Technicolor Cropshare

Photo via Simply Recipes

Beets and carrots, carrots and beets!  Yahoo!  Many, such as Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN, say that you should eat five different colors every day to make sure you get a broad array of vitamins in your diet.  This week's box sure helps with that approach: orange carrots, purple beets, blue blueberries, red strawberries, green chard and cabbage... There you go!

Let's see how we can mix and match colors.

Photo via Healthy Happy Life

• If you're looking for a straight-up color explosion, try this side dish, which uses almost everything in the box.  If you like pickled veggies (oh, me me me!), then this mix is a great one to try.
• Beets and carrots make a great basis for a salad, or use the chard and/or cabbage for this salad.
• If you like the Moroccan spice palate, then try this sauté for the chard and beet leaves.  This salad uses grated carrots and beets, and is delicious!
• Last year we had a discussion on cole slaw, and my favorite pickled cole slaw is quite colorful.  So is this one with beets.
• Don't forget dessert!

Photo via Epicurious

A Tale of Two Pastas

Over the winter, I've collected two recipes that I've been itching to try:  Pappardelle With Spring Vegetables, and Spring Vegetable Ragout With Fresh Pasta.  Now that we're starting to see the fruits (okay, veggies, actually) of spring, I finally get to make this!

Photo via Fine Cooking

The latter recipe is exceedingly simple.  It calls for blanching whatever baby spring vegetables you have, reducing that water to a vegetable broth, and tossing vegetables, fresh pasta, fresh herbs, and butter with the broth.  The former one is a bit more complex.  It calls for a quick sauté of the vegetables, and tossing with a sauce of shallot, seasonings (cayenne and celery seed), mascarpone, and reduced chicken stock.

When I look at the pictures of the two recipes, in both I see the ultimate taste of spring.  It should be crisp, incredibly light, and fresh tasting.  Because of that, I like the herbs from the latter, and I think the heaviness of mascarpone cheese called for in the former would be way too heavy.  On the other hand, I believe the sauté pan would give the vegetables a crispness that blanching wouldn't (think stir fry), and the dash of cayenne would definitely liven the dish.  While either vegetable broth & butter or chicken stock would make a wonderful sauce, I'm leaning towards stock.  The collagens it has (you're using homemade, right?) will give the sauce a silkiness that simple broth won't.

Photo via Fine Cooking

In either case, the great thing about these recipes is that they'll work for whatever young veggies you've got on hand at the moment.  I was at Nalls today, and picked up some asparagus and some beautiful young rainbow carrots that'll work fantastically.  So, whichever you pick, open a bottle of crisp white wine and enjoy the fruits -- er, veggies -- of spring!

King of the Road

Ever heard this song?  I love it, an oldie but a goodie.  One of my favorites, and it reminds me of a great little idea to try out for dinner tonight.  "Hobo packs" are a cooking technique that Boy Scouts have been using for generations.

Photo via The Unorthodox Epicure

The idea is simplicity itself.  Take a piece of heavy aluminum foil (if you don't have heavy foil, double layer the regular stuff), add in whatever is for dinner, and seal the edges tightly.  Put it over a campfire, or a grill, or even a burner on the stove set to low, and in a little while you're ready to eat.

Hobo packs can be adapted to pretty much anything you're cooking:  Meat, fish, chicken, vegetables... anything.  In my decades of Scout experience, I've come up with a couple of rules of thumb.  Let me share the results of my many experiments.

1. You need some fat in the pack.  This can be butter or oil.  If you're including a meat whose fat will render (e.g., ground beef, pork, or lamb), use less and put the oil mainly on the meat.  That'll ensure it cooks nicely until it gets hot enough for the fat starts to render.
2. Include at least some of an aromatic vegetable.  Onions are the most commonly used ingredient, but celery, carrots, or any other aromatic will work.  For chicken, fish, or veggies, I've found fennel is my favorite.
3. Season it.  That means salt and pepper.  And don't skimp.  If you've got some fresh herbs, add them too.  Think about the classic, time-honored pairings:  mint with lamb (where I went camping, spearmint grew everywhere in the woods and we used it), dill with chicken, etc.
4. If you're making more than just a side item, include your starch and protein in the packet as well.

