Kale, Parsley & Mint Pesto

May 3, 2013 By Brenda in Canning & Preserving the Harvest, Main Dishes No Comments Tags: almonds, collard greens, gardening, greens, healthy food, kale, local food, mint, parsley, pasta, Pesto, recipes, spinach, spring, spring recipes

It’s going to be spring soon, right? (If you are in Minnesota you are painfully aware that it is May 3^rd and snowing. I hope wherever you are that snow is already a distant memory.) With that hope of spring & summer I am looking forward to greens and fresh herbs from the garden. I created this pesto to help me ignore the white stuff outside my window:

Kale, Mint & Parsley Pesto

Ingredients:

½ cup – ¾ cup sliced almonds, toasted & cooled (or whichever nut you prefer)
¾ tsp. to 1 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic
Two “fistfuls” of parsley, washed and dried
1 “fistful” of mint, leaves only, washed & dried
lacinato kale (or whatever kind you have available), 1 bunch (I did set aside 3 or 4 leaves for a green smoothie)
2 Tbsp coconut oil or flax oil (or use more olive oil)
Approximately ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

In a small sauté pan toast the almonds and set aside to cool.

Put three-quarters teaspoon (3/4 tsp.) salt, the garlic, and one fistful of the parsley into a food processor and process together. Scrape down the sides a few times if necessary. Then add the cooled almonds and process again.

Now add the remaining parsley and the mint and process once more. Keep scraping down the sides of the bowl as you process ingredients together. Finally add the kale and process.

Add in the coconut oil (or flax oil), if using along with about ¼ cup of the olive oil. Process again and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Taste. Adjust the salt if you feel you need more. If you like the consistency you can stop here. If you’d like the pesto to be more liquid add more olive oil until you reach the consistency you prefer.

Note: I don’t care for cheese in my pesto. But if you do like cheese you can add some shredded parmesan to the recipe, about one-quarter to one-half cup of cheese. Also, you can use another type of greens (such as spinach, chard, or collard greens) in place of the kale. That goes for the herbs too. Feel free to use whichever combination of herbs you like best. If you have more pesto than you can consume, pesto freezes wonderfully in ice cube trays. Store the cubes in a Ziploc bag and remove a few for a quick meal later on. Just remember to label the bag with what you put in your pesto. I always forget to do that and then have “mystery pesto” meals.

Serving Suggestions:

Add this pesto to hot pasta. I like it with spaghetti and penne noodles.
Spread a thin layer of the pesto onto hot, toasted baguette slices and top with shrimp or roast beef. I enjoyed it with some cold, shredded bison roast (much like roast beef) and it made a very nice lunch.
Use it along with hummus to make a Mediterranean dip, a great party appetizer. You can find a recipe for that here.

Mämmi: A traditional Easter dessert from Finland

Mar 23, 2013 By Brenda in Desserts, Recipes No Comments Tags: baked goods, Beatrice Ojakangas, dessert, Easter, Finland, Finnish, Finnish desserts, Finnish food, local food, Local Food Lust, Mämmi, memma, Michigan food, Minnesota food, molasses, rye, sisu, sorghum, sorghum syrup, suomi, unique desserts, Wisconsin, Wisonsin food

[To skip straight to the recipe simply scroll down to the bottom of the page.]

Mämmi is a Finnish pudding-like dessert, served primarily during the Easter season, that is truly one of a kind. My 12 year old daughter said that the thick brown substance (made with dark rye flour and sorghum syrup or molasses) “tastes confusing,” but she liked it. She kept asking for another bite from my bowl. This dish has been around since at least the 17^th century. (Read more about that here.)

While baking, it fills the house with an aromatherapy of something sweet, malty, and orange. The top skin is a little rubbery, but the middle is creamy when well prepared. It is topped with dainty white powdered sugar and floats in as much cream as you dare to use. The first bite is cloyingly sweet, but then the mouth tastes something grainy and unfamiliar. It is an acquired taste. But please be aware — you may find yourself wandering back to the fridge for just one more bite. Repeatedly.

I first tasted mämmi when I was an undergraduate student in Finland (more years ago than I like to admit). My host family introduced me to it during the Easter season. It came from the grocery store in a cardboard container with a see-through plastic top. The cardboard was printed to look like birch bark, which is the way mämmi was traditionally served. Serving it in birch bark containers is no longer allowed in Finland, as stripping the bark from the tree can kill it. I must admit I really didn’t think I liked mämmi when I first tried it, but then I couldn’t stop going back for just one more taste. Finally, I had to admit I rather liked it. Every year around this time I find myself thinking about mämmi and about the kindness of my host family for taking me in and introducing me to so many traditional Finnish foods.

