It’s been awhile, a long while, since I last posted. I just felt like there really wasn’t anything special to the things that I have been making. We have all but ran out of our CSA rations, so I have been doing a lot of experimenting with foods I haven’t tired before. I also went out a limb and sent a huge informal recipe swap to friends to get more ideas. Unfortunately, only one friend sent something back. Fortunately, that recipe rocks! So, I have decided to dedicate this post to my new exciting recipe and the random ones that have found during my seasonal “drought.”
However, as Spring has sprung here in Denver, the Boulder Farmers Market has started to revive my seasonal cooking. Have no fear, more seasonal recipes are just around the corner...with a few shared in this post!
The recipes below are tried and true. I hope you enjoy them!
Betsy’s Enchiladas
Goat Cheese
1 bag of Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
Corn or Flour Tortillas (need 12 small ones)
4 Portabella Mushrooms
1 Yellow Onion
1 bunch of Spinach
Ground Turkey (for the meat eaters)
1 Bag of New Mexico Red Chilis (Dry)
Prepare enchilada sauce (see below). After sauteing the mushrooms, onion and meat, layer all the ingredients in a casserole dish as if you were making lasagna: corn tortillas (about 3 to 6 on each layer), spinach, mushroom/onion/ turkey, goat cheese, enchilada sauce, tortillas, enchilada sauce (be generous), shredded cheese, spinach, mushroom/onion/turkey, goat cheese, enchilada sauce, tortillas, enchilada sauce, shredded cheese.
Enchilada Sauce: The key is the homemade enchilada sauce. Very Easy, but takes a little time. You can make in a large batch and freeze.
De-stem all your chili, remove the seeds and wash.
Add chili to a large soup pot and cover with water.
Bring to a boil. Let boil until the chili is all very soft.
Add chili to a blender and add enough water from the pot to cover. Blend until you reach desired consistency. You can always add more water, but remember: you can't take it out. This type of chili is usually mild, but can also have quite a kick. Get extra mild variety for feeding to kiddos.
Once all is assembled, bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven and altitude.
Blogger’s Note: For the Enchilada Sauce, be very careful on how hot your chilies are. The ones I used were super hot! I ended up using only a fourth of my chilies with the rest being a can of roasted tomatoes. My sauce was still too hot. I plan on making another batch this evening, because it was just that good. This time, I will use about two chilies, one roasted red pepper, and a can of roasted tomatoes. Wish me luck!
Source: Betsy Archer
Ginger Shrimp and Rice
Ingredients
1 small bunch green onions
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 8.8-oz. pkgs. cooked long grain rice
1 lb. peeled and deveined cooked medium shrimp
1/4 cup mango chutney
Directions
1. Slice green onions. Set aside 1/4 cup of the onions to sprinkle on finished dish. Peel the ginger. Finely grate ginger using the smallest openings on a box or flat grater.
In a 12-inch skillet cook remaining green onions and grated ginger in hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Add water and soy sauce. Cover and bring to boiling. Add rice and shrimp. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and shrimp are heated through. Divide among four shallow bowls. Top with chutney and reserved green onions. Makes 4 servings.
Source: www.food52.com
Coconut Lime Corn
3 cups frozen corn kernels (okay,I know it's a faux pas, but I love making this dish with frozen corn)
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
1/3 cup dry shredded coconut
1 small lime
4 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
In a frying pan, add the oil and mustard seeds. Heat on medium high until the mustard seeds start to pop. Then add in the frozen corn (stand back for the sizzle). Stir.
Add in a couple pinches of salt (1 tsp worth approx.). Let the corn cook on medium heat stirring every couple of minutes until the corn is golden brown (approx. 15-20 minutes on medium heat)
Stir in the shredded coconut, stirring just until incorporated.
Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze over the juice of the lime. Salt to taste. Stir and serve.
Source: www.food52.com
Roasted Cauliflower with Gremolata Bread Crumbs
2 large heads cauliflower
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Trim tough stem and core from cauliflower and discard. Using a paring knife, cut cauliflower into smaller spears. Place in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; toss to combine.
Spread cauliflower out on 2 large, rimmed baking sheets. Roast until edges start to brown, about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add panko and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and stir to coat in oil. Cook, stirring constantly, until bread crumbs are golden. Add lemon zest and garlic and toss until mixture is very fragrant and bread crumbs are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Place in a medium bowl and add parsley, stirring to combine. Set aside.
Remove cauliflower from oven and place on serving platter. Top with bread crumbs and serve immediately.
Source: www.food52.com
Spicy Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup red quinoa
1 cup water
Juice and zest of one lime, about 1.5-2 oz. juice, and 1-2 teaspoons zest
Kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1 cup roasted red/yellow bell peppers, chopped
1.5 to 2 cups cups cooked black beans
1/4 cup picked fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
In a large serving bowl, whisk the lime juice with the zest, a pinch or two of salt, the chili powder, chipotle powder, and the cumin. Add the olive oil and whisk until the dressing comes together.
