What's in the box? June 23, 2015

After several weeks of travel and the accompanying hodgepodge of roadside meals, I could not wait to get home to my CSA box. And having crisscrossed most of the country—and seen the prices and poor availability of food in many places—I have never been more grateful for where I live. There is truly no place like home.

And what a treat that this week's box was full of all of my most favorite vegetables!
Eggplant
Yellow Squash
Cucumber
Peppers
Beans
Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Celery
Basil

Ratatouille, right?! Jana Eakes has shared her recipe for Grilled Ratatouille that I can't wait to try out tonight. And long-time CSA member and volunteer Daintry Thomas has shared recipes for Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin and her own Summer Vegetable Casserole, which make wonderful use of many of the vegetables in our box this week.

I'm so glad members are sending in more recipes. That is what forum is for. Keep 'em coming! They sound so good, I want to try them all, but I will probably need a little more of just about everything. Fortunately, Jana says the farm stand has extra zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes for sale, so I will be picking up some later this week for a dinner party I'm hosting on Friday.

Until then, here's how I plan to make quick use of what's in the box:

Wednesday
Jana's Grilled Ratatouille

Thursday
Heirloom Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and Basil
Heirloom Tomato and Basil Pizza 

Friday (dinner party)
Minty Yogurt Dip for vegetables (cherry tomatoes, celery, peppers)
Balsamic Green Beans
Daintry's Summer Vegetable Casserole


Digging deeper:

Bored with beans? Check out "Oh, Snap! 31 Green Bean Recipes" from Southern Living.

Befuddled by eggplant? Try this handy resource: "Learning to Love Eggplant: How to Pick 'Em, Cook 'Em and Eat 'Em" from TheKitchn.com

No time to eat it now? Freeze it for later! Daintry recommends this tutorial for Freezing Eggplant. And here's how to do the same with your zucchini and squash.

Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin

Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin

1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 medium onions, halved and sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 pound small zucchini
1 pound small eggplant
1 1/3 pound small Italian tomatoes

Rub the bottom of a shallow gratin dish with the garlic clove. In 1/4 cup olive oil, cook the onions until soft but not brown. Spread this mixture on the gratin dish. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and season well with salt and pepper.

Wash the zucchini and eggplant and make lengthwise stripes on them with a vegetable stripper. Slice the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes into rounds. Overlap alternating slices of eggplant, zucchini and tomato over the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over another 1/4 cup olive oil. Bake the gratin in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Serves 4-6.

Recipe from Tante Marie's Cooking school, shared by Daintry Thomas

Jana's Grilled Ratatouille

Jana's Grilled Ratatouille

1 large eggplant (or 2-3 small narrow eggplants), cut into small cubes
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 or more zucchini and yellow squash mix (cut into small pieces)
1-2 bell peppers, any color (cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil + another 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tomato
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Prep eggplant first: trim cap and blossom end, cut into small cubes, place in colander and salt generously to draw out moisture. Let salted pieces sit for 30 minutes or so, then rinse salt and pat dry with paper towels.  

Place dry eggplant cubes in bowl with other vegetables and toss with olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place vegetable mix in either a grill basket or a pizza pan, then grill, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching and sticking for 12-15 minutes or until tender.

In a separate bowl, whisk the other 1/4 cup olive oil with the chopped, seeded tomato and the vinegar, garlic, and basil.  Add grilled vegetables to mix and stir gently.  Serve immediately while still warm.

-Jana Eakes

Summer Vegetable Casserole

Summer Vegetable Casserole

Squash
Bell pepper
Tomato
Onion
Salt and peper to taste
Shredded mozzarella (optional)

Melt a little butter in the bottom of a deep casserole. Put a layer of squash on top. Then a layer of onion. Then a layer of bell pepper. Finally a layer of slice tomatoes. Season between layers if you wish. If the casserole is deep enough and you are serving a crowd, layer again.

Cook at 350 F for 30 minutes to an hour: 30 minutes if you like the veggies with a bit more crunch, an hour if you prefer them more tender. Cover with foil to keep the natural juices from cooking out. For extra flavor, melt some shredded mozzarella on top.

