The great thing about stuffed peppers is that you can put just about anything in them.  Its a great way to use leftover rice and whatever else you have on hand.

You can make the peppers stand up by cutting a level surface on the bottom, but they will turn out just fine on their sides as well.

Ingredients:

4-5 Bell peppers or any type of pepper large enough to stuff, tops cut off and seeds removed

1-2 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 pound ground beef

1 cup yellow squashed, diced into small cubes

1 cup cabbage, cut into small pieces

2 cups rice, preferably cold leftover rice

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp rosemary

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Preparation:

1) Preheat the oven to 350

2) Heat a skillet and oil over medium high heat.  Saute the ground beef with the fennel and rosemary until cooked about halfway through, breaking the meat into small pieces with a spatula.

3) Add the squash and cabbage and continue to saute until the meat is nearly cooked through.  Add the rice, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning to the skillet and stir together.

4) Remove from the heat and stir in the egg whites.

5) Stuff the peppers with the mixture

6) Place the peppers in an ovenproof dish with about a 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until the peppers are slightly tender.

A stir fry is a blank slate.  I turn to it when I have lots of fresh veggies and not a lot of time.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1 small sliced onion

1 cup sliced assorted peppers

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 cup sliced eggplant

5 stalks bok choy, sliced (you can use the greens and the whites)

1 cup kale, sliced or torn

2-3 yellow and red tomatoes, diced

Preparation:

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce.  Set aside.

3.  Saute the peppers, onion, garlic and ginger until the onions begin to look translucent

3.  Add the eggplant, bok choy and kale to the pan.  Pour the sauce mixture over the stir fry and saute until the bok choy begins to get tender, about 5 minutes.

4.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Here are three variations on the classic vinegar, red onion and cucumber salad:  for each, simply combine all ingredients and let sit in the refrigerator for as long as you can.  If you eat them right away, they will still be good, but a few hours to overnight in the refrigerator will make them that much better.

Fennel and Dill Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumber

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds (if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, a rolling pin works just fine to crush the seeds)

1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

1/2 cup water

Red Wine Vinegar and Mint Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumbers

2 cups small Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed dried mint

pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Sesame Cucumber Salad

4 cups sliced cucumbers

1 Tablespoon and 1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds

Ingredients:

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

Preparation:

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

Ingredients:

4-5 regular sized radishes

2 cloves garlic

1 package low fat (neufchatel) cream cheese

~2 sprigs of fresh dill

Preparation:

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

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp butter

2 large potatoes

4 cups of radish tops

4 cups chicken broth

Preparation:

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

Ingredients:

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

Preparation:

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.

Ingredients:

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

Preparation:

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

Ingredients:

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

Preparation:

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

Ingredients:

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

Preparation:

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!