Beets!

Tonight we had our lovely beets, and I tried a new recipe. Although I always enjoy beets, this recipe took them to a new level.

This recipe is called "Whole Beet Skillet" from the cookbook "Simply In Season", a cookbook of recipes designed for seasonal eating. I found this recipe in the Winter section, although it sure does not feel wintery right now! (All the beet recipes are in the winter section, probably because beets store well).

Delicious Beets

Whole Beet Skillet

4-6 medium-sized beets, including greens

1-2T lemon juice
1-2t honey

1-2t fresh grated ginger root (or 1/4t ground ginger)

Remove greens, and place beet roots in saucepan of water. Cook until tender (15-30min depending on size). Remove skin, and cut into slices.

Chop stems in 1" pieces. Also chop greens, but keep separate. Saute stems in 1-2T butter until tender. Add greens and saute until tender. Add beets back into pan. 

Stir in lemon juice, honey, and ginger. Serve immediately.

Although we didn't have fresh lemon juice or ginger, the recipe still came out delicious. I like beets, but have never loved the greens. The flavour of the glaze really came through on the greens, and just lightly flavoured the beet slices. I think the greens were my favourite part! These beets disappeared very quickly- we all enjoyed them.

Zucchini Season!!

This week we welcomed our first share of zucchini. We LOVE zucchini. It is so versatile, and there are so many ways we enjoy it. In a stir fry, marinated and BBQ'd on a skewer, in a pasta sauce or dish, in veggie lasagna, in a casserole (many different options here!), or as zucchini sticks, zucchini fritters, zucchini muffins, chocolate zucchini loaf... the list of possibilities goes on and on. I am not sure I ever got tired of receiving zucchini in my share last year, although the supply was certainly plentiful. So this week, with our very first share, what were we going to pick? After several discussions about how to prepare our very first zucchini of the season, we agreed on zucchini sticks. They are probably one of our very favourites!

Zucchini Sticks (Adapted from www.acozykitchen.com)

Zucchini, cut in strips

beaten egg with a little water added to thin it out (about 1t per egg)

1c panko bread crumbs

1/4-1/2c grated parmesan cheese

1/8t dried oregano

1/4t garlic powder

1/8t sea salt

a pinch of pepper

Dip zucchini strips into egg wash, then into coating mixture. Place on silicone or parchment paper lined tray. Bake at 425*F for 15-20minutes, turning half way through. They are done when the zucchini is soft, and they are starting to turn golden brown. Enjoy!

Notes: This will cover about 3 zucchini of the size you see in the grocery store and makes 2 cookie sheet's worth of sticks. I usually start off with just one egg, and sometimes need to add a second part way through to have enough to dip all the zucchini. As with all breading, try to keep one hand doing the egg dipping and placing into the crumbs, and the other covering in crumbs and placing on the pan. Try not to handle the zucchini any more than necessary especially once dipped in the coating. :)

We love to eat these with some garlic mayo- mix mayo with minced fresh garlic... as much as you dare! And you know they have to be delicious because although I always have great intentions to take a picture, we gobble them all up before I remember!

Arugula

We finally managed to use the arugula from our very first basket of the season (about time, I know) inspired by a helpful blog comment by lindz660. We made an egg dish of some sort with the sauteed arugula along with some onions, mushrooms, and the young garlic. Yes, my husband used the whole head in one dish! It's so mild though that it was not overpowering at all. Plus this family LOVES garlic.

What would you call it? We just called it "supper" :)

We sauteed the arugula stems, onions, and mushrooms in a bit of butter until softened, and added the garlic and arugula leaves. Once wilted, we added in some beaten eggs and covered until the eggs were set. We also melted some cheese on top, because we seem to be incapable of eating eggs without cheese (and ketchup!) It was a delicious meal that we all enjoyed and I can finally say I've found a way to enjoy arugula. Thanks lindz660!