I’d like to say “thank you” (kiitos!) to Beatrice Ojakangas for giving permission to use the mämmi recipe from her cookbook, The Finnish Cookbook. This book is treasure in our household. It has guided me through any Finnish recipe that I didn’t learn from my mother or grandmother. The Finnish Cookbook was first published in 1964 and is in its 38^th printing — how’s that for a classic? (You can find it here on Amazon.)

One final note before I get to the recipe…. about sorghum syrup. Beatrice’s recipe calls for sorghum syrup or dark molasses. Either one will result in a very similar flavor for the dish. I happened to find sorghum syrup on the shelf in my food co-op, so I bought it out of curiosity. The brand I purchased is from Wisconsin, from Wittgreve’s Rolling Meadows Sorghum Mill. After doing a little online research about sorghum (and the production of sorghum syrup) I highly recommend reading this story about Wittgreve’s operation. Prior to WWII there were over 20 million gallons of sorghum syrup produced in the U.S., but due to the loss of farm labor after the war (and the abundance of cheap sugar), its production fell off drastically. Today there are less than 1 million gallons produced annually. If you are lucky enough to find it, give it a try!

Now, to the recipe…. (scroll down past the pictures if you just want the written recipe):

Start by setting out your ingredients. There aren’t many!

Measure out one cup of rye flour and set next to the stove top by your pan. Then wash, dry and grate the peel of one orange.

It will look like this:

Heat the water, salt and sorghum syrup (or molasses) in a pan.

Whisk in about 1/4 cup of the rye flour and bring to a boil. Now if you’d like to take a break, you can. Let the warm mixture sit at least 10 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Then turn the heat back on, stir in the remaining rye flour, orange peel and raisins (if using). Do this slowly and keep whisking to avoid any clumps. Bring the mixture back up to a boil. Then turn the heat off.

Now pour this “batter” into your pan (or pans). I recommend just one pan, with enough depth so that there is room for a thick, creamy middle layer. Leave some head room in the pan, though, as the mixture will rise while baking (and then fall again afterward). I sprayed my pans with oil.

Now put the pan(s) in the oven at a low temperature (275 degrees) for 3 hours. When the mämmi is done baking it may appear to be too runny. Don’t worry, it will set as it cools. After three hours mine looked like this:

Now for the patience part! Let it cool on the counter, then cover tightly and put in the refrigerator to chill. (I put a layer of plastic wrap right over the top of the mämmi.) I’ve read that the flavor improves if you let it sit in the fridge a few days before serving. When you’ve run out of patience serve it in a bowl, sprinkle powdered sugar on top and bathe it in cream.

Easter Mämmi

(recipe by Beatrice Ojakangas, as published in The Finnish Cookbook)

Ingredients:

4 cups water

½ cup sorghum syrup or dark molasses

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup rye flour (I used dark rye)

2 Tablespoons grated orange peel (I used one orange’s peel)

¼ cup seedless raisins

Sugar

Cream

Directions:

Heat the water, molasses (or sorghum syrup), and salt in a pan until just warm. Stir in about ¼ cup of the rye flour, bring to a slow boil, while beating constantly with a whisk. Turn the heat off and let mixture cool. (It can stand from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your convenience.) Stir in the remaining rye flour, orange peel, and raisins, and bring to a boil again, stirring with the whisk. Remove from the heat and pour into a 1 ½ quart casserole. Do not fill the dish to the top because the mämmi will rise during baking, although it will fall afterward. Bake in a slow oven (275 degrees) for 3 hours. Cool. Cover tightly to prevent drying. Store in a cool place. Serve with lots of sugar and cream, but make the servings small at first. Serves 6 to 10.

** LocalFoodLust’s Notes:

I don’t love raisins baked into desserts, so I just left them out.
You will note from my pictures that I baked the mämmi in two 6” x 8” aluminum pans. I would recommend pouring most or all of the batter into just one dish. I ended up with my mämmi being a little over-cooked and there wasn’t enough of the delicious, creamy middle layer.
When the mämmi is done baking it will not be completely set. Don’t worry, it will set as it chills. Its mouth feel is much better on the under-cooked side of things (as opposed to the rubbery, over-cooked version).
If you don’t love it on the first try, keep giving it a chance! It may be an acquired taste. Many Finns love to make fun of mämmi (and what it looks like), but many love it.

Green Smoothies: Simple to Super-Charged

Feb 5, 2013 By Brenda in Breakfast, Drinks & Beverages, Recipes, Vegetables No Comments Tags: blender drinks, blendtec, breakfast, chard, CSA recipes, CSA vegetables, CSA veggies, green smoothie, green smoothies, greens, healthy, healthy food, kale, Minnesota food, nutrient dense drinks, nutrient density, protein smoothie, protein smoothies, smoothies, spinach, squash puree, sweet potato puree, vitamix

I really enjoy green smoothies and try to include a big glass (or two) in my diet every day. I often make it a day ahead, and put it into a thermos in the fridge so I can pour a big glass for breakfast. I do this because I tend to be a little tired and lazy in the morning and might skip breakfast otherwise. (I know, that’s bad right?)

