Pesto

It's Wednesday, which means produce delivery at our house. This is one of those weeks when I just didn't have time to check out what was coming in our box and I was so excited to see all the goodies. Really, fresh strawberries, cherries, apriums, and peaches! Oh yes, and there were plenty of veggies too. Before I get on with one of my favorite easy recipes, here's a look at what was in my Abundant Harvest Organics box.

Ok, on with the PESTO! Included in my box were basil and green garlic, great items for pesto. To make pesto, you'll want to be able to blend all these yummy ingredients somehow (food processor, hand blender, Brezza)

Ingredients:

-1 bunch basil
-2 heads of green garlic (or 2-3 cloves)
-5 tablespoons olive oil
-1 lemon

-2 tablespoons parmigian cheese

-pinch of salt

Directions:

1) Remove basil leaves from stalks and wash them

2) Cut the ends of the green garlic so that you have just the white part of the green garlic (Confused? Check out the pic)

3) Combine all ingredients in food processor, bowl (if using a handblender), or my favorite the baby Brezza

4) Blend in pulses, add extra olive oil if consistency is more dry than paste-like

5) Serve however you like it! Over whole wheat pasta is our favorite way. My 12 month-old loved this, surprise, surprise!

Variations- Add nuts for a little crunch. If I wasn't giving this to our 12 month old, I would have added in almonds or pine nuts in the blending stage, it adds a little crunch to the texture. Sometimes I also add chopped green olives as well, but if you do so balance the saltiness with a bit more lemon juice. Wanna be sneaky, add in a cube (or two) of your pureed greens to warm pasta then toss in the pesto... trust me, know one will know.

Aprium & Peach - Double duty delight

Yum, stone fruits are in season. With our own homegrown May Pride peaches ready to rock and the generous helping of apriums in our produce box, I've been pining (or peachin' heehee) for something to do with them all. Fresh is best. But I've dried some. I've also made a mash up that does double duty as baby food/compote and fruit spread.

Inredients:

-5 Aprium

-5 Preaches

Optional-

-Sugar or agave to sweeten to taste

-Lemon juice

Directions:

1) Clean, peel, cut fruit into chunks

2) Steam until chunks are just cooked through (I do 10 min in the Brezza)

3) Drain off excess liquid, this is important to not have too runny of a spread

4) To make a smoother consistency blend as desired. Or remove mixture from steam basket and mash with a fork.

5) To make fruit spread I add about 1/5 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp agave to each 1/2c of fruit.

*Tip- Freeze the fruit spread in ice cube tray as you would baby food. Take out cubes as needed and heat in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds to put "fresh" spread on sandwiches, toast, yogurt, ice cream.

Fava beans, a lotta work, a lotta tastiness

So what comes to mind when you hear "fava beans?" For me, all I think of is Silence of the Lambs of course! I'd never tried these myself just because of that fact. And really, there haven't been many opportunites to try them anyway. But alas, this week they arrived on my doorstep. So this was my chance to disconnect fava beans and Hannibal Lector.

Being as this was my first time with fava beans, I used the parboil and peel method. Basically this amounts to boiling the whole bean pod briefly, putting them in an ice bath, removing the beans from the pod, then carefully removing the thick waxy covering from each bean. Was this time consuming? For me, yes, it took me about 30 mins from start to finish. Would I do it again, for sure. To be honest, the end result tasted a bit like edamame to me. But, imagine a creamier, almost buttery, edamame. Lightly salted, and voila, very simply and quite tasty.

Here's a link to the Abundant Harvest newletter, with instructions for various ways to cook fava beans.

Fava beans in the pod



Beans remove from pod

Fava bean with coating removed. Colors varied from vibrant yellow to lime green.

Beans in waxy skin (left), completely shelled (right).

 

mmmeatloaf

I love me some comfort food on a cold dreary day, and nothin' says comfort like meatloaf. Here's a healthier more wholesome version of meatloaf with some good stuff snuck in!

Ingredients:

meatloaf

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2c rolled oats
1/2c bulgar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2c milk
1/2tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2c diced onion

1/4tsp ground mustard
2tbs ketchup
1/4tsp chili powder
1 egg
3 cubes (or 3 oz) pureed greens

glaze
1c ketchup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp mollasses
1/2 tsp sriracha

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Combine all meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl and spread in ungreased loaf pan
3) Bake at 350 for 45 mins
4) Meanwhile make glaze
5) Remove meatloaf from oven, increase oven to 380 degrees, glaze, bake an additional 30 mins

Asian-style Slaw

This recipe is easy-peasy and my favorite way to enjoy all the fresh little cabbages that have been coming in our produce box.

Ingredients:

-1 small head cabbage

-1/2 cup grated carrots

-2 daikon radishes

-1 tbs light mayonnaise

-1/4 cup Annie's Natural Shiitake Sesame Vinaigrette

Directions:

1) Using large-holed grater, grate all vegetables

2) In a large bowl mix vegetables with mayonnaise and Shiitake dressing

Edible Rainbow

So most of my posts are about healthy foods, but of course we indulge in some less-than-wholesome goodies. Here is a fun & yummy treat I made for our playgroup potluck.

There are lots of recipes posted online for rainbow gelatin desserts, the white layer varies (some use whipped cream, some use sour cream, some use sweetened condensed milk). I chose sweetened condensed milk because pictures using sour cream or whipped cream looked like the colors bled easily. Sweetened condensed milk mixed with plain gelatin (find this in the Jello area) worked perfect!  Is the white layer necessary... no, but it does keep the colors more distinct. I wouldn't have re-invented the wheel, but I tweaked the recipe just enough that I wanted to remember what worked well for me.

