Tag Archives: CSA

Spring Vegetable Potato Salad

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One of my favorite things to look forward to in the warmer months is potato salad! There’s something about it that bring me back to my moms house, standing there with a fork eating it right out of the container. What’s great about potato salad is you can make it so many different ways. Warm, cold, with a mayo base, with a vinegar base, different veggies, chopped eggs – the possibilities are endless! This time I decided to fancy it up with my fresh CSA veggies and some creme fraiche. It was DELICIOUS. And as suspected, I ate most of it standing in my kitchen before actually putting it in the fridge.

Ingredients:
10 fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
1 cup green peas
1 kohlrabi, chopped into matchsticks
2 scallions, greens chopped and bulbs kept whole to roast
1/2 cup creme fraiche (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the cut potatoes and whole scallion bulbs on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Remove and let cool.

In a food processor, mix together the creme fraiche, lemon juice, and roasted scallions, then salt and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, kohlrabi, peas, chopped scallions, and creme fraiche mixture. Add a little more salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!

Spring Ramen Noodle Soup

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I’ve been craving ramen noodles for a few days now, and thought it would be a fun recipe to try out with all the Spring vegetables I had stalked in my fridge. I was going to go even further and attempt homemade noodles, but opted for the dry ones to save some time. Maybe on a weekend I’ll go the extra mile, but weeknights I need fast and easy! This ended up being one my favorite things I’ve made in a while. I was sad when I ate all the leftovers for lunch and knew there wouldn’t be more for dinner.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
Olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 ramps, ends and greens separated
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 cups chicken broth
2 (3 oz) packs dried ramen noodles (noodles only, toss the flavor packets!)
1-2 baby bok choy, separated
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chives, for serving
2 small radishes, for serving
sriracha, for serving
2 eggs

Add a little olive oil to a pot and saute the ginger, garlic, and white parts (only) of the ramps for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Next toss in the soy sauce and cook for an additional minute or so. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 5 more minutes, then salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and add your bok choy and ramp greens.

In the meantime, boil a small pot of water and gently add your eggs. Cook them for 7 minutes, then remove immediately and place in a bowl of ice water. This will help stop the cooking process and will leave you with the perfect semi-runny egg! To save dishes, I tossed my noodles into the same water I boiled my eggs in and cooked them per the package instructions. Once the noodles are done cooking, drain and rinse under some cool water.

To plate, add some noodles to each bowl, then cover with the broth and vegetables. Slice the egg and place on top, then garnish with fresh chives, radishes, and a few squirts of sriracha!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cakes With Homemade Whipped Cream

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A very good friend was having his going away party at our office this week, so I made mini strawberry rhubarb cakes to have alongside the many bottles of wine and beer. I would have liked to have made sweet cream biscuits as the “cake” layer, but knowing I had to travel on the train in rush hour, I didn’t want to bring anything that had the potential to be squished and broken in my bag. So, I went the semi-homemade route and bought the little shortcakes, then made the compote and whipped cream myself.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into small chunks
1 pound fresh strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 medium orange
Juice of 1/2 medium orange
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 individual shortbread cakes (angel food cake works too!)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, orange juice and zest in a pot over medium heat. Cook, mixing constantly, until everything has melted down together, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

Next make the whipped cream! Place the mixing bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes so that it is cold. Pour in the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium until the cream gets thick and has stiff peaks when you take out the whisk.

Plate the mini cakes, then top with the strawberry rhubarb compote, and top with whipped cream!

Spicy Wedge Potatoes With Ramp & Cilantro Aioli

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I’m really going wild with the ramps this Spring. There’s this pressure to just eat as many as humanly possible seeing they’re only in season for a few weeks each year! This time I used them in an aioli to go with the Adirondack red potatoes I got this week. These potatoes are actually red on the inside. They taste just like regular potatoes, but it’s fun to cut them open and not have them be the usual off white color we’re used to. I used Greek yogurt to make the aioli a little healthier. It went great with the spicy potatoes!

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, cut into wedges (not too thin or they’ll crisp too much)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Good pinch of black pepper
1 cup Greek yogurt
3 ramps, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime wedge

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes into wedges, and place in a large bowl of ice water for about 20 minutes. Pat the potatoes dry then toss them in a bowl with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and cooking for about 20 minutes on each side until golden brown and a little crispy. In the meantime, make the aioli. Sauté the ramps in a little olive oil for a minute or two, then place in a food processor with the Greek yogurt, cilantro, pepper, and lime juice. Mix until smooth. Serve the potatoes with a little fresh cilantro on top and the aioli on the side. Enjoy!

