Local Box Meal Plan: Nov. 16-20

Happy Thanksgiving! I realize that I’m a week early, but we’re having some friends over for an early Thanksgiving on Sunday. Because it’s not the actual Thanksgiving day, I’m taking some liberties and veering from my family’s traditional Turkey Day menu (and let’s face it, who wants to have the same meal twice in one week?).

This week, we’re getting sweet potatoes, red onion, and collards or mustard greens from Naegelin, Eureka persimmons from Indian Hill (Texas A&M has a good breakdown of persimmon varieties grown in Texas here), Cameo apples from Top of Texas, pie pumpkin, green beans from Animal Farm, hot and sweet peppers from Green Gate Farm, escarole and Louisiana shallot-scallions from Acadian Family Farm, Bibb lettuce from Bella Verdi and herb from Pure Luck.

So I’m making:

Appetizer:

• Persimmon-cranberry chutney with water crackers and brie

Main course:

• Herb-roasted turkey
• Chestnut-apple stuffing (made with a red onion) served inside a roasted pumpkin – this only works if we get a pumpkin, not fennel. Here’s hoping for a pumpkin for the super cool presentatation!
• Roasted sweet potatoes tossed with herbs
• Roasted green beans
• Sauteed greens with garlic
• Louisiana shallot-scallion dinner rolls (based on this sweet dinner rolls recipe)

And because we still have to eat dinner on Saturday:

• Italian wedding soup with escarole
• Green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

I’m also retrying hot pepper jelly with this recipe, since it didn’t work so well last time.

Are you changing up some of your Thanksgiving staples this year, or keeping it traditional?

Soy-Glazed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

We got a bunch of string beans in our Greenling box last week, and I was planning to make honey-soy-ginger pork tenderloin anyway, so I thought that doing an Asian twist to go with the pork might be nice. I just carried over the some of the flavors that were in the pork to the green beans.

These green beans were so fresh that they honestly didn’t need doctoring up like this, but it was a nice change of pace from the normal steamed or sauteed green bean.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. green beans, washed and trimmed (Mine were particularly long, so I also cut them in half.)
• 1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce (The flavor gets pretty concentrated, so low sodium is key here — otherwise, your beans will be way too salty.)
• 1/4 c. toasted sliced almonds

Directions:

• Heat the canola and sesame oils in a skillet over high heat, then add the garlic and green beans and saute for ~4 minutes.
• After the green beans are almost done (al dente), add the soy sauce. It’ll deglaze the pan. Let it simmer and reduce for ~30 seconds.
• Remove to a plate, top with the toasted almonds, and serve.

For the pork recipe, click here.

Verdict:
Yum! The soy sauce was reduced just enough to make a nice glaze over everything and make the almonds stick to the beans, while the beans were just cooked enough to still regain their crispness and freshness. The flavor of the beans was accentuated by the other ingredients, rather than hidden. This is a great side dish for any meal, Asian-inspired or not.

Local Box Meal Plan for June 15-19

Great news — we’ve successfully moved! And I now have 2 very important things: a much bigger kitchen and a grill. You’ll see that our meal plan this week reflects my excitement over the grill!

This week, we’re getting: blueberries (Berry Best), cucumber (Buena Tierra), green bell pepper (Buena Tierra), green beans (Animal Farm), yellow squash (Naegelin), leeks (Acadian), sweet corn (Acadian), red potatoes (Guinea Hill), peaches (Caskey), shallots (Lundgren Farms), and chard or kale (Naegelin).

So:

Breakfast:

• “Green” smoothie with bananas, blueberries, and chard or kale (google “green smoothie” for an explanation of what it is. I’ve never had one before, but it sounds great!)

Dinner:

• Whole-wheat penne with leek pesto and a crispy leek garnish
• Calabasita with sweet corn and yellow squash

Sides:

• Grilled green beans tossed with sauteed shallots
• Grilled red potato coins
• Cucumber-green pepper salsa

Dessert:

• Grilled peaches with blue cheese and honey

Anyone tried a green smoothie before? What do you think?

