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Fagioli Con Limone – Amazing Green Beans

green beans in egg lemon sauce

We got summer’s first green beans in our CSA share last week; we tend to get a lot of green beans (and purple beans and yellow beans) in our share each season.  Sadly, wasting them – meaning, letting them rot in the fridge – inevitably happens because we get so, so many each summer.  This year, I’m determined to not waste any.

There are some simple and delicious ways out there to cook green beans: sautéing them with garlic, ginger, and a little naturally fermented soy sauce, topped with Sriracha; incorporating them into omelet; and simply eating them raw in salads.

But I have one way to cook them that makes them really special; it elevates the simple green bean to something truly amazing.

boiling beans

I discovered this method several years ago, and rediscovered it while perusing my cookbooks last week.  After making it mid-week, I was reminded why I love this dish – it holds a wonderful combination of summery, earthy green flavors lent by the beans in a silky lemony egg sauce, almost like they are in a warm lemony aioli.  The green beans also take on my favorite texture – fork tender. It’s really easy to make, too.  And it’s full of good fat and protein from the pastured eggs and butter.

beans and lemon egg mixture

I find it’s easy to down a half pound of beans when cooked like this.  In fact, I had to restrain myself from eating them all the other night, so that I could save some for lunch the next day. They were terrific as leftovers.

I’ll be making this all summer, I believe.  I doubt there will be any wasted green beans, too!

Fagioli Con Limone
from The Vegetarian Table: Italy

1/2 pound string beans, ends trimmed, preferably organic
2 tsp kosher salt or coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tbs unsalted butter (I used raw butter)
2 small eggs, preferably pastured
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (not from a bottle)
grated zest of 1/2 small lemon
freshly milled black pepper

In a saucepan bring enough water to cover the beans generously to a rolling boil. Add the beans and 2 tsp salt. Cook until tender, 6-7 minutes, then drain well.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the drained beans to the butter, toss to coat, and cover the pan to keep them hot. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and pepper to taste. Add the egg mixture to the hot beans and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. To prevent the eggs from curdling, keep the pot over the lowest possible heat, or place a flame tamer over the burner. As soon as the sauce thickens, remove the pot from the flame.

Serve hot.

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Fresh Pea Salad

in the bowl

Last week I was fortunate enough to have shelling peas in my CSA share. Usually we get sugar snaps or snow peas in a season, but hadn’t gotten shelling peas before.  I really wanted to find a recipe that highlighted the fresh pea flavor.

peas peas peas

It was also hot last week, so I wanted to find something that involved minimal cooking.

I found this pea salad recipe on the 101 Cookbooks site, which is a great source of recipes with a true vegetable focus.  Heidi Swanson, the site owner, is from the SF Bay Area, so a lot of her recipes remind me of home. Anyway, I found the date-mint combination in the dressing to be quite intriguing, and since I have access to amazing medjool dates here in town, that was a no-brainer to make it.  The mint is refreshing, and I love how the lemon and chile give it a pleasant kick.

date mint lemon spicy dressing

Beware, though – aside from the pepitas, this recipe has virtually no protein, nor is there much fat in it.  Perhaps a little olive oil could be added, but I think even that might weigh things down.  So, this dish is best paired with something containing plenty of good fat, like pastured eggs, a selection of raw cheeses, or perhaps even a grass-fed burger!

pepitas and peas

It is a delicious salad.  So refreshing and a wonderful combination of flavors.  It also allowed me to use up some of my lettuce, always a challenge for a CSA member this time of year.

salad put together

This salad makes a lot, and I ate it for three days, almost finishing it off.  It’s a wonderful salad to share with friends and loved ones.

Fresh Pea Salad
From 101 Cookbooks

I used a hand blender and it worked great! As you add more water to the dressing, it definitely gets easier to grind up.

