or maple syrup instead of the stevia.

Pad Thai Cabbage

2009-07-16T13:03:00.001-07:00

INGREDIENTS (not pictured: bok choy) Sauce:
1 can Coconut Milk
1 Lemon, juice of
1/2 cup Almonds
2 Garlic Scapes
1 tsp Ginger Powder (fresh ginger is best if available)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Put all these through a blender or food processor.
Vegetable Part:
4 cups Green Cabbage
Pull off the outer leaves and stack for easier chopping. Slice thin, like so...
1 yellow squash, chopped
3 baby bok choys, chopped
2 carrots, shredded with a vegetable peeler (there's 3 carrots in the picture, but I only used 2)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
Mix sauce with vegetables, add a can of drained garbanzo beans, then garnish with herbs and sliced almonds.
Enjoy! I adapted this recipe from one in Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens. He says that a good way to tenderize cabbage slices is by massaging sea salt into them before serving. That could also be accomplished by letting the sauce marinate the cabbage for some time before serving.

Bacon Kale Recipe

2009-07-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

from Ron MacDonald...
I got this from Cooking Light many years ago. I ramp up the bacon, but will post their version.

4 slices of bacon
1 large onion
1 large bunch of kale

Dice 4 strips of bacon and fry in a large saute pan until completely crisp.
Remove the bacon pieces and set aside. Leave the bacon fat in the pan.
Cut the onion into strips and cook in the bacon fat until carmelized.
Clean the kale well and chop. Cook until well wilted in the bacon fat with the onions.
Toss the bacn bits with the kale and serve.

I add or subtract any ingredient depending on availabiliy and mood. If the bacon is very lean, I use more. I sometimes load up on the onions. White beans added at the end work well, too. Basically, this is a base for lots of variations. Enjoy!

Ron

Kale Scape Pizza

2009-07-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Feeds 4 people well.
Ingredients......

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Olive Oil for sauteing
1 bunch of Kale
10 Garlic Scapes
10 Garlic Cloves
2 TBS Dulse Seaweed
1 can olives
1 small jar artichoke hearts
1-2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella is great)
2 cups tomato sauce (this isn't necessary. You can dress your pizza with more olive oil instead, or pesto, or fresh tomatoes sliced thin)
Handful of fresh Thyme
1 generous cup of fresh herbs, mixed: parsley, oregano, basil

Start with the pizza dough. The link above has a great recipe. It says to rise the dough twice, but I don't bother with that. Once it rises after about 20 minutes, I shape the dough into a pizza and put on the toppings. So then, first mix up the dough and set it aside to rise.

While it's rising, make the toppings. In a saucepan, saute garlic, scapes, kale, and dulse. Notice how the kale is shredded with kitchen scissors here, making it easier to eat on pizza.
When the kale is soft, remove the pan from heat and set aside. Chop up the olives and artichoke hearts. Strip the thyme leaves from their stem. Then, take your risen pizza dough, knead it out, then stretch it out into a pizza circle. Now sprinkle all the thyme over the dough and roll it in with a rolling pin or jar. For more flavor, also roll in some garlic salt or cracked pepper.

Place dough on the baking sheet and make your pizza! Sauce first, then toppings and cheese, salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes at 425 in the oven. While it's baking, chop up your cup of fresh herbs. Right before serving, sprinkle all the fresh herbs over pizza. Maybe with some red pepper flakes! Enjoy!

Cilantro Salad

2009-07-01T13:14:00.001-07:00

Salad is composed of:
Butter Lettuce
Cilantro, cut up with kitchen scissors
Dill
Radishes

Salad Dressing. These ingredients all get blended together in a blender:
2 cups cilantro
1 cup olive oil
juice of 6 limes
splash of water
Handful of dried apricots

Veggie Cobb Salad

2009-07-01T13:05:00.001-07:00

Make a bed of Romaine Lettuce or Spinach. On top of that add:
Toasted Pecans
Hardboiled Eggs
Thinly Sliced Red Onions
Lots of fresh Thyme

In a saucepan on low medium heat, let simmer for at least 15 minutes...
1 cup butter
3/4 cup honey
about 15 stems worth of thyme leaves

Right before serving, pour hot dressing over salad.

