Spinach, Beet Green and Ricotta Pie

Just like collard greens, spinach is extremely good for you. Spinach was the vegetable that made Popeye super strong! This vegetable is full of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, calcium, iron, and vitamin C.  It can help prevent bone problems and cancer.  This recipe will use spinach in such a way that everyone will want to eat it.  Since we received a fairly large share of beet greens in this week's box, I decided to add about 1/2 cooked beet greens with 1/2 cooked spinach. I was a little worried that the red from the beet greens would create an odd colored dish but, as you can see, it still looks appetizing.  I also wanted to make a homemade crust rather that use a prepared pie crust so go ahead and use your favorite crust recipe if you have one.   Hopefully, you will love this recipe and love eating it!

Spinach, Beet Greens, and Ricotta Pie

Spinach, Beet Green and Ricotta Pie

Crust (or use a 9" prepared pie crust)

• 1/2 cup cornmeal (we didn't have any so we used semolina flour instead)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 10 ounces of cooked spinach (I used beet greens as well)
• 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
• 15 ounces of ricotta cheese (we used homemade)
• 3 large eggs, beaten to blend
• 1/3 cup basil pesto (homemade from last summer)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ground pepper to taste

Making Crust (Optional):

1. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray. 
2. Mix cornmeal and flour in a bowl.  Add egg and butter and mix together.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms. This will form a sticky mass of dough.  Press into pan.  If dough is too sticky, add a little cornmeal. 

Making Pie:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F
2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the chopped onion in the butter until very soft and translucent, about 12 minutes.  Mix in the spinach and other greens. 
3. Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add the spinach/onion mixture and stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly.
4. Transfer filling to prepared pie crust.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until puffed and golden.  Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving. 

Quinoa, Kale, and Sausage with Kale Chips

Quinoa is not grown in Utah, actually the only place in the U.S.A. it is grown in is San Luis Valley, Colorado. It is a grain that is very good for you and extremely delicious. Kale is another healthy vegetable packed with vitamins K, A, and C.  The sausage I used is Colossimo Red Wine sausage.  Together the combination of these three things makes a delicious meal.  One thing I have learned is that just about any greens, when sauteed, go great with sausage and make a really filling meal. You can mix up these recipes by adding different grains but I really like the nutty taste of quinoa. By adding the kale chips you give this meal a little crunch.  Feel free to play with this recipe!

Quinoa, Kale, and Sausage with Kale Chips

Quinoa, Kale, and Sausage with Kale Chips
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 cups quinoa 
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth (homemade so save those veggie scraps and chicken carcasses)
1lb sausage, chopped
2 cup chopped kale plus 3 kale leaves for chips
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ F
2. Take kale leaves wash them, dry them and lay them on a baking sheet.  Spray them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Put in oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes but check them often.  Take them out when crisp.
3. Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve and drain.  In a medium sized pot, heat oil or butter and add chopped onions and garlic.  Cook until golden. Add quinoa, toasting for about 3 minutes. 
4. Add broth and other seasonings (I used coriander and turmeric... just be creative). Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the liquid is gone. 
5. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet cook sausage.  Add chopped kale, stirring until wilted. Turn off heat.
6. Combine quinoa mixture with sausage mixture and parmesan cheese.  Make any final seasoning adjustments.  Sprinkle with kale chips and additional parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Collard Greens with Red Onions and Bacon

Not only are collard greens delicious, but they are good for you.  Collard greens have been proven to lower your cholesterol level and help prevent cancer. Just a cup of collard greens gives you tons of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, and folate.  Be careful when cooking collard greens because you DON'T want to OVERCOOK them. They do need a longer cooking time than swiss chard or kale but you may want to check them occasionally to make sure that they don't overcook.  This recipe is great and not only because there is bacon.  This recipe has a little spiciness to it, but it is still delicious. We ate it with our homemade gnocchi for a meal but I think it would go well with pasta, too.

Collard Greens with Red Onions and Bacon

Collard Greens with Red Onions and Bacon
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into fourths
(from Christiansen Farm CSA)
1 medium red onion, chopped coarsely
1/2 chicken broth 
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 bunch collard greens, coarse stems and ribs discarded and leaves and thin stems washed well, drained, and chopped coarsely

1. In a deep heavy kettle, cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain.
2. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon drippings and in remaining drippings in the kettle cook onions, stirring occasionally, until browned slightly and softened.  Transfer onions with slotted spoon to a bowl. 
3. To kettle add broth, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and about half of the bacon, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add about half of collards, tossing until wilted slightly, add remaining collards, tossing until combined.  Simmer collards, covered, 15 minutes. Stir in onions and simmer, covered, 15-30 minutes more, or until collards are very tender.  Serve collards topped with remaining bacon. 

