All posts by Karen

Powerhouse Rainbow Chard Sauté

June 21, 2017Salad, Side Dishgarlic, Gazy Brothers Farm, mushroom, onion, rainbow chard greens, recipe, veganKaren

Powerhouse your diet – add green leafy, yellow/orange, citrus and cruciferous items to our diet.

Why? Reduced risk of chronic disease, plus they are packed with nutrition to fuel our bodies and minds. But the most important reason is they are easy to use, quick to cook, and oh so tasty.

Also, this is a great prep ahead and cook last minute dish.

You can switch these ingredients for so many variations, whatever is fresh and strikes your fancy at the farmers market or CSA basket. Try substituting chard for beet greens, spinach, chicory, leaf lettuce, watercress, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, kale, or arugula and you’ll still get that same great powerhouse punch.

Check out these other powerhouse foods studied for their nutrient density by the CDC.

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:
Rainbow chard, 1 bunch, chopped (~5 cups)
Onion, ½ large, chopped
Green garlic, 2 stalks, sliced in rounds
Baby Bella mushrooms, 2 cups
Salt and Pepper to taste (or ¼ teaspoon each)
Coconut oil, 1 teaspoon
Optional: Orange peel (can be added during sautéing for brightness)

Step 1: Prepare the chard by washing, spinning damp dry, and roughly chopping. Discard the toughest part of the stem; the rest softens a bit in cooking, but some prefer to remove the stem entirely.

Step 2: Chop onion half, slice mushrooms, and slice green garlic stalks into rounds. (We include the green tops of the stalks – yummy.) If you are preparing more items, you could hold ingredients at this step until a few minutes before eating for best flavor.

Step 3: Sauté onion, garlic, and mushroom in oil for 5 minutes to soften.

Step 4: Pile on the chopped chard and sauté, watching and turning the chard periodically and cooking until just wilted down and tender – you want to give this a quick cook so that you retain as much nutrition and flavor as possible.

Step 5: Salt and pepper to taste, toss thoroughly. Eat and enjoy.

Serving suggestion – this makes a great breakfast or brunch dish with a poached or fried egg on top.

Nutrition Analysis
Recipe yields 3 servings. Per serving, using ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper: 51 calories, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, 2 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 3 grams protein, 503 milligrams potassium, 329 milligrams sodium, 189 micrograms vitamin A.

Eggplant and Zucchini Lasagna

Fresh vegetables make all the difference to the taste of this lasagna. See it being made and then try it yourself!

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise
Optional: 1 large portabella mushroom, cubed
1-1/2 cups pasta sauce or seasoned crushed tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed or shredded
2 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp roasted garlic powder (or fresh garlic clove minced)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp lemon extract (optional, if you like lemon ricotta)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Slice zucchini and eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Salt and pepper them to taste and bake on an oiled baking sheet until tender, about 8-10 minutes per side – but timing varies so watch for doneness. While that is cooking combine the ricotta cheese with the beaten egg, garlic, onion, basil and lemon extract, then salt and pepper to taste. Now create the masterpiece – layering sauce, eggplant, zucchini, mozzarella cheese (reserve 1/3 cup for topping). Repeat process until vegetables are stacked. Top with 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes covered and then 5 minutes uncovered to brown cheese. Let cool 10 minutes to help it set and distribute liquids.

Note: because this is vegetable based there is extra liquid – very tasty liquid. After refrigerating the liquid seemed to magically disappear and the leftovers were even tastier.

Veggie Chicken Foil Packets with Savory Broth

August 22, 2016Main DishBBQ, chicken, chives, foil packets, green beans, make ahead meals, mushrooms, okra, onion, peppers, recipe, tomatoKaren

Foil packets are delicious, easy, plan ahead, throw on BBQ or in oven!

Flavor combinations are limitless – you pick what’s fresh and how you want your broth flavored. This variation is OKRAlicious! This recipe serves 4 but is easy to size up or down.

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup okra, sliced into rounds
1 cup yellow and red peppers, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
2 carrots, cut length-wise in strips
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
4 tbsp Italian dressing
4 tbsp white wine
Minced chives
Fresh or dried herb – fresh is better if you have it
Salt and pepper to taste
Aluminum foil, 4 sheets – extra heavy is preferred

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375.
Chop vegetables and prepare foil by spraying or brushing with oil.

Step 2: Make the vegetable bed by adding 1/4 cup each of green beans, onions, and carrots to sprayed foil sheet. Sprinkle with chives.

Step 3: Salt and pepper chicken and layer on top of vegetable bed. Top chicken with 1/4 cup mushrooms, peppers and okra. Sprinkle any additional fresh herbs or seasoning you enjoy now, and some more salt and pepper to top layer of veggies.

Step 4: Drizzle each packet with 1 tablespoon Italian dressing (or whatever flavor combination you prefer, such as lemon or lime juice).

Step 5: Crimp edges together to make the foil packets.
Step 6: Place packets on cooking sheet and put on center rack of preheated 375F oven. Alternatively throw the packets on the BBQ.

Step 7: Unwrap hot packets carefully and serve in a bowl being careful to pour all the delicious broth from the packets into your bowl – yum. Eat and enjoy!