Potato, cauliflower, and leek soup with swiss chard

After the first CSA delivery, we tried to get creative and try some new things. A long time ago, my mom had made a really good potato and leek soup with lamb. This is my vegetable based version using lots of our vegetables. I need to make this a second time and attempt to formalize the process, as I initially starting cooking this as a side dish for tamales, but unfortunately, the tamale place closed a few minutes before Nicole stopped by.

Rough outline: I sauteed leeks, onions, a few pieces of cauliflower, and finely diced potatoes in olive oil and garlic until the potatoes were cooked and crispy on the outside. At the same time I cooked cauliflower in vegetable stock until the cauliflower was tender. I added the swiss chard to the potatoes, leeks, and onions, and cooked until wilted. Using the stick blender, I pureed the cauliflower and stock and added this to the potatoes, leeks, onions, and chard. I added a pad of butter, a small amount of milk, and parmesan cheese to the mixture and it was all done.

It came out good and was quite creamy despite the very minimal amount of fat and dairy.

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Vegetable Lo Mein

We had purchased a head of cabbage for fish tacos and had a lot leftover. We were planning on making a stir fry, when Nicole randomly came across this recipe for cabbage lo mein. We made it twice in the last two weeks with various vegetables (including baby bok choy from our CSA delivery). Of course we added additional vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, leeks, celery), but followed the recipe pretty close. The main change was in the sauce; rather than chicken stock we used vegetable broth I made from various vegetables (carrots, cabbage, leeks, celery), a bouillon cube, ginger, dash of soy sauce and oyster sauce.

The first time we made it, we took some of the vegetable stock, added some chicken and cilantro wontons from Trader Joe's (although I need to make some wontons from scratch soon), and some sliced cabbage and sprouts. Both times, we made crispy tofu along with it...little tofu cubes tossed in cornstarch and fried until crispy.

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From YummyFood

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Second CSA Delivery

Today we got our second CSA delivery. We schedule it for once every 4 weeks, which seems to work well for us thus far...we still have half a leek and a squash from our previous shipment. This week we got:

• two bunches of green chard
• a bunch of kale
• a bunch of collard greens
• a head of romaine lettuce
• a big bag of baby bok choy
• two large leeks
• two avocados
• two oranges
• two lemons
• one grapefruit
• one acorn squash

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Couscous Soup (now with leeks)

The 10 Minute Couscous Soup is definitely a favorite of mine (as it is quick, really tasty and requires very few ingredients), so I decided to make a batch with some of the ingredients that arrived in our first CSA shipment.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of water
• 2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup of whole wheat couscous
• 1/2 cup of finely sliced Leeks
• 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 cube of Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon with Sea Salt
• 3 pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
• grated romano and/or parmesan cheese
• juice of 1/4 of a lemon

I started by sauteing the crushed red pepper, butter, olive oil and leeks in the pot. Once the leeks were soft I added the bouillon and water. Once the water had come to a boil I turned off the heat, added the couscous and half of the cilantro. After about 2 minutes, I added the cauliflower with the rest of the cilantro and lemon juice. I let this sit another 2 minutes or so, and the served it with a pinch of the grated cheese on top

The leeks and butter added a little bit richer flavor which was really good on a raining night.

First CSA Delivery

Nicole and I joined a CSA and now get monthly shipments of fresh locally grown organic produce. It's a nice way to eat seasonal and it will give us an excuse to try new recipes and eat some fruits and vegetables we don't normally buy.

Our first shipment arrived today including:

• cilantro
• leeks
• chard
• collard greens
• baby greens
• carrots
• mushrooms
• meyer lemons
• butternut squash

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Italian lentil "soup"

I was really in the mood for lentil soup, but also craving tomato sauce.  The result was something that was more like an Italian flavored vegetarian chili than soup, but still good. Next time I make chili, I will definitely add lentils as well.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of dry lentils (I think I used green lentils)
  
• 4 oz of tomato sauce (I would probably have used crushed tomatoes if we had them)
  
• 1/2 an onion, diced
  
• 1 carrot, diced
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced 
  
• 1/2 cup of frozen spinach
  
• 1 bouillon cube
  
• olive oil
  
• balsamic vinegar
  
• a bunch of water
  
• 1/2 cup of rice (or kashi pilaf)
  
• fresh basil
  
• salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper
  

I cooked the garlic, onions, carrots, lentils, and crushed red pepper in olive oil until the onions were translucent.  Next I added the tomato sauce, about a cup of water and a bouillon cube (plus lots of dried basil, oregano, and thyme) and let simmer while covered.  I basically kept adding more water until the lentils were cooked (it took maybe 1.25 hours)...I didn't really pay attention to how much I was adding.