Yields: 24 9-oz Jello Cups
Make this the day before you need it, especially if it's the first time.

5 - 1/4oz envelopes Knox Gelatine (Comes in boxes of 4, so two boxes)

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

6 flavors Jello, 6 oz size (we used Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Berry Blue, Grape)

24 - 9-oz cups

(PressNSeal or Plastic Wrap to cover the cups is optional)

Some of the ingredients, keep in mind you need two boxes of Knox & 2 cans evaporated milk. Oh, and more than 2 cups, LOL.

1) Make one batch of milk/gelatin for the white layers. (I made two separate batches, one at the beginning and one half way through. Each batch will yield enough to make about three white layers.)
    -Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil over the stove or microwave. In a microwave safe bowl, add water and one can of sweetened condensed milk. Set aside.
   -Bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in 2 1/2 packets of Knox Gelatin.
   -Combine the milk mixture and the gelatin mixture.
   -Let cool

2) Make first colored layer.
    -In a large bowl, add 2 cups boiling water to Jello
    -In a separate bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups cold water with 1/2 cup ice
    -Add icy water to Jello (This is where my recipe deviates a little from Jello instructions, but the very cold water and slightly less water than Jello's recipe will help the layer set faster)
    -Let cool to room temperature, by placing in the refrigerator.
    *TIP - It took about 10 mins for the Jello to cool. You want it still very liquidy and not solidified. Letting the Jello cool is important to keep layers from running together.

3) Start layering
    *TIP - Beforehand I made markings on a test cup so I could see about how much liquid I'd need for each layer then used it as a guide.  I also used this test cup as the first cup I'd pour layers into to make sure the Jello from the previous layer was set enough. There will be enough Jello to have one or two test cups.
    *TIP - Cupcake/muffin tins are the perfect size for holding & transporting the cups.
   -Pour some Jello (or milk/gelatin) into a measuring cup or container with a pouring spout.

   -Pour Jello layer into plastic cup to desired height. Try to keep the spout of the measuring cup as close to the cup as possible to minimize bubbles when pouring.

   -Put cups in the refrigerator for 5 mins. If possible transport to freezer for the next 10 mins. This helps the layers set faster. Or if you are patient, you can leave it in the refrigerator to set. If a small amount of ice crystalizes on the Jello that's ok.

   -After the layer is set, pour a thin layer of the cooled milk/gelatin. If you are doing all six colors, make sure to keep the white layer THIN or you will run out of room in your cup. Having just enough white to cover the colored layer is perfect. I kept my white layers thin, so they usually set in the fridge after about 5-10 mins.

4) NOW REPEAT!

   -Make second batch of milk/gelatin mixture when needed.

  *TIP - THIS IS IMPORTANT- To keep layers from running, make sure the Jello and milk/gelatin are about room temperature before pouring your layer. If it's too warm, it will liquefy the layer below it and cause the color to bleed.
  *TIP - If milk/gelatin solidifies too much, microwave for 10 seconds to liquefy.

  *TIP - To speed up the process, make the next layer of colored Jello right after pouring the previous colored layer into the cups, this will give the next color some time to cool.    

 5) To finish off, since I was transporting these I put them in cupcake tins and cut squares of PressNSeal Wrap to cover the tops of the cups.

Any questions? Leave a comment!

Chicken Bruschetta Salad

Ingredients:
-4 large ripe tomatoes
-About 1/3 cup olive oil
-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
-Salt and pepper
-1 tbs butter
-1/4 cup Parmigian Cheese
-8 fresh basil leaves
-2 heads fresh garlic (or about 16 cloves)
-1 head lettuce
-1 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
-2 chicken breasts

1) Prepare vegetables. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato, scoring just through skin. Peel and finely chop garlic. Finely chop basil. Wash and cut lettuce.

2) To peel tomatoes: While bringing a large pot of water to boil, set aside a large bowl of icy water. Put tomatoes gently in boiling water. Let sit for about one minute. Remove tomatoes and place them in icy water. Peel the skin back, if necessary use a paring knife to aid the peeling.

3) Remove seeds from tomatoes. Here's the messy and fun part. Remove stems from tomatoes, cut in quarters, use your fingers to scoop out the tomato seeds and goo. Set tomatoes aside.

4) Heat olive oil over medium heat. Reserve a small amount of oil for dressing salad.

5) Add garlic to heated oil, cook on med-low (do not fry) until garlic is just softened.

6) Add tomatoes to pan, simmer for 5 mins.

7) Using a potato masher, break up tomatoes. Add chili flakes, salt and pepper. Continue simmering for 20 mins more of med-low to low heat.

8) Meanwhile cook chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, until cooked thoroughly.

9) Remove tomatoes from heat, add butter, parmigian cheese, and basil. Add chicken and toss mixture together. Let cool slightly.

10) In a large bowl, dress lettuce with red wine vinegar and olive oil. 

11) Serve chicken/tomato mixture over lettuce.

Tips-
Want to try this some different ways? This freezes great, so try doubling the recipe and serving later over pasta, over pizza with a little mozzarella, or on fresh bread. As for ingredient variations- We also enjoy this with 1/2 c leeks added with garlic, leeks often come in our produce box this time of year. We've also used green garlic instead of cloves and added kalamata olives. We've dressed salad with balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. So tweak as desired. The key ingredients are the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, parmigian, and basil.