Tonight we're having zucchini and carrots with fennel, olive oil, dill and chives.  Since we're not camping, we'll use plates instead of eating right out of the foil.  But I won't fault you if you do it the rustic way!

Various Takes on a Favorite Winter Dessert

Either my Midwestern blood is thinning, or holy cow it's cold out there! Let's heat up the oven and bake something, shall we?

I still have a huge load of carrots that went uneaten from the Superbowl. So I have to use them up.  Hence one of my Top 5 Desserts:  Carrot cake. Believe it or not, we had one at our wedding.  (When I suggested that, the catering person looked at me like I had just arrived from Pluto.)

Photo via America's Test Kitchen Feed

The 3,000-calorie-per-slice monstrosity from the Cheesecake Factory isn't the only way to go, you know.  There are other carrot cakes around the world.  This one is Venetian, and mascarpone lends itself every bit as well as cream cheese when it comes to frosting.  This variation, while back at sky-high caloric values, will remind you of your last tropical vacation.  If you'd rather stick to the traditional flavor profile, try making it into a roll cake.

Photo via Crazy For Crust

Remember that this coming Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, and it's traditional to make pancakes to "use up" the oils and fats in the house before Lent begins.  But nobody says the pancakes themselves have to be traditional!  (A word of advice, though, shred the carrots really fine for those pancakes.)

Photo via Smitten Kitchen

Let's Get Some Spice On!

When I saw the green beans in today's box, for some reason my mind jumped to curries.  I often use a mix of veggies in my curries, but for some reason I almost always include green beans.  We can use the potatoes and the sweet potatoes we've gotten recently, and if you have any carrots left, those would be good too.

Curries originated in southeast Asia, notably the area around Thailand.  From there, they expanded west across India, parts of the Persian Gulf, and into eastern Africa, jumping with the slave trade to various parts of the Caribbean; and they expanded west to places like Fiji and other islands across the Pacific.  At its most basic, it's a dish using lots of spice and almost always includes chilis of some sort.  Some are more like a soup, usually served over rice, others are more like a stir fry with a heavy sauce, again served with rice.

Photo via about.com

The key ingredient in curry is curry powder, which is simply a blend of spices.  That's it.  Take half the spice drawer, put it all together, shake until mixed, and voilà, curry powder.  Well, not exactly.  it is a measured quantity of each of certain spices, then shake 'em all together and you have curry powder.  Which spices are going to vary wildly by region, but most of them have cumin and turmeric as a base.  For example, Thai curry powder usually contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger and chilis as its starting point.  As you move west through India, you'll start seeing less coriander and more cardamom, for example.

Photo via Jamie Oliver

Curries are usually quite simple to prepare.  Some are yogurt based, some start with a tomato sauce, others use coconut milk.  In essence, you start with the base, add the spices, add whatever half-cooked veggies and browned meat you'd like, and let it cook together until the meat is finished and the veggies are soft.  Some other recipes I've tried and liked are found here, here, and here.

Most of the time, curries can be prepared really quickly with whatever veggies you have on hand.  Great for those weeknights when you need a dinner in 30 minutes or less.

Photo via Food & Wine

Winter Jewels

Photo via Perpetual Feast

This week's box is a classic mixture of winter root vegetables.  I'd love to give you some elegant suggestions you can use to show off your cooking techniques, but unfortunately this week doesn't lend itself to fancy-fancy.  This week is about home and hearth, comfort food.  From a cooking perspective, I think of a plate of root vegetables like this not as a dish to make better, but to avoid messing up.   The ingredients are going to work so well together, Mother Nature was our chef this week.

How does one "avoid messing up?"  Simple.  Peel it, cut into bite sized pieces, and toss with olive oil.  Generous salt and pepper and in the oven.  Around 350˚ for half an hour or so, put it on a plate.  Ta-da.  The "big secret" is to chop up all of the vegetables into equal size pieces as best you can.  They all have that hard texture, and they're all going to cook at pretty much the same rate.  By using equal pieces, they all cook in the same amount of time.

Photo via Food & Wine

Yes, there are some avenues for creativity.

