Sunday, July 3, 2016

Early Summer Food Ideas

Been having fun using the vegetables in our CSA and wanted to share some of the recipes I've thrown together.


Quick and Easy Broccoli Summer Salad

1 head of broccoli, chopped so end trees are bite sized
1 green onion, diced both greens and whites
2 Tbsp olive oil Mayo
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
sprinkle of salt & pepper

Combine in a bowl, makes about 4 servings. 
Fix Count (not exact but good estimate): 1 cup = 1 green, 2 spoons, 

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Cauliflower rice is all the hype, so easy and filling too! If you don't have 90% of your kitchen packed away in boxes like I do you could use the grater attachment on your food processor (much easier) or if you have access to a limit supply of your kitchen gadgets then you can use a cheese grater like I did above. Grate head of cauliflower, saute on medium heat in a Tbsp of warm oil about five minutes. I sprinkled a little salt and pepper on while it cooked. 

Fix Count: 1 cup = 1 green! Depending on the amount of oil you used you might need to count a spoon. 

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Here we found a fun way to use the collard greens in our CSA. I followed this great tutorial for instructions. 

Chop the stems off of your greens.
Simmer in water on the stove top for roughly 30-45 seconds. I did closer to 45-60 seconds for softer leaves.
Immediately dip in ice bath for ten seconds.
Take out and towl dry.
Place in a stack and enjoy!
Keep the leftover in the fridge and try to eat within 3 days.


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With the collard greens and cauliflower rice we had a taco night! I had also picked up some habanero cheddar cheese at Costco. Which turned out to be WAY to spicy for the kids and myself. Dad sure loves it! After trying it Isaac said "that cheese is for daddy" while scraping his tongue and chugging water. So instead of using it for cheese and crackers for the kids as I had planned, we will need to figure out more subtle ways of using it. Shredded on taco's was the inspiration for this meal.


Collard Tacos

1 blanched collard green as tortilla
1/2 cup of cauliflower rice
1/2 red container of ground turkey with taco seasoning
1/4 cup of chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 blue container of shredded habanero cheese

Fix count: 2 tortillas each prepared as mentioned above = 3.5 green, 1 red, 1 blue

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Another great use of our fresh produce. Above pasta salad:

1/2 cup of organic whole wheat pasta
1 red container of chopped chicken breast
2 Tbsp of arugula pesto

Fix Count: 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue


I did have to unpack my food processor because I made two batches of this yummy goodness. It will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months. 

Green Garlic and Arugula Pesto
1 bunch arugula
2 green garlic (including white stalk and a bit of the leaves)
2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds, pine nuts, or other nuts or seeds of choice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Squeeze of lemon
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until the pesto is smooth.


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We made these popsicles while visiting Grandma last week. They were good. I have to say the top layer was my favorite so if I made them again I would maybe just make the top layer. If I did want to make the tri-layered pops I would add some honey or syrup to the greek yogurt, it was pretty sour tasting. 

Top layer only as full popsicle

4 cups of strawberries
juice from half a lemon (2 Tbsp)
1 scoop of Tropical Strawberry Shakeology

Combine in blender, place in popcile mold and freeze for 8+ hours or overnight. 

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