Week 12 - Tomatoes, Orange Peppers, Carrots, Shallot, Jalapeño Pepper

These Clarion River slicing tomatoes may be just about the best I've ever eaten!  They are juicy, sweet and firm.  Because their taste seems to be at its peak I felt like just eating them raw.  But that would make for a boring post so I decided to make a favorite summer sandwich of mine: The "Not Queso"dilla.  The fresh vegetables stay crisp and are just ever so slightly warm in this vegan take on a classic Mexican favorite.  The amounts given are what I would use, but if you like more or less of any ingredient just adjust according to your liking.  If you get a cheese share from CRO you could use that in place of the vegan "cheese".  Serve with a side of fresh fruit and you've got yourself a meal!

"Not Queso"dillas

2 whole wheat, corn or rice flour tortillas
1/2 package Daiya brand pepperjack style shreds (or about 1 cup shredded cheese)
1 Clarion River Organics medium-sized slicing tomato, sliced and then slices cut into quarters
1 Clarion River Organics orange pepper, seeded and diced
1 Clarion River Organics carrot, shredded
1 small Clarion River Organics shallot, diced
1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (from Week 8 if you still have yours)
2 tsp chopped cilantro, optional

Divide the Diaya "cheese" shreds in half and cover 1/2 of each tortilla with it.  Layer all other ingredients on top of the cheese, dividing evenly between the two tortillas.  Fold the uncovered half of the tortilla over the filling and press down.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Fry the sandwiches for about 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned turning carefully so that the filling does not fall out.  Serves 2 as an entree with a side of fruit or small tossed salad.

Week 11 - Tomatoes

One of the easiest things you can do with tomatoes (besides just slicing them on to sandwiches!) is to make bruschetta.  Bruschetta (pronounced bru-sket'-a) is an Italian appetizer where the main ingredient is thick Italian bread that has been brushed with olive oil, grilled or toasted and then rubbed with garlic and salt.  You can then top it with whatever you like, but tomatoes are nearly always part of the mix.

I am not a fan of 100% white bread.  In fact, I almost never eat it simply because all the goodness has been stripped from the wheat and it really is empty calories.  Unfortunately, store bought Italian bread will most likely be of this variety.   For my bruschetta, I made a spelt flat bread dough in my bread machine (recipe given below), but you could use whatever you like - even crackers if you don't want to go to the trouble of grilling/toasting bread or making the flat bread.  However, I do think the olive oil, garlic and salt adds quite a bit of taste to the finished product.

Tomato-Lentil Bruschetta Appetizers

2 Clarion River Organics Tomatoes, diced
1 can lentils, drained and rinsed (or 1 1/2 cup cooked lentils)
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, snipped or chopped
2 cloves garlic, 1 sliced in half, 1 chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
10 slices thick italian bread (or see Spelt Flat Bread recipe below or just use crackers)

Combine the tomatoes, lentils, olives, basil, and the chopped garlic clove in a large bowl.  Brush the olive oil on the slices of bread and toast bread in oven at 400 for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once,  or until lightly browned (or broil for 2 to 4 minutes turning once).  Rub the garlic halves, cut side down, on the bread slices (or on the spelt flat bread squares) and sprinkle with salt to taste.  Cut each bread slice in half.  Chop the garlic clove that you used to rub the bread and add it to the tomato mixture in the bowl.  Top each bread slice (or spelt square) with a generous amount of the bruschetta.  Makes 30 spelt square appetizers or 20 bread appetizers.

Spelt Flat Bread

Add the following to your bread machine in the order listed:

1 cup water
2 Tbsp. olive oil 
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Spelt flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet)
extra olive oil for brushing top

Set bread machine to dough setting.  When dough is ready, roll out on a cookie sheet or pizza stone into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle.  Brush top with 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Bake 10 minutes at 450.  Cool slightly and cut into two inch squares.

Cantaloupe Juice

Did you know that cantaloupe is the most nutrient dense of all fruits?  It is very low in calories, yet contains huge amounts of vitamins A and C and is a good source of potassium and folate as well as many other nutrients*.  That's why many people like to juice it instead of eating it.  To get the maximum benefit, juicing gurus suggest drinking cantaloupe juice straight without mixing in other ingredients.

