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By sally, on March 7th, 2010
It has been a long time since we last had a CSA Challenge around here. As we mentioned in a previous post, one of the ways that we get our organic and local produce is through a Community Supported Agriculture box or CSA box. When this box arrives every other week from a local farm, sometimes it can be a challenge to figure out what to make with the vegetables that come.
In our most recent box, the vegetables we received included several onions and a few bunches of greens (kale and collards to be specific). I find onions and greens to be pretty versatile vegetables and not so much of a challenge to figure out how to prepare. This time, however, I decided I wanted to make some sort of tasty main dish that would include both of these vegetables and a few other ingredients that I had on hand—so this was where the CSA challenge came into play.
While sorting through our pantry to try and up the ante on the Challenge, I decided that a slightly dusty bag of barley and an acorn squash I had purchased a while back should be thrown into the mix. I figured that each vegetable, prepared in my favorite way, could be mixed in with the barley to yield a nice hearty dish.
The methods that I used to prepare all of the vegetables and barley for the dish were varied and required the use of a few different pans (Graham was not the happiest camper with all of the dish washing he had to do afterwards!). I caramelized the onions, roasted the squash, sautéed the kale, toasted the walnuts, and set the barely to cook in boiling water. The seasoning was pretty simple, olive oil, salt and pepper and a little dried thyme. If I had it on hand, I would have added fresh thyme instead of dried, but part of the Challenge was to work with what I had. At the last minute I also decided to add some dried cranberries for color and for their sweet tart flavor.
Despite the time and extra dirty dishes that went along with this Challenge, I would definitely make this dish again. When brought together each of the elements of the recipe added a unique flavor and texture that made the overall dish complex and hard to stop eating. My mouth is watering just thinking of the variety of flavors—savory, sweet, tart, and a touch of bitter from the kale—and the textures—soft, crunchy, chewy, and just melt-in your-mouth wonderful. Please give it a try and let me know what you think.
Warm Barley and Vegetable Salad
- 1½ cup pearled barley
- 3 cups water
- 1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 medium yellow onions, sliced into thin crescents
- 1 bunch kale
- ½ cup cranberries
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- a squeeze of lemon (about 1 tablespoon or so)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Prepare barley according to directions on the package. Pearled barley should take about 30-45 minutes to cook. Make sure to test the barley as it cooks. Remove the barley from the heat when it is plump and chewy, before it gets too soft. Drain any excess water from the barley.
While barley cooks, begin to caramelize the onions by heating about a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Add the sliced onions and cook for roughly 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to keep the onions from burning. The onions should cook down quite a bit and take on a rich brown color. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the squash, heat the oven to 425°. Arrange cubed squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix so that all of the squash is evenly coated with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the squash for 20 minutes or until the cubes are brown in places and tender. During roasting stir occasionally to ensure the cubes don’t get too dark.
While the squash is roasting, arrange walnuts in a single layer on another baking sheet. Toast the walnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes or until they are golden in color. Make sure to watch the walnuts carefully, because they can burn quickly (I’ve had this happen to me more than once).
For the kale, strip the leaves from stems and discard stems. Chop kale leaves into bite-sized pieces. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan (to save Graham from having to wash another pan I used the one I had cooked the onions in). Add the kale leaves. Cook kale leaves over low heat until slightly wilted, stirring occasionally.
For the dressing, mix together about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the dried thyme, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
Once all of the vegetables and barley are cooked, mix them all together in a large pan. Add the dried cranberries and pour the dressing over the mixture. Adjust seasoning to taste. If necessary, heat the mixture over low heat until the salad is just warm.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card |
Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating
Four Chefs (Delicious!)
