Sharebox week 1: Greens and shoots

The first sharebox of the season arrived today with early spring produce and herbs.

• In the box: scallions, lettuces, baby spinach, asparagus, radishes with their leaves

• Herbs: oregano, chives, lovage, apple mint, lamb’s quarters.

I love sharebox day. And as I unpack, I inhale the freshness and sharpness of these first spring shoots and leaves. I begin planning what I will cook, how I will use these ingredients to form my family’s meals for the week.  It has taken me a while to figure out how to use all the produce efficiently; for the first few shareboxes, I faced brown mushy unused greens and herbs in the bottom of my fridge at the end of each week.

These recipes and menu ideas may not always include specific amounts because the amount is what comes in the box, or what seems right to the cook. These meals all serve around 3 to 4 people, with leftovers.

Meal 1: Sautéed fresh vegetables and herbs with gnocchi and fried eggs.

This takes care of all the asparagus, and half of the scallions and radishes. I include  some oregano and chives and chive flowers.  I use the leaves from the radishes, dropping them in the water with the gnocchi during the last few seconds of cooking.  From my fridge, I add some snap peas and slivered almonds.  Slice all the vegetables into uniform, bite-size pieces before adding to the sauté pan.  I add the cooked gnocchi and radish greens to the rest of the vegetables sautéed in butter.  Toss and tip into a large serving dish. Then, for each serving, I fry an egg over easy and gently place the eggs on top of the whole thing and serve it family style.  As each person breaks their egg yolk, it creates a lovely sauce. You could omit the egg and substitute another type of pasta for the gnocchi, perhaps elbows or penne.

Meal 2: Huge green salad with roast turkey breast and herbed cheese muffins.

I love turkey, and turkey parts are much easier to use than a whole bird and provide leftovers for sandwiches for lunch or another meal. Roast a split turkey breast until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F. I coat mine with olive oil and rub poultry seasoning on all sizes, and then roast it in a 300-degree oven for about 100 minutes. Remember to save any bones for making stock later. Of course if you're pressed for time, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken or two at the grocery store.

While the turkey is resting, I adjust the oven temperature and bake the cheese muffins, which use a generous amount of chives and oregano in the batter.  Finally, I assemble the salad with lettuce, lamb’s quarters, chives, and the mint, topped with scallions, radishes, and (from the cupboard) dried cranberries.  I make a quick vinaigrette. To serve, for each plate, place a large amount of salad with the sliced turkey on top and a muffin on the side. Persons in my household do not like dressing on their salad, so I always serve that separately.

Meal 3:  Asian noodles with scallions and chives.

Cook your noodles (lo mein, linguine, or angle hair pasta) as directed and drain.  In a wok or large saute pan, I stir-fry the remaining scallions and chives in grapeseed oil until fragrant. Add a bit of soy sauce, then the noodles.  Toss until coated. I also add sesame oil just before serving.

Meal 4: Huge green salad number 2 with chili.

I use my remaining greens and herbs except for the mint and oregano in my salad: lettuce, baby spinach, lamb’s quarters, and lovage. Leftover salad goes on my ham and cheese sandwich that I make for lunch the next day.

What else: Orange-mint tea.

I steep the mint leaves in 3 or 4 cups boiled water for 15 minutes, then discard the mint. Add about 1/3 cup sugar to taste, mix until sugar dissolves, and allow to cool.  After the mint tea has cooled, add 1 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup lemon juice.  Serve over ice.

What’s left? After cooking all four meals and making the orange-mint tea, I still have some oregano.  I can use this with some sautéed mushrooms and on top of pizza.

Springtime pea and lettuce salad

The first few shareboxes of the season always seem to overflow with lettuce and scallions. Peas and mint are also hallmarks of the early season.  This salad is my take on a salad that appeared in American Grown, First Lady Michelle Obama’s garden journal and cookbook.

