Ogres Have Layers

When I saw all of the beautiful spring onions in our box last week, with more on the way this week, for some reason this scene flashed in my head.  Ah, the wisdom of Shrek.  I love my cartoons.

The thing about onions is that they form the base of so, so many things we cook.  I don't know about your kitchen, but my family of three easily goes through half a dozen in a week.  The question is, when we get beautiful onions like these, the early spring ones, how can we actually feature them in the dish?  What can we do beyond just using them in mirepoix?

Photo via Epicurious

Here are some ideas for you.

• An obvious thing that comes to mind is French onion soup.  That recipe is the right spices, but instead of chicken broth, use a good-quality homemade stock.  If you can make or buy some demi-glace, even better!  While the Irish aren't known for their onion soup, this one still deserves a try.
• The frittata that we made with last year's spring onions is still a great choice.
• While these are usually fall dishes for me, a pork stew with onions is great on chilly spring evenings.  (Here's another.)
• Caramelized onions are an outstanding pizza topping!
• Dressed up German-style mac and cheese

More onions, please!

Guest Post - Blackened Catfish with Corn Succotash

Hi crop share members - Erin here - you may have met me up at the register or seen me on the floor obsessively adjusting recipe cards. I've commandeered this blog for a post because my family has been part of the crop share program for a long time and I wanted to share one of our favorite recipes with everyone.

The corn we've been getting in the store has been amazing recently, and we recieved beautiful green peppers and onions in our crates last week, so I knew I had to make this catfish with succotash. I discovered this recipe in New Orleans, where my sister lives. Other than Mardi Gras, the best thing to experience in Louisiana is the amazing soul food. Usually soul food does not equal healthy food, but there are enough veggies in this succotash to excuse the bacon.

You know a recipe is good when it starts with bacon. 

Best thing about the recipe? It’s easy! All you have to do is dice up your vegetables, fry them with the bacon, and cook the catfish. Dizzy Pig's Bayou-ish seasoning also gives you that great Cajun flavor, and makes it easy to blacken fish without burning it. To keep your corn as fresh as possible, refrigerate it in the husk and shuck it just before cooking. You can also be flexible with these ingredients. Use white, yellow, or bicolor corn and try substituting tilapia or any firm white fish for the catfish.

Make sure you've got a big enough cutting board for all those veggies.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, try cooking your catfish on the grill. Yeah, it's not summer (or even Spring) yet, but I can dream right? Season the fish and place it on a well-oiled grill at 100° for 3-4 minutes on each side. Also during the summer, throw in shelled butter beans with the veggies. A lot of southerners say it's not real succotash if it doesn't have lima beans. So put on some Louis Armstrong, break out the Tabasco, and sit down to this simple New Orleans-style family supper!

Most of the snow is gone, that means it's time to grill right?

Catfish with Corn Succotash

Ingredients:

• 2 strips of bacon, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds of catfish
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 bell peppers, seeds/stem removed and diced
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons of thyme
• 4 ears of corn
• 2 tablespoons Dizzy Pig Bayou-ish or your favorite Cajun blackening spice

Directions:

1. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon to the pan; cook 3 minutes or until crisp, stirring frequently. Remove bacon from the pan to a paper towel.

2. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and thyme to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add minced garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. 

3. With a sharp parring knife, strip the kernels off of the ears of corn into the pan. Stir to mix all the vegetables together. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 8 minutes - stirring occasionally. Add the bacon back into the corn mixture.

4. Pat the catfish dry with paper towels. Rub spice mixture evenly over fish. Heat another large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil to the pan. Cook the catfish for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve over the corn mixture.

Servings: 4

Cook Time:  30 minutes

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Yellow Squash with Tomatoes & Parmesan

Where most people tire of yellow squash, I can't seem to get enough of it.  And once squash season is going full tilt, I will find new and interesting ways to fit it in to pretty much every meal of the day.  One of my go-to dishes over the past few years has been to slice yellow squash in half, place it into a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cardamom, and then bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

But when I saw this recipe for Yellow Squash with Tomatoes & Parmesan, over at Kayln's Kitchen, I knew I'd found a new love!  Such a quick and simple weeknight side dish to throw together.  Or, if you're a squash fiend like me, an entire meal to try and hoard all to yourself.  With the Vidalia onion also in this week's share, you'll already have 2 of 7 ingredients going home with you!

Hop on over to Kayln's Kitchen to view the recipe for Yellow Squash with Tomatoes & Parmesan!

Kale & Mushroom Spaghetti

Kale may have been named one of the trending foods in 2011, but we think the curly green is here to stay. By now, most of you have had kale in forms other than the decoration that sops up the ham juice at Christmas. 

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One of the key things that makes kale our favorite green is its versatility. It can be used as a substitute for spinach in any pasta dish. It can be blended with citrus fruits for a great smoothie. And yes, even kale martinis, how impressed will your friends be? 

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Give the recipe below a shot. When all else fails, sprinkle some bacon on it and call it a day. You tried.

yield: 2

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
3 kale leaves, washed, trimmed and chopped
6 medium mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
4 ounces dry spaghetti

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://foodiereflections.com/?p=2705

Crispin Cider Braised Kohlarbi

I tried kohlrabi for the very first time last year during the Nalls Winter Crop Share. I will admit, I was intimidated by the strange looking vegetable. I had no idea how I was going to cook it so I turned to the handy print-out of recipes. I was blown away. For those of you who haven't tried it before and are a little hesitant, trust me, you will love it!

Ingredients: 
1 T butter
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 lb kohlrabi, julienned
1/2 c Crispin Brut Hard Apple Cider (Or regular apple cider)
1 T cider vinegar
1 t brown sugar
salt & pepper

To view the rest of this recipe, please visit: http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2009/08/crispin-cider-brined-pork-and-braised.html