Local Box Meal Plan for June 8-12

We’re moving on Saturday, and we’ve been packing up my kitchen little by little. I’ve been trying to keep as many things out as possible, but it’s hard to convince my husband that I’ll need the tagine or the immersion blender in the next few days. As such, I’ve been keeping our meals as simple as possible, not only because there isn’t much to cook with, but also because with all the packing we’ve been doing, I’m exhausted!

So I’m keeping the meal plan really straightforward. Greenling is sending us sorrel from Tecalote, blueberries from Cary’s Berry Best, cucumber from Buena Tierra or My Father’s Farm, green beans from Animal Farm, patty pan squash from Naegelin, mango from G&S groves, basil from My Father’s Farm, peaches from Caskey, sweet corn from Acadian, and French carrots from Tecalote.

Check out what I’m making — rather, “preparing:”

Sunday Brunch (that’s if my nonstick pan makes it out of a box):

• Sorrel omelette (you can use sorrel in place of spinach in many recipes, and my favorite omelettes have spinach, mushrooms, and lots of good cheese)

Lunch:

• Green salad with sorrel, basil (I love putting herbs in my salads!), carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn and patty pan squash

Dinner:

• Cashew chicken stir-fry with green beans
• Pasta with basil pesto (basil pesto freezes really well, so if we don’t get around to eating it, it’s not a big deal)
• Goat “bourguignon” with French carrots

Snacks (I’ve enticed those helping us move with pizza and beer, but just in case they want something a bit healthier):

• Blueberries
• Mango
• Peaches

Are you making anything fun with your sorrel this week?

Local Box Meal Plan for June 2-6

Just got word of this week’s Local Box contents! We’ve got green tomatoes (Ringger Farm), sweet corn (Acadian), italian cucumber (Buena Tierra), green beans (Animal Farm), patty pan squash (Naegelin), carrots (Tecolote), mangoes (G&S Groves), peaches (Caskey), beets (Tecolote), and blackberries (Naegelin). So this week, I’m making:

Snacks (sometimes it’s best just to eat these as is!):

• Mangoes
• Peaches

Lunch:

• Carrot-ginger soup (I’m one of those people who’s freezing no matter how hot it is outside.)

Sides:

• Grilled corn salsa
• Pickled beets
• Oven-fried green tomatoes (recipe to come in the Local Box)
• Spicy Asian cucumber salad

Dinner:

• Pasta with zucchini and toasted almonds (instead of zucchini, I’ll use patty pan squash and green beans)

Dessert:

• Blackberry ice cream

As a Yank, I’m pretty excited about the green tomatoes! How do you make green tomatoes? Got any family recipes to share?

Local Box Meal Plan for May 25-29

I’m late! I’m sorry. Having holidays on Mondays totally mess up my internal clock, leaving me to think that Tuesdays are really Mondays and so on. I realized this afternoon that today was actually Wednesday and I needed to get my Greenling meal plan going!

In this week’s box: blackberries (Naegelin Farm), cucumber (Buena Tierra), carrots (Tecolote), green beans (Acadian), summer squash (Naegelin), elephant garlic (Montesino), leeks (Acadian), mangoes (G&S Groves), peaches (Caskey), and garlic chives (Tecolote).

So for the next few days, we’re having:

Weekend brunch:

• Crepes with blackberries and fresh whipped cream (that’s if my husband doesn’t eat all of the blackberries before I can take them out of the green box — come on, I know you’re guilty of doing this, too!)
• Buttermilk biscuits with goat cheese and chives

Condiments:

• Tzatziki with cucumber and Greek yogurt (to be eaten with turkey meatball kebobs)
• Peach-mango jam

Dinner:

• Gnocchi primavera with garlic, green beans, carrots, and summer squash

Side dish:

• Polenta or mashed potatoes with leeks

What are you making this week?

Local Box Meal Plan for May 18-22

Hi all! Woman With a Whisk here. I’ve been a huge supporter of Greenling and their Local Boxes for a few months now, and I’ve been blogging how I’ve cooked out of my Local Boxes since then. Hopefully, I can share some interesting ways to use the produce that comes to us each week, and I expect to learn new things from you also!

