Since we get our CSA on Wednesday’s Sunday until Tuesday usually ends up being unplanned meals because we never know how much of things we are going to receive. Last night I decided to use up the remaining potatoes, bright lights chard, dill and a cayenne pepper. I also found one carrot, one beet and half an onion that all needed to be used, and so they were.

Garlicky Chard, Creamy White Beans and a Dilly Root Veg Mash

Garlicky Chard
Makes 2-4 servings

• 1 bunch bright lights chard (or any kind of swiss chard you like)
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the chard and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve!

Creamy White Beans
Serves 4-6

• Two 15oz cans of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine, vegetable broth or water
• 1 cayenne chili, minced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
• 3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
• salt and pepper

In a medium pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the beans and white wine, cook until liquid is gone. Add in the chili, dill, cream cheese and salt and pepper, stir until combined. Serve!

Dilly Root Veg Mash
Serves 2-4

• 3-4 medium sized new potatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 large red beet, peeled, washed and quartered
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 2 heaping tablespoons chopped dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes, beet and carrot in a pot and fill with water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until fork tender. Drain and return to the pot; add the remaining ingredients mash together to combine. Serve!

In last week’s share we received

• Bag of Mesclun Greens- Sandwiches, salads
• Bunch of Basil:  pesto
• Bunch of Oregano – Drying
• Bunch of Celery: snacking
• Zucchini: stir fries, chickpea scramble
• Green Pepper: chili, chickpea scramble
• Cabbage: sauteed
• Shelling Peas:  fried rice (not photographed)
• Bunch of Onions: fried rice (not photographed)
• Tomatoes: Chili topper

Onions, Tomato, Green Pepper

Bean Dip with Veggies (celery)

Sausage Sandwich with Greens

Sauteed Cabbage and zucchini, with Quinoa, Beans and Basil-Hemp Seed Peso

Chickpea Scramble with onions, peppers, sweet potatoes and zucchini on tortillas

This Weeks Share:

• Bag of Baby Arugula
• New Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Bunch of Carrots
• Mixed Bunch of Beets
• Bunch of Fennel
• Lacinato Kale
• Euro Cucumber or Slicing Cukes
• Beefsteak Tomatoes

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Last Week’s CSA:

• Bag of Mesclun Greens (haven’t used)
• Peas Cashew-Pea Pesto and here
• Baby Pearl Onions Tequila Lime Veggies
• Zucchini Tequila Lime Veggies
• Garlic Scapes Cashew-Pea Pesto
• Kale sauteed up- didn’t make the blog 
• Green Tomatoes Peas Make This and Green Tomato & Herb Couscous 
• Red Beets- haven’t been used 
• Frozen Squash Puree- still in the freezer

To help me cook I enjoyed an end of the day, post ab workout beer:

Green Tomato & Herb Couscous with Roasted Tofu and Zucchini

Green Tomato & Herb Couscous

• 4 servings of cooked couscous (cook according to the package)
• 1 medium green tomato, diced
• 1 bunch of curly parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
• Lemon-Tahini Dressing
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl toss together the couscous, green tomato, parsley and green tomato.  In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients; start with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add more to taste or thin if necessary.  Add the dressing to the couscous mixture and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

After dinner I got sucked into reading The Hunger Games.  I started the book yesterday morning and couldn’t take my hands off it! Instead of organizing like I had originally planned to do I spent the night reading ….and I finished the book.  SO GOOD! While reading I took a short break to make a lemon soygurt and berry parfait for dessert.

Q: Are there any books that you have read that you just couldn’t take your hands off of?

Check out Ricki’s Summer Wellness Weekends Event happening over at her blog! You’ll find one of my recipes and a number of other great healthy ones.

Follow Up From Week 2:

• Bag of Mesclun Greens- Pink Potato Salad, Dinner Salad
• Beet Greens (baby beets on the ends)- Pink Potato Salad
• Napa Cabbage- Peanutty Napa Cabbage
• Sweet Salad Turnips- Pink Potato Salad, Dinner Salad
• Garlic Scapes- Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta with Zucchini
• Scallions- Pink Potato Salad , Peanutty Napa Cabbage
• Zucchini- Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta with Zucchini
• Easter Egg Radishes- Peanutty Napa Cabbage, Dinner Salad
• Sage- I haven’t used this and on my CSA note it says 2-3 days…so it’s probably no good now.- What do you use sage for?
• Potatoes- Pink Potato Salad, Sunday Morning Breakfast

This Week’s CSA:

• Bag of Mesclun Greens
• Peas
• Baby Pearl Onions
• Zucchini
• Garlic Scapes
• Kale
• Zucchini
• Green Tomatoes
• Red Beets
• Frozen Squash Puree

I see fried green tomatoes on the menu this week!