If you’ve never had a green smoothie I really encourage you to try it. Seriously, if you like fruit smoothies try adding a few greens next time and you probably will not even taste the difference. Start with a small amount and build up. I used to be hesitant, but now I pack in as many as I can and I still think the flavor is delicious.

I recently invested in a high-powered Vitamix blender, but I have been making my green smoothies in my regular Osterizer blender for a long time with very good results. Don’t feel a standard blender won’t work. You might need softer ingredients (or ones that aren’t as frozen or chunky) and it will make less than a big Vitamix jar might, but it will still be delicious. In fact, I found a video on YouTube from Diana Stobo that does a beautiful job of comparing smoothies made in the two types of blenders side-by-side. The video also gives a lovely visual of all the things you can consider putting into your smoothies.

How to Make a Green Smoothie, Diana Stobo

I try not to be too preachy on this blog, but I have to put a word in here about the importance of using organic produce whenever possible. In addition to being delicious the objective of drinking green smoothies is to get a huge boost of nutrition into your diet, right? So why would you drink a glass of pesticides? Also, while I’m on that preachy soapbox, I’d like to put in a pitch for using local produce that is in season, whenever possible. Supporting your local farmer – who is brave enough to grow organic diversified fruit and vegetable crops – is just the best way to go. It supports your local economy, cuts down on fossil fuels used in transportation, and probably means you are consuming the food much closer to its harvest date and thus has a higher nutrient density. That said “whenever possible” is key. We all have to take into consideration what is available locally and what is within our own budget.

I am going to share two smoothie recipes. The first one, the simple version, uses just four to eight ingredients and is made in my Osterizer blender. The second smoothie is a “super charged” one which I made in the Vitamix and it has a whopping fifteen or more ingredients packed in. There is no magic number of ingredients though. You can find your own favorite combinations. The idea here is that a green smoothie can be super simple or it can get a little crazy, whichever you’d like it to be!

Links to both recipes:

Simple Green Smoothie

Super-Charged Green Smoothie (for the Vitamix)

Feb 5, 2013 By Brenda in Breakfast, Drinks & Beverages, Recipes, Vegetables No Comments Tags: blendtec, chard, CSA recipes, CSA veggies, fruit smoothies, green smoothie, green smoothie recipe, greens, healthy food, kale, Minnesota food, nutrient density, nutrition, protein smoothies, smoothies, spinach, super smoothie, sweet potato puree, vitamix, winter squash puree

This smoothie uses more ingredients and is probably best made in a high-powered blender such as a Blendtec or a Vitamix. The Vitamix 64-ouce blender jar makes a LOT of smoothie. I have a 40-ouce thermos where I store the leftovers. I put the thermos in the fridge and it keeps really well for a day or two, although we usually drink it within a day. I always take some of the smoothie with me to my league tennis matches. (Maybe my opponents see me drinking something green and are intimidated, right? Well maybe not.)

The ingredients are customizable to whatever is in season, you have on hand, and your own tastes. I find that I can add in a few items that I may not love on their own, but have great health benefits. In the smoothie I cannot detect their flavor and so I get the health benefit without “forcing” myself to eat it on its own. For example, if you aren’t a lover of cabbage or broccoli or brussel sprouts you might try sneaking small amounts into the smoothie. I admit it, chard is one of those veggies I just don’t enjoy by itself, but it goes undetected in my smoothie.

The Vitamix works well when some ingredients are frozen and some are fresh. The fresh ones break down easier and the frozen ones keep it nice and cold. The ideal situation is to put some of both into your smoothie. I keep a good portion of our fridge’s freezer stocked with smoothie ingredients such as frozen fruit, bags of banana chunks, etc. When you have too much fruit on hand, such as bananas or pears that are beginning to get too ripe, chop them up and throw them into a freezer bag. I even do this with leftover fresh greens & some veggies. When they go into a smoothie the frozen texture doesn’t matter as it breaks down into the drink. Halved avocadoes freeze well in freezer bags.

A smoothie ingredient that I always have on hand is a sweet potato or winter squash puree. I make large batches of sweet potato and/or winter squash puree and then freeze the purees in small containers. We keep one small container of puree defrosted in the fridge at all times to add into our smoothies. They add nice sweetness to smoothies without adding sugars or other sweeteners. They also have a ton of Vitamin A & C, as well as act as an anti-inflammatory.

The amount of each ingredient you add depends on how many ingredients you choose to use, what you have on hand and how large your blender jar is. There is no magic correct amount, you can play with amounts until you find what flavor combinations you like best.

