This week's share-cabbage and chicken

This week's share includes potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, salad/asian turnips, daikon radish, arugula, tokyo bekana asian green, cabbage and broccoli (from lancaster farm fresh coop), green beans, peppers, and sunkchokes. This week is also the last opportunity to purchase fresh chicken. Chickens will be available starting this afternoon (Tuesday, October 12th through Thursday, October 14th). I will be posting more recipes using chicken and the other share vegetables over the next couple of the days. In the meantime Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbook Fame (and friend of Nikki) recently posted this Green Bean Slaw Recipe that is just perfect for this week's share:

Green Bean Slaw Recipe
I used a moscato from Trani, Italy here, but feel free to experiment with other sweet white wines. The one I used was about 14% alcohol - just the right amount of boozy for a salad like this. As far as advanced prep goes - you can make the dressing a day or two ahead of time if you like. And you can slice the green beans, and make the croutons a day ahead of time as well. I used a wood-fired oven spelt walnut bread for the croutons here, but use whatever good bread you have on hand.

2 small handfuls (about 1/2 cup) golden raisins
1 cup / 240 ml Moscato / sweet white wine
Dressing:
yolk of one hard-boiled egg
3 tablespoons creme fraiche or heavy cream
1/3 cup / 80ml extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
-------------------------
1/2 a small cabbage, cored and shredded very finely
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 big handfuls green beans or haricot verts, very thinly sliced and cooked in a pot of boiling salted water for 20 seconds, drained (well) immediately, and cooled under cold running water.
A big handful of arugula, roughly chopped
2 handfuls (about 3/4 cup) toasted walnut halves
2 handfuls of torn rustic bread, pan-toasted until golden in a big splash of olive oil
A bit of shaved pecorino cheese

Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with the wine. Let soak overnight, or for at least a few hours.

To make the dressing, mash the yolk of the egg in a small bowl. Gradually mash and stir in the creme fraiche. Very slowly add the olive oil beating constantly. It should be smooth and glossy. Whisk in the vinegar and lastly the salt. Taste and adjust if needed.

When you're close to being ready to serve the salad, toss the cabbage and the vinegar together in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
Just before serving, drain the raisins and add to the cabbage. Add the green beans, arugula, and most of the walnuts. Toss a few times. Add about 2/3 of the dressing and toss gently, but well. Taste and add more dressing if you like. Add most of the croutons and most of the pecorino cheese, before tossing again. Serve topped with the remaining walnuts and pecorino.
Serves 6-8

Notes From Nikki-some great ideas for all those greens

I thought I would start off this week's "Notes From Nikki" (which she actually sent to me last week) with a photo of Nikki (middle), her youngest daughter (Nikki has four beautiful children), and her foodie friend Heidi Swanson author of Super Natural Cooking (the picture is from Heidi's blog). I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have Nikki's amazing recipes, the resource of her friend Heidi's blog, and the fantastic photos taking by her oldest daughter Azia. Enjoy Nikki's cooking ideas.

p.s. if you are all out of spinach, I am sure you could substitute the perpetual spinach or chard

Spinach Curry

This must be a great year for spinach! There seems to be loads of it everywhere I go. Yum!
Below is a recipe for a spinach curry that my family really enjoyed. I hope you do too. Unfortunately, Azia accidentally deleted the photo she took of her plate. :-( I'm sure you can envision it though. Think deep, dark, earthy green. Gorgeous~

Ingredients
A glug of olive oil
3 garlic scapes, minced (garlic cloves are fine too)
1 large leek (white part only), thinly sliced (a chopped onion would be fine here too, I just needed to use up a leek I had in the fridge)
1 Tbl fresh ginger, peeled and minced
I 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes (with juice)
1/2 -1 Tbl garam masala (I happen to LOVE this spice blend, so I went for closer to 1 Tbl (perhaps more). I would suggest starting with 1/2 Tbl and adjusting from there. You could also substitute your favorite curry powder for the garam masala and leave out the turmeric, or use less garam masala (1/2-1 tsp) and add in a tsp or two of cumin and coriander to lessen the clove, cinnamon, and cardamon flavor.)
1 tsp turmeric
1 15 oz. can coconut milk (NOT the light version)
2 1/2 - 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken cut into bite-sized chunks (swap out chicken for chickpeas or paneer (Indian cheese) for a vegan or vegetarian version of this dish)
2 bags Inverbrook Spinach (about 1- 1 1/2 lbs), finely chopped (I used the food processor to save myself the trouble)
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

About 6 C cooked brown rice (I love Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, in a pinch. I just empty all three bags that are in the one box into a glass bowl with a lid and nuke it in the microwave for about 7-8 minutes, stirring in between.)

