Philippe Waterinckx, Tucson CSA

1 cauliflower (or 2 broccoli)
1 lettuce head
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Italian or French dressing
Salt and pepper

Finely chop head of lettuce. Place into salad bowl and add salad dressing
Break up cauliflower in small pieces.
Heat oil to medium heat in skillet. Add cauliflower. Cover and braise for 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
When cauliflower is done, add salt, pepper and grated cheese. Melt for a few minutes while stirring to cover all pieces.
Add to salad bowl. Toss. Serve immediately.

Optional: serve with a piece of grilled fish on top.

From Philippe, Tucson CSA

This is a beefed up Mac N Cheese, a hearty and comforting winter dish which will make you wish you had more root vegetables and greens. The cheese sauce takes away the bite of the root vegetables and greens that have any. You can use turnips, rutabaga, radishes (especially those large black Spanish radishes) or even cauliflower, broccoli or carrots. For the greens, I usually use the tops of the root vegetables.

1-lb pack pasta (macaroni, elbow noodles, or penne)
1 lb root vegetables (preferably large ones, like black Spanish radishes or turnips), cubed, thick-julienned (fries-size), or slice in coins (if small).
1 or 2 bunches greens (blanched for 3 minutes, drained, and roughly sliced in ribbons)
5 tablespoons butter (or oil)
3 cups grated cheese (typically a mix of Parmesan and Swiss but Cheddar works also)
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/4 cup fresh dill (minced) – Optional
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons mustard
salt
pepper

Boil pasta according to pack instructions.

Sauté the radishes in 1 tablespoon butter for 10 minutes, until radishes are soft but still firm (al dente).  Add salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Mornay sauce: in a saucepan, on medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add flour. Stir until flour and butter are well mixed. Add milk a little bit at a time, stirring continuously and vigorously with a whisk to prevent clumping or sticking to the bottom, and bringing mixture to a light boil at regular interval. After all the milk has been added, add grated cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard and dill. Stir until cheese has melted. Add some extra milk if necessary: the sauce should be thick but still fairly runny.

In a large serving dish, gently and uniformly mix together pasta, greens, radishes. Pour Mornay sauce on top. Shake the dish a few times to make the sauce settle into the pasta.

Optional: pour into a 9 x 18 baking dish, sprinkle with some extra grated cheese on top and put under the broiler for 5 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.

Serves 8 (makes great leftovers too)

TIP:

– to save time and effort, I usually blanch the sliced greens in the pasta water 3 minutes before the pasta is done cooking.  I stir the pasta well to prevent the greens from clumping.

– to save even more time and effort, you can skip the whole Mornay sauce operation and instead sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese before serving

Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

This soup is perfect for winter vegetables. Rutabagas give the
soup a nice sweet flavor, but you can use potatoes or turnips,
too. Almost any greens will do nicely in here, but remember
they will shrink a lot. One whole bunch isn’t too much. And
remember that different greens will add different textures, so try
adding a few varieties.

2 large rutabagas, peeled and diced
2 handfuls broccoli or cauliflower, chopped
1-2 bunches greens, cleaned and chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic or ½ bunch green garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans, drained
1 large handful small pasta
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1-2 tablespoons oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, sauté onion in oil over medium high heat
until beginning to brown. Push onion to one side and add tomato
paste to pan. Cook, stirring continuously, until paste has
darkened a shade or two. Add garlic, herbs, canned tomatoes
and about 2 cans of water. Stir in remaining veggies, except
greens. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until
rutabaga is mostly tender. Add beans, pasta and greens and
continue cooking until pasta is ready. Season to taste with salt
and pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, if desired. Serve
garnished with shredded parmesan and croutons.

Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

While bright green, perfectly al dente broccoli is delicious,
sometimes its nice to cook it down into a tender, earthy side
dish.