Ingredients:

Solids:

Bananas (1 to 2, frozen in chunks or fresh)
Pineapple (frozen or fresh, in chunks), about ½ – 1 cup
Mango (frozen or fresh, in chunks), ½ – 1 cup
Pear, 1 fresh (washed and cut off the core) or some frozen chunks
Manadarin orange, one or two, peeled
Fresh carrot chunks (1 – 2 carrots) or carrot juice (I make it in the Vitamix with fresh carrots and then use leftover juice in my smoothies)
1 – 2 medjool dates (if you want added sweetness)
Plain greek yogurt (to add tang and cut down the sweetness, and to add protein and calcium)
Whey protein powder (I use organic, unflavored powder), 1 – 2 scoops
Sweet potato or winter squash puree, ½ – 1 cup
Greens: kale, spinach, chard, romaine, red lettuce, parsley, cabbage, bok choy, or whichever kind you would like. Use just one or a combination.

Liquids (add any combination of liquids you like and as much as you need to blend together the smoothie and make it the consistency you like. The amount of liquid needed will depend on how many frozen items are in the blender. Start with about 1 ½ cups of liquid and add until you get the consistency you would like.):

Orange juice
Carrot juice
Water
Green tea
Grape or apple juice concentrate (2 – 3 Tbsp)
Flax seed oil (1 – 2 Tbsp)
Coconut oil (1 – 2 Tbsp)

Directions:

Layer your solid ingredients in the blender jar. I like to put a few “softer items” on the bottom. Also, if you are using any powdered ingredients do not place them on the very top. (I’ve had them fly into the blender jar cap and never make it into the smoothie. Boo.) Rather put them somewhere in the middle.
Pour whichever combination of liquids that you are using over the solid ingredients. Start with about 1 ½ cups of liquid.
I like to use the tamper to blend this smoothie so that I can push down any solids that remain floating on top.
Pour more liquid in through the top cap if needed while blending. I like to leave room in the blender jar to pack in more greens at the very end.
If desired, remove the lid and add as many greens as desired. Replace the lid and re-blend.
Enjoy and store any leftovers in a thermos in the fridge.

Layered in the blender jar. The bottom layer looks like it is just liquid, but there are some pear chunks in there too. (I like to start with a soft ingredient.)

When blended, it looks like this:

A 64-ounce Vitamix blender jar makes a LOT of smoothie. I like to store the extra in my 40-ounce thermos. I put it in the fridge and it keeps a day or two.

To make a simpler version of this green smoothie in a regular blender, follow this link:

Simple Green Smoothie

Feb 5, 2013 By Brenda in Breakfast, Drinks & Beverages, Recipes, Vegetables No Comments Tags: blender smoothie, blendtec, chard, CSA recipes, CSA vegetables, fruit smoothie, green smoothie, greens, healthy food, healthy smoothie, kale, Minnesota food, nutrient density, protein smoothie, smoothie recipe, spinach, vitamix

Ingredients:

1 ½ - 2 ½ cups orange juice
Banana, ½ to 2 whole bananas
Mango, ½ of a 10 oz bag of frozen chunks or 1 fresh mango, peeled and cut into chunks
Greens: spinach, kale, chard, romaine, red lettuce — whatever kind you have or you like. Use as little or as much as you like. Remove any thick center ribs.

Optional ingredients:

Green tea (to use less orange juice, add antioxidents & cut down on calories. Water works too.)
Flax seed oil (about 2 tsp to 1 Tbsp)
Whey protein powder, 1 scoop (I like the organic, unflavored variety)
Sweet potato or winter squash puree (butternut, acorn or kabocha squash or use sweet potato puree), about ½ cup of puree

Directions:

Put the banana and mango in the blender jar and pour orange juice on top. If using the protein powder, flax oil and/or pureed sweet potato/squash add these in as well. If you’d like, replace some of the orange juice with green tea.
Blend the ingredients together.
Add in as much of the greens as you’d like. Push down into the blended liquid with a fork and blend again until smooth.
Enjoy & store any extra in a thermos in the fridge.

Note: I have one child who doesn’t like his smoothie “green”. So I stop after step #2 and pour him a glass. While I lament his lack of willingness to drink his greens, it does make more room in the blender jar to add more greens for the rest of the family: Smoothie 106

The whey protein powder is optional. When I am using the smoothie as my meal or during my tennis workout I like the added protein. (A few tablespoons of greek yogurt will also give you a boost of protein.) You may need to try a few brands until you are sure you like the taste. Some brands have a strong “cow” flavor and others have almost no flavor at all. It is just a matter of what you prefer in terms of taste. I like the NOW Sports organic brand.

Normally I would use kale from my CSA share or from my own garden. But it is February in Minnesota (& what I had in the freezer is gone), so I am buying it at the co-op during the winter months.

I puree squash and sweet potato (with a little coconut oil and orange juice) and freeze it in 2 cup containers. Then I take the containers out of the freezer one-by-one to keep it in the fridge ready for use.

