Roasted Beets + Greens

Yep, I went there. Beets have always been a mystery vegetable to me and even though I had previously never encountered one, I was always semi afraid of them. Unfortunately for me, my CSA box this week had a bunch tucked inside. So I did my research and found a couple beet and beet green recipes. One of the first recipe hits had nearly 300 reviews and 4.5 stars, how could I go wrong?

The beet greens have a surprisingly neutral taste, milder than kale even. As such, I think they would make a great accompaniment to other sauteed vegetables and no one would be the wiser. The beets themselves are nice and tender, slightly sweet. I have a feeling I'll be buying beets at least once this fall.

Roasted Beets + Greens

Ingredients

• One bunch beets (about 6), washed and separated
• Olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C onion, finely chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place beets in a glass baking dish, adding enough olive oil to toss and coat. Cover pan with foil and bake for about 60 minutes, or until beets tender.
2. Tear beet green leaves from the hard red stems, roughly chopping the leaves.
3. After beets are done cooking, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until slightly golden. Add beet greens and cook until slightly wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
4. Slice beets. To serve, place beet greens over sliced beets and add sherry vinegar over the top. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

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last taste of summer

It's been really hot around here for over a week, then suddenly, cool temperatures are back! Kinda makes it feel like the real end to summer and while I'm not quite yet ready to let it go, I will carry this drink with me into the fall: shaken iced tea.

I discovered this drink on the menu at Starbucks and couldn't get enough of it. Perfectly brewed black tea, served over ice, and just slightly sweetened? Yes, please. Also doesn't hurt that it's the cheapest drink on the menu ;) Then I realized I could make the same drink and have it on hand all the time at home. All I'd need was some tea, some sweetener, ice, and a cocktail shaker for good measure.

Tea: experiment, play around, find what you like! I tend to use black tea (PG Tips tea bags or loose-leaf), but I've also had success with Yerba Mate. I make a batch of 1.5 liters at a time, traditional hot brew method, then chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Sweetener: simple syrup is quick and easy to make--boil equal parts water and sugar, then lower heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Otherwise, I think agave could be quite nice. It needs to dissolve completely in cold water.

Using a cocktail shaker, for added flair, add several ice cubes, followed by tea, and a splash of sweetener. Shake vigorously and pour into a glass. Without cocktail shaker, put ingredients in a glass and stir to combine.

I love this too because it can be custom tailored to your taste. Like extra strong tea? Brew it up! Extra sweet? Bring on the simple syrup.

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Carrot Salsa Slaw Tacos

I used most of my carrot salsa slaw in making some vegetarian tacos. Tacos are one of those things that everyone does a little bit differently and I doubt I am anywhere near traditional, given that I have no idea what "traditional" means here. I'd recommend subbing out any salsas or hot sauces you might like for the carrot slaw, adjusting the heat in that recipe.

I prep all ingredients ahead of time then assemble as the tortillas are ready.

Corn tortillas

Cheddar cheese

Black beans (for a meatless alternative)

Carrot Salsa Slaw

Corn, raw, cut fresh from the cob

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Heating my tortillas over medium low to medium heat until pliable, then put on a little cheese and allow to melt slightly. Remove tortilla to plate and add ingredients as desired.

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Carrot Salsa Slaw

For at least the past month, my CSA box has been overrun by carrots. A little bunch of 10+ carrots of which I've been stumped with how to use them. Don't get me wrong, farm fresh carrots are amazingly sweet compared to your average supermarket ones. But really, how many recipes use a lot of carrots, carrot cake aside?

I've been searching the internet for recipes to make, daring to only try a smoothie recipe as of late. Then I found this recipe for carrot salsa. I tweaked the recipe to my own taste, but more importantly, to incorporate more ingredients from my CSA box. I've also decided to call mine a "carrot salsa slaw" because some of the ingredients (lime juice, garlic, cilantro) reminded me of Asian food, slaws specifically. I made a batch of this around noon and have used it all up in tacos and a salad. I think I'm gonna be making a lot of this stuff in the coming week.

Carrot Salsa Slaw

Ingredients

• 2 C grated carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 small sweet pepper, diced
• 1/2 hot red pepper, minced (or to taste)
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Method

1. Combine carrots, garlic, peppers, onion, and cilantro in a bowl and mix until well combined. Stir in lime juice and salt, then carefully fold in cherry tomatoes.