1 bunch broccoli, cut lengthwise into long spears with stems
attached
¼ large onion, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Put broccoli and onion in a medium saucepan over medium low
heat. Drizzle with olive oil and tomato paste thinned with about
¼ cup water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover. Cook for
about 20-30 minutes, until broccoli is meltingly tender. Add
more salt if necessary and serve.

Paula Karrer, Tucson CSA

Here’s a quick broccoli soup that can be as healthy or decadent as you like – makes one generous serving

The bare minimum:

cooking fat of your choice

½ medium onion

garlic, if you wish

1 CSA portion broccoli (or cooked leftover broccoli)*

chicken (or vegetable) broth – estimate about as much as will needed to just cover the broccoli once it’s in the p an

salt and pepper, or any other seasonings you think you would like

splash of milk or cream

If you’re feeling hungry:

more cream, milk or plain or a combination thereof

grated cheese (cheddar is nice) a good ½ cup or more, if you like

And if you want to go all the way:

a slice of toasted French bread

more cheddar cheese

Separate the broccoli florets and leaves from the stems. Peel the stems and roughly chop them. Break the florets into smallish pieces.

Saute the onions in the cooking fat of your choice. Add some minced garlic if you like, and sauté a few moments.

Add the broth, about as much as you think will be needed to cover the broccoli (don’t worry, you can always add extra later, if you need it) and put in the broccoli stems, since these take longest to cook. When the stems are almost done, add the florets, and finally, the leaves.

Once the broccoli is tender, puree everything in the blender. Thin the soup with more broth if needed and enrich with some milk, cream. and/or plain yogurt.

Season as desired.

At this point, you have a healthy, yummy, every day soup. For a hearty meal continue:

Add a bit more of the cream/milk/yogurt if you like and put the soup back in the pan and heat to simmering. Stir in the cheddar cheese off the heat until it melts. Stir in as much as you’d like. Serve immediately or continue as below.

For a special treat:

Put the soup in an oven proof crock, float the toast on top, sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top of the soup and run under the broiler until brown and bubbly! Mmm!

*If you are using leftover cooked broccoli, skip the additional cooking time once it is added to the broth, and proceed directly to the blender.

Wendy McCrady, Tucson CSA

1 cup long-grain white rice
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (available at natural food stores)
1 tablespoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup water
1 cup soy milk
1 bunch CSA broccoli, chopped
8 oz sliced mushrooms (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine rice and dry
seasonings in large casserole dish. Stir in liquids and
vegetables. Bake, covered, for 60 to 70 minutes until
rice is tender.

This recipe may be prepared in a solar oven, which is a
great way to keep your kitchen cool in the summer heat.

Preheat oven for 1 hour, making sure it directly faces the
sun. Bring liquids to a boil on the stove before adding to
the rice casserole. Bake 1 ½ to 2 hours in a hot solar
oven until rice is tender.

Lorraine Glazar, Tucson CSA

½ CSA onion, either sliced thin or chopped in medium dice
1 bunch CSA broccoli, florets cut into smallish pieces (the size of a matchbox and twice as thick) and stalks cut into 1 inch pieces
Olive oil
Butter (optional)

Optional pasta:8 ounces short pasta, such as shells
Parmesan cheese (optional)If you wish to make this as a pasta dish, heat up 3-4 quarts of water. When it is boiling, add the pasta and cook as per requirements on package, but please don’t overcook. Drain and place in a heated bowl, reserving ¼ cup cooking water.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a small to medium sized sauté or frying pan. Add the onions and closely watch the heat, turning down to low if burning seems imminent. Patiently carmelize the onions, tossing them in the pan. To finish, use a very small amount of butter (1/2 teaspoon) added to the oil for flavor. Add the broccoli and cover the frying pan. Keep the heat low and monitor the appearance of the dish-broccoli should stay bright green. If the vegetables appear to be undercooked, add a teaspoon of water and put the lid back on. .

When the onions appear carmelized and the broccoli is done, serve as is or toss with the drained pasta, adding some of the cooking water. Top with Parmesan if desired.