Each week, I’ve been making a meal plan to figure out how best to use the Local Box contents. I find that without planning, it’s hard to use some of the more esoteric items before they spoil. Besides, I get a huge kick trying to use as many local ingredients/Local Box produce as possible in one meal. Don’t we all?

So without further ado, this week’s meal plan. In the current Local Box: blackberries, golden zucchini, green beans, dandelion greens, carrots, red spring onion, mangoes, beets, and red potatoes. Where I’m using recipes, I’ll link to them. Otherwise, the recipes are either in my head (waiting to be blogged!) or are common enough that you may have your own.

This week, I’m planning on making:

Breakfast:

• Blackberry pancakes (though this verrine would make a wonderful dessert for a special occasion or dinner party)

Sides:

• Zucchini cakes
• Sauteed green beans tossed with soy sauce and sesame oil
• Roasted red potatoes with rosemary

Lunches:

• Dandelion greens salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette (I’ll roast the beets and potatoes in the same pan the night before, then peel and cut up the beets when they’re cool for lunch the following day)

Dinners:

• Slow-cooker goat stew (made just like a basic beef stew) with carrots and red onions
• Ginger chicken stir-fry with mango chutney and red onion tops

If my husband would go anywhere near it (he hates mussels), I would make mussels with dandelion greens and linguini for dinner. Mmmmm. This recipe uses beer instead of white wine, which is an interesting twist on the usual.

Edited on 5/19: The Local Box video for this week is on Facebook here (you don’t need to be a Facebook member to check it out!). Turns out that we’re not getting red potatoes, but we are getting broccoli and swiss chard or red leaf lettuce. I’ll still roast the broccoli with the beets, and maybe wilt the swiss chard or use the lettuce to make lettuce wraps (since I’d also like to make dumplings this week!). Have fun!

Dinner of Many Veggies

Shocked to realize last night that it was already Tuesday – and thus the eve of my new Local Box delivery – I cleared out the fridge last night for dinner. I grilled eggplant slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a stove-top grill pan, roasted green beans and red potatoes with rosemary, and cooked two butternut squashes I’d collected. We mashed the cooked squash with a bit of sour cream and balsamic vinegar, baked a quick batch of corn bread, and dressed some baby lettuce for a simple salad. Then I substituted Key-lime juice for a twist on Meyer Lemon Squares – and a very satisfying end to the meal.

What do you still have left from last week’s Local Box?

Herbed Butter

I hadn’t managed to use two weeks’ worth of fresh dill from my Local Box, so today I preserved a bunch in butter. You can apply this technique to any herb by mixing it with softened butter, some kind of acid (vinegar, wine, or lemon juice and zest), and garlic or shallot for zing. Got an idea which acid I used? Local Box Meyer lemon, of course. I mixed 1/2 cup softened butter with a bunch of dill (rinsed, spun dry, and chopped), the zest of one Meyer lemon and half of its juice, and two medium-sized cloves’ worth of pressed garlic. I seasoned with salt and pepper and scooped the mixture into a refrigerator storage container. Some great uses for herbed butter:

• a topping for steamed Local Box veggies, like zucchini and green beans
• a flavorful finish to a baked red potato for a quick lunch
• a dollop atop a grass-fed steak, à la française
• a smear over crusty bread before toasting in the oven
• an easy mix-in for a weeknight pasta with veggies

Butter lasts a long time in the refrigerator, even with seasonings mixed in. But you can freeze it, too, for even longer keeping. The editors at Gourmet magazine recommend dollopping it onto parchment, rolling it into a log, then freezing. You can serve up neat rounds if you take this approach.

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 10.27.2008

Here’s what’s coming in this week’s Local Boxes:

• marigold bouquet
• butternut squash
• apples
• green beans
• bibb lettuce or arugula/baby lettuce bouquets
• eggplant
• assorted herbs
• Meyer lemons
• Key limes
• zucchini
• yellow granix onions
• red burgundy onions
• cherry tomatoes