Broc-Cauli: The New Dynamic Duo?!

For those of you who've picked up this week's Crop Share, you already know, SURPRISE, you also got cauliflower!  Alright, I'll admit, cauliflower is not high on my list of beloved vegetables.  Okay fine, it tops my list of most despised.  But I'm trying, I really am and I'm bound and determined to find a preparation for it that makes me realize what everyone else raves about.  Thanks to an idea from Valerie, I think I've found it via a broccoli & cauliflower combo...broc-cauli!  Sherlock has Watson, Batman has Alfred, so perhaps all cauliflower needs is broccoli!

So with the holiday weekend at hand, here's two "broc-cauli" side dishes to complement your dinner table.  First, a warm and rustic Cauliflower-Broccoli Gratin from Eating Well, and then a light and fresh Broccoli Grape Harvest Salad from Eat Yourself Skinny (omit the pasta and toss in your chopped cauliflower to create the broc-cauli effect and a low-carb side dish).

Cauliflower-Broccoli Gratin

Broccoli Grape Harvest Salad

Let us know how you incorporated this week's Crop Share into your holiday meal, we love to know what's cookin'!

Happy Easter and happy cooking!

Follow Us...In A Non-Creepy Way!

If you're not already on Pinterest, chances are someone you know has been berating you to sign up.  And you should listen to them, because not only is it loads of highly addictive fun (somehow that sounds wrong), but WE'RE also on Pinterest!

Yes, for those of you who aren't already following us, Nalls Produce really is on Pinterest!  So, you should run, not walk, to pin-stalk us, because our seasonal recipe boards will give you lots of additional ideas for ways to use your Crop Share produce each week!

Make Room For Mushrooms!

If you have yet to make the Skinny Mushroom Risotto we posted back in February, then this time around it is a must!  It would be the perfect accompaniment to a roast chicken or a baked fish entree for your Easter dinner.

I've yet to meet a Skinny Taste recipe I haven't liked, and that's saying a lot, as in our house with dairy, egg, gluten, peanut & cashew allergies (whew!) we have to do A LOT of alterations, and they don't always turn out so great.  But this mushroom risotto was perfect for swapping in our vegan margarine and faux parmesan (trust me, it's actually yummy).  So this is one risotto we can all dive into...unless you don't like mushrooms, and in that case, well, I'll be happy to take them off your hands and make even more of this for myself.

Curried Chickpea & Quinoa Wraps

These spicy wraps have been our quick, go-to dinner for Meatless Mondays.  And with the green leaf lettuce in this week's Crop Share you'll be able to turn these bad boys into delicious lettuce wraps, or even shred the lettuce for an added crunch if you prefer to use pita or naan to bundle them up.  They'll be the perfect detox for your system after this weekend's inevitable chocolate binge!

The full recipe from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen can be found here: Curried Chickpea & Quinoa Wraps

Cinnamon Apple Tart

I'm slightly obsessed with tarts, to the point that I will concoct new ones even while battling pneumonia and heavily medicated.  But from the start, I've relied on a no-fail tart crust as the base for all these creations and it never disappoints.  The base recipe for this tart will take you through all seasons, working with nearly any fruit, chocolate, caramel & pecans, or any other glorious delights you can dream up!  Your family will think you've been sneaking away to pastry school when you take this week's granny smith apples and turn them into this fanciful tart.

Cinnamon Apple Tart

For the crust (makes one 9-inch tart crust):

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 Tbsp water

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 Tbsp sugar

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the butter, oil, water and salt in a small saucepan and heat on high until the butter is fully melted and it begins to bubble around the edges.  Allow to cool for a minute or so.  In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of the flour and all of the sugar, and begin to pour in the butter mixture, mixing with a wooden spoon to combine.  Gradually add in more of the flour until the dough begins to form into a ball and the mixture no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Turn our your dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and if you don't have access to one of those, you can absolutely use a pie pan and MacGyver it from there.  Press the dough evenly into the pan across the bottoms and the sides.

For this recipe you'll only want to partially bake your crust, so you'll want to bake it for only 5-8 minutes or until the crust is starting to firm.  But for future use, should you wish to fully bake it, go ahead and leave it in for 10-15 minutes, and keep an eye on your edges so they don't burn.

Remove your par-baked crust from the oven and let it cool while you prepare your apple filling.

For the filling:

1 cup ground hazelnuts

1/2 cup sugar

3 granny smith apples, sliced thin

2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp quince jam (an apricot jam would also work, and I suspect even local honey would too!)

