Swiss Chard Smoothie

 

Okay, I know what you're thinking.  I've gone off my rocker.  That debate is still open for interpretation though. 

Anyway, there is a TON of swiss chard in this, but you would never be able to tell.  I mean, for one... the color isn't green - but that's due to the addition of certain fruits.  Fruits that help ease me into the realm of "green" smoothies. 

Back in the early weeks of the CSA, we had tons of greens that I kept needing new ways to use up.  And so I decided to delve into smoothie making.  While I'm not completely on the bandwagon with all-green smoothies - I really need the fruit in there! - this was definitely something I can find myself drinking after a weekend of really bad eating.  You know, we all have those weekends every now and then, but downing one of these smoothies just might make you feel a little bit less guilty about it!

Ingredients:

1 bunch swiss chard
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup frozen peaches
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
Ice
1/4 cup orange juice

Combine swiss chard, raspberries pineapple, peaches, and orange juice in a blender.

Add a few handfuls of ice to the blender (this is really up to your discretion) and puree until all ingredients are smooth.

Pour into a tall glass and garnish with additional mint, if desired.

This is definitely one of those feel-good drinks.  I thought the greens would make me not like this, but really, you couldn't even tell.  So a great way to sneak in some healthy greens to your unsuspecting children!  It's not evil, I promise.


What's your favorite smoothie?

Have a great weekend guys!

CSA Week #1

I figured since our CSA started yesterday, I'd do a special weekly post every Thursday from now on! 

The mass amount of rain had a big effect on many Kentucky farms so our first share wasn't as plentiful as Grasshopper's had hoped for us.  But you know... that's also the risk you take with joining a CSA.  You benefit when the farmers benefit.  But you also go through the sparse times also.  I think it kind of gives you perspective of how the weather really effects the produce we receive.  Me?  I'm not complaining at all, because I definitely appreciate all that our local farms do for us and I'm happy to get anything and support our farmers!

Grasshopper's Distribution does a good job with substituting some canned produce in these times, so we're very lucky either way!

So this was our box this week...

Lots of greenery, obviously!  The contents included:

• green onions
• mixed greens
• head lettuce (which still had the roots attached so I chopped the top off and planted the root part in my garden... all you avid gardeners out there - was that a good idea or am I just a novice idiot? lol)
• pint of strawberries
• bunch of swiss chard
• bottle of Bourbon Barrel Foods Soy Sauce
• jar of pumpkin butter
• jar of salsa

All locally made products!

Some beautiful strawberries!

So yeah, that was our haul this week.  You guys have any recipe ideas for me?  I'm in the process of making some strawberry shortcakes with some of those strawberries, so that should be delicious!

If you guys received a CSA this week, what did you end up getting?  I'd love to have a weekly round-up of your CSA goodies (if you participate in one), or even if you made a weekly visit to your Farmer's market - I'd love to see the local produce everyone gets!  So feel free to e-mail a snapshot of your goods (as well as your name and blog title (and don't worry if you don't have a blog, your name will be just fine!) as well as link to your blog) at mtlabor85 (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll post them in next Thursday's CSA post!  

Swiss Chard Stuffed Trout w/ Sauteed Squash & Corn

I've got some great news guys! I always check out food blogs in the morning and 9 times out of 10 always hear someone talking about their CSA this or CSA that. I've never thought to actually check into it and see if Louisville offered CSA services, but it turns out they do! And the CSA season has already started (obviously), but they're still accepting application for new members, so we sent ours in yesterday! I'm really excited because, #1, it'll definitely cut down on our weekly grocery bill, #2, it'll give us the opportunity to use absolutely fresh and in-season ingredients (especially just looking forward to trying new things with some of the produce). Might even do a little blip-it section on what we end up getting every week too. I feel like it's Christmas and I've just received the best present ever. (I know, I'm a little late on the CSA excitement, but hey... better late than never!)

And this is way off the subject, but this Lobster Roll looks mouth-watering and makes me want to go pick up some lobsters to make this right now.

Anyway, keeping on the seafood track, this trout was pretty delicious and easy. And it also happened to be the day that we went all over Louisville to find a WHOLE trout... still couldn't find a whole one, with the head and all, but close enough. (Whole Foods usually is the go-to place for whole fish, but their truck just happened to have broke down in Boston that day and they didn't get a seafood shipment... BUMMER!)


Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's June 2010 issue - 'Escarole-Stuffed Seared Trout'

1 cup chopped swiss chard
1 shallot, thinly sliced
juice from 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 headless whole trout, cleaned
cornmeal
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
3-4 yellow squash, sliced
1 cup corn

In a medium bowl, toss the chard with the shallots, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Stuff the trout cavities and close with skewers. (My skewers were a bit too large, so you could probably use some thick toothpicks to do this also). Season the outside of the fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cornmeal.

In a large skillet, heat 1/8 inch of olive oil under medium high heat. Add the trout and cook until skin is crisp and fish is cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your trout. Transfer trout to a plate and wipe your skillet clean.

Melt the butter in the skillet and add the trout back in. Turn to coat well. Remove from the heat and allow trout to sit in butter for about 5 minutes or so. This adds so much flavor to the fish, it's definitely not a step to skip.

While you're waiting for the trout, you can make your squash and corn. In a medium skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat under medium high heat. Add squash and corn and saute until squash starts to soften, about 5 minutes.

Serve trout with the squash & corn mixture and with lemon wedges!

We served this at a dinner party for 4 we had a couple weeks ago, and everybody seemed to enjoy it! Our friend Mike practically just left the bones on his plate, so we knew he loved it. And my friend Kendra, who's a little weary on eating whole fish or things with bones still in it, went out of her comfort zone and said she enjoyed it as well! Enjoy!