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From my CSA box I had a very large bunch of spinach, peaches and beets. The spinach was cleaned, stems removed, washed and then spun dry. As the leaves were very large, I cut them into smaller pieces. The beets were scrubbed, drizzled with olive oil and wrapped in foil before roasting in the oven. When cooled, I peeled and cut the beets into small cubes.
Once everything was prepped, the spinach leaves, cubed peaches, blue cheese and chopped walnuts were placed in a large salad bowl allowing enough room for tossing. The dressing is made by whisking vinegar, mustard, honey, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. The dressing is drizzled over the salad right before serving. This was a light, refreshing salad that is perfect for these hot steamy days. The dressing enhanced the sweet, juicy peaches and the beets provided a nice texture against the tender spinach leaves. You can add some sliced grilled chicken or baked salmon to make a delicious salad for dinner. Also plentiful in the box was Swiss chard with its green, red and yellow stems with very large leaves and large spring onions. As there was an abundance of chard, I was able to use it in two recipes, the quiche and stir fry. First up was the quiche that I prepared for dinner one evening. For the recipe you’ll need thick cut bacon slices, milk, unsalted butter, stone-ground grits, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, Gruyère cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, the chard, spring onions, half and half and fresh dill. The bacon is cut into 3/4-inch pieces and fried up until crisp. Some of the bacon drippings along with milk and butter is used to make the grits. When done, the grits are seasoned with salt, pepper, an egg and a portion of grated Gruyère cheese. The mixture is transferred to a springform pan in an even layer and baked for approximately 20-25 minutes. While the grits bake, more reserved bacon drippings are used to cook the Swiss chard just until wilted. They are removed to a paper towel lined plate and with paper towels on top, gently pressed upon to remove excess moisture. Sprinkled on top of the semi cooked grits is the grated Parmesan and Gruyère cheeses. Next the bacon is layered on followed by the chard and sliced spring onion. The eggs are whisked together with the half and half and seasoned with salt and pepper. This goes over the grits and bakes for approximately one hour. To serve, it’s removed from the spring form pan and garnished with chopped fresh dill. This was a wonderful breakfast for supper meal. Although the recipe says active time of 45 minutes, it took me longer to prep all the ingredients and my kitchen was a disaster. Perhaps if I made it earlier in the day, I wouldn’t have felt so pressed to have it done for dinner. I don’t think we ate until almost 7 PM. However, it was delicious and was a great way to use some of my chard. While the Gruyère cheese made the grits creamy, I would have preferred a sharp cheddar for more interest. If you’re looking to change up your side dishes, try Stir-Fried Swiss Chard and Red Peppers. Swiss chard is low in calories but also provides one with a daily dose of vitamin K and provide additional vitamins such as A, C and magnesium. Besides the chard and red pepper, you’ll need soy sauce, Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry, dark Asian sesame oil, salt, ground pepper (preferably white) sugar, peanut or canola oil, minced garlic, minced ginger, scallions or red onion and chopped cilantro, which is optional. Per Ms. Shulman’s suggestion, I mise en place all my ingredients as the cooking process goes quite quickly. Using my LeCreuset braiser, I added a bit of oil to the pan and added the garlic and ginger for a quick 10 seconds. Next the chard was added and cooked until wilted. The red pepper and onions follow next and cook just until starting to soften. The salt, pepper and sugar are added and tossed followed by the soy sauce and mixed again. This side dish was a nice change from our usual. It was quite flavorful and the textures gave a wonderful mouth feel. I served it on a bed of white rice along with some grilled pork chops. It was even delicious served on top of cheesy grits I made with sharp cheddar cheese. While there were some blueberries in our CSA box, apparently a certain little four-year-old devoured them before I could get my portion. However, I quickly remedy the matter by purchasing my own blueberries from the same farm at the AsburyFresh market in Asbury Park. I considered baking some blueberry bar cookies, but instead found a recipe by Joy Wilson from “Joy the Baker” website for Single Serve Berry Crostata. This is single serve recipe with a 1/2 cup of blueberries, but I decided to double it. For the recipe you’ll need all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, kosher salt (alternately you can use salted butter), unsalted butter, buttermilk, blueberry or raspberries, cornstarch, squeeze of lemon juice (zest too if you like) and turbinado sugar. Using your fingers, the dough is made with flour, sugar, salt and small butter cubes that you’ll break into small pea size. Once that is done, you make a well and add enough buttermilk to bring together with a shagginess. The dough is brought together into a disk and refrigerated for approximately 20 minutes. While the dough chills, the berries are tossed with sugar, cornstarch, salt and lemon juice. I recently saw a baker first add the zest to the sugar before mixing in the other ingredients to obtain a heightened lemon flavor. Once the dough is chilled, it’s rolled out on a lightly floured counter or large wooden board into a 6 to 8-inch circle, 1/4-inch thick. The berries are placed in the center and the crust is pleated around the fruit. Brush with additional buttermilk and dust with turbinado sugar. The crostata bakes in a 400° oven for about 25 