• After you roast them, toss with some finely chopped herbs, like parsley.  A little thyme can work too.  Keep it simple.
• Glaze sparingly with something sweet, like honey or maple syrup.  Prepared this way, my 5-year-old thinks they're dessert.
• Toss with a little vinaigrette.  Again, use sparingly.  While that link only uses parsnips, any of these vegetables can substitute for each other.
• Roast them with an apple or some other winter fruit (cranberries, for example).

I guess the arrival of winter isn't all bad!

Staples of Fall

There were lots and lots of turnips in the box this week.  Fall is the season for root veggies:  turnips, potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, onions, lots of goodness.  These are the components of good, hearty fall meals.

Lots of people wonder what to do with turnips.  Honestly, use them in anything where you'd use potatoes or carrots.  Turnips are related to horseradish, and they'll add some of that sharp, in-the-nose quality, albeit in much milder form.  Turnips contain a fair amount of sugar, too, which you can caramelize.  Let's make a simple stew.

Photo via Epicurious

Veggie Stew

Pick whichever root veggies you'd like.  Some of those turnips, for example.  Peel and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Add some aromatics too, like onions, celery, and/or fennel.  Again, chop into bite size pieces.  It doesn't matter how much of what ingredient.  Use more of the ones you like more.

Here's my Stew Secret.  Put a pan (or a wok, if you have one) over high heat, and let the pan pre-heat for a minute or two.  Put in some high smoke point oil, such as grape seed or peanut, and let it warm up for a few seconds. Toss the veggies in and stir continuously just until they've got some brown on them, but not black.  The brown is caramelized sugars.  Good stuff. Turn the heat to low, sprinkle on some flour (a tablespoon or two), then stir well for maybe a minute.  Put the veggies into a pot or slow cooker.  

Add some flavorful liquid. This could be wine, stock, or a robust beer.  My favorite stews use a good Belgian beer.  (Even if you don't like to drink them, those beers take on a different character in a stew.) Optionally, you can put in some herbs (bay, thyme, etc.).  Let it cook low and slooooooow all day.  Salt & pepper only after its done.  Now, how easy was that?

Photo via Food & Wine

Variations on a Theme

That's a vegetable stew, and it's heartier than you think.  Of course you can add meat of any kind, especially the cheaper cuts, which benefits from lots of low heat cooking.  Just like the veggies, cut into bite-size pieces, brown, add a little flour, and in the pot.

Here are some good recipes I've used, but you'll see that they're all variations on this theme.  Many stew recipes will only list carrots, but adding in other root vegetables can't be a bad thing!  Tomato paste enriches and sets apart this classic Bistro stew.  And, speaking of flavorful liquids, how about some cognac in your beef stew?  Fall is football season, and stews are great for watching the game.  Our family's absolute favorite stew, though, has to be this southwest-inspired one.  Here's another southwestern stew, this time a bit spicier.

Happy fall!

More Than Cucumbers

So, are your pickles ready?  Mine are just to that nice, sour point and they're going in the fridge today.  (When they get to the right sour level for you, then they need to go in the fridge.  Otherwise you get pickle mush.  Blech.)

So last time we talked about classic pickles.  You can put these in jars and process in a water bath, and they're shelf stable for about a year.  That makes them, "canned pickles."  There are two other types, "refrigerator pickles" and "quick pickles."  Quick pickles are ones you cook in the brine for a brief period, chill, and eat right away.  Refrigerator pickles use a higher vinegar content, and ferment in the fridge.

But all of these methods can be used on any firm vegetable.  Below are some pickled vegetable recipes I've used – and enjoyed – in the past.

Photo via Food and Wine

Here's a recipe for general pickled vegetables.  It calls for a collection of beans, etc., but you can really use just about anything with a solid texture.  I use this recipe when I'm giving away preserves as gifts.  Choose a variety of vegetables with an assortment of colors and shapes.  Take your time and arrange them in the jar carefully and artistically, and it makes a nice gift.

Photo via handjobsforthehome.com

Cauliflower should be in season in just a couple more weeks, and these curried pickled cauliflower florets are amazing.  Probably the most common pickle I make, other than cukes.