1 Tbsp water

Combine your ground hazelnuts and 1/4 cup of the sugar, and sprinkle it into the bottom of the tart crust.  In a bowl, toss your apple slices with the remaining sugar and cinnamon, and then begin to layer them on top of your hazelnut base.  You can get as fancy or as rustic as you want, basically as long as you refrain from heaping them into a pile, it's going to turn out looking great.  So don't drive yourself batty trying to get perfect layers.  And the best part is, the chef gets to eat any of the cinnamon apple pieces that don't make it into the tart.  Shhhhh!  Dot the top with your butter pieces, sprinkle with lemon juice and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, or until your edges are a light, golden brown and the apples are tender.

To give your tart a bit of a glaze, combine your jam or honey and water in a small saucepan and heat through, but do not bring to a full boil.  Lightly brush over the top of the fruit, let your tart cool on a wire rack  and serve at room temperature.

*For a gluten-free version, I've actually started using the hazelnut & sugar mixture for the crust.  I keep a jar of the sugary hazelnut meal on hand to use for baking, so I would do 4 cups of ground hazelnuts with 1 cup of sugar, and that should give you more than you'd need for 1 tart.  So to turn that into your crust, combine that with about 1/4 cup melted butter (you can adjust more or less to make sure it's not too dry or too soggy) and then press it into your tart pan.  Partially bake it at 400 degrees for 3-5 minutes or until the crust just starts to turn golden.  And then you can proceed from there with the filling as shown above.

Thinking Green and Hoping for Spring!

Maybe it's a reflection of the wishful thinking on our part as we hope for Spring to finally be sprung upon us in NoVA, but we've got lots of green coming your way in this week's Crop Share!  You'll find broccoli, leaf lettuce, and granny smith apples, along with sweet potatoes (JOY!), baby portabellas, and honey tangerines, to help brighten up your Easter or Passover table. So let's all cross our fingers, toes and if you practice yoga, cross as many body parts as you can, in hopes that the start of a new month will bring us a true start to Spring!

Speaking of new things, I wanted to introduce myself to you all as your new, resident foodie for the Crop Share Recipe Blog.  I'm Tara, and some of you may have already "met" me in the Fall through some of my guest posts (yes, the Irish girl with all the potato recipes).  So please, please, please, don't be shy, use that comments button below and let us know how the recipes work for you, if there's certain types of recipes you'd like to see featured, or even wax poetic about your love for asparagus!  Additionally, we're dying to know what's cooking in your kitchen, so feel free to send us any guest recipe posts or photos of your delicious creations at cropshare@nallsproduce.com, so we can feature you!

So to get you started for the holiday weekend, here is one of my all-time favorite sweet potato recipes that will make a perfect side dish for your Easter table, and with the substitution of matzo meal or almond flour, it's also easily made kosher for Passover...

Sweet Potato Maple Streusel 

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes

1 cup water

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour (or alternative flour of your choice)

1/2 cup maple sugar (if you can't find maple sugar, substitute any large granulated sugar, or add some drops of maple extract to your sugar and mix well)

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9x13" baking dish.  Peel sweet potatoes, reserving 1 inch pieces of ends for use in the streusel topping.  Coarsely grate these reserved pieces until you have 1/2 cup of gratings; set aside for later use.  Cut the rest of the sweet potatoes into 1/3 inch thick rounds, and arrange them in overlapping rows in your baking dish.

In a small saucepan, bring water, maple syrup, butter and cider vinegar to a light boil, stir in your salt & pepper, and pour mixture over sweet potatoes.  Cover the dish tightly with foil.  These can be made up to 6 hours in advance and refrigerated  just make sure you let them warm up to room temperature for about an hour before baking.  When ready, bake covered at 375 for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your streusel topping.  Mix your flour, sugars and cinnamon in a bowl.  Add the melted 6 Tbsp of butter and using your fingers, rub it in until the mixture begins to form clumps.  Mix in your reserved 1/2 cup of grated sweet potato, until it looks like you might be making some sort of deranged, delicious cookie.

When sweet potatoes have baked for 40 minutes, remove from oven, increase your oven temperature to 400 degrees, and top sweet potatoes with the streusel mixture.  Return to oven and bake uncovered at 400 for an additional 35 minutes until streusel is golden and crisp (okay, just like a cookie).  Prepare for sweet potato bliss!

(Adapted from Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Garnet-Yams-with-Blis-Maple-Syrup-and-Maple-Sugar-Streusel-350428)

Zucchini, Corn, and Tomatoes, oh my!

