Thursday, February 26, 2009

pizza with radicchio and red onion

Tonight I made pizza, super simple and fast. We used Whole Foods whole wheat pizza crust and Muir Glen pizza sauce. I'd love to learn how to make my own pizza dough but that's a project for another day. If anyone has any pizza dough tips or recipes, send 'em my way! Oh about the cheese- we used fontina and asiago because that's what we had, but radicchio pairs well with all sorts of cheeses, so you can really use whatever you'd like. I think traditional mozzarella with dollops of ricotta would be awesome!


Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 head radicchio, white core removed and roughly chopped
1 small red onion, sliced
1 whole wheat pizza crust
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup fontina cheese
1/4 cup asiago cheese
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onions with a pinch of salt until they are just begin to caramelize. Add the radicchio, then after just a minute or so, remove the pan from the heat. The radicchio will continue to wilt a bit from the residual heat. Spoon pizza sauce onto crust and spread it out evenly, then top with fontina cheese. Now spoon the radicchio and red onion onto the pizza, then cover with the asiago cheese. Season with salt, pepper and your favorite pizza seasonings. Place pizza directly on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 18 minutes.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

kitchen sink risotto

Radicchio has been plaguing me. I've looked through my cookbooks, searched online and flipped through magazines. But the radicchio recipes are few and they all follow the same basic idea: radicchio + strongly flavored cheese + carb. Which isn't a bad thing! Trust me, all of my favorite foods feature cheese plus carb. I guess I was just hoping to try something a little more unusual.

But oh crap! It's Wednesday and the new box is here and we still haven't used half the stuff from last week's box. Time to face the radicchio! So I decided we'd make "Risotto with Radicchio" after looking through Amaranth to Zucchini one last time. I've never made a real risotto before and I was really looking forward to it.

Then Kenny decided (I think he was a little tipsy*... shh!): You know what? Screw it, let's just throw all the greens in. I was hesitant but I wasn't gonna argue with the man. So, "Risotto with Radicchio" became "Risotto with Radicchio, and Collard Greens, and Pea Shoots, and Arugula."

And it came out damn good! The risotto was creamy and rich, the asiago and lemon juice gave it balance and you still could taste each of the greens individually. Bitter radicchio and peppery pea shoots held their own. We served it with sourdough that had been dusted with herbes de Provence. I dub thee- kitchen sink risotto!


Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cups arborio rice
7 cups veggie stock
2 heads radicchio
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch pea shoots
1 bunch arugula
6 cloves garlic confit, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 cup asiago cheese
1 pint cream
2 tsp lemon juice

Start by getting the veggie stock simmering in pot. During that time, wilt the greens in a non-stick skillet, working in batches, then set them aside. In another large pot, heat the butter and olive oil and sweat the onions with a bit of salt, til just barely translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the dry rice to toast it a bit, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Then, add 2 cups of hot stock and stir the risotto until the stock incorporates.

Continue adding stock slowly, 2 cups at a time and stirring to incorporate. Add the garlic confit as well, it will break down and dissolve into the risotto. After 6 cups of stock have been added, the rice should be just about done, maybe a tiny bit crunchy still. Add 1 teaspoon of thyme and 1 teaspoon of crushed sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste- but remember the asiago will add salt and the pea shoots and arugula are peppery, so keep that in mind. Add the last cup to finish the rice and cook until the rice is tender. Then add the cheese and stir to melt. Add the greens and incorporate, then stir in the cream. To finish, add two teaspoons of lemon juice, which will perk up the flavors. Re-season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Makes six servings.


*Kenny's note: yes I was tipsy, no I do not regret it. This is the best thing I have put in my mouth since wd-50 in NYC. It's just as good the next day. Everyone in my office is SO jealous, and there is more in the fridge!

weekly delivery 02/25

This weeks CSA delivery includes:

4 artichokes
2 lbs Peruvian purple potatoes

1 bunch pea shoots
4 Mineola tangelo

1 bunch collard greens
7 Braeburn apples

1 bunch kale
1 bunch Nantes carrots

1 bulb fennel
1 head romaine lettuce
3 red onions

1 head radicchio

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

eggs florentine... sort of

Annnnnd eggs. I love eggs. Katie loves eggs. We especially love poached eggs. This year for Xmas Katie bought me poach pods so I can make them whenever I want, which is always. Tonight we only had 4 eggs and were really hungry so instead of making a hollandaise I added fontina cheese to give an extra layer of richness. You could use any greens for this, and considering we both finished it in .095969 seconds and were screaming "MOAAAR!", this is probably going to become how we use some greens at least once a week. Enough babbling, on to the show:


Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 English muffins
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped
1 bunch spinach roughly chopped
salt, pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/2 an avocado

Get a sauce pan of water on the stove and get it boiling. Toast English muffins. Sprinkle with cheese and return to toaster oven, or oven to get all melty and delicious. Saute your kale and spinach in a pan over medium low heat with a little bit of cooking spray (don't forget to season these). Spray your poach pods, add your eggs, and get them into the boiling water. Cover and cook for about 7 minutes and WHOA, perfectly poached eggs. Layer them up as we did in the picture, or any way you want. Heck, make a sandwich! (Come to think of it, that's a damn good idea!) Eat, and begin craving for more.

Monday, February 23, 2009

curried carrot and leek soup



Ingredients:
1 bunch carrots (approximately 1 1/4 lbs), roughly cut
1 bunch leeks (4 medium), cleaned, trimmed, and roughly chopped (greens and all!)
1/2 a white onion, diced
4 cups veggie stock
3 cups water
4 Tbsp curry powder
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
black pepper
salt
sour cream and sriracha for garnish

In a stock pot on medium heat, sweat leeks and onion in canola oil until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add carrots, stock, water, cayenne, and HALF of the curry powder. Cover and bring to a simmer. When it begins to simmer, turn to low. Let cook for 30 minutes total. Use your immersion blender to puree into a smooth soup. (We just bought one of these this week and we are sooooo pumped! No more making a mess with the food processor!) Or, if you do not have a magic blender wand of joy; puree in small batches in your food processor. Now its time to season. We love strong curry flavors, so we added 2 more tablespoons of curry powder with our salt and pepper. Add however much you like. Ours was really awesome, and I added slowly, tasting each time. So 4 tablespoons is what I would recommend. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then eat it!

food for thought

This is by no means a political blog, but I read two articles today that I thought were interesting and relevant to our theme of seasonal, environmentally conscious eating. So, I wanted to share.

The first is a great article from Gourmet magazine. Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes, by Barry Estabrook, March 2009 issue.
"If you have eaten a tomato this winter, chances are very good that it was picked by a person who lives in virtual slavery."

I found the second article by way of the hilarious SF-based vegan food blog, vegansaurus!
Niman ranch founder challenges new owners, by Stacy Finz for the SF Chronicle.
"The 64-year-old Bolinas man said he can live with losing the business he built from scratch. But he can't stand quietly by, he says, while the new owners fundamentally change the brand that influenced an entire food movement. He refuses to eat their products."

What have you guys been reading lately? I saw that Cole mentioned she recently went to see Joel Salatin speak at Stanford. I'm totally jealous, Cole!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

wilted greens with pancetta and hard boiled egg


This salad is very simple to make, but it doesn't taste simple. Decadent doesn't have to be difficult. The pancetta is from The Fatted Calf, they sell local, organic, humanely raised meat at a stand at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Saturdays.

Ingredients:
1 bunch pea shoots
1 bunch arugula
1 coil pancetta, chopped
4 cloves garlic confit, chopped
1 Tbsp garlic oil from confit
2 eggs, hard boiled
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

The eggs can be boiled in advance and allowed to cool. Pick through the greens and rip the leaves off the stem, roughly in bite sized pieces. Rinse thoroughly and set aside. Meanwhile, heat up a non-stick skillet and fry the pancetta until crisp, then use tongs to remove the pancetta and set aside. Add garlic oil and garlic confit. Working in batches, wilt the greens in the pancetta fat. It only takes a few seconds, you don't want to cook it it the whole way, just wilt and warm the greens. Toss and assemble the salad and drizzle just a bit of balsamic vinegar on top to cut the fat, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

weekly delivery 02/18

The week, we got:


1 bunch pea shoots
1 bunch Nantes carrots
1 bunch dinosaur kale
1 bunch arugula
4 Mineola tangelos
1 bunch leeks
7 Pinova apples
4 artichokes
2 grapefruit
1 head radicchio
1 bunch collard greens

Monday, February 16, 2009

spicy tofu sandwiches, cabbage slaw, roasted potatoes


A re-worked version of the spicy tofu sandwiches we made back in September.

