S'Mores Bars!

Need a sweet treat in this super hot weather? Oh yeah! You don't need to bake or heat up your grill or even your stove to make this amazing treat.  All you need are the ingredients, a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, a microwave (or a stove if you like heating up your house) and a 13x9 baking pan.  OH YES.

S'Mores Bars!

The ingredients: Almost a box (about 8 cups) of "graham squares," 1.5 cups chocolate chips, a container of  Ricemellow Cream (rice based, vegan marshmallow spread), 5 T. butter or margarine (I used EB), 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rice syrup or corn syrup (spray your measuring cup with canola oil first so it slides right out!) and a small pinch of salt (1/8 to 1/4 tsp).

Add the chocolate chips, butter, and rice syrup to a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup.  Microwave on high for a minute at a time, stirring in between, until melted.  Then add the whole container of Ricemellow Cream.  Microwave again for about a minute and stir to incorporate.

Oh yeah!

Now, simply pour your cereal into a large bowl (you can also add mini marshmallows or extra chocolate chips to the bowl, about 1/2 to 1 cup is what I would recommend).  Pour the melted chocolate marshmallow mixture over the cereal, stir well to coat all the cereal, and pour it into a buttered 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  

Cover her and put her in the fridge for a while to firm up.  Cut into bars as needed.  

You can also store the bars, wrapped individually in foil, in the freezer for up to a year.  They are totally fine after a year (trust me!).  

Enjoy!!

The Confessional: Box #5 and Spaghetti Cakes

This is totally how I feel right now.

I had a serious problem making it through my produce box this week, and another box is coming tomorrow (a day early because the 4th of July falls on Wednesday, my regular pick up day!).  Uh oh.

Guys, I am really in trouble.  Here was my CSA box from Wed.6/27/12 (Box #5):

Fresh Onions, Swiss chard, Collards, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Beets w/ greens, Basil (yes!) and of course, Red Lettuce.  We ate the onions, zucchini, beets, basil and maybe half a head of lettuce.

I'm just not good at dealing with this lettuce. I still had I think 2-3 heads left from last week...I'm great at arugula or baby spinach which can all be used multiple ways: raw, cooked, in pastas, on pizza, in veggie burgers, etc. but this red lettuce is really stumping me.  Besides in salads and on sandwiches, I'm at a loss.  We don't eat a lot of straight-up salads around here, so it's really been tough.  

 Onions (any allium, really) are used up easily in my house.

  

Swiss Chard (an issue now since my own is up!), collards, zucchini (only two this time) and basil.

OK, so, now, to be totally honest, here is what I have left (including stuff from past weeks!)

Full disclosure: the bag behind is Swiss Chard + Beet Greens (we've gotten both of these for 4 weeks in a row, I think, so we are really a little weary of them at this point), cabbage from week #3 (still fine, I just haven't gotten around to wanting slaw, and I haven't wanted cooked cabbage), cukes (again, we aren't big salad people), the bag in front is collards (two weeks worth), and three cooked beets (which we did eat tonight, so they are gone, thank goodness!).  Don't forget, I have like four heads of lettuce in the fridge, too! 

And, I had my regular leftovers to contend with, such as leftover batter from the zucchini/tofu fritters, cooked spaghetti (just plain, since my son insists on that sometimes), and some scapes, and one scallion.  Told ya, full disclosure!

So, I made Spaghetti Cakes.  I just chopped up the cooked spaghetti and added everything I could think of. basil, scapes, zucchini fritter mixture, organic tomato paste, nutritional yeast, even chopped up beet greens & swiss chard!  

Basil, scapes, zucchini fritter mixture, 

Tomato paste, nutritional yeast, olive oil,  

Some chopped beet greens & Swiss chard 

When flipping delicate cakes like this, run your spatula all the way around them and all the way under them first to loosen any sticking points.  Then, slide the cake up all the way onto your spatula, lift, and carefully but adroitly, flip. 

And a little matzoh meal on the outside to help keep them together.  

Saved (sort of) by Spaghetti Cakes.  

So, what's the score so far from Weeks 1-5? We ate: Hakurei Turnips, Spinach, Scapes, Beets, Radishes, Zucchini, Leeks, Scallions, Onions, Broccoli, three rounds of Swiss Chard & Beet Greens and some Basil.  We didn't eat or get around to eating: Bok Choy (1), Swiss Chard (1), collards (2), cabbage (1), cukes (2), and, of COURSE, several heads of lettuce. That's not too bad, considering I just counted, and we have gotten 18 heads of red leaf lettuce in the last five weeks. OMG.

