Okay, so this is not a new concept. Not ground-breaking or earth-shattering, but... we switched it up a little at the Herrmann House last week.
It's so easy to get into a rut with meals. Especially when everyone is so busy! We do the pasta, the rice, the wraps, the 'fill-in-the-blank' and add veggies and protein to the mix to make it a complete meal. What we have found, however, is that we're eating a lot of starches and not enough veggies. Another factor to note in this observation is that our refrigerator is still chock full of CSA veggies every week. I can only make so much hash and stir-frys to use it all up! And pickles. Boy, do we have the pickled vegetable collection.
Anyhoo, my point is this: we mixed it up. We started using veggies as our base and 'topping' it with the starch or protein. Okay, we're not doing it everynight, but it's worked out well on the nights we have tried. Our favorite was a PILE of stir-fried veggies with a coconut curry lentil 'sauce'. Really yummy. We're going to try to do 'switch it up' more often.
What do you do to 'switch it up'?
It's cold + rainy here in Minneapolis. Fall has arrived rather hastily this week, and I've been craving soups + stews. This recipe for Lamb Stew is one of most requested recipes. It makes great use of fall veggies that you may be getting in your CSA. I hope you enjoy!
Lamb Stew
serves 6
2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, sliced
3 3x1/2-inch strips lemon peel
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 small bay leaves
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 medium carrots 1” pieces
1.5 # potatoes,cut into 1” cubes
3 stalks celery, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
-Place lamb in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
-Add flour and toss to coat
-Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat
-Add half of lamb and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes
-Using slotted spoon, transfer lamb to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining lamb
-Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same pot
-Add leeks, lemon peel, garlic, and bay leaves
-Sauté until leeks begins to soften, about 5 minutes
-Return lamb and any accumulated juices to pot. Add broth and tomato paste
-Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes
-Add carrots + potatoes; cover and simmer until lamb and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes longer
-Simmer uncovered gravy thickens, about 5 minutes
-Discard bay leaves
-Season stew to taste with salt and pepper; ladle into bowls
- Sprinkle with parsley
Wow. Sorry for not posting a whole week. This summer is going by way too fast!
So, yesterday I experimented with some Zucchini-Chocolate Chip muffins, and they turned out pretty darn tasty! This is a perfect way to use up all that garden and CSA zucchini when you're tired of stir-frying or pickling. I used this recipe to make mini-muffins (about 3 dozen!), but you could make regular size ones, too. Just adjust the cooking time by about 10 minutes. Oh, and these work great to freeze and pull out for later use!
Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins
yields 3 dozen mini muffins
3C organic all purpose flour
2t baking soda
2t cinnamon
1t salt
1C honey
3/4c canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
3/4c buttermilk
2t vanilla
2T lemon juice
1 1/2-2C zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry
1C semi-sweet chocolate chips
-whisk all dry ingredients together until blended
-make a well in center
-add eggs and the rest of the wet ingredients
-stir until combined
-stir in zucchini + chocolate chips
-spoon into mini-muffin tin (2oz scoop)
-bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes or until top springs back when touched
Copyright 2009, Molly L. Herrmann
I have tasted my pickles. And they are good. Damn good. And I urge each and everyone of you to pickle some of summer's bounty. Truly incredible.
To recap, I pickled some of our CSA veggies: green beans, zucchini, cucumbers and red cabbage.
The zucchini was actually a ridged variety that I thought would make beautiful star-like pickle slices. The upside of this particular variety is that it not only looks pretty, it holds its firm texture well in pickling. Absolutely lovely to look at and snack on. Perfect for setting out with cheeses, olive and nuts for summer and fall entertaining. Or even as a hostess gift!
The red cabbage turns a lovely shade of pink when pickled, and I've been adding it to salads and sauteed veggies for bright color and an extra punch of flavor.
The pickling cucumbers turned out...just like dill pickles! Not as ooooh-aaaah inducing as the other veggies, but nice to know I can make a pretty darn good dill pickle on my own.
By far, our family favorite is the green beans. My son almost ate the whole jar himself! I had added a pierced jalapeno for a little heat, and it was just right. If the jar had made it past a week (like say a couple of months) the heat would have been more intense. Which also would be nice, but not necessarily a 3 year old's dream pickle.
So, needless to say I am a home pickling convert. I can't wait to do another batch. Perhaps we will have more restraint now and allow them to carry us into fall. Or not.
