Weekly menu

I know I always say this, but today's baskets were great! I got two conventional, two organic, and two Mexican veggie packs, so there was a lot of good variety.  Here's a picture and the list:

Conventional:

Romaine lettuce


Spaghetti squash


Russet potatoes


Celery 
Tomatoes (beautiful ones, on the vine)


Nectarines


Cantaloupe


Cherries!!!


Blueberries

Bananas

Organic:


Red Boar kale (gorgeous!)


Celery

Roma tomatoes on the vine

Bananas

Green grapes


Butternut squash

Mangos


Nectarines (white flesh)


Apricots


Avocado


Red onions



Mexican veggie pack:


Green onions


Cilantro


Poblano peppers

Jalapeños

Avocados


Tomatillos

Limes


Yellow onions


Garlic

Zucchini

I still have spaghetti squash and butternut squash left from last week, plus a ton of bananas, potatoes, watermelon, some other melon (I don't know what kind it is), apples and oranges.  We also have quite a few plums, pluots and apricots, even though we've been eating them like crazy!  

And finally, here are the recipes!

Baked falafel

serves 6

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp lemon juice

Falafels:

¾ cup water (for cooking bulgur)

¼ cup uncooked bulgur

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ cup fresh cilantro (no!!!!!0

½ cup green onions

1/3 to ½ cup water

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper

3 garlic cloves

Cooking spray

Additional ingredients:

6 flatbreads

12 slices of tomato

 chopped fresh cilantro (no!!!!)

Directions:

To prepare sauce, combine first three ingredients, stirring with a whisk until blended. 

To prepare falafel, bring ¾ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan; add bulgur to pan.  Remove from heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes or until tender.  Drain and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 425.

Place chickpeas and next nine ingredients in a food processor; pulse ten time or until well blended and smooth (mixture will be wet).  Spoon chickpea mixture into a large bowl’ stir in bulgur.

Divide mixture into 12 equal portions (a heaping ¼ cup each)’ shape into patties on a baking sheet coasted with cooking spray.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.  Spread about 2 ½ tablespoons sauce onto each flatbread.  Top each flatbread with 2 falafel patties, 2 tomato slices, and chopped cilantro (if desired – and it is NOT).

Potato-Butternut Squash Roti Curry (A Caribbean curry)

serves 6

Ingredients:

1 ¼ tsp salt

2 tsp ground cumin

1 ½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp canola oil

1 ½ onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled acorn squash (about ¾ pound)

3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled yukin gold potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds)

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 cups water

½ cup light coconut milk

½ cup cilantro (or not)

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients; set aside

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add spice mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in water and coconut mil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until potato is tender.  Sprinkle with cilantro (or don’t!).

Moroccan flatbreads

serves 4 (2 flatbreads each)

Ingredients:

½ tsp dry yeast

¾ cup plus 1 tbsp warm water (100-110 degrees)

9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)

¾ tsp salt

cooking spray

1 tbsp onion powder

½ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp canola oil, divided

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level with a knife.  Add flour and ¾ tsp salt to yeast mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 minutes.  Shape dough into a ball; invert bowl over the dough and let stand for 15 minutes.  Uncover; knead dough for 3 more minutes.  Divide dough into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a ball; lightly coat with cooking spray.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes.

Combine herbs and spices in a bowl.

Working with one dough portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), carefully flatten each portion into a 6 ½ inch circle (dough will be delicate).  Sprinkle 1/8^th of the spice mixture over the center of the dough.  Fold top and bottom of dough over spice mixture, then fold one side over the top of the dough, and one side over the bottom, making a package.  Gently press square of dough to seal.  Repeat with remaining dough portions.

Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add 4 flatbreads to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side until crisp and golden.  Transfer flatbreads to a parchment paper-lined platter.  Repeat procedure with remaining ½ teaspoon oil and 4  flatbreads.  Serve immediately. 

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

serves 6

Ingredients:

3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash

cooking spray

½ tsp salt, divided

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups soymilk (or other nondairy milk, but not rice milk as it’s too thin)

1 cup shredded vegan cheese, divided (I’ll be using Daiya mozzarella)

¼ cup nutritional yeast (optional)

¼ tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tbsp cornstarch

8 ounces (1-inch) cubed day-old French bread (about 9 cups)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Arrange squash in a single layer on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt.  Bake at 400 for 12 minutes or until tender.  Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 350.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.  Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Remove from heat; cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch into soymilk.  Stir in remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ cup cheese, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir in squash and onion mixture.  Add bread, and stir gently to combine.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Spoon into a 2 quart baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with remaining ½ cheese and nutritional yeast., if using  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until pudding is set and lightly browned. 

Sauteed kale  

Egyptian Koshari (yummy street food!)

serves 8

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 tbsp EVOO

1 cup finely diced ontion

1 ½ tbsp minced garlic

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 15.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained

Koshari:

3 tbsp EVOO

3 cups thinly sliced onion

½ cup uncooked vermicelli, broken into 1-inch pieces

5 cups water

1 ¼ cup dried lentils or yellow split peas (I’m using red lentils)

2 ½ cups cooked long-grain rice

1 tsp salt

Directions:

To prepare sauce, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion to pan, and cook 15 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic; cook 2 minutes,  Stir in ½ tsp salt, peppers, and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes or until slightly thick.  Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor; process 1 minute or until smooth.  Keep warm.  Wipe skillet dry with paper towels.

To prepare koshari, heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat.  Add sliced onion; cook 15 minutes or until deep golden brown, stirring frequently.  Set aside.  Combine 5 cups water and lentils in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Remove from heat; add vermicelli, stirring well to combine.  Wrap a clean kitchen towel around lid, and cover lentil mixture; let stand 10 minutes, or until vermicelli is tender.  Add rice and 1 teaspoon salt, to lentil mixture; fluff with a fork.  Serve immediately with sauce and onions.