zucchini

Recipe: Summer Vegetable Ragout

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This recipe takes advantage of summers bounty and is an easy and nutritious one pot meal. I actually made this the night I went into labor with our little girl and it was perfectly filling to help sustain me through labor. Serve up with a green salad and some crusty bread.
Serves 4

1 lb whole small new potatoes or large new potatoes quartered, rinsed
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, sliced into quarter inch half moons
1 medium summer squash, sliced into quarter inch half moons
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat a large saute pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup of water the potatoes and onions. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the zucchini, summer squash, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper, toss together. Return cover, cook 5 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and tomatoes, toss everything together.
Cover and  cook 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

CSA Week 3

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This week our CSA was filled with many of the same items that we have received the past two weeks. The new items we did receive were tomatoes and napa cabbage, however the cabbage was in rough condition. The cabbage has been eaten to pieces by bugs and was actually thorny to the touch- has anyone else experienced this before? Needless to say we weren’t too impressed and contacted our CSA farmer regarding this.

I don’t have any huge plans for the veggies this week, except to use them up as quickly as I can since (fingers crossed) we will be at the birth center for a few days (hopefully). This morning I am planning on making TLT bagel sandwiches and green juices for Neil and I, which will use lettuce, tomatoes, collards or swiss chard and the cucumbers from last weeks share. Neil is also working from home today so I will make a veggie packed lunch- maybe a curry noodle? Then for dinner who knows- something with more veggies!

What are your favorite recipes using the ingredients below?

Zucchini Pesto Quinoa Pie

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Ingredients:

  • 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (mandolin is best for this)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt & Pepper

Toss together and marinate while your preparer quinoa and pesto.

Cashew-Pea Pesto

  • 2 cups shelled sweet peas
  • 1 bunch garlic scapes, chopped (approx 1-1.5 cups)
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Process everything except olive oil together until small pieces. With the processor on slowly stream in the olive oil until smooth and blended together.

Quinoa– cook according to the directions.

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup panko
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Mix together.

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Place one layer of zucchini in the bottom of a pie pan. Top with the quinoa. Top the quinoa with the 1/2 cup of pesto and then top the pesto with the remaining zucchini. Top the zucchini with a layer of the panko topping and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until browned.

CSA Week 2: Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta & a Hail Merry!

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Neil and I decided (very) last minute that we would partake in the Pete’s Greens CSA again this summer since we love their produce. Last week was the first pick up because we were away we ended up giving away most of it except the potatoes and garlic scapes that we had for our camping breakfast. This week we received:

  • Bag of Mesclun Greens
  • Beet Greens
  • Napa Cabbage
  • Sweet Salad Turnips
  • Garlic Scapes
  • Scallions
  • Zucchini
  • Easter Egg Radishes
  • Sage
  • Potatoes

Tonight is the first of many meals using these amazing organic and local ingredients. Enjoy- I know we did!


Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta with Zucchini

Yields 4 servings

Takes about 30 minutes total to make

Ingredients:

  • Garlic Scape Pesto
    • 1 cup raw walnut pieces
    • 1 bunch of garlic scapes (about 1 to 3/4 cup), chopped
    • 4 cups basil leaves
    • 2/3 cup olive oil
    • 1t salt
    • 1T sesame seeds
    • 2T nutritional yeast

Place the walnuts and garlic scapes in the bowl of a food processor and process until small crumble. Add in the basil leaves, turn the processor on low and slowly stream in the olive oil through the feed tube. Add in the salt, sesame seeds and nutritional yeast; process to combine.

  • Sauteed Zucchini
    • 2 medium zucchini, sliced into half moons
    • Cooking Spray
    • 1/2t salt
    • 1/4t black pepper
    • 1/2t garlic powder
    • 1t nutritional yeast

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Spray with cooking spray and toss in the zucchini and saute for 3-4 minutes just until they start to lightly brown.  Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and nutritional yeast; cook for 2 more minutes.

  • 4 servings of pasta of your choice

In a large bowl toss the pasta, zucchini and 1/4 to 1/3 of the pesto together.  Serve warm, room temp or cold!

The pesto makes a lot more than you need for this dish so place any extra in a jar top with a layer of olive oil and seal tightly.  Store in the freezer until you need it again.  To defrost move from the freezer to the fridge 8 hours before using.

For dessert we shared one of these wonderful vegan, raw, gluten free tarts from Hail Merry.

It was one of the best desserts I have ever tried and I am looking forward to picking up the other 3 flavors over the next month.  It was so rich and the perfect balance of creamy chocolate, cookie crust and almond butter center- to die for.