Aloo Palak

We have been inundated with spinach from our CSA for the last few weeks so I have been trying to find new recipes so we dont get bored. Of course, as always, I turned to Tastespotting and found this amazing Indian Dish, Aloo Palak (spinach and potato version), at Honey, What's Cooking. The recipe seemed simple and sounded delish - perfect for a weeknight meal.

You can find the recipe and instructions here.

The only changes we made were using a Pasilla chili instead of spicy green chilies, using 4 yukon gold type potatoes with skin on (there are lots of nutrients in the skins), using about 16 oz of spinach and doubling the amount of Turmeric (it has anti-inflammatory properties and my knees have been bothering me - yes, I'm old). It turned out pretty good. I think I would just add some hot chilies for some heat.

Udon Soup

Last week I had a serious craving for some warm comforting Udon noodle soup, especially since it was supposed to rain all weekend. I decided I would give it a try using some veggies from our CSA. I got all my inspiration from recipes found on TasteSpotting (Nourish Network and Not So Humble Pie specifically).

I really wanted to make my own Dashi (traditional Japanese soup base made with Kombu and Bonito Flakes - seaweed and dried smoked Bonito fish) but my local co-op doesnt carry any fish based products so I got a vegetarian Dashi base. You can find a simple recipe for Dashi here.

CSA Udon Soup
6 oz Cremini mushrooms sliced (Shitake would be delicious)
1 small bunch baby kale, collards and spinach sliced
2 carrots sliced in rounds
1 Diakon radish sliced in rounds
1 package organic fresh garlic udon noodles (Ohana brand)
3/4 cup vegetarian Dashi concentrate
3 3/4 cups water
1 tsp mellow white Miso (optional - but make sure to buy the high quality refrigerated kind - it tastes better and is better for you)
Dash of rice vinegar
Dash of soy sauce
1 green onion sliced

I started by sauteing the mushrooms in sesame oil until browned, then added the kale, collards and spinach, cooking for another 6 minutes. Once cooked, I removed the greens and mushrooms and placed them in a bowl. I put the Dashi concentrate, water, soy sauce and rice vinegar in a pot and waited for everything to come to a boil. Once everything was boiling, I added Diakon, carrots and the noodles (cooking according to package directions about 6 min). After the timer went off, I added the mushrooms and greens, then turned off the heat. I removed about 1/4 cup of the liquid and mixed this with the Miso, then added everything back into the pot mixing thoroughly. Ladled into bowls, added the green onion and done! Super simple, delicious and pretty darn healthy. Its a really good way to get veggies into a meal. I ate leftovers on Saturday and it tasted even better.

Butternut Squash Pasta

I love our CSA (dont know what that is? read here) but sometimes its hard to come up with new recipes that combine the loads of produce we get each week. Last week, I was on a mission to find something new to do with butternut squash and greens. The first thing I do when looking for a new recipe is to check Tastespotting (crazy amazing food porn that I could look at for hours) "a community driven visual potluck". After some searching, I found a great recipe from Former Chef that I figured I could modify since I didnt have all the ingredients. When I start experimenting in the kitchen it doesnt always come out so well (I am much better at soap experiments) so Mister and I were both pleasantly surprised at how good my little modifications turned out to be so I thought I'd share it with you all.

Butternut Squash Pasta with Greens and Bacon

1 butternut squash peeled and diced into bite size pieces
3 strips of bacon (or pancetta)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch baby greens washed and chopped (you could sub spinach)
1 container goat milk cream cheese
parmesan cheese
olive oil
red pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste
2-3 servings whole wheat penne pasta

Preheat oven to 375F while you are chopping up the veggies. Coat the butternut squash in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30-40 min (check periodically). When the squash is about half way done start on the rest of the meal. Cook pasta making sure to set aside about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Cut bacon into strips and cook until crisp, remove bacon from pan and drain on a paper towel. Leave a decent amount of bacon fat in the bottom of the pan and add the garlic, cooking for a minute. Add the chopped greens and saute until wilted - about 6-8 minutes. Take the greens from the pan and set aside. Add cooking liquid and goat milk cream cheese, whisk until smooth. Alright - almost done. Add the greens, butternut squash, bacon, and cream cheese/cooking liquid mixture to the pasta, mix and season with salt pepper and a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes. Note: if sauce seems too liquidy let it sit for a few minutes and it will thicken up. Add fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve with salad and enjoy!!

Pumpkin Carving Dia De Los Muertos Style

Skull-A-Day

Mister and I received a full size pumpkin as part of our CSA and I decided I want to carve it up a little differently this year. Rather than going with the traditional Halloween pumpkin, I have decided I want to do a Dia De Los Muertos theme.

Thaneeya McArdle New York

For those that dont know, Dia De Los Muertos is a Latin American festival where friends and families gather to celebrate and remember their dead loved ones. I love the imagery of Dia De Los Muertos (sugar skulls, masks, bright colors, flowers) so I want to do some sort of carving using the skulls as inspiration (like the one below). I am not very skilled with the pumpkin carving knife but I will share my results even if it looks horrible.

Skull-A-Day

The Veggies have arrived

We got our first box of veggies/fruit on Wednesday. It was just so lovely I had to share. The abundance of food that is available in January is pretty amazing.

Mister and I created and Super Green Dinner with our veggies - sauteed kale, "cooking" spinach, leeks, onions, a few carrots over wheat berries with a cilantro, lime, chili, sourcream (I had to put some fat in) dressing - we prettied it up with sliced radishes and avacado (yumm...more fat). Pics below.

If anyone is interested in the recipe let me know!

Yeah for CSA!!!

Because Mister and I cannot have a garden of our own (at least not the size we want) and the farmers market has turned into a crazed Costco like experience (the only pleasant part being the fresh papusas) we have decided to join a CSA. For those that dont know (I didnt really know what that meant until a few months ago), CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It creates a direct relationship between customer/community and farmers. A group of people pledge support to a farmer, covering anticipated costs of operating the farm, and in turn they get fresh produce and the satisfaction of knowing exactly where their food comes from. For more in depth description/history click here.

There are a lot of great reasons to join a CSA. For Mister and I, joining a CSA is a way for us to support organic agriculture, support a local business and eat more seasonally. Over the course of the last year, I having been making every effort to eat more organic whole foods, at times this can be very difficult (especially because I like sweet treats, pizza and hot dogs). For us, the CSA simplifies part of this process. Eating more seasonally has also become important to us, especially after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma (this is an amazing book, I highly recommend it). Mister is a little worried about some repetition in our box but I think it will be a fun challenge to come up with different recipes.

The hardest part of the process was choosing a CSA - especially for us because we are so indecisive and there are so many options. We did online searches, read reviews on Yelp, went through all the farmers websites and finally decided to join either EatWell or Terra Firma Farms . EatWell had a waiting list so we've joined Terra Firma.

I am now impatiently waiting for my first box to arrive...

To find a CSA near you check here or here. If you are in the SF Bay Area check here.