Green Bean, Tomato and Olive Salad

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook has been around since 1896, originally published under the name The Boston Cooking School Cook Book.  It has had more than a dozen printings, but my copy is from 1979.  It was the first cookbook I owned, purchased for me by my mother one Christmas.  So when talking to her yesterday about this great big bag of green beans I received this week from CRO, she suggested that I go to the tried and true Fannie Farmer for ideas.  I did and do you know this is one of the best green bean salads I think I've eaten. With just a few changes, most of this recipe came from my 1979 edition originally titled "Raw Green Beans, Tomatoes, Olives, Scallions, and Celery Salad".  I changed it only to reflect what I had on hand and what we like.  Sometimes the old cookbooks have simple things that are timelessly tasty!  This is one of them. 

Green Bean, Tomato and Olive Salad

1 bag CRO green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup CRO grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup Greek olives
1/2 cup CRO red onion, chopped (about 2 slices)
1 red or green pepper sliced very thin (like matchsticks)
2 Tbs chopped parsley
2 Tbs chopped cilantro

Dressing:
1/4 cup grape seed or olive oil
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Fill a large bowl with ice water.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the beans 2 minutes.  Immediately drain and rinse the beans in cold water and transfer to the ice water for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare your other ingredients.  Drain the beans, pat dry and transfer to a large bowl.  Add tomatoes, olives, onion, peppers, parsley, and cilantro.  Toss to combine.  Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until emulsified.  Pour over the salad and toss again to combine.  Serves 4-6 generously.  

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.

Dahl of the Day

Indian Dahl

Eating a plant-based diet can present problems when going out for dinner.  Scan any restaurant menu and you will likely find that every entree will either contain meat, poultry, seafood or cheese. That is with one exception – the ethnic restaurant.  Asian, Indian, Caribbean, Mediterranean and just about any other ethnic type of establishment you can think of will have vegan options aplenty.  One of our favorite such places is The Mintt, an Indian restaurant on Banksville Road in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.  The herbs and spices in this type of cuisine are strong, but we have grown to really like them.  One of our favorite dishes there is called simply  "Dahl of the Day".  Dahl (also spelled Dal) is a dried pulse, or legume as we would refer to it, that has been split.  Pulses are high in protein as well as B vitamins.  The word "Dahl" is also used to refer to a thick stew or soup made with pulses.  The "Dahl of the Day" at The Mintt is an Indian soup made with red lentils and simmered with greens, tomatoes, and a variety of spices. Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, "[a]rchaeologists have discovered traces of pulse production around Ravi River (Punjab), the seat of the Indus Valley civilization, dating circa 3300 BC."  India is the largest producer of pulses.  So here is my take on The Mintt's dish using this ancient legume and swiss chard from Clarion River Organics.

Dahl of the Day

1 1/2 cups split red lentils, rinsed
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water (or a combination)
1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tbs curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (see Note)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less or leave out if you don't like spicy heat)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained (see Note)
1 bunch Clarion River Organics swiss chard, center rib removed and leaves chopped (see Note)
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the lentils in a colander or fine sieve.  Transfer the lentils to a medium-sized bowl of water to soak for 20 minutes.  Drain the soaked lentils and add to a soup pot with the broth or water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat so that the lentils are just simmering.  While the lentils cook, heat the oil in a fry pan over medium heat.  Add the onion to the fry pan and sauté until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add curry powder, garam masala, ginger, and cayenne (if using) and cook 1 minute.  Add tomatoes to the onion/spice mixture and continue cooking about 5 more minutes.  Add the onion/tomato/spice mixture and the swiss chard to the lentils in the soup pot and continue to simmer until lentils are soft - about 15 more minutes.  Serve over brown basmati rice.  Serves 6 as a first course or 4 as an entree.  

Notes:
• Garam masala is a spice blend used in Indian cooking.  If you can't find it, use cumin and/or coriander.
• With just a bit of extra work you can use fresh Clarion River Organics tomatoes.  Use 2 fresh tomatoes that have had the skins and seeds removed.  See procedure to do that here: Tomato Time.  Chop the tomatoes after removing the skins and seeds.
• Instead of swiss chard, you can also use spinach, kale, or any other green you like.
• To complete the Indian theme, serve with naan bread available in the frozen foods of many grocery stores and at Indian grocers.  

Tomato Time!

Tomato Salad

The other night we went to the monthly vegetarian dinner at Kaya in the Strip District.  They offer a prix fixe four course vegetarian/vegan menu on the third Wednesday of each month.  From the dishes they served this month, it is clear that this is corn and tomato season!

