Pickled Broccoli Chips

Summer Fest is celebrating Broccoli this week, the go-to vegetable at our house.  So of course, we really like the florets, but what to do with the stems.  On the Splendid Table this summer I heard this great idea for making pickled chips out of the stem.  They are a great little treat to set out for folks to munch on before dinner.

Pickled Broccoli Chips

Inspired by Martha Rose Shulman, a guest on the SplendidTable August 13, 2011
 
1 Broccoli Stem, peeled and thinly sliced
½ t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ T white wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
 
Place the Broccoli slices in a jar or small glass bowl (that has a lid).  Toss with the ½ t of salt, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
 
Drain and rinse the broccoli slices.  Toss with garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper.  Place back in the same container and place in the fridge for up to 8 hours.  Serve.
 
Visit other Summer Fest friends for their best ideas for Broccoli…

What's Gaby Cooking: Charred Lemon Broccoli
Purple Cook: Pickled Broccoli Chips
Daily*Dishin: Quick Broccoli and Toasted Walnut Saute
From My Corner of Saratoga: Broccoli with Garlic-Lemon Vinaigrette
Cooking Channel: Broccoli Stir-Fry
Virtually Vegan Mama: Vegan Broccoli Salad
Virtually Homemade: Broccoli Frittata
Zaika Zabardast: Char-Grilled Broccoli with Cherry Chilies and Garlic Tadka
Glory Foods: Steamed Broccoli-Vegetable Medley
Food2: Slammin' Broccoli Soup
Easy Peasy Organic: A Hands-On Approach to Eating Broccoli
FN Dish: Broccoli and Cheddar, A Perfect Pair

Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup

Delicious!  I loved all the deep roasted flavors in this soup.  The chickpeas add depth, the tomatoes have sweetness you get right up front and then you taste the eggplant at the end.  And, it was pretty easy to make on a weeknight.  I roasted the vegetables while I supervised baths and then finished dinner prep while the kids watched their TV for the day.

Thursday Menu – Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup, Cheese Quesadillas

Farm Share Food - Beefsteak Tomatoes, Garlic, Eggplant, Cilantro

The original recipe in the link below calls for plum tomatoes, I had beefsteak from the CSA and they worked fine.  I halved the original recipe and it made a perfect amount for two of us.  Last night was another “piece meal” for the kids – quesadillas and tomato slices.  There is a chance we might get carrots in our CSA next week, so save this recipe and you can make even more of the ingredients be from the CSA.  I put those frozen herbs to use and pulled out cilantro cubes to add to the soup.

Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup

Printable Version

1 ½ pounds beefsteak tomatoes, cut into wedges

¼ pound carrots, cut into chunks

3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled (the cloves from the CSA are huge, use your judgement)

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

½ eggplant, cut into chunks

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 t curry powder or other Asian spice blend (I used Bangkok blend from Penzey’s)

2 cups or more broth

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

 

On one rimmed baking sheet toss tomato wedges, carrots, garlic, drizzling of oil, salt and pepper.  Spread into a single layer.

 

On a second rimmed baking sheet toss eggplant, chickpeas, curry powder or spice blend, salt and pepper.  Spread into a single layer.

 

Place baking sheets in the oven and roast 45 minutes, tossing mixtures after about 20 minutes.

Reserve about half of the roasted chickpeas for garnish.

 

Transfer the remaining vegetables into a soup pot, add broth and cilantro.  Puree with an immersion blender.  Add broth until the soup is the consistency you would like.  Simmer until time to serve.  Garnish with reserved roasted chickpeas.

 

NOTE: The soup can be pureed with a food processor or blender. 

Grilled Vegetables with Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

Wednesday Menu – Grilled Vegetables with Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

Farm Share Food – Carmen Peppers, Eggplant, Garlic, Onions

Grilled Vegetables with Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

For the most part I followed the recipe, so it just makes sense to follow the link.  A couple of notes…I substituted eggplant for the summer squash.  I didn’t have a red onion, but used one of our beautiful CSA onions.  I used cashews and not almonds – I almost left them out, but the crunch was an important factor in the dish.

As a noted in my plans for Week 13 I was intrigued by the idea of pureeing one of the peppers into the yogurt sauce.  I loved it!  But while I was making the sauce I wished I would have grilled one of the jalapenos from the CSA and used that for the sauce.  I’m going to keep that idea tucked away for future use.

