CSA 2013 Week 2

Image from Scotch Hill Farm, Broadhead, WI

Week 2 Bounty: 
Red Iceberg Lettuce
Turnips
Early onions
Valentine Romaine Lettuce
Asparagus
Bok Choi
Oregano and Tarragon bundle
Leaf lettuce mix
Sunflower sprouts






Meal 1 (sunflower sprouts, turnips, bok choi, onions)
This was our kid-friendly meal for the week.  The vegetables kind of came about from trying to throw everything left in the fridge together and it worked perfectly!  The nuggets I have made before, but I omitted the parmesan.  The Gia Russa whole grain bread crumbs that I use already have Romano in them, so I didn't feel the need to add more.  The kids agreed as we had no leftovers from this meal!

Curried Vegetables with Rice

image from Scotch Hill Farm, Broadhead, WI

I washed and chopped up the turnips, bok choi, onions and sprouts.  Put 2 Tbsp coconut oil and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.  I then added the turnips, 2 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tsp paprika and cooked this for about 15 minutes (depends on size and quantity of turnip pieces).  Then I added the onions and bok choi stems and cooked for about 5 minutes, or until they are somewhat transparent.  I finally added the bok choi leaves, turnip greens and sunflower sprouts and cooked for about one minute, until the greens just barely wilted.  

Baked Chicken Nuggets
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cup buttermilk (I cheated with 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice in 1/2 cup milk)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, salt, thyme, sage and basil. Mix well. Put buttermilk in a bowl or dish for dipping.  Dip chicken pieces into the buttermilk first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
* Recipe from AllRecipes.com by Teresa

Meal 2 (lettuce)
Salad
Homemade Dressing (Week 1)
Lettuce
Chia seeds
Pumpkin seeds

Pasta with Duck Sauce
This is my favorite from our time living in Italia and we've replicated it quite well.  We froze a few containers back in April, so I was able to thaw it and add to pasta for a wonderful, quick meal.

Meal 3 (asparagus, sweet potatoes)
Baked Salmon
1 salmon fillet (2 pounds, I used four smaller cuts and cooked for less time)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
Pat salmon dry. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. brush with butter. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over salmon.
Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Yield: 8 servings. * Recipe from Taste of Home

Roasted Asparagus
1 pound fresh asparagus
Good olive oil
Kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 25 minutes, until tender but still crisp. * Recipe from Ina Garten at foodnetwork.com

Pan-fried Sweet Potatoes
Dice four medium sized sweet potatoes.  Heat olive oil in frying pan  on medium heat and add potatoes.  Cook to your liking, but we cook them until well-browned.

CSA 2013 Week 1

Week 1 Bounty:

Photo from Scotch Hill Farm, Broadhead, WI

Lettuce Mix
Red Iceberg Lettuce
Nancy Butterhead Bibb Lettuce
Bok Choi
Leeks
Carrots
Spinach
Arugula
Oregano

Gift of goat cheese




Meal 1: arugula, pesto, tomato sauce
Pizza with Proscuitto and Arugula
This is one of Allen's favorite pizza's that he enjoyed in Italia.  We used a Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza crust.  As we still have things left in the freezer from the 2012 share, we used some of our homemade pesto and some tomato sauce for the base pizza sauce.  It was topped with mozzarella cheese and prosciutto, then baked for about 10 minutes at 450 degrees.  The arugula was added once it was removed from the oven.

