Sauteed Greens with Nuts and Dried Fruit (Inspired by Catalan Cuisine)

Here’s a summary of the many health benefits of eating chard.

Given the state of the world this week (and for the near future), I will try to share extra simple and flexible recipes to avoid the temptation and possible frustration of an extra shopping trip for additional ingredients. I have come to love chard in many dishes, but here’s a new one (to me) that I’m excited to try out. Consider all ingredients swappable or optional and tweak the amount to your liking. Let us know how your experiment goes!

Ingredients:

5 cups of chard (and/or last week’s kale, spinach or other dark leafy green), chopped

1/4-1/2 onion, thinly sliced

and/or 2-4 cloves garlic, sliced

1-3 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup golden raisins, traditionally, but try any raisins (or other dried fruit, maybe apricots or cranberries)!

1/4 -1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (or other nuts or seeds, try sliced almonds, walnuts or even peanuts)

1/4 cup hard cider, sherry, or white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Saute onion in oil over medium-high heat for 3 minutes then add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add greens, raisins and liquor, cover and turn heat to medium-low for 2 or 3 minutes

Stir. If not yet to desired tenderness, cover and cook a bit longer.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Radish, Bok Choy and Carrot Salad

Quick and raw, this is a new way for me to eat bok choy (I’ve always cooked it). And it’s exciting because I’m always looking for new and easy ways to consume radish (it’s not my soul food, but I know it’s good for me!). If you’re looking for something more complex—here’s another article with radish recipe ideas.

Ingredients: (This is a simple combination—adjust amount and proportions of each to your taste!)

radish

carrots

bok choy

red onion

microgreens

lemon

olive oil

salt

pepper

Instructions:

1. Using a potato peeler or mandolin slicer, thinly slice carrots and radish.

2. Thinly chop bok choy and onion.

3. Toss radish, carrots, bok choy and onion with microgreens.

4. Drizzle with olive oil and add lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Tacos

Ingredients:

mushrooms (white button mushrooms work just fine; portobello and shiitake are pricier, but also delicious!)

salt

pepper

tortillas (La Fe tortillas are non-gmo and affordable, which is hard to find!)

carrots (shredded)

cilantro (chopped)

microgreens

lettuce (in place of tortilla if you’re going light with the meal, or chopped as a topping)

lemon

chile, fresh and chopped (try chiltepin if you want real heat!) or hot sauce, if you like. (I’ve switched to Cholula as my hot sauce of choice in a pinch because it’s the only I’ve found that doesn’t have any added preservatives. )

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Slice mushrooms in fourths (fat slices) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 10 minutes, or until sizzling and just a bit crispy.

3. Warm tortillas. Set out mushrooms and rest of the ingredients as toppings and enjoy!

Tacos de Aguacate -- Avocado Tacos

It tastes even better when you think about the long list of health benefits!

Ingredients:

olive oil

avocado

corn tortillas (La Fe tortillas are non-gmo and affordable, which is hard to find!)

nutritional yeast

lemon

cilantro and/or radish microgreens

chile (try chiltepin!) or hot sauce, if you like. (I’ve switched to Cholula as my hot sauce of choice in a pinch because it’s the only I’ve found that doesn’t have any added preservatives. )

Instructions:

In a pan, put a tiny bit of oil and heat the tortillas on one side.

Flip the tortilla and sprinkle generously with nutritional yeast.

Add avocado slices (I just scoop the “slices” out with a spoon)

Fold the tortilla and flip after a minute.

Serve warm and top with fresh cilantro and/or radish microgreens and a dash of lime.

Green Barley Soup with Roasted Root Veggies

This simple barley soup is nourishing and filling—it leaves me feeling warm inside. Barley is known for boosting milk production in breastfeeding mothers, but it’s good for you in so many more ways. Together with the root veggies and greens, this is a stay-healthy-and-strong meal for all.

Ingredients

2 cups barley

3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

8 cups water

bouillon (I used 1 cube Edward & Sons Garden Veggie, 1 Not-Chick’n and two tbs mushroom seasoning)

1 tbs pepper

4 cups root veggies (carrots, turnips, radish and/or beets) thinly sliced (to about a 1/4 inch)

salt

pepper

olive oil

1 box tofu (optional for a protein boost), in 1/2 inch slices. Try it sprinkled with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

1 or 2 bunches of greens, sliced (try turnip greens and/or spinach)

3 cups water (or enough to cover the immersion blender blades)

microgreens (we have pea shoots this week!)

lemon or lime

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a pot, add barley, garlic, bouillon, 1 tbs pepper and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil then simmer over medium heat for about an hour until barley is cooked. Hulled barley may take 20 minutes or so longer to cook than pearl barley. If you presoak your barley overnight, or at least a few hours, it will cook in 40 minutes or so.