minutes. What a yummy dessert for minimal effort. The berries were plump, sweet and tart at the same time and the portion size was perfect, in fact sharing one would have been enough too. In another direction with blueberries, Blueberry Frangipane Loaf Cake was utterly delightful. Homemade frangipane is easy to make as almond flour is sold in Costco or your local grocery store. You’ll also need softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, an egg white, kosher salt and almond extract. The butter is first creamed and the balance of the ingredients are mixed in. I used a hand mixer for this and covered when done. The cake is made with softened butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, full-fat plain Greek yogurt, blueberries and sliced almonds. The dry ingredients are sifted together and set aside. In a stand mixer with a paddle, the butter and sugar are beaten until light and fluffy. Eggs are added one at a time followed by the extracts. With the mixer on low, flour and yogurt are alternately added. The berries are tossed with flour and folded into the batter along with the frangipane. The mixture is spread into a loaf pan and topped with remaining blueberries and sliced almonds. This cake took well over the stated time to bake. The pan size is 8-1/2x4-1/2-inches and bakes for 20 minutes at 375° followed by an additional 55 to 65 minutes at 325°. The recipe provides a temperature at which the cake is set, 202°, as I might have pulled it before it was done. Remember, once it’s removed from the oven, there will be carryover baking. Despite my impatience of waiting, it was worth the wait. The cake was moist and had a tender crumb. The frangipane added another level of flavor to the blueberries. Overall, an absolutely scrumptious cake.
Swiss Chard-and-Bacon Grits Quiche
By Anna Theoktisto “Southern Living Magazine,” March 2, 2024 Active Time: 45 minutes Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes Servings: 8 Ingredients 6 thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces 2 1/4 cups whole milk 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1/2 cup uncooked stone-ground grits 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided 1 tsp. black pepper, divided 8 oz. Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided 6 large eggs 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup) 1 (7 1/2-oz.) bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped (about 3 cups) 1 cup thinly sliced spring onions from about 3 medium onions) 2 1/2 cups half-and-half Fresh dill Directions
Stir-Fried Swiss Chard and Red Peppers
“A Versatile Vegetable for a Chilly Spring,” By Martha Rose Shulman The New York Times, March 28, 2011 Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 3 to 4 Ingredients 1 tablespoon soy sauce (low-sodium if desired) 1tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry 2 teaspoons dark Asian sesame oil ¼ to ½teaspoon salt (to taste) ¼ teaspoon ground pepper, preferably white pepper ¼ teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon peanut oil or canola oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1-pound Swiss chard, preferably rainbow chard, stems trimmed, washed in two changes of water and cut crosswise in ½-inch strips 1 medium red bell pepper, cut in ¼-by-2-inch julienne 1 cup julienne ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions or minced red onion ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro (optional) Cooked quinoa, brown or red rice, or rice noodles for serving Preparation
Tip - Advance preparation: Like all stir-fries, this is last-minute. But you can have everything prepped and ready to go hours ahead of time.
Single Serve Berry Crostata
Joy Wilson of “Joy the Baker” website Ingredients 1/2 cup (67 grams) all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (skip if you used salted butter above) 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small cubes 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk (plus a splash more if your dough feels dry) 1/2 cup blueberries and raspberries 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch A pinch of kosher salt A squeeze of lemon (and lemon zest if you want) Turbinado sugar before baking, optional Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving Instructions
Blueberry Frangipane Loaf Cake
Makes one 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch cake Ingredients Frangipane: ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature ½ cup (48 grams) superfine blanched almond flour ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar 2 tablespoons (16 grams) all-purpose flour 1 large egg white (30 grams), room temperature ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ½ teaspoon (4 grams) almond extract Batter: ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar 2 large eggs (100 grams), room temperature 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon (1 gram) almond extract 1¾ cups (219 grams) plus 1 tablespoon (8 grams) all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt ½ cup (120 grams) full-fat plain Greek yogurt 1¼ cups (175 grams) fresh blueberries 2 tablespoons (15 grams) sliced almonds Instructions
Peach and Beet Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette
From the website “That Skinny Chick Can Bake” Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Yield: 6 servings Ingredients Salad 3 small to medium beets, cooked, peeled and cut into cubes 1 fresh peach, pitted, peeled and cubed 3-5 ounces fresh baby spinach ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese (or more to taste) ⅓ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped Vinaigrette 3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves Salt and pepper to taste Instructions
Notes - You can replace walnuts with pecans. If you'd prefer goat cheese, it will work well in this salad.
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