Green Lemonade and Green Smoothie Goodness

These are three recipes I make on a regular basis and really love! I have the vegetable juice every morning however the smoothies are a great alternative. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Green Lemonade

-1/2 head of celery
-1/2 cucumber
-1 handful to 3 cups of spinach (any greens will work)
-1 lemon, rind removed
-1 green apple (optional)

Although there are many different types of juicers, this order will work well for all of them to get the most juice out of your vegetables.

First juice the spinach, followed by a few stalks of celery. Then add in the lemon, and cucumber, using celery in between to help things continue to move through the juicer. Finally add in the apple and drink up!

Green Smoothie (Fruity)

-1 to 3 cups greens (spinach is the most mild and makes the smoothie silky)
-1 banana
-1 fresh mango - diced
-1/2 cup water - more or less for desired thickness

Place the greens in the blender first along with the water and then add the banana and mango on top. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Green Superfood Smoothie

This recipe is adapted from Raw Model and is so addictively delicious!

-2 cups milk of choice (raw dairy, almond, hemp, coconut etc) I prefer almond or hemp here
-2-3 cups of greens - spinach, kale, watercress, mizuna
-1-3 tbsp bee pollen - local if you can find it!
-1 - 2 tbsp raw honey - to taste depending on how bitter the greens are

Blend greens, milk and honey until smooth then add in Bee pollen and blend lightly.  Enjoy!

Green Smoothies

Green smoothies made by Harlem CSA Shareholders!

CSA Shareholder Meryl presented a demo on Green Smoothies to fellow CSA shareholders in Harlem, NY during pick-up last week. She writes, "Green smoothies are super easy to make, and quick to clean up after. Preparing a pitcher of green smoothie takes less than five minutes, including cleaning. And they're a great way to use up all the produce in your share. While fresh is always best, green smoothies will keep in cool temperatures for up to three days." Click here for an article on the health benefits of green smoothies.

Green Smoothies
Savory Option #1 (Meryl's favorite!):
5 leaves kale or 2 handfuls of spinach
½ bunch cilantro
½ avocado
½ red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 medium tomatoes
½ lime-juiced
Salt to taste
2 cups of water

Sweet Option #1:
½ bunch romaine lettuce or 5 leaves chard
1 mango
1 sweet apple (no Granny Smith for this)
1 banana
2 cups of water or 1½ cups water and 4 ice cubes

Sweet Option #2:
½ bunch Romaine or red leaf lettuce
1 cup strawberries
2 bananas
2 cups of water or 1½ cups water and 4 ice cubes

Sweet Option #3:
6 leaves kale
4 ripe pears or sweet apples
½ bunch mint
2 cups of water or 1½ cups water and 4 ice cubes

Directions for all:
Cut up all ingredients into small pieces (lettuce can be ripped). Add all to blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Recipes yield about 1 quart of smoothie.

Scallion and Sorrel Pancakes with Smoked Salmon

Thank you to CSA Shareholder Lindsay, from Wayne, PA, for sharing the following recipe! She adapted a leek/sorrel recipe from www.bigoven.com to use up her scallions, sorrel, and spinach from this week's share.

Scallion and Sorrel Pancakes with Smoked Salmon
Serves 8 to 10 (appetizer servings)

Ingredients
¼ cup unsalted butter
salt (optional)
4 cups chopped scallions
vegetable oil
2 cups sorrel (can substitute with spinach)
4 ounces smoked salmon
2 eggs
¼ cup All-purpose flour
sour cream, (optional, for garnish)
chopped chives (optional, for garnish)

Directions
1. Heat sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add butter when pan is hot. After butter melts, add scallions and sauté until tender but not brown. Add sorrel or spinach; cook briefly to wilt. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Add flour; whisk until smooth. Add cooled scallions mixture. Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Film with oil. When oil is hot, drop about 2 tablespoons batter for each pancake on griddle. Cook until brown. Turn and continue to cook until brown on other side. Remove from griddle and top with salmon, sour cream, and chives. Serve immediately.

Homemade Pasta with Ricotta and Spinach

I tried this a few nights ago, when I was snowed in and had plenty of time to cook a nice meal. Fresh pasta is so fun to make and tastes delicious, and I was able to get most my ingredients from the Co-op through our online buying club, Four Season Harvest, which is still going strong throughout the winter at many of our sites! (Check it out at http://www.lancasterfarmfresh.com/static/controls/?page=fourseason.)

Homemade Pasta with Ricotta and Spinach
Serves 4 to 5

Pasta Ingredients
flour (about 5 cups)
5 eggs
salt
olive oil

Sauce Ingredients
olive oil
ricotta (about 2 cups)
whole milk
salt, to taste
spinach (5 to 6 handfuls)
Parmesan cheese, grated

Pasta Directions*
Place flour in a pile on clean workspace. Make a well, and crack 5 eggs into the well. Using a butter knife, slowly work eggs into the flour, using you have created a workable dough. You should have plenty of flour leftover to spread over your workspace when you are ready to roll out the dough. Leave the dough under a glass bowl and let rest for 10 minutes. When dough has finished resting, roll onto floured surface until thin enough to see your fingers through the dough. Cut dough into thin strips. You are now ready to cook! Boil a large pot of water, and add pasta, salt, and olive oil. Cook until pasta has reached desired texture. Drain and gently coat with olive oil.