3. On a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up), spread a layer of root veggies (I used carrots for first layer). Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Then add second layer (I used radish and turnips this time, but beets also make a delicious addition to this combination). Salt, pepper and drizzle again. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until they are tender and a bit crispy.

If you’re adding the tofu to this meal, spread it on a second baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with oil. Try roasted sesame oil for extra flavor. Bake along with the root veggies.

4. In another pot, add three cups water and the sliced greens. Cover and cook over medium heat until just wilted. Then blend using an immersion blender, if you’ve got it. Otherwise, you can let cool a bit, then transfer into a regular blender. Add the blended greens to the barley pot.

5. Serve a bowl of green barley soup and top with roasted veggies and fresh microgreens and a dash of lemon or lime.

Sinigang-Inspired Tamarind Soup

This recipe was adapted from here.

Right up front, I want to tell you that I’m not of Filipino descent, nor have I had the pleasure of tasting an authentic bowl of Sinigang (which is Tagalog for “stewed [dish]”). However, I’ve heard of this dish for years and have yearned to try it. Being vegetarian, I haven’t found a Filipino restaurant that offers veggie options. If you have, PLEASE let me know where it’s at! In the meantime, I want to thank Vicki for reminding me that this soup exists and encouraging me to try to make it myself. Being Mexican, I am always excited about any food with tamarind in it! And I can’t seem to get enough caldo (stew), no matter the weather or time of day. So, here’s my attempt at making a pot of vegetarian Sinigang using in-season veggies from this week’s Fresh Five CSA.

INGREDIENTS:

2 small onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs oil (palm, or olive)

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (these, I get from our local vietnamese market)

12 cups water

28oz can of tomato sauce or 4 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped

2 or 3 tbs tamarind paste (more if you love sour; I use Aunt Patty’s Tamarind Paste, which I can usually find at Sprouts. I love it because I don’t have to spend a bunch of time picking seeds out)

3 cups turnips or radish, chopped

3 cups carrots, chopped

1 bunch of turnip greens and/or spinach, finely chopped (2 to 3 cups)

1 or 2 boxes tofu (depending on whether you want this soup as a side dish or the main course)

1 tbs salt

1 tbs pepper

miso paste

microgreens (This week, we have kale, kohlrabi and arugula. The more spicy ones are great for soup toppings, too—Try last week’s cress!)

Instructions:

1. Saute onions in oil (I used palm oil) until translucent and slightly browned

2. Add garlic and shiitake and saute for another minute

3. In a pot, add water, tamarind paste, tomato, chopped root veggies, greens, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are cooked.

4. Serve hot and mix in a spoonful of miso paste to each bowl. Top with a handful of microgreens.

Citrus Roasted Root Veggies with Spicy Radish Microgreens

This sweet tang of these crispy root veggies is irresistible to our discriminating little ones. And, it packs in the vitamin C, which we all need in plentiful quantities to fight the bugs going around this season—beyond the orange, both turnips and radish microgreens contain high amounts of vitamin C. In fact, ounce-per-ounce, radish microgreens contain almost double the amount of vitamin C of an average orange. Let us know if this recipe pleases your crowd!

Ingredients:

6 cups root veggies, chopped into roughly 1-inch cubes (turnips and carrots are what we have this week. You can also include beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips…the list goes on!)

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs honey

zest of 1 orange (zest it before chopping it to squeeze the juice, and save the zest for the end)

juice of 1/4 orange

2 tsp tarragon

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

juice of (another) 1/4 orange

radish microgreens

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450

4. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, honey, 1/4 orange juice, herbs and spices.

5. Add the root veggies to the large bowl and toss to coat.

6. Spread on baking sheet (lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up)

7. Bake for 35 minutes or until they look crispy on the outside and cooked through so they are soft in the middle.

8. Remove from oven and top with radish microgreens, orange zest and a splash of orange juice.

Another quick recipe—check out this Carrot and Turnip Mash perfect for babies and adults alike.