Juicing in its strictest sense means to extract the liquid juice from the fruit or vegetable and leave all of the fiber behind.  The theory is that the juice contains 90% of a fruit or vegetable's nutrition.  Because you could not eat 10 oranges in one sitting, but you could easily consume the juice of 10 oranges in one sitting (about 2 1/2 cups) you are getting a super dose of nutrients when you extract juice from a large quantity of fruit/vegetables.   In terms of nutrients, it is nearly the equivalent of eating 10 oranges!  Juice extraction can only be done in a "juicer", not in a blender. That is, a machine designed to separate the juice from the pulp.  A blender would liquefy the fruit but you would be left with all the fiber and because fiber quickly fills us up, it would be difficult to consume more than a typical serving of the fruit or vegetable.
  
I was asked recently by Zeb, one of the managers at Clarion River Organics, if people who are into juicing would be interested in frozen cantaloupe in the winter for juicing purposes.  I believe they would be (I would be), but my only reservation was how the juice would come out once the fruit had been frozen.  To find out, I conducted a little experiment.  The answer: surprisingly well!  

This week I juiced about 2 cups of fresh cantaloupe and 2 cups of frozen cantaloupe that I had reserved from our week 10 delivery.  I allowed the frozen cantaloupe to thaw before juicing it.  As you can see from the photo below, the juices looked identical and they tasted identical as well.  So should you find yourself unable to eat all the cantaloupe this week, just cut the fruit from the rind (*see note below), dice into chunks, place in serving size plastic bags (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups per bag) and throw in your freezer.  Now in the fall and winter you can drink some fresh cantaloupe juice and you will think it is summer again!  

Left: Juice extracted from FRESH cantaloupe
Right: Juice extracted from FROZEN cantaloupe
The glasses look identical!

The Juicer I used for this experiment: the Breville 820XL

*For more information on the health benefits of cantaloupes and information on juicing them see this entry from The Juice Nut's website.
*Note: Some say you can juice the rind as well, but since cantaloupe has one of those bumpy skins where bacteria may hide even after washing, I am a bit reluctant to do that.  According to The Juice Nut website, to get the maximum nutritional benefit you should peel off the outermost layer of skin leaving as much of the green as possible, though they say that even this step is not necessary if the fruit is organic.

Week 11 - Acorn Squash, Red Onion, Celery

Maybe it was the cool temperatures this week, but for some reason I have had fall food on my mind a lot lately.  I actually made a batch of lentil soup earlier in the week on one chilly morning.  So when I saw the acorn squash in this week's bag, it brought more thoughts of autumn to me.  Now I know it is a bit early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday of mine because we simply celebrate the many ways God has blessed us, but with the acorn squash, an abundance of sage and thyme in my own garden, and a package of vegan sausage in my fridge, I decided to make an apple sage stuffing to fill the acorn squash.   

When you cut open an acorn squash you will notice that it contains quite a few nice white seeds.  These should not be discarded as they taste great when they are roasted - I think even better than pumpkin seeds.  Also, they are nutritious - just 2 tablespoons have over 4g of protein and a healthy dose of vitamin K, iron and folate.  Below the squash recipe I include a quick method to prepare and roast the seeds.  

The stuffed squash is a little bit of work, but the result is worth it.  A savory, hearty entree for four that needs only a small side salad to complete the meal.  You can make the side salad and prepare the squash seeds while the squash is in the oven.  So I hope you will try this and enjoy a little foretaste of autumn.

Apple Sage Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 package vegan sausage (I used Field Roast brand Smoked Apple Sage)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Clarion River Organics Red Onion, chopped

Most of the ingrediants you will need

6 stalks celery, cut into small dice (if you are lucky enough to still have your CRO celery from week 10 you can use that - mine was sadly gone!)
2 Tbs. fresh chopped sage or 2 tsp dried
2 Tbs. fresh chopped thyme or 2 tsp dried
6 oz. plain bread stuffing cubes (you can make your own by cubing about 6 slices of bread and toasting in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
2 Clarion River Organics Acorn Squash, cut in half with seeds removed
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Roughly chop the vegan sausage.  Lightly brown the vegan sausage in a sprayed skillet (spray skillet with a little olive oil cooking spray) breaking it up with a fork as it browns.  Set aside.

