Another Summer Salad

 Arugula

Radishes

(lots and lots of radishes in the share this year)

Blueberries

Toasted Walnuts

Israeli Feta Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Fresh Lime Vinaigrette

(EVOO, fresh lime juice, splash of white wine vinegar, fresh oregano, touch of honey)

 

Quick Skillet Supper

Came home from work, fell asleep on the couch, now it's late and we're hungry -so I rough chopped a red onion and started it cooking in 2 tsp olive oil while I sliced a couple of zucchini

Threw the zucchini in to start cooking while I sliced three little yellow summer squash and cut a green pepper into 3/4" pieces 

Threw the yellow squash and peppers in with the rest of the veggies and stirred over medium high heat - while I opened a can of chick peas and quartered a handful of Calamata olives

When the onions were soft and the squash was soft but not mushy, I added the chick peas and olives and heated everything through

Last addition - about 3/4 cup of crumbled Feta Cheese and some shredded fresh green and purple basil.

Total time < 30 minutes.

Served this with leftover mashed potatoes, warm pita bread and hummus.

Pasta with Garlic Scape Pesto and Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

A couple of weeks ago, the CSA box had something in it I have never cooked (or even seen) before - Garlic Scapes. These are the shoots that grow up out of the garlic bulb as it tries to become a plant. We eat the garlic bulb, so the farmers cut off the scapes before they flower and leave the bulb to continue to grow. I have read that the scapes have a "delicate" garlic flavor. Our experience was that they pack a serious punch of garlicky power. They are lovely to look at as well.

There are dozens of recipes (maybe hundreds) on the web for garlic scape pesto. I used less oil than called for - a trick I learned from Weight Watchers - I substituted vegetable broth for some of the oil..

Ingredients

1 cup chopped garlic scapes (about 1/2 inch pieces)

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesean Cheese

Pulverize everything in the bowl of a food processor.

It come out a lovely light green color. We did not add basil - but someone told me it is a nice addition.

We had our pesto with spiral pasta (Barilla Plus - for protein)

Our side dish was made from another stand out in the early summer CSA share - beets. I usually roast them whole, but D.has a new cook book, called Fast Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton


She recommended "quick roasting" the beets by slicing them thinly crosswise, tossing them with olive oil, coarsely chopped fresh thyme and a little salt, and roasting them at 475 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes. We did them this way and they were fabulous. We served them on top of some leaf lettuce with chopped navel orange slices and just a little Feta cheese.This should have been topped with a little fresh mint as well - but we got hungry and skipped right to eating.

Pasta with Greens, Herbs & Feta

The CSA box has been full of lettuce the past couple of weeks. Lettuce is wonderful, but D. was away for the week and three heads of lettuce is a lot of salad for two people to eat , so I cooked up the Romaine into this modified version of Molly Katzen's Pasta with Greens & Feta.

 I washed and chopped the Romaine ( I triple wash all my greens the same way I do the spinach (see Tofu topped with Spinach and sun dried tomatoes). I think Romaine lettuce has a wonderful flavor when sauteed lightly. Mollie Katzen uses it with Spinach in her recipe, but I decided to let the Romaine solo here.

 Went out on the deck and picked some oregano

 and purple basil

 I sauteed some onions in about 2 tsp olive oil, then added the lettuce and cooked it till it was wilted but still had a little crunch at the center.

 Then I threw in some Feta cheese

 Tossed the veggies with the pasta and some pasta cooking water

 and topped with freshly grated Parmesan

Very simple, quick and easy supper with wonderful flavors.

Spinach Salad with Feta & Pecans

The perfect Lunch or Supper Salad

Made this from the contents of one of the first CSA share boxes this season - right out of the box - lovely spinach that was so fresh it was just perfect for a salad - we used some Romaine lettuce too, because we like a LOT of salad, and strawberries just out of the field (I am so sorry that strawberry season is over and I didn't get to a big batch to freeze like I did last year - and I think I will be even sorrier in November when there are no strawberries in my freezer!)

Pecans have just the right crunch match to compliment strawberries and spinach, don't you think?

And a little feta cheese to liven things up. I do love Feta Cheese.

We dressed this with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Here's another shot, because it is so pretty!

Day 69: Pasta with Eggplant, Onions Peppers, Olives & Feta

A last, lonely bag of sauteed eggplant, onions, peppers, and tomatoes was in the freezer from August. So, I boiled up some pasta (Barilla Plus - for the extra protein). Heated up the veggie mix. Put the two together with about 2 cups of pasta water (ALWAYS save some pasta water when you drain the pasta, it inevitably comes in handy). I threw in some shopped calamata olives and topped it with feta cheese - sorry I didn't take a picture - it was very tasty.

Day 27: Potato, Zuchinni, & Feta Latkes

It is the fifth night of Hanukkah and I have not fried anything in oil yet. I made something I will call Latkes with a Greek Twist - or Twisted Greek Latkes.

2 potatoes
1 onion
2 small/medium zucchinis
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
salt & pepper, oregano, basil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
olive oil

Grate the vegetables together - always put onions and potatoes together in the food processor chute to keep the potatoes from turning that ugly grey/brown color. Squeeze out the excess liquid.  Beat the eggs, then mix them into the vegetables with the flour and seasonings, then add the cheese and mix that in. Heat a heavy pan, coat with thin layer of oil, drop tablespoons of batter - keep the latkes small so they cook through. Cook until brown on both sides. Keep warm in the oven until you eat them. These are a little soft - as opposed to crunchy - because of the zucchini and the feta - but very good.

To go with the Twisted Greek Latkes:
Chick Pea Salad (1 can chick peas, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, 1 cup chopped celery, 1/2 c chopped flat leaf parsley, S&P, 2 tsp EV Olive oil, some balsamic vinegar)
Braised Red Cabbage with apples and onions from the freezer (prepared and frozen in August)
Apple and Cranberry Chutney from Thanksgiving