Recipes of the Week - June 15th

Gnocchi with Fava Greens & Spinach (fava greens can be used in recipes that call for spinach or chard)

unsalted butter 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil 2 green onion stems, minced 1 cup fava greens (packed) 1 cup spinach salt, to taste freshly milled black pepper, to taste cooked gnocchi freshly grated Parmesan cheese fresh herb, chopped (dill, chives, thyme)

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and minced green onions & saute for about 1-2 minutes. Fold in fava greens & spinach. Cook until the greens are barely wilted, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add salt & black pepper to taste. Check seasoning and remove from heat.

Add the cooked gnocchi to pan along with a little more unsalted butter. Toss to coat. Sprinkle a little chopped fresh herbs and grated cheese, and serve immediately.

Fast Fixings with Fresh Radishes (from: http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/foodday/fd1097/fd102397.html )

• For extra crunch and bite, add sliced radishes to stir-frys.
• Sprinkle chopped radishes over tacos for more zip and texture.
• Stir chopped or sliced radishes into tuna, egg, potato or chicken salad.
• Thinly sliced radishes make a tasty, fresh garnish sprinkle over New England clam chowder or other milk-based soups.
• For an unusual vegetable side dish, sauté quartered radishes in butter until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; sprinkle with cracked black pepper.
• Stir chopped radishes into plain yogurt or sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes or chili.
• Bagels spread with cream cheese and sliced radishes make a quick appetizer or snack.
• Roast radish halves brushed with oil at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes. Great with roast beef or chicken.
• A combination of mayonnaise and chopped radishes makes a tangy instant spread for ham or roast beef sandwiches.
• Thinly slivered radishes stirred into rice pilaf add an unexpected nip and crunch.

Cool Mediterranean Pasta with Radish and Orange (from:www.globalgourmet.com/food/foodday/fd1097/fd102397.html )

8 ounces (3 cups) rotelle pasta (uncooked) 2 cups fresh spinach leaves torn in bite-sized peces 1-1/2 cups thinly sliced radishes 1 cup fresh orange chunks 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie mayonnaise 1 teaspoon oregano leaves, crushed 1 teaspoon minced garlic (use 1 green garlic) 1 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions; drain and rinse under cold water. Place in a large bowl along with spinach, radishes and orange. In a small bowl combine olive oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, oregano, garlic and salt. Pour over pasta mixture. Sprinkle capers, if desired. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours.

A NEW online service for meal planning was started by EatRealGood ( http://mealplanner.eatrealgood.com ). It is free to sign-up and you can input items in your CSA delivery and be given some recipes to add to a meal plan. They also started and annual recipe contest. Give it a try - easy to use & free!

Also Farmer John of "The Real Dirt" fame, has posted recipes available for CSA farmers. Here is the link: http://www.angelicorganics.com/ao/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=131&Itemid=239 just scroll down to Recipe PDF's.

Recipes of the Week - June 8th

Rhubarb Sauce for Fish (from: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/11/Rhubarb_Sauce_for_Fish2848.shtml)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 stalks rhubarb - julienned
• salt -- to taste
• 16 leaves fresh tarragon
• sprig fresh tarragon - garnish
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
Toss the rhubarb in a sauce pan with the melted butter. Sprinkly lightly with salt, cover and cook over low heat 3-4 minutes until tender. Stir the tarragon into the rhubarb and then the cream. Continue stirring 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat. Serve sauce with cooked salmon or mackerel.

Rhubarb Cheesecake Pie (from: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/935/Rhubarb-Cheesecake-Pie87406.shtml)
• 3 cups Rhubarb -- cut in 1/2" pieces or smaller
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Flour
• 1 Unbaked 9-inch pie crust
• 12 ounces Cream cheese - softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
Toss rhubarb lightly with sugar and flour. Place in pie crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

While rhubarb is baking, beat cream cheese with the sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until creamy. Pour over hot rhubarb, and return to oven. Lower heat to 350 degrees, and bake 30 minutes.

Mix sour cream with sugar and vanilla. Spread over hot pie. Let cool completely before cutting. May be served with whipped cream. Store in refrigerator.

Fresh Dill And Cucumber Vinaigrette (http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/731/Fresh-Dill-And-Cucumber-Vinaig95997.shtml)
• 1/2 cup peeled -- seeded and chopped cucumbers
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vinegar (I like rice vinegar for this)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oil
Combine cucumber, onion, sugar, vinegar, dill and salt in bowl of food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Gradually add the oil and process until thoroughly blended. Pour into jar, seal and refrigerate until time of serving. Shake well before using.

Pasta With Ricotta, Spinach & Cream (www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2277/Pasta-With-Ricotta-Spinach-An102135.shtml)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup cooked spinach, excess water removed
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 8 ounces tubular pasta (such as penne or ziti), cooked al dente
• Parmesan cheese
Combine spinach, cream and ricotta in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add pasta and continue cooking until sauce thickens slightly.
Spoon pasta into bowls and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Feta Pear and Watercress Salad (from: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/17/Feta_Pear_and_Watercress_Salad17287.shtml)
• 1 1/2 cup tightly packed torn red leaf lettuce
• 1/2 cup tightly packed trimmed watercress
• 1/2 cup red pear -- thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon walnut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 dash garlic powder
• 1 dash dried oregano
Divide leaf lettuce, watercress, and pear between 2 salad plates, and sprinkle with cheese. Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients in a bowl, and stir well. Drizzle evenly over salads.

Recipes of the Week - September 22nd

Penne with Spinach Sauce
from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-spinach-sauce-recipe/index.html

• 1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
  3 garlic cloves
  2 ounces goat cheese
  1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
  3/4 teaspoon salt
  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
  2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.
Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.
Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Baked Shells With Fresh Spinach and Pancetta from: http://www.recipezaar.com/272706

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  2 cups heavy cream
  1/2 cup tomato puree
  1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (2 ounces)
  salt & freshly ground black pepper
  1/3 lb pancetta or prosciutto, finely diced
  1 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed, leaves torn
  1 lb medium pasta shell

In a heavy medium nonreactive saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the heavy cream and tomato puree and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, cook the pancetta in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until slightly crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook, tossing, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the pasta shells in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until barely al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.
Toss the pasta with the creamy tomato sauce and the spinach. Spoon it into a 3-quart shallow buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until piping hot.

Cilantro Noodle Bowl With Cilantro Pesto from: http://www.recipezaar.com/324722

• 8 ounces dried soba noodles
  2-3 cups broccoli florets, chopped
  1 lemon, zest of
  2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
  2 large garlic cloves
  1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
  1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  14 ounces extra firm tofu

Cook the soba in a big pot of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender - but about 20 seconds before the pasta is done cooking add the broccoli to the pot. Cook it until barely done. Now drain and rinse under cold running water. Sprinkle with lemon zest and set aside.
Make the dressing by combining the cilantro, garlic, cayenne, salt, and olive oil. Blend in a food processor or chop by hand. Taste, adjust for more salt if needed and set aside.
Drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (1/2 inch thick and 1 inch long). Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick (or well-seasoned) skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Remove from skillet, let cool a bit and if desired cut into matchsticks (as seen in the photo), sometimes I don't bother and use larger pieces instead.
4In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, broccoli, and a couple big splashes of the cilantro dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and gently toss again, add more dressing and a couple pinches of salt if needed. Turn out onto platter and crown with a couple pinches of cayenne and a squeeze of lemon juice.