Penne with Tomato Vodka Sauce

So no surprise this week when I received 7 or 8 nice, plump roma tomatoes in the
CRO delivery along with a bright box of grape tomatoes.  I don't love overripe tomatoes so I try to use these sooner rather than later.  I have a very quick and easy tomato vodka sauce for penne that I love.  You can make this recipe with a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes in winter, but in summer, when the tomatoes are freshly picked, I like to go the extra mile and prepare the tomatoes for sauce. This means removing the skins and seeds.  The procedure is in the recipe below.  While it might seem like a little bit of trouble, the results are worth it.

Remove stems, skin, and seeds from the tomatoes by blanching.

Penne with Tomato Vodka Sauce

1 lb penne pasta
6-8 ripe CRO roma tomatoes (use all you received plus any left from last week)
1 small onion, diced (or use some of the CRO candy onion - a few slices should do it)
1/4 cup vodka
1 Tbs chopped fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)

Roughly chop the tomatoes before adding them to the pot.

1/2 cup white beans (any white bean), cooked or canned and drained/rinsed

Removing the tomato skins and seeds


Here's a trick you may not know: put the tomatoes in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute then remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water (the fancy name for this is blanching).  When they have cooled, remove the stem with the tip of a knife.  Now you can just peel off the skins with your fingers.  The skins should practically slide off the tomatoes.  Then cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze or scrape out the seeds.  You don't need to be militant about this - just get most of the seeds.  Finally, chop the tomatoes roughly.

Preparing the Sauce
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, cover, and sauté 5-7 minutes until the onions are translucent.  Add the vodka to the pot and let cook 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.  Add the tomatoes and marjoram and simmer about 10-15 minutes.  Use the back of a spoon to crush the tomatoes as they cook.  

While the tomatoes are cooking, place the non-dairy milk and white beans in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  When the tomatoes have sort of fallen apart and are cooked, add 1 cup of the sauce to the blender and process again until smooth.  Add the puree back to the pot with the sauce.  Add the cooked pasta and stir.  Serve immediately
Serves 4.


I served the pasta with a side of this simple tomato salad.  You can make this while the sauce is cooking.

Tomato Salad

1/2 box CRO multi-colored grape tomatoes, quartered

2 slices CRO Candy Onion, chopped

1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn or snipped into small pieces

1 tsp olive oil

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Combine tomatoes, onion, and basil in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with olive oil and toss.  Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and toss again.  Serve immediately or refrigerate to marinate which really brings out the flavors.

Serves 3-4.

Doesn't get easier...Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta

If you still have the saladette tomatoes, here is a very quick, easy pasta dish to try.  The only other ingredients are pasta, basil and olive oil.  This also works well with any other tomatoes you have, just cut them up into smaller pieces if they are large.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Pasta

1 pint saladette tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 Tbs olive oil, plus a little extra to sprinkle on tomatoes
6-8 ounces pasta of choice
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
salt, peper

Place tomatoes (cut side up) on a baking

sheet lined with parchment paper.  Drizzle with a little olive oil (or spray with olive oil).  Sprinkle on salt and pepper, if desired.  Roast in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until tomatoes begin to brown and shrivel slightly.  While tomatoes roast, heat water and cook 1/2 package pasta of choice according to package directions.  When tomatoes and pasta are done, drain pasta and toss with tomatoes, basil and 1 tbs olive oil.  Serves 2.

Kale and Tomato Pizza with Basil "Ricotta Cheese"

This pizza is a little bit of work, but when you taste it you will say it was worth it.  If you have a lot of basil to use up (more than what we received from CRO this past week) then this is the pizza for you.  It is topped with both basil pesto and basil "ricotta cheese".  Add some of the kale and tomatoes you received and you have one great pizza!  I make my own pizza dough from scratch,  but it is easier to just buy pre-made crust or dough that you can roll out.  




Kale and Tomato Pizza with Basil "Ricotta cheese" 
(adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance "Isa Pizza")

12 to 14 inch pizza crust
1/2 cup jarred pizza sauce
2 large CRO kale leaves, center rib removed and chopped
1 CRO heirloom tomato, sliced into rounds and then the slices cut into quarters

For Basil Pesto:
3 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

For Basil "Ricotta Cheese"
1 block tofu (14 oz)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
10 basil leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 nutritional yeast

Prepare Pesto:  Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until it has a grainy consistency.  Set aside

Prepare Basil "Ricotta Cheese":  Place tofu in the bowl of an electric mixer and break apart with a fork.  Now turn on your mixer and blend until crumbly. (I use an electric mixer.  If you don't have one, just mix by hand, but it will take longer to get the right consistency).  Add lemon juice, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.  Blend until the consistency of cottage cheese.  Add the olive oil and mix again until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese.  Add the nutritional yeast and blend until just combined.  Set aside.