Here is what goes into my basic smoothie:

For a “super-charged” green smoothie, follow this link:

Super-Charged Green Smoothie (for the Vitamix)

Simple Roasted Root Vegetables

Jan 27, 2013 By Brenda in Recipes, Salads & Side Dishes, Vegetables No Comments Tags: autumn, beauty heart radishes, carrots, celeriac, csa, CSA recipes, fall, garden recipes, garlic, kabocha squash, midwest produce, Minnesota food, Minnesota recipes, onions, organic produce, organic recipes, organice, parsnips, radish, recipes, roasted vegetables, root vegetables, simple roasting, simply roasted, sunchokes, sweet potatoes, thyme, turnips, vegetables, veggies

Sometimes I begin to drown in vegetables, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This happened a few days ago when we received our extended season CSA share from a local farm. I thought it was a good idea to add-on 20 lbs of carrots in addition to the large box of veggies. It was the last chance of the season for those delicious, sweet organic carrots. It’s at times like these that I really miss the root cellar we had in our basement when we lived in New Hampshire. (How lucky was that?)

So today I washed, peeled and cubed a little bit of everything: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, kabocha squash, carrots, onions, garlic, beauty heart radish, celeriac, parsnips, sunchokes and gold turnips. I spread them out on parchment paper on two cookie trays and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Then I added some branches of thyme on top and drizzled with a good amount of olive oil. (Although in hindsight, I could have used coconut oil which would have been delicious.) I roasted them for about 55 – 60 minutes at 375 degrees. Being lazy I only stirred once after about 40 minutes. (I really like the slightly blackened bottoms that form on the bottom side.)

After enjoying a warm plateful of the veggies for lunch I filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with the remaining veggies. I could put them in the fridge and enjoy them in any number of ways through the week. But the fridge is full of other things that need more immediate attention. So I will pop that bag into the freezer and pull it out to make pureed roasted veggie soup with the brand new Vitamix is on its way. (More on that machine in future posts!)

So here is the formal “recipe” for what I described above:

Simple Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients:

Whatever combination root vegetables you like: potatoes, sweet potatoes, kabocha squash, carrots, onions, garlic, radish, celeriac, parsnips, sunchokes, turnips, etc. (About 8 cups of cubed veggies makes about 2 cookie sheets of vegetables.)
Fresh herbs (optional, but good). I used thyme.
Oil (I recommend olive oil or coconut oil) to drizzle over the vegetables.
Salt & pepper to taste.

Directions:

Wash, peel (if needed) and cube vegetables into chunks.
Spread your vegetables onto two parchment lined cookie trays.
Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Add whatever herb (or herbs) you are using on top.
Drizzle oil over the top. (Use whatever amount you would like. I used maybe 3 Tablespoons per cookie sheet.)
Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 – 60 minutes. The time needed will depend on how big or small your vegetable cubes are. Just check every 10 minutes or so toward the end of the time. Stir once after 30 – 40 minutes.

Additional Notes:

If you have white vegetables (such as potatoes, sunchokes or celeriac) you may want to throw them into a bowl of water with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to soak while you chop. This way they won’t start to discolor.
While I roasted the vegetables I also filled my slow cooker with cleanly scrubbed sweet potatoes and just a little bit of hot water. (I had a LOT of sweet potatoes.) Once they were soft I let them cool, put them into a gallon ziploc and threw them into the freezer. I hope they will work nicely in smoothies and soups. With the Vitamix I’m hoping the skins won’t even need to come off.
If you think of creative ways to use the roasted veggies, please let me know!

Stuffed Collard Greens, Two Ways (My own riff on Hungarian Cabbage Rolls)

Jan 5, 2013 By Brenda in Main Dishes, Recipes No Comments Tags: cabbage rolls, carrots, Collard Rolls, CSA produce, CSA recipes, grass fed beef, ground bison recipes, healthy food, hungarian cabbage rolls, local food, millet, Minnesota food, mushrooms, parsnips, Quinoa, Stuffed Collard Greens, whole grain recipes

A friend recently posted a picture on Facebook of a dish that she was made from Robin Robertson’s book Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker. The recipe was Stuffed Collard Rolls, and the filling had black-eyed peas with rice and other goodness. My friend’s picture looked so good that I became preoccupied with creating my own stuffing to use with collard greens. I couldn’t come up with just one — in the end I created two separate fillings: one is similar to the traditional Hungarian cabbage roll and bison, millet & rice; and the other is a vegan filling which combines quinoa, chickpeas, mushrooms, carrots and parsnips.

To put this dish together requires four basic steps:

Prepare the filling (or fillings) of your choice;
Prepare a quick tomato sauce to pour over (and under) the rolls;
Prepare the collard leaves by blanching and trimming; and
Fill and bake the rolls.

