Minestrone in Summer? Not exactly...

I saw a recipe in the paper recently for a "Minestrone Pasta Salad".  Basically, it used many of the same ingredients you would use to make minestrone soup and put them together in a pasta salad.  I made a few modifications to use what I have and make it vegetarian (if you want to make it non-veg, just sub salami for the tofu).  The CRO beans, tomatoes, and red onion all get used in this salad and it feeds a crowd.  Interestingly, purple beans turn green when cooked!

On another note, if you are feeling overwhelmed by the tomatoes received this week, check out my post from around this same time last summer for a traditional spaghetti sauce that is very easy to make.

Minestrone Pasta Salad

8 oz small pasta of choice (I used orecchiette)
1/2 cup diced CRO red onion
4 ounces CRO purple beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, diced
1 CRO heirloom tomato, diced
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped out, and diced (I do not peel my cucumber)
3/4 cup canned chick peas, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup canned great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 7-oz package flavored tofu, diced (I used Trader Joe's Teriyaki Tofu)
3 TBS chopped fresh basil

For the dressing:
5 TBS olive oil plus a little extra for cooking onions
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon-style mustard
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed (or use 1 TBS fresh, chopped)
1/8 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Remove pasta with a slotted spoon to a colander to drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

Return the pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium heat and spray with olive oil (or drizzle a little olive oil into the pan).  Cook onion for 2 minutes and set aside.  

Prepare a medium sized bowl of water and ice.  When the pot of water is boiling, add the bean pieces to the water and cook 3 minutes.  Add the carrots to the water and cook 3 minutes.  Immediately drain the beans and carrots in a colander and then transfer them to the ice water bath.  After 10 minutes, drain the beans and carrots and place on paper towels to dry. 

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl until emulsified.  Add all other ingredients and stir to incorporate.  Makes 8-12 servings depending if you are using as a main dish or a side.

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 6 Recipes - Kolhrabi, Fennel, Green Cabbage, Garlic Scapes, Mesclun, Cucumber

Now that I have finished with my Sunday School class, I will have a bit more time to blog about my CRO cooking.  I hope to post at least twice each week about how I used things.

By now you may be feeling veggie overload.  How will you ever use it all?  Well, I have a meal planned for you that uses six - count them six - of your items received this week, including kohlrabi and fennel. 

The kohlrabi may be a bit of a mystery to many.  It is considered to be a part of the cabbage family, but really is used more like a potato.   The leaves and their stalks should be removed, the stalks discarded and the leaves saved for another use (cook with other greens or chop raw into salads).  The kohlrabi bulb should always be peeled and peeled again as the outer layers are tough and fibrous and do not soften in liquid or cooking.  Once peeled, you can cook and mash kohlrabi as you would a potato with non-dairy milk and butter, slice it into wedges to make "french fries" or just cut it into chunks and add to any dish.

The fennel bulb tastes strongly of anise particularly when it is raw.  It can be used this way in salads, but I prefer the milder taste of cooked fennel and typically slice mine into a stir fry.  The fronds (wispy green tops) can be chopped as you would any herb and used to flavor your dishes.  However, because there is an abundant amount on each bulb, I will dry mine and place in jars for use in the winter (more on that in a future post).

This entree is a wonderful take on a French dish called "cassoulet".  Cassoulet traditionally would consist of sausage and white beans, but in this healthy version we use all beans instead of sausage for the protein and add several flavorful herbs and vegetables.  The red wine is a key ingredient to flavor this stew so do not attempt to leave it out.  In a word, this dish is SAVORY!  So here is how we eat 'comme le Francais' Clarion River Organics Style!

Bean Cassoulet

2 large shallots, chopped

1 3/4 cup vegetable broth

After removing the leaves, the kohlrabi looks like an alien!

1 bulb Clarion River Organics Kolhrabi, leaves and stems removed, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp dried thyme, crushed between your fingers

1 tsp dried sage, crushed between your fingers

1 tsp fresh fennel fronds, chopped

1 cup dry red wine

1 carrot, sliced

1/2 Clarion River Organics Fennel bulb, sliced thin

3 Clarion River Organics garlic scapes, chopped

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 can aduki beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chopped Clarion River Organics green cabbage (about 1/3 of your cabbage)

1 cup bread crumbs

black pepper

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth.  Add shallots to pot and turn heat down to medium low.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  

The peeled kohlrabi looking much like an apple

Stir in the kohlrabi and continue to cook, covered, about 5 minutes.  Add the salt and continue cooking covered about 10 more minutes.  

Stir in the herbs, wine, carrot, fennel, and garlic scopes   Cover and cook for about 15 minutes over low heat.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, the beans, and the cabbage (it will look like too much cabbage, but it cooks down).  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook about 30-40 minutes until kohlrabi is crisp-tender.  Taste to see if more salt is needed and grind in a generous amount of black pepper.  

Ladle the stew into individual bowls and top with a generous helping of bread crumbs.  Serves 4-5.

Slice the fennel lengthwise into thin sticks

All of the chopped veggies ready for the soup pot

All the vegetables and herbs cooking in the savory sauce

Finish this dish with a generous helping of bread crumbs

And a simple side salad...

The depth of the flavors in this stew call for a simple side salad of Clarion River Organics mesclun and cucumbers (and a few grape tomatoes if you have them) drizzled with a lemon-dijon vinegrette (juice of one lemon whisked together with 1 tsp dijon mustard and 1 tsp olive oil).  Have you noticed how tender and mild the mesclun from CRO is?  Delicious!

Bon Appetit!