Mezza Dinner

Despite the 60-degree, rainy weather summer is coming, and we can see it in the change of local produce that is available!  I was inspired to start making dinner with some basil that I had in the refrigerator and fresh garlic scrapes from Open Oak Farm.  But then I realized that for several years I have wanted to make a mezza dinner with many of the recipes identified in the Moosewood Cookbook.  The pesto was just a start.  I also made tabouleh, walnut-green bean-egg dip, and hummus (made with rio zape beans from Lonesome Whistle Farm).  Each recipe was very easy to make and they all went well together especially served this with fresh bread from Eugene City Bakery and with fresh strawberries for dessert.

Pesto
1 bunch basil (from Eugene Local Foods)
3 garlic scrapes (from Open Oak Farm)
Olive oil
2 handfuls parmesan cheese
2 handfuls walnuts

Put everything in the food processor and blend until well mixed.  Serve over pasta.  The pesto was just a gorgeous brilliant color and so amazing!

Tabouleh

1 c hull-less barley (from Lonesome Whistle Farm)3 c water
1 bunch parsley (from Open Oak Farm)
2 garlic scrapes (from Open Oak Farm)
lemon juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1/3 c olive oil
1 tomato chopped
salt
pepper 

Cook barley in water.  Chop parsley and garlic together in the food processor, and then mix with olive oil and lemon juice.  Fold in barley once cooked and added in tomato, salt and pepper to taste.  Cool before serving.

The last item I made was a Walnut Dip from the Moosewood Cookbook that I have been wanting to try for years...but never seemed to have all the ingredients at the same time.  I don't think that it tasted like chicken liver pate (like the description says it would), but it was very tasty.

Walnut-Green Bean-Egg Dip 

1/2 onion chopped
Olive Oil
1 1/2 c green beans (from Thistledown Farm)
2 hard boiled eggs peeled
2 t lemon juice
1/4 c walnuts
handful parsley
salt and pepper  

Saute the onions in oil and then add green beans until softened, and then put them in the food processor with rest of the ingredients

Everything can be eaten together like this on a plate.

Or it can be eaten all mixed up like this mixed up on a high chair tray.  She seemed to especially like the pesto pasta.  However, dipping her fingers into all of the dips was great fun too!

Butternut Squash and Bean Enchiladas

I am still trying to find recipes for the many pounds of dry beans we have from our Lonesome Whistle CSA. It is a good challenge to find a recipe that has ingredients that the adults, preschooler, and baby will all eat and enjoy. This one worked pretty well--it was more sweet than savory. Both the beans and butternut squash I dug out from the freezer. I adapted a recipe from the Moosewood Low Fat Favorites cookbook, which has a whole giant section on beans. I'm going to be spending much more time with this cookbook.

Butternut Squash and Bean Enchiladas

1/2 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

chili powder

cumin powder

coriander powder

salt

2 c cooked rio zape beans (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1 c cooked butternut squash (from Thistledown Farm)

flour tortillas

cheddar cheese grated

salsa

avocado

Saute onion with garlic and spices to taste. Once the onion is cooked place in food processor with beans and butternut squash and puree.

Place filling on tortillas, roll up, and place in oiled baking dish. Cover with grated cheese.

Bake 350F for 20 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa and avocado.

The beans, squash, and avocado all made a good baby meal too.

Chimichangas with Beef, Beans, and Barley

One of the new challenges of using dried beans from my Lonesome Whistle Bean and Grain CSA is that I have to plan ahead a bit more. My pre-schooler told me that his favorite dinner was burritos with beans and purple barley. That's super exciting! However, on this particular day, I didn't have any beans prepared. However, he helped me get the slow cooker and beans ready. It was a good reminder to cook up a large batch (3 c dry beans and 6 c water) in the slow cooker and then freeze the cooked beans in 2 c portions.

About every 5 years we make our friend, Tom's Chimichangas. They are delicious (fried food is always great) and freeze well, but they are just a little bit more preparation work than burritos. However, I had beans prepared and barley on the stove and prepping the little delicious packets was a very nice afternoon activity. With this recipe it was also easy to vary the ingredients inside (i.e. onions vs no-onion) to make everyone happy. I froze most of them and we have been diving into the freezer for lunches.

Tom's Chimichangas

1 lb ground beef cooked

1+ t cumin powder

1+ t chili powder

2 c cooked rio zape beans (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1 c (uncooked) purple barley (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1 small can chilis

1 onion diced

olive oil

medium sized whole wheat tortillas

grated cheese

lettuce

salsa

Cook 1 c purple barley with 3 c water until soft (40-45 minutes). Saute onion with olive oil and set aside. Cook ground beef with cumin and chili powder. Mix cooked meat, beans, barley, onion, and can of chilis together. Fill tortillas with the filling and fold into a packet using a tooth pick to hold the packet together.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan (I do enough to cook one side at a time--not deep fry the whole thing) and cook chimichangas on each side until browned and "flaps" stay closed without the toothpick. Serve with grated cheese, lettuce, and salsa.

Slow Cooker Bean and Pasta Soup

I am finding it very challenging to find recipes where I can use all of the ingredients from the vegetable CSA and serve something that my non-adventurous-food-eating-four-year-old will eat without a fuss. I thought this minestrone-like soup that I adapted from my Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook to leave out tomatoes and onions would work; I was wrong. We did eventually convince him to eat the beans and pasta by removing them from the offending broth. Sigh. He continues to try new foods, but expanding his palate is surprisingly difficult.

The soup was ok, but it would have been better as a real minestrone with onions and tomatoes.

Slow Cooker Bean and Pasta Soup

1 t onion powder

2 cloves garlic minced (from Open Oak CSA)

2t oregano

2 T grape seed oil

3 c chicken broth

1 beet chopped (from Open Oak CSA)

3 small carrots chopped (from Open Oak CSA)

1 c rio zape beans (from Lonesome Whistle CSA)

1/4 c pasta

1 bunch escarole chopped (from Open Oak CSA)

salt and pepper

grated cheese

Microwave onion powder, garlic, grape seed oil, and oregano for 30 second in the microwave. Transfer to slow cooker. Add in dry beans, beet, carrots, and chicken broth. Cook on high for 4 hours.

Add in pasta and escarole and cook for 30 minutes.