Apple Sage Stuffing

Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a covered pot.  Stir in onion, celery, sage, and thyme.  Cook, covered, for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in stuffing cubes, applesauce, apple, and browned sausage.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the acorn squash halves pushing down on the stuffing to pack it in and mounding it across the top of the squash.  Place the halves in a roasting pan and pour water around (not on) the squash to 1 inch.

Lightly spray a large piece of aluminum foil and place over squashes sprayed side down and crimp around the edges of pan to cover pan tightly.  

Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.  Serves 4 as an entree.

To Roast Squash Seeds:

Using a spoon, scoop seeds from the squash halves into a colander.

Rinse the seeds in the colander under cold water, lifting and sifting the seeds with your hands to help remove all the little squash strings (don't worry if some remain, you just want to remove the majority of them so the seeds will separate).

Place seeds on a plate to dry for a few hours or overnight.

Spread seeds out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt (optional) and bake for 30 minutes at 250.  Place seeds in an airtight container.  

Let's Talk Celery!

Was anyone else pleasantly surprised to receive celery this week?  I mentioned receiving celery from the CSA to a friend who remarked "I never knew celery could be grown around here."  I must admit I thought the same thing. 

Typical California Celery

Clarion River Organics Celery

I'm not sure why, but all I have ever seen in the grocery store is celery from California.  As Katie Schwarz mentioned in the weekly newsletter, that celery tends to be lighter and larger and I might add typically with only a little fringe of leaves at the top.  This celery is darker, thinner with an abundance of dark green leaves.  I do not find it a bit rubbery as Katie mentioned it might be.  Instead, mine is crisp with a milder (less bitter?) yet stronger... well, cerery-ish flavor than the store bought.  The leaves have the same celery flavor, but more bitter, almost hot, and could be successfully used as a garnish.  I have to agree with Zeb's assessment as reported in the newsletter - the best tasting celery I've ever had - so much so that I am reluctant to chop it up in recipes (though I did use one stalk in Summer Bean Salad) and instead we are eating it raw, cut into sticks, as a snack.  Try filling the rib with a little sun butter - delicious!   

Researching celery a bit, I learned that indeed it can be grown in the northeast if the soil (fertile), temperature (cool), and moisture (constant) are right.  The Old Farmer's Almanac website does say it is a bit tricky to grow so I think we should count ourselves fortunate to have received it.  

Celery, also to the surprise of many, packs a nutritional punch.  It is high in antioxidants, particularly phytonutrients, and vitamin K.  In fact, there are at least a dozen antioxidants in celery.  The website, World's Healthiest Foods (WHFoods.com), says of celery's phytonutrients that they "have been shown to decrease risk of oxidative damage to body fats and risk of oxidative damage to blood vessel walls. In addition, these celery extracts have been shown to prevent inflammatory reactions in the digestive tract and blood vessels". The Old Farmer's Almanac website recommends using celery within two weeks, but for maximum nutritional value WHFoods recommends use within one week.

I plan to make vegetable stock so that all those lovely celery leaves will not be wasted.  Here is the recipe I will try: Vegetable Stock from Simply Recipes.  This recipe calls for 2 cups of chopped celery.  I will use all celery leaves instead.  It also uses fennel bulb so if you received one from CRO this week, and still have it, you can use it here.  

Week 10 - Heirloom Tomato, Poblano Pepper, Celery, Red Onion, Kale

Sometimes improvisation works best when cooking.  That is what happened when I came up with this bean salad recipe.  Looking for ways to use up a few things I still had in the pantry and the refrigerator when we were on vacation, I came up with this cool fresh salad.  It uses many of the things we received in our bags this week so it is a good one to share now.  Serve this atop a kale leaf and you've used five of your CRO items.  Yes, you can eat raw kale!  Just do it!

