Zucchini--Asian style

Asian-style Zucchini

1 teaspoon butter
1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
garlic powder to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the zucchini, and cook until lightly browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce and sesame seeds. Season with garlic powder and pepper, and continue cooking until zucchini is well coated and tender.

I sliced the zucchini in 1/4" slices rather than 1". They cooked faster and seemed more delicate. This is an excellent and rather unexpected way to serve zucchini.

Radicchio, Chard & Onions

Rainbow Chard and Radicchio Sauté

2 lbs. rainbow chard (3 to 4 medium bunches)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. radicchio (about 2 large heads), cored, cut into 1-inch wedges, leaves separated (about 8 cups)
2 tablespoons (or more) red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons currants (optional)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

1. Cut ribs from chard; chop crosswise into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups). Slice leaves crosswise into 1-inch strips (about 16 cups).
2. Melt butter with oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add chard ribs; cover and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Working in batches, add chard leaves and radicchio, stirring until wilted. Cook uncovered until vegetables are tender, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar and currants, if desired. Season with salt and pepper and more vinegar, if desired.
3. Using slotted spoon, transfer chard mixture to bowl. Sprinkle pine nuts over.
 

What a surprise--I actually liked the bitter radicchio when the bitterness was offset by the raisins and vinegar. Definitely a keeper and will probably use up the rest of the radicchio the same way. I did halve the recipe--but not the currants and vinegar.

Beets--Chilled Borscht

Chilled Borscht

2 lbs. beets (6 medium), scrubbed and all but 1 inch of stems removed
1 small onion, peeled
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

1. Place the beets, onion, 7 cups water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and simmer until the beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a skewer, about 45 minutes.
2. Remove and discard the onion. Transfer the beets to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Strain the liquid through a strainer lined with paper towel and reserve.
3. With a paper towel, rub the skin from beets. Grate half of the beets using the large holes on a box grater or a food processor fitted with a shredding disk. Refrigerate the ­grated beets until cold. Cut the remaining beets into large chunks. Place half of the cut beets in a blender. Add just enough cooking liquid to cover them by 1 inch and blend until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large container. Repeat with the remaining beets. Stir the remaining ­cooking liquid into the pureed beets and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
4. Remove the pureed beets and grated beets from the refrigerator. Whisk the heavy cream and sour cream into the pureed beets until smooth and fully blended. Stir in the grated beets. (Soup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.) Stir in the lemon juice and adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the dill and other garnishes as desired. Serve immediately.--CooksIllustrated.com

This is the best recipe that I've found for beets yet! It was really delicious. We had it with left-over cole slaw and green beans--all from the CSA.

Cabbage--Slaw

Creamy Coleslaw

1 pound cabbage--1/4 head of the huge head that we received!
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon table salt
½  onion, minced
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Ground black pepper Ground black pepper

1. Toss cabbage and carrots with salt in colander set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
2. Dump wilted cabbage and carrots into the bowl. Rinse thoroughly in cold water (ice water if serving slaw immediately). Pour vegetables back into colander, pressing, but not squeezing on them to drain. Pat dry with paper towels. (Can be stored in a zipper-lock bag and refrigerated overnight.)
3. Pour cabbage and carrots back again into bowl. Add onions, mayonnaise, and vinegar; toss to coat. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Excellent recipe, but it was clear that the very fresh cabbage contributed quite a bit to the wonderful taste. This recipe made much more than I anticipated. I only used 1/4 head of cabbage and we have coleslaw for at least two or three meals. Yikes!

Lettuce Curry!

Vietnamese Beef and Lettuce Curry

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups water
5 teaspoons white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup fish sauce
5 tablespoons water
1 ½ tablespoons chile sauce
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes
2 cups lettuce leaves, torn into 1/2 inch wide strips
 

1. In a pot, bring the rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 25 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mash together the sugar and 1 clove garlic with a pestle. Mix in the fish sauce, water, chile sauce, and lemon juice.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat, and quickly saute the 3 cloves garlic. Mix the beef into the wok, season with cumin, and cook until evenly brown. Pour in the tomatoes and about 1/2 the fish sauce mixture. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, until thickened.
4. Toss the lettuce into the beef mixture. Serve at once over the cooked rice with the remaining fish sauce mixture on the side.
Source
AllRecipes.com

We didn't eat this over rice and it was still quite good. I also did not have fish sauce on hand. This is an unexpected way to use lettuce--very unexpected!

Zucchini, Basil, Summer Squash

Garden Vegetable Medley

2 yellow squash, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 small onion, sliced and separated into rings
2 tablespoons water
1 tomato, sliced
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
1 ½ teaspoons fresh basil, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a large skillet. Cover, reduce
heat, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomato and next 3 ingredients.

