Swiss Chard

There was some amazing swiss chard in my CSA box last week.  I wanted to keep it simple and play around with flavors.  I used some walnut oil, honey, garlic and fresh ginger and was it ever fantastic.

Supplies:

• 2 tablespoons walnut oil (olive oil works just fine)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• 1.5 tablespoons honey
• S & P to taste

Sautee the onions and garlic in oil until clear.  add honey and ginger and stir until honey melts.  Add swiss chard and cook until just wilted.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

I loved the ginger/honey combination. Go..make..now.

CSA Thursday

I apologize for no updates this past week.  I was able to take a vacation..away from Fond du Lac.  Imagine that.  It was nice and well needed.  But now it’s back to CSA business.

Here is what I got in last weeks box.  As you can see, HighCross Farm has the best veggies around. 

Look at that gorgeous swiss chard.  Love it.

Baked Chicken with Sage Pesto & Balsamic and Honey Baby Beets/Greens

Why, yes I am on a pesto kick.  Thanks for asking .  I have a small herb garden growing on my balcony.  I love it.  HighCross Farm has spoiled me when it comes to fresh produce.  Herbs are no exception.  My potted sage is getting away from me so, I figured I better use some up.

Since I had some garlic and slivered almonds left over, I decided to make a pesto with the sage.  I took the pesto and slathered it all over some chicken breasts. 

I also had some beautiful baby beet greens that were in my CSA box.  I decided to cook them on the stove top in some honey and balsamic vinegar.  I used the onions and garlic I had gotten at HighCross Farm on Sunday evening as well.  Fabulous!

I started cooking at 6 pm.  I was finished eating by 7:30, that’s how quick and simple this dish is to make.

Sage Pesto

• A good handful of fresh sage
• 2 gloves of garlic
• a handful of slivered almonds
• Olive oil
• S & P to taste
• 2 – 3 bone in chicken breasts

In a blender combine the sage, almonds and garlic until finely ground.  As the blender is going, slowly drizzle in enough olive oil to make the sage mixture a paste-like consistancy.  You dont want it too greasy or too try.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slather the pesto over the the chicken breasts and underneath the skin.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.  You know it’s done when the juices run clear.

Balsamic and Honey Baby Beet Greens

• 4 c chopped baby beet greens
• peeled and sliced baby beets from greens (optional)
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 sprigs fresh tyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2.5 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 c balsamic vinegar
• S & P to taste

Heat the olive oil and butter until butter has melted.  Add onion and garlic and sautee until onions are translucent. 

Add the honey and balsamic vinegar.

Add sliced baby beets and let cook for about 5 mins.  Add the chopped beet greens and thyme and let cook until greens have wilted.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

That’s it.  I love the balsamic vinegar/honey combination.  It pairs so nicely with the beets and greens.  The chicken is to die for.  If you still have almond or garlic chunks in your pesto that’s ok.  They crisp up while baking.

Spring Onion Pesto & Pasta

I like to experiment.  Sometimes my experiments go straight to the garbage can and sometimes I hit a home run.

Score one for Sarah.  There were some gorgeous spring onions in my CSA box this week along with a garlic scape.  I looked in my pantry and saw some slivered almonds and the last remaining garlic clove.  I was graving pasta and thought I might make a sauce with all the good stuff I had, then it dawned on me to try a pesto.  See, pesto doesn’t have to be basil based, you can used whatever you like. 

This was fantastic.  Not too onion-y, not too garlic-y.  Just right.  A different, yet refreshing flavor.  I will make this again.

Spring Onion Pesto

• 3 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic scape (if you don’t have garlic scaped just use another clove of garlic)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
• 1 small handful of slivered almonds
• Olive oil
• S & P to taste
• 1 lb cooked pasta, pasta water reserved (about 1 c)

In a food processor or blender add all the ingredients except oil and salt/pepper.  Pulse until well ground up.  Stream in olive oil and add salt/pepper until you get something that looks like this.

Add as much as you like to cooked pasta.  Add some of the reserved pasta water to help mix it along and enjoy.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I got a pint of the most awesome strawberries ever courtesy of HighCross Farm.  The weather has been unbearably hot on Wisconsin.  I thought some ice cream would be appropriate. 

I found this recipe here.  I liked this recipe because you use two eggs.  That’s it.  Not the typical 8 egg yolk recipe traditional ice cream bases call for.

This recipe makes lighter in fat, lighter in texture ice cream.  I think you will be pleased when you make this.  I used my kitchenaid ice cream attachment to make this.  You can use any ice cream maker, or no ice cream maker at all.

Strawberry Ice Cream

sweet cream base
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 cup milk

strawberries
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
juice from 1/2 lemon
zest from 1 lemon (optional)

Combine strawberries, lemon juice/zest, and 1/3 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Once strawberries have refrigerated, prepare the sweet cream base. Whisk eggs in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the sugar and continue whisking for a minute longer. Add the cream and milk, stir until fully combined.

