Cousa Squash and Spring Onion Couscous

1 cup chickpeas, cooked

4 baby carrots, chopped

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup couscous

2 tbsp olive oil

1 spring onion, white and green parts, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

1 medium cousa squash, cubed

1/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins

charmoula and feta cheese, optional to taste

Place chickpeas, carrots, and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and boil, covered for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are soft. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add spring onion and garlic and cook over a medium flame, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add squash and saute until onions and squash are carmelized and not watery, 15 minutes. Add almonds and cranberries. Remove pot with chickpeas from heat and add couscous. Some water will have evaporated, this is fine. Stir to combine. Once couscous has absorbed all water, add to pan with squash. Heat through and serve.

This was delicious as written, but I added 1 ounce of feta cheese and 1 tbsp of charmoula to my serving.

Serves 2

CSA Love

My back is killing me and I can't walk correctly. I don't even know why I say walk, it's more of a shuffle, but much slower than an amble. I lined my lightweight carry-on with plastic bags and took the subway for this week's CSA pickup.

The take:

1 bunch beets, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch spring onions, 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch (delicious smelling) basil, 2 pounds new Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 medium cousa squash, 1 pound green beans, and 1 head romaine lettuce.

Ceviche Peruano

When it's too hot to cook, why not cook without heat? Ceviche is a wonderful summer recipe; the Peruvian version is one of the simplest to prepare and, in my opinion, the tastiest. This dish is perfect for cooks with low mobility. The most basic traditional version uses a firm white fish and variety of sea creatures marinated in just lime juice and salt, but I elaborated a little while keeping within the Peruvian flavor profile. Using whole bay scallops instead would eliminate some knifework and speed the preparation.

Ceviche Peruano

juice of 3 limes

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

10 sprigs cilantro

1/2 serrano or hotter pepper (use an aji amarillo if you can find it)

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 pound sea scallops (quartered) or bay scallops (whole)

1/4 red onion, sliced thinly in a food processor and separated into rings

Combine lime juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, hot pepper, and garlic and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour marinade over scallops and stir to coat, making sure there is enough liquid to cover fish. Top with sliced red onion. Let marinate/"cook" 2-3 hours in refrigerator until fish is opaque and firm. Serves 2.

Traditional accompaniments for this dish are boiled corn, sweet potatoes, or yucca, but I used a less labor-intensive sliced avocado.

Cripple Cuisine Does Borscht

After another car accident, my neck is once again constrained by a collar and I only have the energy to make really easy dishes that require almost no labor. Boiling is usually good for that. This borscht requires chopping, which I did by indiscriminately hacking away at the items on the cutting board, or you can shred the stuff (except the potato) in a food processor. I didn't peel any of the vegetables (too time-consuming and vitamin-defeating).

I also didn't have my purse, as it was left in the car following the accident, so I had no money or access to it, as banks were closed for the holiday weekend. I made this entirely out of things I already had, which wasn't much since I wasn't around last week and missed my CSA pickup.

Tip: The longer you saute the onions and tomato paste together, the deeper the flavor of the soup. Thanks to the beets, this soup tastes garden fresh despite its dependence on pantry and staple items that have probably been lying around the kitchen for several weeks.

Borscht

1 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
10 baby carrots, greens removed, chopped (I had these left over from the previous week's CSA)
3 potatoes, cubed
2 medium red beets and 3 small golden beets, cubed (also CSA)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
4 cans water
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped (CSA again)
salt and pepper to taste
optional:
2 tbsp sour cream or plain yogurt per serving
fresh dill for garnish

Saute onion in oil until translucent. Add tomato paste and saute about
10 minutes (chop the rest of the vegetables while this happens). Add
tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, beets, and garlic and cook 5-10 minutes.
Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add cabbage, salt, and
pepper. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30
minutes until vegetables are tender. To serve, ladle into bowls and top each with sour cream and dill.

This recipe makes about 8 servings, so you won't have to cook again in the near future.

Adult Fruit Salad

I was separated from my CSA for a week while enjoying a trip to the beach with family and friends. After several days of consuming delicious but not exactly light food, I threw this together when an unexpected guest of honor showed up.

30 black cherries, pitted and sliced in half

3/4 pound strawberries, stemmed and sliced lengthwise in 1/2" pieces

1/2 pint blueberries

1 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir because an open bottle was sitting on the counter but this would probably be even better with Syrah or Malbec)

juice of 2 clementines (again, sitting on the counter)

Combine all ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes and serve.

Leftover juices from this salad are a delicious starter for a single serving of berry sangria:

2/3 cup juice from fruit salad

1/2 cup seltzer

1/2 oz. triple sec

squeeze of orange

Pour ingredients into an ice-filled wine glass, mix, and serve.

Almost Authentic Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons

I wasn't about to lose another head and a half of romaine lettuce to the refrigerator this week. Ice crystals have started forming on the romaine again. Interestingly, the more delicate lettuces don't seem to be having a problem with freezing and my refrigerator seems to be harboring secret cold zones. What better way to save your farm-fresh lettuce from undelicious destruction than to make a Caesar salad? I'm not one to discriminate: I used the whole (medium-sized) head of lettuce, not just the heart. I'm a huge fan of garlic, so I add the smashed cloves to the salad after they've done their job flavoring the croutons, but most people would probably remove them.

2 cups day-old bread, sliced into crouton-sized pieces (I used a sourdough boule)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt

1 egg

1 head romaine lettuce, washed, dried thoroughly, and chopped

4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place bread in a single layer in a baking dish and bake at 350F until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, smash garlic cloves and place them in olive oil with salt. Remove bread from oven and place in large saute pan. Drizzle 4 teaspoons of the olive oil over bread and add smashed garlic cloves to pan. Saute over medium heat until bread is golden brown and garlic begins to soften. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. When water is boiling, add egg and coddle for 1 minute, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Place lettuce in a large bowl. Add remaining olive oil and toss to coat. Add anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and egg and toss until creamy. Add croutons, cheese and black pepper, toss, and serve immediately.

Serves 2-3, but I definitely ate the entire thing in one sitting (um, yeah, that's a million calories from olive oil. Plus bread. And cheese. And an egg...). But I really did walk 8.8 miles today according to Google Maps.

Carrot Top Tabbouleh

I decapitated the adorable baby carrots from my CSA share, but the greens looked too luscious to throw away. To make up for my cold-blooded murder of their bottom parts, I decided to put them to good use. I had only a few sprigs of parsley left in a glass on my windowsill, so I decided to make some tabbouleh/tabouli/taboule with carrot greens.

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup bulgur wheat

tops from 1/2 bunch of baby carrots, leaves only, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

6 sprigs parsley, leaves only, chopped

6 mint leaves, chopped

2 scallions, sliced thinly

1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced

1 tbsp olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

10 grape tomatoes, halved

2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

In a glass bowl, add boiling water to bulgur wheat. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Toss together carrot tops, parsley, mint, cucumber, scallions, olive oil and lemon juice. Add bulgur wheat and refrigerate. Just before serving, toss in tomatoes and feta cheese.

Serves 2

I found that the carrot greens weren't as flavorful as the parsley, but they were tasty all the same. I might use more next time. I didn't add salt to this recipe because of the feta cheese, but feel free to add salt to taste.