EatLocal365 » Vegetarian

Cucurbit Risotto

Lindsay — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:24:01 +0000

Did you know there’s a name for the veggies overflowing your crisper/garden/CSA box right now? Cucurbitaceae! Zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, melons…we’re kind of drowning in them over here. Well, not melons, so much, and our little muffin (9 months tomorrow!) devours zucchini and summer squash, so we don’t really have a problem with that, but all the cucumbers are in our refrigerator right now. ALL! So. Many. Cucumbers.

We’ve eaten summer salads for days. I’ve blended them into smoothies. I’ve even baked them into pancakes with questionable success. Pickles? Done. And I don’t even love pickles.

What do I love? Warm smooshy things in bowls that don’t take forever to make. Bonus points if The Muffin likes it. Extra bonus points if he can feed it to himself. Super extra bonus points if leftovers are still tasty. What fits the bill? Cucumber risotto. “EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”, you say? “Delicious!”, I counter. “EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”, you still say. Well, everyone’s entitled to her opinion, but this risotto is sweet and subtle and creamy and lavender/green. If you still don’t trust me, substitute zucchini – I have and it’s great.

Apologies (once again) for the phone photos. We’ll figure out this technology thing, I promise!

Cucurbit Risotto

Adapted from Greene on Greens

Serves 4-6 as a main

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
4 TBsp	Butter	Divided	Kate’s Homemade Butter
1 medium	Red onion		Farmer Dave’s CSA
2 cloves	Garlic	Minced	Farmer Dave’s CSA
1 cup	Arborio rice
Good pinch or two	Crushed red pepper flakes
About 4	Cucumbers (whatever size you have – use more if they’re tiny or fewer if they’re gigantic)	Peeled, seeded, and diced	Farmer Dave’s CSA
3 cups	Chicken stock		Homemade
To taste	Salt and pepper
Small handful	Fresh, soft herbs	Such as dill, basil, parsley, and fennel fronds	Chopped

Directions

Heat the chicken stock (on the stove or in the microwave). Prep your veggies. You don’t have to be too fussy with seeding and peeling the cucumbers. I think it’s easiest to seed cucumbers by cutting them in half the long way and scooping out the seedy middle with a spoon. (See picture above)

In a heavy skillet, melt half the butter (1 TBsp) over medium-low heat. Add the red onion and sweat (cook slowly without browning) for 2 minutes; add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Thoroughly stir the rice into the onion mixture, so that each grain is coated with butter.

Add the cucumbers and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir well, then use your spoon to smooth and level the rice mixture in the pan.

Gently pour a generous 1 cup of hot stock evenly over the rice mixture. Don’t stir. Just let the rice absorb the liquid, which should take about 15 minutes.

When all the liquid has been absorbed, stir and repeat with another generous cup of stock. Reduce the heat if the last batch was absorbed in less than 15 minutes.

Stir in the last 1/2 cup or so of stock. Keep your eye on the risotto this time. It’s done when the rice is tender, but not mushy. If it’s the right consistency, but there’s still liquid in the pan, raise the heat to boil it off. If the rice isn’t ready when all the liquid is gone, add a little hot water and keep cooking.

When the rice is perfect, stir in the remaining butter (1 TBsp) and salt, pepper, and herbs to taste.

How to Make Ratatouille: The Late Summer CSA Leftover Disposal

Erik — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:08:29 +0000

We’ve posted before about how a frittata is our go-to dish for getting vegetables out of the refrigerator. In the late summer we have a second play out of that same playbook to use up vegetables that, quite frankly, aren’t our favorites.

I’m talking about eggplants, summer squash, and those bitter purple peppers. We have good recipes for all of them (maybe not the purple peppers), but sometimes out CSA just drops too many on us at one time, and by the end of the week the squash are getting rubbery and the eggplant feels leathery… you get the picture. Take a look at the picture about to see all that this recipe used up!

This ratatouille uses them up in quantity and although it doesn’t look like much that you’d be dying to eat (I asked Lindsay “are you sure you want me to take pictures?”), it’s actually pretty delicious and incredibly healthy to boot. Did I mention that it’s also easy?

There are a million variations on ratatouille, since it’s a common peasant stew that everybody’s mother makes in France. This one is very stew-like, and because the veggies are cut in thin strips, they take on a noodly quality. Other variations call for cubes, etc. Use your imagination. You can also control how watery you make it by adding fewer or more tomatoes. They provide most of the juice.