Turnip Two Ways Returns

Tonight for dinner I prepared one of my favourite (to date) CSA recipe discoveries- Turnip Two Ways. Last year, when we first received hakurei turnips in our basket, Kylah had posted a link to this recipe as one idea for how to use them. Since I'd never seen or even heard of a hakurei turnip, I decided to take a chance on this recipe. And I'm so glad I did! We enjoyed it several times throughout the season last year.

Delicious "Turnip Two Ways" pasta dish.

All winter and spring I have been looking forward to this delicious pasta dish, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I think this was the largest bunch of turnips I've ever prepared this with, and the first time I actually had green garlic on hand at the same time! My only (temporary) disappointment was realizing that I had only one very tiny chunk of feta left in my feta pail. Guess it's time for a new one!

One measly little chunk of feta.

Fortunately I had lots of fresh parmesan to grate in. (I think I may have gone a little overboard, but it was very delicious!) I highly recommend this recipe. Let me know if you try it. :)

Yummy!

Week #2

Week 2, and I'm once again excited at the prospect of new veggies. Our basket from last week is almost gone, and it's time to restock! The only items remaining are the arugula and some of the mint. I also have the hakurei turnips, but those I've been saving for supper tonight! I'm making "turnip two ways" with a bit of feta.

Beets, Hakurei Turnips, Salad Mix, Rainbow Chard, Scapes, Peas, and Romaine Lettuce.

This week there were two choices to make. The first one- chard or arugula, was a no-brainer for me. I'm not overly fond of arugula, and still have last week's left! The second choice was much more difficult- broccoli or beets. Susannah (who is two) LOVES both, but we've had some broccoli from the grocery store, and have not had beets in a long while, so beets it is. I think the item I am most excited about this week are the sugar peas! I remember them from last year, and they are so delicious and fresh! I feel as though I've just picked them out of the garden when I eat them.






When I bring my basket of veggies home, I like to think through and plan what I will do with them throughout the week. It helps me to figure out what sort of recipes I need to be searching for, and what veggies will be my "challenge" for the week. There's usually one or two items that I struggle to use. It also helps me to be more organized with my meal planning so that it's not 5:30pm and I'm hungry and whining that I don't know what to make for supper! We eat much better when I plan ahead.

So here's my summary for this week:
I love chard in pasta sauce, so that's where it will likely end up, probably with some homemade turkey meatballs. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with the beets yet. Maybe roasted, or just boiled, along with some sort of BBQ'd meat. The turnips will likely end up in another recreation of "turnip two ways" which we love. Or maybe I'll branch out and try one of the other delicious-looking turnip recipes- the glazed turnips sounded good to me too. The peas will just be munched on, and the salad mix and lettuce will be quick and easy salads. Scapes can go in any number of dishes, so I'm not too concerned about where I'll use them. And that's the week!

Rediscovering Radishes

Radishes are one veggie I've always thought I should like, but don't. They're so pretty, and crunchy... but often have quite a bite to them. I can handle them in a radish sandwich, and can tolerate them in a salad. But they're one veggie I haven't really enjoyed- until now.

As with other veggies from our CSA basket, I've once again discovered a different way to present something I previously did not enjoy, in a way that I now love. Tonight it was roasted radishes. No longer will I dread getting radishes in my CSA share, not knowing what to do with them but not wanting them to go to waste. I now have an excellent way to eat them- which even includes the greens!

Our delicious dinner.

Our dinner tonight consisted of BBQ chicken breast, sauteed kale, and roasted radishes in browned butter and lemon. The presentation on my plate is not as appealing as it could have been- the greens got fairly wilted as I waited for the chicken to be ready, and the radishes were fairly soft so some of them got squished. However, the flavour was amazing. There was just enough butter on the soft sweet radishes, and the lemon flavour really came through in the greens giving them a nice zing. They were also very pretty- I left a wee bit of the stems on each radish, and the colour was more noticeable once the radishes were roasted. We will definitely be enjoying this side dish again, although I plan to decrease the roasting time by a few minutes.

