Mushroom Stew! Polenta! Leeks! Napa Cabbage Salad!

This past week I made use of my CSA Box and cooked a hearty vegetarian meal of Mushroom Stew over Cheesey Polenta with Braised Leeks and a Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing. Sam said the meal felt like gourmet comfort food. And it was good for us too!

The recipe for the Hearty Mushroom Stew came from an amazing book by Jack Bishop called Vegetables Every Day. If you get a CSA box I highly recommend buying this book. The recipes are organized by vegetable and he hits every vegetable you could think of from Onions and Broccoli to more exotic vegetables like Jerusalem Artichokes and Kohlrabi. It's an incredible resource.

For the stew I used a mixture of dried porcini, fresh baby bella and button mushrooms. I also got to cook with Turnips for the first time. They are awesome! Like sweeter less starchy potatoes when cooked. Yum.

The stew came out a little more watery than I wanted because the pot I used was not big enough (the recipe calls for a using a large casserole or Dutch oven). So Sam made a small roux to thicken it up and we reduced it all a bit more. In the end the stew perfectly complemented the hearty, thick polenta. Mmmm.

I used instant (5-6 minute) Italian Polenta and threw in a handful of 2% reduced-fat shredded Cheddar Cheese. Easy and delicious. Just make sure you keep stirring the polenta!

I served the stew and polenta with a side of Leeks Braised in Red Wine using another recipe from Vegetables Every Day. I had never braised anything in red wine before. It's so easy and the leek came out sweet and tangy and melt in your mouth tender.

As a crunchy contrast to the soft stew, polenta, and leeks I made a Napa Cabbage Salad with Buttermilk Dressing - a recipe from Gourmet. It was delicious! The recipe calls for using 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise and I substituted one of them with a light mayo to reduce the calories a bit.

this week with the farm box

so on friday we got our delivery from farm fresh to you. organic produce. we got some fruit (pears, tangelos), 2 avocados, 2 heads of napa cabbage, 1 bunch of collards, a head of green leaf lettuce, and a ginormous leek.

so this week i'll be making:

hearty wild mushroom stew over polenta with leeks braised in red wine and napa cabbage salad with buttermilk dressing

hazelnut-panko crusted trout with braised collard greens and a sweet potato (or parsnip)

jerk chicken and napa cabbage slaw with spicy cilantro dressing

as you may have noticed, i did cook one meal last week. i did not make the brazillian dish or the split pea stew. sam and i have been finding it difficult to go to the market.we have been subsisting off of healthy mexican food (chicken burritos with no cheese or fat on whole wheat tortilla) since he got sick (or rather got well). gotta get back into the swing of things! the CSA box certainly helps with that. i hate to see produce go to waste.

but i am going to check out a competitor's box and we'll get that delivered on tuesday of next week. i am hoping it's a better selection.

I'm Baaaaack

I've been out of commission for a couple of weeks. First it was the holidays and then Sam got super sick with a wretched case of strep throat and all focus was on making him healthy and feeling better. So we ate lots of Jello, frozen yogurt, popsicles, and mac and cheese. But I think I'm ready to come back and cook!

This Friday we'll be receiving a box of organic fruits and veggies delivered right to our door. From there I'll determine what to make for the following week. It's exciting. Can't wait to see what we get!

But this week, till then I'm really only interested in cooking vegetarian or fish. I reintroduced myself to a cookbook I've had for a long time called Global Vegetarian. I'm going to make a vegetarian version of the Brazilian black bean and rice dish called Feijoada. To keep it healthy, brown rice will be used and of course, no meat. I'll let you know how it goes! I'll serve it with a salad of radishes, celery heart, avocado, and fennel with a citrus vinaigrette. I bought a really nice mandolin for only $60 and I can't wait to use it!

After that I'm going to make Dutch Split Pea and Barley stew. But Sam requested I make the Feijoada first. I'll make it Wednesday and let you all know how it goes!