-Daintry Thomas

Kale and Mushroom Quiche

Ok it's confession time: up until a year or so ago I was was afraid of making pie crust,homemade pie dough and homemade bread ( but that's another story for another time).

      Let's put that in perspective,I have been cooking like a mad woman for the last nine years and could count one hand the number of times I had made homemade pie crust or heck even a homemade pie for that matter. I tried one Christmas to make a few pumpkin pies in store-bought crusts and well it was a total disaster.

   I know,I know I know what the heck lady its flour and butter. 

 
 Seriously I was worried I'd mess it up sooooo I just didn't make a lot of pies or quiches. I made this pie crust a year or so ago and I was hooked. It's a shortening-based pie crust from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. It's fairly straightforward and because the recipe makes three crust my anxiety was kept at bay until it slowly just went away.
 

    I had one pie dough recipe under my belt,confidence slightly restored and I was on the lookout to try more recipes. Fast-forward to this past Easter,we had some family and friends to our house for a big lunch. I put a deep-dish quiche on the menu. I have had and LOVE quiche. Egg dishes are a favorite breakfast item for me so my love for a quiche was natural. The quiche recipe I chose to serve was made in a 9-inch springform pan and the crust was no joke. All went well and the quiche,crust included.was a hit!

 This past Tueday,we got kale in our CSA share box and I knew one recipe I HAD to make: quiche. Quiche is also a great lunch main dish or light summer dinner idea that will fill you up without being too heavy. Kale holds up really well in a quiche. Mushrooms,fresh herbs,onion (not pictured) and TWO different kinds of cheese rounded out the recipe. I also added some lemon zest to brighten up the kale and mushrooms. 

  Now enter the custard mix: eggs,whole milk and ricotta.I added a few fresh herbs but not too many because I didn't want to overload the custard mixture.Ok so truth be told The idea of a quiche didn't really just appear to me in my appetite just because of a bunch of kale. Nope that's half of the story. A friend of mine keeps chickens and she recently brought me fresh eggs.            

          So let's do the math : fresh,beautiful,organic kale + farm-fresh eggs +  a flaky pie crust recipe = one heck of a quiche!  Yippeee!

     

Alrighty before we move on to my recipe I thought I'd offer up a few links that look pretty darn tasty and could up your quiche game.

Taste of Home magazine offers 10 ! different of their most requested quiche recipes.

Pioneer Woman has a recipe for a Cowboy Quiche that looks divine.

Fine Cooking magazine  has a fantasic make-your-own quiche recipe feature on their site that not only allows for YOUR variations,it also whips up a recipe for you based on your ingredients choices.

Here is the search page on simplyrecipes.com for the search word quiche. It's a wonderful,dependable recipe website I have used numerous times.

 Ok so here goes it with my quiche recipe. I threw it together sort of and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Kale and Mushroom Quiche

adapted from my brain

Ingredients:

one recipe of pate' brisee ( pie crust) 

1/2 of a small bunch of kale- stems removed

  and chiffonaded 

1/2 cup mushrooms,diced

1/4 cup diced onion

6 eggs

1/2 cup ricotta ( you could substitute Greek yogurt or sour cream)

1/2 cup whole milk

2 TBL chopped fresh herb ( I used parsley and thyme.)

pinch of lemon zest

pinch of nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella ( I added in some parmesan to 

   that 1 1/2 cup.)

Directions-

1. Pre-bake crust: roll out dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate,gently press into pie plate. Crumble up a piece of parchment paper then flatten it out.Place paper onto pie dough and fill with dried beans to hold down the paper. Bake pie dough on a baking sheet for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool for 1 hour.

2. Saute' kale,mushrooms, and onion in a skillet with a little olive oil,until wilted and softened,10-15 minutes minutes or so. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine eggs,ricotta,whole milk,fresh herbs,lemon zest,nutmeg,salt,and pepper. Stir to breakup the eggs and combine well. Next stir in the shredded cheese.

4.Spread the kale mixture around the cooled pie crust. Then gently pour the custard mixture on top of the kale. 

5.Bake for 40-50 minutes in a 325 degree oven. You will know the quiche is done when the center DOES NOT jiggle. Let cool for 10 minutes just to let everything set nicely,then devour. Well that's a word I don't type often,jiggle. Enjoy!

