Category Archives: Recipes – Vegetables

Roasted Beet-le Mania!

Posted on August 13, 2012 by | 8 comments

This week in our farm share box among the tomatoes, corn, cantaloupe, and basil, sat a bunch of red beets and a bunch of golden beets. I was excited to see the beets because they are an easy and tasty side dish. However, I had never before seen golden beets. They were a bit smaller than their red counterpart and their skins were a bit paler. A little research revealed that red beets grow more quickly than yellow beets, and that is why farmers tend to plant more of them.

According to the George Mateljan Foundation, beets are “an excellent source of heart-healthy folate and a very good source of the antioxidants manganese and vitamin C as well as heart-healthy potassium. Beets are a good source of digestive-supportive dietary fiber, free radical scavenging copper, bone-healthy magnesium, and energy-producing iron and phosphorus.”

I started by peeling and chopping the yellow beets into chunks. When I did this, I found that the golden beets had a nice yellow flesh with reddish stripes running throughout. Then I diced the red beets – they have such a pretty deep purple hue. I roasted the beets separately with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then tossed them together once they were cooked – that way the red beets did not change the hue of the golden ones. SensitiveHusband and I enjoyed this side dish. The beets were sweet and the golden beets were even more tender than the red ones. If you see golden beets at the store or farm stand, pick them up – you won’t be disappointed!

Roasted Medley of Red and Golden Beets
Ingredients
1 bunch golden beets
1 bunch red beets
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preparation
Wash the beets and cut off the green stems. Peel the beets and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Place the beets in separate glass roasting pans. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and ground pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Place all of the beets in a serving bowl and enjoy!

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Gastronomical Sovereignty and Food Trip Friday.

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Roasted Kohlrabi – Great Taste and Nutrition with Few Statistics

Posted on July 9, 2012 by | 7 comments

As I mentioned last week, I could not identify one of the vegetables included in my last farm share delivery. The vegetable looked like a purple turnip/cabbage with leaves attached to green stalks. Good thing the farm included a vegetable key – we had received kohlrabi!

Kohlrabi (pronounced “coal RAH bee”) comes from the German words kohl, meaning cabbage, and rabi, meaning turnip. Its name is a perfect description of this vegetable. Even though the variety we received had a dark purple skin, it peels off easily to reveal a light yellow flesh. After sampling the roasted kohlrabi, SensitiveHusband and I agreed that it tastes like a turnip without any bitterness. This means that you can cook the vegetable with a variety of seasonings and they will flavor the mild kohlrabi very nicely.

Kohlrabi has a lot of nutrients (information from Nutrition and You):
*Kohlrabi is rich in vitamins such as potassium and manganese, and dietary fiber, but has only 27 calories per 100 g, virtually no fat, and zero cholesterol.
*Like other members of the brassica family, kohlrabi contains health-promoting phytochemicals such as isothiocyanates, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol.
*The vegetable contains good amounts of many B-complex vitamins such as niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, and pantothenic acid.
*Its creamy color flesh contains small amounts of vitamin A and carotenes. Kohlrabi leaves, like turnip greens, are also abundant in carotenes, vitamin A, vitamin K, minerals, and B-complex vitamins.

The commercial production of kohlrabi is relatively low in the U.S. so there are not many statistics about the production or consumption of the vegetable. Perhaps in the coming years, as more people find them in their farm share boxes, try cooking them, and finding that they are tasty, consumption will increase and so will the statistics! Try this simple recipe below and see how tasty kohlrabi can be.

Ingredients:
2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, sliced or minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Asiago (or other melty) cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut each slice in half. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi slices in the olive oil mixture to coat. Spread kohlrabi in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven to allow the cheese to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Food Trip Friday, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage and Gastronomical Sovereignty.

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Chicken and Strawberry Salad

Posted on June 25, 2012 by | 5 comments

I have always loved this recipe for Strawberry and Chicken Salad ever since I first saw it in the May 2009 edition of Cooking Light magazine. When I picked up our half-share of our local farm’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and found that it included both a quart of native strawberries and a head of romaine lettuce, SensitiveHusband and I knew what we were having for dinner!

