Spring Pasta with Peas and Asparagus

8 oz penne or fusilli pasta
1/4 cup fresh peas, shelled
1 cup asparagus, rinsed and chopped into 1 1/2 - 2 inch pieces
4-5 garlic scapes, rinsed and chopped
10 walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
kosher salt
2 cups spinach, rinsed and thick spines removed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 - 1/2 cup pasta water

Heat over to 350 degrees and toast pine nuts for 15 minutes or until golden

Prepare pasta according to package directions.  Make sure to salt your pasta water.  Add the peas and asparagus for the last 4 minutes of cooking.  Drain and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the scapes, spinach, walnuts, olive oil and salt to taste until well mixed.  I use about 1 tsp of salt.  Add the pasta water until the pesto is still very thick, but saucy enough to coat the pasta.  Toss with the pasta in the pot.

Serve in two bowls, each topped with half the pine nuts and cheese.

Best Lasagna Ever

No, seriously.  I don't know what quirk of fate made this lasagna different than all the other lasagnas I've produced over the years, but it was different.  And it was good.  This recipe takes some time because you will make the sauce from scratch, but it is worth the effort and really, it isn't that much work to put together - it just takes about 4 hours.This recipe makes an 8 x 8 pan's worth of lasagna.

For the Sauce:

1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground sirloin
1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1 tsp dried basil
1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dried oregano
dash salt and a few grinds of pepper

Brown the meat in a big pot and drain.  Return the pot to the heat and add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until they are soft.  Add the tomato sauce, paste, water and seasonings and simmer 2 hours over low heat.  I turn off the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes before I assemble the lasagna.



Heat your oven to 350.

For the Lasagna:

6 no-boil Lasagna noodles
2 turkey Italian sausages, cooked through and sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces
4 cups fresh spinach - rinsed, spun dry, and chopped (remove the thick stems first)
1 container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup shredded parmesan
2 cups shredded mozzerella

Spray an 8 by 8 cooking pan with non-stick cooking spray.  I put a piece of aluminum foil on my pan and  then spray it - it makes the clean up much easier.

Mix the cheeses and eggs together in a bowl.

Begin layering the Lasagna:

Sauce
2 noodles (side by side)
Cheese
Spinach
Sauce
2 Noodles
Cheese
Italian Sausage
2 Noodles
Sauce

Cover pan with foil and bake for about 60-70 minutes and until the Lasagna is completely heated.

Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Spinach Lentil Salad

This week's CSA goodies  inspire creativity once again!  Having been informed by my perennial dining companion that his daily lunch salad needs a little more diversity of ingredients, I used up a few odds and ends and came up with a keeper.  This recipe feeds two, generously, in my house.  I did put a lot more spinach in my bowl than my PDC's, however.

Salad:

 1 cup cooked lentils (see note below)
 4-5 radishes, well rinsed and diced
 1/4 cup red onion, diced
 4 smallish carrots, peeled and chopped
 4 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and spun dry and chopped (remove any thick stems)
 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (plus a little more for topping, optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup  good quality olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
few grinds of black pepper


Combine the salad ingredients and toss.   Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and stir into the salad ingredients.   Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Divide the salad into two bowls and top with additional feta crumbles if desired.

Lentil Note:

I used Bob's Red Mill brown lentils, rinsed and picked over, if you use a half cup of dried lentils and 1.5 cups of chicken broth when cooking, you will be in good shape.  I made the lentils and then let them cool in a separate bowl while I prepared the rest of the salad ingredients.

Brussel Sprouts - a Yummy Vegetable?

Wow!  Yum!  Who knew?  I only regret the 42 years I had no idea how yummy a brussel sprout could be.  Try this recipe and you will be a convert as well....  I didn't even use the cheese.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/goldencrusted-brussels-sprouts-recipe.html

Thank you CSA box for pushing me out of my comfort zone, once again!