Side Salad (Lettuce Mix and Nancy Butterhead)
with oil and balsamic dressing

Meal 2: 
bok choi, carrots, celery, onion, red iceberg
Chicken Stir Fry with Bok Choi

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1 bunch bok choi
1 cup sliced heirloom celery
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granule
Cut chicken into 1/2 inch strips; place in a resealable plastic bag. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce, ginger, and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil; stirfry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil; stir fry broccoli, celery, carrots, and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and bouillon. Return chicken to pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Side Salad (Red Iceberg) with Balsamic Honey Dressing
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dijon-style mustard
1 tsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 shallot/small onion, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl whisk all ingredients to combine orput all ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Use immediately or keep, covered and chilled, up to one week. Makes 2/3 cup dressing. * recipe from about.com

Meal 3: leeks, onion
Bacon, Egg and Leek Risotto
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable broth
1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped bacon (from about 4 slices) or pancetta (we used 8 slices)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large or 3 smaller leeks, quartered lengthwise, cleaned of grit, and chopped small
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to fry eggs
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or another short-grained Italian rice
1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish if desired
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 large eggs, you’ll want one per serving
Place stock or broth in a small-medium saucepan over very low heat on a back burner. You want to have it heated until steamy when you add it in a bit, but not so much that it simmers and loses volume. Heat a second medium saucepan (3 quarts) or skillet over medium heat. Add bacon or pancetta and cook until it renders its fat, and is tender and just barely crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside, leaving whatever dripping you can in the pan. Add a tablespoon of oil to the bacon fat if needed, then add the leeks. Cook leeks on medium-low for 10 to 12 minutes, until softened and mostly tender. Transfer to bowl with bacon and set aside, leaving stove on. Add butter to pan and, once melted, cook onion in butter until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook sauté until faintly toasted, about 4 minutes. Add wine or vermouth and cook until it almost disappears, about 2 minutes. Ladle 1 cup of hot broth into the rice mixture and simmer until it absorbs, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is al dente, about 25 to 30 minutes. What you’re looking for in well-cooked risotto is a creamy but loose dish. When ladled onto a plate, it should spill into a creamy puddle, not heap in a mound. You might need an extra splash of broth to loosen it. When you achieve your desired texture and tenderness, stir in the cheese, bacon and leeks. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into serving bowls. Then, quickly, in a small skillet, heat a pat of butter over medium-high and swirl it to coat the pan. Crack one egg into the skillet, season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium. I like to cover the skillet with a small lid at this point, as it seems to help the egg cook faster and more evenly. In one minute, you should have a perfect sunny-side-up egg. Transfer to your first bowl of risotto and repeat with remaining eggs. Garnish each with an extra bit of grated parmesan and eat immediately. * Recipe from smittenkitchen.com

Meal 4: spinach, oregano, sage
This was our kid-friendly meal of the week.  We had hot dogs and spaetzle with oil and oregano.  The kids enjoyed fried sage and Allen and I enjoyed steamed spinach. We started growing herbs this year, mostly sage and basil because we just can't get enough of either.  We used the first sage harvest for the kids.  This meal was a huge hit!

Steamed Spinach
Rinse spinach, add to pot with small amount of water on low heat, cover.  Cook for a short time - watch carefully so as not to burn it.  I added a bit of oil butter and nutmeg.

Fried Sage
Heat oil in pan, add whole sage leaves.  Remove when they just begin to brown and place on paper towel.  Add small amount of salt.

Gifted: goat cheese
A kind neighbor helped us out, so they were thrilled when we shared our goat cheese with them in thanks!

Rhubarb Crazy

We received rhubarb in our first share and also had a large harvest in our own patch.  So it has been a baking heavy week.  I have chopped and frozen the rest until a later date.

The crumb pie was my favorite.  I cannot wait to have it again!  I only had two small pie crusts, so I split the filling and topping between the two and it was perfection!!

The hand pies were good, but the crust overwhelms the flavor of the the filling.  I had added a pint of strawberries, so I doubled the filling which I then ended up with too much leftover.  So we made the kringle crust and used the rhubarb/strawberry/cream cheese filling.  That was a much better use of the filling.  

image from tasteofhome.com

Strawberry/Rhubarb Crumb Pie Recipe
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 pound rhubarb rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces or sliced frozen rhubarb, (about 3 cups)
1 pint fresh strawberries, halved
1 unbaked pie shell (9 inches)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
In a large bowl, beat egg. Beat in the sugar, flour and vanilla until well blended. Gently stir in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into pastry shell. For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and oats; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° bake for 35 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 8 servings. Note: If using frozen rhubarb, measure rhubarb while still frozen, then thaw completely. Drain in a colander, but do not press liquid out. * Recipe from tasteofhome.com