What's In The Box ? June 17, 2015

   I tell you what,each week's share offerings just keep getting prettier by the pound!

Here's whats in the box:
Sungold tomatoes
Squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Cabbage
Peppers
Celery
Kale
Romaine lettuce

    Ok soooo before we get down to business with recipes,links and the like let me throw this out there : Have you noticed that the MORE VARIETY we have in our share box the MORE HARMONY there is between vegetables?
For example: You could enjoy a lovely quiche with tomatoes AND kale ?
Mix the peppers and zucchini together in a skillet and you've get fantastic stir-fry or fajita ingredients?
  Each week I ,along with so many others, enjoy every single vegetable in our csa share I also don't want to use it all up and miss ONE SINGLE BITE of organic goodness.

 IT'S OK TO USE IT ALL UP! I promise.

    Instead of using just a single vegetable in a single dish and truly finding your creative chef self in the kitchen,you can also celebrate a little harmony among the share's offering and make some rockin' quesadillas or a delicious salad with KALE AND ROMAINE!!!!!

 So what I'm going to do here on the Wednesday "What's In The Box ?" post is TWO things:
 1. As usual there will be a list that highlights each vegetable in the box and recipes that single out that particular vegetable.
2. After that there will be a slightly shorter and more concise list of recipe links that features MORE THAN ONE  vegetable and above the link I will just type what vegetables to use from the that week's share in that particular recipe.

COMPLICATED??? Shouldn't be,just go with me.

Here goes nothing!

Sungold Tomatoes-
Five Ways To Preserve Small Tomatoes - friends this lady right here can can and she knows about some preserves too. Marisa McClellan is fantastic. Here she helps you save those beautiful small tomatoes for those green salads in the middle of winter.
Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam - if you're into making jam this looks likes a really,really tasty recipe AND would make a generous homemade gift.
Sungold Tomato and Rosemary Soup - this link and recipe are simple and straightforward. I think this soup might be a reason to invite some friends for lunch. It's just enough,yum!
Sungold Tomato Vinaigrette -this recipe calls for 1 cup of sungold tomatoes and that means you would have plenty left over to snack on!

Squash and Zucchini-
Zucchini,Eggplant and Tomato Gratin -  savory and light all at the same time,sounds good to me.
Carrot Feta Zucchini Fritters - ok gonna makes these fritters really soon. I think the sweetness of the carrots would appeal to kids. You could easily replace the feta with shredded Parmesan.

Cucumbers-
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad - I don't think this salad would work without the cucumber,just call it the glue of this salad...the balance in the salad bowl.
Cucumber Lemon Water -man this taste good!

Green Beans- 
Balsamic Green Bean Salad -you had me at balsamic vinegar!
Green Beans with Warm Shallot Dressing  - this looks heavenly.

Cabbage-
Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Onion-Dijon Sauce - well this recipe just fancied cabbage up for me.
Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad - a. I know cabbage is not in the recipe title but it's the foundation for this salad,for all of that flavor. b. this would make a delicious lunch to eat on all week long.
Crunchy Cabbage Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing - now this recipe calls for Napa cabbage and red cabbage. You could substitute the cabbage we got in our share just slice it thinly.

Bell Peppers-
Oven Fajitas - oh my stars this looks so easy and not too much clean up either.
Mini Pepper Nachos with Corn,Black Beans and Avocado -if you LOVE nachos and are trying to watch your carbs this recipe is FOR YOU! Bell peppers hold up well after cooking and would make a great vehicle for nachos.
** to use the bell peppers in our share in this recipe,just cut into large strips similar to the mini peppers in the pictures.**

Celery- 
Skinny Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad -easy,light lunch option for a picnic or lunch during the week.
Quick-Pickled Celery -so I've not used ALL of my celery from last week hoping that we would get celery again this week soooooooo I could make this recipe. I think this would make a fine relish on a grilled kosher beef hot dog.

Kale-
15 Ways to Make Kale Chips - I haven't made kale chips yet,but with 15 different ways in this article I think it's time for me to try.
Ginger Beef,Mushroom and Kale Stir-Fry - this recipe might just be the recipe I make this weekend for Father's Day. My husband would love to see a plate of this stir fry on the table!

