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Category: Healthy Eats

  1. Thursday, April 14

    CSA Fun: Green Garlic

    I officially have my first item from a CSA bag that I have never eaten before. And the winner of this coveted title is…green garlic.

    Here she is.

    I felt like I had to get it. After all, the farms where my produce comes from are in an area that is the garlic capital of the country. Green garlic is essentially young garlic that is often pulled by farmers to thin out the crop (although also harvested on purpose as it gains popularity). Green garlic has a milder flavor than garlic and is, apparently, delicious.

    So, what am I gonna do with this here green garlic? I don’t even know what it will look like when I cut into it! I’m thinking I might chop one up and sauté it with the asparagus we received in the same CSA bag. If any of you have ever used it and have ideas, please share! I need your wisdom!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:36 pm   18 Comments
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  2. Thursday, March 17

    Butternut Squash Cauliflower Leek Soup…my first CSA creation!

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! Every year I try to plan a fantastic green feast. And this year I still don’t know what I’m doing! However, I just took a gander at what we ate last year, and it was great inspiration. I think we’ll have green chicken piccata, green mashed potatoes (potatoes from our CSA bag) and baby broccoli (also from our CSA bag). I’m sad I didn’t get a corned beef to cook, but maybe we can get one on sale tomorrow and enjoy it a few days late!

    I do have a good non-green recipe to share with you today, however. Last week I was planning to make butternut squash soup, since I had ordered butternut squash with my CSA bag. When it arrived, I got two baby butternut squashes. While super cute, they weren’t going to provide quite enough squash for the recipe. However, I had three leeks in the bag and a beautiful head of cauliflower, so I made some modifications. The result – a deliciously buttery soup with great flavor!

    Butternut Squash Cauliflower Leek Soup
    From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
    - 2 small butternut squashes (or the equivalent amount…probably about 2 pounds or so)
    - 3 leeks, green tops cut off, and leeks cleaned and chopped into 1-inch pieces
    - 1/2 head cauliflower
    - 2 T butter
    - about a teaspoon ground ginger
    - 5 cups chicken stock
    - salt and pepper to taste

    Half butternut squash and roast in the oven until easily pierced with a knife, 45-60 minutes. Steam cauliflower until cooked but not mushy.

    Melt butter in large soup pan. Saute leeks in butter 5-10 minutes, until soft. Add ginger and let cook a minute or two more. Add broth and bring to a boil. Carefully add cauliflower and scoop out the butternut squash from the skins and add to the pot as well. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20-30 minutes.

    Carefully blend soup in batches until it is all smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Eat!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:11 am   9 Comments
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  3. Sunday, March 6

    Week 215 Menu

    I think my favorite item from our first CSA bag this week were the kiwifruit. I don’t think I even realized there were kiwifruit growers in California. I’m grateful there are! Nate was dismayed to discover today that 5 of the 6 kiwifruit were “missing.” I just couldn’t help myself. I blame it on the fact they’re so healthy. I felt like I should be eating them uncontrollably. You know, for my health. Oh, I’m supposed to be worried about my family’s healthy too? Whoops.

    I can’t believe it’s March already! For those of you still experiencing crazy winter weather, I’ll cross my fingers that, even though March may be coming in like a lion, it will in fact go out like a lamb for you!

    MONDAY:
    - Lasagna

    TUESDAY:
    - Asian Spinach Salad

    WEDNESDAY:
    - Butternut Squash Soup (I’ll be getting a butternut squash and leeks in this week’s CSA bag…perfect!)

    THURSDAY:
    - Leftovers

    FRIDAY:
    - Boursin Turkey Baguettes

    SATURDAY:
    - Eat out

    SUNDAY:
    - Leftovers or breakfast for dinner, depending on how many leftovers there are!

    Menu time, folks! Show us what you got!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:06 pm   72 Comments
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  4. Thursday, March 3

    My First CSA Bag!

    As you may recall, my New Year’s Resolution was to join a CSA. Yesterday I picked up my first CSA bag! We truly are blessed with beautiful produce throughout the year here in California. The girls and I were super excited to get home and see what was inside. I decided to join Eating with the Seasons. A good friend highly recommended them and I liked that I can get eggs included with the weekly delivery as well as select what produce I want each week based on their supply. And, so far, their customer service has been really great, so I’m excited to work with them!

