A Meal Plan in Progress

Well, I attempted the first “meal plan” blog, and I just had to stop and laugh at myself in the middle of it, because anyone who knows me, knows that “planning” anything is absolute torture… or at least putting the fine details down on paper is, anyway. I realized that my typical “meal plan” goes something like this, “Ooooh! Arugula! Yes! I’m going to make that favorite salad of mine one day this week!” and that’s followed a few days later by writing up a grocery list and desperately trying to think of something to make with my arugula, with the faint memory of being excited about making…something.  Maybe you might have this problem too.  I‘ve found the best solution is just to sit down and make myself do it.  In the case of the persons reading this blog, you can just steal mine (which is really the whole purpose of this rambling in the first place). It WILL save you some money at the grocery, and help you to use your CSA vegetables more efficiently. That being said, as  I write this, I decided not to be unrealistic by posting a set-in stone guide for what I’ll do with my week’s share. Instead, I’m posting a “meal plan in progress”. It’s a flexible plan that, maybe, will evolve into something better as I go along.

So here’s what I’m making this week… I think. 

I’m not going to detail all of the recipes, but if you see something I’m making and want to know how. Just leave a comment and I’ll post the recipe.

Strawberries: I’m not cooking with these beauties. If the kids don’t eat them all the first day, we’ll serve them raw as a side with breakfast or lunch.

Lettuce: I'm making Broiled Salmon with Tuscan Salad dinner one night. And since I still have some extra lettuce from the last pick-up, I’ll also make some salads and veggie wraps for lunch.

Arugula: Umm… I’m still not settled on this one, but I THINK, I will make it into a pesto which will either be used for pesto focaccia OR a pesto pasta with scallops. What do you think?

Cilantro: How do you feel about this herb? To be honest I used to not be a fan, as my most frequent encounter with it was in mediocre latin food. And then I discovered Thai…mmmm… I want some right now, and it’s only 8:30am as I’m writing this. Anyway, what I’m trying to say without my mouth watering, is that if you’ve tried it before and not liked it, try it again in a totally different application. In my case, I loved it in Thai food, then tried it again in GOOD latin cuisine and loved it there too. So, be open minded. This week, I’m using my cilantro in some Thai Coconut Soup and possibly in some hummus that I’ll use for my lunch veggie wraps.

Green onions: They are going in my salads and in the Coconut Soup.

Swiss Chard: This green will be accompanied by some other vegetables and rice for a delicious, Southern-style veggie plate, which I will expound on in a moment.

You might notice that I haven’t mentioned the spinach, turnips, or Napa cabbage. It’s because my family has subscribed to the half-share, so we don’t have these items this week. However, IF I did, I would DEFINITELY make the Napa Cabbage according to the recipe on this week’s harvest list. I’m a little jealous, just thinking about it, actually. And for those who read my post about spinach, you better believe I’d be making that spinach salad this week. The turnips, I would add to Swiss Chard veggie meal, which I’m finally going to reveal.

The Chard:

Isn’t chard pretty? They say to eat a rainbow of fruits and veggies everyday, and this vegetable just about contains the entire rainbow in and of itself. This should be an indicator that it is packed with phytonutrients, which is why I’m going to cook the brightly colored stems along with the greens.

First, run your hand along the stem and tear the green portion from tougher stem. You should end up with something like this.

 I used the salad spinner to wash the leaves and set them aside. Then I ran the stems under running water and felt carefully to make sure I had washed off all of the grit.

Next, drizzle some olive oil in a sauté pan and let it get hot over medium heat. Meanwhile, chop the stems and about half a large onion. Also, mince some garlic and set it aside. When the pan is hot, toss in your stems and onions, and sauté until they are tender (about 5 minutes). 

Toss in the garlic, stirring constantly for about a minute, then add the greens. Toss the greens around, mixing them with the stems and onions until they are wilted. Salt and pepper and serve immediately.

I topped these with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano (as suggested in the Farm’s Garlicky Greens recipe) and they were great! The kids even chose to eat the greens over the rice, black-eyed peas, and “baked” fried okra that I served them with, and THAT’S really amazing, because, as many parents know, green anything at the dinner table is like pediatric cryptonite :)

Hope you all get the chance to enjoy this dish too!

