Not sure what to do with some of the produce in your share? Check out our recipe blog for inspiration! Regularly updated with recipes, including some from CSA members.
Steak Bun
Steak Bun
Adapted by Farmer Dave’s from Eating Well
(and with meatless inspiration from the Vegan Homemade blog)
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon canola oil*
- 1 pound sirloin steak or strip steak (1-1 1/4 inches thick), trimmed*
- 6 ounces wide rice noodles
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce*
- 2 Tablespoons sugar or to taste
- 4 cups shredded napa cabbage & baby asian greens like bok choy or tatsoi
- 1 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
- 1 cup slivered fresh basil and/or mint
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted, lightly roasted peanuts
Preparation:
- Heat oil in a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium, add steak and cook, turning once, until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest on a clean cutting board for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook rice noodles until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes or according to the package directions. Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water.
- Whisk vinegar, fish sauce and sugar to taste in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Slice the steak into thin matchsticks. Add the steak and any accumulated juice to the bowl along with the noodles, cabbage, carrot, radishes, basil and/or mint and peanuts; toss to combine. Serve immediately.
* Ginger substituted olive oil, tempeh, and vegetarian fish sauce in this recipe.
Tempeh marinade
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 Tbs sherry
- 2 Tbs soy sauce
- 1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Slice tempeh into thin strips.
- Whisk together marinade ingredients, submerge tempeh and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Pan fry strips according to Steak Bun recipe.
Roasted Spring Vegetables with Arugula Pesto
Ingredients:
- 4 cups potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 4 cups peeled carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup baby arugula for garnish
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 cups baby arugula
- 1/2 cup finely shredded asiago cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (walnuts are also delicious)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- To prepare vegetables: Position rack in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°F.
- Toss potatoes with 2 teaspoons oil in a large bowl and spread on a large baking sheet. Roast in the lower third of the oven for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss carrots with 2 teaspoons oil in the bowl and spread on another large baking sheet. After the potatoes have roasted for 5 minutes, place the carrots in the upper third of the oven and roast potatoes and carrots for 15 minutes.
- Toss asparagus with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the bowl. Add to the pan with the potatoes, toss to combine and return to the oven. Continue roasting until all the vegetables are tender and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes more.
- To prepare pesto: Meanwhile, drop garlic through the feed tube of food processor with the motor running; process until minced. Stop the machine and add arugula, cheese, pine nuts, 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pulse and then process, scraping down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is a smooth paste.
- Toss the roasted vegetables with 1/3 cup pesto and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the large bowl (reserve the remaining pesto for another use: refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze). Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with arugula, if desired.
Roasted Beet & Arugula Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 large beet
- 2 naval oranges
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 bag of arugula
- 5 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap beet tightly in parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 45 to 50 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub off skins, using paper towels to keep your hands from staining. Cut into wedges.
- Meanwhile, prepare oranges; Slice off both ends of each with a paring knife. Cut away the peel and white pith, following the curve of the fruit. Holding the fruit over a bowl, cut along membranes to release whole segments. Squeeze juice from membranes into another bowl, and add any accumulated juice from the segments.
- Add oil, vinegar, and mustard to orange juice; season with salt and pepper, and whisk to combine. Add arugula, and toss to coat with dressing. Divide arugula among four plates. Top with beet wedges, orange segments, and goat cheese. Serve immediately.
Cucumber Blueberry Salad
Cucumber Blueberry Salad
Submitted by CSA member Christine in Lawrence
Christine says, “I’ve put together an easy summer salad that is a mixture of two different recipes I found. Some versions added hot pepper. Prep time is 5-10 minutes. It reminds me of a mojito without the rum.”
Ingredients:
- Cucumber – seeded and chopped
- Blueberries
- Mint- about 10 small leaves, chopped
- Roughly 2 tablespoons lime juice
Directions:
Crush the mint in the lime juice, then add the cucumber and blueberries and toss together.
Tomato Peach Salad
Tomato Peach Salad
Submitted by Jacqueline in Burlington, from Food Network
Directions:
Toss tomato and peach wedges with red onion slices. Drizzle with cider vinegar and olive oil; season with sugar, salt and pepper.