Photo via rosemarried.com

The herb-y sourness of these green beans is really divine.  Be advised, a little bit of lemon peel goes a looooong way, particularly if you make enough of these that some will be on the shelf for a few months.    I usually cut the lemon peel by a third.

Photo via Serious Eats

Finally, let's talk carrots.  There's classic dilly carrots, which are a great way to remember summer come wintertime, but these spicy carrots have a lot of character.  Again, a word of caution.  It calls for slightly more than a tablespoon of red pepper flakes per jar.  I use a scant teaspoon, and they'll still really curl your toenails.

Anyone have any other pickled veggie recipes you like?

Spring's Bounty Soup

I came across this recipe for "Spring Celebration Soup" in one of my cookbooks, and while I figured it would be fitting to give this one a try since Spring is officially here, I looked at the ingredients and thought, "This is going to taste like the color green."  So I decided to make it!  Because if you don't have a kitchen fail every once in awhile your husband might forget the gloriousness of take-away!  I switched up some of the veg to cater to what was in our Crop Shares this week, and then I decided to really go off the rails and use the carrot greens in place of the parsley required for this soup.  I really thought about calling this the Waste Not Want Not Soup since there are very few kitchen scraps that come out of this one, and hey if you have the carrot greens, why not use them!  As an aside, Crop Share member Deanna Freedlander has a fantastic recipe for Carrot Top Pesto that she puts over spaghetti squash.  Since squash season is on it's way out, just use regular pasta or even turn your yellow squash into "squoodles" (if you have a sprial cutter or a juillene tool that will cut thin noodle-like strips, just saute those in a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes and ta-da veggie pasta!).

Once I'd finished the soup, I took one look at it and thought, "what have I done?!"  But once I tasted it, is was surprisingly good!  It didn't taste like the color green, it was refreshing and even filling.  So...I had another bowl.  Thus if you're looking for something bright and fresh, that is so chock full of veggie goodness it would make a vegan blush, then this is the soup for you.  And if your spinach is starting to look a bit sad by today, this is a great way to use it up since it's getting pureed in and looking wilty won't matter.

Spring's Bounty Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bundle green onions, chopped (and hang onto the stem ends and start to re-sprout them as we did with the romaine here!)
4 carrots from bundle, skinned and diced
Carrot greens, minced
1 bundle asparagus, chopped
5 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 bundle of spinach, stem ends trimmed at root (see our trick for perfectly clean and grit-free spinach)
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened rice milk for dairy-free)
Salt & pepper to taste


In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add in garlic to saute until just fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add in green onions and carrots and saute for 5 minutes, then add carrot greens and asparagus and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Pour in stock and lemon juice, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly and simmer, uncovered, for about 5-7 minutes.  Add in spinach and simmer for 2-3 minutes more, just long enough to wilt down the spinach.

If you've got an immersion blender, this is where it becomes your best friend.  Break that baby out and start to puree the dickens out of this soup -- just make sure to pull it off the heat, unless you're really a fan of hot soup burns.  If you don't have an immersion blender, you'll want to use a measuring cup to puree up about 2 cups of the soup at a time, and you'll need a holding pot or bowl for the already pureed portions, as you'll be returning everything to the main pot.

Once pureed, return to heat and bring back to a simmer.  Stir in your cup of milk, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes, and then remove from heat and let stand for the same amount of time, to let the flavors set up.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Serve with crusty bread (the baguettes at Nalls on Fridays would be PERFECT).  Or if your immune system hates gluten like mine does, make sad puppy eyes at the baguettes and then pick up some gluten-free bagel chips or crackers.  Glutino makes some killer rosemary crackers.


Adapted from Simply In Season by Mary Beth Lind & Cathleen Hockman-Wert

**Speaking of all things Spring, don't forget next weekend (4/25-4/26) is the LAST weekend of the Early Spring Crop Share round.  But don't despair, the Spring Round will kick off on May 9th, so be sure to grab a registration form when you're picking up this weekend.  They've got more details on the Crop Share portion of the website...**

Cabbage & Collard Greens Slaw via Crop Share Member Bethany Duffy

You know how we're always saying, "Hey, tag your Crop Share cooking Instagrams with #onlyatnalls so we can see what's cookin' in your kitchen"?  Well one member, Bethany Duffy, has not only heard the call, she is a cooking and tagging wild woman!  I'm not entirely convinced she ever sleeps, or does anything but cook and take the most drool-worthy photos of her food.  So when I saw she posted this Cabbage & Collard Greens Slaw the other day, I knew I had to get my hands on the recipe so we could all share the love.  Behold, the magic that emerges from the Duffy kitchen...