Wilted Summer Greens, by Jo Judd

2009-07-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

WILTED SUMMER GREENS ( really you can make it year round)

A great recipe for using greens from the CSA. I pick up our veggies on Wednesdays and anything left in the fridge goes either into this recipe or into a pot of soup on Tuesdays all summer long. Or you can just make it on purpose.

(The measurements for ingredients is at the end of the directions)

Saute onions and garlic in butter (or oil if you prefer)

for a few minutes, then add the finely chopped stems of the greens, and cook until soft.

Add sliced tomatoes, and cook a few minutes. Then add the chopped leaves of the greens and cover the pan. Cook until wilted --about 5 minutes.

Add basil ( I actually used some frozen pesto I made last summer from DTE CSA last summer because the basil isn't ready yet. Also add a half a medium knob of grated fresh ginger, ( To keep fresh ginger around all the time, put some medium sized knobs in the freezer in a plastic bag or freezer container.) You can grate the frozen ginger directly into whatever dish you are making, adding it near the end. Cook another minute after adding the basil and ginger). thats it!

You can serve this over quinoa, pasta, rice, or couscous or mix it into risotto ( or any of the above) with some grated hard cheese.

Approximate quantities of ingredients to serve two hungry people for a meal or four people as a side dish:

4 tablespoons of butter or olive or grapeseed oil

1 large onion

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic

3 plum or 2 regular tomatoes chopped

4 cups (about 2 pounds) any greens mixed ( I used kale, collards, beet greens, and asian greens on Sunday) (Other greens to use when available are chard, turnip, sorrel, mustard,)

1/2 cup chopped basil

2 tablespoons (approx) grated fresh ginger (or you can use ground ginger if you like it better)

salt and freshly ground pepper ( I didn't put in any last Sunday )

Cilantro Dip

2009-06-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

1 full handful of Cilantro
1 Avocado
2 splashes of Olive Oil
small Lemon
2-3 Garlic Cloves, or 1 Garlic Scape
splash of Water
Sea Salt to taste

Blend all in a blender. Tasty with nachos or on top of a salad!

Spinach!

2009-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Spring Spinach is popping up fresh for the harvest! Spinach has a lot of star power already- it doesn't need much primping to be delicious. Here's a few spinach prep ideas....

Spinach sauteed with Olive Oil and Garlic as a side

Spinach in a Salad: Drizzle a Hot Dressing (some kind of warmed fat like butter or olive oil) over the spinach just before serving. The spinach will wilt a bit to make chewing easier.

Spinach in sauces: shred and throw into any kind of Italian-flavored dish, or how about mixing spinch into a curry coconut milk sauce? It goes great with lentils!

Spinach can be used like an herb! Mix fresh chopped parsley and shredded spinach, and mix in with a hot grain just after it has finished cooking. Tastes great with couscous, rice, millet, and quinoa.

Spinach in a Stir Fry!

Spinach in Scrambled Eggs!

Spinach on Our Heads! (that's the food fight recipe:)

Here's one of my recipes that I love to serve for Brunch...

Florentine Eggs Benedict (serves two)
4 local Eggs, poached
3-4 mounded handfuls of fresh D2E SPINACH, then steamed
2 Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffins, toasted
organic Cream Cheese
zest of 1 Lemon
handful of Parsley
a few chopped Green Onions
Garlic Powder
fresh cracked Pepper
Sea Salt

Mix yer cream cheese with: lemon zest, parsley, green onions, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Spread cream cheese mixture onto the toasted English Muffins, then pile drained steamed spinach atop the cream cheese, then gently place eggs atop the spinach. Garnish with green onions and cracked pepper!

