Lettuce mix, young chard, a bunch each of onions and beets (that will not be going into brownies, but maybe cake?), basil, cilantro, three yellow squash, two cucumbers, four ears of corn (much bigger than last week), green beans, and a single, beautiful tomato.
I am very excited to have Chick in the Kitchen mentioned in the newsletter from Roxbury Farm this week! Jody, one of the farmers, included my Marinated Raw Summer Squash recipe and let me know she made a vegetarian version of the Baked Egg Rolls as well. I love hearing that people have had success with recipes posted here.
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July 23rd, 2008
I’ve been bookmarking one version of this recipe or another for months, and I finally made it Monday night. These Spinach Burritos are delicious — even J. complimented them without my prompting him for an opinion. My mom loved them, too.
I decided to use salsa verde to keep with the green theme of the spinach. I bought mine in a jar (Desert Pepper Trading Co.’s Salsa del Rio), but if you want to make it yourself I’d try Elise’s (of Simply Recipes) or Kevin’s (of Closet Cooking) version. They are food bloggers that I read and admire!
I used whole spelt tortillas from Rudi’s Organic Bakery for the first time, just because they caught my eye. I don’t think I’ve ever had spelt before (it’s a grain similar to wheat, but with a higher protein content). The tortillas were fine, pliable enough to work with but nothing special. I prefer the more pronounced nutty, grain flavor and the softness of Mission brand multi-grain tortillas.
Spinach Burritos with Salsa Verde
Adapted from Spinach Burritos
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 10-oz. packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained
salt & ground pepper to taste
8 8-in. whole grain tortillas
1 16-oz. jar salsa verde, divided (or salsa of your choice)
1½ c. cheddar cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil until soft and golden. Add spinach and stir to combine. Cook until heated through and there is no extra water in the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
In each tortilla, combine spinach mixture with about 3 Tbsp. shredded cheddar and 1 Tbsp. salsa. Roll up burrito-style. Arrange burritos seam-side down on a baking pan or in a casserole dish, and bake, covered, for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with remaining salsa, at room temperature, spooned on top.
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July 23rd, 2008
Carol put the idea of beet brownies in my head when she mentioned her CSA beets were headed for dessert. I was intrigued!
I had a small bunch of beets from my farm share that I never roasted last week, plus a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix at the back of my pantry, and I figured it would be a fun experiment to combine the two. This Chocolate Beet Brownie seems to be the go-to recipe if you want to try baking them from scratch, and is similar to the one Carol sent me.
I boiled the beets and let them cool before removing the tops, tips, and skins. I pureed them in my food processor until they were nearly smooth (the consistency of applesauce) and wound up with a full cup of puree. Then I added the beets to the brownie mix, omitting the 1/4 c. water and 1/2 c. oil specified on the box (but I did add the two eggs). Then I followed the baking instructions.
The result is a deep ruby-colored chocolate brownie that definitely tastes like it has beets in it. Sweet, but earthy with the chocolate flavor only in the background. It’s moist and pleasantly firm, though the beets (or lack of oil?) seemed to make the brownie a tiny bit rubbery. The boys did eat them, though G. left a bite over and there were no requests for seconds.
I’d probably only make them again if I already had pureed beets in my fridge and an urgent need to bake something chocolate. So, probably never.
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July 21st, 2008
I installed Lester Chan’s WP-Print plug-in this evening, so at the bottom of each post and page you’ll see a printer icon and a link to “Print this post.” Click on it, and you’ll get a printer-ready version of the recipe you’re reading. I hope you find this useful, I know I do! Let me know if you have any trouble with it.
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July 20th, 2008
Other than the awesome baked egg rolls, this week was a bust cooking-wise. I had a lot of nights where we planned to eat out, and somehow that just got me out of the mood to cook most of the other nights as well. That, and temperatures in the high 90s with oppressive humidity.
I also did unusually poorly this week using up food in my fridge. A portion of leftover Marinated Raw Summer Squash, a grilled chicken breast, and a couple of cooked sweet potatoes (I never made the Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos) all laid around until I had no healthy option but to toss them. The waste bothers me. I’m normally great about using up bits and pieces in my fridge for lunches, but I suppose we all have off weeks. This was definitely mine!
Now it’s a new week, and I’ve got a new, modest plan:
Monday: Spinach Burritos, brown rice, sliced cucumbers
Tuesday: Yogurt, bagels, fruit (after a late pool playdate)
Wednesday: Egg salad on challah rolls, carrot and celery sticks
Thursday: Unstuffed Cabbage with Ground Turkey (from the freezer), corn on the cob
Friday: Whole wheat spaghetti with sauteed farm share veggies (greens or squash?)
Saturday: Grilled steaks and summer squash, potato salad
Sunday: Take out
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
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July 20th, 2008
Our first sweet corn of the season from Roxbury Farm. The ears were small and easy to shuck, and the kernels were sweet enough that butter or salt were unnecessary. I boiled the ears for just a few minutes and served them with a quick chopped salad: lettuce, cucumber, and carrots from the farm share, string beans from my dad’s garden, a tomato, and feta for sprinkling on top.
