Cooking With This Week's Box
Zoey Onions: Sweet & Spicy Zucchini Relish; Golden Beet Gazpacho; Open-Faced Bagel with Cream Cheese, Tomato,Onion and Fresh Basil; Cucumber & Tomato Salsa
Italian Garlic: Chinese Spice-Infused Fresh Soybeans (see
below): Edamame Sesame Quinoa Salad (see
below); Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Tomatoes; Golden Beet Gazpacho; Oven Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms; Cucumber & Tomato Salsa
Green and/or Italian Zucchini: Sweet & Spicy Zucchini Relish; Zucchini Spice Cake
Green and/or Silver Slicer Cucumbers: Quick & Easy Refrigerator Dill
Pickles; Golden Beet Gazpacho; Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad; Cucumber & Tomato Salsa
Peter Wilcox or Molli Gold Potatoes: Oven Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms
SunOrange, Chocolate Sprinkles
or Red Valentine Tomatoes: Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Tomatoes; Caprese Skewers; Caprese Breakfast Casserole
Large Tomatoes: Open-Faced Bagel with Cream Cheese, Tomato, Onion and Fresh Basil; Cucumber & Tomato Salsa; Caprese Breakfast Casserole
Sun Jewel Melons and/or Sweet Sarah and/or French Orange Melons: Wine Punch with Melon Ice Cubes; Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad; Pork Cutlets with Cantaloupe Salad
Jalapeno Pepper: Sweet & Spicy Zucchini Relish; Golden Beet Gazpacho; Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad; Cucumber & Tomato Salsa
Edamame: Chinese Spice-Infused Fresh Soybeans (see
below); Edamame Sesame Quinoa Salad (see
below)
Green Top Gold or Red Beets: Golden Beet Gazpacho; Beet Bruschetta with Goat Cheese
Welcome back to another week of cooking out of your CSA box! This week marks the halfway point in our CSA
season and fall will be here before we know it! But for this week, lets
continue to embrace summer and all of its goodness including this week’s
featured vegetable—Edamame! Edamame,
also known as fresh soybeans, makes a great snack. Take a little culinary trip to the Sichuan
region of China this week by making Chinese
Spice-Infused Fresh Soybeans (see below).
Make sure you take time to cut the tips off of the edamame pods with
kitchen shears before cooking them. This
step ensures the spice-infused liquid will fully flavor the beans. The second recipe we’re featuring this week
is a simple Edamame Sesame Quinoa Salad
(see below). The beauty of this salad is
its simplicity and it makes a great portable salad to take to work for lunch or
on a picnic!
 |
| Sweet & Spicy Zucchini Relish photo from cravesomethinghealthy.com |
This week both the zucchini and cucumbers are really producing! We’re packing over two pounds of each in your
boxes, so it’s time to get creative!
This week you have enough zucchini to make Sweet & Spicy Zucchini Relish. This is a great condiment to use on
hamburgers and hot dogs. You can also
add it to deviled eggs, potato salad, tuna salad or sloppy joes. This recipe not only uses zucchini from your
box, but also the onions and jalapeno.
It yields 8 cups of relish, but doesn’t call for canning. Thus, it should be stored in the refrigerator
where it will keep for several weeks. While
you’re extending the shelf life of your vegetables with short-term preservation
methods, you might as well make these Quick
& Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of cucumbers to
yield 2 quart jars of pickles. Store
them in the refrigerator and use them within about a month.
Tomatoes and basil are a natural combination, so you can’t go wrong
with something as simple as an Open-Faced Bagel with Cream Cheese, Tomato, Onion and Fresh Basil to start off your day. You could also
make these simple Caprese Skewers using the pint of small tomatoes in this week’s box. These are a great item to serve as an
appetizer at a party, but since there aren’t too many gatherings taking place
perhaps you could turn dinner into your own cocktail hour. In addition to these skewers, serve Beet Bruschetta with Goat Cheese or Golden Beet Gazpacho. Add a bowl of Cucumber & Tomato Salsa to serve with tortilla chips and wash it all down with Wine Punch with Melon Ice Cubes using this week’s Sun Jewel melons!
