Tomato Chard Pizza

A fellow CSAer and I were talking this week about the beauty of pizza towards the end of the week. A pizza can be anything!

Friday Menu – Tomato Chard Pizza with Peppers and Onions
Farm Share Produce – Chard, Bell Peppers, Onions

Here is my post about pizza and having a CSA. The pizza crust recipe in the post is whole wheat and we just love it!
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/05/csa-and-pizza-happy-partnership.html

Last night I used the leftover Tomato Sauce with Chard on the pizza and was able to use up a small amount of bell pepper and onion I still had. Good pizza!
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/07/tomato-sauce-with-chard.html

Guesstimate Week 9

Next week’s guesstimate…

Bell Peppers, Cantaloupe, Chard, Eggplant, Green Beans, Hot Peppers, Italia Peppers, Salad Mix, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, Cilantro

Fruit – Nectarines or Peaches

Please send any favorites ideas or recipes for these items. I would love to include reader suggestions in my menu planning and on the blog. Contact me through the comments or e-mail me at purplecook8@gmail.com

Tomato Sauce with Chard

My cousin made this wonderful tomato sauce with chard a few weeks back. I was excited to get Chard in the CSA this week so I could try my hand at it. There is just something about Chard I just love!

Thursday Menu – Penne covered in Tomato Sauce with Chard, Salad (all items local!!!)
Farm Share Produce – Chard, Head Lettuce, Cucumber, Onion, Bell Pepper
Other Local Produce – Sun Gold Tomatoes (garden)

Tomato Sauce with Chard

2 T olive oil
Salt to taste
½ t crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, sliced
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bunch chard, rough chop
2 T fresh basil, sliced
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Add garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and let them infuse the oil for about 1 minute or until garlic begins to turn golden. Add onions and caramelize. This should be done on low heat and can take up to 20 or 25 minutes. Add can of tomatoes, chard, and basil. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for up to 2 hours. Simmer at least 20-30 minutes before serving

Thai Ground Meat with Chiles and Basil

I love this dinner! I’ve always just followed the recipe and been very happy. It calls for 3 hot peppers – on this ingredient I’m usually lenient because I use whatever pepper we have around. Last night it was Mariachi Peppers and a long hot pepper. Last night I used ground turkey and didn’t make the coconut rice, but Basmati Brown Rice (get those whole grains, right?). Still an excellent dinner!

Wednesday Menu – Thai Turkey with Chiles and Basil, Corn on the Cob
Farm Share Produce – Mariachi Peppers, Corn on the Cob, Basil
Other Local Produce – Garlic, Hot Pepper

Thai Ground Meat with Chiles and Basil
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/thai-beef-with-chiles-and-basil-over-coconut-rice

Corn on the Cob
We tend to be minimalists when it comes to corn on the cob. I husk it, put the cobs in some boiling water that doesn’t even cover the cobs, and let it cook with the cover on for only 5-7 minutes. We barely even put butter, salt or pepper on the corn. I see all these great recipes for fancy butters and cheese for corn on the cob, but I know my husband will just eat it plain old, so I don’t bother.

Week 8 of 2010 - Kabocha Squash!!??!!

It’s one of those fun CSA weeks! We got Kabocha Squash. I’ve already had some questions about how are you going to use that? What is it? I love weeks we get unfamiliar vegetables. See below for info on the Kabocha Squash.

What remains in my fridge…

Green Beans, Onions, Summer Squash, Zucchini

We got this week…

Bell Peppers, Chard, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Head Lettuce, Kabocha Squash, Mariachi Peppers, Sweet Corn, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil
Fruit – Peaches

Info…
Kabocha Squash
This squash is Japanese in origin and related to the Buttercup Squash. The flesh is dense and dry enough to be flaky. Can be cooked in the following manners…poached, baked, steamed and puréed. It has a shelf life of up to 6 months.
Information from “Produce: Identification, Fabrication, Utilization” by Brad Matthews and Paul Wigsten
Here are some ideas…
Steamed
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Steamed-Kabocha-Squash-236127
Roasted
http://www.justhungry.com/sweet-and-spicy-roasted-kabocha-squash
Soup
http://www.lafujimama.com/2009/06/roasted-kabocha-squash-soup/


Mariachi Peppers
A quick Google search and I found out they are mildly hot chile peppers.

Peaches
The woman writing "150 day within 150 miles" (http://dahliature.wordpress.com/) had a great tip about peaches...she went peach picking and learned that once they ripen put them in the fridge to prevent over-ripening.

My Plans…

Peppers
This Thai Beef dish made with ground meat is a family favorite I discovered when we were getting lots of peppers last year.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/thai-beef-with-chiles-and-basil-over-coconut-rice

Chard
I’m going to make a very simple pasta sauce based on this recipe.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/05/braised-turnip-greens.html

Green Beans
Okay, these are getting ahead of me. Time to freeze. Don’t forget this helpful website.
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=GH1503

Summer Squash and Zucchini
I never got to this stuffed squash recipe last week.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2001921
Here’s a great blog post from The Cooking Channel about Zucchini
http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2010/07/28/10-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-make-with-zucchini/#idc-container

Zucchini Trade - Curried Zucchini Soup for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

My friend and I are making a Zucchini trade. She made Curried Zucchini Soup (http://www.roxburyfarm.com/recipe/502 ) and I made Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paulas-home-cooking/chocolate-chip-zucchini-bread-recipe/index.html ).

The kids and I polished off half a loaf for dessert last night. It was tasty and had good texture. One concern…why do the chocolate chips always fall to the bottom? Any solutions?

KID TIP: Whenever I bake with zucchini, I peel it and then grate it. It hides the zucchini from the kids. While I miss the visual texture provided by the green peel throughout the bread, but they eat the yummy baked good I just put in front of them.

Grilled Peppers and Lentil Salad

I had never grilled peppers, let them steam, and then peeled off their skins. It was fun and the smell of the peppers while they cooked made me very excited about dinner. The original recipe called for fennel pollen, I ground some fennel seeds in my mortar and pestle. I liked the added flavor the fennel provided, especially since I served it with sausage. I almost used cumin. I think this would add a nice touch of smokiness and compliment the lime and cilantro in the salad. I’ll try that next time.

Sunday Menu – Grilled Peppers and Lentil Salad, Turkey Sausage, Whole Grain Bread
Farm Share Produce – Bell Pepper
Other Local Produce – Bell Pepper, Onion, Scallions

Grilled Peppers and Lentil Salad
Adapted from http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2001919

3 bell peppers, a variety of color will add to the presentation
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper
1 ½ cups dried lentils
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup chopped plum tomatoes
½ cup chopped scallions
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup lime juice
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t ground fennel (or try cumin)

Preheat grill to high heat. Quarter and seed the peppers. Spray with cooking spray and put skin side down on the grill racks for 12 minutes. Place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Next, discard skins and chop. Add peppers to a medium bowl and salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, rinse and drain lentils. In a large saucepan cover lentils with 3 inches of water. Add the onion and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Drain lentils and discard onion and bay leaf.

To the medium bowl of peppers, add lentils, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, and ground fennel. Stir well and salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: the original recipe calls for ¼ cup of pitted kalamata olives. Thought you might like to know. Recently on FB I commented that I might like to get a cherry pitter, but didn’t want a uni-tasker. Several people pointed out I could pit olives, my best friend informed them I would actually have to like olives for that to be a selling point