Combine the strawberry mixture into the sweet cream base. Pour into an ice-cream mixer and mix according to mixer instructions.

I didn’t get a dark pink colored ice cream typical of most store bought strawberry ice creams.  What I got was this luscious very very pale pink ice cream with wonderful chunks of fresh strawberries.  Incredible. 

Close up…

CSA Box 4

HighCross Farm does it again by giving me another incredible CSA box.

In the box this week:

• Kohlrabi
• Garlic scape
• Baby beets with greens
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Green onions
• 2 types of lettuce

I can’t wait to see what I can do with this week’s box!

Yukina

I had gotten a beautiful head of Yukina in my CSA box and wanted to do something other than a stir fry.  It has a delicate taste to it, so I thought it might go nice with pasta.  I was right.

This is what I came up with.

I took the yukina and mixed it in with some tomatoes and mushrooms and put it over whole wheat pasta.  It was heavenly.

Supplies

• 1/2 box whole wheat penne pasta, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 smallish can of diced tomatoes, juice and all
• 1 small container of fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1 grilled chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• dash of red pepper flakes
• fresh basil, chopped
• 1 head of yukina roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine
• S & P to taste

In a large pan heat sautee shallot and garlic in olive oil until they are clear and soft.

Add mushrooms and more olive oil if need and cook until soft.

Add can of diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, chicken, basil and wine.  Let cook down until reduced by half.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Add the Yukina at the last minute.  Put sauce over pasta and enjoy.  That’s it. 

This is a wonderful dish that takes virtually no time at all to make.  The chicken can be prepared the night before to save time.  If you don’t have chicken, you can substitute with any protein you wish.

Lasagna Roll ups

I got another really big bag of spinach in my CSA box this week.  I thought lasagna roll ups would be a great way to utilize the spinach.

Spinach Roll Ups:

• 6-7 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions.
• 1 26 oz can of spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 5 basil leaves, chopped
• 1 15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 – 1 c fresh spinach, steamed and chopped (if you don’t have fresh, use frozen.  Make sure it is drained well)
• 1/4 c asiago or parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
• 1 c shredded mozzarella, plus extra for topping
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• S & P to taste

Brown your sausage and drain.  Add spaghetti sauce and chopped basil.  Cook until thoroughly heated and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, asiago cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach and S &P.

Place half of the sauce into a casserole dish and set aside.

Spread cheese mixture over the top of the cooked and cooled lasagna noodles.  Roll up carefully and place seam side down in casserole dish.

Cover lasagna rolls with remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and back at 400 for 30 minutes.

You will get something that looks like this.

Yum!

This is what they look like on the inside…

Strawberry Tarts

Nothing beats farm fresh strawberries..nothing.  HighCross Farm delivered some of the sweetest berries, I can honestly say, I have ever had.

I decided to forgo the usual strawberry shortcake and mix it up a little bit.  I had some puff pastry cups in the freezer and a basic pastry creme recipe from my grandmother.  Puff pastry, pastry creme, strawberries…sounds like a winning combination to me. 

The results were nothing less than stellar.  If you are looking for an impressive yet quick dessert, this one is a keeper.

The Supplies:

• 1 package of frozen puff pastry shells, baked according to package directions
• 2 tablespoons strawberry-rhubarb jam
• pastry creme (see recipe below)
• fresh strawberries, cleaned and hulled (the strawberries in my csa box were small in size, so I left them whole.  If you have larger berries, slice or quarter them)
• chopped macadamia nuts
• fresh whipped cream (see recipe below)
• fresh mint to garnish

Pastry Creme:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 c plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup whole milk

In a small saucepan, Heat milk to boiling point and remove from the heat.

In a heatproof mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until smooth. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until pale yellow.  Beat in the flour. 

Pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream, beating constantly. When all the milk has been added, place back in pot you heated milk in. Heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 1 1/2 pint container of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat in a chilled bowl until thick and creamy.  Do not over beat or you will have butter. 

Putting the tart together

Heat the jam until it melts.  It will not be runny, but it will not be a clump of jam either.  pour over your strawberries and coat thoroughly.

Fill your pasty shell with a good tablespoon of pastry cream. 

Top with the jam glazed strawberries.

Sprinkle with chopped nuts

Add a dollup of whipped cream and garnish with fresh mint.

That’s it.  Simple. 

Here is what it looks like on the inside.

Go..make..now. 

 

 

CSA Box 3

In the box this week:

• Strawberries!!!
• Green onions
• Lettuce
• Spinache
• Sage flowers
• Arugula flowers
• Yukina

Love it!  I will be updating slowly but surely this weekend (it’s a very busy weekend for the Nett  family).  I have a pasta dish using the Yukina and I will be making Lasagne Roll-ups as well.  So keep checking back.  I should have everything posted by Sunday evening. 

I want to say thank you to all who take the time to stop by and take a look around.  If I have inspired any of you in any way, I am truly sated.