We made a few changes to remove the yeast and sugar from this meal. In the dressing, we replaced the sugar with agave nectar and the red wine vinegar with fresh lemon juice. Instead of using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, which is convenient yet typically has sugar and other preservatives injected under the skin, we sautéed some chicken tenderloins with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley and basil. You may notice that there is a slice of crusty bread on my plate. Hooray! I found a baguette made by Against the Grain that is free from gluten, yeast and sugar. The taste is pretty good and rounded out our meal nicely.

Our dinner was delicious. The blend of salad, chicken, and dressing was light and refreshing. I enjoyed the baguette warmed with butter. The leftovers made a great sandwich the next day.

Ingredients
Dressing:
2 tablespoons agave nectar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
4 cups arugula
2 cups quartered strawberries
12 ounces skinless, boneless sauteed chicken tenderloins
2 tablespoons unsalted cashews or peanuts
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled gorgonzola cheese

Preparation
1. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.
2. To prepare salad, combine romaine and next 4 ingredients (through chicken) in a bowl; toss gently. Place about 2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cashews and 2 tablespoons cheese. Drizzle about 4 teaspoons dressing over each serving.

P.S. If you haven’t already done so, please take the two-click poll on my home page. The question is to choose your favorite dessert flavor. Happy choosing!

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Carole’s Chatter.

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Roasted Lemon Asparagus with Pancetta

Posted on June 4, 2012 by | 1 comment

Need a quick vegetable for tonight’s dinner? This recipe uses asparagus, which is in season at this time of year. I concocted this dish with a few things I found in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 lb pancetta (about 4-5 slices)
Pepper

Preparation:
Slice or rip the pancetta into bite-sized pieces. After washing the asparagus, toss the first five ingredients together and line the asparagus in a glass pan. Sprinkle with pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Asparagus will be tender and pancetta will be crispy. Once out of the oven, sprinkle with asiago cheese if desired. Enjoy!

I am sharing my recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Food Trip Friday, Simple Living with Diane Balch and Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine.

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Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Posted on April 22, 2012 by | 13 comments

This recipe for honey-roasted sweet potatoes meets all of my official criteria for being a great dinner component: (1) the potatoes are really tasty with a soft texture and a hint of sweetness; (2) they are easy to prepare, especially if you can find someone else to do the peeling; (3) they travel well and can easily be reheated, so they are nice to bring to a group dinner; and (4) they are a comfortable accompaniment to a weeknight or weekend meal. The recipe below is inspired by Ellie Krieger’s Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes – I used a little less salt and just a pinch of extra honey than the original instructions.

Just in case you were wondering, sweet potatoes are a Native American plant that are packed with calcium, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Although sweet potatoes are harvested in August through October, they are available in supermarkets throughout the year. Sweet potatoes are often confused with yams, but yams are large, starchy roots grown in Africa and Asia. Yams are rarely available in American supermarkets yet it is acceptable to use the term when referring to sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes contain an enzyme that converts many of its starches into sugars as the potato matures. The sweetness continues to increase during storage and when cooked. Thanks to Food Reference for these facts!

And back to the recipe – for Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
–Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
–Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch pieces and place in 9×13 baking dish.
–In a small bowl stir together oil, honey and lemon juice.
–Pour mixture over potatoes and toss to coat.
–Sprinkle with salt, and bake, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour, until potatoes are tender.

Have a great day, enjoy your sweet potatoes, and see you at the CTVegFest next weekend!

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Simple Living with Diane Balch.

Miz Helen’s Country Cottage

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Baked Acorn Squash

Posted on February 25, 2012 by | Leave a comment

My sister-in-law made this great side dish for one of our festive family dinners. It was easy to make and delicious with maple syrup as the sweetener (rather than brown sugar). It is a nice alternative to sweet potatoes and can be enjoyed by carnivores and herbivores alike. Have a nice dinner!

Ingredients:
1 Acorn squash
1 Tbsp Butter
4 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Dash of Salt

Method:
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don’t burn and the squash doesn’t get dried out.
3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Dribble 2 teaspoons of maple syrup to each half.
4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Serve as is or stir the squash with the cooked maple syrup using a fork (as shown in the picture) for easier eating.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.

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Spinach Gratin and Green Beans Almondine

Posted on January 9, 2012 by | 3 comments

And now…the remaining recipes from our holiday menu! These two dishes are great to bring to others’ houses. I know this first-hand because these vegetables were brought to our house and they worked so well with the rest of the meal. They are easy to prepare too!