Ingredients

1 head bib, butter, or romaine lettuce

1 Cup snap or snow peas or a combination

1 Cup shelled peas

1-2 scallions

½ Cup mint leaves

zest and juice of one lemon or lime (about 2 Tbsp)

6 Tbsp grapeseed or olive oil

salt and pepper

Procedure

Make the dressing: Chop the mint finely and combine with the lemon juice and ¼ tsp salt. Let sit for a few minutes to the salt dissolves. Whisk in the olive oil.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed to taste. Set aside.

Blanch the peas and rinse in cold water.

Slice the scallions including some of the greens.

Wash and dry the lettuce, and cut into a chiffonade.

Place the lettuce in a large serving bowl.   With your fingers, gently toss the peas and scallions with the dressing and place on top of the lettuce. Serve as a side salad at any meal.

Pesto Quiche with Potato Crust

This week my sharebox came with a huge bag of enormous and beautiful basil leaves, so heady and fragrant. Of course, I’m making pesto, but I’m not using it on pasta; I’m making a quiche with a potato crust.

Ingredients

1 large russet potato

1 medium size tomato (optional)

3-4 Cups loosely packed basil leaves, reserving a few perfect leaves for a garnish

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp sunflower kernels or pine nuts

3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 or 4 large eggs

¾ Cup skim milk or evaporated skim milk

salt and pepper

Nonstick cooking spray

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray a pie pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Using a mandoline, thinly slice the potato. Starting in the center of the pan, place the slices in an overlapping spiral until you have covered the bottom and sides. Then place any remaining potato slices in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning. Spray the potato crust with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, make the pesto. Place the garlic and seeds or nuts into the food processor. Pulse until you have a coarse mixture. Add ¼ Cup of the cheese. Pulse until combined. Add the basil leaves and process, adding oil through the top opening until you have a homogenous and thick, spreadable paste. You’ll notice I’m using less oil for this pesto than if I were making it as a pasta sauce.

Whisk together the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper.

Slice the tomato.

When the half-baked potato crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining ½ Cup of Parmesan cheese over the bottom. Then carefully spoon the pesto over the cheese, and spread into an even layer with a spatula. Place the tomato slices on top, and season with salt and pepper. Then drain and pat dry the reserved potato slices and place on top of the tomato layer. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the egg and milk mixture. Finally, place a few perfect basil leaves on top and press down gently to submerge.

Bake again at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 minutes. 

Other options:

• Instead of whole eggs, use the equivalent volume in egg whites or remove all but one of the yolks.

• Instead of the potato crust or a pastry crust, use tortillas to line the pie pan; no need to prebake.

• Instead of pesto, use tapenade

Gazpacho

I always look forward to the mid-summer when the ingredients for gazpacho are at their peak. This is also the easiest soup I know how to cook—if you want to call chopping, stirring, and refrigerating, "cooking." This is a perfect light supper for hot days.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled, and rough chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chunked

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded the rough chopped

1 clove garlic

1-1/2 Cups liquid: you can use broth, tea, tomato juice

¼ Cup olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp sugar (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Process the vegetables one-at-a-time for a deep red color to the soup. If you process them together the soup will turn out a muddy pink color.

Place the prepared tomatoes into your food processor and puree. Remove to a large bowl. Next process the onion, then add it to the tomatoes. Repeat with the cucumber, the red bell pepper, and garlic. Stir the pureed vegetables to blend and add the olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce. Then add the liquid until you have the consistency you want. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve chilled with croutons or bread for dipping.

Potato and Cabbage Parcels with Herbed Béchamel Sauce

When it comes to vegetables, it doesn’t get more humble than potatoes and cabbage. Both arrived in my CSA share box this week. Instead of the expected sides like potato salad or cole slaw, I wanted to give these two a slightly more substantial role. This is like a stuffed cabbage casserole or pigs in blankets, but lighter.

