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Potatoes and Squash with (Vegan) Parsley Pesto

By Stephanie on May 1, 2011 in Uncategorized

So, for the next few weeks, I’ll be eating a vegan diet. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. I like a challenge. I want to learn to cook without staples like meat, eggs, and cheese, and still eat a balanced diet.

2. Ever since I got the flu in February, I’ve been sick with something or other. Vegans always talk about how awesome they feel, so I want to see if this is actually true or if they’re just trying to convince people to not eat animals. I know from my brief stint as a vegetarian that I’ll probably never be able to give up barbecue permanently, but if eating vegan, say, 90% of the time makes me feel awesome, that’s what I’ll do.

I concocted this recipe today to kick off my vegan-ness. Even though I’m not officially starting till tomorrow, I needed to go ahead and make something that would reheat well, use a lot of Greenling ingredients, and would serve as a tasty lunch at work. I figured I could still make an awesome pesto without basil or cheese, and I was right (if I do say so myself). Plus, I got a nice surprise when I cut into the potatoes and they were purple!

I served the potatoes and squash with some prepared garlic-and-herb baked tofu, which was ridiculously good. I think my next task will be to create some great baked tofu on my own. But, for now, I give you this quick recipe.

Potatoes and Squash with (Vegan) Parsley Pesto

Leaves from 1 bunch parsley (about 2 cups)
1/3 c. sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic
1/3 c. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from 1/2 an orange
1 lb new potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb summer squash, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp olive oil

For the pesto, combine the parsley, almonds, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and orange juice in a food processor. Process until only slightly chunky, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 4 minutes, until almost tender. A fork should slide into a piece of potato, but not easily. Add squash, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes, until squash and potatoes are tender. Add pesto and stir to combine. Serve warm.

- Stephanie

Comments { 2 }

Pan-Fried Beans and Kale

By Stephanie on April 17, 2011 in Uncategorized

There are times when I read a recipe and shake my head, wondering why I couldn’t come up with such a fantastic combination of flavors on my own. Most of the time, when I’m doing this, I’m reading 101 Cookbooks. If Heidi doesn’t write the best food blog out there, she writes at least the best vegetarian food blog out there. This recipe is a riff on her Pan-Fried Corona Beans and Kale.

I needed a quick lunch, and this was the quickest thing I came up with after a few minutes of Internet digging. Consider this: the longest step in this recipe takes 4 minutes. Nice. I made several changes to the original using ingredients I had on hand, but the cooking method stayed mostly the same. There are lots of unusual flavors combining here: orange, nutmeg, a nice herbal zing from the kale, and a bite from the goat cheese (if you leave this out, the recipe is vegan). I used borlotti beans that I cooked a while back and kept frozen till now, but I imagine many types of beans will work (I’m thinking chickpeas for the next go-round). Just be careful if you use canned beans, as they tend to break into mush a little faster than dried, cooked beans.

Pan-Fried Beans and Kale (heavily adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

6 oz kale, stems removed (about 1 bunch)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3.5 cups cooked borlotti beans
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Juice of 1/2 an orange
zest of 1 orange
3 oz crumbled goat cheese (I used the mixed herb basket chevre from Pure Luck)

Finely chop the kale. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the beans in a single layer. Stir to coat the beans, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside.

Add the kale and salt to the pan and cook for about a minute. Stir in the walnuts and garlic, wait 10 seconds, then stir in the nutmeg. Wait ten seconds and stir in the orange juice and zest. Remove from heat and crumble goat cheese over the mixture.

Comments { 1 }

Local Box Meal Plan: April 11-15

By Stephanie on April 12, 2011 in Uncategorized

Are you excited about the mint plant you’re getting this week? It’ll do great planted in a flower bed or garden, but be warned that it can be invasive. A good solution is to plant it in a large pot.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eeves5naYv8&w=448&h=252&hd=1]

Sugar Snap Peas – Animal Farm
Red Chard – Acadian Family Farm
Baby Summer Squash – Fruitful Farm
Spinach – Tecolote Farm
Heirloom Green Garlic – Green Gate Farms
Mint Plant – My Father’s Farm
Escarole – Tecolote Farm
Mango – G&S Groves
Kale – Texas Natural
Oranges – G&S Groves

Orange-mango chicken – Juice your oranges to make the tasty sauce for this chicken.