Autumn Vegetable Wild Rice

2008-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

1 bacon slice
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 teaspoons diced seeded jalapeo pepper (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt and sage
1 1/2 cups finely trimmed chopped Swiss chard
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 chopped peeled Granny Smith or Macintosh apple
2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp.Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion and next 3 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in reserved 3/4 teaspoon salt mixture, chard, mushrooms, and apple. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until carrot is tender. Stir in rice and 1/2 cup broth.Bring to a simmer; cook, uncover, 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in bacon.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

2008-09-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

butter or olive oil or coconut oil
1 onion
1 butternut squash: peeled, seeds removed, cut into cubes
water to cover the squash as it cooks
4 apples, chopped
ume plum vinegar
spices to taste: nutmeg, ginger, red pepper, salt pepper

Place enough oil or butter in a stockpot to cover the bottom of the pot. Saute onion in oil until clear. Add chopped squash. Fill pot up with water until water mostly covers the squash. Let it simmer for an hour, or until squash is soft. When squash is soft and water has simmered off, add chopped apples. Cook for a few minutes- apples soften quickly. Add a few splashes of ume plum vinegar (this is a tangy vinegar- if without it, substitute apple cider vinegar) and spices. Serve. If you have an immersion blender, blending this will make it creamy and thick. I like to garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds and chopped parsley.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-09-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

1 cup fine cornmeal
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Combine above on a plate.

4 green tomatoes (very firm unripe ones)

Slice tomatoes 3/4 inch thick. Dust tomatoes on both sides in cornmeal plate. Let moistness of the tomato slice absorb the cornmeal onto itself.
Fry tomato slices in very hot olive oil or bacon fat. They're done when they are a golden brown color on both sides.

All the Fields Pasta Sauce

2008-09-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Olive Oil
Onions, sliced thin
Garlic, chopped
Eggplant, sliced thin
Tomatoes: Yellow/ Green/ Red/ Orange Ones
Yellow Squash and Zucchini
Swiss Chard, Beet Greens, and/or Kale, chopped into strips
Parsley, snipped into pieces with scissors
Basil, sliced thin
Tarragon (just a little bit)
Oregano stripped from its stem
Honey, a few teaspoons
Red Wine or Red Wine Vinegar
Pepper, fresh cracked
Sea Salt

Heat up olive oil in a skillet, saute onions until soft, or for a sweeter flavor, saute them until they're brown. Gradually add the rest of the ingredients taking time for each to cook in the pan on its own. Saute until the flavors combine or you get really hungry. Tasty served over pasta, baguette, or brown rice.

Simple Basil Syrup

2008-09-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

From Janet Schlafstein:
I picked some of the fabulous purple basil yesterday and decided to make a simple basil syrup with it, got the idea from the Courant, it turned out a beautiful purple color and tastes delicious. The paper recommends pouring over pound cake, I am thinking vanilla ice cream or greek yoghurt. It would also be wonderful in mixed drinks.

About a cup of Basil Leaves, purple or otherwise!
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

Put all the ingredients in a small pan, let them simmer until sugar is
dissolved and the mixture is syrupy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Strain and serve immediately or store in a jar in the refrigerator.

Quick Homemade Pickles

2008-08-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

From Michael Shlafstein...

4 Kirby cucumbers
2 to 3 sprigs of tarragon
1 3/4 cups distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tspn red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tspn coarse salt
1 quart Jar

Wash and dry cucumbers. Cut into spears. Place spears and tarragon
into Jar. Combine: vinegar, sugar, pepper, and salt in a pan over a
medium heat until sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour hot liquid into
jar. Let cool completely, uncovered. Cover and refrigerate overnight,
they will last for up to six weeks.

Zucchini Salsa Recipe

2008-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've been freezing zucchini fries and enjoying lots of fresh zucchini dishes, too, but if you're looking to enjoy that zucchini goodness all winter long, the following recipe from Recipezaar has served me well in the past. The salsa is particularly good over rice or, if you're carnivorous, baked in a foil wrap together with refried beans and chicken breasts (I stuff them with cheese and garlic). It's a bit of work to preserve them, but it pays off in the form of delicious, easy meals later on.

