CSA Week 19 - with a couple recipes

This week...

... a bag of lettuce, a bag of salad greens, several Asian eggplants, a lb of green beans, half dozen eggs, a pound of Roma tomatoes, and 2 large white/yellow peppers and a tiny red one.

I have to admit that with the Market frenzy in my head, I've had much less time to meal plan and think about how to use our produce. But, I'm still trying. :-)


I did have a new recipe success and thought I'd share.

Arugula-Cilantro Pesto
(*source is a CSA website I can't find at the moment...)

1 C arugula (or so)
1 C cilantro (or so)
2 lg garlic cloves
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C grated parmesan
2 tbsp. pine nuts (or more)
salt and pepper to taste

Whirl it all in the food processor - and yummy! Freeze any extra in small portions for a quick meal.

** I fried some chicken pieces and we had chicken-pesto pasta. Then a couple days later, I made a pizza with the pesto as the sauce, chicken, green/red peppers and sliced grape tomatoes with mozzarella on top. Also quite good!


White Bean Soup with Winter Greens 
(*adapted from vegetarian version in From Our House to Yours cookbook with Italian sausage)

2 cans navy beans, drained (you can use lb of dried beans, but the process is so much longer!)
(1/2-1 lb Italian sausage, cooked and drained) 
2 tbsp. EVOO
1 lg onion
2 carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock/broth
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb winter greens like kale, chard, dandelion, collard or turnip greens
freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Heat EVOO in lg pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, garlic, parsley and bay leaves. Saute until veggies are slightly softened, about 10 min.

Add beans, stock, water (and sausage). Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover. Cook 20-30 minutes. If you choose, remove some of the beans and puree to make soup thicker (I skipped this part).

Wash greens, remove any thick stems or ribs. Stack the leaves a few at a time and roll into a log. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch ribbons. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add greens and boil about 2-5 minutes until tender. Drain. Stir into soup. Simmer a few minutes more.

Enjoy with freshly grated Parm (if you have any).

Probably the best soup I've ever made!! Wonderful the next day too.