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ManGO Crazy Over This Week’s Local Box!

By Sarah on May 14, 2013 in Central Texas Local Box, My Greenling

Mint, mangoes, berries! All produce that is great for the warmer weather. New to mangoes? These juicy treats are packed with vitamin A and vitamin C and flavor! They’ve got a tricky seed so try slicing them like this!

Meal One: It’s tempting to just take down these juicy mangos on their own, but I have a solution. Pair them with crunchy kohlrabi and sweet mint, for a delightful and refreshing salad! If you are a real trooper, eat the rest of the juicy flesh straight off the seed

Meal Two: Pizza is one of those miraculous things that may be unhealthy to eat out (cheese, sausage, cheese, peporoni etc), but can actually pack lots of nutrients when you make it at home. I’ll use smitten kitchen’s ramp pizza as a starting place. We don’t have ramps, but we do have green onions, which will work great! For greens, I’ll use either the lovely kale or collard greens. My favorite pizza in town has potatoes on it, so if I’m feeling adventurous I’ll slice Yellow Prairie’s treats nice and thin to put on top!

Meal Three: I’m taking my salads to the grill this summer. Fine Cooking’s latest magazine had some delicious looking ones (like grilled kale caesar)! I am going to start with make a grilled potato salad though, using my red or yukon gold potatoes. If the grill is already going, might as well throw on carrots too! I’ll be saving half my green onions to use in the recipe as well.

Meal Four: This meal might be a little out there, but how could I refuse a Grilled Strawberry, Basil and Cheese Sandwich! As a kid I made a grilled sandwich with bananas, strawberries, peanut butter and chocolate chips… so I feel like this is a little more sophisticated than that? I’ll experiment maybe pairing my strawberries with fresh mint from my new plant?

Drink: I couldn’t not include a refresher here – mint and strawberry? Impossible not to include something like a Strawberry Mint Mojito.

Breakfast/Snack/Dessert: If you like to keep your strawberries separate from your savory, then this Strawberry Yogurt Cake looks like the right route for the beautiful berries. Kaela cuts the sugar in this recipe, so it is definitely acceptable for breakfast!

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Beet the Heat & Fire Up Your Grill Early!

By Sarah on May 7, 2013 in Central Texas Local Box, Greenling Central Texas, My Greenling

I spent my Sunday afternoon soaking in the sun, playing in the park, and grilling up some fajitas. While summer might be better known for grilling, this is the actual time to do it my friends! No need to wait until it is a 100 degrees to fire up a grill. This week’s Meal Plan will be dedicated to your backyard, a park, or any where else you can set up a grill.

Meal One: Grilling beets sounds like one of the best ideas I have never tried. Stuffing them in a pita with fresh mixed greens or beet greens with hummus sounds like heaven. I’ll follow this recipe for a Grilled Beet & Hummus Pita and add in sliced avocado for added creaminess.

Meal Two: When others reach for their steaks or sausages for the grill, I turn to summer squash and onions (and corn when it’s in season!). Nothing quite holds in that smoky-charred flavor like these veggies. I’ll try them out in a Tuscan Marinade. Eat the dish plain, with cousous, wrapped in a tortilla, toss them on greens or serve as a side to your favorite grilled protein.

Meal Three: While this salad doesn’t exactly utilize the grill, it is the perfect accompaniment to any grilled dish. Serve this Lime Peanut Coleslaw as a salad or use it as a topping to fish (or steak, or chicken, or shrimp, or portabella…) tacos. To add a little more crunch, I’ll chop my Japanese turnips into matchsticks to toss in with my thinly sliced green cabbage.

Dessert: Strawberries have been making a strong showing in the Local Box the past few weeks and I am not complaining. I am always on the look out though for something new to do with them, which is why this Mixed Berry Hobo Packs with Grilled Pound Cake made my mouth water. Since blueberries aren’t quite in season yet, I’ll probably just stick to my strawberries for the topping.

Drink: I originally subbed out the lime juice in Meal Three’s slaw with grapefruit juice, but took it back when I realized many people need a refresher when standing behind the grill. While a beer could suit me just fine, a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice cocktail sounds much more delightful. I’ll try my hand at this Candied Grapefruit Cocktail. I’ll add extra grapefruits to my order so I can try them candied! Don’t drink alcohol? Try fresh grapefruit juice with a bit of topo chico or club soda for a refreshing treat.

What are you cooking with your Local Box? Lettuce know in the comments!

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A Fiesta With Your Local Box!