• Bag of Mesclun Greens
• Beet Greens
• Napa Cabbage
• Sweet Salad Turnips
• Garlic Scapes
• Scallions
• Zucchini
• Easter Egg Radishes
• Sage
• Potatoes

Tonight is the first of many meals using these amazing organic and local ingredients. Enjoy- I know we did!

Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta with Zucchini

Yields 4 servings

Takes about 30 minutes total to make

Ingredients:

• Garlic Scape Pesto
  • 1 cup raw walnut pieces
  • 1 bunch of garlic scapes (about 1 to 3/4 cup), chopped
  • 4 cups basil leaves
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1t salt
  • 1T sesame seeds
  • 2T nutritional yeast

Place the walnuts and garlic scapes in the bowl of a food processor and process until small crumble. Add in the basil leaves, turn the processor on low and slowly stream in the olive oil through the feed tube. Add in the salt, sesame seeds and nutritional yeast; process to combine.

• Sauteed Zucchini
  • 2 medium zucchini, sliced into half moons
  • Cooking Spray
  • 1/2t salt
  • 1/4t black pepper
  • 1/2t garlic powder
  • 1t nutritional yeast

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Spray with cooking spray and toss in the zucchini and saute for 3-4 minutes just until they start to lightly brown.  Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and nutritional yeast; cook for 2 more minutes.

• 4 servings of pasta of your choice

In a large bowl toss the pasta, zucchini and 1/4 to 1/3 of the pesto together.  Serve warm, room temp or cold!

The pesto makes a lot more than you need for this dish so place any extra in a jar top with a layer of olive oil and seal tightly.  Store in the freezer until you need it again.  To defrost move from the freezer to the fridge 8 hours before using.

For dessert we shared one of these wonderful vegan, raw, gluten free tarts from Hail Merry.

It was one of the best desserts I have ever tried and I am looking forward to picking up the other 3 flavors over the next month.  It was so rich and the perfect balance of creamy chocolate, cookie crust and almond butter center- to die for.

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We did not eat the cat!

Last night marked the beginning of week two for our CSA “Winter Food Basket”. Every two weeks we get a basket full of assorted winter/fall veggies from many different local farms. As we began the second week, we had mostly root vegetables and squash left as greens and other veggies obviously don’t last as long.

So, last night was a fairly quick and easy dinner made (mostly) out of our CSA items. We roasted up some delicata squash rings (although, these delicata are different than ones we’ve had in the past. more stringy like spaghetti squash) and a Celeriac and Potato Mash. We were originally thinking celeriac soup, but were more in the mood for a quick meal. So, Lindsay whipped this up while I did some dishes.

In addition to the veggies, we had some “light life ginger teriyaki tempehtations”. I found them to be quite dull. The flavor was weak and the tempeh was dried out and definitely of a lower grade than we are used to.

Below, is the recipe for the mash:

Celeriac Potato Mash

2 medium sized celeriac (celery root), peeled and diced
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
¼ cup sour supreme
¼ cup nondairy milk
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
2 heading tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt and Pepper to taste

1.Boil the potatoes and celeriac until fork tender.
2.Drain the potatoes and celeriac and add back to the pot.
3.Mash in the sour supreme, nondairy milk, margarine and nutritional yeast. Mash together- I like to keep it a little more chunky but if you like it whipped you’d like.
4.Season with salt and pepper to taste.

What I love about this share is 1. it is vegan!, our share last year was a vegetarian localvore share and so we split it with an omni couple who took all the dairy and eggs, 2. not all the produce is coming from one distributer, 3. it’s cheaper than last year and still gives us the ability to pick up other items and stay on budget. My husband and I are both so excited to see what we will get- it’s like a new challenge each week to use all of our produce in new and interesting ways. Below is an example of what we can be expecting (does not show last week of share):

Winter Vegetable $395 (which breaks down to an average of $24.50 a week)

This share showcases the abundant Vermont winter vegetable harvest. You will recieve a variety of vegetables, ranging from fresh salad greens, mushrooms and potatoes to winter squash, carrots and onions. This share will also include apples and cider.