CSA Harvest Box: week 4

Another yummy week of farmer's market produce!  This bag included: lettuce, the last of the pea pods, fava beans, cabbage, broccoli, blueberries, zucchini, fresh cut herbs (I got Italian flat leaf parsley- yum-o!), and a succulent plant.  I haven't used the parsley yet, and the blueberries are just being eaten as they are!  Rowen loves blueberries. (don't we all?)  The zucchini we ate sauteed, and here's how we've been using up the rest:

Sautéed Broccoli with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
(from Cook's Illustrated)

(I chopped up the broccoli greens and included them! Broccoli greens are SUPER good for you!)

Serves 4 



1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth


1 to 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon


1 teaspoon cornstarch


1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)


1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1 1/2 pounds broccoli, florets cut into 3/4-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices


2 medium shallots, peeled, halved, and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices


1/2 teaspoon table salt


1/4 teaspoon sugar


4 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved


2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves


1 tablespoon unsalted butter



 

1. Combine chicken broth, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, cornstarch, and pepper in small bowl and set aside. Combine garlic and 1 teaspoon oil in second small bowl.



2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Add broccoli, sprinkle with salt and sugar; cook, stirring frequently, until broccoli begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add shallots and toss to combine; continue to cook until broccoli is bright green and well-browned, and shallots are cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes longer.



3. Push broccoli to sides of skillet; add oil-garlic mixture to clearing and cook, mashing with rubber spatula, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir to combine garlic with broccoli; add tomatoes and basil and continue to cook until florets are cooked through and stalks are tender-crisp, about 1 minute longer.



4. Add chicken broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly until broccoli is well coated and sauce is thickened, about 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat, add butter and toss until well-coated. Serve, adding remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice if desired.

 

 

 

sauteed market veggie risotto (from my imagination)

-your favorite risotto recipe (ask me if you don't have one!)

2 purple carrots, sliced

a couple hand fulls sugar snap peas, roughly chopped

fava beans, prepared

olive oil

I made risotto, and while it was cooking, lightly sauteed the purple carrots from LAST week for a couple minutes, threw in some of the peas, and then added the fava beans right toward the end.  If you've never prepared fava beans, here's how:

pop the beans out of their giant pods.

blanch them (drop them into boiling water and boil 1 minute, then strain them out of the boiling water into ice water)

pop them out of their little skins. easy peasy!

Chinese Chicken Salad (in an email from the farm! sorry no picture- we took this to the Weathersby's Marshmallow Gun War potluck)

1 cup slivered almonds
2 T sesame seeds (omitted)
3 chopped green onions
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
2 pkg Top Ramen noodles
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped1/3 cup oil
2 T rice vinegar
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt

Brown broken dry noodles in 2 T oil. Add nuts and seeds to brown. In bowl, combine cabbage, onions and chicken. Add ramen mixture. Mix remaining oil, vinegar, sugar and seasoning packet. (just used 1 of them) Pour over salad. Toss gently and enjoy.

Quick & Easy Pancit (from Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat
• 1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
• 4 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 lemons - cut into wedges, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, drain, and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in chicken cabbage, carrots and soy sauce. Cook until cabbage begins to soften. Toss in noodles, and cook until heated through, stirring constantly. Transfer pancit to a serving dish and garnish with quartered lemons.