CSA Cooking - Tomato and Ravioli Collard Soup

This soup comes together quickly, and is a delicious way to use up some greens!  Feel free to substitute any type of greens you like into the soup.

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CSA Cooking - A Thanksgiving Side Dish

Recently, I got to attend the Thanksgiving veggie potluck with Little Miss and her cousin.  With our busy schedule, I rarely get to attend anymore, and it's something I really miss.  This month was our early Thanksgiving meal.  Everything was so delicious!  Since I had a hard squash and some pears that needed using, I made this dish.  I loved the sweet and savory combo!

Cranberry Squash Bake

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CSA Cooking - Red Curry with Turnips

Not being able to pick and choose the vegetables you get each week can lead to interesting combinations.  This is one of the things I have loved about the CSA - trying things in ways that I never would have before!  
I had been craving red curry for a while, but wasn’t sure which vegetables I wanted to put in it.  When I got a single turnip in my CSA box and ended up with a bunch of broccoli from a gathering at my house, I decided that that would make the vegetable base for my curry.  I had no idea how it would turn out, but I really liked it!  

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

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CSA Cooking - Hot Creamed Pea Dip

Since peas are not one of my favorite foods, using the cream peas I got in my CSA box have been challenging.  However, I joined a CSA with the intention of trying things I normally wouldn’t eat, so I was determined to find a way to fix them that I liked!  I was inspired by a recipe from Bon Appetit for Black Eyed Pea Hot Dip.  Here is my version below - I think it turned out great!  I have since served this dip at several parties and have gotten rave reviews each time.  

Hot Creamed Pea Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups cream peas (or other peas)
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened (I used veggie cream cheese)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chipolte chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar

1. Pulse the peas and garlic in a food processor until smooth.
2. Add the spices and cream cheese, process to blend.
3. Stir in the salsa (I also added some finely chopped banana peppers at this point).
4. Pour mixture into a 8” square casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly, 20-25 minutes.

This makes a very tasty dip.  Adjust the chili/cayenne to suit your tastes.  I also used the dip as a quesadilla filling, along with some fresh spinach - it worked great!

CSA Cooking - Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas With Mustard Greens

This week brought another vegetable that, although common in the South, I’ve never been a big fan of – Mustard Greens.  Like most vegetables I grew up not caring for, I figured it was probably because of the Southern method of cooking many items.  Southerners tend to like to cook things for long periods of time, which is not a cooking method that I am fond of.

Fortunately for me, Susan over at Fatfree Vegan had a delicious sounding recipe for Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens.

Other than using a sweet onion instead of a red onion and brown sugar instead of agave nectar, I stayed true to her recipe.  It turned out delicious!  This is definitely one of those that depends on the quality of balsamic you use.  It’s also really easy to prepare – the only hard part is making sure those greens are clean.  It’s amazing how much dirt comes out of them. 

If you’re looking for a great way to prepare greens, I highly recommend you give this a try.  

CSA Cooking - Okra Patties

This recipe is perfect for people (like me) who don't really like the texture of okra, but still want to eat it. Okra has some great health benefits. It contains Vitamins A and C, and is also a good source of iron and calcium. It is thought to help stabilize blood sugar and cholesterol levels - the mucilage, which gives it it's characteristic slimy texture, picks up all kind of toxins in the body and helps get rid of them.

Okra Patties

These patties (although not that pretty) take away most of the mucilage characteristics, because you're adding the okra to a dough. Feel free to add any additional vegetables you see fit.

Continue for recipe:
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CSA Cooking – Falafel (Recipe Included)

As I was trying to think of things to do with the cream peas I got in my CSA box, I realized that their taste and texture weren’t too far away from garbanzo beans.  Of course!  I’ll make falafels with them!

The falafels turned out great – I hate that I forgot to take a picture of them.  I had them on Greek pita bread with lettuce, feta, and yogurt.  I also used them to top a spinach salad.
Ingredients:

• 4 cups cream peas (or chickpeas), cooked and drained
• ½-1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• ½ small red onion, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Put first 7 ingredients in food processor (start with ½ cup breadcrumbs) and process until almost smooth.
2. Add the onion and process slightly more, just to combine.
3. Stir in more breadcrumbs as needed to get a sturdy consistency.
4. Shape (1/2 inch thick) patties and bake in a 400 F oven for 30 minutes, flipping over after 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe – it’s easy, inexpensive, healthy, and tasty!