onions

I’m slacking off this week. Thursday after our CSA pickup, I didn’t take a picture of everything we got. Shocker, I know … but I can assure you that nearly everything has been eaten AND enjoyed already. Here’s what we got:

1 whole chicken, approx 5 lbs
1 lb yellow wax beans or green beans
1 shallot
1 candy onion
1 bunch swiss chard
1 pint blueberries
1 quarter peck cling peaches

We haven’t used the chicken yet (I hope to make something yummy this weekend …. and don’t worry, I hope NOT to have another giblet incident again) but have already enjoyed the blueberries, peaches, swiss chard, beans and onion!

Here are some photos instead of how we’ve enjoyed the food:

Perfect snack – blueberries and peaches!

Dinner! Veggies are all Fresh Fork – sauteed swiss chard, balsamic marinated salmon, and yellow beans with lentils, onions & toasted almonds (recipe below!)

And now – what we did with all the yellow string beans. Besides eat them as snacks – because I definitely did that. Yes, I brought a baggie of them into work – they were so sweet and perfect as a crunchy snack! But then I only had 1/2 pound left for dinner (shh don’t tell B that I ate the rest) – so I had to supplement them with some other stuff, like lentil and onions – which meant they actually came out awesome! Even B really liked them – he asked me multiple times how I had made them, and not in a weird, eew how did you make this type voice, so I take that as a good thing.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions Lentils and Toasted Almonds ~ I Crashed The Web

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds

Here’s what you need:

12-15 almonds
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 candy onions, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound yellow string beans with the ends cut off
1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth if you are a vegetarian
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups lentils, already cooked (or 1 15-oz can if you don’t have any prepared)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here’s what you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once preheated, toast the almonds on a baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes or until they start to take on a darker color and begin to smell. Watch them – you do NOT want them to burn!
While almonds are toasting, boil some water in a large pot. Add the beans and cook for about 3-5 minutes until they’ve begun to soften slightly. Drain beans.
In a large nonstick pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and diced onions and cook until onions are translucent. Add half of broth and cook until broth starts to disappear.
Add beans and rest of broth and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until beans start to get tender. Add the Italian seasoning and lentils. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until entire dish is warmed through. Transfer beans to a serving bowl.
Sprinkle with toasted almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Finely chop the almonds and toast for 5-10 minutes at 350.

Get some awesome onions from your CSA. You may have to clean them off.

Dice the onions and sautee with garlic. Add part of broth and cook until broth cooks down.

Summer Yellow Beans with Onions, Lentils and Toasted Almonds {I Crashed The Web}

Boil the trimmed beans for a few minutes.

When onions are soft, add green beans, rest of broth and cook for a few minutes. Then add seasoning and lentils and cook a little more.

Put in a fun plate and top with toasted almonds.

Enjoy!

For other Fresh Fork Recaps:

Hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day! I made it outside for a few hours and judging by what I witnessed downtown, most of you were having a good time. While I didn’t enjoy any corned beef this year (still meatfree for Lent!), we did enjoy some green food – including a kale dish like this one.

As B has started eating more slow carbs, one of my challenges has been to find new and not boring bean/veggie/meat (or other protein) combos. B would be perfectly happy eating the same meals day in and day out. Me? Maybe for lunch, but half of the fun in eating is the cooking! And half the fun in cooking is trying new recipes. So, last week for dinner, we were debating on the bean/veggie/meat combo when I suggested cooking up some Kale with Peppers and Onions for our veggie. Not a kale fan, B was skeptical. As I was putting it together, B even made the comment that he expected the ratio of peppers and onions to kale to be a little higher than he was expecting (meaning – “You’re using too much kale!”). Plus, when I had made the Kale with Lentils and Sweet Potato recipe a few weeks ago, he wasn’t sure he liked the texture of the kale, but this was due mostly to the fact that I may have forgotten to remove the stem from many of the kale leaves. Whoops! I was determined to leave a better impression this time, so I included one of B’s favorite ingredients – Cholula sauce!

As we sat down to eat our meals, I ate in silence. I didn’t want to ask … but I was dying to know what B was thinking. After a few bites it was clear. It was a hit. “We should have this again,” B told me. YES!

spicy kale with yellow pepper and onion

Spicy Kale with Peppers and Onions

Here’s what you need:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow pepper, sliced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped (if you like garlic a lot, feel free to make it 3)
1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped / torn into small pieces (about 4 cups)
1 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 – 2 teaspoons Cholula sauce (depending on your taste for heat, use more or less) or your other favorite hot sauce
1/3 cup vegetable broth

Here’s what you do:

Heat the oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat.
Dice the onion, yellow pepper and 2 cloves of garlic. Add to pan and let soften.
Tear kale from stem and chop or tear into bite size pieces. Remember to remove the stem! (This reminder is courtesy of B)
Once onion and pepper are translucent, add the kale and vegetable broth. Feel free to add more garlic at this time too 🙂
Add hot sauce and hot pepper flakes. Turn heat to medium-low, put lid on pot, and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
After about 10 minutes, remove lid and turn heat down. Add more hot sauce if you like and cook until the liquid is absorbed
Enjoy!

I served mine with baked tofu and some black beans for a complete Four-Hour Body friendly recipe.

Saute the pepper, onion and garlic

Chop/tear up the kale. Don’t forget to remove stem!

Add chopped kale to translucent pepper and onion. Add hot sauce, hot pepper flakes, vegetable broth and more garlic if you want.

All done! Check out how much the kale cooks down.

Enjoy! Here’s how I served mine:

SPICY KALE WITH yellow pepper & onion, baked tofu, avocado and black beans

Some questions to ponder:

Have you tried any slow carb diets or the Four-Hour Body? What’s your favorite meal combo?
Are there certain meals you have over and over again and never get tired of them?
What’s your favorite way to cook/eat kale?