Here's What I Did with My Spinach...

The spinach directly from the farm is quite possibly the best spinach ever. I almost consider it an injustice to do anything with it other than prepare a salad from it. A few toasted pecans, cranberries, blue cheese and a drizzle of a fruity vinaigrette over a a handful of those crinkly, dark-green leaves is simply divine... Alas, such was not the fate of MY spinach leaves. As "unjust" as it might have been, the spinach just didn't get slated on the menu for a salad. I had quite a bit of lettuce, and since lettuce has fewer alternative preparations, it got designated as the "salad" green. Using the spinach for a salad would mean an awful lot of salad eating, and since man can not live by salad alone... that's probably not true- I can't back that up... anyway, since my family needs some dinner variety, I put my spinach to other uses, and I thought I might share those uses with you.

Spinach Omelette
That's right. I did just suggest vegetables for breakfast. It's not a crazy idea - it's downright genius. In fact, should you have extra vegetables that might not make it on your dinner list, I recommend roasting or sautéing a big batch and serving them with eggs for an easy, well-rounded breakfast. I served this spinach omelette with a pumpkin muffin to my husband and my brother, who's facebook post, today, was (and I quote), "I love eggs....and meat....and cheese..." and I didn't hear one pining for the lack of bacon or sausage while they devoured their breakfast. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of this creation since I made it prior to the blog, and my compulsive need to photograph my meals, but maybe you'll make it for yourself and get to see it in person.


Ingredients:
half an onion, diced
a couple of handfuls of spinach, chopped
drizzle of olive oil
shredded cheese of your choice (feta would be good too)

two eggs
splash of milk
salt and pepper to taste


Saute the onions in the olive oil, over medium heat until translucent. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. Remove form heat and set aside.
 Whisk eggs, milk, and your salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat a little olive oil in a small nonstick pan. Pour egg mixture into pan. Let cook until you can slide a spatula underneath without breaking the firming egg. Flip the egg. Spread spinach mixture and cheese (I added jalopenos, too, cause I like heat) across half of the egg circle and fold over. Cook another minute, or just long enough for cheese to get melty. Slide onto a plate and enjoy!




Chicken, Spinach and Rice Soup
Soup is another good way to use vegetables that might otherwise go to waste. I had not planned on making this soup, but a last-minute, executive decision to soothe sore throats resulted in the recipe below.  I can also tell you that just about every soup I make starts the same way, so keep that in mind in case you want to improvise.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
olive oil
Enough spinach to fill a large salad spinner
7 or 8 chicken tenderloins (or leftover baked chicken would be even better) 
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth 
2/3 cup brown rice
salt and pepper to taste


Saute onion, celery, and carrots in a little olive oil over medium heat in a 5 qt or larger pot. I use my oval dutch oven for most of my soups 'cause it has a large, even-cooking bottom that serves well for sauteing and browning meat that is going into the soup. Once the onions begin to look translucent, add the garlic and saute for about a minute. Now, unless your chicken is already cooked, let's cook the chicken. When I'm making soup, I really hate to dirty up multiple dishes so here's what I do. Using your spoon, push the vegetables off the the sides of the pot. In the center, add your tenderloins. Let them brown on one side then flip them over to brown on the other. Shift the veggies back over the chicken, and add just enough broth to cover the chicken. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pot, chop or shred, and return to the cooking pot. Add the rest of the broth and bring to boil. Add the rice and simmer for 50 minutes (20 if using white rice or quinoa) covered. About 5-10 minutes before rice is done cooking add the spinach. When the rice is tender, the soup is done. Add soup and pepper to suit your tastes.


*A note about this soup: I used several "quick fixes" for this recipe that ideally I would not promote because they are less sustainable friendly and they add to your grocery bill, BUT... they are good to have around as back-ups, in case you have to swing a change in menu as I did. Those ingredients are the tenderloins and the broth. Typically, I would suggest this soup the day after I baked a whole chicken. I would shred the leftover chicken meat and boil the rest of the chicken to make my own chicken broth. Not only is your own chicken broth going to be more flavorful, but you'll be getting more use out of the WHOLE chicken, and stretching your dollar in the process!

