Sweet Potatoes, Greens, and Spaghetti Sauce

As I cast about searching for inspiration to guide me on my return to the kitchen and a more centered life pattern, I couldn't have asked for more perfect timing for the arrival of our CSA's new spring season!

A quiet evening with a glass of wine and an issue of Bon Appetit is quite soothing and uplifting as well...

We've received a few CSA boxes already, but they felt intensely winter-themed and lacked variety - although we were grateful for the miracle that any thing grows in the mid west in March, when snow and freezing temperature still threatens, even if it means Jerusalem artichokes and cabbages by the bushel. Still, there is something rejuvenating about the promise of spring vegetables. If you've celebrated (or suffered) your way through even one English class, you know Spring always equates to change and rebirth. So, while Zach slept soundly in his continual, work-imposed nocturnal state, I hummed along with Chopin piano concertos and cooked again. Two dishes, which I share with you here, both uncomplicated and soothing to prepare, the sort of dishes that allow your mind to wander without fear of a sauce breaking or souffle deflating. And both glorious excuses to jaunt to the farmers market and celebrate the first of tomatoes, peppers, and tender spring spinach...

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

8 oz Italian turkey sausage OR vegetarian Tofurkey Italian sausages, sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6 large tomatoes
2 bell peppers
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp Zaatar or oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning

~ In a skillet over medium heat, add some cooking spray and brown the sausage, onion, and garlic.
~ Add the sausage mixture to the slow cooker along with all the remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
~ Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, adding more broth if you think necessary.
~ Serve over whole wheat pasta with lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!

This homemade tomato sauce goes splendidly with beans as well as pasta...

Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes and Greens

3 sweet potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 cup finely chopped green onions (including both white and green parts)
2 wild garlic bulbs, minced (If you can find wild garlic - otherwise, just use 6 cloves of regular garlic, minced)
1 large cucumber, diced
1/2 cup diced radishes
8 cups mixed leafy greens (I used a combination of Bok Choy, spinach, and radish tops)
1 T toasted sesame oil
3 T low sodium soy sauce
Slivered almonds, for serving

~ Cook the sweet potatoes (boil, bake, or microwave), and cut into 1" pieces
~ In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the green onions, garlic, cucumber, and radishes until tender and lightly browned.
~ Scatter the greens on top, reduce the heat to medium, and drizzle the sesame oil on top of the greens. Gently fold the greens into the rest of the mixture, cover, and steam just until the greens are cooked.
~ Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl, and fold in the sweet potatoes and soy sauce.
~ Serve warm, topped with slivered almonds!

Spring Asparagus Dip

I haven't written a blog post in a week, well, because honestly I haven't cooked in a week. I've written about the work-life balance challenge before, but clearly I haven't been doing so well because here I am in the workaholics corner again. This past week, I have truly done little else besides get up, work out, go to work, work 12 to 14 hours a day, fall into bed, and start the cycle over again. In many respects this problem is a blessing, because I've never before had a job I'm truly passionate about like this one. Now, I have a job in which I feel completely invested, a job I happily wake up and fall asleep puzzling over. Still, this is probably the first week in my life when I haven't cooked a single thing, and this feels foreign and uncomfortable to me. I feel satisfyingly productive and accomplished, but not fully creatively nourished. Most significantly, since Zach is working night shifts again, by choosing to work especially long hours I have forgone the evenings Zach and I would normally spend together before he departed for work. Both my dear husband and my sanity feel relegated to the background. So, I need to regroup this week. I need to make plans both for the job I enjoy and the people I love. I need to return to the kitchen. I need to share with my dear blog friends the remarkable asparagus spring dip I promised... While I try to remember what it's like to feel peaceful and centered again.

Spring Asparagus Dip

(Adapted from Bon Appetit April 2012)

• 1 lb 3/4-inch pieces asparagus
• 2 tablespoons SmartBalance Light
• 1 cup chopped leeks (white and pale-green parts only)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk
• 1 cup grated low fat cheddar
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 2 tsp dried  chives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese 

• Preheat oven to 450°. Steam asparagus until crisp-tender. 

• Melt SmartBalance Light in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes.

