CSA Bounty Meals... you never know what you will get!

I love summertime and the bounty of the farmers market and the weekly Rolling Prairie CSA veggie pick up. I usually go to the farmers market at least one week night and on Saturdays. Generally speaking the offerings at the farmers market are pretty much tied to is ready and most of the vendors have similar items. But not all veggies are created equal, some vendors work harder to produce their bounty and you can see the dedication on their faces and in how they respect what they are sharing.
I try to spend at least $20 per farmers market trip, which is spread around to the various vendors I have come to know over the years.
The Rolling Prairie CSA is a different deal... there are some choices, but you get what they bring. I love the fact that they bring things that I would never imagine buying on my own, and in some cases things I have never seen. This year we have been getting Parslane, which is great in salads and has some interesting medicinal benefits.
The bounty of Rolling Prairie is shown in these pictures, a salad with Russian Kale, Asian Cucumber, Tomatoes, Green Chili (Anaheim), and the Fava Beans were from a can. We also had corn on the cob, and boiled new potatoes. It was not a typical meal for us but everything was fresh and vibrant.
I will be doing some posts soon with all of the magnificent chilies that I am able to get locally. There is a wide variety that can be prepared and stored used all year.

Vegan Roti and Curry Cauliflower

Nikki really likes Indian food.... so do I but I tend to be recipe adverse so light curries tend to be as far as I go.
We go to a couple of places in Kansas City every once in a while to get her a FIX.
Nikki wanted Indian one night so she settled on curried cauliflower with edamame. She prepped everything and worked on cooking the cauliflower. She also made vegan roti (Indian flat bread), and formed the dough balls and then flattened. I did the roti cooking. I really enjoy when she takes on a recipe, she is focused and I work to be her kitchen helper.. its fun!!! She does not give herself enough credit for her cooking skills, she really does a great job!!!




Two heads of cauliflower in the big pan, with onions, garlic, curry, and edamame.



The finished product served with roti, and brown rice. The kids tend to be more adventurous with Nikki's cooking over mine.... They loved the cauilflower, but were not thrilled with the edamame.

New Potato Green Chili

The re are times when simple foods are so appealing, but I choose to go down the path of complexity!!!! I cannot help myself.... I know as I travel down that path that I am most likely making something the kids, well the youngest at least, are not going to like!!!
This green chili was terribly easy and tasty. I took new potatoes from the farmers market and boiled for 10 minutes in water, added white onions, no-chic broth and a big can of hatch green chili's.
Nikki and I had some warm corn tortillas too.
I had to make sandwiches for the kids because they are weary of warm green things, especially when served in a soup like configuration. In fact Carter starts gagging if you say the word "soup". Some day we will laugh.... RIGHT!!!!

OK-Bobs - Skewered Veggies Tofu and Tofurky

I got a new "mini" grill after our vacation this year because I enjoyed grilling while we were in Mexico. I have not been a grilling enthusiast the past few years, partly because many on the vegan items really do not lend themselves to grilling.
Boca burger stick, plain tofu sticks, not dogs pretty much stick, and so do the not-sages. That has usually left me with just veggies. Don't get me wrong, I love grilled veggies, but they are kind of boring. I can roast veggies in the oven and pretty much get the same affect.
One night I had a dream that we were at a big BBQ and they had vegan kebabs.... the next day I went to the store and got all of the pieces.

• Poblano Peppers(local)
• Red Peppers
• Sweet Onions(local)
• Tofurkey Beer Brats
• Hickory Smoked Tofu(local)
• Tofu Pups - not dogs for the kiddos

Years ago I was the chef at a South American restaurant in Denver and we used to do an Argentinian style kebab that was marinated with olive oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, fresh oregano. That's what I made for these, although I did not marinade I brushed it on. The benefit of brushing the oil on is to keep stuff from sticking!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised that the tofu stayed firmly attached to the skewers, and did not stick to the grill. The not-sages did well too, I think the proximity to the veggies helped flavor both the tofu and not-sages.

Check out the grill marks, I am drooling right now looking at the pictures, I may have to stop at the store on the way home!!!


We served the kebabs with a bed of mixed greens with goddess dressing. If I would have had enough time I would have made white rice and smoky black beans to go with these. The kids had not dogs and enjoyed every bite!!!

Simple Walnut Pasta + Vegan Pralines

This is a nut based post, so if you are allergic to tree nuts look away!!!
I started off with dessert because the pictures are pretty good and I rarely post on desserts.
One night I was craving something sweet, which believe it or not is not normal for me!!! I have made some nut based candies recently and they were pretty good. I had some nuts on hand so I started thinking about Pralines. I got online and searched...
And found this recipe. I am not a big recipe guy, but I want these to turn out well. I did not have enough pecans so I used cashews, sesame seeds, pecans, walnuts, and almonds.
They turned out really well, and looked good for their portraits!!!
Needless to say they did not last long.
I will be making the pralines again!!!



The pasta is nut based too... I like really basic pasta sometimes, so this is penne with fresh garlic, walnuts, olive oil and fresh herbs from my garden.