this week we got a nice head of ice berg lettuce, so what to do but make a blue cheese wedge

the dressing 

blend together

• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 oz blue cheese
• 1 lemon, juice
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

if too thick, add some milk

cut up the ice berg lettuce, into wedges or rounds

pour dressing over and serve

we ate it with a side of well-cooked buffalo chicken sausages and some thick slices of french bread

it is so very hot, this soup is so very not

last week we got cucumbers and green onions in our csa bundle, so this week we made this soup

blend together

• 2 peeled and chopped cucumbers
• 2 peeled, pitted and chopped avocados
• 4  chopped green onions
• 1 seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper

when the above ingredients are pretty blended, add

• 2 limes, the juice
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 cups water

blend until smooth 

add salt and pepper to taste

serve with a garnish of cilantro and maybe some tortilla chips

i added some garlic powder, just because i like it

heat in a large skillet

• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil

add to heated oil

• 2 bok choys, sliced crosswise about 1/2 an inch

saute for 3 minutes then add

• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper

saute for 3-4 more minutes, until bok choy is wilted

add salt and pepper to taste and top with crushed raw cashews

we added tofu, tossed in a little peanut oil and sesame oil then fried

some thought the bok choy was bitter, while others wanted more

a friend sent along this recipe.  she is a culinary magician, with skills to make $50 dollars worth of  groceries last one month.

here is her recipe

a version of greens & beans

1 cup dried cranberry beans, soaked overnight then boiled for 35 minutes with just enough water to cover (not more, add more water as needed), 1 bay leaf and salt.  Let beans sit when done boiling and add I tsp of “better than boullion” (chicken flavor).   Don’t strain, keep extra bean water for later. 

3 spring garlics
3 spring onions
1 shallot
1 clove regular garlic
Chop all and saute in olive oil until soft, 3-5 minutes.  Add about 2 tbsp’s tomato paste and saute bit more to caramelize.  Remove beans with slotted spoon and add to pot, cooking for another 1-2 minutes to coat.  Salt and pepper as needed.  Set aside.

Chop 1 large head of red swiss chard (or other greens but the chard was pretty).  Add to same pan with some of bean water and saute until wilted.  Serve beans atop a bed of the greens and drizzle a bit of the water if desired.

I garnished with a bit of chopped fresh rosemary and oregano from the garden.  Yummy!

her beautiful brooklyn garden

bok choy noodle bowl, this time we had a recipe thanks to justfood.org 

in a large pot add

•  2 cups orange juice
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 4 gloves minced garlic
• 1 chopped onion

bring to a simmer for 5 minutes

stir in

• 2 shredded carrots

simmer for 5 minutes

stir in

• 2 cups chopped bok choy
• 2 packets of ramen

simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring often

add pan fried tofu, one container fried in sesame seed oil

serve

i thought it was kinda sweet, with the o.j., so i added more soy sauce and it was really good.

“I know some of you folks probably are thinking, ‘Gosh, what are we going to do with this Bok Choy?’ For those of you that are new to our CSA, you might not know that I had Bok Choy almost every day of my life growing up on the farm. So, I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, they’re only going to have one stirfry in the week, because they have only enough Bok Choy for one meal ??’ So, who can figure?

Bok Choy being a member of the cabbage family has basically all the vitamins and nutrients that Broccoli and other members of the cruciferous vegetable group have. I know it’s a good thing to have in our diet, even if it can give you more than your average share of gaseous bodily sounds, like burps and ‘stuff ‘.

Our former president, George W. had a diet really deficient in Broccoli, and look where our country is now. Now I’m not suggesting that having ample quantities of Bok Choy in your diet are going to improve the Nation’s economic condition, but I think it’s a good start.

Be well,

Fred & Karen”

bok choy

scape pesto

• 4 scapes, with flowery ends cut off, cut into 1/4 inch peices
• 1/3 cup walnuts

pulse these together in food processor

slowly add and blend in

• 2/3 cup of olive oil
• tsp coarse salt
• bit of pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

this is super garlicky, so we smeared a creamy cheese base on our toast before spreading the scape pesto, which was good.  i think plain is really good too.

you can do with this what you would with other pestos: pasta, pizza, bruschetta, dressing to grilled veggies or fish

fried squash blossoms

this recipe was a bit impromptu, here’s the jist:

begin by heating vegetable oil to a good frying temperature

make the cheese filling by combining

• 1/2 cup ricotta
• handful of chopped fresh basil
• 1 diced garlic
• salt & pepper

now fill squash blossoms with cheese mixture, not so much that you can’t secure the blossom top with a tooth pick

dredge stuffed blossom in flour

dip into one scrambled egg

dredge again this time in 1/2 flour- 1/2 cornmeal mixture

place in frying pan

remove when golden brown

cool and eat or dip into a marinara or pesto