Meatless Monday - Moroccan Carrot Cakes

These tasty patties work as a sandwich filling or as a side dish.  Use the food processor to shred the carrot and the onion and this comes together very quickly! 

Ingredients:

·         5 medium carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

·         1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

·         3 tablespoons flour

·         2 tablespoons cornmeal

·         1 egg, lightly beaten

·         2 tablespoons milk (or half and half, or sour cream)

·         1 teaspoon garam masala

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/4 teaspoon black pepper

·         2 tablespoons margarine or butter

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1.    In a medium bowl, mix the carrots, onion, flour, corneal, egg, milk, garam masala, salt, baking powder and pepper. Shape the mixture into 8 patties about 1 1/2" thick. Transfer to a platter, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This will keep up to 12 hours.

2.    Heat the margarine and the oil in a heavy 10" skillet until sizzling, about 1 minute. Turn heat down to medium . Brown the patties for 5-8 minutes on each side. Drain on a platter lined with paper towels, then serve immediately. 

CSA Cooking - Brown Sugar-Glazed Beets

This was my first time cooking beets and they were wonderful! I used a mixture of beets and turnips in mine. I love the vibrant red color!

Brown Sugar-Glazed Beets

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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!

Smart School Time Recipes

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Go download your copy today!  Even if you don’t have children, we can all use some healthy and easy recipes!

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 - Mushroom, Spinach, and Barley Soup

Malabar Spinach actually isn’t spinach at all. Although its taste is similar to spinach, it tolerates heat much more, so it’s easier to grow in the Southern states during the warm months of summer. It’s fast growing, which is another added benefit. It is high in Vitamins A and C, iron, protein, and calcium. Like okra, it has mucilaginous properties, giving it high fiber content. This, combined with the fact that it stands up to heat better than spinach, makes it a great thickener for soups and stir fries. I found it to not be nearly as “slimy” as okra, and really enjoyed it in this soup! I like that you can put it in the hot water and it doesn’t immediately wilt, as spinach does.

I was planning on making this in the slow cooker, but had a power outage that interfered. Despite that, the soup turned out amazingly good.

Mushroom, Barley, and Spinach Soup

Ingredients:

• · ½ sweet onion, chopped

• · 8 oz sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)

• · 2 cloves garlic

• · One package Lipton soup mix (I used mushroom and onion)

• · ½ cup barley, rinsed

• · Handful of shredded carrots

• · 4-8 oz Malabar spinach (or regular spinach), sliced

• · 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• · 1 bay leaf

Instructions:

1. Put barley, soup mix, bay leaf, and 4 cups of water in slow cooker set on low.
2. Once barley has softened (about 3 hours), sauté onions until browned, then add mushrooms and garlic and cook until their liquids are released. Add carrots and cook a little longer.
3. Transfer vegetables to slow cooker, adding additional water if needed.
4. Add sliced Malabar spinach and vinegar. If using plain spinach, do not add until right before serving.
5. Cook for 1-2 more hours, until ready to serve.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can really add as many or as few vegetables as you would like. The barley makes it very hearty, and the soup mix gives it depth of flavor with little effort on your part. If you want a little spice, add one sliced jalapeno in at the very beginning.

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!