While waiting for the lentils to cook, I cooked the rice/pilaf.  When the lentils were finally cooked, I stirred in a little balsamic vinegar, spinach, and rice/pilaf.  Before serving, I added some fresh minced basil and added salt and pepper to taste.  

If we weren't out of it, I would have added some romano/parmesan on top.  White beans would have been a good addition to this, as would potatoes and really anything you find in minestrone soup.  

Israeli couscous with shrimp and broccoli

I went to the beach with Nicole on Sunday so she could work on her open water swimming and for some reason, the smell of the ocean made me want shrimp in a butter and wine sauce.  This is what I came up with.  The proportions below made enough for about 3 servings.

Ingredients:

• Shrimp (maybe 30 medium shrimps)
  
• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 carrot, diced
  
• 1-2 tablespoons of butter
  
• 1 head of broccoli
  
• 1 cup of Israeli couscous
  
• 1 cup white wine
  
• 4 cups stock (I just used a vegetable bouillon cube + water) 
  
• chives, salt, black pepper, oregano, crushed red pepper
  

I cooked the couscous much the same way I make risotto. I started by cooking the onions, garlic, carrots, and a dash of crushed red pepper in about 1 tablespoon of butter.  Once the onions were about half cooked (not translucent yet),  I added the couscous.  I continually stirred the mixture for a few minutes until the onions were completely translucent.  

At this point, I turned the heat down to low and began adding liquid.  I added probably a 1/4 of the total liquid (1/4 cup wine, 1 cup stock)...just like risotto, I added enough to cover the couscous.  I covered the pan and let cook, stirring frequently and adding more liquid when necessary.  

After adding the last bit of liquid, I added a dash of oregano and chives and placed the broccoli on top of the couscous to steam.  When the couscous was tender, I added probably a 1/4 a cup of water, since the pan was getting a bit dry, and then added the shrimp (they didn't take long to cook).

When the shrimp were fully cooked (about 30 seconds later), I remove the pan from the heat, stirred in a small pad of butter (less than a tablespoon) and let the sauce cool/thicken for about 2 minutes.  The final step was to salt and pepper to taste.  

The sauce was pretty good...next time I'll get some crusty bread to dip in it.  In the future, I may add some steamed clams and/or mussels (well, steam them with the cooking couscous).

Crab Cakes

I made a batch of crab cakes for dinner last night. I've tried several recipes in the past and they all seemed to have too many ingredients with conflicting flavors. So I went simple in my recipe and made something similar to a really good batch Dre and I made (recipe here).

Ingredients
8 oz of crab meat (or whatever two cans amounts to)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of mayo
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan/romano
4 teaspoons of chives (fresh or dried)
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
black pepper

Mix ingredients together and pan fry in canola oil. I really like the flavor of the bell pepper in them.

We ate them with a squeeze of lemon juice on top, although the aoili from this recipe is really good.

White bean spread

I've made this a few times as both a dip and on toasted bread topped with tenderloin and bacon (mmmm).

Ingredients

• 1 can of great northern beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 cup (or more) of grated parmesan/romano
  
• salt, black pepper, oregano, basil
• nutmeg
  
• balsamic vinegar (optional)
• olive oil (optional)

The first step is to drain most of the water out of the beans leaving just enough to make it easy to puree. Next, add the beans and garlic to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add more water if necessary to allow it to attain the consistency of hummus. Add the cheese, a dash of oregano and basil, a few grinds of black pepper, and salt to taste. I often add a dash of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil, and a really small amount of nutmeg, but these are all optional.

It's good either warm or cold...I think it's best on some warm, toasted bread.

Asparagus Risotto

I actually made this a while ago...

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of arborio rice
• 1/4 cup of onion
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan/romano
• 4 cups of vegetable stock
• asparagus (probably about 10 spears)
• olive oil
• salt, black pepper, basil

Lightly toast the rice, onions, and garlic in olive oil. Slowly add the stock about a cup at a time, stirring continuously.

I chopped up the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and steamed them. Once the rice was cooked, I added the asparagus, cheese, basil, salt and black pepper. It was pretty easy.

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