The first is Spinach Gratin, which my sister-in-law brought. It is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook.  She made a change to accommodate my food sensitivities (replacing the onions with garlic) and tweaked the recipe further for a little boost in nutrition (using whole wheat flour, lighter cream, and less salt). The ingredients and preparation follow.
 
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup light cream
2 cups milk
5 10-ounce boxes of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
 
Preheat oven to 425.  Melt butter over medium heat – add garlic.  Add flour and nutmeg and stir for 2 minutes. Next add cream and milk – cook until thickened. After squeezing away liquid from defrosted spinach, add to pan.  Put in 1/2 parmesan cheese in the mix, and season with salt and pepper.
 
Put entire mixture into a baking dish, and add 1/2 cup parmesan and 1/2 cup Gruyere to top. Bake for 20 minutes. Delicious!

My mother-in-law also brought this dish of Green Beans Almondine. I just love green beans – especially in this classic dish. They make fabulous leftovers too. Here is the recipe:

1 lb green beans
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cook green beans by either steaming or covered in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Drain. Cook almonds in butter over low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove from heat and add juice. Pour over beans.

Enjoy these great recipes; and here is to happy holiday meals together.

Aim sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and Food Trip Friday.

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For the Holidays: Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Grapes

Posted on December 12, 2011 by | 10 comments

An easy vegetable dish for your next holiday menu is this one for roasted brussels sprouts with grapes and walnuts. You can prepare the dish ahead of time and then roast while your turkey or other entree is out of the oven and being carved. I saw this recipe in the November 2011 issue of Whole Living magazine and tweaked it a bit. I removed the vinegar so it would be free from yeast and added the walnuts into the mixture from the beginning so they would toast at the same time as the other ingredients. The next time I make them, I will prepare a bigger batch because there were hardly any leftovers. The sprouts are in the pink bowl on the far side of the table. We will get to the other delicious dishes on the table in future posts.

Ingredients:
24 oz brussels sprouts, halved
24 oz red seedless grapes
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9×13 glass baking dish, toss brussels sprouts and grapes with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss walnuts on top. Roast until tender and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage and Food Trip Friday.

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Holiday Menu Ideas and Mashed Cauliflower Potatoes Recipe

Posted on December 10, 2011 by | 7 comments

This past Thanksgiving was a very special one for me because it was the first holiday that SensitiveHusband and I hosted, and the menu was free from yeasts and refined sugars. My family members were so kind by making sure that the foods they brought did not contain those sensitive foods, which resulted in one of the most delicious dinners! Plus the love and camaraderie around the table made for a very enjoyable holiday. The picture shows all of the wonderful dishes at our meal, and below lists the menu. Over the next few blog posts, I will share the recipes with you in case you would like to incorporate one or all of the foods at your next holiday celebration meal.

Holiday Dinner Menu:
Roasted Turkey with Gravy
Mashed Potatoes with Cauliflower
Golden Raisin and Apple Stuffing
Brussels Sprouts with Grapes and Walnuts
Green Beans with Almonds
Spinach Au Gratin
Pumpkin Raisin Bread

And for Dessert…
FIL’s Deep Dish Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie

Is reading the menu making you hungry? I know that I could use a snack right now!

Let’s get started with the recipe for mashed potatoes and cauliflower. They are seen in the picture above, on the far side of the table, in a big bowl with a blue rim. What is great about them is that they tasted just like mashed potatoes, although with the moisture in the cauliflower you don’t have to add lots of cream. The result is a hearty mash with lots of vitamins and less fat. Even people who don’t really care for cauliflower (I loosely fall into this category) will enjoy this dish. My MIL made them for thanksgiving last year and we requested them again! Here is the recipe:

Potato/Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large cauliflower, stems removed and chopped
1 stick butter
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
milk to desired consistency (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
sprinkle of garlic powder
salt and pepper

Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Add the cauliflower to the potatoes when there is about 10 minutes left so they can also cook. Drain well. Add cauliflower, butter, sour cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Start to mash, then add about 1/2 cup milk and mash until desired consistency. You may want to add another 1/2 cup milk, depending on how much moisture is in the cauliflower. The 1 cup milk total will create a consistency that is a little chunky; add another 1/2 cup milk (1 1/2 cups total) for a smoother consistency. If you wish, sprinkle a bit of paprika on top for a festive finish.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Cybele Pascal Allergen Free Cuisine.

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