Gnocchi and Gnudi

For those who don't know what gnocchi and gnudi is let me tell you.  Gnocchi is a traditional northern Italian potato pasta, that is small and dumpling shaped.  Gnudi means "naked dumpling," which it basically is.  It is much like the stuffing of ravioli but without the shell around. They are both delicious and easy to be locally made.  Also it is recommended you get a potato ricer or vegetable mill to help with the gnocchi. Don't forget you can add herbs and spices to these recipes in any way you want. Hope you enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi
1 1/2 pounds of Russet potatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, beaten well
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

Sauteed Gnocchi 

1. Microwave the potatoes until tender when poked with a fork. Don't overcook them.
2. As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and feed them through the ricer or vegetable mill. Spread them out on a large baking tray or board and sprinkle  on the salt.  Then let them dry out and cool for at least 20 minutes. 
3. Pour the beaten egg over the potatoes, and then 1 cup of the flour. Gather the mass together and knead, adding a little more flour as necessary to make the dough hold together. Keep it light; the more you work the dough, the more flour you'll need, and you don't want to incorporate too much or the gnocchi will be heavy and dry. A good criterion: slice the mass in half and examine the texture. It should look like cookie dough peppered with small holes. 
4. Cut the dough into three equal pieces. Roll out each portion into a broomstick about 18 inches long, then cut crosswise into 2/3-inch pieces and toss them lightly in flour.  You should have about seventy-two gnocchi.  
5. Take one piece of gnocchi and place it, cut side down, on the tines of a fork, then with your lightly floured thumb press into it, at the same time pushing it off the end of the fork and onto a floured board.  The gnocchi should have an indentation where your thumb was, and ridges from the fork tines on the other side. Repeat with all the remaining pieces, and cover with a clean towel.  At this point you should be cooked right away or quickly frozen.
6. To be frozen: Spread the gnocchi out, none of them touching each other, on a floured baking pan or whatever will fit in your freezer, and freeze them.  When they are solid (about 2 hours) gather them together, shake off excess flour, and store them in sealed plastic bags. They should keep for 6 weeks although we have kept ours longer and they taste fine.  When you want to cook them after being frozen,  either saute or boil half a batch at a time, and double the amount of cooking water.  (Frozen gnocchi seem to taste better if you just saute them in a little oil right out of the freezer rather than boiling them first). 
7. To cook fresh gnocchi: Bring salted water to a boil and drop five or six gnocchi in at a time. In 2 to 3 minutes, when they plump up and float to the surface fish them out with a strainer or slotted spoon.  You can then mix them with some tomato sauce, pesto sauce, sage butter or some fresh vegetables

Gnudi
1 pound fresh ricotta, drained
1 egg
1/4 freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Gran Padano
6 tablespoons fine bread crumbs (don't throw away that stale bread!)
1/4 cup flour, plus flour for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, a generous amount
1 cup dry spinach puree, prepared from 20 ounces frozen or fresh spinach (Optional)

1. Start heating a large pot of salted water.
2. Blend the ricotta and the egg together in large bowl.  Mix in the cheese, bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper (and spinach if you want), and knead lightly. 
3. Test the consistency of the dough by scooping up a heaping tablespoon, forming it into a ball, and flouring it. Drop it into the boiling water; if it does not hold its shape and rise to the surface of the water within a minute, add more bread crumbs to your dough. 
4. When you have the right consistency, shape all of  the dough into small balls, rough lightly in flour, and lay them out on baking sheets covered in parchment paper. 
5. To freeze them: do it the same way as you freeze gnocchi (look above). 
6. To cook fresh gnudi: drop the gnudi gently one by one into the boiling water and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, until they rise to the top, and come to a rolling boil. To test for doneness, scoop out a ball and press it with your fingers: the dumpling dough when cooked should bounce back, leaving no indentation. 25 to 30 gnudi.

Our Homemade Pasta

Ever since I was little, my mom has made homemade pasta.  I remember sitting on the counter and watching her make it.  She did it by hand and sometimes I got to help.  My mom's family is Italian and she remembers watching her paternal Nonnie "grandmother" make homemade ravioli and pasta.  It is easy to make and is perfect with anything you want to put on it.  You can use any kind of flour,  semolina flour is the kind that most professional pasta makers use, but whole wheat flour and unbleached flour works too.  It's fun to make. You can always let it dry and use it later, but you need to make sure it is really dry or else it will go moldy.  I hope you love making pasta as much as I do.

Finished Pasta

How to mix the eggs and flour.