This is a great dish to make ahead of time. You can prepare the fillings (and sauce) a day ahead of time. If you like you can prepare and stuff the collard greens too, and have the complete dish ready to pop in the oven about 45 – 50 minutes before you’d like to eat.

Step One. Prepare the filling.

I’ve posted two filling recipes (a meat-based one HERE and a vegan one HERE), but you can also create your own. There are endless possibilities. I’ll bet there are a lot of leftovers in my fridge that could be “repurposed” to make an amazing meal.

Step Two. Prepare a Quick Tomato Sauce.

Stir the following together in a large bowl & set aside for later:

(1) 14 oz. can organic diced tomatoes
(1) 26 or 28 oz.container crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
1 Tbsp organic sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar (I used white wine vinegar, but plain white vinegar is great too)
¼ – ½ tsp. salt (optional)

Step Three. Prepare the Collard Leaves for stuffing.

Collards are traditionally cooked for a very long time. They lose their bright green gorgeous looks (& probably a lot of their nutritional value) when that happens. To prepare the collards all you need to do is lightly wash and then blanch them in boiling water for 6 minutes. (They will be going into the oven shortly, and will cook some more then.)

Remove the collards from the boiling water and immediately “shock” them by running them under cold water so that they stop cooking and remain bright green.

Gently stack the blanched greens in a pile and one by one cut the thickest part of each stem away from the leaf. Handle them gently so that they don’t rip. Try to keep them as whole as possible.

Step Four. Fill and bake the rolls.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by putting a thin layer of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking pan you will use. Then begin filling the rolls and placing them in the pan one by one.

For each roll, use about 3 large spoonfuls of filling.

Fold the top over the filling, and then fold each side over.

Roll over. You can roll it more than once, or you can trim away any excess collard at the bottom of the leaf.

When you have used all of your collard leaves spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the rolls, cover the baking dish and put into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. (It will take a little longer if you start with cold ingredients.)

Additional ideas:

If you think that filling and rolling each collard leaf is too time consuming, you could chop the collard leaves into ribbons. Increase the blanching time to 8 minutes. Then combine the filling, tomato sauce and blanched collards. Heat and enjoy.
Instead of a tomato & vinegar sauce, another sauce can be created to match the filling. (For instance, the millet and chickpea filled collard leaves might go nicely with a roasted red pepper sauce.)

Quinoa with Chickpeas & Veggies (A vegan filling for Stuffed Collard Greens)

Jan 5, 2013 By Brenda in Main Dishes, Recipes No Comments Tags: cabbage rolls, carrots, chickpeas, collard greens, CSA recipes, CSA veggies, healthy food, healthy recipes, hungarian cabbage rolls, local food, mushrooms, parsnips, Quinoa, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

This recipe is for a filling to go inside Stuffed Collard Greens, but it is good on its own too. This filling is vegan, and can be changed up in any number of ways. You can try another grain, use beans instead of chickpeas, or use a different combination of vegetables. The combination I’ve created was based largely on the veggies I received in my latest CSA vegetable share box. I created a second filling with bison, millet and rice. You can find that post HERE.

[If you would like to skip right to the recipe scroll down past the pictures.]

Lightly wash & wipe mushrooms dry. Chop them, and put them in a dry (yes, dry) sauté pan with the heat on low. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Wait for them to begin to sweat. Be patient.

Add 1 Tbsp coconut oil to the mushrooms and sprinkle in 1 minced garlic clove. Stir and continue to sauté for about a minute.

Using a spatula take the mushrooms and garlic out of the pan, leaving the coconut oil behind. Set the mushrooms aside.

Add the diced carrots and parsnips to the coconut oil. Stir and sauté for a minute or two. Add a tablespoon or two of water, cover the pan and turn the heat up. Let them steam for a few more minutes. You want them to softenen without being mushy.

Using the spatula take the carrots and parsnips out of the pan and set aside with the mushrooms.

If necessary, add a little canola or extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Then add the chopped onion to the pan. Let it sauté for a few minutes. Add the remaining garlic clove and continue to sauté one more minute. Have the washed and drained quinoa ready to add to the pan.

Add the quinoa and stir to dry and toast the quinoa. When it begins to darken in color add the 2 cups water to the pan and bring to a rolling boil.

Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Let the quinoa cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pan sit untouched for another 5 minutes. Don’t peak!

Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa. Add the chickpeas (garbanzo beans), mushrooms, carrots and parsnips to the quinoa. Stir the mixture together and add salt if needed.

This filling can be eaten on its own as a simple meal. You can add to it to suit your own tastes and based on what is hanging around in your fridge. I would some pinto or cannellini beans and add any type of chopped greens. (If you come up with a good combination let me know what it was!)