The Perfect Food - Bruschetta

For the Tomato/Basil Mixture:

3-4 small crisp tomatoes, small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
15-20 basil leaves, chopped or snipped into small pieces
1 - 2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp good olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the Garlic Toasts:

1/3 French baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 clove garlic

Set your oven to 350.  Place your baguette slices on a cookie sheet and rub the garlic on each slice.  I like to toast that garlic with the baguette slices and eat it with the bruschetta.  It's like a little bonus.  Toast the slices in the oven for 15 minutes or so until you can smell the garlic.

Meanwhile, combine the top  six ingredients and stir.  I like to let the tomato mixture mesh for at least 15 minutes before serving on top of the baguette slices.  Each bite is a little taste of summer.  Enjoy!

Hiding Greens Part 2 - Pasta Sauce Anyone?

My ingredient tonight is chard. Having been on vacation last week, we received a make up CSA share this week in addition to our regular share, and so welcomed two small bunches of chard into the house. Chard is a beautiful dark leafy green with colorful stems. I like chard. But, again, how to use it week after week and what to do with it so that my perennial dining companion doesn't mind. Especially when he is working late all week so I'm packing not only lunch but dinner for him the night before and whatever I make must travel and store well. So I raided my refrigerator, pantry and freezer and found, as with most things culinary in life, pasta is an answer! And a tasty one to boot!

3 large tomatoes
2 Italian Sausage links
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good tasting red wine
1 cup great northern beans (from a can or jar, rinsed and drained)
1 small bunch chard, rinsed, dried, thick stems removed and chopped
1/2 pound pasta of your choice ( I used cavatappi)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional


Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and put an X in the base of them with a knife and boil 2 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to a cold bowl of water and let them cool.

Bring another pot of water to a boil for your pasta.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. "Uncase" the sausage links and discard the casing so the sausage is loose and break the sausage up with spoon in the skillet as it cooks.

Add the onions and garlic after the sausage is cooked through. When they are softened, add the wine and stir - scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan a little.

Take the tomatoes out of the water, remove and discard the skins, and add the tomatoes to the skillet (breaking them into pieces with a spoon as well). Add the beans. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.

Cook your pasta according to package directions. When you start to cook the pasta, also stir the chard into the tomato/sausage mixture in the skillet.

Drain the pasta when it is done and serve the sauce over top of the pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Dinner for 1? Stir fry made simple.

I am a huge fan of using up odds and ends left over in my refrigerator. I consider it be fun (even after a long Monday at work) to see what you can come up with that uses left over ingredients yet yields a tasty result. Even more challenging is that my perennial dining companion was working late so I was cooking for one.

Here's what I had: leftover rice and coconut milk from a Thai chicken recipe I had made yesterday and a variety of CSA veggies needing to be used plus a pantry full of staples. The answer - stir fry. Here goes:

Saute together for about 10 minutes (or until veggies are softened but not smushy) in a small amount of oil:

1 leek or green onion, cleaned and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup green beans in 1 inch-sized pieces
2 very small summer squash, diced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced

Meanwhile, mix together:

2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp red hot pepper flakes
dash garlic powder

And heat left over rice (thoroughly) in a microwave

Mix the peanut butter mixture in with the veggies and heat through. Pour over rice and stir to combine.

Dinner is served.

The Gotta use the CSA Box Tuscan Bean Soup Recipe

First of all, let me say I love my CSA. Organic, fresh produce that varies weekly from a local farm - you can't beat it. But, the dark leafy greens continue to perplex me. They are good for me. I even like them. But what to do with them when they show up in my CSA box week after week. More to the point, what to do with them week after week that my perennial dining companion will want to enjoy as dinner. It is like a home kitchen Iron Chef competition - only I am the only contestant. Your ingredient is Kale.

I also have from the CSA these beautiful Tongue of Fire shelling beans, leeks, potatoes, carrots, and garlic. I picked up tomatoes at the farmer's market. Add ham and chicken broth and the answer is easy. The answer is soup!