Spring Carbonara With Fiddleheads & Ramps

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I have never eaten fiddlehead ferns before. I’ve seen them a few times the farmers market, but have always been too intimidated to buy them! This is what I love so much about being a part of a CSA, you get to learn about all these wonderful foods that you would likely never try, or even know about, if they didn’t show up in your bag each week. And as it turns out, I love fiddleheads! They taste sort of similar to a green bean I suppose, but smaller and a little crunchier. I’ll definitely be picking some up at the farmers markets from now on!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1/2 pound pasta
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup fiddleheads, trimmed and boiled for 5 minutes prior to cooking
4 ramps, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small handful parsley, chopped
Fresh lemon wedges, for serving
Black pepper, to taste

Start by washing the fiddleheads well, then boiling them for 5-7 minutes. You HAVE to boil them before cooking them, as there have been food poisoning relates cases of eating raw fiddleheads. By boiling them, you ensure that this will not happen. It’s really just a precaution, but recommended! Once your fiddleheads have boiled, set aside.

Cook the bacon until crispy and also set that aside. I would also recommend making one extra piece of bacon to snack on, because bacon is delicious. Next, get a large pot of salted boiling water going, and cook your pasta per the box instructions. While that cooks, saute the garlic, ramps, and fiddleheads in a little of the leftover bacon grease from the pan. If you’d rather use olive oil that is fine too. In a bowl, mix together the egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, cream, and some pepper. Strain the pasta and add to the pan with the ramps etc. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Turn off the heat and let the pan cool about 30 seconds, then pour in the egg mix and stir well until fully incorporated. Toss in the crumbled bacon pieces and some fresh parsley. If you feel it’s dry at all, add bits of the reserved pasta water to help smooth the sauce out. Plate and squeeze a wedge of fresh lemon on top. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Warm Potato Salad With Ramps & Capers

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This is my new favorite potato salad! It’s a fun alternative to the traditional mayo-based potato salad (though I’ve been known to eat my way through a few containers of my moms recipe when visiting.) My favorite thing about this recipe is the RAMPS! That’s right, it’s ramp reason. It’ll be over before you know it though, so get them while you can. Ramps are kind of a green onion and garlic type hybrid. They’re only in season a few weeks in the beginning of Spring, and are usually found at farmers markets rather than your local grocery store. My favorite way to eat them is just simply roasted in a pan with a little salt and pepper.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
10 small/medium fingerling potatoes
3 ramps, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Radishes, thinly sliced for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle the potatoes with some olive oil, and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden and fork tender. While those cook, make the sauce. Sauté the ramps and garlic in the butter for 1-2 minutes, then add the lemon juice, capers, pepper, and olive oil. If you find it’s too tangy, just add more olive oil to lessen the acidity. When the potatoes are ready, slice them into 1/2 inch pieces. Pour some of the ramp and caper sauce into the bottom of the dish, then plate the potatoes on top and drizzle with the rest of the sauce. Top with some thinly slices radishes for color.

 

One Pot Chicken & Vegetables

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One pot meals are the best, they’re easy and there’s hardly any clean up after. Perfect for the weeknight when your exhausted but still want something delicious! I bought a bunch of chicken thighs this week from Whole Foods, they’re super flavorful and very inexpensive, so I tend to get a few at a time and just freeze the ones I don’t use. When freezing meat, it’s best to wrap them well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. This way they don’t get freezer burn. Defrost in the fridge and you’re good to go! I usually cook them in a skillet, but this time I decided to plop them right in the vegetable “stew” I made so that they’d soak up all the flavor. I had some nice bread on hand which I dipped in the bowl. Not a drop was left!

Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs
1 small yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
3 carrots
3 parsnips
1 fennel bulb
1 cup chopped kale, stems removed
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add some olive oil to a skillet and brown the chicken on both sides. Plate and set aside. In a heavy bottomed pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the remaining oil for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, parsnips, kale, and fennel, and cook for about 5 minutes. Next add the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Lastly, remove the skin from the chicken before serving, as it gets a bit soft cooking in the liquid for a long period of time. Serve with some nice bread on the side!

Kale & Potato Enchiladas With Salsa Verde

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Normally when you think of enchiladas, you think of beans, meat, and cheese. But in my attempt to make a healthier version, I used kale, potato, and mushrooms. They came out pretty good! Mainly because rolling anything up in a tortilla and covering it in sauce is fail proof, and DELICIOUS.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped kale, stems removed
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed small
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 garlic glove, minced
Good pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
7 medium tortillas

Salsa Verde:
12 tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
1/2 yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
1 jalapeño, seeds removed
Handful of cilantro
1 lime, juiced
Olive oil

Start by making the salsa verde. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño in some olive oil, and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Place in a blender with the lime juice and cilantro, and blend until smooth. Set aside.