Cabbage and Collard Greens Slaw

serves 4

For the slaw:

!/2 head cabbage (about 8 ounces)

1/2 bunch collard greens, rinsed well (about 8 ounces)

2 carrots

1 small red bell pepper

For the dressing:

1/4 cup mayonnaise, or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise plus 2 tablespoons greek yogurt or sour cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

zest and juice of one lemon

pinch of sugar

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Remove the core from the cabbage and the ribs from the collard greens.  Thinly slice both into ribbons and place in a large bowl.  (You can also shred the cabbage in a food processor, but I find that often makes it too watery.)

Shred or julienne the carrot and slice the pepper thinly and add to the greens. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well, until evenly coated.

Refrigerate 4-6 hours before serving, to soften the greens and blend the flavors.

Oh and Bethany is also a fellow Crop Share cocktail queen!  Check out what she did with the Shenandoah Smoke tea from Runningbyrd Tea Company (now available in store) after she got home on Friday!  Bourbon, lemon and some smokey sweet tea?  Bartender, hit me again!

Cheers!

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto via Crop Share Member Deanna Freedlander

When Deanna sent me this recipe I was equal parts excited because I love it when folks use something that most people just discard as kitchen scraps and turn it into a dish, but also because this is further proof that CARROT TOPS ARE GREEN!  You don't have a red or ginger pesto, nope pesto is always green and so is this one because so are carrot tops.  Why the angst you ask?  Just ask little Tara...

Okay, yes, that is a wig, but what lies beneath it pretty much made it look like my head was on fire...especially since this is the era where my Mama thought it was a great idea to perm my already kinky, Celtic hair.  Think Merida from Brave, and you get the idea.  And for those of you have seen the unbridled Celtic afro running around at Nalls, then you know what I mean.  So yes, this oft teased, proud ginger is stating for the record that not only is this pesto dish from Deanna amazing, but it's further proof that the monkier "carrot top" is utter silliness...unless I'm queasy, and then I actually am green.

Spaghetti Squash with Carrot Top Pesto

Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting, seeding, baking and shredding  **SAVE THE SEEDS

Bake the seeds to use in the Pesto instead of Pine Nuts.

Pesto-
2-3 Tbsp of baked squash seeds
2-3 garlic cloves
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds
1 Cup of cleaned and rough chopped carrot tops ( no stems)
   *whir in food processor for about 10 seconds with seeds and garlic
1 tsp Sea Salt
Olive OIl (about 5-6 Tbsp)

Continue pulsing ingredients as you drizzle olive oil into the food proceessor.  Add enough Olive Oil to get a good pesto consistency.


Mix Pesto with warm spaghetti squash.  EAT!

For those in the crop share program, this was a fantastic box of veggies and this was considered delicious by all in my household.  The carrot tops give the pesto a different, but very satisfying taste from basil.

Deanna Freedlander  (A crop-share lover)

Spice Roasted Carrot Fries

Maybe because my Grammy always made the best homemade french fries, but I'm obsessed with anything in french fry form.  So last season when we started getting things like carrots and parsnips I thought, "I'm gonna turn these into fries...spiced fries!"  Bascially, I no longer wish to eat carrots any other way after trying out these beauties.  So if you're looking for a less starchy alternative to french fries or even sweet potato fries, then give these guys a try.

Spice Roasted Carrot Fries

Ingredients:

1 bundle carrots, peeled, ends trimmed and cut into "fries"
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
Dash of cayenne powder


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss carrots in olive oil and spices to evenly coat, and then spread out over a baking sheet so there is no overlap.  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, turning carrots mid-way through the bake time for even browning.

Works great for sweet potatoes and also parsnips (shown above with the carrots).  And whip up a spicy dipping sauce by giving a few squirts of sriracha into some mayo or veganaise, and whisking until blended and to the heat level you want.  If you're a sriracha fiend, then maybe just add a dollop of mayo to the bottle and you'll be set.  Ha!