I dollop of sour cream, plain whole milk yogurt, or creme fraiche to top each serving (optional, although, this is one of my favorite aspects of the dish)
Cilantro sprigs as garnish

Instructions
Saute the garlic scapes, leek, and ginger in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and softened a bit.
Add in the tomatoes, garam masala, and turmeric (or whatever combination of spices you come up with), stirring to combine everything.
Allow this mixture to simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can meld.
Add in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes.
Add in the chicken and spinach and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the spinach is deep, dark, and earthy green, about 20 minutes.
Add in sea salt and pepper to taste (garam masala generally has black pepper in it, so you may want to go easy at first and then adjust accordingly).

Serve over brown rice, topped with a dollop of sour cream, plain yogurt, or creme fraiche, and a sprig or two of cilantro.

Serves 6-8


Orange Sesame Salad

Greens, Greens, Greens! My body is loving all this roughage!
Below is another salad recipe that my kids, in particular, really enjoyed.
I hope you'll give it a try too.

Ingredients

3 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl toasted sesame oil
2-3 Tbl rice vinegar (unseasoned)
1-2 Tbl honey (agave works nicely too)
1 tsp fresh peeled, minced ginger
1-2 Tbl tamari or shoyu

1 bag Inverbrook lettuce mix or spicy greens mix (or a combination of both), washed, spun dry, and torn into manageable pieces
Orange segments from 2-3 oranges, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Tbl toasted sesame seeds
Avocado chunks (optional)
Chives or scallions, snipped into little pieces with kitchen shears, to taste (optional... I recommend adding these only if you're NOT using the spicy greens)
A handful of chopped cilantro leaves (again, I recommend using this WITHOUT the spicy greens)

Give the olive oil, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, and tamari a whirl in the food processor, or whisk together by hand, until well combined. Taste and adjust.

Toss the greens with the oranges, sesame seeds, avocado (if using), chives (if using), and cilantro (if using).

Drizzle with as much of the dressing as you like, toss gently one more time, and serve.

Enjoy!

Incidentally, the dressing for this salad goes beautifully with Claire's Asian turnips and radishes too. Also, the 2nd photo is simply a plate of spicy salad greens drizzled with the aforementioned dressing, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and topped with a fried egg. Lunch!

Notes from Nikki--Arugula and Garlic Scape Recipes

From CSA Memeber Nikki Graham:

Black Bean Arugula Salad

Another use for arugula. Yay! The inspiration for this yummy salad came, once again, from Heidi Swanson (101cookbooks.com). I changed things up quite a bit. Her original recipe can be found here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/giant-black-bean-salad-recipe.html
I served this with grilled pork chops, although, on it's own, it certainly could serve as a hearty, summertime meal.
I used canned black beans. Dried, cooked beans would have been better (the giant variety, as Heidi calls for, would have been amazing). I was in a crunch for time, as I often am. Nonetheless, my family loved it, even the three-year-old.
I hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients

Dressing
Juice of 3 small limes (or to taste)
3-4 TBLs good quality, extra virgin olive oil (or to taste)
2-3 TBL agave (or to taste)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-ribbed (throw in a few seeds if you want more heat)
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste (optional... I like the flavor, even with the jalapeno, not everyone feels the need)

Salad
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 handfuls toasted pepitas (I always toast mine in a fry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan once in while, until they start to pop and brown a bit)
Small bag of Inverbrook arugula (or a generous handful per serving), washed and spun dry, tough stems removed
Grated Manchego cheese (Altogether I used about 1/2 of a cup. Use as much as you desire. Crumbled queso fresco or feta would also work)
1/2 lb. grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Puree the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor until well combined.
Toss a bit of the dressing with the arugula.
Toss the rest of the dressing with the black beans.
Place a generous handful of arugula on each plate and top with a heaping serving-size spoonful of beans.
Top the beans with some of the cheese, pepitas, and tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Serves 6

Radish Salad with Creamy, Tarragon, Garlic Scape Dressing

As it turns out, no one, except me, likes radishes in my family. As a result, by the end of radish season, I am radished out! Below is a recipe for a radish salad with a creamy, tarragon and garlic scape dressing to help you put your radishes to good use. Beautiful little gems, those radishes. The dressing keeps nicely in the fridge for at least a few days. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Ingredients

Dressing
1 Inverbrook garlic scape
12-15 sprigs of tarragon, leaves only
1/4-1/3 C Highland Farms, plain yogurt (or other plain, whole milk yogurt of your choosing, although I highly recommend Martha's amazing yogurt :-))
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Salad
Sliced radishes
Inverbrook lettuce mix, washed and spun dry, large pieces torn into bite sized pieces
Toasted sunflower seeds

Instructions
Process the garlic scape, tarragon, yogurt, sea salt, and pepper in a food processor until well combined. Set aside.