This recipe has several non linear steps and makes use of tandem cooking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients

6-8 fist-sized red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork

1 medium head of cabbage

1-1/2 Cups diced turkey kielbasa, about half of a standard 14-ounce ring. (You could also use ham or another cooked sausage)

3-4 green onions

1 clove garlic or garlic scape

chives

1 Cup canned evaporated skim milk

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1-2 Tbsp grape seed or olive oil

¼ Cup grated parmesan cheese

nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

chopped fresh dill and basil leaves

Procedure

For the béchamel, part 1:

Warm the evaporated skim milk over low heat and steep half of the fresh dill, one green onion, and some basil leaves in it. Remove from heat and set aside for at least 15 minutes.

For the cabbage leaf wrappers, part 1:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Have a colander nearby.

For the filling, part 1:

Partially cook the potatoes in the microwave. In batches of 4, cook them for half the amount of time your oven specifies for baked potatoes. When you can pierce them with a fork, they are ready. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onion, garlic, chives, and Kielbasa.

For the béchamel, part 2:

Strain the herbs from the heated milk. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and flour, stirring until you have a roux, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk until you have incorporated all the roux. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes more, then add the parmesan cheese, nutmeg, the remaining dill, and salt and pepper to taste.

For the cabbage leaf wrappers, part 2:

When the large pot of water is boiling, stick a large meat fork into the core end of the cabbage, cut around the base with a knife, and dunk it into the water for about 5 minutes. As each layer cooks, remove the whole pliable leaves and place them in the awaiting colander, then replace the cabbage into the water. Repeat this until you have removed all the large leaves. Then, remove the core, and chop the rest of the cabbage to add to the filling. You may want to remove the toughest part of the stem from each leaf.

For the filling, part 2:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the onion, garlic and chives. As the onion softens, chop the partially cooked potatoes into bit size pieces. Add the potatoes, including the skin, to the skillet. Cook in a layer without stirring for at least five minutes to allow the potatoes to brown, then add the Kielbasa and chopped cabbage, stir and reduce the heat to low.

Assembling the parcels: Take each leaf and fill it with 2-3 Tbsp of the potato mixture. Roll into a tight bundle and place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Repeat until you have used all the leaves and filling, tucking them snugly into the dish.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the prepared parcels. Cover the dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve 2 parcels with sauce per person.

Note: If you have leftover filling, it is wonderful with a fried egg and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

Berry Berry Good Recipes

July always means fresh berries. I ordered 10 pounds of blueberries from the local Kiwanis club, and also went black raspberry picking with my family. For our efforts, we probably brought home 6 quarts.

Blueberries are native to North America and have many health benefits. Read more about blueberries . A cup of blueberries has about 60 calories and 6 grams of fiber. Be wary of packaged and baked goods that claim to include blueberries; a January 2011 report found that in most cases, fake blueberry-flavored bits were used. Read more about fake blueberries.

Raspberries are very perishable, so freeze, cook, or eat them right away. A cup of raspberries has about about 50 calories and 8 grams of fiber. Read more about raspberries.

Some of the blueberries and raspberries have been frozen for enjoyment this winter, but the rest have become muffins, jam, and a mixed fruit crisp.

On-the-go berry yogurt snack

You don’t have to buy those fruit-flavored yogurt snacks at the supermarket. You can make your own. This snack is about 100 calories and has 4 grams of fiber.

Ingredients

1/3 Cup blueberries (frozen berries are ideal)

1 Tbsp flax seed meal

½ Cup fat free plain yogurt

1 tsp real maple syrup

a 1-cup capacity food storage container with a lid

Procedure

Combine the berries with flax seed in the bottom of your container. Combine the yogurt with the maple syrup and place on top of the berry-flax seed mixture. Put the lid on tightly and don’t forget a spoon. This snack is meant to wait awhile before you enjoy it; the berries defrost and their juices absorb the flax seed meal. You can make several of these on Sunday evening for your work week, keep them in the refrigerator, and then just stash one in your lunch bag each morning.