Add the quinoa to the dressing and toss. Add the scallions, red peppers, black beans, and cilantro and toss well to combine. Garnish with additional cilantro and lime zest, if desired.
Source: www.food52.com
Yam, Zucchini, and Chickpea Salad
Makes lunch for a few days
For the salad:
2 yams or sweet potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 garlic cloves
3 sprigs parsley, leaves finely chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced on bias
olive oil
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon tahini
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone.
Spread diced sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast 35-40 minutes, then add zucchini and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, until both vegetables are softened inside and caramelized in spots. If vegetables haven't caramelized at that point, pop them under the broiler for 3 minutes, and they'll brown plenty.
In a small frying pan over medium heat, saute chickpeas and whole garlic cloves in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (just enough to moisten) for about 3 minutes, until the chickpeas dry out a bit and are warmed through. Remove garlic cloves, chop finely, and reserve for dressing.
In a medium bowl, mix chickpeas with yams and zucchini. Add parsley and scallions, and toss to combine.
In a small bowl, combine tahini, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and half of chopped garlic. Add water by the teaspoon until the dressing is smooth and runny. Taste, and add additional chopped garlic if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve warm or room temperature.
Source: www.food52.com
Annaliese's roasted butternut squash with cranberry and pear accents
coating of olive oil for baking dish
1 medium butternut squash
2 pears, a crisp variety for best results
2 ounces or so of dried premium cranberries
1-2 tablespoon demerara sugar
1-2 tablespoon ground sumac
1-2 teaspoon ground pink peppercorns, less if you are using black or white
1-2 tablespoon maple syrup (or more, to your taste)
healthy pinch of pink Himalayan or kosher salt
squeeze of lemon
2 tablespoons or so of unsalted premium butter
fresh sprigs of lavender or rosemary for garnish
optional light drizzle of maple syrup for serving
optional squeeze of lemon for serving
for a dessert version, drizzle with more maple syrup and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche
Lop off the top and bottom minimal ends of the squash. Vigorously peel off all the skin. Along the vertical axis chop the squash down the middle. With conviction scoop out all of the seeds, as well as all the fuzziness from the cavity. I find a metal tablespoon best for this job because it can so precisely scrape out just the messy bits, while keeping the solid flesh in tact. Proceed to dice the squash into clean, crisp one inch or so generous chunks.
Pare the pair of pears (please indulge me here- I just had to employ all three homophones in at least one sentence). Cutting just shy of the core, dice the pears into bite size chunks.
Lightly coat a baking dish with olive oil. Layer in the squash chunks first. Judiciously distribute the cranberries next. Mix the sugar, sumac, pepper and salt (to taste) together; sprinkle this mix on top, liberally coating the squash, as illustrated in the photo. Feel free to make more mix to have on hand as a topping. Adjust how much you use to suit your own taste. If you don't want so much crunch, switch up the type of sugar. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the top. Metering the syrup, pour this over the top evenly. Finally, distribute curls of unsalted butter democratically across the top.
Roast in a preheated oven of 375 for about 20 minutes. Then sneak the pears in to the dish, as unobtrusively as possible; return to roasting for about 25-35 more minutes. When perfectly tender, let the dish rest for about 5 minutes.
Pop in a garnish of fresh herbal sprigs, delicately drizzle a tad of maple syrup if you have a sweet tooth, and squeeze a wedge of fresh lemon over each portion. Top with creme fraiche and more maple syrup for a savory dessert.
Source: www.food52.com
Baked salmon with asparagus & roasted beets
Beets and asparagus are two vegetables that go wonderfully well with salmon and that tend to be forgotten in our day to day meals. This simple dish can of course be prepared with any fresh fish and vegetables. This recipe serves 4 people.
Ingredients
4 fresh wild salmon fillets;
4 tbsp butter or coconut oil;
4 tsp chopped dill;
16 sprigs of fresh asparagus, hard base removed;
4 medium red beets, cut in cubes;
Salt and pepper to taste;
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 500 F.
Line four large pieces of foil and place a salmon fillet on a bed of beet cubes and 4 asparagus. Do that for the 4 fillets.
Add 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tsp dill on top of each fillet and close the foil to form a little pocket.
Bake in hot oven for about 10 minutes for each inch of thickness of the fish.
Make sure to check on the fish so it doesn’t get overcooked.
Serve topped with some more of your favorite fresh herbs. More dill is perfect, but cilantro is also really good.
Source: www.paleodietlifestyle.com/quick-paleo-meals/
Kale Chips
1 bunch kale, washed, dried & torn into 2" pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk oil and vinegar. Toss kale in the dressing until thoroughly coated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place kale in a single layer and sprinkle with salt.
Bake until crispy, about 10-12 minutes.
Source: www.food52.com
Sautéed Sun Chokes
1 pint of sun chokes
3 garlic gloves
Olive Oil
Peel and slice the Sun Chokes. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil at medium-high heat in a pan and place thinly sliced garlic in heated oil until slices are light brown. Add Sun Chokes and saute until light brown and cooked through. Simple, yet wonderful!
Source: The blogger!
