Conquering my CSA: My Arch Nemesis, Kale

Kale, Kale, Kale

You smell like sweaty socks

Kale, Kale, Kale

I want to leave you in the box. 

This is how I feel about Kale and yet it comes week after week after week. When I asked our CSA guy about it, he said, "Well everyone loves Kale". To which I said, "Who? Name me three people you know who like Kale". Then he was quiet.

No one loves Kale. But it is really good for you and I have finally figured out something other than Kale chips to make. The light bulb moment came when I stopped thinking about Kale as Kale and instead pretended it was giant spinach. Any recipe that calls for sauteed spinach can be replaced with Kale. I find it works best in Indian food Saag dishes.

Curried Potatoes and Kale
1 lb baby potatoes peeled (or 1 lb of regular potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces)
2 tbl olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric
14 oz canned tomatoes
2 cups of very finely chopped kale (remove stems)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 lime or 2 dried limes
Optional: one can of rinsed chick peas

Warm olive oil then add ginger, garlic, and coriander seeds.  Saute for a few minutes until fragrant then add potatoes and spices.  Saute for 3-5 minutes. Then add kale, tomatoes, chick peas if using and dried limes. Place lid on pot, add dried limes or lime juice, and cook until potatoes soft (about 20 minutes).  

**This recipe is also delicious without the tomatoes**

Conquering my CSA: Broccoli

So I have passed the overwhelmed phase and now it is game on CSA. I am eating/freezing every bite every week before the next batch comes. As C would say, "I am going to dominate you".
This week we got a massive amount of broccoli-two huge heads. More broccoli then a family could eat in a month in addition to our other vegetables.

The first trick to conquering your CSA is to prep it when you unpack it. This makes a huge difference. It takes about 20 minutes to clean and cut everything and makes it much easier to use on those busy week nights. Most things can be prepped ahead, exceptions tomatoes and cucumbers.  Get everything cleaned and sliced up. Not sure how you are going to use it? Make a commitment! If you don't do it now there is a high likelihood it will end up rotten in the back of your fridge. 

Prepped the broccoli right in the container for the broccoli salad. 

Next, you could eat steamed broccoli every night and not get through this amount so get creative. It works best if you divide it into multiple dishes. Make a cold snack or salad with some and then plan to eat some hot one night with dinner.  For broccoli, there are many options.  I have recipes for broccoli salad (not super healthy I know but SO DELICIOUS) and roasted broccoli. Other great ideas are:

• Shaving the stems and adding to salads for extra crunch
• Keeping the florets in the fridge to have with dip or for THE GREAT VEGGIE SWAP if you have kids (to be described later)
• Chop up very finely and add to quiche or omelets (see my post on Dinner Eggs)
• Broccoli coleslaw
• Broccoli and cheese soup
• Steamed Broccoli (C's favorite food)

Broccoli Salad

1 head of broccoli cut into bite sized pieces (use both the florets and some stems)
1 medium red or sweet onion cute into bite sized pieces
4-5 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled (make the whole bag and use the rest for BLTs for lunches this week)-If you are a vegetarian replace the bacon with 3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup of raisins
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sugar
4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Combine broccoli, raisins, bacon, and onion.  Mix the mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar together until smooth. Let chill for 3-4 hours prior to serving.

Make it right in the container you are going to store it in!

Roasted Broccoli
1 lb broccoli cut into florets
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
Sprinkle of salt
Juice from one lemon

1.  Preheat the oven to 425°F. 
2. On a cookie sheet toss the broccoli florets and minced garlic with olive oil and lemon juice until lightly coated. Sprinkle salt over the broccoli and toss to coat.
3. Cook for 10-12 minutes until browned and cooked thoroughly.  

Lent: Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Lent is a season our family takes very seriously. We give up something important (ice cream for both boys this year) and work to grow in our faith. It is also an awesome cooking season for me.  I finally get to make seafood and the hubby and I love it. There is one small little problem--the kids don't really go for seafood.  They like sushi but that is it (weird I know, not even fish sticks).  So I am often stuck doing the one thing I hate--making two dinners.  To cut down on the duplicate work I have a few go to Lent recipes that freeze well that I cook in bulk.  This allows me to spend time cooking the seafood for us and only quickly microwaving the boys dinner.  The easiest and quickest one is sweet potato quesadillas.  They freeze great, are a cheap meal, and even entertain well. 

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

2 finely chopped onions

3 minced garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil 

4 cups of grated sweet potatoes

1/2 teaspoon of oregano (better if you have fresh oregano but dried is fine)

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

1 teaspoon chili powder (leave out if your kids don't like spicy food)

Tortillas

Grated sharp cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Homemade salsa or guacamole

Saute the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil until translucent. Add the sweet potatoes, oregano, cumin, and chili powder if you are using it. Cook covered for ten minutes stirring frequently or it will stick.  When the sweet potato is tender add salt and pepper to taste.  Make quesadillas by placing the filling and cheese inside then folding over or just use like a taco filling and top with whatever toppings you like. 

(Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook--great cookbook if you are a vegetarian. I have only ever liked this one recipe from the book.)