Hope you are ready for a taste of summer! It's what we need after a cold, cutting day like today. Really, who would have thought it would be so darn cold the 21st of March?!

You are getting some summertime type goodies this week. Don't forget you can type the name of a vegetable or fruit into the search bar in the upper left of the window and it will pull up recipes that were used in previous Crop Shares.

To save you some time, here are some highlights for you: Roasted Corn & Zucchini Salad , Seared Skirt Steak with Balsamic Grape Tomatoes ,and Skillet Corn Medley .

Here's a new one, too. If you put on a few pounds during winter hibernation, give this a try. Tastes so good it's hard to believe this is good for you

Weight Watchers Zucchini Fries

Ingredients

	4 sprays  olive oil cooking spray
	1 tsp Italian seasoning
	1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
	3/4 tsp table salt
	3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
	2 medium uncooked zucchini
	2 large egg whites, whipped until frothy (almost soft peaks)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, flour and salt. Place bread crumbs in another small bowl.
• Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise and then each half into 2 pieces widthwise. Next slice each zucchini chunk into 4 fries. Dredge a zucchini fry in flour mixture and then dip into egg whites; dredge in bread crumbs. Place coated zucchini on prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients; liberally coat with cooking spray.
• Roast, turning once, until desired crispness, about 12 minutes. Yields about 8 fries per serving.

Notes

• Use this technique with any summer squash or eggplant. It also works great with thick-cut onion rings or even green tomatoes.
  
  For extra crispy fries, increase the oven temperature to 500ºF and knock 2 minutes off the cooking time.

Enjoy! Weight Watchers has a great list of recipes on their website, whether you are a member or not.

(Source: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=142501)

Strawberry Smoothie

Strawberry Smoothie

We know that strawberry smoothies are a dime a dozen. Smoothies have become fairly commonplace for most people around town. I wanted to give you this good go-to recipe that you can use as a base for almost any type of smoothie. Throw in some frozen pineapple, spinach, peanut butter, oatmeal, you name it. This recipe is the perfect base for almost any combination. And, come on, the NY Times knows what they are doing. This is also a good way to eat your local honey for your allergy therapy. Remember, you need to injest raw, unfiltered, local honey on a daily basis, even when it's not allergy season.

1 medium-size or large, ripe banana
1 heaped cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup milk, soy milk, or almond milk. Yogurt can also be substituted.
1 teaspoon honey use local for allergy therapy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 ice cubes

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve right away.

(Adapted from NY Times,
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/health/nutrition/19recipehealth.html?_r=0 )

Turnips

Hi Guys! You will be getting turnips in your share this week. Rather than give you another recipe, I am just going to link to an oldie but goodie. This recipe is in our top 5 most popular posts and is still wiggling around Pinterest.

Simple Roasted Turnips

It is simple and they get so tasty when they get all nice and roasty.
Enjoy!

Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

I have a confession. I am a little obsessed with The Pioneer Woman. You old time Crop Share members may remember when we were doing paper recipe hand outs, one week you got all Pioneer Woman recipes. Now some of you may be thinking, "What the heck is The Pioneer Woman?" She. Is. Genious.

The Pioneer Woman is a real person name Ree Drummond. She is a self-proclaimed accidental country girl. The Pioneer Woman is a very successful blog that you should visit. Did you notice that "visit" was blue? That means click on it and it will take you somewhere, this time to The Pioneer Woman's blog directly. There you will find her recipes - good old favorites with basic ingredients that are full of flavor. She also has a Saturday morning tv show on The Food Network. This week at home I made her Beef with Snow Peas. Delish! Tasted just like carry out!

Anyway, here is her recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes, a perfect side for almost any meal!

Ingredients

• 12 small potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper

Click through to read the rest of the recipe at Food Network...

Apple Sigh-Der

Have you had our fresh cider yet? You will remember if you have. So sweet, no artificial ingredients, made locally with fresh apples by a small company. Just like we like it!

Now, generally cider only makes an appearance in the fall. It is a fresh item that can't sit at room temperature for a long time, so it doesn't have a super long season. Generally the cider mill presses through March. So for a short time, we have cider! Get your fix now!!

There are lots of great things you can make with cider. Here are a few baking recipes that will make your house smell amazing this weekend.

Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins
No frying necessary!







