the arugula files

Swiss Chard and Barley Gratin

I want to love swiss chard.  Who couldn't love this gorgeous vegetable?   But as I've mentioned before, for me, swiss chard is lacking in the taste department.  Too bitter and not enough texture.  Enter cream.  Also, parmesan.  And garlic.  Finally, barley.  Wait, what?  Barley?  Yes, haven't you heard, I love barley now.

Roasted Radishes with Shallot Vinaigrette

Radishes are slowly becoming a staple in my house.  I toss them in salad, stuff them in tacos, and layer them on buttered toast.  Usually we eat them raw, or, less often, pickled.  I never really thought about roasting them until I saw this gorgeous picture in a magazine.  

Spicy Ginger Beef and Bok Choy

Week night cooking is exhausting.  Totally exhausting.  I'm constantly searching for week night meals that meet the following criteria (1) short prep and cook time; (2) use some of my CSA veggies; (3) fresh, light, and healthy; (4) rely mostly on kitchen staples (no trip to the super market required) (5) tastes good.  I've been hitting my target with the book Good For You, Easy Healthy Recipes for Every Day.  This Spicy Ginger Beef and Bok Choy is a great example.

Tomatillos, the Fresh New Vegetable (Plus Grilled Tomatillo Salsa Verde)

This is going to sound deeply superficial and shallow, but sometimes I buy fruit and vegetables based on looks.   It's a blogger thing, I guess. We all drink out of striped straws and like the look of fuchsia carrots.

Sometimes it feels a little ridiculous, like I'm a skeevy model scout, looking for the fresh new vegetable.  I like an exotic, unusual look, purple and green are my favorite skin tones to shoot.  So when these tomatillos showed up in my CSA, I wasn't thinking about what they would taste like, I was thinking, YES, I'm going to make you a star!

Learn How to Fry Okra from a New Englander?

The other day someone referred to me as a southern gal. I almost spit my diet coke out across the room. What? No slight against southerners intended, but I just had never thought of myself in that way.  

I'm a New Englander.

I'm not one of those Northern elitists, either.  I count myself as a New Englander not because I think I'm better than southerners, but because I like my ocean the same way I like my beer: cold.  When it comes to shellfish, lobster reigns supreme. I like to transition to sweaters at night in the summer. Fall is my favorite season; apple picking my favorite pastime.  I have a soft spot for Ben Affleck.  I am an Italian-Irish American!  I am nostalgic about snowstorms, and, during the winter, I am constantly rooting for more.  AND I can ice skate.

Week 17, CSA

Here's my menu plan for my CSA from a few weeks ago.  The best thing about my CSA is that I'm constantly learning about food.  I discovered that tatsoi is the new spinach, that I can make tofu better than most restaurants, and that I like okra.  I hope to post some recipes soon!  

CSA Meal Plan

1 bunch Green Tatsoi - Hillside Organics

• Ginger and garlic tofu with tatsoi over rice

1 bag Green Okra - Life Enhancing Acres 

• Elise's Panfried Okra

1 pints Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes - Crystal Springs Farm

• Salad during the week

1 Delicata Squash - Green Valley Organics

• Roast squash and eat it in quesadillas during the week

1 bunch French Breakfast Radishes - Outback Farm

• Cucumber and radish salad as a dinner side

1 bag Chocolate Bell Peppers - Red Fox Organics

• Some kind of stuffed pepper dish

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CSA } Meal Planning

Spring CSA: All this for $18.20 From Lancaster Fresh Farm Cooperative

Radish, Chimichurri, and Butter Toast

Let's see, what do I have to say about radishes?  Not much really.  

They are nice to throw on top of salads for a little crunch.  Radish and butter toasts are delightful, but let's all admit that it has more to do with the butter, not the radishes.  I've never actually purchased radishes from the farmer's market or a super market. Not even once.  

So last week when a bunch of radishes came in my CSA box I had to look around for radish recipes. You know what I found?  Not much really.  

I ended up making radish and butter toasts.  Lucky for me I had some chimichurri stashed in my fridge.  A little dash of crack parsley makes everything better.

Sweet Potato and Lemon Drenched Kale Tacos

A winter CSA means I have more sweet potatoes and greens than I know what to do with.  The easy solution is to roast the tubers and saute the greens and then put them in (or on) something, like this taco, for example.

I'm not sure what makes a taco a taco.  As I see it, if food is placed in some type of tortilla (flour, corn, wheat) then it's  a taco (especially if it's sprinkled with cheese).  I like to describe this dish as a taco rather than the alternative description, wrap, because a wrap sounds like bland health food and taco sounds tasty. This dish is both healthy and tasty so maybe I should call it something else entirely.  Wraco?  Oh dear. I think I'll stick with taco.