To assemble pizza:  Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spread pizza sauce over crust leaving a rim around the edge.  Place dollops, about 2 tablespoons each, of pesto all around the crust.  Repeat this with the "ricotta".  Top with slices of tomato and the kale.  Bake for 8-12 minutes.  It is done when crust edges are light brown. 

Cabbage and Kale - Three Ideas

This is where the rubber meets the road.  Right about now you are finding out that a full share CSA is not for the cowardly, particularly if you have been traveling lately, as I have. Veggies are piling up.  There is no more room in the vegetable drawer.  You've even filled up the fruit drawer and still veggies are stacking upon veggies.  It's time for some serious work.

A good place to start is with the cabbage (hard to use up) and the greens (they wilt fast). So here are a few ideas for you to try. 

While visiting my dancing daughter in Atlanta I stayed at the Marriott in Dunwoody and tried their baked kale appetizer.  I am pretty sure all they did was cut up kale, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until crisp (but not burnt!).  They key to not burning the kale is to bake at a lower temperature than you would think.  I baked mine at 275 for 12 minutes and it came out great!

Baked Kale

Baked Kale

3-4 kale leaves, center rib removed and torn into 2 inch pieces
olive oil cooking spray (or 1/2 tbs olive oil)
salt, pepper to taste

Spray cut up kale leaves with olive oil to coat (or toss with the olive oil).  Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 275.  Serves 2 as a snack/appetizer.

Also while in Atlanta we had lunch at a raw vegan place - Tassili's Raw Reality in the West End. All I can say is that if you ever get to Atlanta, this place is well worth a visit.  It is a very simple, casual establishment in an old house.  From the posters on the wall displaying the "ankh" symbol to the elaborate scarab, cartouche, and heavy necklace jewelry that was for sale on the porch, we could see that this place was owned and frequented by a group of people that are into some type of polytheistic religion that strongly looked like the religion of Ancient Egypt (Tasilli calls herself Tasilli Maat) and that this somehow ties into the raw vegan diet.  Nonetheless we liked their food!  They had a terrific kale salad that is making me crave chopped kale heavily coated with dressing.  My wonderful daughter, Hannah,  came up with a fantastic tahini dressing last summer that I love to use on kale. So here is a good option I found to use both the red cabbage and kale.

Kale and Cabbage Salad

Kale and Cabbage Salad

For the salad:
1/4 head of red cabbage, chopped (about 4 cups)
1/2 bunch of kale, center rib removed and chopped
1 heirloom tomato, cut up
1 cup sliced scallions
For the dressing:
1/4 cup tahini
juice of 2 lemons
1 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
2 good pinches cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Place cabbage and kale in a large bowl.  Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad.  Toss all together to coat thoroughly.  Serve and enjoy!  Serves 4.
Note:  Since I am the queen of one dish meals, I served a little side of broiled tofu with this salad.  Just cube the tofu and toss with about 1 tbs each of sesame oil and soy sauce.  Broil on a cookie sheet for 7 minutes.

Finally, if you feel like doing a little more prep, I made this noodle dish to use up some of the cabbage and broccoli.  As I said, I like to make one dish meals, so I added some red kidney beans to bulk it up and add protein.  Tofu would be great in this too.  

Rice Noodles with Cabbage and Broccoli

Rice Noodles with Cabbage and Broccoli
8 ounces rice noodles (such as pad thai noodles), cooked, drained, and kept warm
1 tbs olive oil (or for more "asian" flavor use sesame oil)
3 cups cut up broccoli
2 cups chopped red cabbage
1/2 ounce dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes
1 cup red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup sliced scallions
For the sauce:
1 tbs siracha
3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs mirin (rice wine)
1/4 cup vegetable broth

Heat oil in a large skillet.  Stir fry broccoli about 3 minutes.  Drain shitake mushrooms and add to pan with the cabbage.  Cook about 3 minutes to wilt cabbage but still have it maintain some crispness.  Add the garlic and ginger and toss for a minute.  Add the kidney beans and toss to combine.  Now add all the sauce ingredients and continue to stir fry to coat everything and heat through - about 3 minutes.  Add the noodles and scallions and toss to combine.  Serve at once.  Serves 3-4.

For more Kale ideas try these previous posts: Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado and Ginger-Almond Dressing and Kale! Kale! Kale!.

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.  

Tomatoes!!

Yep!  When you see that many tomatoes in one week, it is definitely spaghetti sauce time!  This recipe will use up your entire batch and will be very easy if you have a Vitamix blender or other high powered machine.  The Vitamix will completely dissolve the tomato skins and seeds.  This is of course for a smooth sauce so if you like yours chunky or you do not have such a blender then you will want to remove the skins of the tomatoes and possibly the seeds before cooking them (the cooking world is divided on this issue of removing skins and seeds, but I would recommend doing so if you are not pureeing.  For instructions and information on why and how see how to peel and seed tomatoes).