Ingredients:
1 roll french bread, cut in a V and hollowed out
1 cucumber, sliced on a bias
1/2 an avocado, sliced
1 block tofu sliced into 1/2" blocks
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 Tbsp of Tapatio, if you like it spicy!
Cooking spray

Pan sear both sides of the tofu in a pan on medium-high heat. Add BBQ sauce and hot sauce. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Place on roll with all of your fixins' and get down!


Served with a side of simple roasted fingerling potatoes, baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then tossed with salt & pepper; and a cabbage slaw with peanut butter soy vinaigrette.


Peanut butter soy vinaigrette:
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Cabbage slaw:
Ingredients:
1 head of green cabbage, shredded
1/2 a red onion, julienned
1 bunch cilantro

Shake all vinaigrette ingredients together in a glass jar. Make about 12 ounces of vinaigrette. Pour desired amount over a salad of thinly sliced green cabbage, red onion and minced cilantro. This makes enough for 6 large portions of slaw.

super natural recipes search engine

http://www.supernaturalrecipes.com/

I just found out about a wonderful search engine put together by Heidi Swanson, of 101 Cookbooks. In her own words: "It is a custom search engine that will help you find recipes made primarily from minimally-processed, natural, sustainable, whole foods." You can enter an ingredient, for example kale, and the search engine will give you recipe results from some of the best and biggest food blogs on the web. There ya go: 66 cherry-picked kale recipes for you to peruse, try out, or draw inspiration from. How awesome is that?!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

kale and red onion panade

I have wanted to make a panade ever since I saw it on What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway? aka veganmenu.blogspot.com. They don't give an exact recipe but mention that their recipe is based off of Judy Rogers', The Zuni Cookbook. If you Google "Judy Rogers panade", you get almost 60,000 results. I really prefer to work from a recipe when I'm making something I've never tried before, but there were so many variations I kind of had to make mine up as I went along. I used a post from Sweet Napa as guidance. I love her tip on how to use the leftovers!

Panade is very versatile, you can use whatever veggies and cheese you prefer. The recipe takes a long time so it's something to do when you've got a free afternoon. I decided to slow cook it for three hours, but you can bake it in as quickly as an hour and half.

Ingredients:
2 red onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, slivered
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch kale, stems removed and ripped roughly
6 pieces sun dried tomatoes, slivered
10 ounces day old chewy bread, I used Bakers of Paris ciabatta
2 and 1/4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups, loosely packed, shredded Fontina cheese
salt and pepper to taste (red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning too, if you like!)

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. *see note below.

Over medium high heat, heat up the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the onions. Cook until slightly translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and a few pinches of salt, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Onions should be soft and tender. Set aside in a small bowl to cool slightly.

Add the kale and tomatoes to the sauce pan and cook until the kale is slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of stock and black pepper to taste.

In a two-quart casserole dish, layer half the onions in the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of bread, a layer of the kale and tomatoes, then season and cover with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat with the remaining half of the ingredients, except the rest of the cheese, which will be added close to the end. Pack the ingredients down a bit, if necessary.

Fill dish with vegetable stock, until it covers about 3/4 of the depth. Loosely cover the dish with foil and also place a piece of foil on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake for 3 hours. *note: If you do not have, or wish to wait, three hours; instead preheat your oven to 325 and bake for one and half hours.

During the last 15 minutes, remove the foil from the panade and raise the temp to 375 degrees. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for the remaining 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

roasted potatoes, sauteed collards


Tonight we made roasted the potatoes from last week- no real recipe, just sliced 'em in quarters and roasted them at 350 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes. We also sauteed the collard greens with the oil from the garlic confit, salt & pepper. These simple sides would be great with any protein. We ate them with our favorite veggies burgers (Wildwood SprouTofu Original) and slathered it all with our favorite vegetarian gravy (Hain Brown Gravy).

weekly delivery 02/11

In our box this week:

7 kiwis

1 bunch pea sprouts

1 head radicchio
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch kale

1 bunch cilantro
1 lb Russian banana potatoes
6 Fuji apples

3 Mineola tangelos
1 bunch arugula

1 bunch collard greens

Monday, February 9, 2009

ramen

Sometimes I get serious cravings for ramen. I don't know what it is- most people consider ramen starving college student food. Maybe that's why I like it? Because it reminds me of old times. Growing up, my mom would make ramen for us- we called it noodle soup. She would put two ice cubes in each of our bowls to cool down the broth.