Romaine Lettuce-
Grilled Romaine Salad with Creamy Avocado Basil Dressing -wow all of the colors AND flavors in this salad !

DOUBLE FEATURE RECIPES-
Sungold Tomatoes and Zucchini
 Zucchini Pasta with Sungold Tomatoes,Corn and Sunflower Seeds - light and classy,throw in that optional ingredient of lobster and you have a fancy dinner on your hands. **Note you could easily use angel hair instead of making pasta of the zucchini and toss thinly sliced zucchini in the dish itself.**

Squash,Zucchini and Bell Pepper
Grilled Veggie Quesadillas with Goat Cheese and Pesto - DEEEE-LICIOUS dinner idea right here.

Cucumbers and Romaine Lettuce
Turkey and Cucumber Lettuce Wrap - another healthy and tasty lunch option. **Trade the iceberg lettuce for the romaine lettuce. The romaine will hold up better as well.**

Kale and Romaine Lettuce

Kale and Romaine Caesar Salad  - a bowl of this salad next to a pan-seared steak or grilled portobello mushroom caps would make a fine summer's night dinner.

   Ok so I hope this format is helpful and gives you more options to enjoy your CSA share offerings. Have a great week!

Basil Cucumber and Corn Salad

 

  It's a Monday in the middle of summer and that means one of two things :
1.You went to a cookout/pool party/bbq/get-together type thing this past weekend ( I know the weekend that just ended.) aaaaaand you had some delicious food.
2. You have to go a cookout/pool party/bbq/get-together thing some time this upcoming weekend  (yes I know I know it's only Monday and the weekend seems a million miles away but it will be here sooner than you think. One day at a time.) aaaaand have you have to bring some sort of delicious food item to future get-together. Well don't sweat it, I have a recipe for you that's easy and taste like like summer.

   Basil Cucumber Corn Salad is an easy,cool and refreshing salad sure to lighten up any plate full of food. Oh wait...yeah that's zucchini in the picture above. I know I said cucumber and corn,nothing about zucchini. Weeeelllll funny thing happens at my house when fresh produce appears on the counter,it disappears as fast as I get it out on the counter. IF ! I don't get my act together someone ( my husband,my child or sometimes well even me) will walk right by and POOF! that fresh produce is gone.

  Just now as I type this blog post,sitting at my desk and nowhere near the kitchen my child came to me to ask for a CARROT. It's yes, a wonderful thing and yes, one day she could dislike vegetables but UNTIL THAT DAY I will oblige her request for a carrot at 10:08 am. 

    I made up this corn salad yesterday to eat on all week. All of the ingredients were laid out on the kitchen counter. My husband walks in the kitchen to tell me something. I turn around ( away from the counter where all the corn salad ingredients are laid out nicely) to put something in the sink and POOF I look up to see him eating half of the cucumber for this salad. He had lovingly cut the cucumber in half so as not to eat up all of my ingredients. Thanks honey,how thoughtful .

   Well... think,think,think... ZUCCHINI IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! No worries,the salad still has cucumber in it and some delicious zucchini too. It also has in it an old friend from a few blog post back: basil pesto.

  Basil pesto makes a fantastic dressing for this salad. It's chunky texture makes for a flavorful coating on the vegetables. I also threw n some feta cheese. The cheese adds just enough savory along with the flavors in the pesto,it makes for a well-balanced salad.

Basil,Cucumber and Corn Salad
adapted from Sumptuous Spoonfuls
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked corn
( I used frozen corn. Frozen corn is blanched but still retains a lot of it's freshness.)
2 cups of cucumber and/or zucchini,peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves,sliced thinly ( or chiffonade the basil)
2 green onions,sliced thinly
2 TBL mayonnaise
2-4 TBL basil pesto
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese optional
Directions:
1.In a medium toss together to combine corn,cucumber/zucchini,basil,green onions. Stir in the mayo,basil pesto and salt and pepper ( and feta cheese if using).
2.Cover and let marinate in the fridge until serving time. Enjoy!