Ingredients

10 cups zucchini, peeled & shredded
4 onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup pickling salt
1 tablespoon pickling salt
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon pepper
5 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
12 ounces tomato paste

Directions

Day one:In a large bowl combine; Zucchini, onions, green pepper, red pepper and the salt Mix together cover and let stand over night.
Day two: Next day rinse, drain well and put into a large pot then add mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, salt,cornstarch, nutmeg, pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Pour into sterilized jars and seal.
Water bath jars if they have not sealed properly.

Arugula Salad with Fresh Pears, from Wendy Pfrenger

2008-08-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

From Bistro Cooking at Home (by Gordon Hammsersley who has a bistro in Boston):

Arugula Salad with Fresh Pears, Gorgonzola, and Bacon
(6 servings)

3 slices of bacon, cut in half crosswise
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 shallot, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 fresh pears (or 12 fresh figs if you can find them)
6 oz. Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
1 large bunch arugula, stems removed (about 6 c.)
1 m. red onion, very thinly sliced

Cook bacon in a skillet until crispy. Drain.

In a small bowl combine vinegar, mustard, and shallot, and season with salt and
pepper to taste. Whisk in olive oil in a steady stream until it's all incorporated
and an emulsion forms.

Heat broiler.

Cut pears in half lengthwise. Core them. Melt unsalted butter in a skillet and
brown the cut side of hte pears. Turn the pears cut side up, sprinkle with salt and
pepper, and bake in a 350 degree oven until tender when pierced with a knife (time
will vary depending on ripeness and type of pear). When tender, place blue cheese
in the holes left from coring and broil until the cheese begins to melt.

Toss arugula and onion together in a bowl. Add just enough dressing to coat
lightly, reserving at least a tablespoon of the dressing. Divide the greens among
six plates. Place pears on the greens and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette. Top
each salad with a piece of bacon and serve immediately.

Turkish Collard Green Soup

2008-07-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pretty similar soups that use two of the tougher greens in season right now.

• 1/4 cup unsalted clarified butter
• 1 small Spanish onion, finely diced (1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup great northern beans or small lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 pound collard greens, trimmed (include tender stems) and coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1/4 cup orzo
• 4 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, trimmed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Turkish red pepper or ground red pepper
• salt

Heat the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook gently for 2 minutes, stirring, until they're softened but not brown. Add the ground beef and cook for 2 minutes to brown all over. Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes, and beans. Add the stock, cover the saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the collards, orzo, parsley, and Turkish pepper. Season with salt and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the beans are tender but not falling apart and the collards are softened. Pour the soup into individual bowls and serve at once.
The Sultans Kitchen by Ozcan Ozan

Portuguese Kale Soup

2008-06-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

• 1 cup white beans
• 10 cups water, more if needed
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 pound kale, chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• chorizo chunks (or Linguica, if you want a milder flavor)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak beans overnight. Rinse in cold water.
2. Briefly saute all ingredients in a bit of olive oil. Add water to the same pot and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook slowly for two hours. Add more water if necessary. Stir from time to time so the soup does not burn to the bottom of the pot.
3. When soup is done add the seasonings and stir the soup well. Turn off heat, cover the soup pot, and let it stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

This recipe is adapted from: Twelve Months of Monastery Soups
Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette

Simple Garlic Scape Pesto

2008-06-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

We'll start off with something simple.

• 6-7 garlic scapes, chopped
• approx. 1 c. olive oil
• 1 c. grated pecorino romanao or asiago cheese* (The latter tastes best.)

On our first batch we skipped the cheese, we chopped the scapes in a mini food processor and added olive oil as needed, then we filled some little canning jars and put them into the freezer, mixed with a bit more oil it makes a great dipping sauce.
If you want to make an actual pesto, mix in the grated cheese by hand after the scapes are chopped up.