Assemble each plate with a generous handful of lettuce. Top the lettuce with the radishes and toasted sunflower seeds and drizzle with the dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

The Latest from Nikki-Lasagna and Lettuce

The lastest from Nikki:
I have a new friend... a Moleskine notebook from my friend, Heidi (101Cookbooks). I shared with Heidi the difficulty I have in articulating what I do in the kitchen in regard to food preparation. It's proven to be quite a challenge for me. Heidi has encouraged me (and provided the necessary tool) to write everything down as I'm going along. Simple advice, yes, yet totally profound to me. In the past, I rarely wrote things down, and hardly ever paid attention to how much of each ingredient I was using. Folks often ask me for recipes for meals I whip together and, sadly, I can only provide them with a list of ingredients. This works for some folks, others, not so much. The fact is, I view recipes I come across as springboards for creativity, inspirational lists of ingredients that I can't help but modify, adjust, swap out, etc. Writing recipes for the Inverbrook blog has been nothing short of a wonderful blessing and opportunity to develop a whole new skill. My daughter, Azia, and I are having a terrific time documenting the goings on of meal preparation here at the Graham residence. I hope you all are enjoying it as much as we are!

Below you'll find a recipe for Asparagus, Leek, and Shitake Lasagna. I came across a similar recipe on epicurious.com and modified it greatly. I was inspired by the list of ingredients that I just happened to have on hand. Next time, I will make some tweaks and adjustments to what I did the first time round (I noted those below). Thanks to my trusty notebook, I have that all written down. :-)
I also included a recipe for the salad we had with this lasagna. A simple green salad served with a pineapple, mint vinaigrette and fresh pineapple chunks cut from a pineapple that I couldn't resist while I was out shopping. (I'm pretty sure I lived on a tropical island in my last life. ;-))

Asparagus, Leek, and Shitake Lasagna

Ingredients

3 leeks (white and light green parts only), sliced thin
2 TBL extra virgin olive oil
2 bunches Inverbrook asparagus, ends snapped and cut into fourths
8 oz. Shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1-2 TBL fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

4 TBL (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter
4 TBL all-purpose flour
3 C whole milk (you could also use a combination of broth or stock in place of about a cup or so of the milk for a slightly lighter version)
Pinch of nutmeg (be generous if you like nutmeg)
1 bay leaf
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 C (give or take) freshly grated parmesan cheese (I used Parmigiano-Reggiano)
16 oz. no boil lasagna noodles or boiled equivalent (I used a no boil, 100% durum semolina product from Trader Joe's to save time, but I have a note to use whole wheat lasagna noodles next time.)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Saute the leeks in the olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add the thyme, sea salt, pepper, and shitakes and continue to saute until the shitakes just begin to release their juices. Turn off the heat and stir in the asparagus. Set aside.

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour whisking to blend. Continue to whisk over low heat for at least 4-5 minutes, just to get rid of the floury taste. Turn the heat to high, and slowly add the milk, whisking all the while until the roux is well incorporated. Continue to whisk, turning the heat down once the mixture is simmering. Add in the nutmeg, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and simmer until thickened, stirring all the while. Once it has thickened, turn off the heat and set aside (give this sauce a stir every couple of minutes so it doesn't develop a "skin"). You can remove the bay leaf at this point if you want. We have a tradition at our house of not removing them so that whomever finds it in their dish gets to be the lucky finder of the bay leaf.

Spread about a 1/2-3/4 C or so of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 1/2 X 13 inch baking dish.
Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce. Add a very thin layer of sauce to the top of the noodles.
Add half of the leek, mushroom, and asparagus mixture to the top of the sauce.
Top with about a 1/3 C of the grated parmesan (use more if you have it and want a richer lasagna).
Add another layer of noodles on top of the cheese.
Add 3/4-1 C, or so, of the sauce to the top of the noodles, spreading evenly.
Add the other half of the leek, mushroom, and asparagus mixture to the top of the sauce.
Add another 1/3 C of the grated parmesan to the top of that.
Add one more layer of noodles to the top of that.
Top with more sauce (about 3/4-1 C) and the rest of the cheese.
(Feel free to change the assembly of this to your liking, keeping in mind that if you are using no boil noodles, they need some moisture to cook properly in the oven.)
Cover with foil, keeping the foil off the cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes (or until heated through and bubbling on the sides), removing the foil for the last 5-10 minutes so the top browns nicely.

Serves 8-10

Enjoy!

Pineapple, Mint Salad

Leaves from three long mint stems (Claire grows the best mint in the world, I'm convinced)
Accumulated juice from 1 whole, fresh, cut-up pineapple (cut into bite sized chunks) that's been sitting in a bowl at room temperature for a while
1/4 C olive oil (or to taste)
1 TBL agave (or to taste)
1-2 TBL white wine vinegar (unseasoned rice vinegar will work too)
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

1 bag of Inverbrook lettuce, washed and spun dry

Fresh cut pineapple chunks (mentioned above)

Process the mint, pineapple juice, olive oil, agave, vinegar, salt, and pepper until well incorporated. For more pineapple flavor, or if yours isn't particularly juicy, add in a chunk of pineapple before you process the mixture. Taste and adjust to your liking.

