Recipes from the Newsletter all in one place!

Green Beans with Smoked Paprika and Almonds
(I think this would be great even without the smoked paprika.....)
Serves 4
Here are green beans with a Spanish accent. I am very happy that smoked paprika is now readily available; no kitchen should be without this mildly hot, flavor-packed spice. You can serve this side dish hot or at room temperature.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 cup water
1 pound green and/or yellow string beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch bits
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup toasted, salted almonds, chopped
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet. Add the shallots and cook over medium heat until limp, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook another 30 seconds.
Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the beans and sprinkle them with salt. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the beans are tender but still sprightly green, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain.
Set the beans in a bowl and toss in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the rosemary, and the almonds. Add more salt, if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe copyright, Lorna Sass, 2008

Warm Eggplant Salad (taken and modified from Martha Stewart Living 2002 Annual Recipes)

pint of fairy tale eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
Coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced (or one of our onions from a previous box!)
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup black olives (any type of olive will work fine!)
1 tsp fresh oregano leaves

1. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt on both sides.
2. Brush both sides of eggplant (generously) with oil; sprinkle with pepper. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add slices of eggplant (without crowding). Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes total.
3. Place the eggplant, onion, feta, olives, and oregano in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper if desired. Gently toss and enjoy!

Italian Style Green Beans (from Sara Foster's Fresh Every Day)

1 1/3 lb. green beans, stem ends removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Place beans in a medium saucepan with 1 1/2 cups cold water. Sprinkle with the minced garlic, drizzle with the olive oil, and place the butter on top of the beans. Season with salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the beans, covered, until the water has cooked off, 12-14 minutes. Check from time to time to male sure the water hasn't cooked off before the beans are done; if it has, just add a splash more water.
2. When the beans are done and all the water has cooked off and you can hear the beans sizzling in the pot, let them cook about 30 seconds longer to saute in the butter and olive oil; be careful not to let them burn at this point. Season with more salt and pepper and serve warm.

CUCUMBER RAITA
1 ten ounce cucumber
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
juice of one lime (2tbsp)
1 tsp course salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

Slice cucumber in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds with a spoon. Cut the cucumber into 1/8 inch dice. Put in a bowl and add yogurt, parsley, lime juice and salt. Stir to combine. Heat a skillet with olive oil over medium heat; when hot, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds; cook until they pop. Add seeds to yogurt mixture, stir to combine.

Pesto
Pick leaves from large bag of basil; should yeild about 1 to 1/2 cup
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place basil and garlic in a food processor or blender (processor works better). Pulse until finely chopped, scraping down sides as needed. Add the cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and puree until smooth and well combined.

PICKLE RECIPE FROM BON APPETIT
Slightly Sweet dill refrigerator pickles
1 small sweet onion (our CSA onions would work great!)
2 lbs medium pickling cukes, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 large bunch dill, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
2 tsps whole white peppercorns
1 1/2 cup apple cidar vinegar (they say using rice
vinegar will make a slightly less sweet version)
1 cup water
3 tbsp course kosher salt
2 tbsp dill seed

Divide sliced onion between two 1 quart wide mouth
jars. Pack cucumbers horizontally in jars. Top each
jar with dill.
Crush mustard seeds and peppercorns together with
either mortar and pestle or resealable plastic bag .
Placed crushed spices in medium saucepan. Add
vinegar, cup of water, sugar, coarse salt, and dill
seeds. Bring mixture to boil over medium high heat,
stirring until sugar dissolves.
Ladle mixture evenly over cukes. Leave jars uncovered
and chill 24 hrs. Cover pickle jars tightly with
lids. Keep refrigerated.

Another pickle recipe from Sara Foster's Fresh Every
Day cookbook. These are fantastic!!

Mom's 'Fridge Pickles
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp dill seed
4-5 pickling cukes (all of our cucumbers except for
the lemon cukes should work here, and those would
probably be fine if you could figure out a way to
slice them right!), peeled and sliced into 1/8 ich
thick rounds
1 small white onion, thinly sliced into rounds (again,
our onions should work great)

1) Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper,
cloves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and dill seed
in a quart jar. Place lid on jar and shake until
sugar dissolves.
2) Layer the cucumbers and onions in the jar using a
wooden spoon to press them tightly into the jar.
Place the lid on the jar, shake it well, and
refrigerate at least 4 hours, shaking the jar
occasionally to keep ingredients mixed. These will
keep in the refrigerator for about a month.

