Green Beans and Other Stuff

Yet another recipe found on pinterest. This one included all items already on hand, so it went right to the top of the list
Balsamic Green Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lb. green beans
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 small red onion
• Feta cheese

{For the dressing}

• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt/pepper

DirectionsMake the dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.Trim ends off green beans and rinse. Steam (or boil) for about 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. In a colander, rinse well with cold water to stop cooking, then pat dry. Cut green beans into 1 to 2 inch pieces.Dice red onion and halve cherry tomatoes.Place onion and green beans in a bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and toss to coat.Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to marinate.When ready to serve, add in tomatoes and feta and lightly toss.

Why do I feel like I did a really bad job of "trimming" the ends of the green beans? I have childhood memories of snapping off the ends, but I think it would have been wiser to use a knife in this case. A little too much waste down the drain.

Just a few ingredients made up the very yummy dressing. Although I have to admit that we did not have fresh garlic, so I was going to use the jar in the fridge. BUT I was unable to open it. Cursed weak hands!

I loved the colors of this, and the overall easiness of getting it together. All in all, I would make this again. BUT it did seem to be yet another side dish. I really need to figure out some main courses here.

Side Note: I used the left overs Monday night as the topping / dressing on lettuce for my dinner. The recipe stated that this should be eaten within the day, but it seemed to be fine for me two days later. It was a yum again. 

Week 6

Rain rain go away. Not only was this afternoon's pick up in the rain (which is slowly becoming the norm) but it was also cold. Very odd seeing that it is mid July and we had record breaking temps in the 100's just a few days ago. But what else would we talk about in New England if the weather was not cray-cray?

There was another fabulous volunteer at the depot this evening. She saw me running up with Stella in my arms (too muddy to let her roam free) and immediately offered to help me gather my goods. She informed me she is the mother of 17 month twins. God bless her.

The Week 6 bounty included:

• 1 & 1/2 pounds of red onion (look at that color!)
• 1 pound carrots
• Beet (other option was scallions)
• Kale (there were two other leafy greens to choose from, Bok Choy being one, callaloo the other)
• 1 pound green beans
• 1 head of salad lettuce

Once home, the normal routine of lettuce washing commenced. I contemplated a quick batch of Kale chips since it was so chilly, it would have actually been nice to turn on the oven. But laziness and a stubborn, cranky toddler both did me in for the evening.

I was able to crank out a little chopped tomato, mozzarella with some of the salad lettuce for a nice little dinner this evening.

this never gets old

Meanwhile, a cranky and stubborn Stella insisted on being pushed in her stroller around the house. And did not want to get out of said stroller. Rainy nights are so much fun! So, I did a mom-improvise and served her dinner as is:

bath time was equally fun

Peppas and Onions

The plethora of peppers and onions has been growing in the fridge. I wanted to do a stir-fry of sorts with these; but really - who am I kidding? Baby steps.

I decided to just wing it again and do a basic saute with some meat I bought over the weekend. It was a Monday evening, so my husband Paul (a chef by trade) was home and provided a little "guidance". He also put our daughter to bed, so I had a toddler free kitchen, which resulted in a much earlier dinner time.

I also started a pot of rice to go along. Due to the chef-husband, there are always an assortment of spice flavoring options. This evening we opted for a little Cajun rice.

First, I cooked the meat -- thin-sliced steak-tip meat, with a little olive oil on a warm pan, and salt & pepper to the steak.

Lesson Learned: I probably should have cut the meat up first.
I ended up cooking half way, removing and cutting, then finishing off

Once the steak was cooked up (only a few minutes, I am not a well-done meat kinda gal.) I added the onions and peppers to pan to cook.

the smell was pretty awesome

At this point, the chef-husband was back in the kitchen. It is kind of hard for him to let go of any kitchen reins, so instead of having him over my shoulder the entire time, he finished off the pepper and onions. He added a little water to the pan, along with some minced garlic from the fridge. I was totally okay with the over-taking as it was another 90 degree day.

Once everything was done, I opted to plate myself both some rice and a wheat wrap with some shredded cheese and the peppers, onions and steak. I ate the wrap and was stuffed, so the rest was perfect for a work lunch the next day.

yum

I am glad I did this - I feel perhaps a little more confident now to do a stir-fry. Everything was really yummy and lunch the next day heated up really well.

flowers from the yard. I love the color. they match the kitchen

Pinterest Mediocore (?)

If you have ever been on Pinterest, you have seen the zucchini post.  You know the one. It's looking all cheesy,  gooey and yummy...

you know, this one

Well, I really wanted to try this with my zucchini,  so I did. "Cause that's how I roll. It was pretty easy, and something I would make again (if I ever find zucchini in the market)

scooped out and ready to get stuffed

all loaded up

I might have been a little heavy handed with the cheese.
But who doesn't love cheese?

I had this as my dinner during the week. This would definitely make a better side dish.

All in all, not a Pinterest win, and not a Pinterest fail. A Pinterest Mediocrity!

