CSA Update: All-American and a Taste of the East

The CSA continues to be heavy in greens, but this week I tried a few things beyond more traditional salads. On Sunday we had blue cheese hamburgers and oven baked french fries. My new experiment this summer has been to try to start making our own hamburger buns. We love these honey wheat sandwich rolls from Katie at Good Things Catered. Making your own buns is definitely a weekend project, but they are so worth the effort! Also the recipe makes a lot, so you can make one batch and stick the extra rolls in the freezer for another time. Technically this contains nothing from the CSA...so moving on...

We decided to take advantage on those fresh buns, and make pork burgers the next night. On the side we had a recipe from our CSA newsletter - broccoli raab with pine nuts and raisins. I used pecans instead of pine nuts and dried cranberries instead of raisins due to availability. This side was wonderful; lot of different tastes - salty, sweet, sour - in each bite.

Broccoli Raab with Pine Nuts and Raisins

1/2 bunch garlic scapes, diced

1 bunch broccoli raab, trimmed and chopped

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp pine nuts

3 Tbsp raisins

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Sea salt

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Boil the garlic scapes first, and then the broccoli raab in about 3 quarts of water for 3 minutes each, then drain. In a wide saute pan warm the oil and saute the garlic scapes for about 2 minutes. Add the pine nuts, raisins, and pepper flakes and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the broccoli raab, season with salt to taste and saute until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.

On Tuesday night, I taught Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, which is a gorgeous novel (and would be great summer reading). It's about a family of Indian immigrants, and as I was reading other responses to the novel, I realize that I'm not to only person who walked away from the Ganguli family's story craving Indian food. In order to satisfy that craving, I made spinach and arugula salad with Indian-spiced chickpeas and charred red onions, a recipe provided by our CSA farmer. I serve this dish with white rice on the side and store bought whole-wheat naan. Although the naan wasn't the same as eating naan in an Indian restaurant, I found that once you heated it up, it was quite delicious (I think the brand was Tandoori; I found it at New Pioneer Co-op in Coralville).

Spinach and Arugula Salad with Indian-Spiced Chickpeas and Charred Red Onions

1 med red onion cut into ½ inch rounds
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
½ bunch of garlic scapes, minced
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 14 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint (optional)
4 cups flat leaf spinach
2 cups arugula
1 Tbsp lime juice

Place the cut onion onto a baking sheet, brush with oil and salt, and broil on broiler for about 10 minutes until charred, turning once. Heat the rest of the oil in the skillet. When hot add the garlic scapes, mustard and cumin seeds and stir until the seeds pop, about 30 seconds. Cover the pan and continue to cook until the seeds are done, about another 30 seconds. Stir the chickpeas, mint (optional) and salt, and then cool slightly. Toss the spinach, arugula, onions, warm chickpeas, and lime juice in a large bowl. Serve immediately.

I'm eager to try to incorporate more whole grains in my diet, so on Wednesday, I tried to make these quinoa patties. The "patty" part never really materialized for me (I think I should have chilled the mixture longer), and what we ended up eating was more like the quinoa equivalent of fried rice. Still, it the concoction was delicious (even Ben raved about it), especially when served with more of the Naan. I did, however, forget to take a photo, so you'll just have to imagine how lovely it looked.

We had some special meals later in the week, so stayed tuned for more information on those...