Classic Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 cup red wine
1 clove Clarion River Organics elephant garlic, minced
1 bag Clarion River Organics roma tomatoes, chopped (16 tomatoes)
1 12-oz can tomato paste
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp pine nuts, crushed, optional

Saute garlic in red wine over medium heat two minutes.  Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  If sauce becomes to thick, add a little water, 1/2 cup at a time.  Puree sauce in Vitamix or other high powered blender (or if no blender, just leave chunky).  Serve over a plate of hot spaghetti (or pasta of choice) and top with some crushed pine nuts.  Serves 6-8.

Week 14 - Heirloom Tomato, Green Beans, Potatoes, Mustard Greens

Green Bean, Potato, and Mustard Green Curry

Technically this is a week 13/14 recipe since two of the above ingredients were in last week's delivery.  I still had the green beans and potatoes from last week and when I saw the greens this week I decided a curry was in order.

A curry does not actually mean that a dish is made with the Indian spice, curry powder.  It is a generic term that simply refers to a "meat" and vegetable dish in a gravy-like sauce.  Typically, you will find curries in Asian restaurants made with coconut milk and a variety of vegetables with the option of chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu.  Naturally, I made this one with tofu. 

Mustard Greens can be quite hot and spicy and when raw a little goes a long way.  But when you cook them with a little salt and fat, they will become far milder and can be used interchangeably with other greens in recipes such as spinach or collards.  

The quantities of potatoes and beans here are just approximate - use whatever you received in your share.

 Enjoy!


Green Bean, Potato, and Mustard Green Curry

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Clarion River Organics Heirloom tomato
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, smashed* 
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper (this amount will make it medium spicy, so cut back if you don't want your curry too hot)
1/2 cup water
3/4 lb Clarion River Organics potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 package extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 lb Clarion River Organics green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 bunch Clarion River Organics mustard greens, washed, tough stems removed, and chopped

Cut tomato into several chunks and place in a blender or food processor and whirl until tomato is pureed.

Place oil and tomato puree in a medium pot on medium-high heat and cook for 1 minute. Add salt, turmeric, smashed mustard seeds and crushed red pepper, stir and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in water, potatoes, and tofu and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir in the green beans and 1/2 can of the coconut milk. Raise the heat and return to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover and cook an additional 8 minutes, or until potatoes and beans are cooked through.  Stir in remaining coconut milk and increase heat to medium. Bring to a boil again, then stir in mustard greens, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 2 minutes, or until mustard greens are wilted. Serve immediately with a side of brown rice (about 1 cup of cooked rice per person should do it).  Serves 4.

*To smash the mustard seeds, place them between sheets of wax paper and use a meat mallet or other heavy object to pound them to a grainy texture.

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 13 - Spaghetti Squash, Tomatoes, Green Pepper

Warm Squash and Tomato Salad

Whew!  What a week it's been.  Taking our daughter back to college and a family wedding all in six days.  No time to cook!   I am getting a little backed up on produce so I've taken to just eating some of it raw (green pepper strips, tomato slices with a little salt on them, handfuls of blueberries), but I did manage to put together a nice little dish last night that used three of this week's veggies.  I served this as our main course at dinner with a baked potato.  It is a very simple and versatile preparation and will serve four generously.  

Warm Squash and Tomato Salad

1 Clarion River Organics Spaghetti Squash
1 onion, sliced or diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 Clarion River Organics Tomatoes, chopped
1 Clarion River Organics Green Pepper, seeded and diced
Any or all of the following herbs: dried oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme,  red pepper flakes and/or rosemary; fresh parsley, cilantro,
Juice of a lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds (save seeds to roast.  Instructions can be found here:  To Roast Squash Seeds.)  Place squash halves flesh side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife can be inserted into them easily.  

Meanwhile, make your herb mixture.  Combine any or all of the herbs listed to make 5 teaspoons total.  Set aside.  In a large skillet saute onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes in 2 tablespoons water.  Add tomatoes, green pepper, herb mixture, and lemon juice and cook 7-8 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat, and set aside.

When squash is done, remove them from oven and allow to cool until they can be handled without burning yourself!  Using a spoon, scoop out the stringy flesh from each squash half into a large bowl.  Discard the squash skin.  Add tomato mixture to the squash in the bowl and toss all together.  Serves 4 as an entree.

Serving suggestion: Serve over smashed baked potatoes.  
Variation:  Add 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives with the tomatoes.

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.

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 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.