Week 5

Whoops! I am so in the groove, I completely forgot to snap a picture of the goods this week.
On the positive side, there was no puppy to scare Stella at the pick-up. Instead there was an excellent volunteer who offered to watch Stella as I went around to get the veggies . Thank you!

This weeks share included:

• Three ears of corn
• Two more onions (I probably could have taken three, but I still have the other three from last week)
• Two more green peppers 
• One Head of salad lettuce (other choice was beets)
• One Head of Pointy Head Cabbage (I choose not to take this one - I am pretty sure I wouldn't eat it)
• One pound of the snap peas

I also snaged a pint of fresh blueberries, as they had extra they were selling. Stella 'sampled' a few from the table as well. Along with some snap peas and what I think was a cherry. She wanted to try everything.

I quickly did the lettuce wash once home, munching on sliced cucumbers and green peppers with hummus while doing so. And I have already enjoyed a lovely salad at work today.

I really want to do a Stir-Fry type meal with the snap peas, pepper, onions and a protein (beef?). But looking at the recipes on line, it seems a little daunting of a task for me.... Maybe!

No food pictures this week, so here is one of Stella and Annie (we are dog sitting this week). They have turned into best buds.

going "night night" on Annie's dog bed

Kohlrabi & Potato fries and Sauteed Pea Tendrils

A week or so back, I finally used up the Kohlrabi that was taunting me. I really wanted to make Kohlrabi "fries" but only having one Kohlrabi, it didn't really seem worth the effort. I looked multiple places (Whole Paycheck, The Basket.....) and could not find more Kohlrabi. So, I ended up getting a few small potatoes to add in.

There are multiple recipes online for this; I wanted to do simple, and just sort of winged it. (Which usually doesn't work out for me). I peeled and sliced the potatoes and Kohlrabi into the best fry shape I could muster -- which was more or a 'wedge' design. I put the wedges on a baking tray, tossed in some olive oil, added Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder. I went a little too heavy on the oil. 

This all then went into a 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes. I kept checking, and moving them around a bit because I forgot to spay the pan, so they were sticking on the edges, and there was a giant pool of oil in the middle of the pan due to my heavy pour (must be from my old bar tending days)

About to go in

While those were baking, I figured I needed some green to eat as well. I took out the bag of pea tendrils, washed and spun them, then removed the thick center stem. These really were quite beautiful with the little flower buds on them.

close up of the pea tendrils 

Once all washed up, I sauteed them in a pan that was warm on the stove top, over low heat. With just a little olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Saute action shot

These really shrunk up. I was surprised the big bag really was not net a lot. They did smell super yummy, and I was very excited to eat them. I also added some parm cheese to these at the end.

Yum

I ended up with a pretty unbalanced plate. Lots of "fries" and a little green. 

The Kohlrabi were interesting. I could definitely tell them apart from the potato, but not in a bad way. I want to try them again. Hopefully more next time! 

The Pea Tendrils were AMAZING. I really hope to come upon these again.

#workingmom

I had a lovely dinner tonight. Unfortunately, it was at 10pm. I really need to figure this out. BUT it was yummy!

I used the Yellow Summer Squash to make these (found this recipe on Facebook maybe? I just copied and pasted it to Pinterest so I would have for later.)

1 lb. zucchini or squash 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 salt & pepper to taste *Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray lightly with vegetable spray*Slice zucchini or squash into 1/4 inch-thick rounds. Toss rounds with oil*In bowl combine dry ingredients* Place rounds in mixture, coating both, pressing to adhere *Place rounds in a single layer on baking sheets *Bake for about 22 to 27 minutes, until golden brown.

The one squash was probably a little less the one pound. I sliced a littler thinner too.

Oven shot

For the rest of my meal, I used the remainder of the tomato along with mozzarella and prosciutto (which I determined is really just the lazy man's bacon) I bought over the weekend. Mixed in a bowl with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette, and I was in heaven.

Now I just need to figure out how to get this all done a little earlier. I did make lunches for Stella and myself at the same time, so I guess it was not all wasted time. (Salad with the fixings for me - using up the cucumbers and scallions!)

Fennel

While putting away the veggies tonight I figured I would pull out the fennel from week two, since the time was probably ticking on this one.
I read online, and my friend Sandy, suggested to just slice up the fennel, and dip it in some olive oil to munch on. Perfect -no stove needed.

Repost of the pickup photo : The fennel is hiding behind the strawberries 

Not much from the little bulb.

I was not super impressed. It was like a cross between celery and ??? I don't know. It had a faint lickerace taste , not as strong as I was fearing.

I was munching on this while Stella was eating her dinner and she REALLY wanted some. She ate three whole pieces. This makes fennel a more likely candidate for me to pick up again!

week 4. whoa!

Since we did not have a pick up last week due to the holiday, we received a few "extras" this week.

• carrots
• onions
• scallions ( this was a choice, beets were the other option)
• tomatoes (yeah!)
• green peppers
• zucchini And yellow squash
• snap peas
• cucumbers

Lots of stuff. Already ate the zucchini! I can never find them in the super market, so I was a little excited for this one.

Stella was my helper. She really loved the carrots.

She did not love as much the puppy that came running up to her to kiss her face.

Sautéed Kale

There was no pick up last week due to the holiday, so I am totally ready for the pick up tomorrow!
In preparation, I figured I would finish off the kale I had in the fridge. It has been WAY too hot to even think about turning the oven on again for the tasty Kale chips, so I figured I would try them sautéed. Last night I had a very successful meal with sautéed pea tendrils, so I figured I would give it the college try.

Wash and spin...

After washing and spinning, I heated the kale, with some olive oil, sale and pepper on the stove. There was some left over (cooked) turkey bacon in the fridge that I chopped up and added.

Sautéed 

Only took about ten minutes from start to finish, which is awesome. But I'm not sure Kale is my cup of tea. It is a little too much, if that makes any sense. Very tough. I like rare steak.

Finished!

All in all, if I end up with Kale again, I would probably crank the AC and make some more yummy Kale chips!

Chips and Soup

This past weekend was pretty wet and, considering it is late June, also pretty chilly. So, not a horrible time to turn on the oven.

After a trip to the local Russell Orchards,

for some super fresh strawberries (I think I am now an addict),

and a visit with the animals,

Daryl

my Sunday night menu included Kale Chips and a Garlic Leek and Creamy Potato Soup.

Kale Chips

I searched far and wide for various Kale Chip recipes. They all seemed fairly similar (wash & super dry the leaves, break up into pieces, coat in olive oil and salt) the one variation being temp and how long to cook for.
Since I was also making a soup and could easily keep a close eye on the chips, I decided to go with what appeared to be the middle ground of temps - 350.

This is the recipe I followed closest:

Kale Chips

About six servings

Remove the tough stems from the kale and wash and spin dry the kale thoroughly. 

• 6 to 8 cups (140 to 200 g) kale leaves; if large, tear them into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• flaky sea salt or fleur de sel

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.)

2. Put the kale on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, then massage it into the leaves.

3. Spread the kale leaves in an even layer on the baking sheet and put in the oven. After about 5 minutes, use a spatula to separate any leaves of kale that are clumping together.

4. Continue cooking the kale for about 20 minutes, until the leaves are crisp. Remove from the oven and sprinkle fairly generously with salt.

on the way into the oven...

I only did about 1/5 of this recipe, maybe six or so Kale leaves. Since I wasn't sure how they would turn out, or if anyone would even like them, I didn't want to "waste" all of the Kale. A shame I didn't, the batch went pretty fast. Paul and Stella really liked them.
Also, since the batch was so small, there was plenty of room on the baking sheet, and no clumping occurred.
Definitely will be making these again - just need to wait for another cool day to turn the oven back on!

yum!

Creamy Garlic Leek, Garlic Scape and Potato Soup

Wanting to use up the Garlic Leeks from week two, as well as the remainder of the garlic scapes, I decided to try a recipe found in the "From Asparagus to Zuccchini" cook book for Leeks. I figured Garlic Leeks couldn't be that far off, right?

First, I removed the "Fido" hair from the Garlic Leeks. The larger one made a nice wig for Stella. 

They were actually really interesting on the inside - they looked almost like a standard garlic clove. Who'd guessed, huh?

Paul would not let me keep it on her head long enough for a picture :(

I made a few variations to the recipe since I only had the three leeks and wanted to use the scapes. What I ended up doing:

Creamy Garlic Leek, Garlic Scapes and Potato Soup

About four servings

• 2 cups Garlic Leeks - thinly sliced (White and Pale Green park only) 
• 1/2 Garlic Scapes, thinly sliced (or would it be diced since they are so thin?)
• 2 pounds of yellow potatoes - peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon ground tamarack leaves
• 1/2 - 1 cups light sour cream
• 4 cups chicken broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a pot at low heat. Add the Garlic Leeks, Garlic Scapes, and Tamarack. Sweat these out for about 20  - 25 mintues, covered at low heat. 

2. Add Potatoes & Chicken Stock. Bring the pot up to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 24 - 30 minutes, or until everything is nice and tender. 

3. Using an emersion blender (I am getting my use our of this puppy!) I pureed everything in the pot. The added the sour cream and mix. 

4. Ready to eat! (Salt and Pepper each serving to taste)

This sat on the stove for an additional 15 mintues or so at low heat as Stella finished her dinner. 

Pauls remark upon entering the kitchen was "Hello, Garlic!". So, if you are not a fan of Garlic, probably not for you. Myself, I love the stuff, so it was perfect. 

I sprinkled a few of the extra cruncy Kale chips on my bowl. I always like a crunch in my soup, so they worked perfectly. 

Only variation I would make would be to 'sweat' the leeks and scapes a little longer in the beginning. 

I would chalk this up as a success. 

No share pick up this week as the Forth of July falls on a Holiday. I am a little bummed about this as I saw a few pictures of the Tuesday pick up - Carrots, Zucchinni and more were included! I can't wait for those!

I am in search of more Kohlrabi at local farm stands. I don't want to heat up my oven to cook just one tiny one. Good think the one I have should last at least a month in the fridge...