Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

It’s been a busy few weeks around our house.  Though my husband and I are both teachers, with all summer off, we hardly end up feeling like we’ve had all summer off.  We have work stuff and home stuff keeping us plenty busy.

The folks at the CSA farm have been busy, too,  Many crops are in season.  Lately, we’ve enjoyed a wider range of vegetables, including two varieties of cucumbers, kohlrabi, purple snap beans, sugar snap peas, and broccoli.  Our household hasn’t tried the kohlrabi yet, but we have greatly enjoyed the rest of the veggies.  The broccoli definitely impressed us–it was very flavorful.  We learned that purple snap beans don’t stay purple once you cook them.  We’ve eaten a lot of salads, but have also continued to try our hands at some fancier fare.

A success this week was Swiss Chard and Artichoke Pizza.  You can find the recipe at Farmgirl Fare’s blog. We added red peppers to the saute because we enjoyed the mixing of the sweetness of the red peppers with the more bitter chard when we made chard pie.  We also made a second pizza with red sauce.  Our friend Shannon was visiting.  Like us, she couldn’t decide which pizza she liked more.  The chard went really well with the red sauce and makes me think I should make a lasagna chocked full of my next load of greens.  Also, I didn’t prepare my own dough and went the lazy route, using store-bought crust instead.

I’ll leave you with this beautiful site…my oldest son liked the sugar snap peas so much that he asked for them for a snack!

Update on my youngest son: still no veggies have crossed his lips.  We tried to get him excited about the sugary peas, which were just like candy, but, umm, he didn’t buy it.

When you hear about Chard Pie, it might not sound particularly tasty.  At least, not to my family.  When I baked it last night, my mother (who joined us for dinner) brought down some leftovers from the night before, in case anyone wanted a replacement meal.  The great news is that the Chard Pie was enjoyed by all, except the children.  My oldest son wouldn’t try it. Unfortunately, he is a little scared of sauteed greens after trying kale and radicchio.  I hope to win him over some day because chard is much milder.

You might be wondering why it isn’t called Chard Quiche.  It has a pie crust and eggs, so it’s very similar to quiche.  I think it’s not considered a quiche because the egg layer is fairly thin, and the chard has its own layer–it’s not mixed in with the egg.  I guess it’s like the apple of apple pie.

Here are photos of the Chard Pie whole and from the side.

We got this recipe from the Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbook, which I reviewed earlier on this blog (click on the title to go to the review).  I will definitely cook this again.

Micah’s Yummy Chard Pie

2 Tbs. olive oil

1.5 cups chopped onions

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 large bunch chard (can substitute spinach or other greens)–stems removed and leaves chopped

6-8 eggs

2 cups milk or half & half (we had half & half on hand from cooking this radicchio recipe, so that’s what I used)

1 tsp salt

2 8-inch deep-dish pie shells (I used the refrigerated kind)

2 cups grated cheese (we used sharp cheddar)

1-2 Tbs chopped dill (we don’t like dill, so we skipped this)

Optional ingredients –anything you would enjoy in an omelet!  We added a chopped red pepper, which added a nice sweetness.  I added while I sauteed the greens.  We also add a cup of chopped ham, which I added after the eggs.

Heat oven to 400 degree.   Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (if using other firm vegetables, you might saute them, too).  Add chopped greens and cook, stirring often, until they wilt.  Turn off heat.  Beat eggs, milk, and salt in a bowl.  Spread chard mixture in bottom of pie shells.  Add cheese.  Pour egg mixture over top.  Add any optional ingredients and spices of choice.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes–make sure the eggs are firm, not jiggly, in the middle.  Makes 16 slices.

Tonight, I had ambition plans to freshen up the leftovers of the tasty salad I made last night.  I don’t know its official name, but I found the recipe by Googling (Googleing?  Which is correct?) the words lettuce, ramen noodles, and mandarin oranges. Other than those ingredients, you add some slivered almonds and a dressing made from equal parts sugar, olive oil, and vinegar.  Last night, it was great, and I even shared it at a family picnic.

Tonight, I added more greens so we could finish it off for dinner.  Unfortunately, I picked the wrong batch.  Instead of the tasty Romaine lettuce, I grabbed something much more bitter and much less edible.  It must be a type of green that needs some sort of cooking to be edible.  We all tried to eat it, and some bites were great, but whenever we got a bit with the bitter green, it just wasn’t edible.  So instead of this Ramen Noodle Salad:

Here

is

what

we

ate

for

dinner.

Yes,

it’s

wrong.

So

very

wrong.

But

it

was

delightful:

Dinner!!

On the plus side, we got more protein than we would have if we had eaten the salad.

Corn on the cob is making its preview appearance on the grocery store shelves.  No, it’s not local, but I can’t help but grab a few ears.  When sweet corn is juicy and sweet (aided by a tablespoon of sugar added to the boiling water), you can’t eat it without making some satisfied grunts.  I can’t wait for the local stuff to become the star of the show!

YUM!

Why is the lovely, yummy eggplant is such a wallflower of a vegetable? It is such an awesome vegetable to behold: it’s purple, it has a funny shape, and it’s slightly smooshy. What I love about the eggplant is how easily it can be chopped. I’m a big fan of squash, especially acorn squash; however, I always fear I’ll end up in the emergency room after fighting a squash while cutting it. The eggplant causes me so much less stress, plus people can eat the skin. Take that, Squash!

I think it tastes like a cross between a potato and a zucchini. While our culture seems to appreciate the other two, eggplants are rarely used. If you are looking for a wonderful use for an eggplant, here’s an idea: Take your favorite lasagna recipe and use eggplant instead of the noodles. To do this, here is what you need to do:

* Preheat your oven’s broiler

* Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray or rub with olive oil

* Cut your eggplant in half, and then slice it into 1/2 inch slices, with each being the approximate width of a lasagna noodle

* Lay the eggplant pieces on the foil. Do not overlap.

* Place in the oven and broil each side for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through

Now, it’s ready to replace the noodles in your recipe. This is an extra tasty AND extra healthy swap!