Quinoa with Chickpeas & Veggies (A vegan filling for Stuffed Collard Greens)

Ingredients:

2 cups baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

2 clove garlic, minced (split pile into two parts)

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 large (or 2 small) carrots, cut into a small dice

1 large (or 2 small) parsnips, cut into a small dice (optional)

1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup quinoa (well rinsed & drained)

2 cups water

½ tsp salt

Instructions:

Lightly wash & wipe mushrooms dry. Chop them, and put them in a dry (yes, dry) sauté pan. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Wait for them to begin to sweat.
Add 1 Tbsp coconut oil to the mushrooms and sprinkle in 1 minced garlic clove. Stir and continue to sauté for about a minute.
Using a spatula take the mushrooms and garlic out of the pan, leaving the coconut oil behind. Set the mushrooms aside.
Add the diced carrots and parsnips to the coconut oil. Stir and sauté for a minute or two. Add a tablespoon or two of water, cover the pan and turn the heat up. Let them steam for a few more minutes. You want them to soften without being mushy.
Using the spatula take the carrots and parsnips out of the pan and set aside with the mushrooms.
If necessary, add a little extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Then add the chopped onion to the pan. Let it sauté for a few minutes. Add the remaining garlic clove and continue to sauté one more minute. Have the washed and drained quinoa ready to add to the pan.
Add the quinoa and stir to dry and toast the quinoa. When it begins to darken in color add the 2 cups water to the pan and bring to a rolling boil.
Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Let the quinoa cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pan sit untouched for another 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa. Add the chickpeas (garbanzo beans), mushrooms, carrots and parsnips to the quinoa.
Stir the mixture together and add salt if needed.
To use this filling to make Stuffed Collard Rolls, click HERE to continue.

Bison, Rice & Millet (A filling for Stuffed Collard Greens)

Jan 5, 2013 By Brenda in Main Dishes No Comments Tags: cabbage rolls, collard greens, comfort food, grass fed beef, ground bison, healthy food, local bison, local food, local meat, millet, Minnesota, Minnesota food, organic

This recipe is for a filling to go inside Stuffed Collard Greens, but it is good on its own too. This filling is quite similar towhat you would find inside a traditional Hungarian cabbage roll. However I added nutritional value by using ground bison and added millet to the rice. If you would like to make a vegan/vegetarian filling, you can find a recipe for that HERE.

[If you would like to skip right to the recipe scroll down past the pictures.]

My family is a big fan of local grass fed beef and bison. I usually buy our bison in bulk from a local farm and our beef comes from a CSA membership that I pick up every other month (True Cost Farm). In our household I am always trying to get my kids to eat fewer simple carbohydrates and move toward complex carbohydrates. They are lovers of whole grain breads, but for some reason they cling to their love of jasmine rice. Whenever I make brown rice I am the only one who eats it. But I can “sneak” millet (or quinoa) into their jasmine rice and they are o.k. with that, as long as it still looks and tastes like white rice! I can use up to 1/3 millet and 2/3 jasmine rice. When the ratio is any higher they will surely complain.

Start by making a batch of rice, and replace a portion of the rice with some millet or quinoa. (If you use quinoa be sure to wash/rinse it and drain it in a fine mesh strainer before adding it to the rice, otherwise there can be a bitter after taste.) I usually cook a larger amount in the beginning of the week to have on hand the rest of the week. I use a rice cooker, but if you want to make it on the stove top and would like some guidance, theKitchn blog has a good post on cooking rice. While your rice is cooking you can prepare the rest of the filling ingredients.

Wash, dry & chop a big handful of parsley and set aside.

Chop a small onion and 1 large clove garlic.

Saute the onion with a little oil over a low flame for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.

Add the ground bison or beef and turn the heat up. Brown the meat. Season with some salt and pepper.

Add the rice and parsley to the cooked bison and stir together. Taste and adjust the salt & pepper if needed.

This filling can be eaten on its own as a simple meal. You can add to it to suit your own tastes and based on what is hanging around in your fridge. Some possibilities: chopped kale or spinach, some carrot and/or celery, or mushrooms.

I like to take whatever filling is leftover after I fill the collard leaves and mix it together with any leftover tomato sauce. I throw it in the freezer for later if there are a lot of collard rolls to be consumed.

Bison, Rice & Millet (A filling for Stuffed Collard Greens)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice & millet blend

1 lb ground bison or grass fed beef

1 small onion

1 large (or 2 small) clove garlic

1 large handful of parsley, chopped

Instructions:

If you don’t have the cooked rice & millet blend on hand, prepare and set aside.
Wash, dry & chop a big handful of parsley and set aside.
Chop a small onion and 1 large clove garlic.
Saute the onion with a little oil over a low flame for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
Add the ground bison or beef and turn the heat up. Brown the meat. Season with some salt and pepper.
Add the rice and parsley to the cooked bison and stir together. Taste and adjust the salt & pepper if needed.
To use this filling to make Stuffed Collard Rolls, click HERE to continue.