Muffins

Blueberry muffins are my favorite for a quick breakfast or anytime snack. For the muffin recipe, see my post from June 3, 2010. This recipe works very well for blueberries and any other berries with a few simple changes:

• Obviously, replace the 1-1/2 cups rhubarb with blueberries, or other berries or a mixture. Frozen berries work wonderfully, too.

• Toss the berries with a tablespoon of flour before adding to the batter. This keeps them from clumping.

• Reduce the added sugar, if desired to ½ a cup.

• Omit the nuts.

Note about using flours other than wheat

I've been experimenting with using various flours besides wheat: corn, barley, rice, etc. I've enjoyed the resulting texture and taste, however muffins made with these flours do not keep as well. I recommend storing muffins made with a mixture of flours in the refrigerator.

Mixed berry freezer jam

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients

2 Cups blueberries

2-1/2 Cups raspberries

1 Cup strawberries (chopped)

A 12-ounce container frozen apple juice concentrate, defrosted

½ Cup sugar

1 package Sure-Jell fruit pectin for less or no sugar recipes

Procedure

Wash and examine the berries to remove any debris (e.g. sticks, stems, bugs,) or fruit with soft or spoiled spots. Combine all berries in a saucepan. Using a potato masher, crush berries to desired consistency. I like my jam with a lot of texture.

Add the defrosted apple juice concentrate, sugar, and pectin. Stir to combine and ensure all the sugar and pectin are dissolved. Place the saucepan over medium high heart and bring to a boil. Boil for at least 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour the hot jam into clean freezer containers and attach the lids. Allow to set at room temperature for 12 hours, then store in the freezer. Defrost in refrigerator before using.

Mixed fruit crisp

Fruit desserts are among my favorite. This one is quick and easy.

Serves 6

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Ingredients

2 Cups black raspberries

2 Cups blueberries

2 Cups apples, peeled and diced

2 Tbsp small pearl tapioca, soaked overnight

½ Cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

½ Cup flour

¼ Cup rolled oats

¼ Cup grape seed oil

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

Nonstick cooking spray or butter

Procedure

Prepare a 2-1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray or butter. Add the fruit, 2 Tbsp of sugar, tapioca, and ¼ tsp of the cinnamon. Gently toss to combine and set aside.

In another bowl, add the remaining sugar and cinnamon, flour, rolled oats, salt and oil. Stir with a fork until the texture is like sand. Place the topping over the fruit in an even layer.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the top is brown and crispy. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or milk.

Green Rice

This week my share box had a little bit of everything. A few beets with their greens, a small zucchini, a small head of cabbage about the size of a grapefruit, green onions, and of course a mixed bouquet of herbs including cilantro, flat leaf parsley, garlic scapes, basil, dill, chives, and oregano. This rice dish is inspired by the flavors of Mexico and my desire to sneak vegetables into as many of my son’s favorite foods as possible (He loves rice.). This green rice makes an excellent side dish or can be used as a filling for other vegetables.

Ingredients

1 Cup basmati or other long grain rice (brown or white)

1 Tbsp olive or grape seed oil

½ to 1 Cup beet greens, swiss chard or other greens

1 to 2 Cups cabbage

2 or 3 green onions, all the white and some of the green parts

1-2 garlic scapes or 1-2 cloves garlic

2 to 3 Tbsp each of fresh cilantro and parsley

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp lime juice

1 Tbsp butter

Procedure

Cook the rice according to directions. Set aside.

Core and roughly chop the cabbage. Chop the other greens, onions, garlic and herbs just enough to fit into the food processor. Place the cabbage and the other chopped ingredients into the food processor and shred. You may need to do this in batches. Heat the oil in a large frying pan until it is hot, then add the shredded vegetable and herb mixture, salt, and cumin. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the rice is cooked, add it to the vegetable and herb mixture. Stir to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the lime juice and butter. When the butter is incorporated, it’s ready to serve.

This recipe serves four generously. All the vegetables make the portions look large and add fiber, vitamins, and a fresh flavor to an otherwise bland grain.