Summer Bean Salad

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or substitute cooked black beans if you still have some from week 2)
2 sprigs mint, leaves only, chopped
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only, chopped 
1/2 Clarion River Organics poblano pepper diced (taste pepper first - make sure it is mild!  Otherwise, use a regular green pepper)  
1 stalk Clarion River Organics celery, diced 
2 scallions, chopped
1 slice Clarion River Organics red onion, diced
1/4 cup shredded carrots, 
1 Clarion River Organics heirloom tomato, diced
1 block Wildwoods brand Teriyaki tofu, cubed (or if you have any leftover teriyaki tofu from the week 10 recipe: Teriyaki Tofu with Mango Salsa)
4 large Clarion River Organics Kale leaves (cut off toughest part of stem at bottom)

For the dressing: 
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice 
1 Tbs olive oil 
1/2 tsp raspberry white balsamic vinegar (or any balsamic vinegar)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dijon mustard 

Combine all salad ingredients except kale in a bowl.  Whisk together all dressing ingredients and pour over salad.  Toss to combine.  Place one kale leaf on each plate and spoon some of the salad onto each leaf.  Serves 4.

Week 10 - Kale, Cantaloupe, Cucumber

Green smoothies are everywhere.  They are becoming as common as a cup of coffee.  Even people who wouldn't dream of eating kale or spinach can be seen drinking a green smoothie.  Of the varied ways you could prepare kale (and I've given a couple on this blog - Kale with Tamari-Sesame Dressing, Colorful Lemony Kale Sandwiches ), perhaps the easiest is to put it into a smoothie.

I purchased a Vitamix blender more than a year ago and truly, it has been the best appliance I've ever placed on my kitchen counter.  I use it nearly every single day because it makes the whole foods plant based lifestyle so much easier.  But as much as I use it to make fruit smoothies, juice, hummus, salsa, soup, and even sorbet, I had yet to make a green smoothie with it.  So with a half a bunch of kale from week 10 still in my vegetable bin, I decided it was time to tackle the green smoothie and the Vitamix made that a cinch.

The thing with smoothies is that anything goes.  You really can't go wrong with whatever you drop into the blender, but in general, I like to include some fruit as a natural sweetener.  Therefore, this was the perfect time to make my green smoothie since we had received cantaloupe along with the kale.  It is not absolutely necessary to freeze the cantaloupe and banana first (which will take a few hours), but it does make the smoothie thicker and colder.  

So why not jump on the "green smoothie bandwagon" if you haven't already and try this low-fat healthy breakfast or snack.  

Kale and Cantaloupe Smoothie

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup Clarion River Organics Cantalope, cubed and frozen 

1 ripe banana peeled and frozen 

2 cups coarsely chopped Clarion River Organics Kale (tough stems removed before chopping) (about 3 large leaves)

1 cup peeled and sliced Clarion River Organics cucumber

Place all ingredients in a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth (about 1 to 2 minutes with a Vitamix).  Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!  Serves 1 generously.

Week 10 - Red Onion, Cucumber, Jalapeño Pepper

So today I made one of the best meals I've made in a long time.  Though it is unlikely we will see mango in our CSA shares, I had to buy some at Whole Foods because it does go quite nicely with some of the items we have received lately - namely cucumber, jalapeño pepper, and red onion.  You will impress your friends with the gourmet taste of this meal! 

The key for this meal of course is the hot summer night, the sound of the crickets on the patio, and the sweet taste of the mango tempered by the red onion and jalapeno.  To make this meal complete just bake some sweet potatoes and voila!  You have yourself a meal better than any restaurant!

Teriyaki Tofu with Mango Salsa 

Top to bottom: cilantro, cucumber, mango, lime, red onion, jalapeño

For the Tofu:

2 lb extra firm tofu
1/4 cup + 1 tsp. soy sauce
1-2 Tbs. minced ginger
2 Tbs. dry sherry
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. salt

For the Mango Salsa:

1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peeled and diced cucumber
1 Tbs. finely chopped jalapeno pepper (about a 1 inch piece, seeds removed)
1 Tbs. lime juice
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Slice tofu into 12 equal pieces and place in a 9x11 inch baking dish.  Combine all remaining ingredients - soy sauce through salt.  Pour this marinade over the tofu pieces and marinate at least 30 minutes, turning once during this time.  