Ingredients:
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp white miso paste
2 Tbsp ginger, minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 block extra firm tofu, cubed
1 red onion, diced
1 bunch bok choy, trimmed
1 bunch kale, trimmed
1 egg
ramen, 1 block per serving

Bring a pot of water to a boil, this will be used to cook the ramen just before your ready to serve. Heat a large wok and add 2 Tbsp sesame oil. Add the tofu and onions and cook until the onions have softened, about 8 minutes. Then add the bok choy and kale and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the veggie stock, miso, soy sauce and ginger and, in a small pot, bring your broth to a high heat. When the veggies and tofu are cooked, remove them from the wok and set aside, then scramble an egg in the hot wok. By now your water should be boiling, so add in the ramen and cook for about 3 minutes. Portion your broth, veggies and ramen into bowls and slurp it up! (Two ice cubes not required.)

Saturday, February 7, 2009

100th post!

This is our 100th post! I'm proud of us. I thought we should do something to celebrate, so I made a new masthead. I also wanted to do a sort of "Best Of" and highlight out favorite recipes thus far.

Katie's top 5 favorites:
green chard fauxsotto - It's just a no-fail crowd pleaser, great for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.
six layer udon noodle salad - The flavors are clean, there's layers of texture, and the vinagrette is just awesome.
fried rice with bok choy - Best fried rice ever! The type of dish you get cravings for.
potato and onion gratin - Mmm, if only gratins were healthy, I could eat this everyday.
stuffed peppers - One of our early recipes, the combination of soyrizo, black beans, queso fresco and jalapeno was spot on. Next time, I'll take better photos.

Kenny's favorites:
pisto manchego - I really like eggs. No, I really LOVE eggs. Anytime, anywhere, on top of anything, even roasted squash.
seitan stew- Seriously delicious. So good we almost forgot to take a picture before we ate it all.
honey chili tofu with sauteed arugula and caper couscous - Fresh, flavorful, sweet, and spicy.
My other two favorites are already linked above. The potato and onion gratin, and the six layer udon salad. There is a lot more to come, so by the time we hit 200 posts, I am sure this list will evolve. Thanks so much to everyone who reads this thing! Keep reading, and keep cooking!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

leftovers redux

We had leftover empanada filling so I tossed it with some pasta. Yeah, Katie made another pasta dish... I know, I know: Shocking!


I just heated up the leftovers with a little butter, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and just a squirt of lemon juice. Then tossed in the pasta and topped with some parmesan cheese.

Then, I joined Pasta-holics Anonymous. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

empanadas

A few weeks ago, we went out to eat at a local Latin restaurant called Destino. The highlight of the meal was definitely the empanada sampler- one each of pork, chicken and vegetarian empanadas. I guess that's what got the idea in our heads to try making our own.

We used a recipe from Epicurious for the dough. It made enough dough for about 10 empanadas.

Ingredients:
Empanada Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into small chunks (*note: We used smart balance instead)
1 egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 Tbsp white vinegar

Mix the flour and salt into a large bowl, then blend in the butter by hand until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

We made two different types of filling for our empanadas. We sauteed up both the fillings the night before to save time, since the dough takes a while.

Radicchio Filling:
2 head radicchio, leafy parts only, roughly chopped
2 small pink lady apples, sliced thinly
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbsp sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (We used Canadian 5 year Aged, AWESOME!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions until translucent over medium heat, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and apples, then saute until soft, another 5-7 minutes. Next, add the radicchio and turn the heat down to low. Wilt the radicchio (it's fast, only takes a few minutes!) and stir in the spices. Season to taste and refrigerate.


Collard Green Filling:
1 bunch collard greens, roughly chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 can cannellini beans
6 cloves garlic confit (*note: see bottom of post for garlic confit recipe)
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions until translucent. Add collard greens, and wilt thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Put in the refrigerator and allow to cool.

Rinse and drain beans, then add to a bowl with the garlic. Add in the lemon juice and mash it up! A potato masher would be great, but a fork works just fine.

When your dough is ready, put two oven racks in upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces then roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin. They should be approximately 5 inches around and 1/8 inch thick.

For the collard greens filling, we spooned on a bit of the greens then topped it with the bean & garlic mixture, as shown above. For the radicchio filling, spoon on the raddicio mixture then top with some shaved cheddar cheese.