William Tell's Never-Miss Apple Cake via Taste of Home

I had a bunch of recipes stewing in my brain to give you to for this week's Ginger Gold Apples and then we ran across this, this thing of utter beauty, this apple cake.  No not just any apple cake, as I've had and made plenty of apple cake in my days, but never have I beheld something that calls to me quite like this gorgeous piece of cake courtesy of Taste of Home.  Plus, it calls for carrots so if you still need to use up yours from last week...bake a cake!  So just like legendary Swiss marksman, William Tell, this cake is sure to hit the mark!  You can bet I will concocting a way to make this gluten, dairy & egg free for our household and then will bake it whilst listening to the William Tell Overture, because I am that kind of nerd.

William Tell's Never Miss Apple Cake

Click through to view the recipe at Taste of Home....

Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowls

So the Mister and I are kind of a hot mess of food allergies.  Our home is peanut, cashew, dairy, egg and gluten free.  And while I adore Thai food, it's pretty much the kiss of death for the hubs.  Thus I was pretty darn excited when I stumbled across these Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowls from How Sweet It Is and realized all I needed were a few key tweaks to make it safe for both of us.  Including subbing in almond butter in place of peanut butter -- you'd never know.  While this dish is the perfect vehicle for this week's cilantro, you could just as easy throw in some of the diced, green bell pepper or even blanch some of the broccoli to toss in.  I say the more crunchy veg in these quinoa bowls, the better!

Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowls

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked to package instructions
2 chicken breasts cooked & shredded, or use leftover rotisserie chicken
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Sauce:
4 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp almond butter
1 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Toss shredded chicken with cooked quinoa.  Add in chopped vegetables and cilantro and stir to mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients until fully combined and pour over quinoa mixture.  Fold sauce in evenly and taste.  Season with salt & pepper if needed.


Adapted from How Sweet It Is: (http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/02/thai-chicken-quinoa-bowl/)

One-Pot Chicken & Rice With Swiss Chard

My first encounter cooking with swiss chard was last Fall when we received it in our Crop Share, and I decided to use it in the Chicken & Rice with Swiss Chard recipe that was put up on the blog at that time.  We loved it then, so I wanted to share it with you all again.  Not only is it healthy, but as a one-pot dish, kitchen clean up is kept to a minimum.  Then again, isn't the rule that the chef doesn't have to do dishes?

Follow the link below, and enjoy one of our favorites from the Fall round...

One-Pot Chicken & Rice with Swiss Chard

We've got the garlic, onions and carrots needed for this recipe all in store.  So if you have yet to redeem your $3 off coupon from last week, use it to pick up the remaining produce for this great recipe!

Grammy Freer's Chicken In A Wine Sauce

Some of my most beloved childhood memories are of cooking and baking with my Grammy Freer (yes, I am 31, and yes I will call her Grammy no matter how old I get).  Much of what I know about kitchen fundamentals comes from spending good chunks of my formative years, standing on a step stool, at her side while she baked pies and cookies or made homemade french fries.  There was even a somewhat "explosive" incident involving our first attempt at cream puffs.  So it's no surprise that I've been waiting in hopes of just the right mix of items in the Crop Share so that I can feature one of my Grammy's recipes, her Chicken In A Wine Sauce.  If you're anything like me, she had you at "wine sauce."  So enjoy putting this week's carrots and fresh parsley to good use in this recipe from one awesome lady!  Oh and...Hi Grammy!  ;)

Grammy Freer's Chicken In A Wine Sauce

Ingredients:
4 bone in chicken breasts, skinned
4 bone in chicken thighs, skinned
4 bone in chicken legs, skinned
1/2 tsp Kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp canola or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup thinly diced carrots
1/2 cup thinly diced celery
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (sub in gluten-free flour or cornstarch for gluten-free version)
3 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottom, oven-safe pan over medium high heat.  Season chicken with salt & pepper, and begin to add about half of the chicken to the pan to begin to brown, for about 4 - 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and repeat with remaining chicken till all are browned.  Set aside chicken

Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pan and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add wine and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Return chicken to pan.  Combine flour and stock in a bowl, whisking until smooth.  Add to the pan and stir to incorporate.  Stir in tarragon, parsley, mustard and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then cover and place in oven to bake at 325 for 1 hour or until chicken is very tender.  Remove chicken and bay leaf and stir butter into sauce.