    Even though I can choose what I want delivered, I forgot to log-in last week, so this week’s bag was full of surprises. Happily, everything we received is produce we normally eat. Phew! I know part of the reason I am doing a CSA is to challenge myself to try new produce, but I must admit it’s nice to ease into the experience with food I know.

    We’re starting out with a Small bag each week to get a good idea of what we will use. Here is what we received this week. A dozen organic, local, humanely-raised eggs for only $4.50 (I’m getting this bi-weekly). Awesome, right? For veggies, a bunch of carrots, a HUGE acorn squash, two heads of butter lettuce and two big crowns of broccoli. For fruit, a bag of kiwi fruit, four apples and 6 tangelos (one of which I am eating right now – it’s delicious!).

    I have to say, I already feel more invested in my produce. How often do I let it go bad in the fridge? More often than I like to admit. But I’m determined to not have that happen with my CSA produce. Hopefully this means we end up eating more fruits and veggies overall! I’m very glad I made this our resolution and that we are finally jumping on the CSA bandwagon. I think it’s going to be a great experience.

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:11 am   17 Comments
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  5. Thursday, February 10

    Santa Fe Salad

    Tonight we’re having Santa Fe Salad. I’ve linked to the recipe before, but I’ve never written about it. So here we are!

    I modified this recipe from a salad I used to order at a restaurant in San Diego. The biggest reason I like this salad is the cornbread croutons. They are YUM. I suppose ranch dressing doesn’t hurt either. ;)

    Santa Fe Salad
    - 2 hearts of romaine, chopped up
    - 1 granny smith apple, chopped
    - Handful or two of cubed gouda
    - Cornbread croutons (see below)
    - 3 handfuls of corn (canned or frozen or fresh…whatever you’ve got!)
    - 1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
    - Chopped walnuts (optional – I always leave these out)
    - Thinly sliced red onion (also optional)
    - Chopped cooked chicken (optional – I never do the chicken, actually – but it would be a yummy addition)
    - Ranch dressing

    Combine all the ingredients and eat!

    Cornbread Croutons
    - Cornbread – premade is fine, jiffy mix is fine, I followed the simple recipe on the back of the cornmeal box for an 8″ x 8″ pan
    - 3 tablespoons butter, melted

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cube cornbread. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and brush/drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the croutons over every 5 minutes so the bottoms don’t burn. Serve with Santa Fe Salad or any other salad that strikes your fancy. And, as I’m typing, I’m even thinking this might be a fun topper for chili!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:21 pm   18 Comments
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  6. Tuesday, January 11

    Call for Recipes: Walnuts

    Let me begin with a confession. I hate walnuts. Hate them. In fact, I’ve never met a walnut I liked. Which is a shame since they are a superfood and all. I’ll just have to eat extra oats or something.

    Anyway, just because I don’t like walnuts doesn’t mean you don’t. In fact, I’m pretty sure there are a whole bunch of you out there who actually like, maybe even love, walnuts. Go figure.

    We haven’t done a Call for Recipes in a while and I think it’s time. Plus, I found these absolutely gorgeous red walnuts at the store yesterday. Even I, hater of walnuts, couldn’t resist putting them in my shopping cart. They were practically screaming for me to take their picture. I obliged. And luckily Nate likes them, so I promise they won’t go to waste!

    I don’t have a walnut recipe to share. But I’m certain you all have wonderful recipes! Please share your favorite recipes that use walnuts, whether they are the main character or play a supporting role. Maybe you’ll even convince me to open my mind to what walnuts have to offer…although I doubt it! ;)

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:07 am   51 Comments
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  7. Tuesday, January 4

    My New Year’s Resolution: Join a CSA

    It’s the beginning of the year, which for many of us is a great time to make new (or revive old!) goals. Cate’s Kindergarten class even made resolutions for 2011. Cate came home from school with this completely adorable New Year’s Bell, with the following resolution: “In 2011, I will listen to my parents more.” Needless to say I am excited about her choice! (I love the illustration of her ear actively listening.)