MISO CUCUMBER DIP
Package of sour cream
1 tbsp miso
1 cucumber, chopped very fine
1 tbsp chopped onion
Mix all together and dip away!! You can substitute cream cheese, but you may need to add a little milk to get it to dipping consistency. You can also drop the miso if you don't have any on hand and substitute salt to flavor. Easy and delicious!

GREEN BEANS WITH ONION (pulled from the web!)

This recipe can be prepared almost entirely in advance. After the string beans are blanched, all you have to do is sauté the onion in butter and toss the beans in the pan until they're warm.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound string beans, ends removed
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 onion, large-diced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes only.
Drain the beans immediately and immerse them in a bowl of ice water.
Heat the butter and oil in a very large sauté pan and sauté the onion on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Toss them occasionally.
Drain the string beans and add to the onion with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, tossing well.
Heat only until the beans are hot.

Baked Fennel with Parmesan (from allrecipes)
1 fennel bulb
1/4 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut the base off of the fennel bulb, and cut a cone shape
into the base to remove the core. You can see the core because it is whiter than the surrounding green. This is optional, but helps the fennel cook faster. Slice the fennel vertically (upright) into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel, and fry for about 5 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and creme fraiche until well blended. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and the fennel is tender
enough to pierce with a fork.

Here is a summer squash recipe from one of our own members, Heather Kane. We haven't gotten around to making it yet, but it looks delicious!!

HEATHER'S CREAMY BAKED SQUASH
Take 5-7 zucchinis or squash (or more if you like),
peel and boil under

tender. Drain, put in a large bowl and mash 'em like potatoes. Set aside.

Make a roux (melt the butter, like 2T, add flour, like about 3T-ish, and slowly add about 1.5 c milk. Stir until thick).
Then, add shredded gruyere. We're cheese freaks, and use tons (yep, like 2 cups, but more conservative cheese users can opt for less).

Stir the roux and mashed zucchinis/squash. Put in a baking dish (you can butter the dish if you like, but I don't think
it's completely necessary). Bake maybe 15 minutes at say 350 or 375, sprinkle with gruyere, bake 5-10 more until cheese is melted...ENJOY!

CRISPY KALE
Chop up the kale into one inch x four to five inch
long slivers, toss with olive oil and salt and bake
for 10 minutes (or until crispy) at 350 degrees. You
can eat this plain or with a sprinkle of parmesan
cheese or some kind of seasoning like spike or gomasio
(sesame salt). Delicious.

PAN-FRIED SQUASH (from allrecipes.com)
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups diced yellow squash
2 cups diced zucchini
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium to
medium-high heat. Add the yellow squash and zucchini;
cook and stir until lightly browned and tender.
Transfer to a bowl, and toss with balsamic vinegar.

MASHED TURNIPS

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch turnips
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons butter
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Peel, wash, and quarter turnips.
Steam turnips for around 15-20 minutes or until
tender. Strain and rinse cooked turnips.
Place in large mixing bowl and use fork to break up
turnips into smaller bits. Add milk and butter. Blend
to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta with Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus & Parmesan
(probably just as good even if you omit the asparagus)

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 lb. bow-tie pasta
1/2 lb. sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Add asparagus to large pot of boiling salted water.
Cook until just crisp-tender. Transfer to bowl of cold
water using slotted spoon. Cool asparagus slightly and
drain. Add pasta to same pot of water and boil until
just tender but still firm to bite. Add sugar snap
peas and boil 2 minutes. Add asparagus and heat
through. Drain well. Return pasta-vegetable mixture to
pot. Add oil and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup cheese.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately,
passing additional cheese separately. Preparation
time: 20 minutes. Serves: 4.

Ginger-Lime Kohl Slaw

You can make this 1-2 days in advance. It improves
with age. Serves 4.

1 large kohlrabi bulb, topped, tailed and skinned
(optional: leave strips of skin on)
1 medium carrot, scraped
1t salt
1t sugar
2T lime juice (one small lime)
Up to 2T reduced cider syrup or other sweetener
2t minced ginger root
Optional: 1-2t finely chopped orange rind, no pith at
all; fresh mint

Slice cleaned and trimmed kohlrabi and carrot as thin as possible. Julienne the slices. Stir in 1t salt and
1t sugar. Let wilt and water for at least 15 minutes (or longer -- you can leave it overnight in fridge.) Drain accumulated water -- you should have at least 2T.

Add remaining ingredients to slaw. Mix well and let stand 10 minutes. Salt to taste.