For the enchiladas, boil the potatoes until fork tender, and cook the mushroom in a skillet until slightly browned. In a large skillet, sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes or so. Add the kale and cook until wilted, then toss in the mushrooms, potato, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and let cook for a few more minutes.

Pour some of the salsa verde in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill each tortilla with a good helping of the vegetable mix, and place them side by side in the dish, covering them with the rest of the sauce.

Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. To serve, plate enchiladas and drizzle with some hot sauce, feta cheese, and fresh cilantro!

Sweet Potato & Kale Gnocchi With Shiitake Mushrooms

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I’ve never attempted homemade gnocchi before and thought it would be a fun Wednesday night experiment for me. I had some kale, a huge sweet potato, and a bag of fresh shiitake mushrooms from my CSA bag this week, so I figured I would use those as my main ingredients. I got my first surprise then I cut into my sweet potato to realize it was white, but after some investigating it turns out sweet potatoes are technically white, and YAMS are the orange ones. So there was that. My next surprise was how easy it was to make gnocchi from scratch! The dough was very easy to make, it was rolling them out and cutting them that took a little longer, though the whole thing probably took 30 minutes.

I chose to make a simple brown butter sauce as I didn’t want to take away from the actual flavor of the gnocchi. I ended up squeezing a lemon over it in the end which I think added some necessary acidity to the dish. Overall a successful pasta party for one!

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup laminate kale, deveined/blanched/chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
Good pinch of cayenne pepper
Good pinch of ground sage
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 lemon, for serving
Shaved Parmesan cheese, for serving

Get a pot of salted boiling water going and add the sweet potato. Cook until fork tender, then drain and mash in a separate bowl. In another pot, simultaneously blanch the kale by boiling for a minute or two then rinsing under cold water to stop the cooking process. This will help keep it nice and green. Chop the kale very well then add to the bowl with the potato. Mix in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Next, add 1/2 cup at a time of flour to the mixture until you have the consistency of pasta dough. You want it to be somewhat elastic and a little sticky, but able to hold its shape. I used about 1 1/2 cups. Divide the dough into 5-6 smaller balls.

On a floured surface, roll each ball out with both hands until you have about a 12 inch long, 1/2 inch diameter wide log. With a floured knife, slice about 12 (1) inch pillows and press them between the backs of two forks to give them that ribbed look.

In a pot of salted boiling water, add a splash of olive oil (to help with the sticking) and toss in about half of the gnocchi. They may stick to the bottom of the pot, so it helps to swirl them with a spoon in the water for the first minute. Cook the gnocchi for about 5 minutes or until they float to the top, then give them one more minute before removing with a slotted spoon.

While the gnocchi is cooking, sauté the shiitake mushrooms in some olive oil. Don’t mix them around too much, as it’s nice to get them a little caramelized on the sides. Add a 1/2 stick of butter, along with the cayenne, sage, red pepper flakes, and a little pepper. Cook until the butter has browned and has a nutty fragrance to it. Make sure not to overcook it though, it can happen fast!

Plate some gnocchi and pour a bit of the brown butter and mushrooms over top. Add some fresh shaved Parmesan cheese and a light squeeze of fresh lemon. Enjoy!

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Parsnip Latkes With Caramelized Onion & Horseradish Cream

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Oh latkes. I latke you A LOT. Crispy potato goodness smothered in sour cream, how could someone not love you? When I got potatoes and parsnips in my CSA bag this week, my sister recommended I make some latkes. She’s the smart sister, clearly. So I did just that! I didn’t even plate them when they were finished, I just ate them right off the cutting board, adding dollops of (horseradish) sour cream and sweet caramelized onions. And with my Rumours record playing in the background and a big glass of wine in hand, it was a perfect little Tuesday night at home!

Ingredients:
1 large yukon gold potato, peeled
2 medium parsnips, peeled
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (plus more if needed)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green onion, chopped
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon horseradish, or more to taste

Start by grating the potato and parsnips. Place in a paper towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Place the gratings in a bowl and add the minced garlic, chives, egg, flour, cayenne, salt and pepper. Form into patties with your hands and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add a bit of vegetable oil. You want enough that it’ll slightly fry the latkes without making them too oily. Fry the latkas in batches, about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown with a little crisp. I like to push mine down with the spatula to flatten them a little to help get them crispy. Let drain on a paper towel for a minute or two before serving.

While the latkas are cooking, sauté the onion in some olive oil. At this time, also make the cream by mixing the sour cream and horseradish together. Set both aside until ready to serve with the latkas!