Fold each round in half, enclosing the filling and press the edges together to seal. Use the tines of a fork to make a decorative seal. Transfer empanadas to two baking sheets, which have been lined with foil and sprayed with your Misto. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes. Allow empanadas to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.


We served the empanadas with a pickled watermelon radish salad. It provided a great counterbalance of acid for the dish. Kenny's co-worker Ashley, who gets a CSA delivery from a different farm, had given him a gorgeous watermelon radish earlier that day,. I guess her husband hates radishes. Lucky for us!

Pickled Watermelon Daikon and Fennel Salad:

1 large watermelon daikon radish, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, shaved or thinly sliced
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in container that can be sealed, shaken and set aside. Note: the longer it sits, the more the pigment will bleed from the daikon. The flavor will get spicier over time, so if you want a spicy pink salad, make it a day ahead of time. If not, make it while you have some downtime, like when the dough is setting. It's really super fast.

A note: Regarding garlic confit!
Garlic Confit:
20 cloves of garlic, whole
2 cups olive oil

To make garlic confit, add both the garlic and olive oil in a sauce pot, then turn heat on low. Let simmer until garlic is tender. The color when it's done will be similar to a peanut. Strain out garlic for use in any recipe that calls for roasted garlic.

SAVE THE OIL! I love this stuff! Not only is it easier and WAY less messy than roasted garlic- you don't burn your hands squeezing it out! The leftover oil tastes like liquid roasted garlic joy and is amazing in pasta, dressings, pizza, marinades, garlic bread, or just to dip stuff in. Since we have made this batch I (this is Kenny, don't think Katie is a weirdo) have opened the bottle just to smell it at least 5 times. It totally makes my day. (Katie says: What a weirdo!)

weekly delivery 02/04

This week, we received:


6 Braeburn apples
1 green cabbage
baby bok choy
7 kiwi
7 Yukon potatoes


7 radishes
2 red onions
1 bunch dinoasaur kale
5 big clementines
1 bunch collard greens

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

links

So, I added a list over there on the right with links to fellow CSA recipients' blogs. If anyone reading this gets a CSA delivery from FFTY too, let me know and I will add a link to your blog or website. It doesn't have to be a food website. Just thought it'd be an nice way to get a little community.

p.s.: We only made 8 posts in all of January?! Yeah, we were on vacation but still! Expect lots more cooking this month!

hot and sour soup


Ingredients:

1 celery heart, bias cut
4 heads baby bok choy, roughly chopped
2 heads of broccoli, florets only
1 8 oz. package of prepared udon noodles
1 lb tofu, (We used Sunergia's More Than Tofu: Peanut & Ginger flavor)
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1 Tbsp sriracha
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp canola oil
soy sauce, to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes, place on an oiled sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes. Add canola oil to your favorite soup or stock pot over medium heat and saute the onions and celery until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Next add the stock and water and bring to a simmer. Add broccoli and bok choy and let simmer until cooked, about 4-5 minutes. Just before the soup will be served, add the udon noodles and stir to separate. Toss in your tofu from the oven, and stir in the sriracha and lime juice. Season with some soy sauce, if you would like a little more salt.

Monday, February 2, 2009

orzo with brussel sprouts


Ingredients:

1 pound brussel sprouts
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup whole wheat orzo
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
3 Tbsp pine nuts
salt and pepper

In a stock pot bring about 8 cups of water to a boil. Trim and clean your brussel sprouts. Salt the boiling water until it tastes like the ocean (about 1 to 1.5 Tbsp salt) and add your brussel sprouts. While these are cooking, take your sauce pan and toast the pine nuts over medium heat for 2 minutes. After about 7 or 8 minutes check your brussel sprouts to see if they have cook through. If so, strain them out of the liquid and run them under cold water (or throw them in an ice bath) to stop the cooking process. Fill the stock pot back up with water and put it back on to boil for your orzo. Cook the orzo according to the package directions.

Next, add the canola oil to your sauce pan along with the onions and caramelize them over medium heat. When the onions are caramelized, add garlic, chick peas and brussel sprouts to the mix and warm through. Season with salt and pepper. When the veggie/bean mixture and pasta are both finished, add together in a bowl (or to save on dishes, use the stock pot). Mix in the parsley. Serve and garnish with pine nuts and parmesan cheese.