If sauce is too thin when you remove the chicken, bring back to a boil on the stove top for about 5 additional minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens to more of a gravy consistency.  Serve pieces of chicken topped with the pan sauce.

Spiced Lentil & Potato Soup

I have a slight problem with lentils.  No, not lentils themselves, I quite love them and perhaps a bit too much. You see, every time I cook up lentils, I wind up with enough to feed a mid-sized nation.  So I devised this Lentil & Potato Soup last fall, as a way to use up the ignorant amount of cooked lentils I always end up with.  And the new gold potatoes in this week's Crop Share will be the perfect potato to use for this hearty and spicy soup.  Guaranteed to take the evening chill off while we wait for next week's 70 degree temps!

Spiced Lentil & Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 cup carrot, diced

2 tsp garlic, minced

5 medium gold potatoes, diced

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

12 oz tomato paste

2 Tbsp Tandoori Roasting Blend (I used Spice & Tea Exchange’s, or use any tandoori spice blend)

3 cups cooked brown lentils

32 oz low sodium vegetable broth (for vegan) or chicken broth

1 can (13.66 oz) lite coconut milk (cream and water portion)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp parsley, plus more for garnish (dried or fresh, I used dried just fine)

Tofutti sour cream, crème fraîche or  plain Greek yogurt for garnish, optional

Simmer onion, carrot and garlic in a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes.  Add in potatoes and sauté for 3-5 minutes.  Add in spices, salt through ginger, and stir to fully coat (for less heat, omit crushed red pepper and reduce cayenne to 1/8 tsp).  Stir in tomato paste, tandoori spice and lentils, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.  Add in vegetable or chicken stock and make sure to scrape bottom of pan to loosen anything that has begun to stick.  Stir in coconut milk, lemon juice and parsley.

Bring to a full simmer, cover pot and reduce heat.  Simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes.  Soup should be more of a stew consistency, so check regularly and add or subtract simmering time as needed.

Serve each bowl with a dollop of vegan sour cream, plain Greek yogurt or crème fraîche, and a sprinkle of parsley.

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.

Wine Marinated Pot Roast

This week, you'll have just about everything you need to make this wonderful pot roast. There's something about egg noodles that makes a hearty dinner just right.

Ingredients:
3 to 3 1/2 pound boneless beef chuck
1 (750mL) bottle red wine (I used Zinfandel)
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoons herbes de Provence
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
1 onion, sliced
4 carrots
4 parsnips
2 cups cremini mushrooms
2 stalks celery
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://bakedbree.com/wine-marinated-pot-roast

Quick-Roasted Winter Vegetables

You all know by now that the best way to cook up root vegetables is to roast them, why not do them all together in a beautiful mix? This will make a great side dish for the family or arrange them by color at your winter gathering.They keep really well, so you can store them in the fridge to snack on later. 

Ingredients:
1 lb. beets (about 3 medium), ends trimmed, sliced thinly (use a mandolin if you have one)
1 lb. carrots (about 5 large), peeeled, ends trimmed, sliced on a sharp diagonal 3/16-inch thick
1 lb. red onions (about 3 small), peeled, ends trimmed, sliced 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick
1 lb. parsnips (about 4 large), ends trimmed, peeled, sliced on a sharp diagonal 3/16-inch thick
1 lb. red potatoes (3 to 4 small), scrubbed, sliced 3/16-inch thick
1-1/2 lb. sweet potatoes (2 medium), scrubbed, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 lb. turnips (about 3 small), scrubbed, ends trimmed, sliced 1/8- to 3/16-inch thick
1 lb. acorn squash, ends trimmed, cut horizontally into 1/2-inch rings (trim away seeds by running a paring knife around the inside of the rings)

For the seasoning:
2 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, oregano, or sage (roughly chopped) or rosemary (finely chopped) 

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/quick-roasted-winter-vegetables.aspx?nterms=52350,53158,53160,53174