Peach Cobbler

This Quilting Mama felt like baking this week and is sharing with us a Peach Cobbler she made from our CSA peaches.

Easy Peach Cobbler

To see the original recipe, follow the link.

Ingredients

    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 1 cup all-purpose flour
    * 2 cups sugar, divided
    * 1 tablespoon baking powder
    * Pinch of salt
    * 1 cup milk
    * 4 cups fresh peach slices
    * 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    * Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Preparation

    * Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
    * Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
    * Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
    * Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

Week 13 of 2011

We got…

Beets, Eggplant, Garlic, Onions, Peppers – Bell and Carmen, Potatoes, Tomatoes – Golden Rave and Beefsteak

Fruit: Peaches
 
My plans….
 
Eggplant and Tomatoes

We have had lots of rain!  I think a bowl of this Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup will be perfect in this weather.

Onions and Peppers

I plan to make Fajitas!

Bell Peppers and Carmen Peppers

I searched my recipes for those featuring peppers and think these Curry-Spiced Noodles will be fun to try.

More Pepper Ideas! And a little Eggplant too!

I’m going to make these Grilled Vegetables with Couscous andYogurt Sauce.  I’ll replace the Summer Squash with Eggplant.  The idea in this recipe that caught my eye was that you blend some of the grilled pepper into the yogurt sauce with the spices.  Intriguing! 

Beets

If you have a beet recipe you like I’d love to hear about it!

Coffee Rubbed Steak, Delicata Squash Puree

So I didn’t cook a lot last week, but when my parents came to dinner on Sunday night they got the CSA royal treatment – salad full of CSA items, top round steak from the beef share, and side dishes with squash and green beans. 

Sunday Menu – Coffee Rubbed Steak, Delicata Squash Puree with Olive Oil and Lime, Green Bean Salad, Garden Salad

Farm Share Food – Top Round Steak, Delicata Squash, Green Beans, Onions, Garlic, Carmen Peppers, Cucumber, Ping Pong Tomatoes

Coffee Rub

¼ cup ground coffee, ¼ cup chili powder, 2 T smoked paprika, 2 T brown sugar, 1 T dry mustard, 1 T kosher salt, Fresh Ground Black Pepper – lots, 1 T ground coriander, 1 T dried oregano, 2 t garlic powder, 2 t cayenne pepper

Based on Bobby Flay’s Coffee Rubbed Rib Eye

 

Delicata Squash Puree with Olive Oil and Lime

Adapted from this Squash Puree

2 Delicata Squash

2 T olive oil

1-2 T lime juice, to taste

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut squash in half lengthwise and place in a rimmed baking dish.  Cover and bake for 20 minutes, uncover and continue to bake 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

When cool, scrape squash into a container appropriate for an immersion blender or into a food processor.  (It’s okay to eat delicata squash skin.  You are going to have some bits of it in your puree because it is a delicate outer layer – hence the name.)  Add olive oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper.  Puree squash.  Serve with Fresh Ground Pepper.

Keeping up with the CSA

Did I forget to cook this week?  I haven’t posted since I shared my ideas for Week 12. 

 So, yeah sort of I didn’t cook.  We were at an Eid party on Tuesday, at a back to school event on Wednesday, and got a spontaneous dinner invite on TH.  By Friday I was desperate to get back to the kitchen.

Afghan Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce

This was dinner Friday.  My favorite eggplant dish ever!  It was also great because it used eggplant, peppers, onions, and garlic – all of which we got this week in the CSA.

Frozen Green Beans

Clean and trim Green Beans.  Boil for 3 minutes and then move to an ice bath.  Drain and then put in a freezer bag for freezer storage.

So funny story – I’ve been meaning to freeze the green beans.  And I did on Saturday.  Then I decided I didn’t have enough food for dinner when my parents came Sunday night.  So I made a salad with the green beans I’d just frozen.  It was okay.  It would be much better with crisp green beans that hadn’t been frozen.  BUT I loved the grilled onions in the salad. 

Emeril’s Green Bean Salad

Beefsteak Tomatoes

True to my word, we’ve just been eating tomatoes.  They are so good!  I did make a Caprese Salad.  Layered tomato slices with Mozzarella, sprinkled it with Salt and Pepper, rough chopped some basil to sprinkle on and finished with a drizzle of olive oil.