Last week I got an email from a fellow CSA member
with a recipe he made up for a wonderful eggplant and chard risotto...
which I would have shared with you all this week except that eggplant is
in the full share only and we're not getting any chard this week! But it
got me to thinking...
I am interested in finding out if other members
out there have come up with their own creative solutions for using their
share veggies. Especially those end-of-the-week, use-what's-left specialties.
How 'bout it? If you make something up and it turns out tasty, please write
it down and then either email it to me (at the bottom of every page on
this recipe website is a link you can click on and email me), or alternatively,
you can send your recipe via regular mail to Debbie's Kitchen, c/o Live
Earth Farm. I will gladly share your creative inspirations with the rest
of our CSA community. I look forward to hearing from you! Meanwhile...
Asian Greens Saute
What could be simpler than a quick and easy stir-fry? Rinse your asian
greens and shake off excess water. Chop coarsely, set aside. In a hot skillet,
sizzle up some garlic and/or onions just until translucent, then toss in
greens and sauté until just wilted. Dress lightly with a splash
of soy sauce. As simple as that and it tastes so good! Serve with some
steamed rice. Optional additions to the sauté would be mushrooms,
of course, or perhaps some sliced up prepared seasoned tofu. Or maybe a
dash of sesame oil!
D@#n Quick Kale
(serves 2 -- easily doubled or tripled...)
A whole lotta bang for your preparation buck! The deal with kale is that it stands up well to strong/spicy flavors. So for this particular dish, all you do is take a flavorful, spicy smoked (i.e. fully cooked) sausage (see note, below), slice lengthwise and then thinly into small pieces (see second note), simmer in a skillet with some water, throwing washed/chopped kale in on top, cover and cook about five minutes. The simmering water does two things: it creates delicious 'pan juices' from the flavor of the sausage, and also steams the kale (make sure to put in enough water so that the pan does not run dry). Serve by putting kale/sausage mixture in shallow bowls or deep-ish plates, and pouring the pan juices over all. Doesn't sound like much, but really, it tastes great!
A note on sausages: Aidell's Sausage Company makes wonderful sausages for this purpose. They have a really zippy Smoked Thai Turkey & Chicken Sausage, and also a Smoked Turkey Habañero Green Chile one (they're fully cooked, and come frozen). I'm not promoting these guys necessarily -- I believe there are plenty of other makers of smoked flavored sausages -- but I just happen to like Aidell's; they're high quality, high flavor, and low in fat (not 'low fat', in the diet sense, but very low in fat as compared to most commercial sausages) and they're pretty widely available. And they really do make a tasty broth!
A note on slicing: You don't need to thaw the sausage to make this recipe!
In fact, the advantage of slicing it while it is still frozen is that you
can get thinner slices, which I like because that way you can 'stretch'
one sausage into a meal for two people, 'cause it makes it feel like there's
more meat in there!