Eggs In a Nest & Mustard Greens Lasagna

These recipes were contributed by CSA member Robin Fowler. Thanks Robin!


Steve and I have made a couple of recipes recently / modified from other places. I'll share them here, and if you want, you can add them to your recipe list.

Eggs in a nest (modified from _Animal Vegetable Miracle_ by Barbara Kingsolver and family)
-chop 1/2 onion and some cloves of garlic. Saute that in olive oil over med heat for a few minutes. (Use a BIG frying pan).
-wash, chop a bunch of beautiful rainbow chard. Add it to the saucepan and continue cooking over med heat, covered.
-wash, chop a few mushrooms. Add to the mix, continue cooking, covered, a few more minutes. When chard and mushrooms have cooked down, seem soft, use spoon to create "nests" in the greens mix (1 "nest" per person).
-Crack eggs into the nests (one per person). Poach eggs like that, with pan covered, for 3-5 minutes (until egg reaches desired "doneness").
We put a little sea salt over the whole thing and really enjoyed it...

Mustard Greens and Cheese Lasagna (quite modified, but based loosely on recipe from back of Meijer brand "oven ready" lasagna noodles)
-saute a bunch of chopped mustard greens, sliced garlic (maybe 10 cloves), and chopped onion (maybe 1 medium) in olive oil, then put in bowl/ set aside.
-mix in another bowl, 1 14 oz. container cottage cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 eggs, chopped basil pieces (I didn't have fresh, so I used dried/ would probably be better with fresh)
-you'll also need 1 box lasagna noodles (I used the kind that say they are "oven ready"/ don't need to be boiled first), 2 big jars of tomato sauce, 1 more cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and some freshly grated parmesan.

In two smallish pans (8x11?), put a thin layer of sauce, then a layer of noodles, veggies, cheeses, sauce, noodles, veggies, cheeses, sauce, etc. Top with noodles, sauce, and the extra 1 cup of mozz cheese/ I then added some freshly grated parmesan to the very top.

Use tin foil to cover the pans tightly.

Bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. Leave covered for 10 min after removing from oven.

Hope people will enjoy!
Robin

Purslane

I posted this info. on the "What's Going On" blog site as well.

We tried purslane the other day. I had always heard that it was edible but I felt, as I originally felt about Lambs Quarter - yeah you can eat it, but why would you? Both are surprisingly excellent! Also, I've read quite a bit over the last few years that the plants that grow locally as "weeds" such as dandelion, purslane, lambs quarter, stinging nettles, etc. contain many anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals which are very beneficial.

Here's how to prepare it:
  1. Remove the purslane from the bag. Cut off the roots. Remove any hay that might be in there. Soak to clean.
  2. Cut up the stalks in 1 - 3" pieces. Use the whole stem - no need to take the leaves off of the stem. The stems are a bit crunchy but they're not woody.
  3. Preheat a skillet with a little oil. Add a bit of garlic or onions or both and saute.
  4. Add the cleaned and cut purslane.
  5. Sprinkle in a generous amount of salt and pepper.
  6. Saute until wilted and slightly darker green (maybe 6 - 10 minutes on med. heat).
  7. Serve.
Very yummy - surprisingly. It's a bit like spinach and would probably be good in a stir fry. Enjoy!

Here's what "On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of The Kitchen" (Harold McGee) has to say about purslane (by the way - this is an excellent book if you're interested in the technical side of food):
"Purslane is a low-lying weed with fat stems and small thick leaves, which thrives in midsummer heat on neglected ground. It's a European native that has spread throughout the world. One nickname for purslane is pigweed, and the 19th century Englishman William Cobbett said it was suitable only for pigs and the French. But people in many countries enjoy its combination of tartness and soothing, mucilaginous smoothness, both raw in salads and added to meat and vegetable dishes during the last few minutes of cooking. There are now cultivated varieties with larger leaves shaded yellow and pink. Its qualities are similar to those of the cactus pad because both have adapted in similar ways to hot, dry habitats. Purslane is notable for its content of calcium, several vitamins, and an omega-3 fatty acid, linolenic acid."

Here's another interesting excerpt from the same book: "Cactuses, purslane, and other plants that live in hot, dry environments have developed a special form of photosynthesis in which they keep their pores closed during the day to conserve water, then open them at night to take in carbon dioxide, which they then store in the form of malic acid. During the day, they use the energy from sunlight to convert the malic acid to glucose. Pads harvested in the early morning therefore contain as much as 10 times more malic acid than pads harvested in the afternoon. The acid levels in the pads slowly drop after harvest, so the difference is less apparent after a few days."

Potato and Purslane Salad

Potato and purslane salad

Michelle, one of our newest members, contributed this. Thanks!

Don't use all the salad dressing at first--pour a little on and see how much you'll need. Any that's left over will be good on pasta or tossed salad.
6 small to medium redskin potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
2 cups washed purslane leaves
4 scallions, sliced thin
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice (or more, to taste)
2 T. red wine vinegar (or more,to taste)
garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dry tarragon
1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cook the potatoes with their skins on until just tender. Drain and plunge into cold water. Let cool. Peel and cut into slices, chunks, or dice, as you prefer.
Chop purslane coarsely. Add purslane and scallions to potatoes.
Mix dressing ingredients until emulsified (I like to shake them in a jar). Pour over salad until it looks and tastes right. Chill. If the salad sits around in the fridge for a while before serving, you may need to add a little more dressing just at serving time so it's moist enough.

Beet Salad

This is contributed by Tricia - one of our members. Thanks!


I made a salad with raw grated beets last weekend and took it to a block party. It was quite tasty! (even for someone like me, not a big fan of beets)

Basically: grate the beets (I used my food processor), then toss with a dressing made from lemon juice, dijon mustard, oil, garlic (I might have used a scape - I forget exactly), and tarragon. I used my Capella tarragon and supplemented with some from the plant on my porch.