4 slices bacon
3 cups mizuna leaves
4 cups cooked or canned black eyed peas (drained)
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned
2. Add the mizuna, black eyed peas and chicken broth and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes
3. Remove from heat and add the maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Serves 4 as a side dish
4-5 regular sized radishes
2 cloves garlic
1 package low fat (neufchatel) cream cheese
~2 sprigs of fresh dill
1. If you have a food processor, this is extremely simple: pulse the radishes and garlic into a paste, then add the cream cheese and blend until smooth.
If you don’t have a food processor, simply mince the radishes and garlic as fine as you can, then mix with the cream cheese by hand.
2. Pick the dill from the stalk stir it in to the spread by hand.
Season with black pepper if desired.
We all know that radishes are colorful, crunchy, spicy and delicious but what can you do with their leafy green tops? Instead of throwing then in the trash or compost, try this quick and easy soup. It only takes a couple of minutes to prep the ingredients, then you can focus your attention elsewhere as it simmers for about 30 minutes. After it is done simmering, blend it until smooth and enjoy! The soup is thick and creamy, perfect for when those chilly summer nights come around.
This simple soup could be spiced up any number of ways, I think some dried cumin would be fantastic, or try it with fresh herbs added just after blending.
-Ellen
Recipe from Allrecipes.com1 medium onion
2 Tbsp butter
2 large potatoes
4 cups of radish tops
4 cups chicken broth
1. Dice the onion and melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion to the melted butter and saute until the onion is fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Slice the potatoes- you can cut them any way you wish, but the smaller the pieces, the less time they will need to simmer.
3. Add the potato slices and the radish tops to the saucepan and stir to coat. Pour in the chicken broth.
4. Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
5. Blend the soup until smooth with an immersion blender, or if using a regular blender, allow the soup to cool a little before blending (to avoid unwanted burns in case of splatter or spillage)
I have been having so much fun experimenting with the mizuna from the garden. The leaves work well in fried rice but don’t throw away those stalks! Instead, dip them in peanut sauce for a new take on celery and peanut butter. I like peanut sauce from the grocery store, in the Asian foods aisle.
To julienne basil leaves, stack several leaves on top of each other and roll the wide end to get a basil “cigar”. Then use a knife to slice the cigar into thin strips. Then be sure to enjoy the smell of fresh basil in your kitchen and on your fingertips!
-Ellen
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 medium carrot diced
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp rice vinegar
4 cups cold, cooked rice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 green onion, sliced thin
3 cups mizuna leaves
2 eggs
1/4 cup julienned basil
1. Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
2. Saute carrots until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, minced ginger and rice vinegar to form a sauce.
3. Add the cold rice, peas, green onion, and mizuna to the skillet and stir. Pour the sauce over the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until rice is heated through.
4. Beat the two eggs ina small bowl and drizzle over the rice. Gently stir until the egg is cooked, about 3 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and add the julienned basil.
Serves 3-4 as a side dish.
9 cups fresh spinach
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup water
crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
3 tortillas, slices of toast, or toasted English muffins
~1/2 cup shredded or shaved Parmesan or Swiss cheese
6 eggs
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add spinach and toss gently to coat. Add watter and let saute, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and tender, 4-7 minutes.
2. In a separate pan, prepare eggs any way you prefer, I like over easy for this recipe.
3. Season spinach with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
4. Divide spinach equally over each tortilla, toast or English muffin.
5. Top spinach with sprinkle of cheese and two eggs.
Serves 3
A cold noodle salad is perfect for a hot summer day. This recipe can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, which allows the flavors to permeate the noodles and mizuna leaves. Better yet, you can just boil extra noodles while making spaghetti then save the extra pasta for this dish.
-Ellen
Recipe adapted from Dani Spies
8 oz dried whole wheat spaghetti
1 1/2 c of mizuna leaves, destemmed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1-2 scallions / green onions
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp sesame seeds
1. Boil the noodles according to package instructions, usually about 7 minutes. If you have leftover noodles from a previous meal those will work perfectly, just pull them out of the refrigerator.
2. While the noodles are boiling, roughly chop or tear the mizuna and cilantro leaves and set aside. Chop the scallions into thin slices, using both the green and white parts.
3. Whisk the remaining ingredients into a large bowl to make the dressing.
4. When the noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water to cool them off quickly. Add the cooled, drained noodles to the bowl with the dressing.
5. Toss in the cilantro, mizuna and scallions and gently turn until all the noodles are coated with dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves 4-5 as a side dish
It was great seeing so many members on Thursday (June 3) and it was even better sharing the first sample of the season. The following recipe is how I made the dish, but it really is just a jumping off point for your own creativity… or simply another way to use whatever you happen have in your pantry to supplement your produce share.
-Ellen
Recipe inspired by the blog Sprouted Kitchen
2 c radishes, sliced small
1/2 c roughly chopped cilantro
15 oz can of beans, drained (any kind, I used Great Northern)
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles (or 1/4 cup fresh chiles)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head of Butterleaf lettuce
1. Mix all ingredients excpet the lettuce together in a large bowl.
2. Separate the lettuce leaves from the head, then wash and dry them in a salad spinner or by blotting with a towel
3. Spoon the mixture into a lettuce leaf, wrap and enjoy! The filling may get all over your hands, but that’s part of the fun of eating summer food!