Kohlrabi Fries(our personal favorite!)

de-top and peel kohlrabi bulb.
Cut into french fry-like slices--thicker or thinner
according to personal preference.
Coat well with oil, sprinkle with some salt, and bake
for 15 minutes on 400 degrees. Turn over and bake for
15 more minutes or until tender.

Broccoli Rabe with Orechetti Pasta and Sausage

1 bunch Broccoli Rabe
1 Lb or so of your favorite sausage (no casings, or
remove from casings), I use hot Italian
4 cloves garlic, or more if you wish
Orechetti Pasta (Italian for little ears) Penne and
Farfalle work well too if you can not find.
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken stock

Brown sausage in large skillet (best in bite size crumbles). While sausage is browning, clean Broccoli Rabe and remove only the thick tougher ends of stalks. Chop rabe into bite sized pieces. Drain sausage and set aside. Start your water for the pasta and cook according to directions for aldente pasta. In same large skillet as sausage sauté chopped garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil for a couple of minutes (do not clean pan as remaining fat from sausage will add more flavor). Add Broccoli Rabe and some chicken broth to pan and cook until greens have wilted. Add sausage and heat through. Toss with cooked pasta and enjoy. Watch the salt on this as some sausages will have a lot of it and could potentially make this dish to salty if more salt is added. Keep the salt added to pasta water to a minimum. This dish also works well with vegetarian substitutions for a yummy vegan alternative, make sure to increase the olive oil accordingly… Yummy!

Swiss chard recipe

Ingredients
1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard
1 small clove garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon butter
salt

Method
1. Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Remove
the toughest third of the stalk, discard or save for
another recipe (such as this Swiss chard ribs with
cream and pasta). Roughly chop the leaves into
inch-wide strips.
2. Heat a saucepan on a medium heat setting, add olive
oil, a few small slices of garlic and the crushed red
pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add the chopped
Swiss chard leaves. Cover. Check after about 5
minutes. If it looks dry, add a couple tablespoons of
water. Flip the leaves over in the pan, so that what
was on the bottom, is now on the top. Cover again.
Check for doneness after another 5 minutes (remove a
piece and taste it). Add salt to taste, and a small
amount of butter. Remove the swiss chard to a serving
dish.

Rainbow chard with chickpeas

1 bunch of chard, washed & rinsed
1 t dried chili pepper
1 small red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 small can of tomatoes
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper to taste
handful of parsley, chopped
feta cheese, optional

1. Cut off the bottom inch of the chard stems and
toss. Chop up the remaining chard leaves and stems and
toss all wet from rinsing into a pot on medium-high
heat. Put on lid. About 4-5 minutes later remove lid
and turn off heat. The chard should be all wilty and
dark green and should have reduced considerably in
size. Drain & set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat oil and add in onion, garlic
and chili pepper flakes. Saute until translucent. Add
in chard, chickpeas, lime juice and tomatoes along
with a bit of salt & pepper. Stir to combine. Once
everything is heated through...about 5 minutes, serve
over rice with a bit of feta cheese and parsley to top
it off.

Collard Green Olive Pesto

(your collards are probably 3/4lb, so you'd need to scale back on all the other
ingredients!)
1 3/4 lb collard greens
7 large brine-cured green olives (2 1/4 oz), pitted
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)

Preparation

Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, cut stems and center ribs from collard
greens and discard. Stir collards into water in
batches, then simmer, uncovered, stirring
occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer
collards with tongs to a colander to drain, gently
pressing on greens to extract excess water. (If making
pasta, reserve water in pot for cooking pasta.)
Coarsely chop collards.
Blend olives and garlic in a food processor until
finely chopped. Add collards, water, vinegar, salt,
cayenne, and pepper and pulse until finely chopped.
With motor running, add oil in a slow stream. Turn off
motor, then add cheese and pulse to combine.

Collard Greens Miniera

(again, not quite the same amount of collards, but I bet the three slices of
bacon would still be delicious!). If you're from the South, you're probably used to collards cooked long and slow. What makes this simple, flavorful Brazilian dish unusual are greens that are finely sliced and barely cooked.
Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min
Servings: Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb collard greens, halved lengthwise and stems
and center ribs discarded
3 slices bacon, finely chopped
Preparation

Stack collard-leaf halves and roll crosswise into a
cigar shape. Cut crosswise into very thin slices (no
thicker than 3/4 inch) with a sharp knife.
Cook bacon in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate
heat, stirring, until crisp. Add collards, tossing to
coat, and cook until just bright green, about 1
minute. Season with salt and serve immediately.