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zucchini brownies

It's zucchini time again. This year I've been over run with them from my CSA, definitely something I wasn't expecting. I was out-zucchini'd week one when I tried them lightly marinated in a vinaigrette which was too reminiscent of recipes I've had for several years. And then I saw a link to a recipe for zucchini brownies! Being a chocoholic, I couldn't resist.

I took my favorite parts from two recipes and made a couple of my own additions and they turned out great! Moist and a tad bit chewy, just how I like them :) These things are highly addicting, I basically ate a third of a pan in the span of an afternoon. Beware!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 1/2 C sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 C cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh ground cardamom

2 C grated zucchini

1 C almond flour

1 C AP flour

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large glass baking dish with oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the flours and chocolate chips until well blended.
3. Fold in flours, then chocolate chips.
4. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Next time I make these, I will try using all almond flour, as this gave it a nice density and texture. This would make it egg and gluten free, and just a couple tweaks away from being vegan!

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CSA Season: collard greens

I signed up for a CSA basket for the season and with it come some vegetables I would not normally try. First up: collard greens.

I've never had collard greens, but I imagine they are in the same category as kale and swiss chard, two greens I have purchased and enjoy cooked up with eggs.

I decided to cook my collard greens in a grill pan with bacon fat, which then turned into a sort of salad. I ate mine plain, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, then added a couple strips of bacon, torn into pieces.

Next time I think I'll make my standard dijon-balsamic vinaigrette and toss with the greens and bacon. I like using an old spice jar to shake up my vinaigrette ingredients, plus it makes a great little storage container and is a convenient way to take a couple day's worth of salad dressing to work for lunch!

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Avocado Chocolate Pudding

You know those recipes that you aren't entirely sure of, but you go against your gut instinct and make it anyway, hoping you'll be proven wrong? Well, as a general rule, I used to think avocado should never go near anything sweet or dessert like until this raspberry ganache fudge cake came into my life. So I gave a vanilla pudding recipe, made from avocado, a shot and that was a big mistake. But I turned it into a pretty yummy chocolate pudding recipe.


Avocado Chocolate Pudding

1 medium avocado
3+ tbsp carob or cacao powder, to taste
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 C cold water

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.


The avocado makes this pudding rich and decadent and the blending makes it nice and light!

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homemade tofu

Homemade tofu, round one.

I received the Japanese cookbook, Kansha, for Christmas and decided to make the firm tofu recipe. So I bought some nigari (which is the coagulant) and some Ota Soy Nectar (the stuff is fresh, local, and of high quality). To make tofu, you basically slowly heat up your soy milk to 150 degrees, stir in some diluted nigari, then let it sit for a bit while the nigari does it's magic. Then you strain your "curds" and eat. All in all, quite an easy process!

While my first attempt at tofu did in fact turn out, it came out slightly bitter so it needs some work. Of course this recipe was for "firm tofu", I wish it came out a bit softer and sweeter than this stuff did. Perhaps with the right garnishes to eat it with, it would be quite delicious.

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my fudge is better than yours.

Ahh, the Christmas season is upon us. Technically, I suppose it has been for a while now. And with it comes all the cookies, cakes, and candies with which to stuff ourselves and then go back for round two.

A while back I saw this recipe for candied bacon fudge and I knew I just had to make it. While bacon desserts are not normally something I tend to cover, I have made bacon cookies as well as chocolate covered bacon (not too different from this fudge, I realize). This stuff is delicious. Life altering. Sweet. Salty. Satisfying. Just generally awesome.

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Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

I wasn't expecting to, but I really love this soup. I've never tasted any tomato soup with such a strong tomato flavor. Granted, this was also my first experience with homemade tomato soup.

I used homegrown tomatoes, the last ones of the season for this. It's a tasty way to use up a bunch of tomatoes.



Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

2 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 C vegetable stock
1/3 C breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried herbs of choice
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vodka

1. Put the tomatoes, green onions, sugar, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and vegetable stock into a stockpot and let simmer for about an hour, covered, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the breadcrumbs, dried herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Add the vodka, then serve.

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