Deep breath.  Another box tomorrow.  And who knows how many more days of 95+ degree weather.  Maybe I can convert into a very enthusiastic salad person!  Here's to hoping.  

Garden Fazool, June 2012

As of June 30th, 2012...

 Zucchini Flowers on my Striata Zucchini (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

 Open.

Here they are in the Zucchini Garden that I put in this year (on May 8th.)

As of June 19th.

And, ten days later (June 29th), look how much they grew in ten days!

Quite a nice tomato going on the left, there, too.  That one was a gift from my realtor!

Thanks, Bob!

My Rainbow Chard (from seed), in the garden below:

Look at those artichokes! I'm not sure if they will flower or not, but they are cool looking.  And, my Scarlet Runners have taken off up the fence.  Here's the garden in April, it's hard to believe what happens in three months.

Scarlet Runner Flowering.

 Beans on the far side fence + another little tomato behind!

Tomatoes going very well along the side beds! 

And, all the flowers...

 Bee Balm

Not sure? It grew up in the front.  Kinda looks like a purple fox glove type flower.

The front!  Fig tree is on the far right behind that bloomed sunflower head.

Sunflowers

Waiting. 

Dark Horse.

Hydrangea.

I adore the sprightly blue flowers.

Lavender Flowers, With Bees.  

And, my fig tree, loaded with tender figs!

This is why I welcome the heat of summer.

What are you all hoping to harvest?

Zucchini Noodles with Walnut Cream Sauce

Organic Zucchini "Noodles" with Organic Walnut Cream Sauce

SO good.

Here's how:

Using a good quality peeler, peel your organic zucchini into noodles. 

I only used two zucchinis, but it makes kinda a lot of "noodles." 

You can salt and "drain" the zucchini, but I find that isn't necessary and makes it soggy.  You can just use them as-is, but don't salt them.  You can dress them however you want, though, and just add the salt to the sauce.  I just added a little rice vinegar and pepper before adding the Walnut Cream Sauce.

Walnut Cream Sauce

1 cup organic walnuts

3 tsps light miso

2 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

Juice from 1/2 an organic lemon

1 Tablespoon Walnut Oil (or you can use olive, or leave it out)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 

1 scant cup warmed pasta water 

(I just heated mine in a coffee cup in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds.  I keep pasta water as a staple in my fridge! You can also freeze it if you have room in your freezer).

Put everything in a high-speed blender (like a VitaMix) and blend until smooth and creamy (about 1 min. in the VitaMix).  If using a food processor, process everything excluding the pasta water, (scraping down as needed) until a nice paste forms.  Then, add pasta water a tablespoon or so at a time,  processing in between and stopping to scrape down between tablespoons to incorporate.  Serve over zucchini "noodles," pasta, veggies, or even as a sandwich spread or salad dressing (you can thin it with more water  and/or lemon juice, etc. for a thinner consistency).

Enjoy!

Blueberry Popsicles, Grilled Radishes, and Pasta Verdura!

In keeping up with my CSA, here are my creations of the week:

Organic Blueberry-Strawberry Popsicles

6-8 ice cubes

1/2 to 3/4 pint of organic blueberries (we got them last week, forgot to mention them!)

6-8 organic strawberries, hulled & sliced

2 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave syrup

1 cup organic soy or almond milk (or your fave plant milk)

Blend up in a blender (I used my VitaMix for 1 min) until smooth, pour into popsicle molds and freeze.  You can also add yogurt, ice cream, herbs like mint or basil or whatever else your heart desires.  More pops to come!

These were unbelievable.  Seriously. SO good.

These grilled radishes were also amazing!

 Pre-grill: Trim radishes, slice large ones in half, add organic scallions or other onions, some cubed butter and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar (it has a high melting point so is great for the grill).  Wrap up in your foil packet and grill until radishes are tender.  Radishes & Scallions both from my Organic CSA.

Done! They were custardy, mild, and sweet.  I added organic lime juice for a kick of acid, and salt and pepper of course.

You can also grill your beets, which I did! We've been getting beets every week in our CSA and I LOVE beets! Grilling them is great because they take so long to cook I didn't want to do them indoors when it was so hot a few days ago. Just add a little olive oil, salt and pepper to the beet packets and grill until tender.

 Lastly, an easy greens saute.  All greens were from my CSA: Radicchio, Swiss Chard, Beet Greens and Garlic Scapes, and non-CSA Garlic and Organic Raisins sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper.  Serve with al dente pasta for a lovely Pasta Verdura!

Pasta Verdura, SO good.  

The sauteed radicchio tastes like a slightly more bitter escarole, perfect for me!

Now, I'm ready to pick up my new box tomorrow!  Bring it on, Honey Brook Organic Farm!