Rataouille

Makes 4 servings as a main or more as as side

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
1 clove	Garlic	Crushed into a paste	Red Fire Farm CSA
1	Onion	Diced or minced (your call for texture)	Red Fire Farm CSA
1 TBsp / 1 Sprig	Fresh thyme	We were out or thyme, so we used fresh Oregano (any aromatic herb will do)	Red Fire Farm CSA
1	Eggplant	Sliced thin	Red Fire Farm CSA
1-2	Summery squash or zucchini	Sliced thin	Red Fire Farm CSA
2-3	Peppers	Sliced thin (no seeds), whatever color you have	Red Fire Farm CSA
3-6	Tomatoes	Cut into chunks (~eighths)	Red Fire Farm CSA
3 TBsp	Olive oil
1 pinch	Sugar
To taste	Kosher Salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mash the garlic into a paste if you like (it distributes better throughout the dish), or just mince it. I used a mortar and pestle so that I didn’t have to clean the food processor for a single clove. Chop the onion and slice the eggplant. For this dish we don’t peel anything in order to make it as easy as possible.
Heat 2 TBsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Once the onions are translucent, add the eggplant and cook for about 5-8 minutes until the eggplant has thoroughly changed color.
As the eggplant cooks in the pan, start slicing the rest of the vegetables. It’s OK if you have to turn off the burner and let the eggplant sit for a bit; it will be cooked more. I you like it watery, add more tomatoes. If you want it dryer, add fewer.
Add everything to a large roasting pan and mix around with 1 TBsp of olive oil. We usually use a big Pyrex (pictured), but it’s probably best to use something ceramic because at the end it needs to go under the broiler and Pyrex is not rated for that and could fracture. We always forge tab out the broiler with this one until it’s already almost done. Don’t be like us!
Cover the roasting pan with tented tin foil or a sheet of parchment paper. Try to prevent it from sitting directly on the vegetables. Bake for 1 hour.
Remove it from the oven. Turn on the broiler (to high, if your oven has the option). Remove the foil / parchment paper. Add the pinch of sugar and salt to your tasting. Stir thoroughly. Place it directly under the broiler, uncovered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, check to see if the top is starting to singe. If so, you’re done. If not, put it back for 2 minutes at a time until the top is as caramelized as you can get it without burning.

The Doldrums

Lindsay — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:17:06 +0000

If local food folks call winter the “Dark Days”, I’m going to call spring the “Doldrums”. Stagnation, indeed! Watch out, strawberries and lettuce! I’m going to snap you up in a couple of weeks. For now, I’m thankful to have several places to by fresh, quality food, and for the skills and time to cook, so I won’t complain too much.

This meal was not really local at all, but instead of hiding our non-local eating and then forgetting to post this recipe later, I’m just going to post it now. I hope you forgive me once you try it. It’s easy peasy and delish, combining several of my favorite things – greens, soft-cooked eggs, yogurt, and butter. Mmmmmmmm! It does take a little more time than your usual egg dish (roughly 30 minutes), because the eggs bake in the oven, but you can just set a timer and then go on with your business.

Look at those yolks!! We only took one photo, because the yogurt and butter totally covered the eggs and greens making for a pretty unappetizing picture. Yummy yummy in my tummy, though!

This recipe is minimally adapted from Plenty to use ingredients we generally have on hand.

Baked Eggs with Arugula and Yogurt

Makes 2 servings

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
2 TBsp	Olive oil		Capone Foods
4 to 8 ounces	Arugula	Mix in some spinach, if you want
2 to 4	Eggs		Sherman Market
3/4 cup	Plain yogurt	Whole milk, if possible	Homemade
1 clove	Garlic	Finely minced or put through a press	Red Fire Farm
4 TBsp	Butter		Shaw Farm
1/2	Dried chile	Substitute 1/4 to 1/2 tsp chile flakes	Home-dried
Pinch	Sweet paprika
6 leaves	Fresh sage		Snipped or sliced into shreds
To taste	Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. I used our 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the arugula (and maybe spinach) and a pinch of salt and saute for 5-10 minutes or until the greens wilt and there’s a puddle of liquid in the pan.

Transfer the greens to a small oven-proof dish using tongs to squeeze some of the water out. Leave that puddle of liquid behind on the pan. Create 2-4 divots in the greens and crack an egg into each. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until the whites are white (not clear). The baking time will depend on the size of your eggs.

While the eggs are baking, mix the yogurt and finely minced garlic together with a pinch of salt. Although I don’t love my garlic press, this is a good time to bring it out, so that there aren’t any large pieces of garlic. A good knife job will work just as well, though.

After the yogurt is mixed up, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the dried chiles, sweet paprika, sage (which I cut with a kitchen scissor right into the pan), and a pinch of salt. Let it all fry for a minute or two, then turn off the heat.

Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove them from the oven and divide among two plates or bowls. Top with the yogurt and drizzle with the butter sauce. Dig in with a spoon, fork, or generous slice of crusty bread.

Quick Asparagus and Hazelnut Pasta

Lindsay — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:53:20 +0000

Hello again! We’ve finally emerged from our early spring slump. Our CSA ends in March and our farmers’ market closes for the season in mid-April, so we enter this confusing 6-week period where we have to shop at the regular grocery store to supplement what we can get at our neighborhood’s small local foods market. It’s very uninspiring.

We still aren’t quite into the summer harvest season, but Erik picked up some delicious local greens and asparagus this week that motivated me to get moving in the kitchen again. It was also 80 degrees yesterday! Crazy! The combo of perky veggies and a warm breeze have shaken me out of my funk enough to dig up an old favorite recipe. I’ve got a file folder full of recipe clippings, so I’m not sure where this one came from, but it was probably Real Simple or Whole Living. On a side note, it’s weird how you get to know a magazine’s font and layout after a while, isn’t it? Useless knowledge, but it sticks in my brain somehow. Anyway…I changed up the recipe to serve two and use more veggies and a leeeetle bit less pasta. The pasta adjustment is mostly because we have a FANTASTIC Italian grocery store nearby that sells dirt cheap, high quality, super delicious fresh pasta and I feel silly asking for 9 ounces of pasta, so I just get half a pound (which is 8). We’ve stopped making our own pasta, because this place is so great!

Besides being yummy, this is a very quick meal. If you start the water heating and the hazelnuts toasting before you slice the asparagus, you can have dinner ready in just about the time it takes to boil a pot of water. If, like me, you forget to start the water until you’re done prepping the asparagus, it’s still pretty fast.

Pasta with Asparagus and Hazelnuts

Makes 2 hearty or 3 smaller servings

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
1/2 pound	Fresh long pasta	Spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, etc.	Capone Foods
1/4 cup	Hazelnuts		Bulk section
1 bunch	Asparagus		Sherman Market
1/4 cup	Olive oil		Capone Foods
1/2 tsp	Kosher salt
Several grinds	Black pepper	Freshly ground or a good sprinkling of pre-ground
1 ounce	Firm, salty cheese	Parmesan, ricotta salata, etc.	Sherman Market

Directions

Start heating a large pot of water on high heat. Give it a good pinch of kosher salt, if you’d like.

Heat the oven to 350. Put the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and toast them for 10-15 minutes or until fragrant and the skins are starting to darken. Once they’re toasted, give them a rough chop and set aside.

While the water is heating and the hazelnuts are toasting, slice the asparagus as thinly as you can stand, lengthwise. You can use a vegetable peeler for this, if you want. I usually cut each spear in half lengthwise, then, placing the cut edge flat on the cutting board, cut each half into 3-5 long strips. The texture is best with thinner strips, but it’ll still be tasty if you lose patience.

Once the water comes to a strong boil, add the asparagus and set a timer for 2 1/2 minutes.

After the asparagus has cooked for a minute (1 1/2 minutes left on the timer), add the pasta to the same pot. Give the whole thing a stir so that the pasta doesn’t clump up.

Once the pasta and asparagus are done, drain them and put back in the pot. Add the chopped hazelnuts, oil, salt, and pepper. Stir gently to distribute evenly. I normally use tongs, because they help to integrate the asparagus into the pasta.

Put the pasta on two or three plates and grate or crumble the cheese on top. I like to use a vegetable peeler to carve nice long ribbons of Parmesan. Eat up!

How to Make a Winter Smoothie with Local Ingredients

Lindsay — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:46:41 +0000

In the winter, I usually crave hot breakfasts. Oatmeal with applesauce and peanut butter, eggs of all sorts, or pancakes. Recently, I haven’t been eating particularly well, so I’ve been trying to get a little “insurance” at breakfast to make up for the Pad Thai at lunch and burger, fries, and a shake at dinner. Yep. That was yesterday.

Smoothies are an easy way to cram more veggies into your day. A little fruit covers up the healthy taste and if the green color bothers you, just avert your eyes. This has become my go-to recipe, but you can make some tweaks if it’s not sweet enough for you. Add a tablespoon of maple syrup or use a whole peach/banana instead of half.

We don’t have a fancy blender…although I really really really want one, I can’t justify the crazy price. There’s an easy technique for making a good smoothie with a normal blender. Check out this video from Good Eats – the technique info starts at about 4:22.