*There is a fabulous video on Video Jug (http://www.videojug.com/) that I followed to make pasta for the first time. Check it out at http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-fresh-pasta.

Sauce Directions
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add ricotta and mix with milk to thin. Add salt to taste and spinach. Cook until spinach has wilted slightly. Add pasta and cook for a few more minutes until pasta and sauce are well mixed. Serve hot, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Indian Spinach with Potatoes

I've been eating lots of spinach and potatoes this week, and this is one of the recipes that I tried. It comes from Winter Harvest Cookbook by Lane Morgan, published in 2010. It's an excellent resource for seasonal cooks and if you haven't checked it out yet—do so! It's definitely one of my new favorites. The author writes of this recipe: "This is quick and good. If you boil the potatoes beforehand, you can have dinner on the table in about 10 minutes." He suggests serving with a carrot curry and a raita for for a "beautiful and nutritious" vegetarian meal.

Indian Spinach with Potatoes
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
2 pounds boiled peeled potatoes
1 pound fresh spinach
¼ cup peanut oil or other light oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions
Cut the potatoes into cubes. You should have about 4 cups. Chop spinach coarsely. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add onion, garlic, and fresh ginger, and sauté briefly. Combine mustard seed, cumin, red pepper flakes (if used), turmeric, and chili powder. Add to saucepan, stir well, and cook mixture over gentle heat until onion is soft. Add potatoes and stir gently to coat them with spices. Add spinach in handfuls. Add salt, stir again carefully but thoroughly, cover and cook 3 minutes or so, until spinach is cooked down a bit. Serve at once.

Golden Spinach and Sweet Potato Healthy Sauté

Spinach is ranked as one of the top “World’s Healthiest Vegetables,” as it is extremely rich in all sorts of vitamins and minerals, as well as high in phytonutrients such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin and flavonoids, which provide antioxidant protection. (Source: The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://whfoods.org/.) The following recipe comes from The World’s Healthiest Foods.

Golden Spinach and Sweet Potato Healthy Sauté
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon chicken or vegetable broth
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 ounces spinach
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of broth in a large stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute.
2. Add seasonings and lemon juice and stir to mix thoroughly. Add broth and sweet potatoes. Simmer covered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Add spinach to sweet potatoes. Cook uncovered for a few more minutes to allow sauce to thicken. Add cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Yukon Gold and Baby Spinach Masala

Mmm... I hope to make this recipe tonight with the pound of spinach in today's Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA share! This recipe is courtesy of the April 1, 2009 edition of Vegetarian Times. The author writes, "Serve with steamed rice, and a sweet-and-sour chutney, such as Fresh Mango Chutney (see Fresh Mango Chutney recipe on vegetariantimes.com)."

Yukon Gold and Baby Spinach Masala
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes (4 cups)
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced (1½ cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 jalapeño chile, finely chopped (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 13.5-oz. can light coconut milk
1 6-oz. bag baby spinach
1½ teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Directions
1. Steam potatoes in steamer basket set over simmering water 10 minutes, or until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 8 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeño, and sauté 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Add steamed potatoes, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, to coat with spices. Add coconut milk and ¼ cup water, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
3. Stir in spinach, garam masala, and ¼ cup water, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Spinach Fettuccine with Spinach, Butter and Parmesan

This recipe is a creation of Janet Fletcher, food writer and author of many wonderful cookbooks, including Eating Local: The Cookbook Inspired by America’s Farmers. You can read more about Ms. Fletcher on her website (http://www.foodwriter.com/index.html). This particular recipe comes from Four Seasons Pasta, and the author writes that she loves this dish "for its simplicity and pure taste."

Spinach Fettuccine with Spinach, Butter and Parmesan
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 pound fresh spinach or egg fettuccine
1½ to 2 pounds spinach (not baby spinach), thick stems removed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, in 10 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
⅔ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and boil until it is about 1 minute shy of al dente. Add the spinach leaves and stir them down into the pot to wilt. When the spinach is completely wilted, set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste, then toss well. Add ½ cup of the cheese and toss again, moistening with some of the reserved pasta water as needed. Divide among warm bowls, topping each portion with some of the remaining cheese. Serve immediately.

Saarson da saag

This is a popular dish prepared with mustard greens from India and Pakistan. The following version is courtesy of LuckyDelicious Blog (http://usgorikakhana.blogspot.com/). The author writes, "This dish doesn't have a lot of spices and seasonings, as it isn't meant to be nose-run inducing hot! The greens are the star of the show here." I can't wait to try out this recipe with the red mustard greens from my CSA share, and plan to substitute garlic and ginger paste with fresh garlic and ginger.

Saarson da saag
Ingredients
2 pounds mustard greens, washed and chopped
1 pound spinach, washed and chopped
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
2 fresh tomatoes, puréed
1 teaspoon red chile powder
2 tablespoons finely ground cornmeal
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil for frying
salt, to taste

Directions

1. Boil the mustard and spinach greens together until softened, then purée with some of the cooking liquid. Reserve extra cooking liquid for later use.
2. Heat the oil and sauté ginger and garlic pastes. When these turn golden, quickly add and stir in red chile powder tomato purée. Cook the tomato purée on high heat for a few moments until the oil rises to the top. Now add the mustard greens and spinach purée. Mix well.
3. Stir in desired amount of salt to cornmeal and mix well. You will need to add 1 to 1½ cups of the cooking liquid. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it is done, stir in 3 tablespoons of butter. To serve, add shards of butter on top.