Breakfast Beets That Are Good Enough for Dinner

Breakfast Beets That Are Good Enough for Dinner

1 lb beets
1 T butter (I like how it browns the beets, but you could also use olive oil)
handful of arugula
2 T pepitas
2 eggs, beaten
3 T feta cheese
salt and pepper
splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

1. Slice the greens off of your beets, leaving about the last inch attached to the beet (use the greens in another dish). Add them to a pot and cover with water. Add t of salt and boil them until you can insert a knife. Cool. Peel the outer skin and top and slice into 1/4" rounds. (I usually do this step as soon as I bring my beets home from my CSA or grocery store. I can keep them with their peels on in the fridge for a few days and throw them into salads, etc.)

2. Melt butter in a lg skillet over medium-high heat. Add beet slices and cook until they start to turn a little brown on the edges. Add arugula and cook until wilted. Add pepitas and toss mixture around. Season with salt and pepper.Scramble egg until cooked then mix with other ingredients. Top with 2 T of feta and cook until melted.

3. Put on a serving plate and add remaining T of feta. Splash with balsamic vinegar or lemon juice to brighten flavors and serve with some crusty bread. This would also be tasty rolled up in a wrap.

Massaman Curry

It is the perfect recipe for ingredients from the CSA produce this week: new potatoes, onions, Thai basil. I recommend getting the curry paste in the tubs (photo below). You can buy it in small cans, but these are extremely spicy. Massaman curry is less spicy than red curry. It has all the traditional ingredients in the paste such as red chilis, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and shrimp paste, but adds the flavors of coriander seed, cumin, cardamom, mace, and cinnamon.

Massaman Curry
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 lb potatoes, 1/2" cubes
1 lg onion, 1/2" pieces
4 lg carrots, 1/2" pieces
1 can thick coconut milk
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 -1/3 c massaman curry paste
3 T sugar (palm, if you have it; brown is also nice)
1 T tamarind paste (optional)
2 T fish sauce
1 c peanuts (reserve a few for garnish)
thai basil (optional)


Add 4 T of coconut cream to a large wok over medium high heat. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add more of the thick part of the coconut milk and the chicken. Stir fry a few minutes. Add the remainder of the can, the can of light coconut milk, and the veggies. Stir to coat and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer until potatoes are done, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanuts, sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste and cook a few minutes more. Sprinkle basil over the top and a few reserved peanuts.

Serve with rice.

Serves 10 (extra curry freezes well)

CSA Week 8 -- July 25

This week's veggies include: new potatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, yellow squash, turnips, Asian basil, onions, and heirloom tomatoes

Reverting to old favorites: Broccoli and Cilantro Soup and Kale, Tomatoes, and White Beans

This week I had to delay making recipes from my CSA veggies because I went on vacation for a week. I put them in the fridge and hoped they would survive for the week. They did! Now I need to cook up many things at once so I'm going to rely on some old favorites such as Broccoli and Cilantro Soup and Kale, Tomatoes, and White Beans.  The house smells so good. I added some cauliflower to the soup, instead of roasted corn, and I think I will serve the kale over polenta to mix things up.

CSA Veggies - July 11

This week's veggies included: cilantro, beets, carrots, kale, onions, tarragon, basil, green beans, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Spinach Taco Packets

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Spinach Taco Packets

These were so delicious. Our family cooked these packets on our campfire on our last camping trip, but you could easily do it on a grill as well. Five packets easily fed four adults, six kids, and one dog.

Contents for one packet (each packet makes approx 4 tacos):

1/2 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
2 T taco seasoning
1/2 sweet potato cut into 1/2 " chunks
1 c fresh spinach
1/2 c seasoned black beans, drained


taco toppings:
Cojita cheese, crumbled
salsa


Make a large double-layer of foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the sweet potato chunks. Crumble the uncooked meat over the top of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Add black beans and spinach. Crimp the foil over the top and seal the packets allowing some space for air inside. Cook over hot coals or on the grill for 15 minutes. Be cautious opening the packets so you don't get burned by the steam. Serve with taco toppings and corn or flour soft shell tortillas, hard taco shells, or tortilla chips.

CSA - Week 4

Lots of green this week!

Our take:
Purple head lettuce, mustard greens, sage, bunched greens, spinach, salad mix, braising mix, swiss chard, kolhrabi, nappa cabbage, broccoli