1 quart chicken broth (I use organic - if I don't have some stock in the freezer)
1 leek, cleaned and chopped, white part only
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
4 small carrots, peeled and diced
3 cups shelled beans like Tongue of Fire - if you don't have them use 2 cans of great northern beans. Either way, rinse the beans.
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups kale, rinsed and chopped
1-2 cups diced ham
2 tomatoes - blanched, peeled and diced or 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf

Grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional

Heat the broth and add the leek, carrots, garlic and spices. Simmer for five minutes or so. Add the beans and potatoes and simmer for about 30 more minutes. Test the beans and potatoes to see if they are tender (fresh beans will take longer). If they are close add the tomatoes (see note at the end). Simmer 5 more minutes and then add the kale. Cook until the kale has turned bright green and has shrunk a bit (3-4 more minutes). Taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaf. top with cheese if desired and enjoy. This serves about 4.

Note:

To make the tomatoes, heat water to a boil. Cut the core out of each tomato and make an x with your knife in the bottom of the tomato (be careful). Drop each tomato into the boiling water for about a minute, then remove and soak in cold water for five minutes or so. When they have cooled, peel the skin off and dice them. I don't worry about the seeds but you could seed them if you prefer.

Salsa!!!

In my book, salsa rates exclamation points. A good salsa wakes up the tongue, leaving a lingering memory of heat. Fresh salsa is like a little bit of July in every bite. Tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro and garlic are all available locally now. Add a little lime juice (I'm in Michigan, limes are never available locally here) and you are good to go. Some things, like salsa, taste so much better fresh than prepackaged, that once you have experienced them fresh, you may never go back. And it is so easy, why not make your own? My salsa is more of a sauce. Process it a little less if you like yours chunkier.

2 good sized tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
2-3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1-3 jalapenos, chopped (depending on how spicy you like your salsa)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
Dash salt

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients. Process until you can still see green for the cilantro and jalapenos but the consistency is saucy rather than chunky. Refrigerate for several hours before serving - this keeps a few days in the refrigerator.

Best Sandwich Ever

Hummus. Cucumbers. Pita Bread. There is nothing else like it. I almost cried I was so happy when I saw the baby cucumbers at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market a few weeks ago and I've been buying them weekly ever since. I could eat this sandwich every day.

Hummus
Cucumbers - rinsed and thinly sliced
Pita Bread

Spinach -rinsed, spun dry, and chopped
Mushrooms -rinsed and thinly sliced
Red Bell peppers - rinsed and thinly sliced

You can make the hummus yourself or use store bought. Just halve the pita (you could toast it a bit if you like), spread hummus on either side, and layer thinly sliced cucumbers in the middle. You could switch it up a bit by adding a combination of spinach, mushrooms and red bell peppers.

Hummus:

1 14 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup water
splash lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp tahini
3-4 tbsp olive oil

In a food processor, blend the salt, olive oil, and garlic. Add the chickpeas and blend. Add the lemon juice and tahini and blend. Add the water a little bit at a time (you may not need it all or you may need a little more than 1/3 cup) until your hummus looks spreadable but not too fluffy. Refrigerate for a couple hours before using.

First Pesto of the Year!

All right. You've got me. I made it with spinach and garlic scapes and not basil (the spinach and scapes both came from Saturday's Farmers' Market in Ann Arbor). It is mid-May, after all, not June. But yum, yum, yum. Serve it with a side of asparagus and you have a tasty, healthy meal made with Michigan-grown veggies. This serves two in my house.

8 ounces whole grain fusilli pasta (any curvy pasta will do) prepared per the package instructions
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
3 cups spinach (rinse it and spin it dry, then tear the leaves into smallish pieces, disgarding the thick stems)
1/2 cup garlic scapes, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup great northern beans, rinsed (optional)


Toast 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup pine nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree over for about 20 minutes. You can boil water for the pasta at the same time. Reserve a little bit of the pasta water just in case.

To make the pesto, combine the spinach, olive oil, scapes, and sea salt in a food processor. You want it to come up with a good chop, but not mush. Add the walnuts and about 1/3 of the pine nuts and the cheese. Blend well.

Drain the pasta. Toss with pesto and the great northern beans if desired ( I like to add a little protein). Serve topped with additional parmesan and pine nuts.

Roast Beef and Cheddar Panini-Style Sandwiches

This recipe serves two people.