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Delicious! A great mix of flavors and textures. |
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Easy Rating
Three Easy Chairs (Average Difficulty)
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None of the steps in preparing this dish are very difficult, but there are a lot of steps going on at once. Each of the steps are well worth it though. |
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Healthy Rating
Four Apples (Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise)
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While pearled barley is not a whole grain it is still a good source of fiber and vitamins and minerals. The salad does have a fair amount of olive oil, but as I’ve mentioned previously olive oil contains monounsaturated fat, which has been found to lower the risk of heart disease. |
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Green Rating
Five Leaves (Absolute Green)
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All of the ingredients were organic and some of them were local. |
By sally, on February 27th, 2010
I have a thing for lemon desserts, especially lemon squares. Luckily for me lemon squares are often one of the featured desserts at potlucks, picnics and on the buffet lines at work meetings and conferences. Unluckily for me, the quality of these lemon squares varies greatly. Some are all crust with hardly a lemon layer to speak of, others have soggy bottoms and way to much powdered sugar topping (choking on powdered sugar or getting it all over your work clothes is not all that fun..!).
Believe it or not, I’ve actually started to inspect lemon squares closely before picking one up to eat. If I am going to indulge in a treat, I want that treat to be good enough to be worth the extra calories. I like to think that, based on looks alone, I can pick out a winning lemon square. I have to say that my success rate to date is not too bad. I look for about a 1:2 ratio of crust to lemon layer. The lemon layer must be brightly colored and have a little bit of wiggle to it—I don’t like the lemon layer to be too set and cakey. A winning square should also have just a modest sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Despite my love of lemon squares and my slightly embarrassing (OK—it’s a little strange, but it’s also quite fun!) fixation with picking out a good one, I have never made them at home from scratch. I’ve made boxed versions, which are okay in a pinch, but never a full out batch from fresh lemons. I guess I figured that if I found a good recipe it might be too dangerous to have them in the house.
In recent months I have seen a plethora of luscious lemon desserts out there in the blogosphere. Everything from lemon tarts to lemon puddings and of course lemon squares. When I found a good deal on Meyer lemons at the market, I finally gave in and decided to whip up a batch of lemon squares from scratch.
For my first attempt at homemade lemon squares, I knew I needed a recipe from someone reliable. Ina Garten has never let me down when it comes to desserts, so I decided to use her recipe for the squares.
I was quite pleased with the results. The squares had the perfect ratio of crust to lemon layer. The thick lemon layer was slightly gooey had an intense tangy and sweet flavor that melded perfectly with the crisp buttery crust. In addition, during the week or so that it took us to polish off the pan, the crust never got soggy and we never once choked on the powdered sugar. All in all, I was in heaven with these luscious lemon squares.
Meyer Lemon Squares
Adapted slightly from Ina Garten
Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and an orange, thus they are a little sweeter and not as acidic. If you can’t find Meyer lemons, regular lemons will definitely work for this recipe. I think I ended up using the zest from about 6 Meyer lemons and the juice from about 5. I didn’t mind having the zested lemon for another dish, but I made sure to use it quickly before it dried out.
For the crust:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 lb)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 6 eggs
- 2½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated Meyer lemon zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
- 1 cup flour
Preheat oven to 350°.
Begin by making the crust for the lemon squares. Using the paddle attachment in a mixer cream together butter (make sure it is room temperature) and sugar. Once well incorporated, slowly add flour and salt and mix only until dough just comes together. Dump dough onto a lightly floured flat surface and press together into a ball. Spread dough evenly in a 9×13x2-inch greased pan. Bake the crust for 15-20 or until it is a very light brown.
In the mean time, mix together the eggs, sugar, Meyer lemon zest, Meyer lemon juice and flour. Once crust has finished baking and cooled slightly, pour lemon mixture over crust. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until filling is mostly set, but wiggles just slightly when nudged.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card |
Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating
Four Chefs (Delicious!)
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As I mentioned above, these luscious lemon squares had the perfect ratio of crust to lemon layer and a wonderful tangy sweet lemon flavor. |
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Easy Rating
Three Easy Chairs (Average Difficulty)
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Zesting and juicing the lemons takes a little time, but the recipe is pretty straightforward. Not too much work for such good results. |
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Healthy Rating
One Apples (This Might Take A Year Off Your Life)
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Though I did cut down the amount of sugar from the original recipe, there was still a lot of sugar in the filling. There was also enough butter in the crust to cause a girl to go up a dress size. These squares are best shared with a crowd. |
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Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved)
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All of the ingredients for this recipe were organic and the eggs were cage free and local. |
By sally, on February 20th, 2010
We have a slight obsession with Trader Joe’s vegetable gyoza. Every time we have the opportunity to go to Trader Joe’s we stock-up on bags of these vegetable dumplings. Because they are so easy to make and are so tasty to eat, they’ve become a staple weeknight dinner entrée at our house.