    I’ve been thinking for weeks about what I want my 2011 New Year’s resolution to be. Last year’s resolution Eat Less Meat went really well, which puts a lot of pressure on this year’s resolution. Yesterday it finally hit me what I want to do: join a CSA. I’ve been thinking about doing this for years and am finally going to take the plunge. The great thing about this year’s goal is that it supports last year’s goal very nicely, so I can continue on my theme of eating more plants, less meat and less processed food. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture. Basically, a local farm or group of farms delivers produce weekly to a drop spot near your home. You pay a flat rate and get whatever happens to be in season. It’s a great way to eat seasonally and locally! Click here for more detailed info.

    Perhaps I should give a quick report back on last year’s Eat Less Meat goal, which was not about going vegetarian but about reducing our family’s demand for meat and processed foods. I feel like it was super successful and is something I have been able to incorporate into my daily life. I buy so much less meat than I used to, which has been beneficial to my pocketbook and my health. I am much more thoughtful about how I use meat and I really appreciate it when we do eat it. The resolution definitely has changed how I think when I buy food, and I am constantly aware and thoughtful about where my food comes from. I’m not perfect. Trust me. But I have made changes and I continue to do so in a sustainable and meaningful way.

    And to continue on with that success…CSA here I come! My goal is to not only join a CSA, but really learn how to use all the wonderful fruits and veggies that I will get each week. I’ve been scared to do it in the past because I know there will be produce that I don’t have experience with. But it’s going to be good for me to expand my horizons!

    Time for you to share some thoughts on resolutions. You know I love hearing from you!

    • If you participated with Eat Less Meat, let us know how it went!
    • If you are going to join a CSA like me, let me know – I don’t want to be alone on this journey!
    • If you’ve made any New Year’s resolutions, tell us about them – no matter what they’re about! Declaring a goal publicly definitely helps in keeping it. (The only reason I am so diligent about a weekly meal plan is because I have all of you watching!)

    Happy New Year!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:08 pm   42 Comments
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  8. Wednesday, November 17

    ‘This Week for Dinner’ Cookbook Club: The Earthbound Cook

    I’m starting something new. Because I’m kind of bored. There’s just not that much going on in my life. ;)

    Okay, seriously, here is my new thing. The ‘This Week for Dinner Cookbook Club.’ It goes something like this. I convince a publisher to give me a bunch of copies of a cookbook. Then I email the members of the Cookbook Club, they get copies of the book and we get together for a potluck where we all cook recipes from the book. I then write about our meeting here on the blog to share with all of you!

    I have a diverse and wonderful group of women who are members of the cookbook club. And they have been waiting very patiently for our first meeting. See, I put the club together months ago. And so far being a member hasn’t meant much.

    Thankfully my dear friend Linsey Krolik got the ball rolling! She has her own book club, From Left to Write, where the members are all over the country and they read all kinds of books. And she rustled up a bunch of copies of Myra Goodman’s new cookbook The Earthbound Cook. And, last Wednesday, the stars aligned and we had our first meeting – combined with Linsey’s lovely group, of course!

    What an evening! I encourage you all to start your own cookbook clubs. It was a BLAST all having the same cookbook, emailing and Facebooking about the recipes, planning what we were going to make. And then…then! Getting together and eating all the wonderful food and spending a few hours chatting.We all walked away that night feeling warm, happy, and full!

    It certainly didn’t hurt that we all loved Myra’s book. What a wonderful inaugural cookbook for our club! It is full of wonderful recipes as well as great stories and insight. And every single person agreed – there was not one dish at the potluck that wasn’t good! Everything was wonderful. Of course I had favorites, but everything tasted great.

    So now I am inspired. I can’t wait for our next cookbook club meeting!

    I have to share one of my favorite recipes from the night with you. Because I want to whet your appetite for the cookbook…and I think it would be a yummy Thanksgiving treat! It’s the squares you see pictured above. They were fabulous!

    Oatmeal, Carrot and Apple Breakfast Squares
    From The Earthbound Cook
    - Butter, for greasing baking dish
    - 1 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
    - 1 1/2 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
    - 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
    - 1 tablespoon baking soda
    - 1 teaspoon baking powder
    - 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
    - 1/4 tsp salt
    - 1 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
    - 2/3 cup canola oil
    - 2 large eggs
    - 1 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
    - 1 1/2 cups grated peeled carrots
    - 1 cup grated peeled apples

    Topping:
    - 2 cups walnut pieces
    - 1/2 cup (2 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut
    - 1/4 cup (scant 2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
    - 1 tsp ground cinnamon

    Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter the bottom of sides of 9×13 baking dish.