Cover and simmer 2 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

If you have to substiture dired herbs, use « t. of each basil and thyme.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Another yummy, easy recipe!

Beet Salad with Greens

Beet Salad with Pecans and Mixed Greens
 

5 small beets (about 1-1/2 in. diameter)
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ lbs. Belgian endive
12 leaves romaine lettuce, in 1/2-inch strips
½ cup pecan pieces
 

1. Rinse beets, taking care not to pierce the skin. In base of a steamer over medium-high heat, bring at least 1 inch of water to a boil (boiling water should not reach holes in upper part of steamer).

2. Place beets in steamer top above boiling water. Cover tightly and steam over high heat, adding boiling water occasionally as needed, until beets are tender (about 50 minutes).

3. Remove beets and let cool. Peel beets while holding them under cold running water.

4. To make dressing, whisk mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually pour in oil in a fine stream, whisking constantly. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

5. Wipe endive and trim bases. Cut leaves in fairly thin slices crosswise. In medium bowl, combine endive with vinaigrette and toss; let marinate 5 minutes.

6. Just before serving, dice beets and add to endive mixture. Add strips of lettuce and toss gently. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Sprinkle with pecans and serve.

Another unexpectedly good salad--this time with beets. I didn't have endive or pecans, but it was still a wonderful salad and again--super-easy.

Zucchini Salad

Zucchini Salad

2 medium zucchini, shredded
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin seed
black pepper
paprika
2 tablespoons onion, grated

In a colander, sprinkle zucchini with salt and allow to stand 15 minutes. Squeeze as much moisture as possible from zucchini. Combine remaining ingredients in ceramic bowl. Stir in zucchini. Chill at least one hour.

Who would have thought that such a simple recipe would be so good--Really!!

Romaine Lettuce, Radishes

Vietnamese Beef and Lettuce Curry

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cups water
5 teaspoons white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup fish sauce
5 tablespoons water
1 ½ tablespoons chile sauce
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can canned diced tomatoes
2 cups lettuce leaves, torn into 1/2 inch wide strips
 

1. In a pot, bring the rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 25 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mash together the sugar and 1 clove garlic with a pestle. Mix in the fish sauce, water, chile sauce, and lemon juice.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat, and quickly saute the 3 cloves garlic. Mix the beef into the wok, season with cumin, and cook until evenly brown. Pour in the tomatoes and about 1/2 the fish sauce mixture. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, until thickened.
4. Toss the lettuce into the beef mixture. Serve at once over the cooked rice with the remaining fish sauce mixture on the side.

Changes I made: I didn't serve it over rice--just the meat by itself. I didn't have fish sauce, so that was left out. And, I used double the amount of lettuce and half the amount of tomatoes. It is an excellent recipe and will be used again.

Radishes Chinese Style

2 T soy sauce

2 T white vinegar

1 T sugar

2 T sesame oil

4 C sliced radishes

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and oil; mix with radishes. Cover, refrigerate, and marinate for at least 1 hour.

This recipe comes from the Victory Garden Cookbook. I halved it and it was plenty for the two of us. Again,an excellent recipe that I will use again.

July 3--Spinach and Scallions

One-skillet: Chicken and Spinach with White Beans

3 teaspoons Extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ lbs. Chicken breasts
2 Celery stalks - minced
4 Garlic cloves - minced
2 Shallots - minced
15 ounces Tomatoes - canned, diced
1 teaspoon Fresh rosemary - or 1/2ts dried rosemary
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 cup Chicken broth - defatted
15 ounces Cannellini - canned
12 ounces Spinach - fresh
Salt
Black pepper - fresh ground
10 Black olives - brine cured
1. Heat 2 TS oil in large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sautÇ until firm and white, not pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and keep warm. 2. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 TS oil. Add celery, garlic and shallots and sautÇ until limp and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and rosemary and simmer minutes. 3. Dissolve cornstarch in chicken broth and add to skillet. Bring to boil and cook until sauce is thickenedd. Add cannellini beans and chicken; heat through. 4. Just before serving, add spinach to skillet and toss until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Garnish with chopped olives. Serve at once.

Excellent recipe, that I, of course, modified to fit the ingredients that I had on hand. I used scallions from the CSA instead of shallots, did not have celery, used boned chicken thighs and did not use the cornstarch. It was very tasty and the recipe will be used again.

Swiss chard

Chard
Bacon
Garlic
Shallot
Eggs
Parmesan Cheese

This recipe came to me from Dina Smith. The directions are fairly self-explanatory from the ingredients. Sauté the bacon, add the shallot (I used plain onions) along with the garlic. Add the chard (I used chard and spinach.). Put portions on plates and top with a fried egg and parmesan cheese. I didn't use the parmesan and it was still a wonderful dish. Thanks, Dina.