Venison Stew

Never having cooked venison before, this meal was an experiment! We were given some frozen stew chunks of venison from some hunter-friends, and I was just told to "soak it in apple juice before cooking it- maybe with a little vinegar". Right.

Anyway, I marinated it overnight in some apple juice with a splash of vinegar for good measure,  and searched for a slow cooker venison stew. I found one here and it was a winner! (I used extra apple juice instead of beef stock, and did not save my flour, but otherwise followed the recipe)

delicious stew

I forgot to take a picture of it the first time we had it, but the recipe made lots and I did remember a picture tonight at supper. Tonight I also tried some "Cheese and Potato Scones" which used leftover mashed potatoes, and were delicious!

Cheese and Potato Scones
(from Company's Coming "Recipes for Leftovers")

1+1/2c flour (I used 1c whole wheat, and 1/2c white)

3/4t salt

2+1/4t baking powder

Combine the above, then cut in 1/4c butter. Add 1/3c grated sharp cheddar. (I also added some fresh rosemary and garlic that I had around)

Mix 2/3c leftover mashed potatoes with 1/4c milk. Stir into flour mixture, and continue stirring until a soft dough forms. (I needed to use my hands to help it a bit)

Knead 6 times, then pat into a circle 8" across, and about 1" thick. Place on baking sheet, and score into 6 or 8. (depending on how large you want your scones)

Bake at 425F for 20min. Break or cut apart and serve.

Beige Food

Beige... usually a colour describing food that is blah and bad for you. However, looking at our dinner tonight- it was very beige, but definitely not bland, and pretty healthy. (Really wish I'd taken a picture!) All of the veggies came from our RHG basket.

We had:
- roasted chicken (from the grocery store)
- roasted potatoes (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary and garlic, s&p)
- skillet cabbage (I googled for a cooked cabbage recipe, and found a winner here)
- baked squash (the only colour on our plates- and the rind was white)

And yet, the meal was delicious! Just goes to show that beige does not have to be bad. :)

It's Veggie Day! It's Veggie Day!

When I got home from picking up our share, it was dinner time, and I couldn't find the camera. So the veggies got tucked away in the fridge without a photo session.

In our wonderful share this week we received:


green and yellow zucchini (I love the two-tone look!)
broccoli (Susannah was loving on the broccoli as I was picking up the rest of my share- it's her favourite!)
green onions
garlic
red head lettuce
bag of "oriental mix" (mixed greens for salad or saute)
beets
cherry tomatoes (I love these! they are so cute and pretty, they look like jewels, or marbles)
2 (small) yellow watermelons

These watermelons really are amazing, and I think they just keep getting sweeter! I know our 2nd one seemed sweeter than the first. While we were at the farm, Kylah cut up a melon that had split, and it was just as good as the others we've had. Susannah enjoyed several slices, as did I (and everyone else who was picking up their veggies at the time). Kylah commented that the melons are so good they're exploding with flavour and goodness! I think that is true of all the produce we receive from the farm!

I am not sure what all I'll come up with for meals this week. Tonight we had Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili which was very tasty. It didn't have many of our CSA veggies in it (just onion and garlic), but the black beans were from a previous CSA we were part of. The only changes I made to the recipe were I omitted the peppers, and added a bit of chipotle powder, and a bit of honey (I always do when I'm cooking with tomatoes- it takes some of the acidity away). I suppose I also used dried beans (not canned) but I soaked and cooked them before adding, so they were in pretty much the same state. It cooked up real nice in the crockpot, and was ready when we arrived home from our farm adventure. We had it with bread and garlic butter (made with fresh CSA garlic!) and it was a wonderful, hearty meal.

