We have had some recipes forwarded to us by CSA members and are happy to pass them along!

From Vicci Coughlin:

I was happy to see the baby zucchini today and do this simple pasta recipe again, thought I’d pass it along.  It is from an early Jamie Oliver cookbook.

Baby Zucchini Pasta

This is a light, fragrant and very quickly made pasta dish using very firm baby zucchini, which hardly needs to be cooked at all.  The idea is to slice them as thinly as possible in an irregular fashion.  The big fat zucchini that are fluffy inside, won’t do for this recipe.

Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove finely chopped garlic

8-10 small very firm zucchini

juice of 1 lemon

1 good handful of fresh basil leaves, torn

1 pound of pasta

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 1/2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated.

Put the olive oil and garlic into a thick bottomed pan and set over medium-high heat and fry for about 30 seconds without colouring, then add your baby zucchini and toss gently.  After about 2 minutes squeeze in the juice of the lemon, add the basil and cook a little longer.

Meanwhile cook the past in boiling salted water until al dente.  Toss it with the zucchini to mix the flavours, season to taste and add the Parmesan to round all the flavours together- you may need a little extra olive oil to loosen it.  Serve with some torn basil and a sprinkling of Parmesan on top.

From Lisa Koivu:

Macaroni and Cheese
One large red onion
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 “pail” spinach
1 box whole wheat rotini or fusili
3 c milk
3 c grated cheddar cheese
To the cheddar cheese, add 2 tbsp flour and mix together. Set aside.
Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to directions.
Chop spinach.
During last 3 minutes of cooking, add spinach to the pot. Drain well once time has finished.
In a 8 c microwave dish, put the butter and the onion, finely chopped. Microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Whisk in 2 tbsp of flour to make a “roux”.
Immediately add milk.
Microwave milk mixture on high for five minutes. Then whisk. Continue to cook a minute at a time, until mixture has thickened (you want to watch it so it doesn’t boil over).
Add the cheese and flour mixture.
Combine the cheese mixture and the pasta in a large white casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Optional: Add cubed cooked chicken or ham before baking.

Homemade Pasta Sauce
1 large red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped finely or put through a press
3 quarts tomatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 sweet pepper
2 tbsp olive oil.
1 eggplant, or any summer squash, peeled and diced
3 basil leaves, chopped
1 pound cooked hamburg or sausage (optional)
In a large 5 quart pot, heat olive oil.
Add onions and garlic and pepper
Sautee for about 5 minutes or until golden, on medium-hi heat.
Add tomatoes and basil and salt to taste – at least one tsp.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are very mushy.
Cool for about 20 minutes.
Put the entire mixture through a food processor to puree.
After pureeing, add the hamburger if desired.
You could probably hide a lot of other veggies in there, depending on what’s available in the garden.

Crock Pot Stew
1 lb stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with 2 tbsp flour to coat.
Savory and marjoram, as available
2 tsp salt or seasoning salt
3 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
Amazing veggies from Orchard Hill – chopped into bite sized pieces. Could include, but not limited to, beans, carrots, summer squash, peppers, kale, chard….
Put the entire mixture in the crock pot and cook on low for 12 hours or high for 6 hours. If possible, stir well for the first hour to prevent flour from sticking to the bottom. Tastes better the second day.
Note: Sometimes I use an envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix when I make this in the winter, but I try not to resort to that with CSA veggies.