Recipes

What I Made – Salmon and Swiss Chard and Cheddar Squash Biscuits with Bonus Strawberry Shortcake

/ CSA in the City / 4 Comments

I’m making a bit of an unscheduled update to show Friday night’s dinner. That’s Crispy Salmon with Wilted Chard which really is a perfect recipe. It became a go-to this winter and early spring when we seemed to have a constant supply.

But what I’m really here to share with you are these cheddar squash biscuits. Squash? In a biscuit? I was skeptical, but since basically hiding squash in recipes is the only way we prepare it (seriously, do any of the squash or zucchini recipes on here not involve shredding it?), I thought this was worth a try.

And the shocker?

It was pretty good!

The drop biscuits bake up fluffy and the combination of cheese and garlic makes it salty and savory. There are a few changes I’d make to the recipe, so I’ve written it out in full below.

Cheddar Squash Biscuits, adapted from Little House Living

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Yellow Squash, shredded fine
3 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
3/4 cup Milk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Stir the shredded squash into the dry ingredients and toss to combine. Mix in the cheese, followed by the milk and butter. The batter will be super sticky!
4. Form into balls about 3 inches in diameter and place in prepared pan.
5. Bake 20 minutes until brown.

These would be excellent brushed with additional garlic butter while warm, too!

In keeping with the biscuit theme, we also had strawberries shortcakes/biscuits! Tough to mess this up, yet I overbaked the biscuits a little – they were tough and too dry on the outside. As you might guess from the picture, we suffered through and ate them anyways. In fact, we ate ALL of the strawberries and will have to go buy some more to enjoy with the rest of our biscuits.

Advertisement

What I Made – Garlic Scape Instant Pot Risotto

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

This recipe is a great way to use garlic scapes but can be customized for many different veggies. Cubed winter squash can be added before cooking, or puréed sunchokes can be added to finish the dish. The following is a template that you can adapt however you’d like to use up whatever’s in season! I also like to serve it with roast chicken or sausage to make a heartier meal.

INGREDIENTS:
Olive Oil
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch garlic scapes, chopped (or substitute 2 cloves of minced garlic)
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth or water
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, more for topping if needed

DIRECTIONS:
1. Set Instant Pot to Sauté. When hot, add 2 tablespoons or so of olive oil and the diced onion.

2. When onion is translucent, add garlic scapes and cook until softened slightly.

3. Add Arborio rice, stirring well, and toast for 3-5 minutes, until rice grains are slightly translucent.

4. Pour in wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until most of the liquid has cooked off or been absorbed.

5. Pour in broth. Put lid on Instant Pot and make sure bent it turned to close. Use the Manual setting to cook for 5 minutes.

6. When the time is up on the Instant Pot, switch the vent and manually release pressure. When pressure has been released and you’re able to open the lid, stir in the Parmesan cheese. The risotto will look very watery but will thicken up after cheese is added and upon stirring.

What I Made – Crustless Quiche with Sausage, Green Garlic and Kale

/ CSA in the City / 3 Comments

During the summer, we typically make a crustless quiche every other week. It’s a great way to use up those non-lettuce leafy greens, and as you’ll see, the recipe is a perfect opportunity to use up many of the odds and ends hanging around the refrigerator. In fact, it’s not really a recipe, it’s more like an outline. Swap in any meat (or not), onions, and greens and you’re well on your way to a tasty breakfast, or lunch, or dinner!

Easy Crustless Quiche, inspired by The Bonjon Gourmet

INGREDIENTS:
Base
6 eggs
1 cup milk (or a combo of milk and cream)
1/2 cup flour (or rice flour, gluten free mix, or other flour alternative)
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Mix-Ins
Meat – use a half pound breakfast sausage, 4-6 slices of thick-cut bacon, or a couple of cups of cubes ham or deli meat

Onions – this could be a diced white onion, several stalks of sliced green garlic, or the white and light green parts of a bunch of green onions

Greens – use 4-6 cups of washed and chopped kale, spinach, Swiss chard, any sturdy leafy green

Cheese – try about a cup shredded cheddar, crumbled goat cheese, cubes of feta or mozzarella

Herbs – add some thyme, parsley, chives, etc
Other – we like to top with sun-dried tomatoes, chive blossoms, and other tasty toppings

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. If meat isn’t already cooked, cook through in a skillet on the stovetop. Remove the meat when done but don’t wipe out the skillet. (Do drain some grease off if there’s more than a tablespoon or two.)

2. In the same skillet, add chopped onion ingredient and cook several minutes until softened. (If you didn’t need to cook meat, just cook onions in a skillet with a bit of olive oil.)

3. Add greens to the onions in the skillet and sauté until wilted. Set this aside and let it cool for a bit.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, flour, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

5. Stir meat and onion and greens mixture into egg mix.

6. Stir in cheese and herbs, if using, to the egg mixture.

7. Pour into a baking spray-coated pie plate and bake for 45-55 minutes until center is just set.

What I Made: Mini Spinach Lasagna

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

I had some filling leftover from the Malabar Spinach Tortellini that didn’t fit into the pasta dough I made, and decided to bake it into a lasagna! You could always make the filling by itself and make a lasagna to share, I suppose, but the personal size is awfully cute.