 |
| Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad photo by Alex Lau for epicurious.com |
Speaking of melons, I can’t say that I’ve used melons in a savory way
very much. This week I challenged myself
to find some savory ways to use melons and came upon this recipe for Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad. This salad utilizes not only the melons in
this week’s box, but also cucumbers and a little heat from a jalapeno. The fruit is drizzled with a light, spicy
vinaigrette and is garnished with cilantro, mint and pumpkin seeds. The other savory recipe I found is for Pork Cutlets with Cantaloupe Salad. This recipe has kind of a Vietnamese
influence and uses the melon in a marinade for the pork as well as in a salad
to serve with the pork. The salad has
lime juice, chiles, cilantro, fish sauce and is garnished with crushed peanuts.
 |
| Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Tomatoes photo from theironyou.com |
Farmer Richard says “Eat Your Greens,” so this week we’re sending
collard greens your way! While collards
are typically prepared with some kind of a pork product, there are many other
non-pork ways to prepare collards. Check
out this simple recipe for Spaghetti with Collard Greens and Tomatoes which uses garlic and small tomatoes to make a delicious, simple pasta dish.
Before we reach the bottom of the box, lets figure out what we’re going
to make for Sunday brunch! I vote for Oven Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms served with Caprese Breakfast Casserole. I know I’ve already suggested several other recipes
using basil, but that’s because it’s summer and we should be using fresh basil
in season! And lastly, to finish off
this week’s Sunday brunch, why not make this Zucchini Spice Cake? Breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner….this cake
is perfect for any time of the day.
That’s it! We’ve reached the
bottom of another box. Next week we
should have more sweet corn and hopefully watermelons! Of course there will also be more tomatoes
and hopefully we’ll have more peppers to send your way as well. Take care and have an awesome week!—Chef
Andrea
Vegetable Feature: Edamame
By Chef Andrea
 |
| Fresh edamame pods |
This week we’re featuring edamame, also known as fresh soybeans. If you’ve been in the midwest for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve seen a soybean field or two along your travels. While our soybean plants resemble the plants in those huge fields you may have passed by, our soybeans are much different. Fresh edamame are a special summer treat and, while they may be found in the frozen vegetable section at the grocery store, it is rare to find them in the fresh produce section. So consider yourself part of the lucky few who get to enjoy this special treat as part of your HVF CSA experience!
Edamame have been part of Japanese and Chinese cuisine for a long time, but have only recently become more popular in this country. True edamame intended for fresh eating is quite different than oil-seed soybeans and tofu beans most often grown to make tofu and other processed soy products. Richard specifically searched for the preferred edamame varieties grown for fresh eating in Japan and China because they produce a sweet bean that doesn’t have a “beany” aftertaste. Seed varieties for tofu beans are typically much less expensive than varieties for fresh eating, thus in this country the edamame found in the frozen section, either in the pod or shelled, is likely a tofu bean with that “beany” aftertaste. We actually save our own seed, which still comes at a cost, but allows us to grow our preferred, clean tasting varieties.
 |
| Shelled Edamame |
Edamame resembles a small lima bean encased in a pod. The beans are sweet and tender and best eaten lightly cooked. Unlike sugar snap peas, edamame pods are not edible and should be discarded. Edamame is hard to shell when it’s raw. It is easiest to cook edamame in its pod first and then you can pop the beans from the pod. To cook edamame, rinse the pods thoroughly with cold water. Bring a pot of heavily salted water (salty like the sea) to a boil. Add the edamame and boil for about 3-4 minutes. You should see the pods change to a bright green color. Remove the edamame from the boiling water and immediately put them in ice water or run cold water over them to quickly cool them. After the beans are cooked you can easily squeeze the pod to pop the beans out, either into a bowl or directly into your mouth! Once you’ve removed them from the pods, they are ready to incorporate into a recipe or eat as a snack.