Ribollita – This soup is a favorite of mine, not only because it’s good but because it’s versatile. Use your kale and chard here, and toss in diced summer squash to replace the carrots. I’m leaving out the olives, but if you’re an olive lover I’m sure they’ll be great in this recipe.

Sauteed snap peas and green garlic – A simple side dish.

Sausage, escarole, and white bean ragout – Use a mix of escarole and spinach (the spinach balances out the escarole’s somewhat bitter flavor), and use veggie sausage for a vegetarian version.

- Stephanie

Comments { 4 }

Local Box Meal Plan: March 21-25

By Stephanie on March 22, 2011 in Uncategorized

This week’s box includes a rare batch of dandelion greens. They have a slightly bitter flavor, sort of like chicory, and are quite nutritionally dense. I’m including several ways to prepare them below.

Slicing Tomatoes – Gundermann
Shallots – Acadian Family Farm
Cilantro – Naegelin OR My Father’s Farm
Dandelion Greens – Gundermann
Carrots – Orange Blossom
Kale – Texas Natural
Spinach – Naegelin
Navel Oranges – G&S Grove
Red Radish – West Austin Roots
Avocados – G&S Grove

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rycDqj947s]

Sauteed dandelion greens – This is a simple, Italian-style way to prep the greens. If you want more options, this link has several recipes featuring dandelion greens, from the simple to the more exotic (squid and greens, anyone?).

Guacamole – It’s the dip of the gods, I tell you. I usually just eyeball it and mash up some avocado with jalapenos, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions, garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper, but I’m linking to a good, basic recipe if you need more guidance. Since we’re getting shallots this week, I’ll use those instead of regular onions.

Carrot-radish salad – This recipe makes a ton, so you’ll have to cut down the recipe appropriately. Also, it calls for a lime vinaigrette, but use the juice from one of your navel oranges instead.

Winter pasta – Use a combo of spinach or kale. This recipe comes together quickly with the help of a food processor. If you don’t have one, just puree everything in the blender.

- Stephanie

Comments { 0 }

Tilapia with Grilled Orange Vinaigrette

By Stephanie on March 20, 2011 in Uncategorized

Because it has been in the 80s for about a week now (yay!), I’ve started reverting back to my warm-weather habit of cooking on the grill at least a few times per week. Today I really wanted to grill some fish, but I always run into the problem of fish sticking to the grill and falling apart once it’s cooked. I realized I could circumvent this issue, and cook some veggies along with the fish, if I put everything into a foil packet on the grill.

It worked wonderfully, and is easy to boot. I just put each fish fillet on a large piece of foil and topped them with a mixture of spinach, chard, and red bell pepper. For the vinaigrette, I added orange halves to the grill for the last five minutes of cooking, then mixed their juice with olive oil and herbs. I poured it over the cooked fish and greens, and voila – the perfect spring lunch.

Tilapia with Grilled Orange Vinaigrette

4 tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 a large bunch of chard, chopped
~5 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 a large red bell pepper, chopped
Olive oil
2 oranges, halved
Handful of cilantro, chopped
1/2 a bunch of green onions (or green garlic), chopped

Preheat grill to medium heat (about 350 degrees). Season the fish with salt, pepper, and thyme. Place each in a large piece of foil sprayed with cooking spray and drizzle a bit of olive oil over each. Combine spinach, chard, and bell pepper and top each piece of fish with the mixture. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the veggies, season with salt and pepper, and close up the foil packets to seal.

Place packets on grill and cook 20 minutes. Rub oranges with olive oil or cooking spray and place cut side down on the grill in the last five minutes of cooking.

While fish is cooking, combine cilantro, green onions, and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a bowl.

Remove everything from the grill. Squeeze orange juice into herb/oil mixture and season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Spoon a bit of the dressing over each fish fillet and serve.

- Stephanie