Beginning of Summer White Lasagna

I love this lasagna, it is a change of pace from traditional lasagna. It is so flexible that it tastes great with almost every kind of vegetable. It has a lot of small steps, but it is well worth the time.This recipe makes a 9x12 pan.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper, chopped
1-1.5 cups broccoli rabe, blanched and chopped
1-2 cups zucchini or summer squash, sliced, roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper
2 cups ricotta
9 lasagna noodles, boiled
2.5-3 cups shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1.5 cups milk or half and half
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare chicken, vegetables, and pasta. Make the sauce in a sauce pan, starting with the butter and onion on medium heat. Sweat the onions, and add the flour to make a roux. Add the milk and the wine, whisking to combine and thicken. Set aside. In the pan, layer a bit of sauce, noodles, a little mozzarella, and vegetables. Add another layer with a little sauce, chicken, and ricotta. Add the top layer of noodles (each layer has 3 long noodles that fit in perfectly in the pan), pour the remaining sauce over the top and the remainder of the mozzarella. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, covered, remove the cover during the last 20 minutes or so of baking to brown the top.

CSA Pickup Week Chicken Soup

I started the day thinking I would just be making my normal chicken soup with carrots and barley or pasta. I had and still have a good supply of carrots but then I thought it didn't make much sense to have all these other wonderful vegetables on hand and just use carrots. When I make soup, I don't mess around. I usually make a soup big enough for those who like stuff and those who like broth to have dinner and leftovers for lunch.

For the broth:
In a stock pot, cover with water: a whole chicken, a peeled onion or two, 3 big peeled carrots, the center of your celery (you know the leafy part in the middle that you aren't going to eat) or 2-3 ribs with leaves, 2 big cloves peeled garlic, 10 peppercorns, 3-4 bay leaves, a tbsp salt, and a Parmesan rind, if you have one.

Start it on low, and gradually turn it up over the first hour to a simmer. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until your chicken is almost falling apart. Remove chicken and strain, discarding all the broth flavorings. Set aside the chicken for de-boning.

Soup:
You can add any vegetables you like, you can even sautee them in a little butter first, but be sure to add them incrementally according to how fast they cook. Carrots, potatoes, root vegetables, first. They usually take 20-30 minutes longer than other vegetables to cook.

Here is my soup in order of things added, everything cut into a medium dice: Carrots, Swiss chard, including stems--cooked 25 minutes, 2 summer squash, a can of diced tomatoes, a medium onion sauteed in butter along with 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and in the last ten minutes I added some frozen green beans that I had on hand, some dried thyme from my share, 1/2 cup Israeli cous-cous and the deboned meat from the chicken. I adjusted my seasonings with salt, pepper, and some balsamic vinegar at the very end.

Tatsoi and Chicken Stir Fry

Normally, most people don't think of green in a stir fry but Asian greens, like tatsoi are perfect for a dish like this. I find tatsoi, when it is fully grown, to have stems somewhat like celery and the greens to be fairly mild. I make this for my family, if you are wondering why the portions are ginormous. I also have to use two separate skillets or cook the protein first. We don't normally eat rice so the amount of food reflects that as well.

Tatsoi and Chicken Stir Fry:
Chicken:
3 packages boneless thighs, cubed (about 15 thighs)
1/4 c tamari
1 tbsp ginger grated
1/4 c honey
sesame oil
olive oil

Heat pan with oils, about a tbsp of each. Add chicken and other ingredients. Stir until chicken is cooked. If a lot of water cooks out of the chicken, you can drain some of it or reserve it to thicken or thin the final sauce. I set the chicken aside once it is cooked and do the vegetable in the same pan.

Vegetables:
Any combination of vegetables, you probably need about 1-1.5 cups per person
I used carrots, mushrooms, tatsoi, peppers, and onion
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup tamari
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp ginger, grated
olive oil and sesame oil
cornstarch
water

Add garlic and ginger to hot pan with oils. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add vegetables in order of how long they take to cook, I usually start with carrots, then peppers, mushrooms, and onions are usually last. Don't add greens until the end. Add other ingredients, tamari, honey, peanut butter, and tatsoi. When the last vegetable goes in, get ready to thicken the sauce and adjust the seasonings, add more honey, peanut butter, tamari to suit your tastes, even some chili paste for those who like spice. Mix 1/4 c cornstarch with a minimal amount of liquid, either water or the liquid from the chicken. Pour in pan and cook until it thickens. Sometimes I find I need more or less cornstarch, it really depends on the water content of the vegetables

Sort of Chicken Confit

This is my take on a recipe I found a long time ago. You might enjoy the original better but I like that this is simple, the herbs can be changed according to what I have on hand and it goes great with a salad or a vegetable made on the stove top. Best of all, it turns an affordable protein into something special.

Sort of Chicken Confit:
12 bone in thighs
4 tbsp salt
5 cloves garlic crushed
4-6 bay leaves, broken apart
1 tsp thyme

Pre-heat oven to 300. Line two rimmed pans with parchment paper. Mix garlic, salt and herbs in a bowl. Rub on chickens. Bake chickens 3.5-4 hours, flipping chickens and rotating pans every 30 minutes. Serve with a salad, risotto, or green beans.