Rice with Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Cauliflower and Carrots

Spring 2021 UPDATE —I’m stepping up the veggie load but the goals of this recipe remain the same— to keep it simple, quick (but not bland!) AND somehow exciting enough that both of my kids will eat their veggies. That said, I’m sharing two variations because…no single variation is seemingly successful with both of my currently very particular kids. The difference is simply that my 5-year-old (now 6-year-old) will eat the veggies if they’re chopped up beyond recognition and magically transformed into colorful “sprinkles” that make the rice “rainbow”. My two-year-old (now 3-year-old), on the other hand, loved big chunks of vegetables that she could grab individually and stuff into her mouth. Apparently, now she’s flipped and joined the “sprinkles” club. So here goes—Rice with Bok Choy and Carrots!

Ingredients:

1 tbs whole cumin seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbs toasted sesame oil

1 bunch of green onions, chopped (optional, if this isn’t a dealbreaker for the kids. Currently, it is for one of mine…)

3 cups rice

2 to 3 cubes bouillon (I use veggie bouillon.) Two cubes may be plenty, depending on how salty you like it.

1 bunch bok choy and/or swiss chard (thinly sliced, or chopped obsessively into “sprinkles”)

12 tiny carrots, or 6 regular-sized, sliced (or finely grated into “sprinkles”)

1/2 head of cauliflower more or less, grated into ‘rice’ or roughly chopped into ‘arbolitos’ (little trees)

microgreens (optional, for garnish!)

Instructions:

1. In a pot (preferably one with a thick bottom so rice doesn’t burn so easily) over medium heat, add sesame oil, cumin seeds, coriander and optional green onions and stir fry for a minute

2. Add rice and stir fry for another minute (I hear this helps get rid of some of the starch that brings blood sugar levels up…)

3. In a cup of hot water, dissolve the bouillon cubes and add to pot. Add 4 1/2 more cups water and the veggies (carrots, bok choy, swiss chard and cauliflower).

Cover with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat until it comes to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.

Garnish with microgreens, if you like, and enjoy with your favorite protein (Try mung beans or peanuts!) for a complete meal.

The Greenest Veggie Balls

This recipe was inspired (and slightly modified) from Alexandra Stafford’s recipe. I am always excited to find new veggie ball recipes that are easy and this one packs more greens into each tiny ball than the last veggie ball recipe I’ve shared, and any other that I’ve seen, really. This is my first try at this recipe and I used wilted spinach, arugula and kale. I’m super excited to try it out again with the greens that I tend to otherwise neglect, like beet greens, carrot greens, turnip greens…the list goes on! I think this will be a welcome alternative to my everything caldo (stew) that I default to on my uninspired dinner nights.

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 small bunches of greens (chopped should amount to 5 or 6 cups). Try the carrot tops and beet greens from this week’s Fresh Five bag!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

salt to taste

1/2 cup cilantro, parsley or basil

1 tbs cumin seeds or 1/2 tbs ground cumin

1 cup breadcrumbs (or 1/2 cup almond flour and 1/2 oat flour if you want a gluten-free version)

1/2 crumbled feta or 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 or 2 eggs (probably just 1!)

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the greens

2. Saute oil, onion and salt for about 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly brown

3. Add finely chopped garlic, herbs (cilantro, parsley or basil) and cumin and saute for 30 seconds

4. Add greens to the pan and saute for a minute.

5. Let cool for a few minutes then add breadcrumbs and feta or nutritional yeast. Mix well and taste. Add more salt now if desired.

6. Crack an egg in the bowl and work it into the mixture with your hands. Form a ball (about the size of a cherry tomato). If it doesn’t hold together, add another egg. Form the rest of the mixture into balls.

7. Spread the balls out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over them. Roll them around a little bit to spread the oil on most sides. Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes.

Kohlrabi Avocado Salad

This recipe is my partner’s answer to last week’s Kohlrabi Apple Salad Recipe, which, as I mentioned, was the first to make eating raw kohlrabi exciting for me. So, this kohlrabi avocado salad is the one that made my partner excited about kohlrabi’s raw crunch. Rather than taking (much) offense that he didn’t fall in love with my exciting recipe, I’m sharing his, here, with you. And, if you want feed our competition, let us know which one you like better! Alright, here it is—

Ingredients:

2 kohlrabi bulbs

1 large avocado

olive oil

1 or 2 limes

salt

pepper

1 cup cilantro (chopped)

chipotle or 1 fresh chile (serrano or jalapeño) optional

Instructions:

1. Use a knife to remove the thick peel from the kohlrabi bulb.

2. Chop kohlrabi bulb and the avocado into 3/4 inch chunky squares.

3. Add the juice of 1 or 2 limes (depending upon your preference), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Top with cilantro and the optional chipotle or fresh chile.