Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black beans, cob, corn, csa, enchiladas, healthy, lunch, salad, vegetarian, veggie
Here’s this week’s CSA veggies. I knew that the prep work would take a while, so I had a banana to hold me over before I got started.
After my little ‘naner snack, I took on the corn. The corn is the biggest job – you have to peel, then cut all the kernels off. It kinda takes a while. I do have a trick for de-kernel-ing the cob: in a large mixing bowl, stand a cereal bowl upside-down inside to use as a stand. As the kernels fall off, they fall into the bowl. Check it out:
So cool, right? I wish I could take credit for such simple brilliance, but I’m pretty sure I saw someone on a cooking show do this at some point.
Anyhow, with all this corn taken care of, I reserved one cup of the kernels for the black bean enchilada bake, and made corn salad with the rest. For the corn salad, I finely chop a small onion, and toss it with the corn, a splash of red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper. Today I chopped up some fresh basil and threw that in too because I had some on hand. It’s simple, fresh, and really delicious. Some pics:
Whew! After all that corn work, I had quite a spread for lunch: black bean soup, a green pepper, some of the corn salad, and a few baked tortilla chips with some leftover monterey jack cheese from the enchilada bake.
I’m going to relax a bit, then figure out when/what workout I’m going to fit in today, then get back to the cooking and baking extravaganza!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bittman, budget, csa, granola, health, Indian, local produce, meals, menu planning, Mexican, planning, recipes, vegetarian, Vegetarian Times
Thursday evening is my CSA pick-up time. I usually come home, prep all the veggies and plan out some meals for the next week. Last night I had a dinner obligation so I couldn’t do the normal routine. So, this morning, I planned out some meals over breakfast.
Perusing How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for ideas over breakfast:
- Berry smoothie: frozen berries, vanilla soymilk, splash of pomegranate juice
- Mug of mint green tea and a glass of water
- Handful of almonds (not pictured). I eat a scant handful… about 12 almonds
This week’s CSA bounty included:
- 6 ears of corn
- bowl full of carrots
- small head of broccoli
- 2 purple peppers
- bunch of basil
- kale
- head of lettuce
Since today’s a rainy day, I’m going to stay in and cook/bake a bunch of meals for the upcoming week so I can fridge/freeze them. Meal-planning is a really great thing: it saves money, time, and can often ensure you are eating more healthy, complete meals. Once I’ve chosen a few meals, I start a grocery list. I check the cabinets to see what I already have and create a list of only the things I need. Then, I create a chart for the next week and, taking serving sizes into account, space them out over the week. Once that’s done, I’ll “fill-in-the-blanks.” I cook and menu plan for my husband and I. Since we have different tastes and nutritional needs, I generally plan separate breakfasts/lunches/snacks for us.
This is what my process may look like…
Here are the items I picked for the next week (note: since my CSA pick-up is on Thursday, I plan my weeks from Thursday to Thursday).
- Black Beans and Corn, enchilada style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Cabbage and Carrot Slaw, Mexican-style (How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
- Pesto
- Olive Oil Granola (New York Times)
- Aloo Palak (Vegetarian Times)
Here’s my map of the week. I’ll plug in our meals, taking into account our social schedule. For example, we’ll be at my parents’ house on Saturday and Sunday, so I don’t need to include any Saturday meals or breakfast on Sunday.
Next, I go back and fill in all the blanks. This is where I’ll include any fruits/veggies, snacks that I’ll pick up, yogurt, etc… As I add them to my chart, I’ll add them to my grocery list. Here’s the finished map:
So I’m off with my grocery list, and I’ll post on al of the recipes later today. Happy Friday!
Filed under: People/Person, Produce | Tags: cucumber, health, mark bittman, no-cook meals, nutrition, recipe, vegan, vegetarian
I got a few cucumbers from last week’s CSA pick-up. I turned to How to cook Everything Vegetarian (Mark Bittman) for some suggestions. I settled on this one because I thought it seemed fresh and summery, and (more importantly) I already had all of the ingredients.
Cucumber Salad with Soy and Ginger (vegan)
from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- 1-1.5 cucumbers (about 3)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
The instructions are pretty basic. Chop up the cucumbers (you may need to seed/salt them). Mix everything together and serve.
I made this dish on Friday, and let it hang out in the fridge. I sent it to work with husby on Monday. He reported back on Monday night that it had become quite pickled over those few days (I should have expected this). Despite that, he likes pickled things and thought it was very tasty. I, however, do not like pickled thing so I would eat this immediately.
I may make this dish again, but I think I’ll try other Bittman recipes with cucumbers first. I’ll also remember to take a picture next time!
Filed under: People/Person, Produce | Tags: Bittman, chard, cooking, csa, dough, kale, vegetarian
Yes, kale pie. Sounds strange, I know. I received a massive bunch of kale last week from my CSA. It was more than I knew what to do with. Luckily, Mark Bittman and his “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” did. Hence, kale pie.
Kale or Chard Pie
adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
- 2 tbsp butter
- about 8 large kale or chard leaves, sliced
- 1 medium onion (I chopped it finely)
- salt and pepper (I used Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper)
- chopped herbs (I didn’t have any fresh ones on hand so I threw in some Herbs de Provence)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375. Heat butter in skillet, add onions and kale. Stir until the kale leaves wilt (like cooking spinach). Add salt, pepper, herbs and remove from heat.
In a bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, and eggs. Add flour and baking soda.
In the bottom of a glass baking dish (I think mine may have been 8×8), butter/grease/Pam the inside. Smooth half of the dough mixture across the bottom. Add all of the kale mixture. Top with the remaining dough.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Verdict: The pie was tasty. Definitely something a little different than our usual sauteed kale. It was best served at room temp. My only gripe was that the dough seemed a bit dry or bland. That may have been my own fault. In all, if I am again hit with loads of kale, I may try this again but play around with the dough a bit.
