Leek, Fennel, and Potato Soup and Asian inspired salad

I get home from Seattle and there's a box of vegetables waiting to be eaten! Plus I got fennel this time and I have no idea what to do with I besides use it in salads, so I thought I'd reap its benefits by sticking it in a soup. Also, remember this recipes can easily be altered to anything you like. Also, feel free to request things and I'll try to make them if they ever show up in our CSA box.

Leek, Fennel, and Potato Soup

5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, white parts with 1 inch or so where it transitions into the green, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, chopped in half
1 medium onion, sliced same size as the fennel
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
chives for garnish

- heat the oil and butter in a large pot until the butter is melted and bubbly
- add the chopped onion, garlic, leeks, and fennel, and sautee until tender. Do not let them caramelize (it can be slightly prevented by adding salt early to wet the onions).
- after cooking this mixture for about 5 minutes, add the potatoes and stir. cover the pot and leave it on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes.
- Add the water and stock, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup is at a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
- Blend this mixture, and taste for salt and pepper - add according to taste.
- Garish the soup with thinly sliced chives.



Asian Salad
(note: I call this an asian salad because I used a soy-sesame dressing, but otherwise no real connections)

Salad materials:
1/2 head napa cabbage
2 handfuls of baby spinach
2 handfuls of baby greens
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
handful of sliced almonds
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

Dressing materials:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine
2 teaspoons cane sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup sesame oil
1 inch ginger, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

- To make the dressing, dissolve the sugar into the rice wine and rice wine vinegar over low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic and stir the mixture.
- Toss all the salad ingredients together with half or more of the dressing, according to taste.

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

This may sound simple (and it is) but I feel like Chinese food gets butchered all too often in America because of over-flavoring and excessive sauces. I really miss the simple and delicious Chinese food of Monterey Park and Alhambra in Southern California (not to mention Taiwan and Hong Kong... but I took what was accessible to me), but I may do with my own Asian food (... I really miss the sauteed pea shoots and all those vegetarian dishes from Happi Family)

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry (I've been getting broccoli up the wazzooo from our CSA programs)

2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 inch ginger, sliced
2 small heads of broccoli, chopped up
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces at a slant
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (which you should keep refrigerated to preserve freshness)
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
2 tbsp canola oil (my favorite cooking oil)
1/2 pack of regular tofu (i'm not a fan of Firm tofu, it's sort of unappetizing)

- heat canola oil in wok at a high temperature. Make sure all your ingredients are prepped before beginning to cook anything.
- quickly add the garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and stir continuously until the kitchen air becomes fragrant.
- throw all your vegetables into the wok as you keep stirring and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to give their form a little.
- toss in the tofu and seasonings, and cook while stirring for a couple more minutes.



yep.. keeping the recipes simple. they usually get more complex on Thursdays and the Weekends.

Spaghetti and Greens

I was really hungry last night and I wanted to use up a bunch of green vegetables that were sitting in my fridge, and things in my pantry.

This is what I had:

Spaghetti and Greens:

1/2 packet of Whole Wheat and Flaxseed Spaghetti from Trader Joe's
1 head of broccoli, sliced up into florets and the stems trimmed
1 bunch of beet greens (the leaves on top of the beets... I had these left over from the roasted beet salad on saturday), ripped up into big chunks
1/2 bunch of green chard, the stems sliced thinly and the leaves ripped apart.
5 basil leaves, julienned
Small handful of italian parsley, julienned
2 cloves garlic, chopped largely
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

- Heat large pan over medium heat. Add oil after the pan is hot, and let it heat up. Once the oil starts smoking, quickly add the chopped garlic, chard stems, and broccoli.
- Stir the mixture for 3 minutes to prevent the garlic from burning, and then add the chard leaves and beet greens. Cook this mixture for another 5-8 minutes, until the broccoli does not have the bitter flavor anymore (they should still be crunchy when eating).
- After boiling the pasta to al dente, add it to the greens with a couple spoons of the pasta water over medium heat. Cook for a couple more minutes, and then add the basil and parsley and stir again.
- If you feel like there isn't enough "sauce" coating the pasta, you can add a couple more spoons of olive oil after turning off the heat.
- Just stir it up, and you're ready to serve it.

