Category: Main Meals

What’s in the box: Week 3/4

With being in San Francisco since Tuesday, most of my CSA box is still at home in the fridge.  But I managed to make some bang up meals before I left.

Ravinia date with myself:

An on-the-fly Spinach Artichoke Dip used up all the spinach I had left over, plus cream cheese in anything is delicious.  Simply sautee the spinach until wilty (add a little water to the pan so it doesn’t burn.  Mix with a jar of drained artichoke hearts and equal parts cream cheese and sour cream.  I took this beauty on my Ravinia picnic before attending the live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion and paired with grapes, crusty bread, homemade pickles and a bottle of red.

Shrimp Something-Or-Other

In an attempt to throw as many of my box ingredients as possible in the same dish, this delight (not being facetious) started off with sauteed onion, kohlrabi, garlic scape and kale with a bit of soy sauce and a bit of adobo seasoning.  I added ramen noodles and shrimp that were sauteed separated in butter, and was pretty much the envy of my Facebook newsfeed for the evening.

I’m thinking that at some point it would be helpful to find actual recipes to complement the ingredients that I find in my box, but honestly, I’m short on time and seem to be doing just fine throwing a little of this and a little of that into a pan and seeing what comes out.  Maybe that’s the beauty of having fresh produce around all the time… it tastes amazing no matter what you do with it.

If only baking was that easy… but what with it’s chemical reactions and such measuring cups and recipes come in quite handy for that…

What’s in the box… week two

Each time I visit Midnight Sun Farm my back hurts less.

Although, I have to say those ladies who spend all day long bent over in rice paddies must have hamstrings of steel.  My typically workload on farm this time of year consists of weeding…. lots and lots of weeding… and after a few minutes of bending over my legs start to bark and I’ve now started in on the “crawl on your hands and knees” technique.  Very elegant.

What really excites me, though, is when I see the things that I’ve weeded (and a few things I’ve harvested and washed) showing up in my CSA box.

In my box this week were:

  • getting the rainbow chard ready

    salad mix

  • two heads lettuce
  • one bulb fennel
  • green onions
  • rainbow swiss chard
  • Hakuri sweet turnips, and
  • spinach

So, what became of this random box of green goodness?

I made several salads and another stirfry, but the true prize of the week was Frittata Night with my friend Kelly.

I totally made this recipe up based on something I’d seen Chef Giada do on the food network….. this is not really at all close to the recipe, so, it’s a Lauren original, and delicious.

Lauren’s spinach and chard Frittata

Ingredients:

  • 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small onion, sliced or diced (depending how onion-y you like it)
  • 3 sweet turnips, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small bunch rainbow swiss chard
  • 1 small bunch spinach
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 C. half and half
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 – 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • bacon bits (the real stuff, not Bacos, people)
  • 2-3 green onions
  • 4-6 sprigs fennel leaves

Directions:

Add 2 TB vegetable oil to a high sided saute pan and heat over medium heat.  Add potatoes and cook until slightly softened and translucent (maybe about 5-7 minutes… just prep the other stuff while you do this and check on them occasionally, turning down the heat if they are starting to brown).

wilty greens ready for the eggs

Meanwhile, separate the leaves of the chard from the woody stem and chop the stems.  Add chard stems, onions, and turnips to the pan and cook another 2-4 minutes.  Add the spinach and chard leaves by the handful, and mix until the greens become dark and wilty.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl with half and half and and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and lower heat to low.  Cook about 5 minutes, covered, and add shredded cheese, bacon, fennel and green onions.  Return lid and cook until the cheese is melted and eggs are set.

I served this gorgeous thing with a side salad of spring mix, kidney and garbanzo beans, strawberries, sunflower seeds, leftover radishes and dried cranberries.  That, and about a bottle of red wine….

And it looked like this:

Lauren’s spinach and chard frittata with strawberry salad

This, friends, was a night to remember!

photos courtesy of Kelly Rose

Snow, Headache, Chicken and Noodles

The first big snow of the season has arrived (very late for Chicago), and the blustery weather in addition to the five games of pool and complimentary bottles of beer last night mean that we are cooped up with blankets, movies, and a giant headache today.

Perfect day for Chicken and Noodles.

I am very deliberate about me use of the Oxford comma, and in this case, the chicken and the noodles go together so harmoniously that they shan’t be separated by a comma.  This dish was torn out of a Country Home magazine in 2009 and, along with the rest of the 1″ thick pile of magazine recipes, had gone unmade until Friday.  Being of a full-time worker constitution, I opted for the slow-cooker directions, and it’s those that I will share with you here:

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1TB olive oil or butter
  • 3 lb. Chicken (leg-thigh)
  • 4 C. reduced-sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)
  • 4 carrots, sliced
  • 1 TB fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 16-oz. package egg noodles
  • 1-1/2 C. frozen peas
  • 2 TB lemon juice

Directions:

In a 5-6 Qt. slow cooker, place onion, celery, garlic, carrots, thyme, bay leaf, seasoning, salt and pepper.  Place chicken on top of vegetables.  Melt butter in broth, and pour over top of chicken.  Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours.  Remove chicken and bay leaf from cooker.  When cool enough to handle, remove from bones and place chopped chicken back in pot with frozen peas and lemon juice.  Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.  Stir to combine and mmmmm.

Soup love: Hearty Black Bean Soup

This soup has been a winter staple in our household for about three years.  You can easily substitute the chorizo for italian sausage (as I did this time) or veggie alternatives like “Soyrizo”.  We like to eat it just by itself as a late supper, but cornbread, toast, or a peanut butter sandwich are great compliments.

It’s flavorful.  It’s delicious.  and in three days, it was gone.

Slow Cooker Hearty Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb. Chorizo (4 oz.)
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 small green pepper, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 TB dry sherry (or red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar)
  • 1tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 15 oz. canned black beans (not drained)
  • 15 oz. vegetable broth
  • 1 med. lime, squeezed
  • 1/8 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 TB fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Saute chorizo in a pan for 2-3 minutes.  Add onion, garlic and peppers, saute over medium heat for 5 minutes or until meat begins to brown.  Add to slow cooker

Add all other ingredients except cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime to cooker.  Cover and cook 4-5 hours on low setting.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Yields 1 cup per serving, makes 8 servings (I double the recipe for my 7 Qt. cooker)

Stocking up and making ready

Since December 2, I’ve been living the fantastic life of a housewife.  Working occasionally, blogging frequently, and cooking constantly.  Today, that all changes as I go back to my typical 60-hour work week.

I’m nervous.

When I get nervous, I prepare by cooking lots of food.  That way, even if nothing goes according to plan, at least I’ve got dinner.  It’s winter, so, naturally that means lots of soup.  Lots and lots of soup.  My hope is that these two beauties will last all week and next for dinners.

 

That’s Hearty Black Bean Slow-Cooker soup on the left, and Winter Ham and Beans on the right.  I’ll get you those recipes later in the week.

I was hoping to get a third pot going too, but it wasn’t in the cards today.

That’s right; I said it: we have three crock pots.  When it comes to crock pots, you can’t just have one.  Plus, we have a chili cookout every Halloween and so all those slow cookers come in quite handy.