Fresh-picked raspberry and peach crumble

There is a farm near me where you can pick your own berries. They vary by season and demand from blueberries and strawberries to raspberries and even apples. There is also a small market where they sell farm-grown produce, pastured chicken eggs and meat. Needless to say I've found a little patch of heaven. So I took advantage of a beautiful Saturday morning to go berry picking with my oh so patient boyfriend, and came home with two gorgeous pints of raspberries. I had one more pie crust I'd picked up cheaply last month, so naturally I made a pie with them.

Ingredients:
1 pint rinsed raspberries
1 can peaches
1 pie crust

1 cup flour + 2 tbsp
1 cup sugar + 1 tbsp
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup oats
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, oats, baking soda and powder,  and a pinch of salt.

 Step 2: Add the cold butter in chunks, mix well. I'm not cool enough to have a pastry cutter, so I just squished it all together with my hands until well mixed. It should be a crumbly, tasty mess.

Step 3: Drain the peaches, place in a bowl with the raspberries. Sprinkle on 1 tbsp vanilla, 2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp salt, mix.
Step 4: Pour the fruit mix into the pie crust and cover with the crumble mixture.

This is what it looks like just before going in the oven. Drool.

 Step 5: Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, until crisp is browned and fruits are bubbly.

 YES PLEASE.

 The pie crust cover conveniently doubled as a lid. The day after, the berry juices start to pool. Anyone know how to avoid this, besides cornstarch?

This would be simply amazing served warm over french vanilla ice cream. In fact, I'll be going to the store later today...

Breakfast BELT with avocado & feta

I've read several articles lately that say a breakfast with eggs are the most filling. Since it was the weekend, and I had one egg left, and several veggies in the fridge I had just bought yesterday, I wanted to make a super-healthy and filling breakfast. Tim Horton's makes a breakfast BELT sandwich with bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato on a bagel. To lighten it up, I used one slice of wheat bread as the "B" and in place of the bagel, no bacon, lettuce tomato one egg and added a slice of avocado and a sprinkle of feta for healthy fat and flavor.

Ingredients:

1 slice wheat bread

1 egg

1 tbsp oil

1 romaine leaf

1/2 roma tomato

1 slice avocado

1 tbsp feta cheese

Step 1: Put 1 tbsp in a pan, and fry the egg. If you like yellow, you can leave it runny. I cooked it all the way through. 

Step 2: While the egg is cooking, layer the lettuce, tomato, avocado and 1 tbsp feta on a slice of wheat bread (toasted or not).

Step 3: Lay the cooked egg on top of the feta, and enjoy! The feta gives it a tangy flavor, while the avocado is creamy and soft. If you're vegan you can omit the egg and cheese.

Crock Pot Veggie Stew

I recently moved across America to the great state of Colorado! That explains my lack of posts for a while. However, since my new place has an oven, my repertoire has quadrupled, and thus I intend to make up for it! So this was inspired by a trip to a local farmer's market. There was so much delicious produce, to be had super cheaply! Then a few days later, I needed to do something with the veggies I hadn't eaten yet. As many cooks know, fresh is best but it also spoils quickest. Another complication I will be dealing with this year is my first year of doctoral classes and research, so I will be gone the majority of the day, 6am - 6pm most days. So you will likely see a lot of make-ahead or Crock Pot meals!

Ingredients:

1 large carrot, diced

1 large onion, diced

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 head cabbage, shredded

3-4 stalks celery, diced

2 potatoes, diced

1/3 of a red, orange & yellow bell pepper (or 1 of any color) diced

2 small heads broccoli, cut into small florets

4-5 green onions, diced

3 cups chicken stock or 3 bouillon cubes + water

Turmeric, chipotle chili pepper, paprika, black pepper, garlic, salt

I don't add amounts for the spices because it depends on how hot you like it. I found out after the fact that I added a *bit* too much chipotle pepper, because man did this soup clear the sinuses! I need to make it again mid-winter...

 Step 1: This is the only work-intensive step. Dice all the veggies and layer in the Crock Pot.

 Step 2: Add spices and broth. If you're a strict vegetarian or vegan, use vegetable broth or plain water instead of the chicken stock.

Step 3: Cook on low at least 4 hours up to 12 hours. The longer it cooks the softer the vegetables will get, but the more flavors will come out and mingle. My boyfriend is a carnivore and insisted on adding shredded chicken before he would eat it. But he did say it was delicious. =)
You can add really any vegetable you have on hand that you need to use up. If you don't want to take the time to dice everything, you can buy pre-cut from a salad bar or use frozen vegetables and just throw them in! Couldn't be easier. Plus it makes quite a bit, so you have several meals for very cheap, and likely enough to freeze for later meals.

Radish, onion & herb cheese dip

Sadly I don't remember where the inspiration for this dip came from, but I read on another blog about putting fresh raw radishes into a dip, and decided to make my own version based on what I had in my house. 

Dip:

1 package cream cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup radishes, diced very small

1/4 cup red onion, diced small

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dried onion

~1/2 tbsp sea salt

Step 1: Mix room temperature cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl until blended. The dip should be spreadable but a spoon could stand up in it.

Step 2: Add in all the other ingredients, and mix well. Serve with whatever crackers you like. This was a hit at a small gathering I had!

Addictive farm fresh dip!

Kohl-slaw!

