Last week I sorted through my veggies and I realized I had a serious collection of Cue Ball Zucchinis.  So last night, I cored them and julienne sliced them into noodles.  I grabbed a package of frozen shrimp and whipped up some pesto and a delicious dinner was made!  Here is an adaptation of the recipe that I made, with a Creamy Pesto sauce.  If creamy isn’t your style, omit the Coconut milk and use Olive oil in the pesto instead!

Another great recipe is a flavored butter to top your corn.  Sometimes it’s a little boring to throw it in a pot and smear butter on it.  So next time try grilling it and whipping up this great butter recipe.

Last, a recipe that my sister came up with for beets.  She decided to roast the beets with garlic and potatoes for a simple side!!

Creamy Pesto Pasta & Shrimp Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Paleo Gurl’s Kitchen

Pesto

Cilantro Lime Butter for Sweet Corn Recipe Courtesy of Sunshine Sweet Corn & Photo Courtesy of Feasting at Home

½ cup lightly-packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon grated lime peel
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In the bowl of food processor fitted with a metal wing blade, place cilantro, lime peel, salt and hot pepper sauce; process using on and off motions until cilantro is finely chopped, scrapping sides of bowl if necessary. Add butter; process until combined, about 30 seconds. (Or, finely chop cilantro leaves; place in a medium bowl with remaining ingredients; stir until combined.) Serve over hot cooked corn on the cob or other steamed vegetables.

YIELD: ½ cup

Roasted Potatoes & Beets Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Katey Meza

2 – 3 Med Potatoes, quartered
1 – 2 Beets, peeled & quartered
1 T Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh Thyme
1 tsp fresh oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients above and mix until the potatoes and beets are covered in oil.  Lay out on foil sheet and roll into a packet so that there are no holes in the foil.  Place on BBQ at medium/high heat for 30minutes.  Unwrap and check softness of the beets & potatoes.  Once they reach the desired softness, let them cool & enjoy!

Why Em’s Fight? Emily was an extraordinary athlete and fought through every single struggle in her life whether it was on the court, on the javelin runway or with her cancer!

Here is a link to our sign-up sheet if you would like to mail it in with a check http://www.fpgardens.com/pdf/FFYL%20Sign-up%20Sheet.pdf  or feel free to sign-up using the Race Website at www.FightForYourLife5K.com.

GARLIC CAULIFLOWER “MASHED POTATOES” 

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Nom Nom Paleo

Serves 6-8.

1 large head cauliflower
5 large cloves garlic
Salt
2 tablespoons grassfed butter
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

I started by filling up a large (6-quart) stock pot with an inch or two of water. I put the pot on a burner set on high, dumped in a steamer insert, and put on the lid.

While waiting for the water to boil, I washed and trimmed a large head of cauliflower and cut up the florets and stem. I then grabbed a packet of Trader Joe’s peeled garlic from the fridge and sliced up all the cloves.  Don’t worry about how everything looks because it’ll get pulverized later in the Cuisinart.

Once the water in the pot was boiling, I threw in the stems, half of the florets, and all of the garlic. I salted everything liberally.

Then, I put in the rest of the cauliflower, seasoned with more salt, replaced the lid, and steamed everything until it was soft (~10 minutes). You won’t overcook it — trust me.

Once the florets were done, I dumped everything into a colander and let it drain.

I dumped everything into my Cuisinart food processor (fitted with the steel knife), and added some fresh cracked pepper, microplaned nutmeg, and the butter.

Final step: I processed everything until smooth. After one last taste for seasoning, I put my faux “mashed potatoes” in a big bowl, covered it and popped it in my fridge. These faux “mashed potatoes” reheat beautifully in the microwave!

Chicken with Blueberry Ginger Chutney 

Photo & Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Whims Blog

Serves 6

Chutney:

2 cups fresh blueberries or Blackberries

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger OR 1/4 + 1/8 tsp dried ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
Chicken:
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
6 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. To make the chutney: Combine all of the chutney ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.

2. To prepare the chicken: Combine the oil, basil, oregano, chicken, and garlic in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from bag. Discard extra marinade.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes on each side until done. Serve with chutney, green veggies, and a nice hunk of sourdough bread from your local farmer’s market!

2      Tbsp. olive oil                                        

1      large onion

*For a heartier stew, add 2 cups cooked cubed chicken or turkey

1. Heat olive oil in large heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and bay leaf; sauté 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is slightly golden and almost tender.  Add sweet pepper, zucchini and garlic; sauté 3 to 5 minutes or until pepper and squash are almost tender.

2. While vegetables are cooking, place ½ the tomatoes in the blender.  Whirl until puréed.

3. Add pureed tomatoes, remaining chopped tomatoes, potato, corn, salt and black pepper to vegetables in saucepan.  Bring to boiling.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 -15 minutes or until potato is tender.  Remove and discard bay leaf. Stir in marjoram. Serve.

Until next week!!  Farmer Stacy

This week we gave our CSA members both Cherry and regular Garden Tomatoes.  We also included some Jalapeno peppers for everyone!  Sounds like the making of some great fresh salsa!  Need a recipe?  I’ll include one here that is an easy favorite for the whole family!

We also have cabbage that is starting to grow in the garden.  One of the great recipes that we always use is coleslaw, to top tacos, pulled park, or simply as an easy summer side to those hot dogs and hamburgers!!  Below is one of my favorites.  Want to mix it up?  Make your own mayo and throw in a little cayenne pepper to add a little heat!

The last recipe that I have included is for those Cue Ball Zucchini.  Along with simply grilling them with some olive oil, many of you may still have one or two of these babies in your crisper drawer.  I know I do!  Tonight I’m going to make a Paleo-fied recipe of the Zucchini Parmesan Crisps, that sounds amazing!!!  Here’s the regular recipe for those of you who aren’t afraid of breadcrumbs!

Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Simply Recipes

Creamy Coleslaw 

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Better Homes & Garden

1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 – 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup finely shredded carrot

Directions:

Stir together mayonnaise or salad dressing, vinegar, sugar, celery seeds, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Combine green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrot in bowl; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Ellie Krieger, Food Network.com

1 Cue Ball zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4-ounce)
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

When Tomatoes come on, usually they all come on at once! The Tomato Evolution salad is perfect for using up a bunch of tomatoes!!  I also included a family favorite, Potato Salad!  It can’t be a summer BBQ without the Potato Salad!  For the last recipe I chose a simple Pasta and Broccoli Recipe, with can be used as a side, or you can also add chicken for an entree dish.

Evolution Tomato Salad Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Jaime Oliver

¾ pound of ripe grape or cherry, vine, and regular tomatoes

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

a few sprigs of fresh basil

¼ tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Cut the larger tomatoes into wedges, halve the grape or cherry tomatoes, and leave the smaller ones whole.
• Put them into a bowl with the olive oil and red wine vinegar. Toss well to coat all the tomatoes with the dressing.
• Pick the leaves off the basil and scatter them over the salad. Season with the salt and pepper.

Dad’s Potato Salad Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Simply Recipes

3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
4 Tbsp juice from Kosher dill pickles
3 Tbsp finely chopped dill pickles
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1chopped onion, including the greens
1-2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place peeled, cut potatoes in a large pot. Cover with an inch of salted water. Bring a pot of water to boil. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until just fork tender. Remove from pot. Let cool enough to handle, but still warm.

2 Put potatoes in to a large bowl. Add the juice from the Kosher dill pickles. Add the finely chopped pickles themselves. Add parsley, onions, celery, scallions and, if using, the hard boiled egg, carrots, and red bell pepper.

3 In a separate small bowl, mix mayonnaise with mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the dressing with the potato mixture. Again, salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta with Roasted Broccoli Photo and Recipe Courtesy of Cuisinart

Ingredients

12 ounces of short pasta
1 lb broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
1/4 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
2 Tbs. butter
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss broccoli and walnuts with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roast, tossing once, for 18 to 20 minutes (keep on eye out that the nuts don’t start burning!). Meanwhile cook pasta and reserve 1/3 c. of pasta water after draining. Toss pasta, broccoli, nuts, parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water in a big bowl and serve.

Try to stay cool!  Until next week!

We are also taking entries for our Fight For Your Life 5K, which is a Fun Run/Walk & Kid’s Dash started in remembrance of our sister and daughter Emily Pohlschneider-Edwards who we lost last October to cancer.  For more information about the Race, to Register or Donate to the Cause, please visit our Race Website.

Simple Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins Recipe Courtesy of Tina Bremer & PaleOMG

Ingredients

1 cup almond butter
1 cup almond meal/almond flour
3 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup Raw Honey
1/3 cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/3 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If you’re good at baking, you’ll know to mix the dry then the wet ingredients then mix together, but I do all the ingredients together and it works out just fine.
3. Place ingredients into 8-10 silicone muffin cups in a muffin tin. Or you can use muffin tin paper liners.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, they will puff up and look adorable.

Home Fries

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes, cubed
2 1/2 tablespoons oil, divided
3 cups chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Place the potatoes in a microwave-safe dish, and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH for 5 minutes. Uncover and cool slightly.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook 20 minutes or until golden and tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove onion mixture from pan. Wipe the pan clean with paper towels.

3. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and butter to pan, and swirl to coat. Add potato, and cook for 4 minutes, without stirring. Turn potatoes over. Cook 6 minutes or until browned, without stirring. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 10 minutes or until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in onion mixture, salt, and black pepper; toss. Sprinkle with parsley.

String Bean Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Goat Cheese

Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Lauren Braun Costello

Ingredients:

1/2 pound green beans
1/2 pound yellow beans
sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese