Chicken Soup for the Body and Soul

Ladle Full of Love and Comfort

Recipe inspired by Mom

If it’s a cold, rainy night in Santa Cruz, or if your husband is recovering from gum surgery, or if you feel a bit under the weather yourself, a big pot of chicken soup is a good bet. If all three of those circumstances occur at once—welcome to my week—it’s almost inevitable. Unlike vegetarian soups, which typically require pre-sautéing of vegetables to bring out flavor, chicken makes plenty of yummy juice when simply thrown into a pot with some water and a few seasonings. This simple preparation is a boon to the ailing cook, and even the Mayo Clinic agrees that chicken soup can help a body with cold symptoms feel better quicker.

Simply Braised Greens

Braised Greens with Rice and Turkey

Recipe by Robin

As readers who follow my Recipe Links by Month posts know, I’ve been trying to come up with a recipe for simple braised greens all summer. Flavoring the greens without overpowering them, while keeping the recipe simple, has been my goal. The secret, I knew, was a zippy braising liquid with a balanced combination of sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty flavors. I’d been off on unsatisfying broth-and-lemon and ginger-and-raspberry-vinegar tangents for some time. Then sweet red peppers began ripening at the same time that our CSA provided a bunch of green onions—plus loads of assorted greens. The sweetness of the peppers contrasting with the bitter pungency of green onions is key to this dish—along with a significant amount of garlic.

Spring Stir Fry

Spring Pea Pods Kick it up a Notch

Recipe by Bruce

It’s a perfect day when your CSA share provides all the veggies you need to make a tasty springtime dish, and then the Farmers’ Market fills in the exact veggie that will make the dish fabulous (& publishable!). It’s even better when that missing ingredient comes from the tried, trusted, and true farm that provides your CSA shares. Thank you Live Earth Farm and the Felton Farmers’ Market for the fresh spring snap peas. What’s even better than that? LEF gave us a discount for being CSA member and double-dippin’ at the Market! Better still? Bruce is the family stir-fry king, so I got to take the photos with two hands instead of the usual one! And of course, stir fries are delicious and healthful.

Green Garlic Bok Choy with Ginger Lime Sauce

Green on Green on Green

Recipe inspired by Panlasang Pinoy

It’s early summer and we’re still using up our green garlic from springtime. Luckily green garlic has a long fridge-life, as long as it’s kept dry. I use an air-permeable bag for veggie storage. My kale with green garlic experiment was such a success that I felt inspired to continue the greens & green garlic theme with the bok choy from our CSA share. I was thinking of a stir fry with fresh lime sauce and a hint of ginger. To balance the sourness of the lime and the slight bitterness of the greens, I wanted to add salty and sweet components.

Escarole and White Bean Soup with Bacon

Winning Combo: Escarole, Bacon, and Beans

Recipe by Robin

Bacon. I can’t understand why so many people are fans of the stuff. Friends who like it tell me that it goes with everything, and even like it chocolate-covered. I don’t get what’s great about the salty fattiness. Oddly enough though, while brainstorming a use for massive amounts of escarole from our CSA, I kept envisioning a bacon with white bean flavor. Perhaps the motivation comes from my Auntie’s baked beans, white beans delicately flavored with bacon and maple syrup. Or perhaps I’ve eaten a similar Italian-style soup in the distant past. In any case, a little bacon did indeed make this the perfect soup, on the first try.

Spicy Mustard Greens with Cumin

Variation: Substitute Arugula & Mizuna for Mustard Greens

Recipe from Live Earth Farm

My husband approaches spicy greens with some trepidation and doesn’t like them raw. I have tried sneaking them into salads, but finally he drew the line and said, “No arugula in my salad! It tastes like dirt!” I do like arugula in my salad, but can’t eat all of it. We also received mustard greens this week, which we’re not familiar with. LEF recipe maven Debbie provided this intriguing recipe: imagine adding more spices to spicy greens! Since we had less than a large bunch of mustard greens, I added the arugula too.