While the tofu marinates, prepare the mango salsa:  combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeño, red onion, lime juice and cilantro and mix well.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400.  When tofu has marinated bake in oven for 25 minutes turning once during cooking time and spooning marinade over slices.  Place three slices of tofu on each of four plates and top each with 1/2 cup mango salsa.  Serve at once.  Serves 4.

Week 9 - Swiss Chard, Armenian Cucumber, Tomatoes, Green Pepper, Basil

Not sure you want to tackle the Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Pizza of my other week 9 post?  Then here is a very simple, very quick salad you can make that tastes refreshingly great and uses five of this week's items.   I actually had used up ALL of my CRO swiss chard on the Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Pizza  so I had to grab a red swiss chard leaf and a red kale leaf from my own little front porch garden which is why the salad "greens" in the photo look a little "red".  You can add 1/2 cup of black beans per person (or any cooked beans for that matter) to make this a one-dish meal.


Garden Fresh Chopped Salad

 2 Clarion River Organics Swiss Chard leaves, stripped from their stems and chopped
1-2 Clarion River Organics Basil leaves, snipped
1 Clarion River Organics Tomato, chopped
4 slices Clarion River Organics Green Pepper, chopped 
4-inch piece Clarion River Organics Armenian Cucumber, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 tbs balsamic vinegar (raspberry balsamic is very nice in this!)
1/2 tsp grape seed oil
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crumbled

Place all veggies in a bowl.  Add the balsamic vinegar, grape seed oil, mustard and thyme and toss well.  This will serve one person generously.  Just increase all the quantities accordingly for more people.

Week 9 - Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, Green Pepper, Tomato, Basil

Okay.  I'll admit it.  Only a whole foods plant based eater (i.e. vegan) would look at cauliflower, swiss chard, and tomatoes and say "PIZZA"!!  But that's exactly what happened this week when I looked through my green bag.  The "cheese" on this pizza is played by roasted cauliflower hummus and the other ingredients are the toppings.  Roasting the cauliflower will give the hummus a more "cheesy" flavor and a "ricotta" look.  To make this simpler and save a little time, I use store-bought tortillas as the crust, but really anything you want to use as crust will work just as well.  If you have the time, make your own.  A cornmeal crust is excellent.  Anything goes with this pizza as far as toppings, but greens and tomatoes are two of my favorites.  Enjoy this updated, healthy take on the traditional pie! 

Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Pizza 

1 head Clarion River Organics Cauliflower, cut into florets with stems included

1 bunch Clarion River Organics Swiss Chard, stems removed and leaves chopped (save stems for another use or discard)

2 Clarion River Organics Tomatoes, sliced and the slices cut into quarters

The Clarion River Organics Ingredients

1 Clarion River Organics Green Pepper, diced

2 Scallions, sliced

1/4 - 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, sliced

6-8 Clarion River Organics Basil leaves, snipped or chopped

Cooking spray

1/2 tbsp Tahini

1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

Juice of half a Lemon

1 Garlic Clove

2 1/2 tbsp water

2 10-inch Tortillas or 4 6-inch Tortillas

Make the cauliflower hummus: Place the cauliflower on a cookie sheet, spray with cooking spray, and roast at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.  Place roasted cauliflower in a blender or food processor with the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and water.  Blend/process until smooth.

Roasted Cauliflower Hummus

The Prepped Toppings

While the cauliflower is roasting, prepare the other vegetables and set aside.  

When the cauliflower is done, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.  Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes until light brown and beginning to crisp.  Remove from oven.  

Spread the hummus on each tortilla and top with the vegetables: tomato slices first, followed by chard, green pepper, scallions, and olives.  Bake pizzas for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven to plates and sprinkle the snipped basil on top of each pizza.  Serve immediately.  Serves 2-4.