Another project of mine today was a "thank you" gift for our sitter. I used the chocolate zucchini loaf recipe, except made cupcakes out of it. I also made them just plain chocolate, rather than adding other flavourings (mostly cuz I didn't have any on hand!) They turned out very nicely- one recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

One thing I particularly enjoy when cooking is to take an "old standby" meal, and veggie-fy it. Tonight, we had spaghetti and meatballs, but not just regular old pasta and meat.

delicious leftovers for lunch another day

I make up turkey meatballs and freeze them (cooked), so that they are available when we need a quick meal. We use whole grain pastas, and store-bought sauce (gasp!) so it really is a fast meal to throw together. Tonight I added a bunch of rainbow chard to the pasta water just before the pasta was cooked. Then I added "Florentine Spinach and Cheese" pasta sauce (although any kind would do), and some fresh garlic. I also made roasted baby eggplants.

For the eggplant, I started off with this recipe, but only did the roasting part. We just scraped them out of their shells (with a grapefruit spoon) and ate them with our pasta. Because I did not really follow the recipe, below is what I did.

Roasted Baby Eggplants

Cut in half, brush with garlic olive oil (a clove of garlic crushed into maybe 1-2T of oil). Bake at 375*F for 15min. Remove from oven, brush with garlic olive oil again, and return to oven. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until they "look done". They should puff in the middle, and start to get caramelized areas. Sprinkle with salt, and serve. They were delicious- so creamy and smooth. 

Next time, I will salt them earlier, I think, but otherwise they were wonderful.

I greatly enjoyed this meal, and am very excited that I have leftovers for two more lunches.

hurrah!

New Veggies! It's always a happy day when new veggies come home. This week our share included:


orange and purple carrots (2 bunches!)
red potatoes
multicoloured swiss chard
young onions
dill
green head lettuce
red, orange, yellow, and purple cherry tomatoes
green and yellow baby zucchini
yellow beans (and a few purple ones)
hakurei turnips

You may have noticed that our share seemed very "rainbow". That is one thing that I particularly love about RHG- they grow all sorts of heirloom varieties, which are fun to eat, and also good for plant diversity. So many great veggies are being eliminated in the supermarkets' quest for "perfectly normal" items. "Good produce" in the grocery store is defined by being consistent, always the same.

I was especially reminded of this at work today as I sat eating my colourful cherry tomatoes. One of my co-workers asked what in the world I was eating this time. (I am known for having unusual things in my lunch) Once I explained what they were, and where they were from, she said she'd not want to even try something weird like that. Even after being assured that they tasted just as good if not better than "normal" ones.

I very much enjoy trying new varieties of veggie, and am so happy I have the opportunity to share the adventure with my husband and 1 year old daughter. Susannah is a wonderful eater so far, and enjoys food. I hope I can instill in her an adventurous palate. Last year, her first carrots were purple, yellow, and white ones we bought at the "Taste of the Valley" event where we discovered Rainbow Heritage Garden.

One thing I am very excited to make this week is borscht. We still have some beets from a previous week, and with the fresh dill and other veggies it will be amazing. The "recipe" I use for borshct is an all-veggie variety, handed down from my husband's family (Ukrainian). I use quotes as it is more just a list of ingredients, and I find it turns out different every time. But it's always delicious.

I'm hoping there is enough dill left to try out the garlic and dill roasted potatoes, although if the weather stays warm I'm not going to be using my oven- BBQ it is!

I am also looking forward to making the turnip two ways again. We especially enjoyed it with feta cheese, so I plan to use that again.

Tonight we had chicken tacos, with some of the lettuce and tomatoes. A fairly basic meal for us, but not every night can be veggie-centric (and veggie-tastic!)

kale convert

Ok, so I had some misgivings about the idea of kale, but I made kale chips out of it, and they were quite delicious! I added a bit of garlic, and used balsamic vinegar and some sesame oil. I think I'll try a different vinegar next time (the recipe suggested sherry vinegar, but I didn't have any). Cider vinegar would be my next try. I liked the garlic, and I am thinking maybe some ginger too. See, I am already making plans for the NEXT time I eat kale! I also baked the chips a tad longer than they needed, and a few had a rather burnt aftertaste. I'll know better next time.

