Apple Cabbage Salad

Sometimes, I forget just how much wonderful produce grows in the fall. It may not be as glamorous as the abundant summer crops, but there are a world of new fruits and veggies to locally enjoy. Wonderful root vegetables, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, amazing sweet squash, pears, and of course apples. I love rediscovering all the delicious flavors. I love the first taste of mashed butternut squash, where you totally forget that you are eating a vegetable, and think" how is this good for me?" I love combining them in new ways as well, taking an old favorite, apples and pairing it with my vegetable obsession, cabbage, to make a truly delicious warm salad. I served this over a garden fresh baked potato.

Apple Cabbage Salad:
1 apple
1/2 head of green cabbage
2 tbsp of good quality balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of water
4 oz of ground beef
salt, pepper
olive oil for pan

Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large pan. Chop the apple into small pieces and add to the hot oil. Chop the cabbage and add to the pan. Add the vinegar and stir, reduce heat to medium-low, add water and cook until the liquid has evaporated and cabbage in tender, about 6-8 minutes. Return heat to medium-high and add beef, stir in and cook until beef browns, about 1-2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over a baked potato or by itself.

Happy Eating.

CSA Stir-fry

Sorry I have been away so very long. I have been cooking, I have also just been very busy. This week is the CSA there was a lot of little things, not enough to make a whole side, so I combined them together and made a delicious and healthy stir-fry. I used scallions, asparagus, broccoli and some delicious snap peas.

First, I diced them all up.



Then sauteed them with a little garlic and olive oil.



Then tossed them with my stir-fry sauce, mixed in some spaghetti and topped the whole thing with a fried egg (because what doesn't taste better with an egg on top!)



Veggie Stir-fry:

2 heads of broccoli
1 small bundle of asparagus
1 small bundle of scallions
1 pint of snap peas
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1/8 cup of rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 box of spaghetti or soba noodles
Salt, pepper, and Sriracha to taste
2 eggs

Dice the veggies and heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add veggies and garlic to hot pan. Cook pasta according to directions. Mix the sauce, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar, then add soy sauce. whisk to combine and whisk in Sriracha to taste. Salt and pepper the veggies and add in about half the sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low. When pasta is done cooking add to pan and return to high heat stir everything tother and add rest of sauce. Divide into bowls, then fry 2 eggs (or however many people you are cooking for, 1 egg per person). Top each bowl with an egg. Serve and Enjoy.

Happy Eating.

It's CSA time!

Last Wednesday I got my first CSA box of the season. For those of you who don't know, CSA is community supported agriculture and basically, it's getting a box a fresh fruits and veggies delivered once a week from a local farm (click here for more info, or to find a CSA near you). The box was full of fresh spring goodness, and I quickly made use. This week I got mushrooms, scallions, lettuce, rhubarb, and strawberries. The lettuce became a weeks worth of salads, but the rest became some local cooking magic.

First, and delicious smoothie:

Strawberry-banana-maple smoothie (my new favorite):
1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk original
1/2 a banana, frozen
1 cup of strawberries
1-2 tsp of maple syrup (depending on your preference)

Blend everything together and enjoy! This makes 1 serving.

Next we have a mushroom-truffle pasta

1/2 box of pasta, I used penne
2 cups of mushrooms
1 bunch of scallions
1 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of beef stock
Cooking spray
2 tsp of truffle oil
Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper

Make the pasta according to the directions. Wash mushrooms and slice. Spray a small pan with non-stick spray and heat mushrooms over medium-high heat. Chop scallions up through the light green, add to mushrooms. When they are browned slightly add beef stock and allow to cook until stock is evaporated and mushrooms are tender. Mix the mushrooms, scallions and pasta together with the butter, salt and pepper to taste. Add truffle oil in a drizzle and toss. Serve with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Finally, the very delicious jam:

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

1 cup of chopped rhubarb
2 cups chopped strawberries
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

Over medium heat stir together strawberries, rhubarb and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add cornstarch and raise heat to bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 5-10 minutes until jam has thickened. This is so delicious, I cannot stop eating it. I have been putting it on everything. My favorite is this jam and ricotta on an english muffin. yum.

The recipe makes a bit over a cup of jam, so feel free to increase. The jam will keep for about 2 weeks refrigerated. I made not attempt to can it, and do not know very much about canning, but I will be making some attempts soon (so stay tuned). For more information on safe home canning, see the USDA complete guide to home canning.

All and all a delicious haul and it's only going to get better. I can't wait to see what's in my box this week.

Happy Eating.