I work on a CSA farm (http://www.facebook.com/schoonerfarms) and this week we harvested a TON of radishes, red, pink and French breakfast, plus I got a spare kohlrabi. I've never had it before, so I googled recipes, and found this gem on the goodbowl.com which makes a coleslaw from kohlrabi, turnips and radishes. I still had some turnips left from 2 weeks ago too. I decided while making it to make it a little more colorful, so I threw in some carrot and cucumber too!

Slaw:

1 cup shredded kohlrabi

1/2 cup shredded radish

1/2 cup shredded turnip

1/3 cucumber, shredded

1/2 large carrot, shredded

Dressing:

1/4 cup miracle whip

1 1/2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp mustard

pinch black pepper

 Shredding the kohlrabi was a bit difficult, I did not know how stringy the interior was. Maybe mine was too young or too old, or I should have cooked it first? Put all shredded vegetables in a large bowl.

Mix all ingredients of the dressing, and pour over veggies. Mix well.

 This makes about 4 small servings. Refrigerate before serving. The dressing is deliciously tangy, and it's a good mix of textures.

Bonus: My tomato plants that I've been growing in pots outside for months have produced their first tiny ripe tomatoes! They were amazing, and tasted like my childhood. =)

Kale chips really are good!

I am working on a CSA farm this summer, and we have begun harvesting and distribution. This week the take-home was:

1 bag mixed lettuces.         1 bag kale.          1 carton snow peas.           1 bunch radishes.             1 bunch turnips.       1 bunch pak choi.          Handful broccoli .        Herbs - spearmint, pineapple mint, oregano, thyme, farrow 

I have been hearing so many people and blogs talk about how kale is bitter and hard to cook, but kale chips seem to be wildly popular. And they are amazingly easy to make! Then when searching recipes for turnips, I kept "turning up" (haha) mashed potatoes and turnips recipes. The pak choi lends itself well to stir-frying, add in some extra veggies and you've got yourself a meal! So my good (brave) friend and I embarked upon a cooking adventure to use up most of the farm food.

Mashed Potatoes & Turnips:

2 large potatoes, diced

3-4 turnips, diced

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter/margerine

1/4 cup cream cheese or sour cream

Garlic powder

Step 1: Thoroughly wash veggies. Dice potatoes and turnips into small pieces. The smaller, the faster they cook.

Step 2: Put the potatoes and turnips into a pot and cover with water. Get to a rolling boil, then boil for 20 minutes or until soft.

Step 3: When soft, drain and place in a large bowl. Break big chunks with a fork.

Step 4: Add wet ingredients, and blend well. Add as much garlic as you like!

 

The turnips have a soft taste to compliment the starchy potatoes, and of course you can experiment with other milk products and butter and spices or salt. But honestly, after you get used to the first few bites, mashed vegetables au natural tastes like nothing else! And it is delicious. We both had seconds.

Pak Choi Stir Fry:

1 bunch pak choi

1 large carrot

~2 cups snow peas

1/2 cup broccoli

2 tbsp olive oil

Step 1: Thoroughly wash all veggies. Dice the carrots and broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Put the oil into the pan and put on medium heat.

Step 2: Add veggies in order of firmness, carrots and broccoli first, then snow peas, then pak choi for the last 5 minutes. Stir and keep covered throughout.

About 10 calories per serving, mostly from the oil! You can also steam the veggies.

 

Kale Chips:

1 head kale

2 tbsp olive oil

~2 tbsp sea salt

Option seasonings - we did one batch with chili powder to spice it up

Step 1: Tear the kale leaves from the main stem, and tear into bite size pieces.

Step 2: Place in a bowl and drizzle olive oil, in small amounts. Toss until just coated.

 Step 3: Lay in single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for ~20 minutes, tossing once. When chips are just beginning to turn brown and are crispy to the touch, they're ready.

Crispy, healthy Kale chips!

These chips are light and airy, but totally delicious. It's a strange sensation your first bite, but I guarantee it won't be your last!

Dinner fresh from the farm!

Thai-style tilapia and pak choi

I love Thai food, and recently came across a recipe for Thai-style steamed fish. So of course I took it and made it my own based on what I had in the house. I had just brought home some fresh pak choi (an Asian vegetable like cabbage?) from the farm I'm working on. I also had one more tilapia fillet in my freezer, and a lemon in my fridge. So...

Ingredients:

1 tilapia fillet

4 small bunches pak choi, rinsed and roots cut off

1/2 lemon + juice

Garlic powder

Sea salt

Thai red chili spices

Olive oil

Aluminum foil

First, roll up the sides of the aluminum foil a bit so the oil doesn't run out. Pour about 2 tbsp oil in, add a bit of spices. Put the tilapia on top, and another sprinkle of spice. Then squeeze half the lemon juice, and add a slice or 2 for good measure. Arrange the pak choi around the fish, sprinkle garlic and sea salt over it all.

 Roll up the sides and seal the top, leaving space for steam to circulate. Put in the top part of a steamer.

 Let this cook for about 20 minutes, or until the greens are wilted and the fish is white and flakes with a fork.

The greens have a tangy bitterness from the lemon juice, and the fish's natural flavors complement the bite of the red Thai chili spices. It smells lovely, and tastes fantastic! Plus it is only 400 calories!

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 403.4

• Total Fat: 30.6 g
• Cholesterol: 55.0 mg
• Sodium: 2,553.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 13.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.6 g
• Protein: 26.4 g