Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), rinsed
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 15-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400° F. Put the sweet potatoes on an oven rack and bake for 50 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and ginger until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and broth and gently bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Skin the potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Add the potatoes to the soup and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Drizzle the sesame oil evenly over the servings. Garnish with the cilantro. Yield: Makes 4 servings

This is adapted from Real Simple Magazine.

Two Salad Dressings

Cider-Yogurt Salad Dressing

Mix together:
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp flax oil or whatever light oil you prefer
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 Tbsp yogurt
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp honey
1/4 pepper

Spinach-Yogurt Salad Dressing

Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth:
1/2 cup each plain Yogurt and creamed cottage cheese
2 tbs milk
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp oregano, crushed
1/4 tsp dried mint, crushed
1/8 tsp salt

Sautéed Collard Greens and Bok Choy

This is good served over rice, or by itself. You could add some tofu if you like, or omit the soy sauce and mustard and instead add a teaspoon of Thai red chili paste.

Ingredients:
3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, halved
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
4 cups thinly sliced collard greens
4 cups very thinly sliced bok choy

Instructions:
Heat oil in small saucepan, add the garlic, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the garlic is golden brown, taking care not to let it burn. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside; reserve the oil.

In another small saucepan, bring the coconut milk and soy sauce to a boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the mustard.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved garlic oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the collard greens and bok choy, and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens start to wilt. Stir in the coconut-milk mixture, and cook until the greens are tender and the sauce has thickened. Add reserved garlic.

Share List for November 30, 2007

Tangelos

Apple cider

Walnut raisin bread

1/2 doz eggs

Plain yogurt

3 lb sweet potatoes

Bok choy

Collards

Spinach

Butternut Squash

Zucchini Gaucamole

This is Kim O'Donnell's from the Washington Post

Ingredients:
Advertisement
3 pounds summer squash
Approximately 1/2 head garlic
1 large onion (sweet varieties preferred, i.e. Vidalia, Walla Walla)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 cup basil and/or mint leaves
1/2 cup parsley, stemmed
2 tablespoons juice of lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 375.
Slice zucchini in half, lengthwise. Separate garlic cloves but keep skins on. Quarter onion. Place vegetables in roasting pan and slather with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the teaspoon of salt. Roast until extremely tender, at least 1 hour and up to 90 minutes.
While vegetables are roasting, prepare herbs; pull leaves off stems and tear or chop coarsely. Let vegetables cool slightly and squeeze garlic from skins. Place all vegetables into bowl of food processor and pulse. Add herbs. Puree until smooth and combined. Add lemon juice and salt. Drizzle in remaining olive oil. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
Chill and serve with crackers, pita crisps, crudite or make as part of a sandwich. Makes about 1 quart.

Share List for July 25, 2007

from the farm, Sankanac CSA:

1 lettuce
1 squash
1 zucchini or summer squash
1 cucumber
4 carrots
1 pepper
1 tomato
1 garlic
parsley
basil
4 little summer apples ! (known to be sour )

and supplements:
1 lb green beans, organic
1 European cucumber, biodynamic * (seedless and can eat the peel)
1 loaf Mountain Brown bread, biodynamic
1 maple yogurt
1 lb raisins, biodynamic

Share for July 18, 2006

1 head lettuce
1 Savoy cabbage
1/2 lb Swiss chard
4 carrots
4 beets* -- see below
3 cucumbers
1 either pepper or tomato - beginning of the harvest
1 garlic bulb
1 bunch chives
basil
parsley

and supplements:
1 sourdough bread from Atwater's bakery
1 yogurt
6 plums, red
3 pears, packham

Quick Chard Ideas

• Alternative to stuffed cabbage: Wrap Swiss chard leaves around your favorite vegetable and grain salad and roll it up. Bake in a medium-heat oven. Toss penne pasta with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and cooked chard.
• Add steamed chard to omelets and fritatas.
• Use chard in place of or in addition to spinach when preparing vegetarian lasagna.
• Cook some garlic in olive oil, crisp the garlic and set aside to drain. Stirfry the chopped chard in the pan with the olive oil. Start with the stems as they take longer, add the leaves a minute or two later. Put the garlic cloves back on the chard and serve. (You can do this with any green)

Chard Facts

Swiss chard is not native to Switzerland but was discovered by a Swiss botanist who gave the plant its scientific name. Chard is a vitamin packed super food, offering among its nutrients over 300% of the RDA of vitamin K, more than 100% of vitamin A and just over 50%of vitamin C.

To store the chard place it unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. It should keep fresh for several days. You can also blanch the leaves and freeze them.

Do not cook chard in an aluminum pot. Chard contains oxalates and will react with the metal discoloring your pot.

To make a sweeter chard boil it rather than sauté or steam, boiling reduces the oxalic and should make the chard less bitter.

Our Share List for July 11, 2007

1 Cabbage
1 broccoli or cauliflower
3 carrots
4 beets
1 zucchini or summer squash
1 cucumber
4 oz lettuce mix
5 oz chard
7 oz kale
1 fennel
2.5 oz basil
handful parsley
1 cantaloupe
1 yogurt, plain
1.5 lb bag Rolled Oats, biodynamic
1 lb Figs, organic