We received our latest CSA shipment today, and an internet search returned a few promising recipes that would utilize our fresh veggies and wouldn’t require any trips to the grocery store. The Lemon-Pepper Chicken over Garlicky Spinach recipe is slightly modified from this one on RecipeZaar, and the carrot dish comes from Quick From Scratch Herbs & Spices. We really enjoyed this combo!

Chris says:

I love last-minute dinner ideas that don’t require me to go out!

Lisa says:

But you did have to go; we were out of lemons.

Chris says:

Shhhh! Don’t ruin the story! The point is we got to use all our fresh veggies. Anyway, these carrots rule.

Lisa says:

I know it — and I really like this spinach stuff.

Chris says:

I think it’s just a tad sweet… maybe needs a bit more lemon juice?

Lisa says:

Maybe you need to get back to the store?

Chris says:

Funny.

Lemon-Pepper over Garlicky Spinach
One large, or two small chicken breast(s) (about 12 oz)
lemon-pepper seasoning
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large shallot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 bunch spinach, washed
salt & pepper

Season chicken breast on both sides with lemon-pepper seasoning. Using a little olive oil or cooking spray, heat a skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken until done (internal temp of about 165-170). Set aside and keep warm. In the same pan, saute mushrooms, shallot, garlic and tomatoes until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, lemon juice, and 1/3 cup of water. Continue to cook until liquid is reduced to a thin sauce. Add in the spinach, folding in as it wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Place the spinach on a plate and top with the chicken.

2 Servings

Sauteed Carrots with Lemon and Marjoram
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 bunch carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a medium nonstick frying pan, heat 1/2 the oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic, carrots, sugar, 1/2 the salt, the pepper, and the dried marjoram. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan. Raise the heat to moderate and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots are very tender and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining oil and the lemon juice.

2 Servings

Tonight Lisa made this Chicken & Shrimp Laksa, a curry laksa, adapted from a recipe in Asian Flavors. This Malaysian dish consists of wide rice noodles, chicken, and shrimp in a nicely seasoned coconut broth; stir-fried bean sprouts and snow peas add crunch, color, and texture to the soup.

Lisa says:

I think it needs just a little salt and a little bit of Sriracha.

Chris says:

Those noodles really soak up that broth; seems like it thickens as it sits. I like it.

Lisa says:

It would be really good with mushrooms and carrots… next time I’ll add those in.

Chris says:

Yum! And we’ll have to find shrimp paste; our anchovy-paste-and-fish-sauce substitute probably wasn’t quite as intense.

Lisa says:

Well there you go, now we have an excuse to make it again.

Chicken and Shrimp Laksa
2-3 tbsp peanut oil
4 red shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp minced fresh lemon grass
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 red chili, seeded an finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 3/4 cups light coconut milk
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
16 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
9 oz flat rice noodles
6 oz snow peas, sliced lengthwise
4 oz bean sprouts
scallions

Soak the rice noodles until they are tender. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and fry the shallots over low heat until softened. Add the garlic, lemon grass, shrimp paste, red chili, and coriander and continue to cook over low heat for two to three minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken, shrimp, and noodles and leave over a low heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a wok and stir-fry the snow peas and bean sprouts for two minutes or until they start to soften.
Spoon the laksa into serving dishes and stir in the snow peas and bean sprouts. Garnish with scallions, and extra chili peppers.

4 Servings

This recipe came together in about 15-20 minutes, so it definitely lived up to the title of the book from which it came — Food & Wine Magazine’s Quick from Scratch Herbs & Spices Cookbook. We’re just diving into this one, but I’m really liking it so far — I love when each recipe is accompanied by a full-page picture. The book is divided into two sections: “Herbs” and “Spices”. Each recipe features a particular herb/spice — cilantro is one of our favorites, so we started there.

Chris says:

So, considering that I decided to make this about 10 minutes before you got home, I’d say this turned out quite well.