My blender has four speeds. I run it on the first until the vortex starts, then each higher speed for one minute. If a bubble forms, I turn off the blender, give it a little shake to encourage the “burp”, then turn the speed back up. It takes about 4 minutes of blending, but that’s enough time to put away the ingredients and make a cup of tea.

If you want to get crazy, add half an avocado to the mix. We ordered a box of them from California Avocados Direct, a responsible family farm, and were blown away.

Local Winter Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
1/4 cup	Rolled oats		Bulk section or local, if we can get them
1/4 cup	Yogurt		Homemade
1/2 medium	Frozen peach	Substitute half a canned peach or half a frozen banana	Red Fire Farm
1 Tbsp	Chia seeds or ground flax seeds	Chia seeds will make it thicker; flax seeds will give it a nutty taste.
1/2 tsp	Ground cinnamon	Other spices, like cardamom, are nice, too.
1 cup	Water	Substitute juice or milk (dairy or non-dairy), if you want
1-2 handfuls	Spinach or kale	Well washed, so that you don’t have a gritty smoothie.	NorthStar Farm
1/2 cup	Cooked squash or pumpkin	Pureed or roasted (make a big batch and refrigerate or freeze)	Red Fire Farm
1-2 handfuls	Ice cubes

Directions

If you are organized and want to be like Alton Brown, prep your smoothie the night before. Put everything except the ice cubes into the blender (in order) and stash it in the fridge. In the morning, add the ice and blend, following the directions above. Make sure all the spinach/kale blends in. Sometimes a leaf or two will stick to the side. This is a great way to have a nice smoothie even on a busy morning.

If you, like me, are usually not that with it at bedtime, make your smoothie when you’re ready to eat it. Add all the ingredients to the blender (in order) and blend, following the directions above. It might take a little longer for the vortex to form, because the fruit is still frozen, but you can get it going by stopping the blender and smushing the spinach/kale down toward the blades. When you start up the blender again, the smoothie should start moving. It might take a couple of tries. If it’s really giving you trouble, add a little more water/juice/milk. It’ll thin out your smoothie, but usually does the trick.

Mujaddarah (or How the Heck is This so Delicious?)

Lindsay — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:27:13 +0000

Happy Monday! Except for the fact that Erik stayed in NYC, this weekend was fantastic. The kind of fantastic that involves watching bad movies with a pint of ice cream and playing card games with friends over strawberry-vodka slushies. The kind of fantastic that alternates staying up too late with avoiding the gym at all costs. The kind of fantastic that ends with perma-heartburn and a squishy-squashy tummy that makes unhappy noises.

But now it’s Monday – the favorite day of resolution-makers – so I need to get back on track before I have to buy a whole new wardrobe. However, as I’ve mentioned before, I struggle with healthy eating when Erik’s gone. It’s got to be super tasty, easy to cook, require minimal clean-up, and reheat well or I just won’t do it. Luckily, I ordered delivery from a Middle Eastern restaurant last week and remembered how awesome mujaddarah is – a delicious, simple, two-pot, perfect-for-leftovers rice and lentils dish. You won’t believe me until you try it, but the final meal is so much more than the ingredients imply. Somehow, sauteing thin onion slices in a pool of olive oil until they’re brown and crispy adds an incredible amount of flavor to rice and lentils. It’s earthy and satisfying and totally not guilt-inducing.

This makes a great lunch or dinner – add a salad or sauteed greens if you want some veggies. My FAVORITE way to eat this, though, is topped with scrambled eggs and a drizzle of sriracha or plop of yogurt. Yum yum yum!!

[Please excuse the iPhone photos!]

Mujaddarah

Makes about 5 cups (4-6 servings)
From Simply Armenian

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Notes
1 cup	Brown or green lentils	I prefer brown lentils, but it’s not worth making a special trip to get them if you have green.	Baer’s Best
1 cup	Rice	Brown, white, short, long, whatever
1/4 cup	Olive oil
1 medium	Onion		Red Fire Farm
1 tsp	Salt

Directions

Pick through the lentils to remove debris. Sometimes little rocks and sticks hide, which aren’t fun to chew on. Rinse them well.

Add the lentils and 3 cups of water to a pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so that the water simmers gently for 20 minutes.

Rinse the rice well and let it drain while the lentils cook.

While the lentils are cooking, slice the onions into thin rings. Heat the olive oil in a skillet (not non-stick) over medium heat and add the onions. Stir them every now and then until they’re dark brown. It should take about as long as the rice and lentils.

After the lentils have cooked for 20 minutes, add the rice and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice and lentils are tender

Add the cooked onions and salt to the lentils and rice. Pour in any oil that’s left in the skillet, because it’s tasty. Mix well and serve hot, warm, or cold.