    Place the oats, flour, flaxseeds, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and stir to combine.

    In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and the oil. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the buttermilk.

    Add the oat mixture to the buttermilk mixture, and stir to combine. Add the carrots and apples, stir just til blended. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish.

    Place the walnuts, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir to blend and sprinkle over the batter.

    Bake until the batter has set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour then cut into 12 pieces.

    Below is a list of the From Left to Write bloggers who have written about The Earthbound Cook today. Definitely a list of blogs posts worth checking out!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 8:41 am   35 Comments
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  9. Wednesday, November 10

    Let’s talk beets, shall we?

    I will admit, there was a time in my life when beets made me, well, gag. And if I’m going to be brutally honest, that time was my entire life! That is until this past September, when I had the beet salad at Cafe Borrone (pictured). The beets were so light flavored, sweet and wonderful. And combined with creamy, heavenly goat cheese? Yum! And then, when I cooked my One-Dish Dinners meal, a similar beet salad was part of the menu I selected. I decided to give beets a chance once again and ended up happily eating them up!

    Since I had avoided beets like the plague, I had never prepared them before. I was happy to discover that they are super easy to make. Just cut off the greens, wrap in foil, place on a pan and roast in a 400-degree oven for 40-60 minutes. Once they’re cooked, the skins fall of very easily. Mine had a bit of a heavier flavor than the beets at Cafe Borrone, but they were still good. And Nate was in heaven because, you see, he’s always been a fan of beets. How open-minded of him.

    I will say this. If you cut them on a wood cutting board, make sure you use a board that you don’t care gets stained. I purposely chose this old yucky cutting board for the job.

    My sister-in-law Cora doesn’t believe me and insists that beets taste like dirt. And, yeah, two months ago I would have joined along in her beet taunting. But no more. I refuse to beat up on beets any longer! You’re on your own, Cora. Okay, who am I kidding? Cora is probably not alone. I think there are actually plenty of people who will join in to declare that beets taste like dirt. ;)

    For those of you who DO like beets, though, please feel free to share any recipes or tips! I’m ready to do a bit more experimenting with beets!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:41 am   39 Comments
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  10. Friday, November 5

    Report Back on Apples & Tomatoes…and My Red {Not So} Delicious Apple Experiment

    Two weeks ago I asked for your best recipes for preserving apples and tomatoes. And you delivered – big time! In fact, recipes are still coming in and I look forward to having that post as a resource for years to come! (If you haven’t shared yet and want to, please click here and comment!)

    I figured I should report back and let you know what I actually ended up making. I kept it kind of simple.

    • Applesauce
    • Apple Crisp (three, to be exact)
    • Tomato sauce (based loosely on this Simple Bites recipe so I could get an idea for relative quantities…I mostly just did what I normally do when I make sauce with canned tomatoes…all of your tomato sauce comments gave me faith in myself!)
    • Roasted tomatoes

    Everything is delicious and I’m excited to have all these goodies stocked away in our freezer. Actually, we haven’t eaten the cobbler yet, but I’m thinking we can’t go wrong with that one!

    A few notes on my experience. First, WOW…it takes a long time to prep the apples and tomatoes! Second, the tomato sauce is SO good and tastes SO fresh, can’t wait to pull that out of the freezer in the middle of the winter. Third, it was fun making everything, but definitely took more time than I expected. But the house sure did smell good during all that time! Fourth, boy am I glad we bought a chest freezer.

    While we’re talking apples, a word on Red Delicious. It’s official. I hate ‘em. I’ve always had a thing against red delicious apples. I recently saw local, organic, tiny, adorable red delicious apples at the market. I thought to myself, “Maybe I haven’t given red delicious a fair shake. Maybe if I eat a nice, fresh version, it will actually taste good.” Nope. Tasted just as bad as I figured it would. Too bad because they look so good!

    My friend Anna convinced me that they do have good flavor and I agree they probably make a nice juice…but as far as eating them straight up. BLECH. That is the result of my red {not so} delicious apple experiment. You can try to convince me otherwise, but I doubt I will be convinced!

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:34 am   22 Comments
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