Spicy Garlicky Greens

It's been a long hot summer and the last few weeks have been a bit crazy with school starting again and a huge project at work taking up much of my time. I've been cooking here and there but nothing really remarkable. I had missed a couple of weeks of my CSA and finally renewed this week. Today I went to pick up my box even though we are leaving tomorrow for a weekend vacation.

Oh my! Bok Choy is back!! And arugula. Details of what's in the box here. I have come to really love bok choy and we haven't had fresh greens in awhile due to it being 100+ most of the last month. My daughter has become the resident family spaghetti cook and wanted to make that for dinner, it's become our Wed ritual. Usually I have the stuff on hand and she starts dinner after school and it's ready when I get home from the market. Tonight she was at the market with me. We decided to just get the ingredients there rather than stop at the grocery on the way home.

In our box we had onions and some tomatos and fresh basil so that was covered. We needed pasta and sauce and meat. Picked up some grass fed ground beef from Richardson Farms stand and then headed over to Mandola's Italian Market for pasta, sauce and fresh mozzarella. Brooke decided she wanted caprese salad but mini instead of in layers like I usually do it. We considered putting them on skewers but discovered we were fresh out of sticks when we got home. A bowl works just as well.

So I looked at all this bounty from the market and stressed a little about how to use up the stuff that would go bad before we got back on Tuesday. Then I thought, lets just use as much as we can tonight and decided to serve the greens as a side to the spaghetti and caprese. Good idea!! Google brought me a basic recipe by Jamie Oliver and I made a few tweaks to fit what I had on hand and our tastes. A little crushed red pepper is a must as we like our greens with a little kick. I had no fresh oregano so I subbed in some dried. I also added in the arugula from our box and a few garlic scapes or scallions, I'm not really sure which they were. I just chopped and dropped. Turned out delish and eating greens always makes me feel a little healthier :)

Spicy Garlicky Greens
- adapted from Jamie Oliver

A large glug of olive oil, 4-5 tbsp
1 tbsp butter
3-4 cloves garlic chopped fine
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (a couple of shakes for me)
2-3 chopped scallions or garlic scapes (optional)
1 sm red onion chopped fine
1 large bok choy
2 big handfulls arugula
large handful fresh basil
dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter into the olive oil and add the garlic, scapes/scallions and onion. After 2-3 minutes when the onions are getting softened add in the crushed red pepper. Add in half the basil chopped. While these are working chop the bok choy, dice the stems and cut the leaves into ribbons. Stem and chop the arugula. Add the bok choy stems and allow them to cook down a bit. Add the leaves and arugula and stir well to coat in the oil/juices. Continue to saute about 5-7 minutes until the greens are as soft as you like them. Add the rest of the basil, some oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

It would have been even better with a little parmesan or romano cheese grated in but I actually forgot that at the market (cardinal sin, I know!!) Dinner was served.

Eat some greens! It'll make you feel better.

An unusual combination

Tonight's dinner was a simple one but big on flavor. We're in the middle of two weeks of cutting out chicken, pork and beef just to see if we can and to do a little internal 'spring cleaning'. I'm not usually too keen on fish but have been trying to make it more lately just for the health benefits. Saturday at the Cedar Park farmers market I picked up a container of Macadamia Nut Pesto from Kalas Kuisine. The lady who sold it recommended using it on salmon but I only had tilapia so used it on that. It is very rich but was delicious.

Simple Fish with Macadamia Nut Pesto- get it from Kala's if you're in Austin or make your own

4 fish filets (I used Tilapia, but use whatever fish you like or have on hand)

4 oz pesto

salt and pepper

lemon wedges

Heat oven to 400. Coat a baking dish with small amount of olive oil. Lay in the fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and slather the pesto on each filet. Bake while you're working on your veggies until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Mine took 15-20 minutes. When you pull it from the oven douse with a sprinkle of lemon juice and serve wedges with each portion so each person can add more lemon to their own taste.

I had purchased some beautiful bok choy at the Austin Farmers Market on Wednesday and had a fennel bulb that came in my CSA box this week so I went on the hunt to find something to make on the side. I decided on this Asian inspired combination from one of my many cookbooks. I substituted Apricot Jalepeno Jam from Blanco Valley Farms for a bit of Texas heat.

Sauteed Fennel and Asian Greens with Ginger and Apricot

adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters

2 TBSP Olive Oil

2 TBSP Ginger Paste (or fresh ginger if you have it)

1 small Fennel Bulb, cored and sliced

3 large Bok Choy- chopped

3 TBSP Apricot Jam (or Apricot Jalepeno!)

1 TBSP soy sauce

Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or dutch oven. Add ginger and saute 1 minute. Add Fennel and the stems from the bok choy and saute until tender about 5-7 minutes over med heat. Add the jam and soy sauce, stir well and then add the chopped leaves of the bok choy. Continue to stir until the leaves are bright green and wilted, about 10 minutes or so. Taste and add salt or more soy sauce to your taste.

I served the last few slices of some poblano sourdough from Sweetish Hill Bakery on the side just to use it up. Both dishes were very good but if I had a chance to do it again I don't think I'd serve them together. The fish was very rich and I think would have been better served with just a simple salad or some steamed asparagus. The bok choy could have made a meal on it's own with just some steamed brown rice.