8 thin slices Boarshead rare roast beef lunchmeat
4 slices Hoffmann's Super Sharp Cheese
2 Italian Panini rolls
2 TBSP light sour cream
2 TBSP Extra Hot Horseradish Mustard (inglehoffer is one brand to look for)

Heat the Foreman Grill

Slice the rolls in half. Put 1 slice of cheese on each side of the split rolls. Divide lunch meat between the rolls and close to make sandwiches. Put on the Foreman Grill and close the top firmly. Grill for 5 minutes.

Combine the mustard and the sour cream in a bowl - blend well.

When the sandwiches are done, remove from the Foreman Grill and cut in half. Serve each sandwich with 2 TBSP of the sour cream and mustard sauce on the side.

Hot Fudge and Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

Hot fudge sundaes may not be your traditional Christmas dessert, but if you haven't tried hot fudge poured over peppermint stick ice cream (available only seasonally in our area), you don't know what you are missing. And I learned how to make my Mom's hot fudge sauce Christmas Eve night (at the age of 42) and I am willing to share.... Here goes:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup non-fat evaporated milk.


Melt all three ingredients over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Poor while warm over the ice cream of your choice. Eat. Go back for seconds. Yum!

Cavatappi with White Beans and Chard

This serves two generously and is a good way to use hardy greens such as chard or kale.

2 cups dry cavatappi
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups canned great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups Swiss chard, rinsed, dried and torn into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup pasta water, reserved
2-3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Romano Italian seasoning
Italian bread crumbs
grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions in salted water, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta after it is cooked, but try to time it so the pasta is still warm when the chard and bean mixture is finished.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic, and stir over medium-low heat for about a minute until you can start to smell the garlic. Add the beans. Season with salt, pepper, and Romano Italian seasoning. Continue to stir occasionally as the beans heat through for about 5 minutes. Add the chard and the pasta water and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Stir the bean and chard mix into the pasta. Let sit for about a minute before serving. Top with pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and serve.

Summer Food Heaven

I am in food heaven. My new favorite lunch is these beautiful little cucumbers I get at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market from Donahee Farms and hummus. I could eat that for months without getting tired of it. Dinner can be as simple as sauteed onions, hot peppers, and garlic mixed in with blanched (peeled) fresh tomatoes on Holiday Market Italian bakery bread. Or a Caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh mozarella, basil leaves drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper). And the blueberries. The raspberries. The sweet corn. Green beans so fresh they snap as you trim the ends. Homemade gazpacho, salsa and pesto. Today I froze bag after bag of blueberries so I can mix them with yogurt for breakfast in January. But I can't think of January yet. There are too many tomatoes to eat. With basil. Or not.

Red Pepper and Mushroom Pasta

Unwilling to stop at the grocery store on the way home and mindful of all the ingredients needing to be used already in my refrigerator, I tried to make something tasty, fairly healthy and clear out the refrigerator as well. Here's the solution I came up with, but I bet you could work some substitutions in as well. It makes two very generous servings.

1 red bell pepper diced
4-5 mushrooms, sliced thin
1 clove garlic minced
3-4 tbsp olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 cup canned great northern beans or cannellini beans
8 oz whole wheat fusilli pasta
freshly grated parmesan cheese
2-3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup pesto


Heat the water for the pasta (salt the water a bit) and prepare according to package directions

While the pasta is cooking, heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute red bell pepper, mushrooms and garlic until soft over medium-low heat (about 10 minutes). Drain and rinse the beans and add to the mixture for the last 2 minutes to heat through.

Drain the pasta and mix in the pesto. Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil if needed for better blending (will depend on the thickness of the pesto). Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture and serve topped with parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts.


Note: I toast pine nuts on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Shake the pan a couple times while the pine nuts are in the oven and keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. Also, you can buy prepared pesto, but I make my own during the spring and summer and freeze.