•  
  Whisk in flour; gradually whisk in almond milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. 
  Cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened; remove from heat. Add cheddar; whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fold in asparagus, corn, chives, parsley, and feta cheese
  
  
   
  Transfer mixture to a 4–5-cup baking dish and bake until bubbling, 15–20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Simple Sauteed Cabbage and Peppers

With Easter and Passover on the same weekend, and Passover lasting an entire week, it's been a very eventful week in our fusion household!

My parents also came to visit last weekend to celebrate my mother's birthday as well, so at times we simply didn't know which celebration to turn to next.

All week we have been enjoying spring festival themed dishes.

Carrot-matzah kugel

asparagus corn dip (recipe to follow soon!)

sage roasted sweet potatoes

and caramelized cabbage and peppers...

Perfect for the early spring vegetable season here in the midwest, where we are still harvesting cold weather vegetables such as cabbages and kale, you could fix this recipe with really any wintery green but it's just perfect for the creamy, cozy, caramelized flavors of cabbage.

Sauteed Cabbage and Peppers

1 T olive oil OR 4 slices bacon/turkey bacon, chopped

1 whole cabbage, shredded

1 yellow or orange bell pepper, coarsely chopped

2 leeks, white and light green parts finely chopped

1 tablespoon SmartBalance Light

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

That's all! Simple!

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. If using, add bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. If you aren't using the bacon, for the vegetarian version, simply add the oil to the skillet.

Add the cabbage and peppers to the skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until well browned in spots and beginning to soften. Reduce heat to low and add the leeks and butter; cook, stirring often, until the leeks are soft. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the cabbage is completely tender. Stir in vinegar and bacon, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm!

Slow Cooker Falafel!

It's no secret that I adore my slow-cooker. I even love to use it in the summertime, when it's so much more energy efficient than turning on the warm oven or even the stove-top, but it seems the humble slow cooker - or crock pot - is more frequently associated with hearty winter stews and I have trouble finding recipes that seem more seasonally attuned to the warmer months. Thus, as we are already having an uncharacteristically warm summer here in the midwest, you can imagine my excitement when I happened upon a falafel recipe prepared in the slow cooker. The recipe was discovered in the true 6 degrees of separation style of the blog world, via Pinterest but initially posted on A Year of Slow Cooking. I confess, I was initially skeptical. Falafel in the slow cooker? Falafel is a sacred, oft-prepared dish in our family, so the idea of fixing it in the slow cooker elicited an initial cry of alarm from my father when I emailed him the recipe. Still, I couldn't disregard the opportunity to experiment with the recipe, even while I texted my friend Lisa my reservations about the globular blobs now lined up along the bottom of my slow cooker's amply sized crockery insert.

Queue 3.5 hours of anxious, anticipatory waiting. The recipe promised the falafel would emerge browned, even without the unhealthful frying we usually bypass by baking our falafel in the oven, but I had never seen anything brown in a slow cooker. Eventually I wandered off to slice cabbage for a salad and whip up a tahini dipping sauce, and lost interest in peering through the clear lid of the slow cooker until a wondrous scent floating throughout the apartment sent Zach and I both rushing into the kitchen for late evening dinner preparations. Somehow, left to their own devices, the falafel patties had browned. And crisped. And shaped themselves into flavorful falafel perfection. We are very critical of new falafel recipes, so I speak fervently when I say this exceeded our demands and truly propelled us into culinary raptures. If you have a slow cooker, please give these a try - they are truly magical and an effective party trick as well! I think I'm going to bring these to my workplace's spring party... They're too delightful not to share!

Slow Cooker Falafel

(Inspired by Stephanie's recipe)

15 oz can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup dehydrated onion
1 T dried parsley
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 T olive oil

~ In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the bread crumbs and olive oil until well mixed.
~ Fold in the breadcrumbs.
~ Drizzle the olive oil across the bottom of the slow cooker crockery inset.
~ Shape the falafel mixture into golf ball sized patties, and place each one in the bottom of the slow cooker, dipping each side lightly in the olive oil to coat.
~ Cook on high for approx 3 1/2 hours - until lightly browned.
~ Serve with good toasted bread or pita bread, and tahini sauce and/or hummus!