Moosewood Restaurant's Swiss Chard Rolls With Low-Fat Cheese Filling

Inspiration:
Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals
(thanks Helen for lending it to me!)
as well as swiss chard, tomatoes, leeks, and basil from our CSA


Ingredients:

• 12 large Swiss chard leaves
• 2 leeks, well-rinsed and minced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  
• 1 t. olive oil
  
• dash of salt
  
• 3 scallions, minced
  
• 1 1/2 pounds 1% cottage cheese (about 3 cups)
  
• 2 T. chopped fresh basil
  
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
  
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced (optional)
  
• 1 c. tomato juice
• nonfat sour cream or yogurt

Instructions:

1. Remove and discard the stems and any tough ribs of the Swiss chard. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes, until pliable. Set aside.
2. To prepare the cheese filling, saute the leeks in oil for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, cover and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender and bright green, stirring often to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat. Add the scallions, cottage cheese, basil and salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
   
3. Preheat oven to 350.
   
4. Prepare a 9 x 12-inch nonreactive baking dish with a very light coating of oil or cooking spray. Cover the bottom with the tomato slices, if using, and set aside.
   
5. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling in the center of each Swiss chard leaf. Fold the sides of each leaf toward the center, and then roll it up from the stem end to the tip to form a neat little package. Place the rolls, seam side down, in the baking dish, pour the tomato juice over them, and voer tightly with aluminum foil.
   
6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until heated through.
   
7. Serve the rolls with some pan juices spooned over the top and, in desired, garnish with a dollop of nonfat sour cream or yogurt.
   

Recipe Notes:
Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time: 30 to 40 minutes
Baking time: 30 to 40 minutes
Per 8-oz. serving: 125 calories, 15.9g protein, 2.1 g fat, 11.3 g carbohydrates, 1.9 g total dietary fiber

My Notes:
This was really good! I loved the combination of flavors. We had a lot of juice at the bottom of the pan, to the point I served it in soup bowls. The pan juice was absolutely delicious. If you are using the optional sliced tomatoes, either be prepared for yummy juice or maybe cut the tomato juice down a bit. This would be a nice recipe to make in winter, although I would rather omit the tomatoes then than have to use winter tomatoes.

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes

Inspiration:
potatoes from our CSA

Ingredients/Instructions:
The Pioneer Woman

Notes:
It took a lot longer than I expected to boil the potatoes. Luckily, Tim had to work late anyway. These are really, really good. If I liked potatoes as much as my mother does, I'd give them a 10. Make sure you use a LOT of olive oil, so the bottoms get crispy. I also drizzled a little extra olive oil over the top after 20 minutes of baking. These took a long time to make, so I think I'll wait until a weekend or we have guests to make them again. However, a lot of the time is just waiting, there's really no prep! Thanks, Pioneer Woman.

Tim's Rating: 9.5/10
Liz's Rating: 9.5/10

Parmesan-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Inspiration:
Free-range chicken from the co-op and parsley from our CSA

Ingredients/Instructions:
Martha Stewart

Notes:
Easy! This was very easy and quick to put together. I loved the lemon zest.

Per Serving:
429 calories, 6.1 grams fat, 81.9 grams protein, 35.8 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10

Potato, Leek, and Corn Soup

Inspiration:
Potatoes, leeks, corn, and parsley from our CSA

Ingredients/Instructions:
This recipe, adapted from SimplyRecipes.

Notes:
This recipe is obviously vegetarian if vegetarian broth is used (vegan if the butter and broth are replaced). It's very easy to make. I used red potatoes with thin skins, so I left the skins on. I used kernels from two cobs of corn and added some imported grated parmesan at the end. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve with crusty bread and a glass of wine.

My photo quality will probably continue to deteriorate as we go from 17 hours of sunlight to 7... it's too depressing to think about, so I'll leave it at that.

Tim's Rating: 10/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Inspiration:
A recipe found in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

Ingredients/Instructions:
PDF or HTML


Notes:
Very moist. You cannot taste the zucchini. (We actually used summer squash.) I think that I may reduce the amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg the next time I make these.

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Squaw Corn

Inspiration:
My Grandma Lois used to make this recipe while camping and has passed it down to my mother and now on to me. It's reportedly an old Girl Scout recipe, although I can't find a similar version online.
This recipe dates back to at least the 1950s. Since the use of the term "squaw" may now be considered derogatory, please let me know if you think the recipe title should be modified.
(Also corn and an onion from our CSA.)

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, minced
• 6-8 strips of bacon, cut into 1-inch wide pieces
• 3 cups of corn kernels (cut from 4 ears of corn) or about 16-oz frozen corn
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
  

Instructions:

1. Place onion and bacon in a large skillet and cook, over medium heat, until bacon is rendered and onion is soft and beginning to carmelize, 15-20 minutes. Remove some bacon drippings, if necessary.
   
2. Add corn kernels and cook an additional 3-5 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes: The bacon will not be super crispy. If you want crispy bacon, cook it in batches first, remove, and drain on paper towels. Cook the onion in the bacon drippings and proceed with the rest of the recipe, adding in the cooked bacon at the end.

Tim's Rating: 9/10
Liz's Rating: 9/10

Beef and Scallion Stir-Fry

Inspiration:
Martha Stewart
as well as scallions from our CSA

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional)
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 pounds flank steak, cut diagonally across the grain into 1/2-by-3-inch strips
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 scallions, sliced crosswise 1 1/2 inch thick, white and green parts kept separate
• White rice, for serving

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup water, hoisin sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook steak until lightly browned, turning once, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add remaining teaspoon oil to pan along with garlic and whites of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk hoisin mixture to combine; add to pan along with scallion greens.
4. Return meat to pan; cook, tossing to coat steak with sauce, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Serve immediately, over rice and sprinkled with red-pepper flakes, if desired.

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8.5/10