1 cup fresh mint leaves (just leaves, no stems)
2 dried dates, pitted
1/2 of a small serrano chile, stem removed (half a jalapeño also works)
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and zest from that lemon

1 1/2 cups fresh peas
1 small head of romaine lettuce, cut into shreds
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
fine grain sea salt

To make the mint-date dressing, puree the mint, dates, chiles and lemon juice and zest using a food processor or hand blender. Blend until uniform in texture. Thin it out by adding a tablespoon of water at a time until it is a consistency that you can drizzle. Taste and adjust for lemon and spiciness.

When you go to cook the peas, the key is not overcooking them. Fill a big bowl with ice water and set aside. Add some salt (as you would pasta water) and the peas. Bring six cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. You are just going to boil the peas for a very short time. Don’t leave the stove. Somewhere between ten and twenty seconds.You want them just barely tender, so they still pop in your – mouth. Quickly drain and dunk the peas in the bowl of ice water.

Just before serving gently toss the peas, lettuce, and pumpkin seeds with about half of the dressing and a couple pinches of salt. Taste and add more dressing if you like. Finish with a pinch or two of your favorite finishing salt (I like fleur de sel).

Serves 2 – 4

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Wild Raspberry Sprouted Wheat Muffins

individual muffin

I love to bake, and have a long history of being a baker. My mom’s side of the family is known for its tasty cookies and brownies, and I grew up with homemade puddings, cakes and cookies at home, many of them made by me. I developed quite the sweet tooth as a result.

When I began to eat traditional, unrefined foods, I started to analyze my connection to sugar – I realized that it was unhealthy and dysfunctional, and I came to the conclusion that I had to get the sugar out.   I went through a handful of cold turkey periods, and now I’ve found ways to manage my sugar cravings that work for me.  It also helped that after enough times of eating sugary sweets and having my GI tract revolt, I got the message my body was sending, loud and clear.

These days I find that I just have less of a sweet tooth, and that has happened naturally as I’ve moved toward this new way of eating. Increasing my intake saturated fats, which deters carb and sugar cravings, no doubt has contributed to this happy development.

As a result of cutting out refined sugar, most things taste a little sweet, therefore conventional sweets are often cloying to me.  When I do make sweet things at home, I use unrefined sweeteners – raw honey, maple syrup, sucanat/rapadura.  They have less of a negative effect on my GI-tract.  That being said, sweets are really a treat at this point, and I don’t eat sweet things regularly anymore.

I’ve been experimenting with using sprouted wheat flour, too.  It’s been fun working with it!  I will use it as much as I can – it digests as a vegetable, which is a kind thing to do to my body.

wild raspberries

When I went to go pick up milk this weekend, there were containers of wild raspberries for sale!  I love raspberries so I bought a container.  Man, were they ever good.  I ate a bunch yesterday, and knowing they are highly perishable, I wanted to do something with them that involved cooking.  Muffins seemed like a good choice.

wild raspberry muffin batter collage

So, I went hunting for a recipe for sprouted flour muffins and came across a recipe from Wardeh – it served my purposes perfectly!  Happily, I had everything I needed on hand – plus, since it’s summer, the coconut oil is liquid and the extra step of melting it is unnecessary.

It’s a very easy recipe to follow, too – wet ingredients mixed, then dry, add together and stir in the fruit. I love low-key recipes like this.

batter in muffin tins

The muffins came out beautifully – gorgeous to look at and delicious.  Not very sweet, which was what I expected, and nice and moist.  I’ll likely eat a few, then freeze some of them to have for later, too.  I look forward to experimenting with the basic recipe and adding all sorts of tasty things to it.

muffins baked

Wild Raspberry Sprouted Wheat Muffins
Based on the basic sprouted muffin recipe from GNOWFLGLINS

These muffins contain all sorts of good, healthful things – pastured eggs, unrefined sweetener, sprouted flour, and coconut oil.  These muffins are tasty and great for you!

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup raw milk (if you can’t get raw milk, whole milk from grass fed cows would be the best option)
2 local, pastured eggs
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice or Sucanat or other solid natural sweetener (optional: powder in food processor if coarse – I didn’t do that)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup virgin, unrefined coconut oil (melted if solid at room temperature)

2-1/4 cups sprouted spelt or wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1.5 cups wild raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and sweetener. Whisk well. While whisking, add coconut oil.

Combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a separate bowl and fluff with a fork. Add to wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

Add wild raspberries to incorporate.

Fill oiled muffin tin, or paper-lined muffin tin, with the batter to a generous three-quarters full each.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and muffins are gently browned.

Take out of oven and transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when fully cooled.  They can also be stored in the freezer.

Makes ~1 dozen muffins

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Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens

balsamic garbanzos mustard greens

I’m a big fan of leafy greens – kale, chard, collards. I just love them! However, I’ve had a hard time warming up to mustard greens – they are often just too peppery-spicy for me, and eating a whole plate of them can be a challenge.  We got mustard greens in this week’s CSA share, so I wanted to find a way to prepare them in a tasty way.

mustard greens

While searching the internet, I came across a recipe from a most unlikely source: the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen website. While I am neither a vegan nor a fan of fat free cooking, the idea of ameliorating the peppery mustard greens with balsamic vinegar was appealing. And I love chickpeas. I decided to see what I could do to take it out of the “fat free vegan” realm and make the dish healthier and more nourishing.

greens onions garlic

Turns out it was pretty easy! I replaced the vegetable broth with pastured chicken broth I had made earlier in the spring, added some olive oil, and made sure to use naturally fermented soy sauce. I also used coconut sugar in place of refined sugar, or agave (which I don’t use or trust).

The balsamic vinegar really does help out with the peppery-ness of the mustard greens.  The garbanzos are sweet and mild, and the sauce was really yummy -tangy and a little sweet. The whole combination is really delicious.  I would make this again for sure.

It was also great the day after – I took it for lunch topped with a couple of fried eggs.  It was so tasty!

Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens
Adapted from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces mustard greens
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons chicken broth, preferably home made
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon naturally fermented soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon coconut sugar
1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Remove any large stems from the greens and discard. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.

In a large skillet or wok, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion until it softens, 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Add the mustard greens, 2 tablespoons of broth, and cook, stirring, until greens are wilted but still bright green, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the salt, if using. Remove greens and onions from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish, leaving any liquid in pan.

Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and coconut sugar to the liquid in the pan (if there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons of broth). Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half. Spoon the chickpeas over the greens and drizzle the sauce over all. Finish by drizzling another tablespoon or so of olive oil over the dish.

Serve warm, with additional balsamic vinegar at the table.

Servings: 2

This post is participating in Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade, and the Two for Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by A Moderate Life.

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The Best Chicken Salad

chicken salad on csa lettuce

Earlier this spring, I rediscovered chicken salad; I’m not actually sure why I had forgotten about it.  I used to love chicken salad sandwiches I’d eat from the deli while at grad school (the bread was always a little stale), but I wonder now what exactly was in those sandwiches…

I’ve made this particular chicken salad a half dozen times since May already.  It is just so good.  The list of ingredients isn’t extensive, which is probably why it works so well for my taste.  I’ve made a few adjustments, including making the mayonnaise from scratch.

mayo

I used the mayonnaise recipe from Nourishing Traditions and I love it!  I didn’t have any whey handy, so this mayo will only last a couple of weeks; I have plans to make lacto-fermented mayo soon.  I used a combination of extra virgin olive oil and expeller pressed organic sunflower oil, which are much better fats than the canola and soybean oil you’ll often find in commercial mayo.  I once made mayonnaise with all olive oil and didn’t really like it – it was too intense for me and didn’t taste much like mayo.

The mayo is also a wonderful yellow color, thanks to the excellent pastured eggs I have access to.

One of the predominate flavors in this chicken salad is tarragon, an herb I never paid much attention to.  I was never a real fan of it, but since I’ve been making this salad, I’ve become its champion.  I got a beautiful bunch of it in the first week’s CSA share, and was happy to use it in the chicken salad.  In fact, I pumped up the amount of tarragon, I love it so much.

