Cooking With What You Got In . . .

 . . . your CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box.    Yes, we are very blessed to live in an area where we can participate in a local CSA program.  When we recently decided to participate in the CSA program I made a commitment to myself that I was going to cook and try everything that came in my box.  Last week I found myself pulling out gold beets and rainbow chard.  YIKES!   I “googled” the two veggies and got a grasp of what they are and some ideas on how to prepare them and then formed two recipes on my own.  So, if you find yourself with a bunch of gold beets and rainbow chard, you now have some ideas!   I tend to get excited about cooking, so  I may get a bit carried away on the descriptions… but oh, how I love food!

This was the goodies in the box this week!

Thanks for sharing a piece of “how the heck am I going to make that” pie with me!

Roasted Gold Beets with Walnuts and Blue cheese or Gorgonzola

This is a dish I think I may put out on Turkey Day!  I would classify it as a hearty comfort food side dish that has a level of elegance that comes across that you may of spent hours in the kitchen with. The beets happen to have  a hint of sweetness, so the tangy cheese is a wonderful complement and the crunch of the walnuts was a perfect finish!    It would be really good winter warm salad!  Just add it to fresh spinach  and served with a balsamic dressing and a rustic bread.  I would serve with a merlot with a berry base – it would really pull the sweetness out of the beets!

Pre-heat oven at 375

Wash and cut 4 medium-sized gold beets into  1 inch chunks

Using a large cookie sheet, spread beets out on to it

Pour about 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil over the beets

Salt and pepper (I use Kosher salt) – take care in adding salt, the blue cheese/gorgonzola has a lot of salt in it.

Spread about 1 cup of walnut halves on cookie sheet

Mix all together until a nice coat of oil is on all the beets

Pop in oven and cook for about 35 minutes or until beets are starting to brown and are tender on the inside.l

Once out of the oven, pour into a serving bowl and lightly toss about 1/2 cup of blue cheese (you can substitute gorgonzola)

Server immediately!

Serves about 4-6

Lemon Rainbow Chard

This is a very bright tasting dish and stems have  a great crunch!  I felt like I was transported to a southern state eating my greens!  This would be a great side dish to go along side Beef Stroganoff- The lemon is a great way to balance out the cream in main dish. 

In a large skillet or dutch oven melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil

Add rainbow chard (about gallon sized ziplock bag full) and cook until it starts to cook down like spinach

Once starting to cook down, add salt and pepper to taste and then 1 full lemon squeezed.

Mix well and bring down to simmer and cover for about 3-5 minutes.

Serve immediately!

Serves 4-6