By Sarah on April 30, 2013 in Central Texas Local Box, Greenling Central Texas

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend, so I thought I’d take this chance to pay homage to one of my favorite cuisines – Mexican! Mexican food is hard to define with all of the regions (including tex-mex, new mexican mex, and california mex), but I’m going to do my best. So grab a margarita & let’s cook!

drink: Nothing like a margarita to beat the heat. Well nothing except a fresh strawberry margarita! Good for any day but perfect for Cinco de Mayo – and with local strawberries, it couldn’t get any better!

appetizer: One of my favorite restaurants in town is Polvo’s. One of the reasons I like it is for their salsa bar, especially the escabeche. Escabeche are pickled veggies. For this version of escabeche I’ll use my rainbow carrots, kohlrabi and spring onions along with the normal jalapenos. Escabeche is great served plain, with chips or as a topping for many dishes.

entree: Enchiladas get a bad rep for being unhealthy – and they definitely can be – but they are a great way to feed a crowd. This recipe for potato & kale enchiladas looks like a good way to use my kale while putting a different spin on a classic. And it’s vegan!

side/entree: When I first decided to make this a mexican inspired meal plan, my first oh sh*t moment came with the fennel. Fennel is a favorite of mine & is divine on pizza, in pasta, shaved raw for salads. But for Mexican? It would do great as a slaw for any sort of taco, but I wanted more – until I came across these onion and fennel quesadillas. Other than the fennel and onion, I’ll be including some Swiss chard to really put these on the gourmet level.

salad: You always need to have a salad with a spread, especially one that has lots of spice. I’ll be putting both my arugula and my lettuces into this Avocado, Mango, Salad with Cilantro Citrus Vinaigrette.

Plans for the weekend? Plans for your Local Box? Lettuce know your recipe ideas in the comment section!

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Brunching With The Local Box!

By Sarah on April 23, 2013 in Central Texas Local Box, Greenling Central Texas

Spring means crazy weekends of weddings, parties, festivals and so forth. While I love staying busy, I am missing my nice relaxing brunches. This week’s meal plan is going to be in celebration of those breakfasts and brunches missed. And who says eggs and pancakes are just for mornings? Try out these breakfast inspired meals any time of the day!

Sweet: Last week was full of tragedy from Boston to Texas and it has been amazing to see all the support from all over the world. In a shout out to our neighbors in West, I am going to try to make these Strawberry Cream Cheese Kolaches from Homesick Texan with our local strawberries. You can help support the relief effort in West on May 4th at Austin Bakes for West. There is still time to participate if you want to offer your baked goods at the bake sale!

Savory: This Cauliflower Bake looks like the perfect brunch recipe for my cauliflower and yellow onion. It’s also the sort of rich dish that needs a salad as an accompaniment, so I’ll use my lettuce to make a simple bright salad.

Flapjacks? Hot Cakes?: Whatever you call them, pancakes are such a treat. I can make an egg every morning and be happy, but carrot cake pancakes – now that is brunch! It’ll be the perfect recipe for my sweet baby carrots. She even tops the treats with cream cheese topping!

Eggs! Eggs are my go to for breakfast. I never seem to get those mid morning cravings when I’ve had an egg for breakfast – they deliver plenty of protein and enough fat to keep me full. This Skinny Omellete from 101 cookbooks looks unbelievable. I’ll be stuffing mine with microgreens and thinly sliced radishes. She mentions a ricotta with lemon and herbs as an easy spread, so that’s what I’ll do with my dill! If you’ve read this blog at all, you already know I am a fan of the fried egg. It goes on everything. While it usually requires no recipe to whip up delicious veggies and top with an egg, I have to share this pretty picture & recipe from Love & Lemons for kale, egg & avocado toast!

Juice it! When in doubt, juice it. Try out a Kale, Carrot, Apple & Juice or try this Strawberry Kale Smoothie – a sure way to sneak in those greens for the kids!

Happy brunching! Lettuce know your favorite breakfasts in the comments!

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Lettuce Help You Save Some Thyme With This Week’s Meal Plan!

By Sarah on April 16, 2013 in Central Texas Local Box, Greenling Central Texas

As it gets hotter outside, I start slowing down. This week’s Meal Plan is designed to put some more zest in your daily routine. This week’s Local Box has plenty of greens to go around so if you are ever feeling too hot to start up that oven, you can always turn to a simple delicious salad!

Meal One: I usually like to make a dish the first night that will work for leftovers for the rest of the week, whether it is for lunch or a snack or one night when cooking just seems too difficult. This Arugula Pesto Wheatberry Salad from 101 cookbooks looks to be a good contender with a spicy arugula pesto. I’ll probably leave out the Seitan (not my thing) and serve it over some lettuce for more green.

Meal Two: Turnips are often left behind when it comes to the world of vegetables, but these colorful bulbs are a great substitution for potatoes in a lot of recipes. I am going to try them with kale in this Turnip & Kale Hash.

Meal Three: While it might be getting a little warm for the oven to be on, I can’t deny a good braise – especially when it combines fennel and carrots with a little honey and orange! This Food52 braise will be great on it’s own, as a side to your favorite protein, or combined with an easy salad using Animal Farm’s salad mix.

Meal Four: I am going to count this Grapefruit, Yogurt, & Thyme Pound Cake as meal four, but it could easily be dessert (especially with glaze!). I’m thinking I’ll make double the grapefruit thyme syrup and make a cocktail with it!

What did you have thyme to cook this week?