Lately I’ve been thinking that if we found a good recipe for homemade dumplings maybe we wouldn’t be as dependent on Trader Joe’s for our vegetable dumpling fix. So when I came across a recipe for baked vegetable dumplings in one of our cookbooks (The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil and Rosie Daley), I decided to give it a shot.
The resulting dumplings were not exactly like our beloved Trader Joes’ favorites, but they were good nonetheless. They had a crispy outer shell that gave way to a soft interior rich with sesame and curry flavors. The recipe yielded enough dumplings for us to enjoy for dinner and for me to enjoy the next day for lunch.
While I was pleased with my first attempt at making homemade dumplings, I have to say that nothing compares to the ease of our frozen pre-prepared Trader Joe’s treats. Making these was a quite a chore. There was the chopping and cooking of the filling and then the preparation and stuffing of the wonton shell. I also decided I needed to make a fancy pleat on the edge of each of the shell, so that took a while to figure out how to do. The actual baking time was quite brief, but by then our stomachs were really growling for dinner, so I decided not to make the recipe’s dipping sauce and went with a store-bought option.
So the big question is, will I attempt to make these dumplings again, or any other dumpling recipe for that matter? I just may have another attempt in me. I think the key might be spending the time to make a huge batch and having leftovers that can be frozen and made just as easily as our old Trader Joe’s standbys. I’ll keep you updated on any future attempts. In the mean time, here is today’s dumpling recipe…
Baked Vegetable Dumplings
Adapted from The Healthy Kitchen
- 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 large carrots, grated
- 1/3 head of Chinese/Napa cabbage, finely shredded
- 2 large stalks celery, finely chopped
- ¼ cup green onions, finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon of ginger, finely grated
- ½ tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)*
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 package of wonton wrappers (20-30 wrappers)**
- sesame oil (for brushing on wonton shells)
Begin by making the filling for the dumplings. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil and the garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. After a few minutes add the carrot, cabbage, and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes. The vegetables should be slightly limp. Add the green onions, ginger, curry powder, mirin and soy sauce. Mix spices and vegetables and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 375°. To prepare the wonton shells, layout several shells on a cutting board and brush edges with a small amount of sesame oil. Drop a small spoonful of filling into the center of the wonton shell. To close, fold the shell in half and press the two sides together at the edges. To make sure each dumpling is sealed, you can use a fork to press down the edges or make a fancy pleated edge (I would explain how if I could, but it was kind of trial and error and I’m not sure I have completely mastered it yet). Continue filling and sealing the wontons until all of the vegetable mixture has been used or you run out of shells.
Put the filled dumplings onto a baking sheet and brush each side of the dumplings with a little sesame oil. Bake dumplings for 6 minutes at 375° and remove from the oven to flip. Flip over each dumpling and bake for another 6 minutes. Dumplings should be golden brown on both sides.
Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card |
Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating
Three Chefs (Average Tastiness)
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These dumplings were good but did not quite reach the level of our favorite Trader Joe’s dumplings. |
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Easy Rating
Two Easy Chairs (A Long March…)
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As I mentioned above, with all of the chopping, cooking, stuffing, sealing and baking steps, these dumplings took a while to pull together. |
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Healthy Rating
Four Apples (Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise)
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These dumplings were filled with vegetables and baked instead of fried. However, the wonton wrappers were made with refined flour and I used a fair amount of sesame oil. |
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Green Rating
Three Leaves (Average Environmental Friendliness)
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I couldn’t find any organic or local wonton wrappers and most of the vegetables were organic, but not local. |
By sally, on February 13th, 2010
Not surprisingly I don’t remember liking Brussels sprouts very much as a kid. When they were first placed in front of me the shape of these mini cabbage-like vegetables intrigued me. However, when I bit into one of those bitter balls of mush, I was turned off to this vegetable for years.
I can’t remember when I finally gathered the courage to try Brussels sprouts again, but I’m definitely glad I did. Either my taste buds had changed or the sprouts were prepared ten times better than the ones I had as a kid—I’m guessing both probably happened.
In recent years I’ve tried Brussels sprouts prepared in a variety of ways. Out of all of the ones I’ve tried, my absolute favorite preparation is roasted Brussels sprouts. They are super simple to make and are ready in almost no time. The resulting sprouts have crispy caramelized edges and a delicate almost sweet interior.
One of the keys to effectively roasting Brussels sprouts is to cut them in half. My theory is that a halved sprout has more surface area exposed that can be browned, releasing more of the vegetable’s natural sugars.
If you are one of the many out there who are skeptical of the wonders of Brussels sprouts, please give this recipe a try. I was able to convert Graham, who had sworn off the vegetable, into a Brussels sprouts eater with a few of these roasted sprouts.
Simple Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Brussels sprouts
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Heat the oven to 425°. Trim the bottom of the Brussels sprouts and remove any blemished or yellow outer leaves. Slice the Brussels sprouts in half from top to bottom.
Arrange cut Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix so that Brussels sprouts are all evenly coated with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast Brussels sprouts for 15-20 minutes or until they are brown in places and tender. During roasting stir occasionally to ensure parts of the Brussels sprouts don’t get too dark.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card |
Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating
Four Chefs (Delicious!)
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Believe it or not these crispy, salty and sweet roasted Brussels sprouts are very addictive |
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Easy Rating
Five Easy Chairs (Just Press Cook!)
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Quick prep and cooking time. These Brussels sprouts can easily be a vegetable side dish for dinner on a busy weeknight. |
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Healthy Rating
Five Apples (My Body is My Temple!)
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Brussels sprouts are low in calories and packed with fiber and vitamins. The olive oil adds a little bit of fat to this recipe, but it is monounsaturated fat, which has been found to lower the risk of heart disease. |
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Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved)
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The Brussels sprouts and olive oil were organic, but not local. |
By sally, on February 3rd, 2010
When Graham and I got married one of the gifts we received was a Kitchen Aid Mixer. I was super excited about the mixer, but Graham had been a little hesitant to put it on our registry in the first place. I think his main concern was that this monstrous machine might end up going unused and just take up valuable kitchen space. I tried to explain all of the wonderful things that mixers can do and how he would benefit from all of the yummy stuff I would make. Driven by his sweet tooth, Graham finally agreed that we should put it on the registry and keep it if we got one. However, I had to promise that I would use the mixer at least once a month.
To date, I have made good on my promise and have actually far exceeded the once-a-month quota. I’ve used the mixer to make a number of tempting treats, but given a little bit of concern about their effect on our waistlines, I decided we needed to start making some healthier recipes. As a result, I’ve been making a lot of bread with the mixer. Though not all of the bread recipes I’ve made can be considered healthy, they are a step up from cookies and pastries!
The most recent “bread” recipe that I made with the mixer was for cinnamon raisin bagels. Never having made bagels before, I have to say I was quite proud of how they turned out. I was reassured of my success when Graham, after his first bite said, “Wow, these are like real bagels!”
The recipe for these bagels is from Peter Reinhart’s, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Reinhart goes step by step through the process of making the bagels and I would highly recommend checking out the book if you are interested in making bagels or any other homemade bread.
I’ve been working my way through the recipes in this book and while some of them can take a while to make, the mixer takes out some of the grunt work. Here are some pictures of the breads that I have made so far. Hopefully they will entice you into making your own…
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card |
Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating
Four Chefs (Delicious!)
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Toasted with butter, these bagels were a truly tasty breakfast treat. |
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Easy Rating
Two Easy Chairs (A Long March…)
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It takes two days to make these bagels. Most of the time is not hands-on time, but there are quite a few steps (mixing, raising, shaping, boiling, and baking). |
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Healthy Rating
Two Apples (Surgeon General’s Warning!)
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I used refined flour for these bagels, but they don’t have added fat and are lower in sugar. |
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Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved)
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The ingredients that made up the bulk of this recipe were organic. I guess it is possible to buy organic yeast, but I haven’t come across it in my local grocery store yet. |
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