My New Roots - Quinoa Risotto with Grilled Scapes and Arugala

Taking a break from squash and zucchini for a bit, we gave this recipe from the My New Roots cookbook a try.  I found some garlic scapes at a local farmer's market and as a garlic lover found myself intrigued.

The recipe turned out really well (even if my picture is a little green).  The one change I'd make next time is to use less arugala.  The recipe calls for 3 cups and I used a packed 3 cups but I'd probably use a loose 3 cups next time.  The risotto ended up a bitterer than I think I would have liked and there weren't really any components helping to offset the bitterness.

Sprouted Kitchen - Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean, and Cheese Enchiladas

Continuing the squash and zucchini trend after another week participating in Whole Foods' bag of produce deal I found this excellent recipe on the Sprouted Kitchen blog:  http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2012/7/10/roasted-zucchini-black-bean-goat-cheese-enchiladas.html

I opted for the shortcut recommendation of using Trader Joe's enchilada sauce which has a pleasant kick to it.  I used summer squash (no zucchini) and substituted in queso fresco for the goat cheese as my wife tends to shy away from goat cheese.

Overall the recipe was pretty simple to make though I did end up with quite a bit extra filling (even after upping to 12 tortillas).  I probably could have stuffed the enchiladas more but I opted not to risk it.  Luckily, the filling is delicious on its own.  With the up to 12 tortillas, my wife and I found dividing into 6 servings (as opposed to the original 4) worked out well for us.

I also chose not to garnish with the cilantro as my wife isn't a big fan of the herb.  These enchiladas were excellent regardless.

My New Roots - Grilled Zucchini and Green Onions with Hazelnuts

Continuing the focus on Zucchini and Summer Squash for the week, we decided to give this recipe a try.  Luckily, this recipe has been posted in full by the author online and I can provide the link:  https://www.yahoo.com/food/grilled-zucchini-and-green-onions-with-baby-118379239941.html

I thought this recipe was another fantastic one.  The flavors came together really well though I may have used a little too much lemon juice.  I doubled the recipe to make extra but opted out of doubling the Serrano pepper.  My wife found that the dish still had plenty of kick so anyone mindful of spiciness may want to reduce the amount of pepper.

As an extra bonus, the spinach leaves I used were from my home garden harvest.

My New Roots - Zucchini Firecracker Corn Bread

My wife and I were planning to sign up for a CSA for the first time this year but unfortunately missed our window and the CSA we were interested in sold out.  Instead, we opted to sign up for "CSA-like" deal through our local Whole Foods to receive a bag of local produce each week.  Our first week of produce resulted in a combined five pounds of summer squash/zucchini and as a result I'll be focusing on these ingredients for a little while now.

I kicked the week off by baking some this recipe with the plan to spread it across the week as a nice snack/side to go with meals.  Due to my lack of a cast iron skillet and being not quite sure which pan to substitute, I opted to make corn muffins instead.

These things turned out great and are extremely delicious.  I opted to go for the milder side of flavor and only use the 1 Tbsp of red pepper flakes to suite my wife's preferences.  As a result, these had almost no kick to them.  If you're looking for some spicy kick, I'd recommend going for the full 2 Tbsp.  The other recommendation I'd make is to make sure you give them plenty of time to cool on their own.  I was a bit hasty in bundling these off for storage on my first batch and as a result had a hard time keeping moisture out of the bag these were stored in.

With the first batch I made, I made the critical mistake of waiting too long to whisk in the melted coconut oil resulting in it solidifying on me.  With the second batch (pictured below) they turned out much better.

I must also offer an extreme caution with regards to handling the pan.  The recipe calls for heating the pan prior to greasing it.  On my second batch I made the critical mistake of grabbing the pan while I greased it and suffered some rather nasty burns as a result.

My New Roots - Caramelized Onion, Olive, and Kale Calzones

I think this recipe may be the most exciting one I've tried.  I love pizza and calzones and having a healthier version of one to make up really appealed to me.

The dough was super easy to whip together and I'm eager to make it again and use it for pizzas or my own custom calzones some time.