Ingredients:

For the Batter

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon homemade apple pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup apple cider, at room temperature
1 cup diced apples

For the Glaze

3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
1/4 teaspoon homemade apple pie spice
3 tablespoons apple cider, at room temperature

Click through to view the rest of the recipe at My Baking Addiction (also, be sure to check out their St Patty's Day Drinks)

Vegan Glazed Apple Cider Cookies

Just replace the vegan butter with traditional if desired!

photo by Sara Lynn Paige

For The Cookies

☑ 1/4 cup vegan butter
☑ 1 cup apple cider
☑ 1/3 cup canola oil
☑ 3/4 cup brown sugar
☑ 2 cups pastry flour
☑ 3/4 tsp baking powder
☑ 1/8 tsp salt
☑ 2 tsp cinnamon
☑ 1/4 tsp ginger
☑ 1/4 tsp cloves
☑ 1/4 tsp nutmeg

For The Glaze

☑ 3 Tbsp brown sugar
☑ 4 Tbsp apple cider
☑ 1 cup powdered sugar
☑ 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Click through to view the full recipe by Sara Lynn Paige...



The BEST EVER Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe

So this weekend is St. Patty's Day. That means green beer, leprechauns, gold coins, and, of course, corned beef and cabbage. It is debatable whether people really even like corned beef and cabbage all that much. I do. *gasp* I even make it other times of the year. REALLY.

I also love Alton Brown. He appeals my nerdy side and tells me why, like scientifically why, I should cook something the way he recommends. If anyone has thought about brining a turkey, do it his way. So moist and juicy!

Now, I have never made my own corned beef, and to be perfectly honest I can't see myself doing it anytime soon. I just skip that part of the recipe. If you are a crop share member, make sure you pick up some carrots and onions to finish off the recipe. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/2 pound Corned-Beef Brisket, recipe here to make your own
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 pound diced carrots, approximately 4 small
• 1/2 pound diced onions, approximately 2 small
• 1 pound potatoes
• 1/4 pound diced celery, approximately 2 stalks
• 1 small head cabbage, chopped, approximately 2 pounds

To view the rest of the recipe, please visit: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/corned-beef-and-cabbage-recipe/index.html

To finish off the meal make Alton's Creamed Corn Bread.

Drinking collards

Here is a great article that compares collards to kale.
http://juicingformen.com/collard-greens-the-red-headed-stepchild-of-superfoods/

 Kale is so "in" right now, collards have just been left in their dust. Collard green have a higher yield than kale when juicing and a similar flavor.

A smoothie recipe for you:

Apple Collard Orangeade:
  Makes about 6 cups

1 cup water
1/2–1 cup Orange Juice, fresh of course :)
 3 apples 
 6-8 Leaves Collard Greens.
 2-3 tbs Honey, local raw & unfiltered if this is part of your allergy therapy routine
 6-8 ice cubes

 Pour water & orange juice into blender. Slice apples to remove the core. Add them to the blender Peel the leaves of the stems of the collard greens and add them to the blender as well.Blend

Orange Kiss-Me Cake

 





 

Orange Kiss-Me Cake
1 medium orange
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk (low fat is fine)

Topping
1/3 cup (fresh) orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Visit the great blog Baking Bites for the easy instructions!

The oranges you receive this week are known for their juice. Lots and lots of juice. Perfect for a recipe that calls for fresh orange juice!

Are you guys addicted to Pinterest like I am? So many great recipes and photos. Yum!

The apples you are getting this week are Romes. Great for baking. Here is a Pinterest recipe that is going around a lot, and seasonally appropriate to boot!

It comes from a fellow blogger at Home is where the Boat is . Enjoy!

Irish Apple Cake, serves 8

Cake Ingredients

2 large cooking apples, such as Granny Smith

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar (or same amount of granulated sugar processed in a food processor for 1 minute)

2 eggs

1-2 tablespoons milk

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Streusel Topping Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup superfine sugar

 

It's super easy, visit her blog for the step-by-step directions. http://homeiswheretheboatis.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/irish-apple-cake/#comment-18768

Early Spring Crop Share!!

Hi crop share members & readers from afar! Today is the the first pick up of the next round of our Crop Share program. This one will run from now through the end of April and will have East Coast items. That will include things like summer type items from Florida/Georgia and then the local spring stuff like assparagus, broccoli, greens, swiss chard, and peas. You guys are talking and we are listening! Many of you are making smoothies and juicing items in your share, so we will start including more recipes here. Remember our Kale Smoothie of 2012? You can use it as a base for almost any smoothie you are adding a leafy green to like collards or spinach. Enjoy!