Calabacita Collard Green Wrap with Roasted Garlic Scapes

A collard wrap is an essential tool in the healthy cook's toolkit, but they can get a bit, well, redundant. Hummus here, alfalfa sprouts there...and usually raw or cold.  Hopefully for everyone here, this warm, savory, and bountiful wrap will be a pleasant diversion.  I was inspired by the intense and increasing quantity of some of these items in my fridge *ahem garlic scapes ahem* and was mightily tempted to simply eat the filling by itself-- it was THAT good.

The struggle is real, you could probably do both, eat the filling and make a bunch of wraps, depending on how many meals on the go you need for this hot summer week.

I was able to make 6 large wraps out of these, but probably 8 is a safer estimate, and largely depends on the number and size of your collards.




What you'll use from your bag:

10+ Collard Leaves, soaking in warm vinegar water or blanched

1 summer squash, cut into sticks

4 potatoes shredded (2 cups)

10 garlic scapes, cut into 4" pieces (ok this is leftover from last week, but you still have some right? I roasted all that I had left, and plan to make a garlic scape pesto, anyone want that recipe?)

1 Sweet onion, coarsely chopped

2-3 leaves of lettuce per wrap

What else you'll need:

3 Tbs Adobo spice

Your hot sauce of choice, to taste

Fresh thyme, one sprig

1 Tbs mustard seeds, whole

Salsa fresca

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for sauté and roast

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Prepare the garlic scapes to be roasted, tossed in about 1/2 Tbs of oil with a little salt. Then roast for about 12-14 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Set your collards to soak in warm water, covering all the leaves you plan to use, including 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to break down the cell wall...or Blanche for 2minutes and submerge in cold/ice water after if you prefer heat-cooked greens.

Next, heat your oil in a large skillet

You want to make sure it's nice and hot, because in will go your mustard seeds and 2 cups shredded potato first thing. Stir to ensure even oil absorption, and cook for 8 minutes until it starts to brown and get tacky.

Add your squash, stir thoroughly, and then cover. Cook for 3 minutes, so the squash can get a little tender and brown in some spots.  Add the adobo spice and stir to get some even browning and tenderizing of the squash (2 minutes)

Now, add your onions

The delicate sweet onions get tender fast, and have such a delicious flavor, your don't want to over-zap them.  Give them just 2 minutes in the mix.  Cook until the potatoes look-and-or-taste amazing.  Then remove from the heat and add the fresh thyme.

And now, let's master the collard green wrap

The soaked or blanched leaves will be more supple, and you shave down the thick stem to make it more flat, and pliable for better shaped wraps (and less rip-able!)

Overlap the collard leaves, top side up, with the stems faced away from each other.

Alternate the lettuce leaves along the length of the collards, then add the salsa, the sauté mixture and the garlic scapes to the very center. Try to hold back your hunger and not over fill it.

Fold the stem sides gently in first, leaving the middle filling still exposed, but allowing the side edges of both, and then roll from one direction to the other, pulling the filling towards your hands to keep the roll tight and keep the filling from spilling out as you flip it around.

And don't worry if your wraps have holes in them, because that sticky hash brown sauté will stay put!

Enjoy!

Hooligan Pumpkin Soup

I should admit that I have never made soup with Hooligan Pumpkins! Every week I write these recipes before we actually get the CSA bag but most of them I have an idea of what I'm doing :) But I'm excited to create something new.  Maybe you know what you're doing- if that's the case you can use this as a guideline. I got a few different ideas by checking out some recipes online.  Here we go...

This recipe is for 2 pumpkin bowls, if you have/get more pumpkins you can increase the recipe by the correct proportions.  Or half it if only making one.

With the other great veggies we are getting, I'm planning a kale salad for the side.



What you'll use from your bag:
Hooligan Pumpkins (2)
Garlic (1-2 cloves)
Butternut Squash (about 1lb)

What else you'll need:
Veg Broth or Water (2.5 cups)
Butter (vegan)
Sugar
Thyme (fresh, 1 sprig)
Salt
Almond (or non-dairy plain) Milk (2 Tbs, optional)
Croutons or Pumpkin Seeds (optional, garnish)

First, Prepare:

• Cut the top of the pumpkins and remove the insides
• Sprinkle insides with a little sugar & salt
• Put pumpkins and their tops on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees
• Peel and Cut the Squash in about 1 inch pieces/cubes

Next, Make the Soup:

• In a saucepan, melt 2-3 Tbs. of butter. Add the onion and garlic and thyme of the sprig and saute for 3 minutes or so (until onion is tender)
• Put your cut up squash in the saucepan, stir to combine and cook for about 5 minutes- sprinkle with salt
• Add 2.5 cups of Water or Veg Broth. 
• Reduce heat & simmer for about 15 minutes until squash is tender

Then, Puree & Serve:

• With an immersion blender (if you have one) puree the soup to smooth. If you don't have one you can transfer the mixture to a blender or mash with a hand masher for a chunkier consistency. 
• Stir in the Almond Milk if using
• Gently scoop the soup mixture into the pumpkins
• Garnish with croutons or pumpkin seeds & serve

Happy Eating!

Veggie Quesadilla

Hi everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a good start. It's a little odd putting this recipe up because it's so easy; I make veggie quesadillas often. In fact, I actually made them last weekend out at anchor on my sailboat using my small galley stove (that's how easy it is). Vegans and non-vegans always seem to be pleased with the outcome. Use Jon's lettuces for a side salad.

TIP: If you want to make these gluten free (I do) you can use corn tortillas. The ones made by Whole Foods in the refrigerator section work really well. I've used other ones and they are a bit challenging to keep together... Wheat quesadillas work great as well.

What you'll use from your bag:

-Eggplant
-Squash
-Sweet Onion
-Carmen Pepper
-Hot Pepper
-Parsley

*1 of each of these items will make 2-3 quesadillas

What else you'll need:

-Olive Oil
-Tortillas (either wheat or corn (gluten free))
-Shredded Cheese (any you like, if you're a vegan try almond cheese)
-Salt, chili powder (any seasoning you like)
-Salsa and avocado or guacamole are great toppings

First, prepare:

-Slice the eggplant and squash in half length wise and then chop in half moons
-Julianne cut the onions (or however you like)
-Slice the peppers to your liking
-Chop a bunch of parsley

Then, saute

-In a splash of olive oil saute the onions for a couple minutes
-Then add the eggplant (another 3 minutes or so with a closed lid)
-Add the peppers and squash and saute another 2 minutes until the veggies are all tender
-Sprinkle in salt and chili powder and stir to combine
-Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl

Prepare Quesadillas

-Heat a small amount of olive oil on medium heat in a saute pan big enough for your tortillas
-Place 1 tortilla on a large plate or cutting board and arrange an equal amount of your veggie mixture on top with some parsley, sprinkle with cheese, and then place a second tortilla on top
-Gently place your quesadilla in the heated pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat or until slightly browned on the bottom and somewhat sturdy, then flip (you gotta have some guts to keep it together here)
-Cook another 2-3 minutes
-Repeat if making more than one. If I'm making a bunch for a group, I turn the oven on low and place the cooked ones on a cookie sheet so they stay warm until I can serve them together.

Enjoy

Veggie Kale Pesto Pasta

We have a variety of exciting veggies this week from BaltimOrganic's Farm. I was looking at the list wondering how to make something relatively simple and tasty. If you don't know this already...I follow a vegan diet and recently I have taken out most wheat products (it seemed to just happen that way) but this is another topic. Basically what I'm saying is you can adapt these recipes to your diet and liking.

This is what I came up with for this week, Give it a shot.... You can use whatever shape pasta you like.




What you'll need from your bag:

-Kale (2 cups)
-Garlic (2 cloves)
-Squash (2-3)
-Eggplant (2)

What else you'll need:

-Pine nuts (2/3 cup)
-Nutritional Yeast (if going vegan pesto) (2 Tbsp.)
-Olive Oil (~1/2 cup)
-Lemon (1)
-Pasta (thin noodles like angel hair or bowtie or whatever) You can get all kinds of gluten free pasta!

What's next, prepare the veggies:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Slice the squash and eggplant in half rounds that have some thickness to them but not too chunky
-Combine them in a bowl and spray with olive oil (do you have one of the olive oil sprayers?, they are awesome) or drizzle the oil over the veggies. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to combine
-Place the veggies on a sheet or roasting pan and place in the over at 400 for about 15-20 minutes. Check on them about half way through to see how they are progressing- no burnt squash!

Then...:

-Cook your pasta
-Drain and set aside when done. Spray lightly and toss with olive oil so it doesn't stick together while sitting

Make the pesto...:

-In a food processor or blender combine: 2 cups of kale, 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast, 2/3 cup pine nuts, 3-4 Tbsp. Olive Oil (good stuff), 2 Tsp. lemon juice, salt and pepper, Then puree until smooth. If it's too chunky add more lemon juice or olive oil. NOTE: you may not need to use all the pesto- depending on the quantity of pasta...

Finally:

-Place a large pan over medium heat and add a good amount of pesto.
-Add and stir in the pasta slowly to evenly distribute the pesto- add more pesto if needed
-Once the proper ratio of pasta/pesto has been reached stir in the roasted veggies
-Spruce it up with red chili peppers, more nutritional yeast, tomatoes, pine nuts, or whatever you like...

Enjoy