Image from smittenkitchen.com

Rhubarb Cream Cheese Hand Pies
3 3/4 cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest (optional)
1 1/2 (20 grams) tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 (9 grams) teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) unsalted butter, very cold and cut into small cubes
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk (or, make your own buttermilk substitute)
1 pound (455 grams) rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch segments
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (i.e. very soft)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
Coarse sugar
Make pie dough: Whisk together flour, zest, sugar and salt in the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl. Using a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of tiny peas. (You’ll want to chop your butter into small bits first, unless you’re using a very strong pastry blender in which case you can throw the sticks in whole, as I do.) Gently stir in 3/4 cup buttermilk with a rubber spatula, mixing it until a craggy mass forms. Get your hands in the bowl and knead it just two or three times to form a ball. If it doesn’t come together, add remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does, then gently knead again. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten a bit, like a disc. Chill in fridge for at least an hour or up to two days or slip plastic-wrapped dough into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 to 2 months (longer if you trust your freezer more than I do). To defrost, leave in fridge for 1 day.
Make rhubarb filling: Place rhubarb and sugar in a small-to-medium saucepan with sugar and stir to combine. Cover and cook at medium-low heat for 15 minutes, no need to stir. Increase the heat to medium, remove the lid and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until rhubarb is broken down and ideally thick enough that if you run a spoon across the bottom of the pot, you can see a trench quickly form and disappear. (No need to be overly fussy about this level of thickness, as a little wetter won’t harm your pies.) Spread mixture on a large plate in the fridge or freezer to cool quickly, then scrape into a bowl. Keep cold until needed; it will be thicker and easier to “scoop” onto the pie bases.
Make cream cheese filling: Whisk cream cheese, sugar, zest, juice and yolk together in a small bowl until smooth. Keep cold until needed as well.
Assemble pies: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line two to three baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat your remaining egg and 1 tablespoon water and keep aside with a pastry brush. Flour the heck out of your counter, unwrap the first half of your dough and start rolling your dough by pressing down lightly with the pin and moving it from the center out. You’re not going to get it all flat in one roll or even twenty; be patient and it will crack less. Roll it a few times in one direction, lift it up and rotate it a quarter-turn. Continue to do, roll a couple times, lifting the dough and rotating it until the dough is just shy of 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into 2 3/4-inch to 3-inch squares. (A knife, pizza wheel or even fluted pastry wheel would be sufficient.) Tip: No mushy pie dough! If your dough becomes soft (it’s a hot day or warm kitchen, aka summer) now or at any point in the assembly process, slide the dough squares onto a prepared baking sheet and freeze them for a couple minutes until they’re semi-firm again; it will make assembly less frustrating. Brush half the squares very, very lightly with the egg wash; these will be your bases. Cut a small vent in the other half of the squares; these will be your lids. In the center of each egg washed square, put a small dollop (a measured teaspoon) of cream cheese, then rhubarb filling on top. Be ye not tempted to fill them more as they become almost impossible to seal without leakage, and why should your baking sheet get all the good stuff? Top each filled base with a vented square. Press outer edge of top and bottom all around to seal with your fingertips; a fork will work as well. Transfer pie to a baking sheet, spacing 1-inch apart. Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Repeat with remaining dough, including second half from fridge, and fillings.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden, and even more brown at edges. Transfer to cooling racks and cool to room temperature before serving. Okay, well, good luck with that. * Recipe from smittenkitchen.com

image from allrecipes.com

Danish Kringle
1 cup butter
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, softened

2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups chopped English walnuts, divided
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons water
In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4 inch long angled lines about 1/2 inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangle's uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each 1/2 inch wide strip towards the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided danishes. Arrange danishes on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm danishes. * Recipe from allrecipes.com