get your veg on!
Veganuary is a trend sweeping the globe - or so I gather from the abundant number of vegetable recipes popping up in my inbox every morning. Record numbers of people signed the pledge to eat a plant-based diet for the month of January and organizers hope 2019 will be the Year of the Vegan. While I fully applaud the trend, I personally can't quite give up scrambled eggs or cow's milk in my tea. For those of us who are slightly less virtuous, there's the 31-day Vegetarian Challenge. Bring on the eggs and dairy! I would have happily hopped on board that challenge, but I have a less enthusiastic family to feed who balk at the idea of a month without meat - as if they were going to starve. As a compromise - we have gone flexitarian this month. We're focusing on eating mainly a whole foods, plant based diet and have cut back on meat. In our case, we have cut back to eating meat one day a week. This is a significant flip for us from Meatless Monday where we have devoted one day to plants based meals for the last several years - but so easy to do when you have a fridge full of veg! Below are three recipes for the ingredients from this week's box. Enjoy!
THE BOX
Vegetables Red Beets Green Beans Bok Choy* Red Cabbage Red Kale Mushrooms Yukon Gold Potatoes
Fruit Granny Smith Apples
Farm Fresh Eggs *standard and family shares
recipes
Blood Orange, BEET, and Fennel Salad
Bon Appétit
INGREDIENTS 4 medium beets, tops trimmed 3 blood oranges 1 medium navel orange (preferably Cara Cara) 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice ½ small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline (about 1/3 cup) Good-quality extra-virgin olive, for drizzling Coarse sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro/basil/chervil leaves
Serves 4-6
INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 400°. Wash beets, leaving some water on skins. Wrap individually in foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Let cool.
Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut all peel and white pith from all oranges; discard. Working over a medium bowl, cut between membranes of 2 blood oranges to release segments into bowl; squeeze juice from membranes into bowl and discard membranes. Slice remaining blood orange and Cara Cara orange crosswise into thin rounds. Place sliced oranges in bowl with the segments. Add lemon juice and lime juice.
Peel cooled beets. Slice 2 beets crosswise into thin rounds. Cut remaining 2 beets into wedges. Strain citrus juices; reserve. Layer beets and oranges on plates, dividing evenly. Arrange fennel and onion over beets. Spoon reserved citrus juices over, then drizzle salad generously with oil. Season to taste with coarse sea salt and pepper. Let salad stand for 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Garnish salad with fresh herbs.
Café Zuni Buttermilk Mashed POTATOES
Judy Rogers | Café Zuni Cookbook
According to the late great Judy Rogers of legendary Café Zuni, she was afraid to run these mashed potatoes at Zuni because whatever she paired them with outsold all other main courses four to one. "The cook who has buttermilk mashed potatoes on his main course looks upon his fortune with vague dread - he will be slammed all night". They also had to have an extra 10 lbs worth ready for side orders!
INGREDIENTS 1¼ pounds yellow fleshed potatoes, peeled, cut into rough 1-1½" chunks salt 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream, heated until hot 2 to 3 tablespoons buttermilk at room temperature about 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, just melted and still warm
Serves 4
INSTRUCTIONS Place potato chunks in a 2-4 quart saucepan and add cold water to cover by an inch or so. Stir in salt until you can just taste it clearly (approximately 1 teaspoon sea salt per quart of water). Bring the potatoes to a boil, uncovered, and cook until very tender, 8-15 minutes, depending on the variety of potato. Drain and rice or mash while the potatoes are piping hot, then beat in the hot milk, half-and-half, or cream, and then the buttermilk. Finish with the butter. Whip vigorously, taste for salt, and serve immediately, or keep warm, covered, in a double boiler, for up to 30 minutes.
Roasted CABBAGE Steaks with Caraway Vinaigrette
Bobby Flay | Fit
INGREDIENTS 1 teaspoon caraway seeds ¼ cup aged sherry vinegar 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 small head each of red & green cabbage, tough outer leaves removed, sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds (3 rounds).
Serves 6
INSTRUCTIONS In a small sauté pan, toast the caraway seeds over low heat until just fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board and lightly crush in a mortar with pestle.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup oil until emulsified and then stir in the caraway seeds. Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the cabbage.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the cabbage on the baking sheet, brush both sides of the cabbage with the remaining ¼ cup oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast the cabbage until soft and lightly golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove to a platter and immediately spoon the vinaigrette over the top.
