Ginger Curry

I have to give a shout out to my beautiful daughter, Hannah.  This recipe is entirely her creation, and while it doesn't use up a ton of our recent vegetables, I just love it because it is really easy and delicious.  Since she is a college student, this recipe only serves 1-2, but you can up the quantities of everything to serve more people.  Instead of the carrots, you could use sweet potatoes or any of the squashes we have received recently, but they have to be cooked first.  You can also substitute raisins for the dried currants. 

Ginger Curry

1 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp chopped ginger

1/2 cup onion, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric  

dash of cinnamon

2 medium carrots, sliced

1/2 cup coconut milk (do not use light, it's just not the same)

1/2 cup canned chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup dried currants

pepper to taste

cilantro leaves for garnish, optional

cooked rice, noodles, quonia or grain of choice

Heat oil over medium heat in a frying pan.  Saute ginger and onion in oil for 30 seconds to one minute.  Add turmeric, cinnamon and carrots.  Saute an additional 30 seconds.  Add coconut milk, chick peas, currants, and pepper.  Cook 5-6 minutes and serve over grain of choice.  Garnish with cilantro leaves if desired.  Serves 1-2.  

Cabbage and Edamame-Sesame Salad

One thing is certain - if you subscribe to a CSA group in Western Pennsylvania you WILL eat lots of cabbage!  Honestly, cabbage is not my favorite vegetable.  What does one do with cabbage anyway?  Cole Slaw?  Too watery.  Cabbage Soup?  No flavor.  A Stir-Fry?  Yes, but done too many times.  So I usually use it up by throwing hunks of it into my juices and smoothies.  But the red cabbage we recently received from Clarion River Organics is so pretty and so...well, BIG, that I decided to get creative and come up with a salad I liked.  As a bonus this salad also uses the carrots and sweet wax peppers from the week #23 Clarion River delivery.

In this salad, I chopped the cabbage instead of shredding it which is the way you usually find it in slaws.  I'm not sure why it is always shredded unless it's because cabbage is very fibrous and can be a little, what shall I say...time-consuming to chew.  But when it gets shredded it just turns to mush so I like to chop it into nice chunks that are still small enough to be palatable.  This salad gets its flavor boost from the sesame seeds and sesame oil so don't leave them out.  They are the essential secret ingredients!

Cabbage and Edamame-Sesame Salad

4 cups chopped Clarion River Organics red cabbage

1-2 Clarion River Organics sweet wax peppers, seeded and chopped

2 Clarion River Organics carrots, shredded

1-2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (use 2 Tbs for more sesame flavor)*

1/2 package frozen shelled edamame

1/2 cup frozen corn

Salt to taste

Dressing:

3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

2Tbsp rice wine vinegar (regular vinegar works too)

3 tsp tamari or soy sauce

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile, place cabbage, peppers, carrots, and sesame seeds in a large bowl and toss to combine. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl.  

Add the edamame to the pot of boiling water.  Return to a boil and cook the edamame for 4 minutes.  Add the corn to the pot and continue to boil 2 more minutes.  Drain into a colander and run under cold water until cool enough to touch.  Add edamame and corn to the salad.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.  This is even better after it has been allowed to "marinate" for half an hour.  Serves 6.

*To toast the sesame seeds, spread seeds out on a cookie sheet and place in a 400 degree oven for 2 minutes.  Watch carefully!  They burn easily!

Tomatoes, Banana Peppers, Black Beans

Mile-high Rice and Beans

I still had those two beautiful Clarion tomatoes resting on the sill of my sunny kitchen window this week.  I loved looking at them because they remind me of summer and growth and new crops coming.  Now fall is here, the sun is waning, the nights are much cooler and there are no new crops on the horizon.  I was almost reluctant to use them because that would signify the end of the growing season.  But earlier this week I had a craving for one of our household mainstays as plant-based eaters - rice and beans.  We call ours "mile-high" because we pile on so many veggies!  We use all sorts of combinations of vegetables so use the recipe below (which is adapted from the Engine 2 Diet book) as a rough guide and create your own version with whatever vegetables you like. The sensory experience of the warm rice and beans with the cold vegetables is a metaphor for this transition from late summer to early fall.  Enjoy!  