Saute of Kale, Brussels Sprouts and Carrot

Nov 27, 2012 By Brenda in Recipes, Vegetables No Comments Tags: autumn vegetables, brussel sprouts, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, CSA recipes, CSA vegetables, fall vegetables, kale, kale recipes, leftovers, sausage, saute, sauteed kale, sauteed vegetables, seward co-op, spinach, Thanksgiving leftovers, Thanksgiving recipes, vegetable recipes, vegetables, what to do with kale, wok

Sometimes good food happens by accident. This dish happened when I sautéed together a number of odds and ends that I happened to have on hand. Forget that it is ridiculously healthy, it looks beautiful and tastes good.

Let me start by saying the sausage in this dish is not the main ingredient, rather a flavor enhancer. Think of it as a “bonus ingredient”. I often will cook up a few sausages (by sautéing them until brown, adding water to the pan and covering with a lid to steam until done) and then chop them up and throw them into small freezer containers to quick use in some future creation such as fried rice or a vegetable saute. One of the local food co-ops where I am a member makes a large variety of wonderful sausages, and so I just play with different flavors until I find one I especially like. In this dish I used one that was an “Armenian sausage”. Because the flavor is so rich a little sausage can go a long way to give a dish a nice flavor.

I had a bit of pine nuts on hand, but you could use whatever you have (walnuts? cashews?) or leave them out. I also had some dried cranberries on hand. I think golden raisins would have been wonderful too, but I happened to have cranberries.

Then I dug into my vegetable drawer and pulled out a shallot, some garlic, a handful of brussels sprouts, some leftover napa cabbage, a carrot and some kale. I’m sure you could come up with your own flavor profile based on what you happen to have in your pantry and vegetable drawer, just have fun with it!

When I put the dish together and the kale had just begun to wilt I finished the dish with a kick of acid (I had white wine vinegar), just a sprinkle of something sweet (I used organic sugar), and some sea salt. I think those three little additions at the end made the whole dish taste a bit more complex and well rounded.

[If you want to skip to the recipe scroll down past the pictures]

Begin by chopping your garlic and shallot and set them aside. Next lightly toasting some pine nuts in a heavy bottomed wok or saute pan. When they are lightly browned set them aside.

Next wash and dry your brussels sprouts, and thinly slice them. If you are using cabbage thinly slice it as well and set aside with the brussels sprouts.

Next thinly slice your carrot and set it aside.

Add the sausage and dried fruit to the carrots.

Have the kale wash, dried and ready to go.

Also, set aside your “finishing ingredients,” the vinegar, sugar and salt.

Now you can begin the saute. With the heat on low add a little olive oil to the pan. Saute the shallot and garlic for a minute or two. Then add the carrots, sausage and dried fruit. Saute another few minutes.

Now add in the brussels sprouts and the cabbage. Saute another few minutes.

Turn the heat to high. Add the kale to the pan along with a small amount of water, just enough to create some steam. Cover the pan with a lid and let it steam for about a minute. The kale should just be starting to wilt.

Take the lid off and add your finishing ingredients: a splash of vinegar, a sprinkle of sugar, and a little sea salt. Taste and add more vinegar or salt if needed.

I like to have this dish with quinoa. A blog that I love, theKitchn, can guide you to make perfectly fluffy quinoa. You can find that post here.

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1 shallot (or a tiny bit of onion)

¼ cup pine nuts (optional)

1 handful dried cherries, cranberries or raisins

1 leftover sausage link (cooked) – diced into small squares (or a bit of whatever leftover bits of meat you have lying around that sound good)

1 small carrot (or ½ of a large carrot), thinly sliced

5 – 6 brussels sprouts thinly sliced &/or about one cup of thinly sliced cabbage

3 good handfuls of chopped kale, spinach or other greens (2 – 4 cups depending on how much you have to use).

Finish with: a splash or two of vinegar (whatever type you like), a small sprinkle of sugar and a bit of salt

Instructions:

Lightly toast the pine nuts in the bottom of a dry sauté pan and then set aside.
Add a little olive oil to the pan and turn to low. Lightly sauté the shallot and garlic for 2 minutes. Add in the dried fruit and diced sausage for another minute or two.
Add the sliced carrot and brussels sprouts and stir for two more minutes.
Finally turn the heat to high and add the kale to the pan and just a small amount of water to create some steam. Cover the pan for about a minute. (You want to just begin to wilt the kale, not overcook it. It should be bright green.)
Take lid off and add in a splash of vinegar, sprinkle with a little sugar and top with a small amount of salt. Give it a good stir and taste. Add more vinegar if needed.
Toss pine nuts on top and enjoy with some fluffy quinoa on the side. (Read about a good method for making fluffy quinoa here.)

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