My biggest worry about the recipe came to folding over and sealing the calzones shut.  I was really worried that the dough was going to tear on me and everything was going to fall out.  It actually held up really easily though.  The recipe did a great job of making sure the amount of dough worked well for the beginner.

The finished product was extremely delicious.  I'm particularly pleased that I got a chance to use fresh picked kale straight from my fledgling vegetable garden.

My New Roots - Freekeh Pancakes with Wilted Swiss Chard and Poached Eggs

I'll start by saying that freekeh is now one of my new favorite foods.  This stuff tastes delicious.  I'll also add that I've never poached eggs before and it is now one of my favorite things to do.

We made this recipe for dinner even though it's listed as a breakfast recipe because it falls a bit more on the savory side and I was eager to try it when my wife mentioned she wanted me to pick up some eggs for the week.  I figured since we were picking up eggs already, we might as well make this recipe while we were at it.

My wife isn't a big fan of runny eggs so we fried hers over hard and she thoroughly enjoyed it that way.

This dish also made great leftovers.  Pile some chard on the pancake for reheating and just make a fresh egg when you're ready.  Whipped dinner up another night in about 10 minutes doing this.

One annoyance that did come up is that it appears Organic Green Swiss Chard at Wegman's is sold in smaller bunches than the Conventional version.  I ended up having to pick up to bunches instead of the one that the recipe called for.  When we stopped by Whole Foods a few days later I notice they carry Rainbow Swiss Chard in Organic that seems to come in the bigger bunches so I may try that next time to get a better deal on the cost.

My New Roots - The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread with Olives and Caraway

I was really eager to give this recipe a try as I'm a huge fan of olives and I love the idea of this bread.

The recipe came together really well though I did find it a bit awkward to flip the loaf out directly onto the oven rack.  I was pretty worried the whole time that when I tried the thing was going to fall apart on me.  Luckily it held together really well and I ended up with a rather tasty bread.

My wife has not been a fan of the bread's mild olive taste (she's not a big olive fan).  As a result, she is very eager for me to try a more traditional version of this recipe.

Freezing the bread slices to make toast at your leisure has worked out really well.  Makes a really nice snack for later in the evening after I've already had dinner and have a bit of a craving for a little more.

My New Roots - Dandelion Greens with Ghee-Poached Radishes and Smoked Salt

I gave this recipe a try the other week after realizing that the local Wegman's stocked Dandelion Greens.

I found the radishes to be quite delightful and really enjoyed the salad though my wife was not as big of a fan of the strong taste of the dandelion greens.  I found the organic dandelion greens I used tended to have pretty small leaves which made them a bit of a pain to strip off the thicker stems (I read somewhere not to eat the stem because it is even more bitter).  It felt like a lot of work when I could have accomplished the same thing with a bag of organic arugala (a substitute the recipe recommends).  This would also have the benefit of saving some money and giving me extra greens I can mix in with other salads.

I'll probably make this recipe again and skip the dandelions next time.

My New Roots - Pear Apple Blackberry Crumble

This was actually my second attempt at making this dish.  My first attempt was while on vacation with several friends about two weeks ago.  I neglected to take pictures that time and the recipe was so good I decided I would just make it again.

This recipe seemed to make quite a bit more crumble than the picture in the book suggested.  The recipe called for a 9" dish for baking the crumble in but wasn't particularly clear on what kind.  On my first attempt, I tried to use a 9" square dish which did not have enough room for all of the fruit and the crumble.  I ended up having to use a 13" x 9" dish instead.

On my second attempt I noticed that the picture in the book showed a rounder glass dish so I dug out one of my round casserole dishes for use.  This thing appeared to be significantly deeper than the dish in the book and yet I still found myself with a dish that was almost overflowing with crumble.  As a result, I'm still not entirely sure what the recommended dish is supposed to be for this recipe.

I should also add that I had a rather difficult time trying to track down arrowroot powder for this recipe and ended up having to substitute in some corn starch instead.  It seemed to work out pretty well as a substitute.

My wife mixed this dish with some yogurt and found it to be an excellent combination.  I also found myself enjoying it for lunch one day.  The portions are very generous and can even be split in half for a small snack.