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.