For me, the pasta was accompanied with some toast and olive tapenade, and a nice goat cheese, argula, and spinach salad with a balsamic dressing.

It was quick and satisfying.

Leek, Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato Tortellini

Everybody always wonders what can be done with pasta without tomato (read: marinara) sauce. Here's a recipe you can try:

Leek, Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato Pasta

1/2 Cup mushrooms, chopped
2 Leeks, thinly sliced white part and a little bit of the green part before it becomes too tough.
2 Cloves garlic, chopped
1 Fork of julienned sundried tomatoes (I got these at trader joe's, not CSA unfortunately)
Salt
Pepper
Red chili flakes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Any pasta you like, usually ones with grooves are better, like Fusili. I used 1 package of tortellini.

- Heat pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and sautee leeks and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, and add pepper to the mix. Do not add salt yet.
- After mushrooms look like they have begun to lose liquid, you can add salt to season. Also stir in the sundried tomatoes and chili flakes.
- After you have boiled the pasta to al dente, or however you like it, add it to the mixture with a bit of the pasta water and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Simple and tasty. Just how I like it. Also relatively healthy.

Roasted Beet Salad, Pumpkin Curried Couscous, and butter-free pumpkin chocolate chip bread

Where to start! this meal was fantastic.

Roasted Rainbow Beet Salad Dressed with Raspberry Basil Vinaigrette

4 Large beets, multicolored
Baby greens
Herbed Goat Cheese
4 Raspberries
3 Large basil leaves, julienned
1 Clove garlic, diced
Gold-quality balmasic vinegar from trader joe's (this is so far the most delicious balsamic i have tried)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

- Roast the beets at 400 degrees for 45 minutes in a covered pan with a low layer of water in it.
Let them rest/cool down for 10-15 minutes before attempting to remove the skin. Slice the beets into 1/8 inch pieces.
- Make the dressing by macerating the diced garlic, basil leaves, salt, pepper, and crushed raspberries in 1 part balsamic vinegar. After at least five minutes, 2 parts olive oil and stir vigorously to make the dressing.
- Toss the baby greens with the beets, goat cheese, and dressing immediately before serving.


Curried Pumpkin Cous-cous served in Acorn Squash
(makes 4 servings)

1 Medium onion, diced
1 Small potato, diced
2 Cloves garlic, diced
1/2 Cup mashed pumpkin
1 Cup whole wheat couscous
1 Tablespoon curry powder
2 Acorn squash, halved lengthwise and seeds scooped out
Canola oil
Salt
Pepper
Chopped parsley for garnish

- Roast halved acorn squash at 400 degrees for 40 minutes after brushing it with canola oil and salting and peppering it.
- Sautee onions and garlic at medium heat in 1 tbsp canola oil until onions look translucent. Add potatoes and cook until soft.
- Add mashed pumpkin and curry powder, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add dry cous-cous and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and then add 3/4 cup of water. Cover pot and wait for cous-cous to soak up the water.
- Stuff cous-cous into squash, and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, until the surface of the cous-cous gets crispy.
- Garnish with parsley before serving.


Butter-free Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
(I've been trying a new recipe every weekend until I find one I fall in love with)

1 Cup mashed pumpkin (I got this from baking a pumpkin in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees)
1/2 Cup cane sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/4 Cup Earthbalance fake butter (it's non-hydrogenated expeller pressed oil.. or something like that)
2/3 Cup Flax-seed meal
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Cup whole wheat flour (I really like King Arthur brand from trader joe's)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Blend all the wet ingredients together (everything except flour, baking powder, and baking soda) until well mixed.
- Slowly incorporate the flour into the mixture, not all at once.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour into an oiled loaf pan, and make for 55 minutes at 350 F. I usually turn off the heat after 55 minutes, and let the bread rest in the oven for 10 minutes for carry-over cooking.


Please post comments if you make any of these items!!!

And it begins!

My wonderful housemate convinced me to start up a CSA blog (read: my wonderful housemate mentioned i should start a food blog and I thought it was a really awesome idea). This makes me really happy because I can document my recipes here now, but I feel like the audience will want some sort of photo to go along with the description - unfortunately I cannot find my camera battery charger. I'll keep the title of each post the meal I made.

- btw, all recipes here are inspired by the various fruits and vegetables i get in my CSA box.