Sunday, September 30, 2012

CSA Share Week 16

Only a couple of repeat dishes this week in the pesto and cabbage soup.  The rest of the recipes were all new to us and they were all wonderful.  It is amazing that we seemed to have used a lot of vegetables, but somehow still have beets and turnips leftover.

Week 16 Bounty: 
Photo courtesy of Scotch Hill Farm, Broadhead, WI
Endive
Cabbage
Tomatoes

Beets
Eggplant
Turnips
Bok Choi
Basil
Patty Pan Squash

Zucchini
Peppers









Meal #1: eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, hot pepper, onion, garlic, basil

We shared these at an appetizer party.  They we a big hit.  All my husband, Allen's, crazy creation.  He just threw together some vegetables and came up with something wonderful!

Vegetable Sauce

Olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
1 onion
3 medium eggplants
Bag of tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
Red wine
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Basil
Italian seasoning
Chopped vegetables and cooked until very soft in a pan, added spices and pureed.

Meatballs
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground venison
Salt
1 egg
Whole wheat bread crumbs
1 onion, diced
Full recipe of Vegetable Sauce (divided)
Mixed all ingredients together with only 1/2 cup of Vegetable Sauce and formed into balls.  Baked on a sheet in oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Then warmed the above recipe of Vegetable Sauce and poured sauce over meatballs in a serving dish.


Meal #2: tomatoes, onions, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, cabbage
Stewed Tomatoes
6 to 8 ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons margarine
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons sugar (more or less)
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Core tomatoes; place in boiling water for about 15 to 20 seconds, then into ice water to cool quickly; peel. Cut tomatoes in wedges. In Crock Pot, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle top with parsley, if desired. Serve as a side dish or freeze in portions for soups or other recipes. *Recipe from Diana Rattray at About.com

Healing Cabbage Soup

We didn't have any bouillon or enough broth, so I used 4 cups of broth and 12 cups of water. This made a thicker soup, which we may even like more than the original recipe.
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 quarts (24 cups) water
8 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
2 cup Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained and diced
2 cups quinoa
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon, salt, pepper and other spices. Bring to a boil, then stir in cabbage. Simmer until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and quinoa. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer 15 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Done when quinoa is tender but still chewy and white spiral-like threads appear around each grain. Serves 16. *Recipe adapted from JGCase at allrecipes.com


Meal #3: endive, bok choi, basil, garlic
Basil Walnut Pesto - frozen into cubes
2 cups packed basil leaves 
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Place basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt (if using) in food processor. Blend until thoroughly combined. Add Parmesan and butter (if using) and blend 5-10 seconds more. Just before serving, add 2 Tbsp of hot pasta water from cooked pasta. Serve over pasta with bread and salad.* Recipe by dahlia at Food.com

Bacon Wrapped Chicken 
Pound chicken breasts flat.  Spread about 2 Tablespoons of Basil Walnut Pesto.  Roll chicken breasts and wrap with bacon.  Hold together using toothpick.  Grill until cooked thoroughly.  

Grilled Polenta
Until recently we had only found tubes of pre-made polenta in the refridgerated section.  Slicing them for grilling never worked out quite like we hoped.  But then we found Polenta Valsugana.  This is much more like what we were accustomed to in Northern Italy.  We cut it into 1/2 inch slices and grill.  Then drizzle with olive oil and salt.  

Braised Belgian Endive and Bok Choi
2 Tbsp. butter
10 to 12 Belgian endives
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup water (feel free to use chicken stock or white wine, if you like)
1 tsp. sugar (optional)
Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large, heavy frying pan, saute pan, or pot with a tight fitting lid. Meanwhile, trim and discard any browned bits on the ends of the endives and any bruised or browning exterior leaves. When the butter is melted, lay the endives in a single layer in the pan. Sprinkle them with the lemon juice and salt. Pour the water down along the side of the pan. If you want to cut the bitterness in the final dish, sprinkle the endives with the sugar.Cover the pan and reduce heat to low. You want a nice, tight fit with the lid. If steam is escaping, lay a piece of foil over the pan and then put on the lid. Let cook, undisturbed, until endives are very tender, about 30 minutes.
* Recipe by Molly Watson at food.com


Meal #4: zucchini, squash, onion
Squash Fritters
2 medium zucchini, grated (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
Garlic salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Non-stick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400ยบ. Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Use a box grater to shred the zucchini. Place shredded zucchini in several layers of paper towels or in a tea towel and press out extra moisture.  
After removing excess water, place zucchini shreds into a medium size mixing bowl. Add onions, corn meal, flour, thyme, parmesan and beaten egg. Add a sprinkle of garlic salt and fresh cracked black pepper to the mixture. Stir until well mixed. (Hands work best for mixing and forming the fritters!) Use your hands to form 8 fritters, placing each one individually on the prepared baking sheet. Fritters should be at least 2 inches apart and not touching. Drizzle ¼ teaspoon olive oil over the top of each fritter. Place pan in the in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Take pan out of the oven and flip fritters over with a spatula. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon olive oil over the top of each fritter and return plan to the oven.  Continue baking for 10 minutes or until fritters start to get crispy and slightly brown around the edges. Remove pan from oven. Sprinkle fritters with garlic salt. Serve and enjoy! * Recipe from theundercovercook.com

Pan-fried Tilapia
Tilapia filets
Olive oil
Soy sauce

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