Stir Fry!

This stir fry sauce is the perfect combination of spicy, sour, sweet and salty. Add in whatever vegetables and protein you like for a delicious meal. When I made it I used a pound of cubed firm tofu along with vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, garlic scapes, pea pods, and some greens. I served my stir fry with a side of kale sauteed in sesame oil.

Stir Fry Sauce
1/3 cup good stock (veggie or chicken stock work best)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp honey (you can also substitute brown sugar or agave syrup)
2 tsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp Sriracha (or 1 minced chili), adjust this amount depending on how spicy you like your dish.

Assembly
Add all ingredients except the garlic and corn starch mixture into a sauce pan on medium-high heat. Stir sauce until it begins to bubble, then reduce heat to medium-low. Add the minced garlic and the corn starch mixture. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens slightly. This will take somewhere around one minute. Taste the sauce! Add more of your favorite ingredients if you prefer the flavor to be more salty, spicy, sour or sweet.

A note about making a great stir fry: The golden rule is to have all of your prep work done before you start to cook anything. Make sure that your meat and vegetables are completely chopped! This will help to avoid scrambling around to complete a task while your food over the heat gets too crispy. The second rule is to add your vegetables in order of cooking time. Cook your protein (meat, tofu, etc) first, and remove it from the pan. Then add the veggies that take the longest amount of time to cook, like broccoli, should be put in first, and the veggies that take the least amount of time (like greens) should be added last. Finally add your tofu or meat back into the wok, and now it will be time to add your sauce! Heat everything through, and voila! You are ready to serve an amazing dish.

Veggie Breakfast Hash

What to do with all these parsnips and sunchokes in your CSA? I suggest using some in a Veggie Breakfast Hash.

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

1 Parsnip
2 Sunchokes
1 medium sized Potato
1 small Onion
1 clove Garlic, or Green Garlic
4 stalks Asparagus
1-2 Tbs. oil
1 oz. shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste


Preparation:

Shred the parsnip, sunchokes, and potato in a food processor or by hand with a cheese grater (it really doesn't take to long by hand, I promise!). Press excess moisture out of shredded veggies by folding within a paper towel and applying pressure. Chop onion and garlic.

In frying pan heat oil. Add onion and saute for a few minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic, and the shredded potato, parsnips and sunchokes. Saute for about 15 minutes. Flip every 4-5 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil if necessary. When hash is a nice golden brown, add asparagus. Saute for another 3-4 minutes. When asparagus is tender, top with grated cheese and salt and pepper. Serve with other breakfast foods or as the main breakfast dish.

Potato Salad

I love potato salad but I'm not a big fan of mayonnaise. This version has less mayo, more spices and veggies, and a lot more flavor.

Serves 10-12 people as a side dish.


About 2.5 lbs Potatoes
4 sticks Celery
3 Carrots
1 small Onion
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Vinegar (I've been using white wine vinegar lately, but red wine vinegar or regular vinegar work just fine)
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili powder (optional)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise (nayonnaise for vegan alernative)
1/4 cup mustard (plain yellow, spicy brown, or whatever you prefer!)
Chives or Green Garlic (optional)



Slice potatoes and boil until soft. Rinse in cool water and put in large bowl.

In small bowl add oil and vinegar. Stir in the turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture over potatoes, mix until potatoes are evenly coated. Put in fridge for 20 minutes.

Dice onions. Chop celery and carrots.

In small bowl mix mayo and mustard.

Mix the mayo/mustard in with the potatoes until evenly covered. Add the veggies and mix well.

On top sprinkle chopped chives or green garlic.

Au Gratin Vegetables

Au Gratin Vegetables

Adapted from Andreas Viestad's Kitchen of Light and made with spring CSA veggies from Harmony Valley Farm!

These Midwestern women love this dish any time of the year and adapt it to whatever happens to be in season and delicious at the time. Pair with fish, poultry or pork and a salad with a tangy vinaigrette for a delicious meal!

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs sweet overwintered parsnips, sliced thin
1 lb sunchokes, sliced thin
1 lb potatoes, sliced thin (any variety of potato works, but the starchier the better!)
2 bay leaves broken in half
4 cloves garlic, cut in half
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
1/2 lb grated cheese (I prefer Gruyere, but often use a mixture of whatever I have on hand)

Preparation:
Mix together and spread out the slices of parsnip, sunchokes and potatoes along with the bay leaves and garlic in a oiled 13x9 baking pan. Whisk together the nutmeg, cream, milk, and half of the cheese in a separate bowl. Pour this over the top of the vegetables and mix a little to ensure the cheese is throughout the mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the dish. Place the dish in the middle oven rack and bake at 300F for one hour. Increase the temperature and bake for 20-25 more minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven, and let it cool down and set for approximately 15 minutes before serving.

A Helpful Hint:
ANY sort of mixture of vegetables will work in this dish, so it is very versatile for any time of year. It has been made with cauliflower, broccoli, romanesco, sweet potato, rutabega, and even turnips in addition to the other vegetables listed above! I like to pair the vegetables with all different kinds of cheeses for this dish. Branch out and try something new!