You can also roast edamame in their pods. There’s a basic recipe on our website, but basically you toss the edamame pods with oil and seasonings of your choice. Serve the beans whole with their pods still on. While you won’t eat the pod, you can use your teeth to pull the edamame out of the pod and in the process you’ll pick up the seasoning on the outside of the pod!
 |
| Fried Rice with Edamame and Corn (top) & Roasted Edamame with Salt (bottom) |
From year to year, the basic information about vegetables that needs to be included in a feature article doesn’t really change (ie what part is edible, to peel or not to peel, etc), but each year I push myself to dig a little deeper to learn something new about many vegetables I now consider familiar. This year through my research about edamame I learned an interesting tidbit that I had never come across. “Edamame” is actually the name for fresh soy beans in Japan. In Japanese culture edamame are typically prepared very simply by either boiling or steaming them and then serving them in the pod with a little salt. This year I learned that in China fresh soybeans are called “Mao Dou” and are prepared a little differently. The fresh soybeans are boiled in a spice-infused liquid and a small amount of the pods are trimmed off of each end of the soybean to allow the cooking liquid to bathe the beans while they are cooking. One source, thewoksoflife.com, encouraged readers to get creative with the ingredients used in the cooking liquid. You may choose to use dried chili peppers, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, white or black peppercorns, cumin seeds, scallions or star anise.
 |
| Cole Peanut-Sesame Noodles with Edamame and Cucumber |
You can store fresh or cooked edamame for up to a week in the refrigerator, but it is best to eat them soon for the sweetest flavor and best texture. If you are want to preserve edamame for later use, simply follow the cooking procedure above, then freeze the beans either in their pods or remove them and freeze just the bean. It’s fun to pull something green out of the freezer in the winter to enjoy as a snack or incorporate into a winter stir-fry or pan of fried rice.
Edamame is often eaten as a simple snack, but you can also incorporate it into vegetable or grain salads, stir-fry, fried rice, steamed dumplings or pot stickers to name just a few suggestions. They pair well with any combination of traditional Asian ingredients such as sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger. They are also a nice, bright addition to brothy soups such as a miso soup. If you follow the suggested method for boiling edamame before shelling them, the bean will already be fully cooked, so if you are adding edamame to a hot dish or recipe, do so at the end of the cooking.
Edamame Sesame Quinoa Salad
 |
| Photo from veggiechick.com |
2 Tbsp black sesame seeds
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup chopped onions
2 cups shelled edamame
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
¼ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp Sriracha
- In a medium pot, add sesame seeds over medium high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sesame seeds are starting to toast and become fragrant. Add quinoa and stir for 2-3 minutes until toasted. Then, carefully add 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa has absorbed all moisture and is tender, about 20 minutes. (Note: if the quinoa is not tender when all the moisture has been absorbed, you may need to add a little more water to the pan) Remove from heat immediately, and spread over a baking sheet evenly to cool.
- Next, to a large bowl, add shredded carrots, onions and edamame.
- In a small bowl, add garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ginger and Sriracha. Stir with a whisk and transfer to the large bowl with vegetables. Add the cooled quinoa and stir. Serve.
Recipe borrowed from Christin McKamey at www.veggiechick.com.
Chinese Spice Infused Fresh Soybeans--"Edamame Beans, Our Way"
 |
| Photo from thewoksoflife.com |
1 pound fresh or frozen edamame
3-4 cups water or enough to fully cover edamame in the cooking pot
1-½ Tbsp salt (to taste)
3 pieces star anise
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp whole peppercorns
3 cloves garlic
- Prepare the edamame by trimming away both ends with kitchen shears. Take care not to cut the beans themselves. This step will allow the flavor to get inside the pods.
- In a small pot, boil 3-4 cups water along with the salt, star anise, soy sauce, peppercorns and garlic. Once the water boils, turn down the heat to the lowest setting and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn up the heat, adding the edamame into the pot. Boil for 5-6 minutes without the lid. Drain and serve! These will keep well in the fridge in a Ziploc bag or covered bowl for about a week.
Recipe sourced from www.thewoksoflife.com. Don’t be afraid to customize the ingredients you use to infuse the cooking liquid. You may choose to add fresh ginger, dried chilies, cumin seeds, or any other spice of your choosing!
No comments:
Post a Comment