In case you missed the previous pickling post, here is the brine recipe I used as recommended by some fellow CSAers!
I usually start the week with an ingredient, but after a recent pickling pursuit I felt compelled to share! Our CSA boxes are getting bigger and bigger! It's great, but it also means either some really strange meals to use up all of the veggies or finding a way to preserve them. So on a tip from several fellow Cooking Away My CSA-ers, I decided to try my hand at refrigerator pickles. I didn't want to monkey around with the whole canning process. This method was fast, easy, little clean-up and I'll be able to try my pickles in just a week (if I can last that long).
I used a brine recipe from David Lebovitz. It's a very versatile little brine, too. Once you've got the basics down you can improvise 'til your heart is content. Basically it is equal parts water to vinegar with some sugar, salt and seasonings thrown in. That's where you can go wild!
Originally used to pickle jalepenos, I used it to pickle green beans (with a hot pepper thrown in), zucchini, red cabbage and cucumbers.
Here is David's basic recipe, and I'll let you know how they turned out soon!
This quick little dressing is refreshing and easy. Perfect to use on top of roasted veggies or a green salad. I used it most recently on some roasted CSA beets + cauliflower. I also like it as a dip for the pedestrian carrot. :-)
Indian Yogurt Dressing
makes about 1 cup
3/4C whole milk plain yogurt (European or Greek style)
1/4C cucumber, finely diced
2T red onion, finely diced
1t Garam Masala
2T olive oil
salt + pepper
stir all ingredients together until incorporated
season to taste with salt + pepper
refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow flavors to mingle!
Copyright 2009, Molly L. Herrmann
n. [beet] the edible root and leaves of the biennial crop plant
Beets are here! We just enjoyed some nice red beets from our CSA box. Beets can be a bit divisive on the veggie front, although I think that folks that don't like them have never had them cooked properly. They are delicious and nutritious, being high in folate, manganese and potassium. They do have a high sugar content (the most of any vegetable), but remain low calorie. Several studies have also proven them to be effective in fighting heart disease, cancer and inflammation.
Beet greens are often overlooked, but as with their cousing Swiss Chard, they can be eaten in a variety of ways including raw. I recently added to some to a stir-fry with excellent results!
As for the beets themselves, I prefer them roasted. And for our dragon-slayer 3 year old, they have become 'Roasted Dragon Hearts'. A little disconcerting, but effective.
Simple Roasted Beets
-Pre-heat oven to 450˚
-Remove greens and save for later use. Scrub beets clean, leaving skin intact
-Quarter large beets, halve smaller ones, and place on a baking sheet
-Toss with olive oil, salt + pepper
-Roast for approximately 30 minutes or more, until beets are just tender when pierced with a knife (turn 1-2 times during cooking to ensure even roasting)
-Remove from oven and let beets cool
-Once cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove softened skin
-Use the beets as a side dish, in salads or even in ice cream!
I like to use them in a salad, topped with an Indian Yogurt Dressing. I'll post the recipe on Friday!
All of our yummy CSA vegetables from Driftless Organics have inspired some new, quick lunch options for me. This is a tasty one for anytime of the day, just add eggs for breakfast or your favorite protein for a heartier meal.
Veggie Sauté in Pita
serves 1-2
1 purple potato, small dice
1 spring onion, sliced
1 small stalk broccoli, chopped including stem
1 handful chrysanthemum greens
lemon
olive oil
salt + pepper
feta cheese
-in a cast iron skillet or large frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil
-add onion + potato, stirring to coat in oil and cook for about 2 minutes
-add brocooli, stir to coat and cook for about 2 more minutes or until veggies are just tender, adding a little water if necessary to keep from burning/sticking
-add chrysanthemum greens and toss to wilt
-remove from heat
-season with salt + pepper and a squeeze of lemon
-add feta cheese and stuff into halved pita pockets Copyright 2009, Molly L. Herrmann
n. [tuh-MAH-ree] a type of Japanese soy sauce (or shoyu) that has a rich, dark color and complex flavor; made from the liquid drained from fermenting miso (soybean paste); naturally wheat-free
Tamari is a wonderful addition to your pantry for a number of reasons:
-the taste is richer and more rounded than your regular soy sauce
-it is naturally wheat-free for those on a gluten or wheat free diet (traditional soy sauce contains wheat)
-it is easy to use as a dip, marinade or replacement for table salt
-it blends well with other flavors
I've been using Tamari quite a bit lately to plow through our CSA veggies. It's great on stir-fried grrens, added to rice or pasta and makes a super quick + easy 'refrigerator sauce'. What the heck is a refrigerator sauce? It's what happens when I look in the fridge, throw some ingredients together and create a sauce that requires no cooking or extra effort. I love it when a plan comes together! Here's the fridge sauce we've been using lately for veggies and spring rolls...