A Time Saver:
Short on time to make this dish? Try the short cut method: take a box of ready prepared au gratin potatoes (Betty Crocker works well), and add some of your own ingredients. Layer in other chopped vegetables with the potatoes (I like to add broccoli and cauliflower). To the seasoning package, add some additional milk and cheese. When this is all mixed together, add a sprinkle more cheese to the top of the pan. This will only need to bake for about 30 minutes, and you will have your own delicious au gratin vegetables! This is a great way to use up the extra veggies in your fridge!

Be creative, and let us know what your favorite combination is!

Pizza with Mid May CSA Veggie Toppings

I love pizza more than I can describe. And with all the new and exciting veggies I'm getting in my Harmony Valley CSA, it seemed like a great opportunity to use up some veggies and indulge in a pizza pie.

I went half veggie-half cheese, which works well if you have any picky eaters in your household.

This recipe makes either 2 14-inch round pizzas or one large rectangular pizza in a cookie sheet (mine was 12 x 16 and 1 inch deep- but slight variations on size will work just fine). If only making one 14 inch round pizza, dough can be frozen for later use.

Preheat oven to 425

Pizza Crust:

3 1/2 Cups flour
1 1/3 cups water (at about 100 degrees F)
1 Tbs. Quick Rise Yeast
3 tsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1-2 cups flour for kneading and rolling out dough

In medium sized bowl, whisk the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Set aside and wait for the yeast to bubble (about 10 mins). Add salt, pepper, and olive oil. Stir flour into mixture with fork until the dough is formed. On flour covered space, knead dough for 10 mins. Place dough back in bowl, cover with dish towel, set aside and let rise for 30 mins.


If making 2 round pizzas separate dough into two halves.

Roll out dough on well floured surface. If your pan requires it (cookie sheet especially) grease the pan then cover in light dusting of corn flour. Roll out the dough so that it is fairly thin and approximate to the size of the pan you are using. Place in pan and work dough so that it covers the surface, including the walls if using a cookie sheet. Using a fork, poke holes in the dough in several places. Allow dough to rise in pan for 10-15 mins.

Sauce:

1 16oz can crushed tomatoes
1 16oz can pureed tomatoes
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

In medium size bowl mix the tomatoes and spices.

Toppings:

12oz Shredded Mozzarella
Parmesan Cheese (just a little bit to sprinkle on top)

I used the veggies from last week's CSA box (with the exception of the shitake mushrooms). Though any veggies (or meats) could be used.

7-10 Shitake Mushrooms, dried or fresh
3 ramps, including the greens on top
1 bunch Sorrel
1/2 cup Spinach

If using dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrate in water. If you don't have ramps or sorrel, substitute in 2 shallots and an extra cup of spinach (for 1 1/2 cups in total).

Slice mushrooms into quarters. Chop ramps, sorrel, and spinach. Set aside.

Assembly:

Spread the sauce evenly over the crust. Sprinkle cheese evenly across the pizza. Top with veggies, on all or half of the pizza. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of veggies.

Bake for 25-30 mins. Allow to cool for 10-15 mins before serving.

Thin Crust Variation: I prefer thin crust pizza. Last night I halved the crust recipe and made it in a rectangular pan. The result was a nice thin, crisp crust.

Greek Pizza Variation Toppings:

4 Garlic Cloves
1 T Olive Oil
1 small Onion
10 oz. Mozzarella
3 oz. Feta
2 Tomatoes

Make the crust as described above.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Peel garlic cloves, wrap in tin foil packet with oil. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, about the time it takes for the dough to rise.

Chop the garlic and add to the sauce recipe above.

Assemble pizza as described above. For toppings, chop onion and tomato. After sprinkling mozzarella evenly over sauce, distribute the tomatoes and onions evenly. Crumble the feta, and sprinkle over the pizza. Following baking directions above.

Pierogi

It was still in the cold dark days of the end of winter when we decided it was time for another pierogi night. One of our favorite Midwestern guys teams up with us for an epic night of pierogi, Polish beer and fun. Cheese, potato, and the added flavor of the caramelized onions make this a perfect comfort food!

Pierogi Dough:

2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c butter

Mix flour and salt, add egg, mix, and slowly add in sour cream and butter. Use a fork to cut the mixture until a dough is formed. Refrigerate dough for 20-30 min before rolling out for pierogi.

Piergoi Filling:
2 tbsp butter
1/4 yellow onion, minced

1lb russet potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the butter, cooking until the onion is translucent. Add the potatoes, cheeses, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Assembly:

Roll out the dough until it is thin enough to almost see through it. Use a round cutter to cut out circles for the pierogi. We've found that a circle about four inches in diameter (or the size of the rim of a martini glass) works best. Wet the edges of the dough on one half of the circle with water, and place a heaping spoon full of filling in the middle. Fold the circle in half, crimping the curved edges with a fork. Voila! You have assembled your first pierogi.

Cooking:

Boil the pierogi in a large pot full of water, 2-3 minutes each. Be careful not to overfill the pot, or the pierogi might stick together. In the meantime, heat a skillet, and melt 1tbsp butter. Remove the pierogi with a slotted spoon and transfer to the skillet with the melted butter. Fry the pierogi, turning once to ensure a crispy outer coating, add more butter as needed.

Serve the pierogi topped with caramelized onions and sour cream.

Yield: approximately 30 pierogi