Jacqueline says, “That’s it -and boy is it a tasty, refreshing salad. I made it without the slightest alteration -and it needed none. This ended up being such a hit that I’ll be taking a bigger batch to our Labor Day Weekend Cookout. “
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Submitted by Chris in Tewksbury, from “Everyday Mexican” by Rick Bayless
Chris says, “Although I doubt Rick Bayless would recommend this, I have also frozen the roasted salsa with good results.”
Ginger’s note: This is my favorite salsa recipe. I make this all summer long.
Ingredients:
- 4 med (about 8 oz. total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved.
- 2 lg garlic cloves, peeled
- Hot green chilies to taste (he recommends 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno which will be spicy) stemmed and roughly chopped. Remove seeds and ribs for less heat.
- About 1/3 c. loosly packed roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/2 small white onion, finely chopped.
Directions:
- Put a 10″ non-stick skillet over high heat. Lay in garlic and tomatillo cut side down. When tomatillos are well browned (3-4 min) turn everything over and brown the other side. When complete, the tomatillos will be completely soft.
- Scrape into a food processor and let cool to room temperature, 3-4 minutes. Add chiles, cilantro and 1/4 water. Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salsa dish and adjust water for consistency.
- Rinse onion under cold water and stir into salsa. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 tsp.
Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
Submitted by Chris in Tewksbury, from “Everyday Mexican” by Rick Bayless
Ingredients:
- 4 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and quartered
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- Hot green chilies to taste (He recommends 2 serrano or 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup loosely packed cilantro, roughly chopped
- salt to taste
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients but salt in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process to a coarse puree. Adjust salt and water to reach desired taste and consistency.
- Serve within 1 hour.
German Potato Salad
German Potato Salad
Submitted by Yvonne in Dracut
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds white potatoes, peeled.
- 1 lb bacon, fried and crumbled, reserve drippings
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cup each water, white vinegar and sugar
- Garlic salt to taste
- Onion powder to taste
- Parsley to taste
Directions:
- Cook potatoes until firm. Allow to cool then slice or dice.
- Bring water, vinegar, sugar and bacon drippings to a boil. Thicken with a roux (flour and water) like gravy.
- Pour mixture over potatoes. Season to taste with garlic salt, onion powder and parsley. Stir in onion and bacon.
- Best if made 1-2 days ahead.
Preserve Fresh Herbs in Oil or Butter
How to preserve fresh herbs in Oil or Butter.
From Organic Gardening, Vol. 59:6, page 24
- Wash herbs, discarding stems and damaged leaves. Spin leaves dry in a salad spinner or dry well with paper towels.
- Place herbs in a food processor with 1/3 cup olive oil for every 2 cups leaves, or 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter per 2 to 4 tablespoons leaves.
- For butters, add grated citrus rind, ginger or garlic for extra flavor.
- To make sure herb oils are adaptable to a wide range of uses, don’t add cheese or nuts.
- Pulse processor, scraping down sides of bowl from time to time, until you get a chunky paste and all leaves are chopped.
- To package for freezing, put 1 cup herb oil or 1/2 cup herb butter in a 1-quart zip-top bag, then flatten and spread mixture to make a thin layer. Freeze flat.
- Best when used within 6 months.
Use herbs preserved in oil the same way that you use fresh herbs. Use herb butter the same way that you use butter.
Herb Shortbread
Herb Shortbread
Submitted by Susan W, Dracut. From Organic Gardening Magazine
The trick to making great shortbread is processing the dough just long enough so that it can be rolled out but is still a little crumbly. These sweet/savory cookies are perfect served after dinner with fruit and cheese.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup herb butter (see below)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place sugar, salt, and flour in a food processor and pulse to combine. Cut butter into 1/2 inch chunks, add to the processor, and pulse until butter is evenly distributed and dough holds together when pinched.
- Dump dough onto parchment paper and form into an evenly thick rectangle. Roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin until the rectangle is 6 inches by 8 inches. Using a straight edge as a guide, cut the rectangle into 1-inch crosswise strips and then half-wise to form 16 1 by 3 inch cookies. Prick each cookie four times with the tines of a fork. Carefully place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 23 to 26 minutes, or until the cookies are set and just starting to turn golden (not browned). Cool on racks before serving. Store in an airtight container.
Herb Butters: Any combination works well
Sage Orange Butter: 2 packed tablespoons of torn sage leaves and 2 tablespoons grated orange rind per 1/2 cup butter.
Basil-Lemon Butter: 4 packed tablespoons of torn basil leaves and 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind per 1/2 cup butter.