I am also excited to try kale other ways. I am curious to try it raw. I tasted a little as I was preparing it to become chips, and I enjoyed it. And I am starting to get more comfortable with putting green leafies into things like stir frys and pasta dishes. It's not so weird after all.

the dinner dilemna

It's Friday evening, 5pm. Husband is out mowing the lawn after work, toddler is clingy, wanting to be held and read stories. Which is nice, but after a less-than-productive day, I was feeling the need to actually make something for dinner. So I tried to think of something to make.

A few stories later, and it's 5:30. I still have no idea what to make. I look up some beet recipes cuz I know we have beets we should eat. Most of them require roasting the beets. Which takes an hour. Which is too long, since Andrew needs to leave again by 6:30 for an evening event. Or they require grating, which is messy and also takes a long time. And I'm wearing a white shirt today.

So what to do? I open my fridge, and pull out ALL my veggies. I start a pot of water for pasta, and a pan to saute some veggies. I start washing and chopping. What cooks fast? Broccoli. Zucchini. GARLIC! Mushrooms. Beet Greens. By that point, I had a pretty big pile of chopped veggies, and figured that was probably enough.

I started with the garlic with some olive oil, and added in the broccoli. Then the zucchini and mushrooms. A bit of fresh ground pepper. Then the beet stems, and finally the beet greens, along with the juice of a zest-less lemon I had sitting around. (The beet roots went back in the fridge for another day!)

When the veggies were cooked, I added some fresh basil from my garden, and a jar of alfredo sauce. Mixed it all together, and added the whole grain penne. It was surprisingly even better than I expected. A successful experiment.

busy busy

When our schedules get busy, I find it hard to take the time to cook. And this week has been busy. We have not eaten many of our beautiful vegetables yet. Last night, we just threw some burgers on the BBQ and had lettuce along with them. (I hesitate to claim it was salad, since it was just lettuce with dressing on, but that's "salad" in my house!) And the night before, we had dinner out. But tonight I cooked up the turnip two ways again, and we loved it even more than the first time I made it. Finally, a real veggie meal.

This time, I had a larger bunch of turnips, I used feta cheese (last time I used parmesan), and I remembered the salt and pepper! I also used the young garlic. It almost seemed like a different meal.

Tonight, we really enjoyed the creaminess of the melted feta. Last time the pasta had more of a light dressing, this time it seemed more sauce-like. The turnip rounds are little bursts of sweetness amid the salty sourness of the lemon-feta sauce. I cooked them a little slower this time, which I think enhanced their natural sweetness even more. And the greens add beautiful colour. Last time, the lemon was almost overpowering (I thought it was ok, my husband thought it was a little strong), but this time it seemed the perfect amount. I think the cheese made the difference.

An excellent meal- one will be featured frequently in our house!

chinese cabbage

After using less than half of our enormous chinese cabbage in the pad thai a few days ago, I needed something else to do with it. I had planned to use some in a stir fry or pasta dish (easy) but I was intrigued by this chinese cabbage salad that I came across. I actually had all the ingredients in the house, so I decided to try it for dinner tonight.

The recipe calls for a medium head of chinese cabbage. Since I wasn't sure what size they normally are (mine seemed big, but maybe that's how they come?) I googled it! I discovered that "chinese cabbage" is basically synonymous with "green or green-and-white asian vegetable" and there are many different varieties, including napa cabbage and bok choy. Based on the amounts of the other ingredients in the recipe, I concluded that my now-just-large head of chinese cabbage was probably still too much. I still have enough left to add to a stir fry!

Let me tell you... this salad is AMAZING! The perfect blend of sweet and sour flavours. A very light but zippy dressing. A nice assortment of crunches from the apples, cabbage, and almonds. This has become my favourite salad, and I've only made it once! I am looking forward to the rest of it in my lunch tomorrow. The recipe says it works well to make ahead, so while I normally hate "second day salad" I am willing to give this one a try. We will definitely be having this again... as soon as we get another chinese cabbage!