I also switched out the original cranberries for apples.  I think the apples are so perfect in this salad, giving a level of sweetness that I think is absolutely delicious.  Apples and walnuts are a classic pairing, too.

topped with mayo

Chicken breasts work well in this salad (I poach them) but really any leftover chicken will do, be it roasted, grilled, or whatever.

chicken salad

Apple-Walnut Chicken Salad
Adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it quite loosely from Gourmet

4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 3/4 lb), pastured if possible
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 celery rib, diced into small bits (1 cup)
2 or more tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1 apple, cored and cubed (no need to peel it)
2/3 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade is best)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toss together all ingredients in a large bowl until combined well.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This post is participating in Fight Back Friday hosted by Food Renegade.

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Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters

plated

[This post is based upon a post I wrote for the Hellgate CSA blog earlier this week.]

So, our CSA started up this week – I am so happy about this!  We have six months of beautiful, local, organic produce ahead of us, and I can’t wait to see what the season will bring.

This week I was intrigued by the inclusion of jerusalem artichokes in our initial season share (I thought for sure we’d get radishes!). I didn’t want to eat them raw, nor did I want to roast them, so I searched the internet for something interesting and tasty-sounding. I found that in these jerusalem artichoke fritters, which I prepared Tuesday night.

in the pan

I loved them! The combination of the jerusalem artichokes, carrots, and shallots is lovely, and the chive-lime sour cream is wonderful – this is some seriously good sauce. These fritters are easy to put together and take only about a half hour, start to finish, to make.

cooked fritters

I was also happy to be able to use some of my Cayuga Organics cornmeal in them as well! Sprouted wheat flour worked perfectly in place of conventional white flour, so I was pleased by this adjustment.

Jerusalem Artichoke Fritters
Lightly adapted from the New York Times

While grating them, the jerusalem artichokes oxidize quickly, so don’t be alarmed by dark coloring that appears after grating.

1/2 pound jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed
1 carrot, peeled
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sprouted wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Fresh black pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
2 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped chives
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Oil for frying (coconut oil would be wonderful)

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Grate Jerusalem artichokes and carrot into a mixing bowl. Add shallots. Stir together cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder, and stir in, mixing well. Season with pepper and hot sauce to taste. Add eggs, and mix thoroughly.

Combine chives, sour cream and lime juice, and set aside.

Pour oil into a large skillet, so that it just covers the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until sizzling. Drop mixture in by tablespoons, flattening slightly. Fry until crisp and golden brown, turning once. Transfer to oven on a baking sheet lined with paper towel while frying more. Serve with sour cream mixture.

Yield: 4 servings.

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Spinach by Yotam Ottolenghi

ottolenghi spinach

I first came across the name “Ottolenghi” on the 101 Cookbooks site, where Heidi featured a recipe from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.  The recipe consists primarily of Bhutanese red rice and quinoa, along with aromatics, pistachios, dried apricots, and arugula.  I remember making and really enjoying this dish, especially entranced with the red rice, which was unusual to me but so delicious.  FYI, “Ottolenghi” is the last name of Yotam Ottolenghi, who with Sami Tamimi are behind Ottolenghi, a very popular food shop and catering company in London, UK.

Last month, I discovered another Ottolenghi recipe that looked fantastic.  It’s very simple – spinach, pine nuts, ricotta, and some aromatics and spices.  I was particularly intrigued by the use of sumac, which I’ve only come across in middle eastern restaurants here in town (most notably at Kabab Cafe).

Sumac spice, not to be confused with the more toxic sumac like poison ivy, is a dark red spice derived from a wild bush in the Mediterranean.  The spice has as tart, lemony flavor.  It’s really delicious, and since I have so much of it left over, I look forward to trying other dishes that require it.

So, this lovely spinach dish.  I thought it was very good, really tasty, and easy to make; and I’d make it again in an instant.  I loved the use of fresh, mild cheese alongside the tart sumac, plus the cheese and nuts boost the protein content. I was happy to be able to take advantage of buying fresh, locally made ricotta at my neighborhood salumeria.  This cheese is so fresh and clean tasting, it’s a joy to use.  This dish is also good the next day.

You can find the recipe for Spinach with Sumac, Pine Nuts, and Fresh Cheese over on Design Sponge.