Pick an ovenproof container that fits your ingredients. Layer filling, noodles, filling, cheese, and repeat. Since the size is small and everything’s been cooked except your noodles, you can cut the cooking time a bit. Bake covered with foil for about 20 minutes, then uncovered for about 10. So easy!

MiniSpinachLasagna

Continue reading →

What I Made: Malabar Spinach Tortellini

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

Every week, before I pick up my CSA delivery, I get an email with a list of what to expect in that week’s box. Many weeks, this sends me running for Google to figure out just what exactly these mystery vegetables are.

For instance, did you know that Malabar spinach is not actually spinach but is instead an edible vine with leaves that taste a lot like spinach? True, the texture is a bit tougher when the larger leaves are raw, but when cooked, it makes a nice substitute.

I was ambitious with this recipe and made my own pasta! If you are not a crazy person, you can buy pre-made dough, usually in the “natural foods” section of the store.

The recipe looks intense, but it really doesn’t call for any complicated techniques. One of the huge upsides is that once made, the pasta can be frozen. To cook, just boil it until they float.

This is served with a super simple sauce of oil, butter, garlic, walnuts, pine nuts, and parsley, but it looks extra fancy.

Tortelloni

Continue reading →

What I Made: Barley Salad with Fennel and Radish

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

There is no greater endorsement for this recipe than to say that I liked it so much, I made it for Thanksgiving.  I don’t normally stray too far from the basics, especially for traditional holiday meals, but I cannot get enough of the combination of chewy barley, rich roasted fennel, the sharp bite of radishes and the briny olives all covered in a herbed, tangy citrus vinaigrette. I made this twice, and I am certain I will make it again. YUM

Fennel is thinly sliced, tossed with olive oil, and roasted in the oven.  Barley is cooked, then spread out onto the baking dish with the fennel to absorb all the flavor. Then, the mixture is tossed with sliced radishes, quartered oil-cured olives (you only need a little, so I bought mine from the olive bar at the grocery story!), and chopped dill. The vinaigrette is an easy combination of olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, shallot, and dill. Serve room temperature in a bowl or on a platter, topped with additional radishes, olives, and dill, and served with extra vinaigrette on the side.

BarleySalad

Continue reading →

What I Made: Risotto with Leeks and Turnips

/ CSA in the City / 1 Comment

These vegetables have given me a chance to try lots of new things, but for this recipe I stepped way outside of my comfort zone and tried making risotto for the first time. It wasn’t my finest effort, but even imperfect risotto is still tasty, creamy rice and cheese. This one includes scarlet turnips, which gives the whole dish a pink tint, contrasting with the heaping addition of sautéed green leeks.

As the days got cooler, I really looked forward to these leftovers in my fridge.  I also greatly improved my risotto technique – it pays in off recipes to be posted later! However, in the meantime, here’s the first attempt.

Leeks, turnips, and garlic are sautéed in olive oil until tender.  Then, the rice is briefly toasted with the mixture. Next comes hard work and patience: broth is added 1/2 cup at a time and the mixture is stirred constantly. This will take about 45 minutes and if you’re as out of shape as I am, your shoulder and arm will be ACHING. Once the rice is cooked through and a creamy texture, stir in the cheese and serve! More detailed instructions are after the jump.

TurnipLeekRisotto

Continue reading →

What I Made: Gingered Green Beans

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

While my tried and true green bean recipe serves me quite well, I wanted to try a new flavor combination.  These gingered green beans have a little bit of a kick, but I didn’t find them too spicy. I wasn’t overly impressed by the flavor, but it is difficult to replace my favorite after all.

This recipe is no more complicated than the first. Blanch the green beans, then cook garlic until fragrant in a skillet with olive oil. Next, add ginger and red pepper flakes, then beans and cook until beans are tender.  Try it, I’d be interested to know what you think! GingerGreenBeans

Continue reading →

What I Made: Sautéed Bok Choy

/ CSA in the City / 2 Comments

I got a lot of bok choy and baby bok choy in my basket this year, which was great because it’s a green that is easy to use in stir fries and soups. In this recipe, I tried something new with baby bok choy and sautéed it whole.

Heat oil, and quickly stir fry garlic and green onions.  Separate the larger outside leaves from the inner “core”, which can be left whole, and add to the pan. Cover the pan and let the bok choy steam for about 3 minutes, then cook with the cover off for another minute or two to let any extra water boil off. Not only is this veggie ready in under 10 minutes, serving the whole bok choy looks like it took way more effort than was actually required. That’s all there is to it, but if you want more details, click to read more.

SteamedBokChoy

Sautéed bok choy, with fried tofu and cellphone noodles.

Continue reading →

What I Made: Sausage and Noodle Skillet with Banana Peppers

/ CSA in the City / Leave a comment

Although this recipe is a one pot meal, it does require a bit of preparation because of all the ingredients that need to be chopped.  The upside is that this recipe is widely customizable.  Got some vegetables you need to get rid of?  Toss them in!  Just don’t make the mistake that I did a try to use pre-cooked noodles.  This makes a soggy mess. Instead, cook them as part of the recipe. Click “Read More” to see full directions.

 

NoodleSkillet

Continue reading →