CSA 1/2 Summer Shares Available

Here's a beautiful picture of this week's CSA share through Madison Meadowlark CSA. I picked up two of these since I get a full share and I think I lugged about 10 pounds of vegetable to my office, it was a workout. We have peas, swiss chards, beets, pepper, broccoli, carrots, zuchinni, kohlrabi, potatoes, onions, leaf and head lettuce, and cabbage. It's veggie mania!



If you are interested in trying the CSA for the rest of the summer I have good news. The harvest this year is very promising so they are offering late summer 1/2 shares. You can start today for $220 or next week for $200. If you are interested contact Maleesha at maleesha13@gmail.com She can also be found at the pick up location at Right Now Technologies parking lot, they will be there until 4:00pm.

If you want to get the box above they are selling extras for $25 a pop.

Picture courtesy of Maleesha at Madison Meadowlark CSA.

Want to try a CSA share?

If you are interested in a CSA and would like to sample a share you can pick up an extra share for $20 until 4pm today. Madison Meadowlark CSA works with a Hutterite Colony and they have a spectacular share this week and are selling pallets (have to take the whole thing) along with honey, eggs, chickens, etc.

This weeks pallet has:
Head Lettuce
Leaf Lettuce
Onions
Carrots
Red Potatoes
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Peas

If you want to give it a try you can find them at Right Now Technologies at 136 Enterprise Blvd in Bozeman. You will see the white truck with a blue canopy just south of the first building.

Cheesy Mustard Cauliflower

There is a dish I have loved since I was a little girl. My mom would make it with special meals and it's definately a comfort food for me. Thankfully with the internet I easily found the dish and got to enjoy it this past weekend. To heck with everything else I cooked this was the golden dish.

Cheesy Mustard Cauliflower

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets

1/2 C mayonnaise

1 T spicy mustard

3/4 C cheese, Daiya worked great for dairy free

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Steam the cauliflower until fork tender.

Mix the mayonnaise and mustard together then toss with the steamed cauliflower. Place in a baking dish and top with the cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. I love this straight out of the oven and even leftover from the fridge, I can't get enough of this dish.

Cholesterol Fighting Green Monster Smoothie - Gluten Free & Dairy Free

I know Green Monster smoothies are all over the internet but this has been our breakfast for the past few weeks and I love it, so I decided to share it. This Green Monster specifically fights cholesterol with the spinach, flax seed meal, blueberries, kefir, and avocado. I based it for my Hubby but I can always use help keeping my cholesterol down too. Hubby is not a big vegetable fan but this is an easy and delicious way for him to get the benefits of the veggies without having to eat them in the traditional manner, and you don't taste the spinach. You can add any fruit or leafy vegetables you like and I do mix it up now and then but this is our standard.

Cholesterol Fighting Green Monster Smoothie

2 C spinach leaves

1 T flax seed meal

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries

1 medium banana, sliced

1/4 medium avocado

1 C Vanilla Coconut Milk Kefir (DF milk and regular milk work also)

Ice, I use two handfuls

This is the DF Kefir I get, they also have strawberry and plain. It adds a creaminess to the smoothie.

Put the ingredients in a blender in the order above. Blend well until smooth, drink, and enjoy! This makes two servings and is about 210 calories per serving.

Even my boy loves a Green Monster in the morning.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

I’m on a Brussels sprouts roll, well I just needed to use up the second half of my bag. The other weekend my IL’s were visiting and we had a roast so I decided to make Brussels sprouts for a side, there were already potatoes, carrots, etc with the roast so if someone didn’t want to try them they still had vegetable options. This was a really easy dish to throw together and I made it ahead of time and put it in the fridge until I was ready to bake it. The dish wasn’t bitter at all (I think boiling them helped with this) and had a nice flavor. My FIL said he hasn’t had Brussels sprouts since he was 6 and he really liked them, even told my MIL that he’d eat them if she made them like that. Hubby ate his standard 1 and the kids swapped rolls on me. My boy ate all of his and asked what they were saying he liked them but my girl wouldn’t touch hers. I just can’t win but I won’t give up!

Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Adapted from All Recipes

1 pound Brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed and cut in half
3 slices bacon
Salt & pepper to taste
½ C heavy cream
¼ C shredded cheddar cheese
¼ C GF bread crumbs
¼ C grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F and lightly grease an 11”x7” baking dish, or just use a 2 quart dish.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the Brussels sprouts. Cook uncovered until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain. Immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold then drain well.

While the sprouts are boiling fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp then break into small pieces. Add the sprouts to the bacon grease and season with pepper while tossing to evenly coat. Put the sprouts in the baking dish and pour the cream evenly over them (I did add a little bit more cream than it called for). Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top then top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until heated through, about 25 minutes, top with bacon crumbs and serve.

Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts

Last fall I felt daring when I picked up a package of Brussels sprouts from Costco, I figured they were worth a try since I really had never had them before. I feel these poor things have a bad reputation, it’s just one of those vegetables that people automatically put in the terrible category. I crave this recipe and even though the rest of my family doesn’t really care for them, Hubby will eat one and that’s it, I’ll happily eat them all. My girl did eat all of hers so hopefully I’m at least bringing one of the kids over to my side.

Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts
Adapted from Mrs. G.F.

15 brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half (I just used 1/2 the bag)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T butter (you can use olive oil)
2 T olive oil
4 T maple syrup
1 T butter (again you can use olive oil)

Warm the olive oil and 2 T butter in a skillet on medium. Add the garlic then lay the Brussels sprouts in the pan cut sides down. Cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the maple syrup and 1 T butter in the microwave. Add the syrup mixture to the Brussels sprouts and toss to coat. Happily serve to your family even though they don’t appreciate all of the Vitamin C and K packed into these bundles of love.