My dad puts in a small garden every year, and when I was growing up he was always willing to experiment a bit and plant something new alongside the tomatoes and zucchini. One year we grew corn, and harvested perhaps a whopping four ears for the entire season. But we were so excited about those four! We actually put water up to boil before the corn was picked, so that we could rush it — FRESH! — from the stalk to the pot. Even more so than fruits like watermelon or strawberries, fresh sweet corn tastes like summer to me.
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July 19th, 2008
Yesterday’s haul was a nice change — no cabbage, lettuce, or braising greens, but we got CORN! Six ears of it. We should be getting corn weekly now through September. We also received basil, onions, four cucumbers, some new potatoes, a bunch of slender carrots, three yellow squash, and a zucchini. It will be an easy week in terms of using it all up.
Tonight I sauteed two of the onions in a little olive oil, and then threw in the yellow squash and zucchini, diced. A little kosher salt. Served over whole wheat pasta (chiocciole) with a choice of feta or fresh mozzarella. Yum.
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July 17th, 2008
As a self-confessed Chinese food junkie, I can tell you that these egg rolls are really fun and very tasty, but they won’t remind you of the deep-fried egg rolls you get from your favorite take-out shop. That’s OK, because they’re yummy and healthy, and they used up my farm share cabbage this week. The trifecta!
I felt that there was too much meat in these as I prepared them — the meat should be a seasoning with the vegetables at the front, but it was reversed. Perhaps if I hadn’t cooked the cabbage and carrot, it would have been fine. Next time I would halve the turkey, while doubling the carrot and also adding bean sprouts. I would still quickly saute all the veggies with the turkey, though, because I think it helps control the liquid in the filling. I was surprised at how easy it was to actually roll up the wrappers — they were a lot less delicate than I’d expected.
I served these with Saucy Susan peach-apricot sauce for a dipping sauce, plus sauteed braising & beet greens (with a little sesame oil and garlic) and brown rice.
Baked Egg Rolls
Adapted from The Full Table’s Egg Rolls
1 lb. ground turkey
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
6 c. cabbage, shredded (about 1 small or 1/2 large head)
2 carrots, grated
1 tsp. ginger, grated
3 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame paste
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 package egg rolls wrappers
Preheat oven to 400° F.
In a large non-stick skillet, brown turkey with garlic, using a spatula to keep breaking the turkey up into small pieces.
Over high heat, add remaining ingredients (except for wrappers!) to the pan and stir to combine. Saute for a few minutes until cabbage just begins to wilt. Remove from heat.
Spoon about one heaping soup spoon of filling into each egg roll wrapper and fold. Set egg roll seam-side down on a non-stick baking pan, and bake for 15 minutes or until browned.
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July 15th, 2008
This is a simple summer side dish that features raw zucchini and yellow squash. Marinating the vegetables in the lemon juice and vinegar changes their consistency so that they taste a bit cooked, like ceviche but without the fish!
All the produce but the lemon and red peppers was from my farm share this week.
I used my Cuisinart to slice the zucchini and yellow squash evenly, but a mandolin or some steady knife skills would have worked better — some of the squash went into the processor on an angle and created larger slices that I wanted. So I wound up having to then slice them to a more uniform size anyway.
I think it might be fun to try this dish with all the ingredients in matchstick shapes, or by making ribbons of the squash instead.
Marinated Raw Summer Squash
3 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise & sliced thin
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise & sliced thin
2 red bell peppers, in matchsticks
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
2-3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
salt & pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag or bowl, and mix well. Marinate in your refrigerator for at least four hours, but up to overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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July 14th, 2008
My Unstuffed Cabbage with Ground Turkey and Tandoori Tofu were my favorite meals this past week, and I will definitely make them again.
I have a pint of blueberries and two bananas that are almost overripe, so in addition to my menu plan this week I’m going to make my banana bread with those (I’ll puree the blueberries first, I think). If it’s too hot or I don’t find the time to bake I’ll freeze them to make smoothies or ice pops later.
We’re lucky to have two date nights in a row this week, both with dinner out I think. So I’m planning something a little lighter for Sunday (and in the crock pot, since I really don’t love to cook as the weekend is ending).
Monday: Homemade baked egg rolls, brown rice, braising greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic
Tuesday: Leftover grilled chicken, roasted beets over green salad, pasta
Wednesday: Sweet potato & black bean burritos, salsa, brown rice
Thursday: Fresh mozzarella, sauteed or roasted veggies from our CSA (summer squash? broccoli? not sure what we’ll get yet), whole wheat spaghetti
Friday: Date night! Dinner out in the city; boys have pizza?
Saturday: Date night again! Dinner out; boys have leftovers
Sunday: Crock pot ratatouille (this one?), whole wheat spaghetti, French bread (store bought)
For more menu planning ideas, check out Laura at Organizing Junkie.
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July 13th, 2008
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I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 2 and 4, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .