Sauteed Collard Greens

For whatever reason, collard greens have always been my favorite vegetable. So when I saw a fresh bunch of collard greens in my produce share last week, I was pretty excited. While I have long loved eating collard greens, I've never tried my hand at cooking collard greens.

From what I remember, the collard greens I had growing up were boiled. Although I never really paid much attention so I could be wrong. I did some research and decided that sauteeing the greens in bacon grease was the way I wanted to go. The results were fantastic. I don't know if it was because it had been so long since I had collard greens or if this recipe was so much better than my grandmother's recipe but these collard greens were the best I had ever had.

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Sauteed Collard Greens


Ingredients
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 bunch collard greens

Instructions
Place the bacon in a hot skillet.

 Cook until the bacon has released most of its fat and is beginning to crisp then add the collard greens in batches, letting the leaves wilt before adding a new batch.

 Saute until the greens have wilted down to fit in the pan.

 Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes.

 Remove from the heat and serve along side your favorite protein.

Turnip and Potato Mash

I struggled with what to title this recipe. It's mashed turnips and potatoes but that didn't really roll off the tongue. So I decided to instead say Turnip and Potato mash. Not sure why I found it necessary to tell you my thought process but there you have it.

Until this week I had never tasted a turnip, nor could I tell you what they looked like. That was until I came home with my Urban Acres produce share on Saturday and found two in my crate. Often when this happens I avoid the strange new vegetable and it ultimately spoils before I figure out how to use it. This week, however, I decided to tackle the turnip head on, and by head on I mean sneaking it in with mashed potatoes.

I was really pleased with the results, although I would not say that it was love at first bite. It took several tastes before I decided that the complex flavor provided by the turnip was one I enjoyed. And then I went back for seconds, which is always a key indicator of success at my dinner table. So if you feel adventurous, but still want to keep some semblance of comfort, try this turnip and potato mash  with dinner. I think you'll be glad you did.

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Turnip and Potato Mash


Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 small turnip, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick half moons
1 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick half  moons
1/3 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup half and half
3 tablespoons minced chives
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat until foam bubbles disappear but before the butter browns.

 Place the turnip slices into the butter, stirring occasionally.

 You should cook the turnips until they start to brown and caramelize, about 10-12 minutes. If you need to increase the heat to speed up the process you can turn it up to medium high. (Mine took longer, I think my pan was too small)

 Place the potatoes on top of the turnips and pour in the chicken broth.

 Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer covered until the potatoes fall apart with a fork and the liquid is mostly absorbed by the potatoes. for about 20 minutes. (again mine took longer and I think it was the pan)

 Use a potato masher (or if you're me and don't have one use a pastry blender) and carefully mash the veggies. You don't want to over mash and ruin the texture!

 Pour in the half and half and stir into the potatoes and turnips.

 Stir in the chives and let sit a minute. This allows the liquid to absorb into the potatoes and turnips.

Serve with your favorite meal in place of mashed potatoes.

Source: The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Roasted Cauliflower

Up until recently, cauliflower has been one of those vegetables that I considered to be off limits for my dinner table. Sure, I love broccoli prepared in almost any way, but cauliflower just did not tickle my fancy. Then last week, I went to a local mediterranean restaurant where they served fried cauliflower. The cauliflower wasn't breaded, so it was different than many friend vegetables I've tried in the past, but the depth of flavor was so delicious it was hard to get out of my mind.

When we received a head of organic cauliflower in our produce share last week, I decided it was time to make cauliflower a side dish for dinner. I had heard that nutmeg pairs well with the cauliflower so I decided to use my birthday gift from Suzie which was a nutmeg grater with a bag of fresh nutmeg. I also decide to sprinkle some parmesan cheese towards the end of the roasting to enhance the flavor a little bit. The results were quite tasty. I don't know that I'd call it my favorite vegetable side, but it certainly has earned its place in the rotation.

My new nutmeg grater with fresh nutmeg

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Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse and dry the head of cauliflower and cut the head into florets.

Place the florets on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over the cauliflower florets.

Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the the parmesan cheese onto the florets and return to the oven to roast for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove and serve with your favorite meal.

Fast and Easy Green Beans

Growing up, green beans were always served out of a can, mainly because that's the way my dad liked it. The first time I had fresh green beans I enjoyed the taste, but the texture of increased crunch wasn't much to my liking. I've since discovered a few things that keep the fresh taste but improve on the crunchiness greatly. And, bonus, this side dish is the easiest and fastest recipe and I turn to it often.

The first secret for making these perfect green beans is to use haricot verts or French green beans instead of the American variety, their smaller size and sweeter flavor really makes a difference. Also, I like to let them char just a little. I think it adds great depth to the flavor and caramelizes them just a bit. Other than that just throw the beans, butter, water and a touch of salt and pepper into the skillet and you're pretty much done. I highly recommend it!

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Fast and Easy Green Beans


Ingredients
1 pound fresh haricot verts, trimmed and rinsed
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

After trimming and rinsing, place the green beans in the skillet. Add in the water, 

butter, salt and pepper.

Cover and turn the burner on high cooking for 7-8 minutes, or until tender and slightly charred.

Serve with your favorite main course dish.

Roasted Acorn Squash

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only 4 days away? I'm certainly struggling to believe that is the case. In fact, it was just over a week ago that I realized it was almost past time to firm up my time off from work for the holiday. In my mind I still had plenty of time. I feel like each and every passing year goes by more quickly than the one before it. Maybe that's just part of growing up.

Many of you will be tasked with cooking and planning a menu for Thanksgiving dinner in just a few short days, and for some of you it will be your first time in charge. Keeping that in mind I would like to present you with this recipe for Roasted Acorn Squash, a side dish that is relatively healthy, takes only 10 minutes to prep and leaves your hands and mind free to work on more hands on dishes during it's hour roast in the oven.

So if you've been tasked with bringing a vegetable side, look no further than this quick, elegant, and tasty dish for your choice. You will certainly impress your family and friends that you chose to think outside of the green bean casserole, candied yams, etc that, while classics, can be a bit tired and certainly rich for those trying their hardest not to gain that extra pound this holiday season.

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Roasted Acorn Squash


Ingredients
1 acorn squash
1 tablespoon softened butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup water

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the acorn squash in half and discard the seeds and strings.

Rub the butter over each squash half.

Place in a baking dish and top with brown sugar and cinnamon and add the water to the bottom of the dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

Ginger Soy Vegetable Stir Fry

Growing up, vegetables almost always played a secondary or tertiary role to meat, predominately beef, and starch, usually potatoes. Even with this limited exposure, I have always been a vegetable lover when fresh vegetables are served to me. However, when I'm planning out our weekly menu, I can sometimes fall back into the habit of forgetting to include a sufficient amount of veggies in a meal or week of meals.

Robert regularly asks for me to cook more veggies, and I am just now starting to discover meals that meet his request. Of course I'm benefitted by a husband who is willing to forgo meat from time to time if the vegetarian meal I place before him is flavorful and filling. This stir fry meets both requirements. The ginger soy and low-sodium soy sauces provide the veggies with a great flavor without compromising the health benefits and the veggies and rice are more than enough for a satisfying dinner.

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Ginger Soy Vegetable Stir Fry


Ingredients
1 small yellow squash, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 of a red onion cut into thick slices
3/4 cup sugar snap peas
1 package sliced mushrooms
3 green onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon ginger soy sauce
1 small can water chestnuts, drained
cooked brown rice

Instructions
In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium high heat.

 Add the squash, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, snap peas and onions.

 Saute for 9 minutes then add the garlic and green onions.

 Saute for 2 minutes more then add the water chestnuts and stir to warm through.

 Pour in low sodium soy sauce,

 and ginger soy sauce.

 Stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over a bed of brown rice for a healthy vegetarian meal.