Purple Loaded Mashed Potatoes and Mixed Grill

When I picked up my CSA share a few weeks ago, I did notice the potatoes looked dark, but I just thought they were a little wet. It rained heavily on our pick up day and I set them in a colander on the counter to dry. They were put in a bag for another day. So when I was planning a meal for a dinner guest, I decided that potatoes would make a nice side but it wasn't until the actual meal prep that I noticed: The potatoes were purple! I have had fingerling purple potatoes but I couldn't remember if they retained their color when boiled. I told our guest I had a surprise for him when he arrived. They were beautiful to look at and tasted great, really no different from a white potato at all. Had I been paying closer attention I would have thought more about it, but I love little unexpected changes from the usual.

The meal includes marinaded steak tips, chicken and Italian sausage with Cilantro-Parsley Pesto (also used for the chicken marinade) and Loaded Mashed Potatoes. It included cilantro, potatoes, peppers, and chives from my share.

Loaded Mashed Potatoes:
10-12 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 sticks butter
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 cup bacon, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, or a favorite blend)
1/2 c sour cream
salt
pepper

Boil potatoes until they are easily pierced by fork. Drain. Add butter, and partially mash. Add rest of ingredients, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to mash to desired consistency. Allow to stand about 3-5 minutes, to melt cheese and butter completely. Stir to finish mixing and serve.

Cilantro Parsley Pesto:
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onions
3-4 cherry peppers, seeded
1/2 cup olive oil
juice from 1 lime
salt
pepper

In a food processor, process parsley, cilantro, garlic and peppers. I had to do the parsley alone, first to make room. Add green onions, and pulse to a fine grind, adding olive oil and lime juice slowly through the pouring hole in the lid. Season with salt and pepper to taste and blend again.

Can be used as a condiment or a marinade for chicken. We really liked it on the chicken.

Steak Marinade #3:
3 tbsp honey
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 c olive oil
salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients together well and marinate steak overnight. Tamari can be salty, I added a little more salt in proportion to the amount of meat, so salt carefully.

Chicken and Bacon Caesar Salad

Another big dinner salad today, the greens are from my CSA share. I hosted a party once and this salad was gone before any of the other main dishes. Since chicken and bacon can be thawed quickly it can be made on short notice.

Essentially this salad is about: 6 cups of lettuce; 4 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled and sliced; two pounds of applewood bacon, cooked and chopped; a few handfuls of grape tomatoes, halved; tossed in Caesar dressing and about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.

This probably isn't something that a determined person would not be able to figure out on their own, but I figured I'd post it anyways for those loaded with Spring greens (and hopefully bacon) who are in need of inspiration.

Mascarpone Saffron Risotto with Mushrooms and Ragout of Chicken Thighs

I made this entirely of ingredients I had on hand without any planning. The chicken can be made ahead of time, even 2-3 days. My friend got me a good deal on Saffron and this is the result of experimentation. My portions usually include enough to feed all of us, plus leftovers for lunches, if they seem huge.
 
Chicken:
12 bone in chicken thighs, skin on
2 onions, halved and sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, sliced
salt
pepper
chicken stock

You can really do this two ways, the best way is to cook the onions in a pan for 3-5 minutes, set aside and then brown the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper. Working in batches it takes about 4 minutes per side, and then they can be transferred into  a roasting pan with a lid or a crock pot. You should also de-glaze the pan with a bit of chicken stock or white wine and add it to the pot but if you are low on time, there is a second method: Throw everything into the crock pot and cook on high for 7 hours. The first way tastes better, but the second was is great if you are short on time. When the chicken is in the pot or pan, add tomatoes, garlic and enough reserved broth to fill it up about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way. You can braise it in the oven on 325 until it is tender or cook it in the crock pot on low or high until it shreds easily. Allow it to cool once it is tender, strain tomatoes and onions, set aside liquid. Shred chicken, adding tomatoes and onion and a small amount of reserved liquid if necessary. You can freeze any remaining liquid and use it for another sauce or stock.

Risotto:
10-12 mushrooms, sliced, cooked in 2 tbsp butter and set aside
1 cup arborio rice
2 tbsp butter
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
1/4 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp saffron powder (optional)
 2 tbsp chives, chopped
salt
pepper

Cook onions in butter, 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add rice, and cook until translucent. Adding 1 cup of stock at a time, cook and stir rice frequently to proper texture. Add cheeses, cream, and saffron powder, when rice is nearly done, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms and chives. Serve with chicken thigh ragout.

Cilantro, Greens, and Chicken Noodle Bowls

This is another quick dinner. Soup or salad is a perfect way to use greenhouse greens. I also added other vegetables that I had in the fridge. You can use a rotisserie chicken and boxed broth or you can make your own stock and shred the chicken, reserving whatever stock you don't need for another day.

Cilantro, Greens, and Chicken Noodle Bowls
1 whole chicken, de-boned and roughly, shredded
1 gallon stock or broth
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
1 tbsp diced ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
2 cups joi choi
1 cup tatsoi
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3-4 large mushrooms sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3-5 tbsp tamari
1 lime
2 bunches green onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced thin
2 packages ramen noodles, seasonings thrown in trash

Everything, except lime, tamari, noodles and green onions goes into a large pot until greens are wilted. Season with tamari and lime to taste. Once pot is just to a boil, add noodles and green onions. Turn off heat, serve when noodles are soft.

I love Sriracha--others in my family, not so much, so I add it at the table.