Week 5: So many vegetables!

This is a picture of this week's pick up, which was ABUNDANT. We received:
zucchini
summer squash
cucumbers
mint
scallions
parsley
basil
green beans
lettuce
Chinese spinach
water spinach
arugula
rainbow chard

Over the weekend I made an Asian noodle salad based on this recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/06/bean-thread-noodles-with-pickled-vegetables
I used Chinese spinach instead of the daikon and cucumber.

On Monday I made a pasta dish using parsley, basil, summer squash, chard, scallions, and water spinach:

Papardelle with Bacon and Summer Vegetables
papardelle pasta
4-6 pieces of bacon
4 scallions, small slices
2 summer squashes, cut into small chunks
chinese spinach, roughly chopped
chard, roughly chopped
basil, one handful, roughly chopped
parsley, one handful, roughly chopped
parmesan
seasoning (I used salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes)

1. Boil water for pasta, and cook to desired firmness.
2. Cook bacon until crisp. Move to paper-towel covered plate to drain, then cut into small pieces.
3. Saute scallions in the bacon grease until soft.
4. Add summer squash and seasoning. Cover to steam for a few minutes.
5. Add chard and spinach. Stir to coat.
6. Add herbs and stir.
7. Stir in pasta and bacon.
8. Top with parmesan.

Week 4: Spinach Pancakes

I had a pretty busy week last week, so still have a lot of veggies left over. I did have a few people over this weekend, and made mojitos using last week's mint. Mint in savory foods tends not to be my favorite, so this was a perfect use for it.

Yesterday's pick up included:
scallions
Chinese spinach (a LOT of it)
rainbow chard
lettuce
basil

I still had a great deal of Chinese spinach left over from last week, so that was at the top of the list to use for dinner tonight. A search for spinach recipes on gojee.com* turned up this:
http://fiveandspice.com/2011/01/06/spinach-pancakes-with-mint-lime-yogurt-sauce/
I had some light sour cream around so I used that instead of yogurt, and the last of my cilantro instead of the mint. I think my only other substitution was I chopped up the white and light green scallion parts instead of onion. I hardly ever fry anything, but once in a while it is so tasty. I'd thought about just sauteeing up some greens to go with the fish last night, but I'm glad I went the more complicated route. Well worth it.

With the spinach pancakes I pan seared some fresh cod with a little olive oil and smoked paprika, and topped it with basil and scallion. Here is the complete meal, along with my strawberry mojito:

As you can see, I have yet to perfect my fish-cooking technique to wear it stays an intact piece, but it tasted just as good.

*A note about Gojee... They did a massive overhaul of their site (it now includes a big shopping component), which makes the recipe section much more difficult to locate. However, once you manage to, it's just as pretty and helpful as before. To locate the recipes part, click "discover" at the top, and then find "food" or "drinks."

Week 3: Sriracha Chicken and Water Spinach

In this week's pick up we received:

water spinach
Chinese spinach
mint
cilantro
lettuce
scallions

Last night we cooked this recipe for Sambal Chicken (http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/07/sambal-chicken-skewers), skipping the "skewers" part and using a grill pan. It was quite tasty.

To go along with it, we cooked up the water spinach with some chopped scallions and a very small amount of olive oil. I had intended to use garlic, but found there was none to be found so had to go for garlic powder instead.

And to top it all off: cilantro. Highly recommended!

Week 2: Teriyaki Stir-Fry

I ended up using most of this week's share in tonight's dinner, which worked out great because I'm not going to have much time to cook this week. I made a stir-fry as follows:

chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
Soy Vey teriyaki sauce
brown rice
canola oil
garlic
tatsoi
pea shoots and tendrils
Chinese spinach
scallions
cilantro

Cilantro and scallions for garnish:

Pre-plating:

Week 2: Chinese Spinach and Stir-Fried Noodles

I used up the last of last week's share last night: the Chinese spinach. I hadn't encountered it before, but it behaved pretty much like other spinach. I blanched it (hot water, then ice bath), but next time I will do so for a shorter time than the 4 min. I did yesterday. The full recipe, with approximate measurements, is as follows:

Chinese Spinach and Stir-Fried Noodles

Sesame oil (2 T)
Lime juice (1 t)
Soy sauce (2 T)
Fish sauce (1 tsp)
Ginger (1 T grated)
Sesame seeds (1 t)
Scallions (1 bunch, chopped)
togarashi to taste
sriracha to taste
Spinach (1 bunch)
Noodles (1 package)

1. Saute noodles in 1 T sesame oil and 1 T soy sauce for 2 min.
2. Blanch spinach by cooking in boiling water for 2 min then transferring to ice bath. Chop.
3. Stir together 1 T sesame oil, 1 T soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, togarashi, and lime juice. Toss with cooked noodles, scallions, and spinach. Top with sriracha.


Today's pick up included:
tatsoi
basil
pea shoots, tendrils
cilantro
lettuce
scallions

I'm excited to decide what to do with it!

Week 1: Welcome back, vegetables!

I thought I'd dust off this blog now that I'm starting up with a CSA again. Today was the first pick-up for my half vegetable share. I received:

pea shoots and tendrils
Chinese spinach
scallions

For dinner, I made chicken salad including several of the scallions, some roasted chicken thighs, reduced fat mayo, salt, pepper, and a little cayenne. I served it with a pea shoot salad dressed with equal parts rice vinegar and sesame oil. A good chilled dinner for a hot summer night.