Toss the lettuce with the dressing and top with as much of the pineapple as you desire.

Serve and enjoy.

Strawberries and Spinach--cooking ideas from Nikki

'Tis the season for both strawberries and spinach. Read Nikki's great culinary notes for ideas on how to use both:

I overestimated the amount of strawberries my family would eat this week. These red gems seem to be popping up all over the place lately (and they're not $8/lb. anymore) so I just couldn't resist purchasing a few small vats. ;-)

Thankfully, combined with a bundle of Claire's rhubarb in one recipe and a bag of her spinach in another (and Martha's feta), we managed to finish them off before they got overripe and moldy. Phew.

Below are the two recipes that came to our rescue:

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:

One bag of Inverbrook spinach, washed and spun dry
A handful or two toasted almonds, chopped or sliced (or even whole, if you like them that way)
About 1/2 pound of strawberries (more if you need to use them up ;-)), tops removed and sliced to whatever thickness you prefer
Highland Farm's Feta, drained and crumbled (I use a whole container as I am crazy over this cheese. Use whatever amount you prefer)

1/4-1/3 C extra virgin olive oil (adjust to taste)
2-3 TBL balsamic vinegar (adjust to taste)
1 tsp natural cane sugar (you can also use maple sugar, agave, or maple syrup here. As always, I encourage you to start with a teaspoon (or less) and adjust accordingly. Remember, I have a sweet tooth. ;-))
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste


Combine the balsamic vinegar, sugar, sea salt and pepper in a bowl. Using a small wire whisk or a fork, whisk together, adding the olive oil slowly to the mixture until it is well incorporated and the mixture has thickened. Set aside.

Place the spinach in a large serving bowl.
Add the strawberries and toss gently, by hand.
Drizzle the dressing atop, again, tossing gently, by hand. (No need to use all the dressing is you aren't a fan of a super dressed salad. Any leftover dressing will save beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge.)
Top with the almonds and feta and serve.

Enjoy!

Heidi's Rhubarb Crumble

More inspiration from Heidi, and not surprising as Heidi is super in tune and dedicated to using seasonally available, local ingredients.
I changed things up a bit only because I needed to use as many strawberries as possible, I didn't have enough pine nuts, I didn't have spelt flour, and I was short on time.

Here is my make-whatever-you-have-on-hand-work version of Heidi's fabulous Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble:

Ingredients:

Butter for greasing the pan

3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 C sliced toasted almonds
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 C natural cane sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper (Heidi's recipe called for 1/8 tsp, but I decided not to measure since I was in a hurry and I find it annoying to collect and measure fresh ground pepper. I think I probably used a tad more than 1/8 of a tsp, maybe even twice as much, but this turned out to be an absolutely essential ingredient, in my opinion. The flavor of the pepper played beautifully against the sweet, tart of the berries and rhubarb.)
6 TBL unsalted butter, cold

2 TBL cornstarch
1/2 C natural cane sugar

1 lb. strawberries, topped and cut into quarters (twice as much as Heidi's recipe calls for)
One bunch of Rhubarb from Inverbrook (about 6 long stems), trimmed and sliced into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces
1/4 C port wine (Incidentally, I used the cheapest of port and it turned out great. Heidi listed this ingredient as optional, but, like the pepper, I would suggest not skimping here. It added gorgeous depth to the dish.)

Preheat the oven to 375.
Butter a 10 inch round or 9x9 inch square baking dish.

Combine flour, almonds, oats, 1/2 C sugar, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Add the cold butter bit by little bit, cutting it into the dry ingredients either using a fork, a pastry blender, or your fingers, until you have a course meal. Leave some larger lumps and clumps too. Set aside (put it in the fridge if the kitchen is warm).
Toss the strawberries and the rhubarb together in a large bowl.

Whisk together the cornstarch and the other 1/2 C sugar and add to the fruit, tossing to coat.
Wait a few minutes and then add the port, again, tossing to evenly coat.
Transfer the filling to the buttered baking dish and top with the crumble.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the juice from the fruit is oozing through and bubbling vigorously.

Cool and serve.

Serves 8-10, modestly. (I brought this to share with another family of 5 and we didn't quite have enough. All 7 kids in the crowd were begging for more.)

Azia's snapshots of the strawberries and rhubarb filling and the finished crumble, still in the oven. The flash of the camera brightened the deep brown color of the top of the finished crumble. Look for deeper color.