White Bean Salad with Zucchini and Parmesean

 

This is a good, simple recipe to prepare and enjoy during these hot days. I modified this recipe and think it turned out great.  The original recipe calls for the veggies to be raw, but I decided I would rather cook them.  So this can be a super simple recipe, I just chose to make it more complicated.

I also chose to make this recipe more difficult by cooking my own beans.  I do not eat beans that come out of a can, and while it's more work to make them yourself, it's definitely worth it.  Canned beans are soaked in not only a lot of sodium, but also highly toxic BPA.  In addition to being a hormone disruptor and causing a slew of other health problems, BPA is now being linked to brain cancer.  I strongly urge you to avoid canned goods whenever possible.  Don't forget to soak your beans the night before, and then they only take an hour or less to cook, so it's not that much of an inconvenience.  The recipe calls for cannellini beans, but my sweet husband accidentally bought cranberry beans instead.  They turned out pretty well, so if you can find them, I definitely recommend them!

And while I'm on my anti-can goods soap box, remember to never buy pre-shredded cheese (it's full of chemicals and other crud like wood pulp!).  Freshly grated cheese is awesome :)

• 1 1/2 pounds cannellini beans (or cranberry beans)
• 3/4 pound zucchini (about 2-3 small), trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 4 ounces green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil for cooking (or olive oil if you prefer)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

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1. Soak beans overnight.
2. When you are ready to start cooking, drain beans and add them to a pot of water with a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil.  Depending on the type of bean you use, cook for 30 minutes to an hour.

Cranberry beans ready to be cooked

3.  Fill a medium size pot with water and bring to a boil (for blanching green beans).

4.  Chop zucchini and green beans.

Beans from the CSA

5.  Add grapeseed oil to a skillet.  Saute zucchini with salt and pepper for a few minutes.  At the same time, add green beans to the pot of boiling water.  Allow them to boil for a few minutes (depending on how crisp you want them, this can be anywhere from a minute to five or more). 

Zucchini from the CSA also

6.  Drain cannellini beans and green beans.  Run cold water over the beans to stop them from cooking further.

7.  In a medium bowl, place cannellini beans, zucchini, green beans, Parmesan, basil, lemon zest and juice, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

The finished product

Red Lentil Soup with Mint and Beet Greens

Another beet recipe, yipee!  You should have seen the monstrous bunch of beets I got from the CSA this week.  I have enough beet greens to make this recipe five times I think.  And what I love the most is that when I got to the farm to pick up my food, they had run out of beets.  The guy asked me if I minded waiting a few minutes while they went and harvested some more.  Of course not!  I was so happy to get a bunch of beets that were directly out of the ground.  It doesn't get more fresh than that!  This is why CSA's are so awesome and I encourage everyone to get involved with a local CSA if possible.  I got a lot of other goodies this week including collards, green onions, squash, zucchini, turnips, lettuce, kale and radishes. 

Of course I modified this recipe quite a bit.  My husband gets upset when I don't follow recipes exactly, so if you're like him, see the original recipe.  And although I didn't include mushrooms this time, I think they would be a great addition!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• a dozen or so mint leaves, chopped
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
• beet greens, removed from one bunch of beets, cleaned and sliced
• 1o cups of water
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 cup millet, rinsed (the original recipe calls for bulgur wheat, which would probably be better but has gluten so that's why I switched it out.  Quinoa or another whole grain would be good as well.)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• extra mint, for garnish, optional

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1.  Heat the oil in a medium soup pot. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes, till translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes longer, stirring frequently.

2.  Now, add the mint, salt, and coriander. Mix well and cook for another minute or two.

3.  Add the beet greens and cook for a few minutes till they are softened and heated through.

4.  Add the lentils, millet and about 10 cups of water.  More or less water may be needed depending on the amount of greens used, just be sure the water covers the top of the greens.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a very gentle simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as needed if it seems too thick.

 

5. After the 1/2 hour of cooking, add the tomato and cook for about 10 minutes longer.

6.  Immediately before serving, whisk in the egg. Serve, garnished with mint if desired.

I'm not sure how to make this soup look appetizing.  It just wasn't pretty, but it tasted good!

What else can you do with beet greens?  Don't let these nutritional gems go to waste, so click here for some ideas!

Yellow Split Pea Salad with Cilantro Pesto

So this recipe is loosely related to anything that I got from the CSA this week, but I love it and I did have some fresh lettuce to go with it.  We also have an absurd amount of cilantro growing in our yard that needed to be used.  Fresh cilantro is amazing!  We bought one plant a few years ago and it has turned into at least 15 plants without any effort on our part. 

I wasn't sure whether or not to include a picture because I realize it does not look all that appetizing.  But I promise it's good.  My husband tells me he gets picked on at worked for all the healthy food he eats, but he shared this with some co-workers a while back and they asked for the recipe.  I consider that a success.

The cilantro pesto calls for freshly grated Parmesan.  Let me get on my cheese soapbox for a few minutes.  Please, buy a block of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself!  I prefer using a microplaner, but a regular grater will do just fine.  Please do not buy that disgusting pre-shredded cheese.  It is full of chemicals and other nasty stuff to prevent it from clumping.  Like wood pulp.  I know it's easier, but it's gross and not good for you.  Freshly grated cheese tastes totally different and very yummy!  And also, don't buy reduced fat cheese.  Buy real cheese.  If it's reduced fat that means they have taken something out and replaced it with something unnatural and disgusting.  Calories are something humans created and do not matter.  If you eat real, whole food you'll lose weight without counting a single calorie.

Moving on....this is another fabulous recipe from 101 Cookbooks!

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, toasted (divided) 
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves and stems, well washed and lightly packed
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 3 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• juice of 1 medium lemon
• 1 serrano chile pepper, minced (2 jalapenos will work just fine if you can't find a serrano.  If you like things spicy you can easily add more...I usually do)
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups cooked yellow split peas
• 2 handfuls lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

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1.  To cook the dried yellow split peas bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add 2 cups (rinsed) dried split yellow peas and cook for 20 -30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside. 

Yellow Split Peas

2. Make the cilantro pesto by blending 1/3 cup of the toasted pumpkin seeds, the cilantro, Parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice, and chile pepper with a hand blender, food processor or standard blender until smooth. Continue blending as you gradually drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto comes together into a vibrant green sauce. Taste and add a pinch or two or salt if needed.

Freshly cut cilantro from our garden in the food processor! 

3. In a large bowl toss the yellow split peas and remaining pumpkin seeds with the pesto until everything is coated. Add the lettuce and gently toss again (or you can serve this on top of the lettuce if preferred).

Serves 6 or so.

Health Benefits 

Yellow Split Peas - Split peas have soluble fiber, resulting in lower blood sugar and cholesterol.  This can also help with conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis. A single cup of cooked dried peas in your daily diet provides 65.1% of the recommended daily fiber. They also provide a good amount of protein, two B-vitamins, and several important minerals. Peas also include isoflavones, which are helpful in reducing the risk of breast and prostate cancer.  More info here.

Pumpkin Seeds - Also called pepitas, these are a very healthy snack!  Be sure to buy raw ones and not the flavored processed ones you find in a lot of stores.  For men, they can help with prostate health and with bone protection.  Because they are high in zinc, pumpkin seeds are a natural protector against osteoporosis. Low intake of zinc is linked to higher rates of osteoporosis.  They also contain L-tryptophan, a compound naturally effective against depression.  1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds contains 92% of your daily value of magnesium, a mineral in which most Americans are deficient.  Pumpkin seeds effectively reduce inflammation without the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs as well.   Visit here or here for more info.