Carrot Cake

I made this as a 2-layer birthday cake, and while I didn't feel as though it was the paragon of carrot cakes, it was pretty good and small enough to serve 3 people who went back for so many seconds that it was gone within a day.

Ingredients

* Unsalted butter, for the pan
* 12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
* 12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 c sugar
* 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 6 ounces plain yogurt
* 6 ounces sunflower oil
* Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 2 small, round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In another bowl combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

While stirring, drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 8 ounce packages cream cheese

4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Potato and Onion Frittata

This looked a little iffy when it was on top of the stove-- I could not elegantly lift a corner or two up to let the uncooked egg run under... I did it in a large, cast-iron pan, and although I was generous with the oil, it looked like I was going to have a sticky-uncooperative mess of eggs by the time it was all finished. Fortunately, a few minutes under the broiler-- which I only just today realized is at the top of this particular oven, and not the bottom as it was in the last oven I broiled something in-- made it transform into a glamorous, toasty-topped poof that did in fact slide out onto a serving plate and agree to being cut into neat little wedges. For the next time I might vary up the herbs a bit-- the rosemary was nice, but without the parsley that the recipe called for it was still a tad bland. Some zingy cheese would certainly solve that. What a good use for one of the enormous, downright weepy onions I got from our last CSA box.

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons sunflower or grapeseed oil
* 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
* 1 (8 ounces) baking potato, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 8 large eggs
* 1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions

1. In a medium (10-inch) nonstick broilerproof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion, potato, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
2. Cover skillet, and cook 10 minutes; uncover. Cook, tossing mixture occasionally, until onion and potato are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and parsley leaves.
4. Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat. Add remaining tablespoon oil to vegetables in skillet. Pour egg mixture into skillet.
5. Cook on stove, over low heat, lifting mixture a few times around the edges with a spatula to let egg flow underneath. Continue cooking until frittata is almost set in center, about 10 minutes.
6. Place skillet under broiler; broil until frittata is set and top is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Run a clean spatula around edges to loosen, then slide frittata out onto a serving plate, and cut into wedges.

CSA eatin's, another week of

summer squash sauteed in sage and garlic
broccoli soup
carrot top scramble
beets, goat cheese & balsamic
coleslaw
chocolate chip zucchini bread
braise of summer squash, zucchini, cauliflower, lima beans, onions, carrots, with thyme and sage
cucumbers & red onions in apple cider vinaigrette

Carrot Top Scramble

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
carrot greens, chopped
1 cup canned diced tomato (or fresh)
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Sautée onion in a little olive oil for 2 – 3 minutes; add garlic and continue to cook for another minute or so. Toss in chopped carrot greens. Stir and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until they begin to wilt. Add diced tomato and simmer covered 3 minutes. Crack eggs into mixture and scramble until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slow-Cooked Vegetable Braise

New to braising, this yummy one used up a lot of our CSA bounty this week. It's adapted from a recipe in Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors" cookbook.

3 T olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 onions, cut into large pieces
7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3 thyme sprigs
6 sage leaves
12 small (3- to 5-inch) carrots
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 c cheery tomatoes, halved
1 very large summer squash, cut into slices
1 c frozen lima beans thawed
1/2 c cauliflower florets
1 medium zucchini, cut into slices
1/2 c+ vegetable broth

Warm the 3 T oil with the bay leaves in a large casserole or Dutch oven over low heat. When fragrant, add the onions, garlic, thyme an sage. Cover and cook until onions are translucent. Add carrots and cook for 2-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all other veggies in layers with the quickest to cook on top. Add broth, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Zucchini Bread 2.0 (with Chocolate Chips!)

Adapted form a Paula Deen recipe that, amazingly, contains no butter. Not that I have anything against butter, but keeping it dairyfree is sometimes desirable for our eating parameters. I did not do the whipped cream topping, but sounds lovely topped with the zucchini ribbons.

Ingredients

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3 eggs
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup sunflower oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups grated zucchini
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
((* 1 tablespoon orange zest
* Whipped cream, for serving
* Zucchini ribbons, for serving))

Directions

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease 3 small loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and ribbons of zucchini.

Chickpea Veggie Burgers

I don't know how this is possible, but I have never made a veggie burger from scratch before today. For 17 years it's been Boca, Dr. Prager's or some other variation of the frozen hockey puck variety. With all the veg coming in lately via our CSA share, we are up to our eyeballs in refreshing, cool summer salads: cucumbers and red onions tossed in apple cider vinegar and a little water; cole slaw with cilantro, chives and oil and vinegar; chilled steamed beets to be layered with slices of fresh goat cheese and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic... These things don't exactly pair well with a pasta dish, so it seemed like a good time to try my hand at a veg patty worthy of their company.

Apparently I saved myself years of trial and error by starting with a good source from which to improvise. And improvise I will. If the basics are really chickpeas, eggs and breadcrumbs, then a lush palette of veggies, herbs and spices await. For the first time around I kept it simple.

(I suppose if we're feeling gluten-free the breadcrumbs can be swapped out for the quinoa flakes.)


1 1/2 c canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 c chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c red onion, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the chickpeas, eggs, and salt in a food processor (VitaMix). Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the parsley and onion. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into four patties.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden. Add slices of cheese in the last few minutes and cover to melt.

Serve with slices of avocado and mayo & dijon on the side. (Of course millions of other toppings abound.)

Makes 4 burgers.

Orange Marmalade Cake

Original Recipe Yield 1 - 10 inch Bundt cake

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt-- I used Himalayan pink salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2/3 cup butter, melted-- I used 2/3 c sunflower oil instead
* >2/3 cup white sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/2 cup orange marmalade

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan. (I made 2 small loaves)
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, milk and lemon juice. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mix until well blended. Finally, stir in the marmalade. (I stirred it in very imperfect/minimally and it created nice outposts of sticky orange bits.) Pour batter into the prepared Bundt cake pan.
3. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

More CSA-inspired meals

Red Quinoa salad with red onion, summer squash, broccoli and tomato in a homemade vinagrette

Radiatore pasta salad with red onion, summer squash, broccoli, tomato and feta cheese in a homemade vinegarette

Cole slaw of cabbage and grated kohlrabi with chives and cilantro (from a simple recipe in the Farmer John cookbook that the CSA kicked in for free with our membership. This looks like it will be one of the most used cookbooks in our collection.)

Sauteed kale with garlic, rosemary potatoes and baked salmon on a bed of herbs (basil, thyme, chives)

Ragout of summer squash, chickpeas, tomato, spring onions, garlic, fennel seed, basil and oregano served over polenta

Another very green stir fry comprised of spinach, spring onions, broccoli

Beet salad with goat cheese and balsamic and olive oil vinegrette