CSA week 4 - ravioli salad

Nothing new in the box this week and not a lot of creativity. We had several days with temperatures in the 90-100 range and so much humidity you could see the air. That really does not inspire cooking.

lettuce - salad
arugula - salad
cucumber - salad
chard - simple saute with garlic & red pepper
kale - Chicken, Kale & Potatoes (Food & Wine, online)
zucchini - Zucchini Bread (The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated - modified this week)
yellow squash & zucchini - Ravioli Salad
blueberries - on cereal & yogurt

This time I made a couple changes to the zucchini bread and it turned out well:
reduced sugar to 3/4 cup (was 1 cup)
replaced cake flour with whole wheat pastry flour
omitted the lemon juice but added lemon zest

Ravioli Salad

When I found out we were getting a heat wave, I decided to make some meals in advance that could be eaten cold on those days it's too hot to cook. Pasta salad with some of the veggies and some kind of protein sounded perfect but there wasn't much meat or cheese in the house. Digging through the pantry, I found these little dried ravioli from Trader Joe's, left over from last summer when my sensitive stomach could only tolerate cheese ravioli, fruit, and crackers.

These particular ravioli tasted terrible when eaten in typical ravioli fashion so they sat in the cabinet all this time. But I thought they might work in a salad with lots of other flavors, where they weren't the star. It turned out great! The salty, kind of parmesan-like taste, really complemented the veggies.

3 medium summer squash, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 medium carrot, grated
1 small sweet onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon dried basil (or 1/4 cup fresh)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 Tablespoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups mini ravioli, cooked, drained and cooled
1/2 cup grated parmesan

In a large bowl, gently mix together the squash, tomatoes, carrots, onion, salt and 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar. Let sit for 20 - 30 minutes.

Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, herbs, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the dressing, ravioli, and parmesan to the marinated vegetables. Gently mix to combine well.

CSA week 3 - beet green ravioli, squash carbonara, kale & hot pepper vinegar

Week 3 pick up was actually July 11 since our CSA skips the 4th of July. You can tell more things are starting to be ready to eat. We got:

lettuce - salad
cucumbers - Easy Refrigerator Pickles (Cooking Light, August 2007)
arugula - scrambled tofu with arugula, tomato & sweet chili sauce
kale - Sauteed Kale with Hot Pepper Vinegar (with a fresh ham roast from the meat CSA)
beet greens - Ravioli with Beet Greens
beets - baby food
zucchini - Zucchini Bread (The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated)
yellow squash - Squash Carbonara
blueberries - washed : )

For the baby food, I just steamed the beets then pureed them with enough apple juice to get them to a fairly fine texture. She tried them with bananas and avocado and seemed to like it but not love it.

The pickle and zucchini bread recipes are my favorites, I go back to them every year. This bread uses an entire pound of zucchini in one loaf and isn't too sweet - you actually taste zucchini. I do add a little lemon zest if I have it around.

Sauteed Kale with Hot Pepper Vinegar

1 cup white vinegar
1-2 small hot chile peppers, sliced into thin rings
1 Tablespoon oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 large bunch kale, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water

Combine vinegar and peppers in a small pot. Heat until the vinegar comes to simmer. Let stand for at least 30 minutes. The vinegar can be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion, cook until the onion starts to turn translucent. Stir in the kale and salt. Cook until the kale starts to wilt. Add the water, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Serve with the hot pepper vinegar on the side for people to add to taste.

Ravioli with Beet Greens

1/2 pound cheese ravioli
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon red chile pepper flakes
1 large bunch beet greens, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Cook and drain the ravioli.

While the ravioli cooks, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes, cook for 1 minute. Stir in the beet greens, cook until wilted. Add the drained ravioli to the pan, stirring gently to combine. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Add salt to taste. The parmesan will give quite a bit of saltiness by itself so you may not need any.

Squash Carbonara

I saw a show where Jamie Oliver made a zucchini carbonara but used cream which I don't think should be in carbonara. But I thought it was a great idea for using a lot of summer squash, so came up with this. The hard part is not scrambling the eggs.

4 ounces rotini or ziti
2 slices thick bacon, chopped
2 medium yellow squash, cut into pieces about the size of the pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/2 Tablespoon fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Cook the pasta. When you get it in the boiling water, start cooking the bacon.

In a large pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. Add the squash, thyme and pepper, cook until the squash is starting to get tender. Remove from heat.

Hopefully, the pasta is done about now. Working quickly, drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add the pasta to the squash. Add the hot water to the egg slowly, beating the whole time (temper the egg, don't scramble it), then pour into the pan with the squash, stirring to make it all creamy. Stir in the cheese.

CSA week 2

I am so behind on this! Week 2 pick up was June 27. Here's what we got:

lettuce - salad
chard - Carmelized Onion, Chard, & Fontina Strata (Cooking Light, July 2007)
kale - baby food and Chicken, Kale & Potatoes (Food & Wine, online)
snap peas - steamed (with grilled chicken from the meat CSA and rice)
strawberries - as is

The Chicken, Kale & Potatoes were roasted in a single pan just with some onions, olive oil, and seasoning. It was amazing! Used bone-in, skin-on thighs.

For baby food, the kale was simmered in just enough water to cover for 20 minutes then pureed. She really likes it mixed with sweet potatoes.