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You will all notice I’ve been absent and not posting much. I have been cooking but haven’t had the time to update the site will full posts (pictures, recipes, etc.). To make up for this I thought I’d share several of the best new recipes I’ve tried over the last few months. In no particular order:

Puree of Chickpea Soup – from the NY Times

Swiss Chard & Sweet Potato Gratin – from Smitten Kitchen

Whole Wheat Biscotti – I made these into lemon whole wheat biscotti by adding some lemon juice and lots of lemon rind

Granola Bars – from Smitten Kitchen

Pumpkin Spice Syrup – Yummy in a latté. I put the recipe & latté directions in a new post.

Mixed Greens with Garlic, Cumin and Paprika – A great veggie side dish. I posted the recipe in a new post.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette – from the Joy of Cooking. Quite possibly the best dressing recipe! It is a basic vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar and crumbled blue cheese. I’ll post the recipe once I get home and have access to the book

This was a really yummy side dish. I used smoked paprika which added a great flavor. The recipe is originally from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Ingredients

• 12 cups mixed greens, such as kale, chard, beet, or escarole
• Salt to taste
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions

Discard any inedible parts of the greens, such as stems and tough ribs. Tear or chop into bite-sized pieces. Place the leaves in a microwave safe glass dish and cover. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until leaves are still green though wilted.

Pound the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mortar until you have a rough paste, then work in the parsley and cilantro and pound them briefly to release their flavors. Add the paprika and cumin. (If you do not have a mortar and pestle, chop the garlic with the parsley and cilantro, then add the spices.)

Warm the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat with the garlic-herb mixture. As soon as it releases its flavor, when the oil has heated, add the greens. Cook, stirring frequently, until any extra moisture has evaporated. Taste for salt. Pile into a dish and garnish with the lemon wedges.

Who likes Brussels sprouts? These poor things have a bad wrap. The best way to rectify this is to put these little green globes on something that everyone loves. Pizza.

Ingredients

• Pizza dough (create your own, or buy it pre-made)
• 4 T olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 2 C Brussels sprouts, sliced

Directions

Saute Brussels sprouts in a T of olive oil over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes adding salt and pepper to taste. Note: if you use shredded moz instead of fresh, refrain from adding salt to the sprouts. In a separate pan, saute the garlic in the remaining olive oil over medium heat till the garlic starts to turn translucent.

Shape the pizza dough and spread the garlic olive oil on top. Use this instead of sauce. The sauted garlic provides a little sweetness to counteract any bitterness of the sprouts. Next cover the pizza dough with the cheese slices, covering the entire surface.

Then spread the sprouts over the surface of the pizza and pop into the oven for about 20 minutes or until the crust and cheese starts to brown. Pull out of the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before cutting, plating, and digging in.

I had chicory/escarole (I can’t tell the difference) twice so far in my farm share and neither time had I found a recipe that was anything above barely tolerable. Bitter greens are always easier to cook with if you blanch them first, but I always feel like I’m losing all the nutrients, and hence, the reason you’d eat greens in the first place. I was about to give up all hope and just turn to the Southern style of greens which consists of cooking with bacon, ham, or other pork parts. However, I was reading Wally Lamb’s I Know This Much is True and was inspired.  In it, a character talks about eating lentils and escarole as prepared back in the old country (Sicily). I thought, “I love Italian; I bet this will work.” Of course, there was no recipe in the book, so I had to make it up, to what I think is a pretty tasty concoction.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C French lentils
• 4 C Free range chicken stock
• 4 T olive oil
• 1/4 C chopped onions
• 1/2 C chopped carrots
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 C white wine
• 1 bunch chicory/escarole
• Salt and pepper
• 2 C cooked small pasta (I used orecchiette, but any small pasta would do)
• Grated Italian cheese for garnish (Parmesan, Asiago, etc.)

Directions

In a large frying pan over high heat, warm up some olive oil. Add the onions, celery, and half the carrots. Cook till the onions start to turn translucent. Add half the chicken broth, half the white wine, and all of the lentils. Stir and reduce the heat to medium. Add salt and pepper to taste. This will need to cook till the lentils are tender, which will take anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on the bean. Let it simmer uncovered adding water if the liquid runs out.

Meanwhile, in another large pan over high heat, heat the rest of the olive oil. Saute the carrots for a few minutes. Then add the chicory and saute for another minute. Salt the greens with a few shakes of the salt shaker. Then add the rest of the chicken broth and white wine to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow to simmer until the greens are wilted and tender. This takes about 20-30 minutes. At 20 minutes test the greens. If they still taste bitter, let them cook some more. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

When both the lentils and the greens are done, mix them together. In this way, you’re using the liquid that has many of the healthy nutrients from cooking down the greens. There should still be a little bit of liquid, but not a lot – it should be just a little bit saucy. Mix in the cooked pasta. Serve with a healthy helping of grated cheese.

As part of the Fennel Challenge, this dish actually serves as the base for a pork dish, but could easily be a side dish all on its own. The beauty of this dish is melding very separate and distinct flavors in a surprising way. Brussels sprouts have a tendency to either be a little bitter or overcooked and flavorless. Fennel root, dried cranberries, and sweet potatoes all work to tame the bitter monster. And the Serrano pepper, well, that’s just fun.

Ingredients

• 1 small sweet potato, baked
• 1 – 2 roasted Serrano peppers based on your heat tolerance
• 2 – 4 T water
• 1 C shredded Brussels sprouts
• 1 C shredded fennel root
• 1/4 C dried cranberries
• 1 T olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Once a drop of water pops on the surface add the shredded sprouts and fennel and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Stir, then leave to cook uncovered.

While the veggies are cooking, mash the sweet potato in a bowl (you can do this part ahead of time and reheat the potato paste right before serving).

After about 5-10 minutes, check on the veggies. Stir them and add a few more pinches of salt.

In a blender, add the peppers, chopped up, and a few tablespoons of water. Blend. Add more water if it won’t blend. Strain the chili water into the potatoes and stir. You want to create a saucy paste, so add more water till it’s that consistency. Add salt to taste.

Check on those fenneled sprouts again. They should be getting close. They’re ready when the sprouts are a combination of bright green with little chard edges. That charring works to caramelize them a bit, bringing in a little more sweetness. When they’re starting to feel pretty done add the dried cranberries and stir.

To plate, add a few spoonfuls of the potatoes to the plate and spread in a circular motion, kind of like putting red sauce on a pizza. Then place the veggies on top. Serve as is, or with fried yumminess on top (e.g., chicken, pork, or butternut squash).