Braised Radishes

This is our second week of receiving radishes in our CSA box. The first time we received them, I roasted them. Josh liked them, I… tolerated them. The taste of radishes is tough for me, so I knew I needed to find a recipe that better disguised them.

I stumbled upon a recipe on the amazing Pinterest, for “Braised Radishes” and figured I’d give it a shot.

Oh my goodness, yum! This is definitely my favorite way to enjoy radishes now. The sauce was so good, that I put the leftovers on my pork tenderloin. I never would have thought that I’d ever enjoy radishes that much!

Ingredients:

1 C Radishes, trimmed and halved
1 C stock (I used vegetable)
2 t white wine or champagne vinegar
1 t olive oil
1/2 t salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Trim the radishes and cut in half.
Put all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until fork-tender.

—http://ieatfood.net/

Baked Kale Chips

I have a love hate relationship with Kale. It is a superfood, so good for you!
But really, it is kind of disgusting tasting! I have tried countless recipes trying to make it taste good and have failed each time. The best way I have found kale to be used is to hide it in smoothies.

I’ve tried numerous kale chip recipes and there were okay, but never great. But this weekend, I finally hit the jackpot! We ate all of the kale chips and were left wanting more.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale
3 T grapeseed oil
1 t seasoning salt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush a cookie sheet with grapeseed oil. Cut up kale into chip sized pieces and place on the cookie sheet. Using a basting brush, brush grapeseed oil over each “chip.” Shake salt over the chips.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Basil Heirloom Tomato Salad with Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese

This recipe really is an ode to Trader Joe’s and the amazing creations that keep appearing in their store. One of my favorite summertime vegetables is Heirloom Tomatoes. We’ve been growing them and receiving them in our CSA box, but we always eat them up so quickly, so I bought us some more from Trader Joe’s. I love the produce at Trader Joe’s, they always have plenty of organic fruits and veggies for reasonable prices.

On that same shopping trip, I discovered their Blueberry & Vanilla Goat Cheese, you can read more about that product here. I had no idea what I might use it for when I bought it, but really how can you not buy a creation with that delicious combination?? Finally I had some leftover Basil Vinaigrette to use, which by the way, was made with all Trader Joe’s ingredients.

Here’s what I came up with, and it was an amazingly refreshing treat on a hot summer night.

Ingredients:

3 Heirloom Tomatoes

1/2 Log of Trader Joe’s Wild Blueberry & Vanilla Chevre Goat Cheese

2 T of Basil Vinaigrette

2 T of Olive Oil

Preparation:

Slice the tomatoes thinly and arrange artistically on platter. Crumble the goat cheese on top of sliced tomatoes. Drizzle the vinaigrette and olive oil on top of everything. Let each flavor dance on your tongue as you enjoy every refreshing bite.

Thanks Trader Joe’s for being so great!

–Jennifer Gunther

Green Bean Deliciousness

We have had the pleasure of having a variety of house guests the last 3 weeks. We enjoyed all sorts of adventures together, including the joy of cooking together. We received green beans in our Abundant Harvest box this week, and I asked Sarah if she had any good ideas for cooking green beans. We thumbed through different cookbooks, and she pieced together this recipe… a little from a recipe and a little from her childhood. The green beans were fantastic this way.

Ingredients

1 lb. green beans
2 T olive oil
1 c chopped tomatoes
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 c slivered almonds

Preparation

Cook green beans in covered in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Drain. In pan 1 T oil saute garlic & almonds. 1 minute later add green beans and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

–Sarah Kennedy

Sweet Baked Butternut Squash

Ingredients

* 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I didn’t have nutmeg, so I used pumpkin pie spice instead)
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 6 teaspoons honey

Directions

* Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Brush squash halves with butter. In a small bowl, combine the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; sprinkle over squash halves. Place 2 teaspoons brown sugar in each half. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar over cut sides of squash.
* Place in an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-25 minutes longer until squash is tender. Yield: 6 servings.

–Adapted from tasteofhome.com

*Could be a dessert!

Carrots Almondine

4 1/2 c carrots– peeled, sliced
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c butter
2 T honey
2 t fresh lemon juice
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 c sliced almonds–toasted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook carrots for about 8 minutes–covered in a little water in a medium sized pot.
3. Drain and place into a 8 in square baking dish.
4. Add the raisins, butter, honey, lemon juice, and ginger and bake for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Toast the almonds in a dry frying pan until lightly browned, and sprinkle on top of the carrots before serving.

–Sandra Ramacher

*Sweet way to eat carrots.

Chinese Greens with Tomatoes and Capers

1 t olive oil
1/2 minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch greens (can work with mustard greens, turnip greens, or collard greens)–torn into small pieces, without the stems
1.5 T capers
1 14 oz diced tomatoes (I used sundried tomatoes–super good!)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add onion and garlic, season lightly with salt and pepper, and saute 2-3 minutes until onion has softened.
3. Add greens to pan and allow to deflate slightly. Then gently toss and stir greens deflate significantly.
4. Sprinkle capers over greens and stir to combine. Continue to greens until they are barely tender.
5. Pour tomatoes into pan. For fresh-tasting greens with crisp stalks, cook only until tomatoes are heated through and greens are tender. For Southern style, longer cooked greens, let the tomatoes come to a simmer and greens until they are a dark green.

— http://inmybox.wordpress.com

*This was my favorite greens recipe so far. The capers really add great flavor and unlike most greens recipes there isn’t a ton of butter.

Mustard Greens

Ingredients:

1/2 c thinly sliced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 lb mustard greens, washed and torn into large pieces
2-3 T chicken broth
1/4 t salt
1/4 pepper
1/4 t dark sesame oil

1. In a large saute pan, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until the onions begin to brown and caramelize, about 5-10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more, until fragrant.

2. Add the mustard greens and broth and cook until the mustard greens are just barely wilted. Toss with sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

–Simply Recipes

*Mustard greens have such a unique flavor, we really enjoyed them!

Butternut Squash Fries

Butternut Squash Fries
Ingredients

* 1 (2 pound) butternut squash, halved and seeded
* salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut away the peel from the squash. Cut the squash into sticks like French fries. Arrange squash pieces on a baking sheet and season with salt.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, turning the fries over halfway through baking. Fries are done when they are starting to brown on the edges and become crispy.

–Allrecipes.com

Steamed Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce

Part 1: Steamed Artichokes

1. Cut about an inch off the top of each artichoke.
2. Cut off base and remove small outer leaves, if desired.
3. Pour an inch of water and a lemon wedge into steamer and allow to boil.
4. Place artichokes into vegetable steamer, tips up.
5. Cover and cook for 25 to 40 minutes.
6. Cut into base of each artichoke to check that it is soft, and make sure inside leaves can be pulled out easily.
7. Cook five minutes more if artichokes are not done, and then check again, repeating as necessary.
8. Drain artichokes upside down on paper towel

–Ehow.com

Part 2: Hollandaise Sauce by Julia Childs 🙂

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
1/4 t salt
Pinch of pepper
1-2 T lemon juice
1 stick of butter

1. Blend egg yolks, seasonings, and 1 T lemon juice.
2. Cut the butter into pieces and heat it to foaming hot in a small saucepan.
3. While still blending the egg mixture start pouring in the hot butter. Omit the milky residue at the bottom of the butter pan.

–Julie Childs

**AMAZING!!!!!