Cooking Up CSA Deliciousness!

Well, this is it! The first official blog post. It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the prompting of my sweet, supportive hubby, who insisted a facebook note wouldn't do my rambling justice. So what random preoccupation has earned itself the VERY first post? The answer is CSA, which is Community Supported Agriculture for those who are unfamiliar. 

Every Spring we cast aside our frozen and canned, grocery purchased veggies, in trade for a fresh, delicious, local, and nutritious share in agriculture. This is our third season, so before I even got the first harvest list, my mind was churning with how I was going to use what I knew from previous experience, would be a wealth of lush greens, and earthy root vegetables. Had this been our first pick-up, however, I might have been a little overwhelmed, and lost at how to use the whole share, how to cook it up, and how to decrease my overall grocery bill. Therefore, I would like to use this blog to help some newcomers learn some of these things. I will begin (I think) by posting the recipes of the meals I cook using our CSA share. If I can keep  that up, then I might start posting meal plans and grocery lists, as well... we'll see... for those who know what "searching for vines" means, they know what might become of my intentions :)

So here we go!

Stir-Fry with Pak Choi and Green Garlic

Stir-fries are one of my favorite things to do with my CSA veggies for many reasons, but to name name a few:

1. It's quick 

2. You can use several vegetables all in one dish

3. You can eat it with chopstick's, and that just makes any meal fun!

I got the base recipe for the sauce from this link: Sauce II for Stir-Fry Vegetables, but as I tend to change every recipe I get my hands on, my version is below.

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic

about 1 Tbsp microplaned ginger root

The other stuff:

2-3 Tbsp of high-heat oil (I used grapeseed)

1 bunch of pak choi, washed, coarse chopped, and stems separated from the greens

3 stalks of green garlic, chopped

4 ounces sliced mushrooms

handful of snow peas (optional)

4 ounces udon noodles, cooked according to package directions 

sesame seeds for garnish

First, get your veggies ready to go. Wash 'em, chop 'em, set 'em aside. 

I would like to take a moment to sing the praises of the salad spinner. Yes, your vegetables from the farm might have dirt (gasp!) on them. The salad spinner is the quickest and most though way I've found to wash greens (and just about any other vegetable for that matter). Fill the spinner with greens and water, agitate, drain, repeat, then spin. Voila! Clean greens!

Next, mix up your sauce ingredients. Start with the cornstarch, add a splash of broth, whisk with a fork until the cornstarch is smooth, then add the rest of the broth and the other sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Hint: Keep ginger root in the freezer for just such occasions as these. Nothing beats fresh grated ginger in stir-fry!

Now is the time to cook your noodles if you haven't already done so. You can also serve your stir-fry over rice, too, if you prefer, but manage your time accordingly, remembering that white rice takes 20 minutes to cook and brown rice a whopping 50. Set your carb of choice aside when you're done.

So, while your noodles are boiling, put some oil in your fry pan and heat it up over medium-high heat. I don't like to use my nonstick skillet for stir-fry. I like my veggies crisp, and since my nonstick can't take the heat (no pun intended) the veggies tend to get soggy when I use it, so I don't. Also, I know olive oil is super-healthy, but... don't use it for stir-fry. It has a low smoke point, and should you dare it over med-high heat, you might end up with flames... I speak from experience. Grapeseed and coconut oil are two of my favorites for high-heat uses. You can use canola too, I just don't because I try to avoid genetically modified stuff.

Ok, ready? Here we go. Green garlic and pak choi stems go first. Stir constantly with wooden spoon for a minute or two. Add mushrooms and snow peas. Again, stir a minute or two.

Next, add the greens. They'll take up the whole pan, but don't worry, they'll cook down. Stir them until they wilt. This will only take a couple minutes.

Next, stir your sauce, and add it to the pan. Stir about five minutes. This particular sauce is very soupy, so don't expect it to become gravy-like. I was a little iffy about that, at first, but it turned out to be the perfect sauce for noodles!

 Get your bowls ready. Noodles first. Ladle the vegetable and sauce mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with a few sesame seeds and

Enjoy!

Oh... and if you went to the trouble to open a new bottle of wine for the sauce... waste not. It pairs nicely with the meal ;)