Sunday, January 24, 2010

Ummmmmmmmm yeah......

Anyone know any good CSA's in New York City? Specifically in Brooklyn. Cause, you know, we have some- *ahem* friends who might be moving there soon. They are a really awesome couple, and kind of can't live without a box. Just friends of ours. Totally. Let us know. For them. Yeah...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

weekly delivery 01/06

1 bunch kale
1 head savoy cabbage
2 ruby grapefruits
4 Comice pears
9 Navel oranges
1 bunch cilantro

1 butternut squash
1 head green leaf lettuce
6 Fuji apples
4 leeks
2 bulbs garlic

stuffed shells with butternut squash and ricotta filling






Ingredients:
1 large 3 pound butternut squash, halved, seeds and pulp removed
1 package of large pasta shells, cooked to package instructions
1 pound of ricotta cheese
1 pound of fresh mozzarella, sliced
2 small heads of red cabbage, shredded
2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. Earth balance
salt and pepper to taste

Do this a day ahead if possible: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, place the squash face up. Rub with canola oil. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Place in oven uncovered and cook until completely cooked through, (should have a "mashed potato" kinda feel to it) about 45-55 minutes. Allow to cool, so that its easy to handle. Scrape the squash from the skin and set aside in a bowl. In this bowl, mix the ricotta cheese in with with cooked and cooled squash. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large saute' pan over medium heat add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil and sweat the onions until translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add in the cabbage slowly while tossing, the cabbage will cook down fast, and allow more room in the pan quickly. Add salt and pepper throughout the cooking, since you want it to be well seasoned, but are still adding new food to the pan. Once all of the cabbage has been cooked, stir in the beans and set the pan to the side- do not drain the cabbage/onion liquid from the pan, you will need it later. (Sound familiar?)

In a large pyrex or casserole, put half of the cabbage and onion mixture on the bottom. Stuff the shells with the squash and ricotta filling and place them into the casserole dish. Top with the rest of the cabbage and onion mixture. Top with parmesan, breadcrumbs, and slices of fresh mozzarella. Cover the whole dish with a layer of parchment paper, and then foil, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes covered, and then an additional 5 minutes uncovered. Pull it out of the oven and let it set for 4-5 minutes before gorging yourself on its deliciousness!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

cabbage soup



MORE CABBAGE! This recipe highlights all of the ingredients in it. You can taste each one and its contribution to the dish. It's simple, hearty, and cooks pretty darn fast. Great for a nice chilly evening.

Ingredients:
2 small heads of napa cabbage, shredded- about 4 cups
2.5 quarts of veggie stock
2 pounds of red potatoes, cut into 1/2" pieces, and well rinsed
1 pound of carrots, cut into 1/2 pieces
1 LARGE leek, white and green parts only, halved, and cut into 1/4' slices- about 1.25 cups packed
1.5 Tbsp. Earth Balance
3 tsp. dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the Earth Balance, and saute' leeks until translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, thyme, and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil (10 or so minutes), the potatoes and carrots should be almost cooked. Test them. If they are fork tender, its time to proceed, if not, continue cooking until they are ready. I'm waiting. OK, they're done- let's move on. Add cabbage and turn off the heat. Stir for 2 minutes until the cabbage is cooked through. Serve with some nice crusty bread or crackers and eat while watching Jersey Shore, wrapped up in your Snuggie.

UPDATE 1/7/10:
Tonight we took the leftovers from this soup and totally reinvented it. We cooked 12 vegan meatballs in the oven, reheated the soup with the leftover shells from the recipe above, and 2.5 Tbsp. 2x tomato paste, and added 2 tsp. of oregano. Tossed the meatballs into the soup, and made some nice crostini. It was damn good (I ate 2 huge bowls!). Hooray for versatile recipes!

Friday, January 1, 2010

pasta with butternut squash, purple cabbage and cannellini beans





So this week we had a RIDICULOUS amount of cabbage and butternut squash. We wanted to make some dishes that were fast, super tasty, and had a lot of leftovers that we could take to work. So, the next three posts will all be these recipes. Similar ingredients with different twists, some of them a little unconventional- but they came out damn good. Here's the first!

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta, cooked to package directions
1 3-pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
2 small heads of purple cabbage, cored and shredded
2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 15 oz. can of cannelini beans, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp. canola oil
2 tsps. dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss the squash chunks with 1 Tbsp. of oil, the thyme, and some salt and pepper. Lay this out in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the squash is cooked through, but still firm, about 20-25 minutes.

In a large saute' pan over medium heat add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil and sweat the onions until translucent, about 6-7 minutes. Add in the cabbage slowly while tossing, the cabbage will cook down fast, and allow more room in the pan quickly. Add salt and pepper throughout the cooking, since you want it to be well seasoned, but are still adding new food to the pan. Once all of the cabbage has been cooked, stir in the beans and set the pan to the side- do not drain the cabbage/onion liquid from the pan, you will need it later.

Right about now your pasta should be done, and so should the squash. Find a BIG mixing bowl, and toss everything in! Sprinkle the nutritional yeast in as your mixing, it and the left-over cabbage/onion juice will make a nice sauce. Adjust any seasonings- more salt and pepper, more herbs, whatever you like. Then gobble it up!