Turnip Two Ways

One of my favourite things about discovering new vegetables is finding new recipes to try. I love to read cookbooks, just looking at the recipes and imagining what they might be like. Although I love to cook and try new things, it's easy for me to get into the same old "same old" routine, just because it's easy and I'm busy. But when I have foods that I'm not quite sure what to do with, new recipes seem like much less of a bother. And having them handed to me is even better!

Tonight for supper, we tried "turnip two ways" which was actually a very delicious dish, and quite simple (and quick!) to make. I used some whole grain spelt linguini, which paired nicely with the hakurei turnips and greens. Since I didn't have green garlic, I used a clove of regular garlic, and a few scapes. Next time I would definitely add more scapes! The lemon and olive oil was a very light taste, and I did add some fresh grated parmesan as suggested in the recipe. I forgot to add salt and pepper until I saw my husband adding some at the table. oops! Adding them brightened up the flavour a bit. Once again, we had a few leftovers, and I got a freezer meal out of it too!

Delicious!

Yesterday I made spinach casserole with some of the scapes. We all enjoyed it, and there was even some leftover for a freezer lunch. (I freeze leftovers in lunch-sized portions for taking to work).

Tonight, I'm made pad thai with the fresh cilantro, green onions, garlic scapes, and chinese cabbage. Usually I use zucchini, carrots, and cabbage for the veggies, but I'm embracing the CSA lifestyle and using what I have. (I did buy some bean sprouts though!) I only used less than half of the chinese cabbage- that thing is HUGE! We all greatly enjoyed the meal, and there was enough left over for several freezer lunches. :) Those will be some yummy days.

Our strawberries disappeared very quickly- Andy and I had some on Wednesday night with vanilla ice cream, and Susannah finished them off for breakfast the next morning. There's something about fresh-picked local berries that makes them so much better than the overgrown ones from the grocery store. I want to go "pick your own" sometime this weekend- maybe tomorrow. (I want to make strawberry-vanilla jam again.)

So far this week, we have eaten CSA veggies each day, but have needed to supplement them with some store-bought veggies. Once the season gets rolling I'm sure our store supplements will decrease, being limited to a few favourites. I love the idea of eating only what is in season, but with a toddler, sometimes having consistency is important as well! (Plus, what would I do until this year's garlic is ready for harvest?)

First Taste of Summer

When we got home from picking up our veggies, I was laying them out on the counter to take stock of what we had before putting it away in the fridge.

scapes, cilantro, lettuce, green onions, eater egg radishes,
hakurei salad turnips, strawberries, and chinese cabbage

I turned around to find Susannah reaching up and into the basket, snatching some strawberries! I quickly put a bib on her before allowing her to continue... and snapping some pictures!

checking out the basket

enjoying the berries

love that guilty look

 So, after Susannah and I enjoyed some (ok, a lot) of the strawberries, I packed the veggies away in the fridge.

doesn't look like that much all packed away

Now, you are probably wondering what fantastic meal I cooked up with our wonderful new veggies. Sadly, we just had turkey burgers! (I had a bunch of ground turkey from Costco that I was making into burgers and meatballs to freeze) Tomorrow night though, we'll be having a spinach and cheese casserole I've made before, featuring some of the garlic scapes! It's a favourite in this household, especially when there's scapes to add!

I also want to try the turnip two ways pasta recipe linked on the farm blog. And some pad thai, I think, with the cilantro, green onions, and chinese cabbage. And maybe a simple radish sandwich on brown bread with butter and salt- a favourite from my childhood! I want to try some pickled radishes sometime too, but I am sure we will get more radishes in the future.

I like having plans for meals, so I know in advance what I'm making. But I seem to be very bad at planning ahead, so often it's 20 minutes before dinner time and I'm trying to figure out what to make! But with these great ideas, I have plans for most of the week. I'm looking forward to it.