Mile-high Rice and Beans 
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or cook up your CRO dry black beans if you still have them!)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tsp chili powder
2-3 Clarion River Organics Tomatoes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup corn, frozen or canned
2 carrots, grated
2 Clarion River Organics banana peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, course stems removed and chopped
2 avocados, peeled and cubed
3 cups cooked brown rice (you can cook the rice while preparing the vegetables) 

Heat the beans with vegetable broth, Bragg's and chili powder.  To serve place several spoonfuls of rice onto large plates and ladle beans on top.  Pile generous amounts of the chopped vegetables, cilantro, and avocado on top of the beans.  Serves 3 to 4.  

Kale! Kale! Kale!

As promised, I have a trio of kale ideas for you.  Remember the thoughts of some from the CRO survey about kale?  It was their least enjoyed item.  So for those of you who fall into that category, I promised that the next time we received a batch I'd try to change your mind.  And now that batch is here!  Go for it!

Green Jade Soup

Idea #1:  Green Jade Soup 

This is an old Moosewood recipe and is a very simple, quick and low calorie way to get both greens and protein.  It will use up about 1/3 bunch of your kale.  Use your CRO carrots if you still have them!

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions or leeks
2 Clarion River Organics carrots, sliced
1/3 bunch Clarion River Organics kale, coarse stems and rib removed, and chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 pkg (14-16 oz) extra fim tofu, cubed
several drops dark sesame oil, if desired

Place the shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, and set aside for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat the broth in a large soup pot.  When it comes to a boil add ginger, onions, carrots, and kale.  Lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Drain the shiitake liquid into the soup pot.  Slice the shiitakes and stir them into the soup along with the spinach and tofu.  Cook for 5 more minutes.  Serve garnished with sesame oil if desired.  Serves 8.  

Spicy Black Bean and Kale Saute

Idea #2: Spicy Black Bean and Kale Saute 

I love the combination of the soft beans, the slightly crunchy kale, the heat of the red chili peppers and the saltiness of the olives.  A winning combination! If you are kale averse you won't even know you are eating it!  Use your CRO elephant garlic if you still have some!

1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 bunch Clarion River Organics Kale, coarse stems and rib removed, and chopped (about 4 cups chopped)
1/4 tsp dried crushed red chili pepper flakes
2 tsp rice vinegar

Heat vegetable broth over medium heat in a large fry pan.  Add garlic and onion and cook 5 minutes.  If pan becomes dry, add a little more vegetable broth or water.  Add black beans and olives and cook 2 more minutes.  Add kale, stir to combine ingredients, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook until kale is tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in crushed red pepper and and the vinegar, heat one more minute.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4 as a side dish or 1 as an entree.

Idea #3: Breakfast Juice

Breakfast Juice

I nice way to use a generous handful or two of chopped raw kale is to throw it into a juice or smoothie.  You won't even know it's there.  I know you get tired of hearing about my Vitamix blender, but it is seriously the best kitchen appliance I've ever owned!  I literally use it everyday.  You can make a smoothie or juice with a regular blender, but if you want it fast and smooth, use a Vitamix (or Blendtec).  What I list below is the fruit I had on hand.  You can use any fruit you like in this.  Pour this juice into a to-go cup and drink it on your way to work.  There.  Now you have had your 5-7 servings of fruits or vegetables for the day.  You're welcome.  

2 small oranges, peeled
1/2 Clarion River Organics apple, cut into chunks 
1/4 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
a handful of Clarion River Organics huckleberries, stems removed and rinsed
a handful of Clarion River Organics ground cherries, husks removed and rinsed.
1/2 cup chopped Clarion River Organics kale
1/2 cup cold water

Add all ingredients into the blender*.  Blend on high for 2 minutes (longer, much longer, in a regular blender, sorry).  Serves 1 as a breakfast or 2 as a beverage with other breakfast foods.

*if you must have your 
juice a bit sweeter, try adding
a tablespoon of maple 
syrup or agave nectar to
this.  

Calling All Kale Haters!

Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado and Ginger-Almond Dressing

This is directed at those of you out there who feel as some CRO survey respondents did that kale is a "least enjoyed" CSA item and you have "changed your mind for the worse" about kale.    I would love to change your mind for the better.

I must admit that when I first started to receive kale as a member of another CSA years ago, I was not a fan.  In fact, and I hate to admit this, I can recall throwing out entire bunches of kale.  If this is you, then read on.

Kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables out there.  It scores a perfect 1000 on the ANDI scale (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index).  It is an excellent source of vitamin K (a somewhat elusive vitamin).  The recommended intake of vitamin K is about 100 mcg a day.  A half cup of kale has more than 500 mcg!  And my recipe below has far more than a half cup of kale.  Kale boosts the immune system.  It is also a good source of beta-carotene and other carotenoids, vitamins A and C, lutein, and calcium.  It is part of the cabbage family and as such is a cruciferous vegetable which means it has cancer-fighting properties.  

Sadly, the average American consumes only 1 cup of kale a year!  They must feel like some of the CRO subscribers, that kale is well...yucky!  Now I know some of you cannot conceive of eating a salad of the size I have photographed and provided a recipe for here, but trust me, if you are serious about eating for health, and you make this your entree, you can eat it!

Recently, I had a wonderful kale salad at Blossom Cafe in New York City.  I have created my own version of that salad here.  The thick creamy dressing coats and softens the leaves and adds a real boost of flavor to what I guess some of you consider to be a boring or bland green!  If we get another round of kale in our shares I will give you a soup recipe that may also change your mind about kale.  Stay tuned Kale Haters!

Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado and Ginger-Almond Dressing

For the salad:
1/2 bunch Clarion River Organics kale, tough stem and rib removed, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 Clarion River Organics tomato, sliced and julienned
1/2 Clarion River Organics green pepper, diced
1 Clarion River Organics carrot, julienned or shredded
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

For the dressing:
1/2 cup raw almonds
2 ripe avocados, skin and pit removed
juice of a lemon or lime
1/4 cup tahini
1 medium garlic clove, smashed or roughly chopped
1 1/2 piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 to 1 cup water*

First make the dressing: Place almonds in a blender or food processor and blend until almonds resemble a fine powder.  Add all other dressing ingredients except water and process until creamy.  With motor of food processor or blender running add only as much water as necessary for dressing to have the consistency of mayonnaise.  

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Add 3/4 cup of the dressing and toss to combine thoroughly coating every piece of kale.  Allow salad to sit for at least 30 minutes.  The longer it sits the more tender the kale becomes.  Serves 2 as an entree.

*For a more tangy dressing use half rice vinegar and half water.

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 6 Recipes - Meatless Monday Lo Mein (Cabbage, Fennel Bulb)

Is the cabbage from the week 6 delivery still in your refrigerator?  If you find you are having trouble using it all, then here is an option - Meatless Monday Lo mein.  Lo mein is offered on the menu of many Asian restaurants, but is probably more American than Chinese.  Typically it is a combination of vegetables and meat in sauce mixed with cooked noodles.  In this version, tofu is substituted for the meat and may even fool some into thinking the dish contains chicken (well, not really, but at least it gives the appearance of chicken!). 

This dish is very simple to make once you have all the vegetables washed and chopped because everything is stir fried at once.  You can actually use any vegetables you have on hand, but the fennel gives this dish a unique flavor and the cabbage stays nice and crunchy for a beautiful texture.  You can really use as much fennel as you like, so if you still have the entire bulb, just use it all.

Because I like my family to eat some greens every day, I  serve this dish with a side salad of Clarion River Organics lettuce and cucumbers.


Meatless Monday Lo Mein Noodles

1 lb noodles of choice (I used brown rice spaghetti style pasta)
2-3 cups chopped Clarion River Organics green cabbage
1/2 Clarion River Organics Fennel bulb including parts of green stalks, sliced thin
2 medium carrots, grated
1 or 2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 cup onion, sliced or chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
5-6 shitaake mushrooms, optional
1 lb extra firm tofu, cubed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
2 tsp sesame oil
cilantro for garnish, optional

The veggies you will need - about a 3-inch
wedge of cabbage should do it!

All veggies can go into the pan at once so
just pile them up on a plate as you prepare each.

Cook noodles according to package directions.  When noodles are done, drain and return to pot.  Cover to keep warm while vegetables cook.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with the olive oil.  When hot add all vegetables (cabbage through mushrooms) at once and stir fry two minutes.  Add tofu and continue to stir fry 2-3 minutes.  Add the soy sauce, cover pan tightly, turn heat down slightly and cook 5 minutes.  Add veggie/soy sauce mixture and sesame oil to the warm noodles.  Toss to combine and serve at once garnished with cilantro (if desired).  Serves 4-5.