One of the things I love best about a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture, which we buy through Pleasant Hill Produce) membership is that no matter how discombobulated the tasks of life become, my basic weekly groceries are there waiting for me. Beyond picking them up my only commitment is to the fun of the weekly produce puzzle—what’ll I make with this? So to catch up with the last couple of weeks of veggies here are some fun things we found to make.
First, a glimpse of a weekly small share. Veggies, fruit and eggs.Pickled Eggs and beets
Nothing goes with kale like kale!
Ok, so a note about kale. It’s strong, it’s bold, it’s nutritious, and when you have it you have a lot of it. Just run with it—and by that I mean run with it right through your spice cabinet and with oodles of garlic. If you find a dish that you particularly like, see if it freezes well.
Salad with kale, chard, fresh lettuce, radishes, apples—all from the CSA share. Embellish with other good stuff on hand—Pine Nuts, sunflower seeds, dried fruit. Any favorite homemade dressing.Kohlrabi thin sliced and marinated in oil and vinegar. Kale and any other greens, sauteed with lots of garlic and oil. Cook long enough to really mellow the kale flavor. Good flavors are sesame, honey (with the vinegar marinade) rice wine vinegar. Lots of garlic; salt and pepper to taste. Combine the cooked kale with the raw, marinated kohlrabi.
Stir fry base of greens—kale, spinach, chard, beets…. Cook it down till it is nice and soft and has all or most of the raw kale taste mellowed. Most any cooking oil that you like will do, though greens are especially good with vinegar flavors so I tend toward a zippy Thai peanut sauce with rice wine vinegar.Broccoli, carrots, peppers added to greens and cooked tender-crisp with steaming from moisture in the greens. Add any protein you like—shrimp, raw or leftover chicken, Thai peanut sauce.
Kale and Cheese Puff Pastry
Preheat the oven to 400°. Assemble one box of frozen puff pastry dough, board & rolling pin, grater for cheese, cookie sheet for baking, greens, garlic/other spices, cheese, Dijon mustard.
Other stuff that might come in handy, pastry brush if you want to add an egg wash to the top of pastry before baking.
Thaw puff pastry in the refrigerator according to directions on the box. Roll out on lightly floured board. Transfer to the cookie sheet and roll the other sheet of dough.Coat the pastry with 1 – 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard. Have ready sauteed greens. Kale should be really well cooked to soften the flavor and the texture.
Grate a cup or more of a flavorful cheese. In this part you have lots of room for making it how you like it. I like a combo of cheddar, Parmesan, and when I have it any other soft-ish cheese for better melting. If I turned this into a ham & cheese & greens tart then Swiss or other mild but rich flavor works to offset the saltiness of the ham.Spread the cooked kale/other greens on the mustard-spread pastry dough.
Spread the cheese over the greens.Put the other sheet of puff pastry dough on top, pinching the edges together. Cut a few slits in the top for steam to escape in the oven. Brush on an egg wash and put in the fridge for about 20min. (this is a good time to preheat the oven if you have not already done so). Bake in a PREHEATED oven at 400° for 20 – 25 min.
Finished Kale and Cheese Puff PastrySlice as an appetizer or side dish.
