Tag Archives: eat local

Tomato-Cucumber-Bean Salad

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The CSA box for week 1 gave us tomatoes and cucumbers. My first thought: why not make a salad? But, what else should I add…? Not having tons of time to make complex dishes or tons of stuff from scratch every day, making a simple salad like this helps out by providing a good salad that can be a side for lunch or dinner. Adding some beans gives it color – and more fiber (yeay!) – and helps me ignore the fact that I’d really like to add some feta. Since DH has not yet climbed on the feta bandwagon, I figured beans were the safer addition. His verdict: tasty win!

Tomato Cucumber Bean Salad

Pretty colors = Pretty tasty

 

Prep Time:  5-7 mins

Cooking Time: n/a

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients

1 large slicing or heirloom tomato, washed and chopped into small pieces

1 large cucumber, washed and chopped into small pieces

15 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

2 Tb lemon juice

salt and pepper, to taste

 

Make it Happen

Stir to combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use either a few grinds of salt and pepper or a small amount, checking for taste as you go.

Easy-peasy French Fries

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Again, the CSA is getting me to think differently – which is a really good thing. It’s part of what I hoped would happen, that I’d branch out and try new foods. Now, it’s not like I’ve never EATEN fries and never MADE fries, but by “made” I can say that I had only ever heated up fries from a bag that came from a freezer. Until now.

To say that this recipe is easy would be an understatement. It’s stupid-easy. It’s “I can’t believe it took me this long to make my own fries” easy. You can make these plain or add your own topping, once the fries are done cooking. We chose to add rosemary and garlic powder to ours, and they were OMNOMNOM good. My next topping will likely be garlic – and I’ll list what needs to be done to make those, too.

Make sure to pick potatoes that are sized to your preferred length of fry. Ours were the CSA potatoes, which were on the small side. They made delightful fries, though I can imagine that people who revel in the longer fries might have wished for bigger ‘taters.

Updated on October 9, 2011 to add: Note that I recommend using olive oil. If you want your fries to have a more conventional taste, go with vegetable oil instead. After a lower-than-anticipated acceptance rate from the little people of the house, I made a small batch with vegetable oil instead. Presto-change-o…they love ’em!

Easy-Peasy Fries

OMNOMNOM FRIES OMNOMNOM

Prep Time: 15-20 mins

Cook Time: 35-40 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1-1/2 to 2 lbs red skin potatoes, washed

olive oil (or vegetable oil, for a more conventional taste)

salt

Make it Happen

1. Preheat your oven to 450F.

2. Slice the potatoes into strips about 1/2in thick. Cover in water and soak for 10 minutes.

3. Drain and dry the fries. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over top of the fries and toss to coat. Make sure that all of the fries are coated with a thin layer of oil.

4. Lay the fries out on a non-stick baking sheet, one layer thick and place in the oven once it’s preheated.

5. Cook the fries for 35-40 min, to desired crispness, turning them every 10 mins.

6. After you remove the fries from the oven. grind or shake a small amount of salt on them.

Alt endings…

Rosemary & garlic: sprinkle about 1 tsp dried rosemary and 1-1/2 to 2 tsp garlic powder on the fries; toss to coat.

Garlic: peel and mince 3 cloves of garlic; briefly heat (2 min) in about 1-2 Tb olive oil. Pour over the fries and toss to coat.

Crock Pot Harvest Pork Tenderloin

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The crock pot really gets going in the fall in our house; once it starts to get chilly out, we often start throwing in the beef stroganoff or some other fairly hearty dish. Trouble is, it’s often really heavy, too. There are times when I just don’t want a crock pot meal that weighs me down. CSA week 1 brought us sweet potatoes, so I decided to make a crock pot that capitalizes on those. Since we got apples, too, adding those into the mix seemed like a logical next step. And let’s toss in the red onion we got, as well! The more the merrier!

This crock pot meal meets most of my typical requirements: easy to prepare, cooks well, and doesn’t break the bank. If your grocery store does BOGO on pork tenderloin (which ours does on a semi-regular basis), consider picking up a couple and then freezing one. It only takes a day or so to thaw out a tenderloin, and you can save money while you eat a tasty dish.

 

Crock Pot Harvest Pork Tenderloin

Welcome to Fall...

 

Prep Time: 10-15min

Cook Time: 6-8hrs on LOW (note: we let ours go for 11hrs and it was FINE)

Serves: 4-5

 

Ingredients

3 decent-sized sweet potatoes (about 1-1/3 lb), washed & chopped into ~1in pieces

2 small or medium macintosh apples, washed, cored & sliced

1 medium or large red onion, peeled & sliced

1-1/2 lb pork tenderloin

1/2 cup apple juice

2 Tb brown sugar

1 Tb cider vinegar

salt and pepper

 

Make it Happen

1. Coat the inside of a 5qt crock pot with non-stick spray.

2. Add the potatoes and onion to the crock pot. Place the pork on the bed of potatoes and onions.

3. Grind or sprinkle a small amount (each) of salt and pepper on top of the pork tenderloin. If using a grinder, a few grinds should do the trick.

4. Pour the apples on top of and around the pork tenderloin.

5. In a bowl, stir to combine the apple juice, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Once combined, pour over top of the items in the crock pot.

6. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8hrs.

7. When done, remove the pork tenderloin from the crock pot and place on a cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes.

8. Remove the potatoes, onions and apples and place in a serving bowl; remove the juices and put in a gravy boat or other easy serving vehicle. Slice the pork tenderloin into 1/2 – 3/4in slices, serve with the potato/onion/apple mixture, with sauce over top.