Collard Greens & Hoe Cakes

This time of year we gets tons of greens in our CSA box. This week we got kale, collard greens, 2 heads of lettuce, mixed salad greens, sorrel, and bok choy. Greens-city. We usually just saute greens with a little soy sauce but I decided to try this southern version and it was quite good. And the hoe cakes tasted like a skillet cornbread. De-licious. I've been using wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour in most recipes because we got some fresh, local wheat flour in our CSA box and it is sooo good.



Southern-style (but Vegetarian) Collard Greens
2 c water
1/4 c shallots
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp allspice
1 T worchestershire sauce
2 tsp tamari
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp honey
4 cups collard greens

Simmer everything but the collard greens for 5 mins. Add collard greens, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove greens from liquid with slotted spoon into a separate bowl, toss the bay leaf, and add 1 T olive oil + garlic salt, pepper & cayenne to taste.

Hoe Cakes
1 1/2 c coarse corn meal
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 c milk
1/4 c plain yogurt

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl stir together wet ingredients. Combine all together and stir until blended. Heat 2 T vegetable oil in skillet. Drop in spoonfuls of batter (~1/4 c size)...leave plenty of room because they expand quite a bit! Brown for 2-3 minutes per side and then remove. Keep warm in a 250 degree oven till ready to serve. Top with a pat of butter.

Mini Blueberry Muffins

When my mom visited me recently, she talked me into buying a mini muffin pan. I never really thought I needed one. But now that I've made these muffins a few times, I dunno what I'd do without my mini muffin pan. They get slightly crunchy on the sides. So yummy. The kids snacked on them all day (okay, Jeff & I helped) until they were gone so I didn't get a picture.

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c milk
2/3 c vegetable oil
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c frozen blueberries (little ones work best)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil muffin pan. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil, sugar & vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until mixed. Fold in berries. Spoon into muffin tins so that cup is ~3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Makes ~48 muffins.

Potato-Kohlrabi Cakes with Strawberry & Spinach Salad

Last night's dinner was one of those times where I had a bunch of random stuff and didn't know what to do with it. But it turned out great.

Potato-Kohlrabi Cakes
10-12 small potatoes
3 kohlrabi
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 T butter
4 T fresh cilantro (or other herbs), chopped

Quarter potatoes & kohlrabi and boil till soft. Meanwhile saute shallots in olive oil. Drain potatos & kohlrabi. Mash with butter, shallots & cilantro, salt & pepper to taste. Heat a little more olive oil in your shallot pan, and form the potato-kohlrabi mixture into small patties. Brown on either side. Serve right away.


Strawberry-Spinach Salad (from the Smith & Hawken Gardener's Community Cookbook)
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
2 cups of strawberries, sliced

"Kentucky" Dressing (slightly adapted)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 T finely chopped shallot
1 T poppy seeds
1 T sesame seeds
2 drops worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients with whisk. Drizzle over salad.