easy summer veggie roast

I don't know what was in your CSA box this week, but ours had potatoes, green beans & spring onions, among other early summer harvest. So when my lovely, dear & ever helpful friend came to visit today, we had a summer veggie roast.

Ingredients
1-2 lbs potatoes
Quart green beans
20 green onion bulbs
10 cloves garlic, peeled (optional)
Olive oil
Sea Salt

Directions
Cut potatoes into small wedges. Cut off green onion tops & clean bulbs. Trim green beans.

Mix potatoes, onions, beans & optional garlic cloves in a large bowl with a generous swirl of olive oil. Be sure all veggies are coated. Salt to taste.

Spread evenly on one or more roasting pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

My daughter Sydney has her own variation on this dish where she adds whole cloves of garlic, and although I didn't do it today due to time constraints, I must admit, it wasn't the same without the garlic. Next time, I'll make time for the garlic prep.

And a final note, you might notice a new tag down below: ministry. I struggled for a name for what I'm tagging, and ultimately chose this over service or charity. After the recent birth of my third baby, I realized that there are certain times in a person's life where a friend showing up at the door with a dish makes all the difference between feeling alone and unloved and feeling supported by a community. I think it's important that I make time to show the friends in my community that they are supported and cared for in their vulnerable times.

Yet, it's so hard to find time for "food ministry" when you have to think of what to fix each and every time. This is the part that has always been my downfall in the past, for both potlucks and friends in need.

So I'm tagging it. Hopefully a database of easy, quick "comfort foods" will be just what I need to provide this for my people.

granola bars

I have found it hard to make a tasty but easy granola bar. I think I've finally found a recipe I like, and wanted to share, since so many of my taste testers liked it too. :-)

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
3 cups almond flour (we get ours at Trader Joe's under the name "Almond Meal")
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins, chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup honey
1 cup coconut oil
2 egg yolks
4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease (2) 9 x 13 inch baking pans
2. Melt the coconut oil if needed. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almond flour, cinnamon, salt & optional ingredients (raisins, choc chips or walnuts). Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg yolks, oil & vanilla. Mix well with your hands or use a stand mixer for the whole process.
3. Pat the mixture evenly into your two prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly before cutting into bars.

A note to my taste testers this weekend: I was able to cut the sugar entirely & just go with the honey and still have sweet results. It's not too sweet anymore, so I really wouldn't suggest cutting down the honey at all, unless you're super sensitive to sweets. If you want the granola bar sweeter, add 1/2 cup of sugar to achieve a more store-bought kind of taste, like what I brought with me.

A note about gluten-free oats: I tagged this post with the GF label because oats are one of those controversial GF items - are they or aren't they? I've heard that they are usually contaminated during processing & I've heard an alternate theory that if they are grown too close to wheat, they will be contaminated with gluten from the wheat (cross-pollination I guess?). At any rate, there are GF oats widely available, so as far as I'm concerned, this recipe still fits the label.

And finally, a note about the eggs: my recipe contains only the egg yolks because my youngest daughter can't have egg whites. The original recipe I worked off of called for 2 whole eggs, so there's no reason for non-sensitive people to waste their egg whites. In fact, your bars will probably hold together even better than mine. :-)

Cheesy Vegetables

I created this dish out of desperation over what to do with some goat cheese that needed to be used. I loved the result & it became a summer mainstay for us.

I've labeled it as dairy-free because if you use the goat cheese & the feta, there would be no cow's milk in the dish. If you need to avoid all dairy, regardless of the source, you can disregard the label.

Ingredients

1 12 oz. bag frozen green beans
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn
Half of a 12 oz. bag frozen peas
4 oz. Goat cheese (creamy) or Cream cheese
2 oz. Sharp cheese of any kind (cheddar, parmesan, asiago, swiss, bleu, feta), diced or shredded
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Boil water for vegetables. (1 minute hands-on prep)
Dice or shred cheese if necessary. (2 minutes hands-on prep)
When boiling, add veggies & simmer until tender & cooked through. (2 mintues hands-on prep)
Drain veggies, put in large serving bowl, & stir in goat cheese (or cream cheese) until well mixed. (1 minute hands-on prep)
Stir in sharp cheese while veggies are still warm. Add salt & pepper to taste. (2 minutes hands-on prep)

Serving Suggetsions
Serve with chicken breasts, fish, burgers or veggie burgers.

Couscous & Veggies

Thanks, Willow, for the couscous suggestions. It got me thinking about that quick little side dish, which hadn't been a pantry staple since college. As a bonus, my daughter calls it, "little tiny baby spaghetti" & thus, eats it all up.

Ingredients for 4 servings
Couscous (plain)
Water
2 Tbls. butter or margarine
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
10-12 leaves fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2-1 cup frozen grean beans, frozen peas, frozen corn, fresh diced carrots, and/or fresh spinach (don't use more than a cup total of veggies, but you can mix & match in any combination)

Directions
Measure water according to instructions on box of couscous & heat to boiling. (1 minute hands-on prep)
Meanwhile, heat to boiling water for veggies in a separate pot. (1 minute hands-on prep)
When couscous water boils, measure couscous according to instructions on box & mix into water. (1 minute hands-on prep)
Add butter & spices (but not veggies). Cover & let sit at least 5 minutes or until couscous is soft. (2 minutes hands-on prep)
When veggie water boils, add veggies & simmer until soft & heated through. (1 minute hands-on prep)
Add cooked veggies to finished couscous & stir. (1 minute hands-on prep)

Serving Suggestions
Serve with meat, fish, poultry or a grilled cheese sandwich. Stay within the 10-minute total prep time by putting frozen fish fillets on a baking sheet in a 400 degree preheated oven. Drizzle olive oil & lemon or lime juice on top & sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake uncovered until tender & flaky (about 20 minutes, depending on fillet size).

Black Bean Salad

This salad is good alone, but it's especially good served with tortilla chips or quesadillas in place of salsa.

Ingredients
1 can black beans
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh corn kernels, raw or cooked
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tsp. honey or sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbls. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Place the drained and rinsed beans into a large bowl.
Add the onions, green pepper, tomatoes, and corn and mix gently.
In a small bowl mix the garlic powder, lime juice, honey, and salt. Pour over the beans mixture and toss.
Top with fresh chopped cilantro.

Variations
Try kidney beans or hominy instead of black beans. You can use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice. For a very quick meal, melt cheese on tortilla chips at 350 degrees in the toaster oven while you're preparing the salad. They should both be ready at about the same time.