Measurements are VERY approximate, just mix to taste. It's hard to mess this one up!
Asian Fridge Sauce
approx. 1/4c
1T orange marmalade
1T tamari (or more to taste)
2t brown rice vinegar
juice of 1/2 a lime
whisk all ingredients together and start dipping!The recipe is a bonus today, as we'll all be celebrating the start of a long weekend on Friday. Happy 4th of July! (geesh, that was fast!)
We're on our 3rd CSA box this week and it just keeps gettin' better! We even had some strawberries today!
Last week we had a bunch of arugula, so I made a pesto with green garlic. Please forgive the informality of the recipe. I was flyin' by the seat of my pants a bit. :-)
We used some on grilled quesadillas. Very niiiice...
Arugula Green Garlic Pesto
1 bunch arugula (1-2 handfuls)
1T green garlic, chopped (more if oyu like it garlicky!)
juice of 1 lemon
about 1/4c grated parmesan cheese
salt + pepper
olive oil
place arugula, green garlic + cheese in a food processor
pulse until finely chopped
add lemon juice + pulse to combine
with processor running, slowly add olive oil until desired consistency is reached
season with salt + pepper
Copyright 2009, Molly L. Herrmann
n. [uh-roo-guh-luh] edible plant native to the Mediterranean; blongs to the mustard family; leaves have a pungent, peppery flavor
I do love me some arugula! Good thing Driftless Organics keeps sending some in our CSA box! I really love the peppery flavor that it adds to salads + pasta, as well as making one heck of a pesto. My affinity may also stem from the fact that it is one of the few vegetables I have had some success in growing. Perhaps. If you have never tried it, start with adding it to your salad greens. It punches it up nicely. Sauteed (quickly) with a little garlic, it makes a great side or addition to pasta.In fact, you can just stir it into just cooked pasta, as it wilts quickly. And that pesto I mentioned? I'll be posting a recipe on Friday. Good stuff.
Our CSA box was awash with Blue Potatoes, Onions, Rosemary + Lettuce this past week. I also had some parsnips hanging around, so I decided to grill up the veggies + potatoes and make a sort of 'Cobb' salad. I have to say, it was pretty tasty....
Grilled Vegetable Cobb Salad
serves 4
3 medium to large blue potatoes, sliced into 1/4" thin rounds
1 onion, sliced into 1/4" rounds
6 small parsnips, peeled and halved lengthwise
6 small sweet peppers, stems + seeds removed
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 14 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained + rinsed
1 6oz can oil-packed tuna
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Parmesan cheese
olive oil
lemon
salt + pepper
dressing of choice (optional)
-pre-heat grill to med-high heat
-toss potatoes, parsnips, onion + peppers with olive oil, salt + pepper, rosemary
-place on grill and cook over med-high heat until just tender and beginning to brown (about 3-4 minutes per side)
-set aside and let cool
-meanwhile, toss lettuce with a squeeze lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and salt + pepper and place on a platter -begin to top lettuce with remaining ingredients + grilled vegetables, layering them in rows across the platter
-Top with shaved Parmesan
Copyright 2009, Molly Herrmann-
I've been invited to participate with food bloggers across the country in a challenge for the most creative recipes using the produce you receive in your CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share.
Cooking Away My CSA should be a fun way to utilize this year's produce!
This is our second year with Driftless Organics, and our first box arrived last week! I was super impressed with the haul this time, because last year the crops were WAY down due to flooding in the upper Mid-West.
One of the challenges with a CSA is using all of your lovely vegetables + fruit without having them go to waste. We've solved a bit of this dilemma by sharing our weekly box with another family. It works out really well!
This week's box included:
kohlrabi
blue potatoes
arugula
spinach
green leaf lettuce
rosemary
green onions
green garlic
I'm working on a few new recipes, and I'm excited to share them with you! I'll have some posted on Friday. Happy Summer!