Lisa says:

Yeah, I thought we were doing Tortilla soup!

Chris says:

I changed my mind… not in a soup mood. Besides, this way we can tell Jeanette how much we enjoy the cookbook when we see her this weekend.

Lisa says:

It’s true! Yum, I like this dipping sauce.

Chris says:

I like most dipping sauces. Especially when they have cilantro!

Lisa says:

Cilantro *does* rule the planet. We need to start growing it.

Chris says:

Yes, please.

Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
2 jalapeño peppers, seeds and stems removed
4 cloves garlic: 2 smashed, 2 minced
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/3 lbs.)
6 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp dried red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 tbsp water

Light the grill and set at medium-high heat. In a blender, puree the jalapeños, smashed garlic cloves, the 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and stems, the fish sauce, canola oil, sesame oil, and 1/4 tsp salt. Put the chicken in a shallow dish and coat with the cilantro puree.
Grill the chicken for 5 minutes. Turn and cook until just done, about 5 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt to a simmer, stirring. Simmer for 2 minutes. Pour the liquid into a small glass or stainless-steel bowl and let cool. Add the minced garlic, the tablespoon of chopped cilantro, the red-pepper flakes, and water. Serve each chicken breast with a small bowl of dipping sauce alongside.

4 Servings

This recipe comes from Thai Cooking Made Easy — with this recipe, it lived up to its name. Cooked chicken is shredded and tossed with a bunch of veggies and a slightly spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. This would make a good starter to a larger meal.

Chris says:

Yum, guy! I like this salad.

Lisa says:

I thought the dressing was going to taste way too fishy when I mixed it up…

Chris says:

It’s totally fine — once you toss it in and mix everything together it’s not nearly as intense.

Lisa says:

This salad makes me hungry.

Chris says:

Not surprising… ain’t no carbs here!

Lisa says:

Promise me we’ll never do a low-carb diet.

Chris says:

How about we just don’t do any kind of diet?

Yum Gai - Thai Chicken Salad

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
• 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, cut into lengths
• minced cilantro
• 4 large lettuce leaves

For the Dressing:

• 1 tbsp sliced red chili
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and poach the chicken for about 15 minutes or until cooked. Remove and set aside to cool. Shred the chicken into thin strips.
Combine the Dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken strips with the tomato, onion, cucumber, green onions, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over and toss thoroughly.
Line a serving platter with the lettuce leaves and top with the salad. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a starter or part of a larger meal.

One of the great things about subscribing to a CSA program is that it forces you to “use up” the fruits and veggies that you’ve been allocated, making it a lot easier to decide what to make for dinner. As Lisa will tell you, I can easily spend an entire afternoon poring over cookbooks, trying to decide on recipes. Having ingredients on-hand is a great way to narrow that scope. This easy, quick recipe from Hooked on Heat was a great way to utilize the mangoes that arrived this week. Chicken is stir-fried with onions, red bell peppers, and spices; mangoes are stirred in at the end to create a nice balance of sweet and spice.

Chris says:

You know, I think this is the first time I’ve actually cooked something with mango in it.

Lisa says:

Oh yeah, I usually just have it by itself.

Chris says:

Pickapeppa Hot is really good in spicing this up… it has that tropical fruit taste that goes really well with the — hey, what are you doing?.

Lisa says:

Getting more — this is good!

Chris says:

Save me some for lunch tomorrow…

Lisa says:

We’ll see if there are leftovers, sucka!

Mango Chicken with Red Peppers
——————————
2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 large mangoes, diced into cubes
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium-sized onion, sliced
1-2 red chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp canola oil
salt, to taste
cilantro, chopped for garnish

Heat the oil in a large non-stick wok over medium-high heat and saute the chopped chilies, ginger-garlic paste and onions until lightly browned. Add in chicken, peppers and spices, and stir-fry till chicken is cooked through. Stir in chicken stock and mango, and simmer for a few minutes.
Season with salt, and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice.

4 Servings