Enhanced Ramen Soup

This recipe is almost too embarrassingly easy to publish, but it took 10 minutes and my perennial dining companion loved it. I also feel compelled to ask you to not make this if you are on a low-sodium diet. But here goes:

5 button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 tbsp butter
1 green onion, diced
2 packages ramen chicken flavored noodles
soy sauce if desired

Prepare the noodles according to the package directions. While the noodles are cooking, saute the mushroom in the butter until soft. This takes about 5 minutes. Stir the mushrooms into the chicken noodle mixture. Top with diced green onions. Add a little soy sauce if desired.

Quick and Spicy Pasta

I should preface that this recipe was done by mistake. I meant to make a simple tomato sauce of frozen tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning mix. I grabbed the wrong spice jar and made an altogether different sauce which my perennial dining companion and I agreed was quite tasty. The Hot Habenero Blend used in this recipe can be found at http://www.beyondtheshaker.com/products/Hot-Habanero-Blend.html.

I use a bag of frozen tomatoes in the recipe. From late summer until the local tomatoes end in the fall, I buy 12-20 a week, blanch them to remove the skins, then cook them (a little more than a simmer) in a big heavy pot without a lid for a couple hours to reduce the liquid. I let them cool, then freeze them in quart-sized freezer bags. I don't add salt or seasoning so I have a lot of flexibility when I add them to my recipe. The flavor is excellent. If you don't have the quart of frozen tomatoes use two 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes instead. In my house, this recipe serves 2 with leftovers for 1 for lunch the next day.

1 quart-sized bag of frozen tomatoes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp fleur de sel or other salt of your choice
1 tbsp Hot Habanero Blend salt
1/2 pound spaghettini (or pasta of your choice)
freshly ground parmesan cheese, optional

Thaw the tomatoes (can be done right in the saucepan over low heat). Add the tomato paste and spices. Bring to a boil for a few seconds then reduce heat and simmer for about 1/2 an hour.

Prepare your spaghettini to package instructions. Toss spaghettini with a little bit of the sauce, then top with more sauce and cheese for serving.

Granola is Easy - The No Excuses Recipe

I could give you all of the ecological and cost-saving reasons for making your own granola, but let's face it, unless it tastes good it would not matter. Here's a tasty granola recipe with natural ingredients that's easy to make. It takes prep of 5 minutes and stores in a sealed container in a cool, dry place for 10-14 days. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with foil, then spray with non-stick cooking spray. This recipe is flexible so you can tailor it to your preferences.

2 cups Quaker Oats (not quick cooking or instant)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/3 cup raisins (or dried cranberries or cherries)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2-3 tbsp flaxseed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Mix the oats, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseed into a large mixing bowl. Microwave the oil and honey 30 seconds and then stir into the oat mixture until well distributed. Spread over the foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool when done and then break into pieces and store in an air tight container. I like to mix some granola into my yogurt for breakfast.

Note: When you bake the granola, the raisins get chewy like in oatmeal cookies. If you prefer the granola with raisins that are less chewy, just add them when storing the granola in the container instead of before baking.

Creativity and the abundance of summer squash and zucchini

I remember giggling while reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver's tale of moving back to the farm and trying to either raise/grow her family's food or buy it locally) and reading of families locking their doors against furtive, unwanted gifts of zucchini being received from neighbors whose harvests did a little too well. I have a new understanding of this phenomenon, having received quite a few summer squashes in our CSA boxes within the last two weeks. While I will undoubtably end up making zucchini bread, I have been trying to find other ways to use these vegetables. Here's my latest attempt:

Summer Squash Pasta

1 cup whole grain fusilli pasta
1 -2 cups zucchini, washed, and cut in half and then into thin semi-circles
1 -2 cups summer squash, washed, and cut in half and then into thin semi-circles
1 cup pea pods, washed and ends removed
1 cup Great Northern Beans, rinsed
Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional) for serving
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Cook the pasta per the package directions

Heat 2 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or saute pan

Saute zucchini and summer squash 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add peas (I like to use the thinner ones as pea pods and have the fatter ones be shelled peas) and saute 1-2 more minutes

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Add great northern beans and heat through

Toss with Pasta. Add a little more olive oil if the dish is too dry. Add optional parmesan and serve. Feeds 2 people.