Homemade Pasta(Egg Noodles)
# cups of flour= # eggs + 1 


For example: 3 cups flour + 4 eggs
                       

After kneading

1. You combine the eggs and flour, by making a well in the flour, on any clean surface, and putting the eggs in the well. Beat the eggs with a fork and then slowly work the flour from the edges into the eggs, until you can use your hands to knead the dough together.  We have even done this entire process in our Kitchen Aid mixer and that work well, too. If the dough is too dry, add an extra egg. 
2. You then knead it until it sticks together but is not to sticky and has a nice elastic texture.  Cut off small pieces and then press into the a rectanglar shape. Cover the remaining dough so it doesn't dry out while you are making the pasta.   We just invert a bowl over the dough to keep it from drying out while we are rolling out the dough.  You can then form it into what ever kind of pasta you want. We have a pasta making machine that we use to roll out the dough until it is fairly thin but you can also do this with just a plain rolling pin.  You can then store the dried pasta or cook it immediately.
3. We dry the pasta on drying racks but you can also place the noodles on a dish towel spinkled with flour. We usually have one big pot full with the fresh pasta and they dry the rest out overnight and place in the refrigerator to eat later in the week.

Homemade Mayonnaise

I thought mayonnaise was only for sandwiches, but to my surprise you can use it for a lot of things, such as curry, aoili, saffron, and cooked mushroom. Easily made and much healthier, since you know what's going in it.  Let your imagination go wild and use this recipe for anything you want. My mother uses this basic mayonnaise to make this great wasabi and horseradish mayonnaise dip that we eat with potato pancakes and roasted asparagus. Maybe I'll post that recipe soon!

Homemade Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup canola oil

Homemade Mayonnaise

1. The secret to success when making mayonnaise is to start the emulsion quickly. Using a combination of the egg yolks and Dijon mustard is the key to a great finished mayonnaise.  Combine the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and egg yolks in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. 
2. The mayonnaise will thicken as you begin to incorporate more oil.  Gradually add the canola oil to the egg yolk mixture, at first just adding it drop by drop, stirring with a whisk until each addition is incorporated. Once the emulsion is formed, add the oil about a tablespoon at a time, and continue stirring constantly until the mixture is thick. Yield: about 1 cup

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: about 1 tablespoon   Calories: 100   Fat: 11.1g   Protein: 0.3g Carbohydrates: 0.1g  Fiber: 0g Cholesterol: 26mg    Iron: 0.1mg   Sodium: 2mg Calcium:  3mg

Simply Made Delicious Yogurt

Homemade yogurt is easy to make and you don't need a yogurt maker to do it.  I originally had a yogurt maker and it worked well, but after looking at a Cooking Light cook book I learned you could make it without one.  It's delicious and my mom loves to use it for breakfast with granola. The best part is you never have to buy yogurt in the store again. We just make the new batch using some of the old batch for the culture. If you have old baby food jars, they are great for making individual servings.

My mom's average breakfast:
Homemade yogurt and granola, and Woodyat Cherries

Homemade Yogurt:

42 oz milk ( 1% low-fat milk, 2% reduced fat milk or whole milk)

6 oz plain yogurt (Make sure it specifies "contains live and active cultures)*

1. Place milk in large saucepan; heat the milk over medium-high heat until bubbles appear or to about 180 degrees for about 1-2 minutes. The milk will start to climb the side of the saucepan.
2. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the milk cool until it registers 110˚ to 112˚ on a thermometer or until it comes to room temperature. 
3. Heat your oven to 100 degrees and then turn it off.
4. Transfer the milk to a large glass container. Stir yogurt into about one cup of the milk until smooth then mix it well into the remaining milk. Place plastic wrap on the glass container and place in the heated oven (now off)  for 8 hours or overnight.  Note that the 1% and 2% milk will take longer to set.  I usually use whole milk and do this right before bedtime so that I will have a fresh batch of yogurt when I wake up in the morning. To check if the yogurt is set, remove the plastic wrap, and gently shake the container to see if the yogurt is very thick. If not, let it sit for a few hours longer.  If it is thick, place the container in the refrigerator to chill.  Yield: 7 cups.

* For the first batch, you can use store bought yogurt but after that, just use 6 oz of yogurt from the previous batch. You will never have to buy yogurt at the store again unless, like me, you forget and eat your last 6oz before making the next batch!

Nutrition Facts: 

Serving size: 1/2 cup

Calories: 53 (1% milk)     Fat: 1.4g    Protein: 4.2g    Carbohydrates: 6.1g    Fiber: 0g Cholesterol: 5mg   Iron: 0.1mg    Sodium: 64mg     Calcium: 157mg