FRESH ORGANIC DELICIOUSNESS (Week 5)

Shrimp Pasta with Dill and Scallions

Ingredients
1 bag frozen shrimp
1 box angel hair pasta
1 bunch dill
1 bunch scallions
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 lemon
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
red pepper flakes

Directions
Finely chop shallot, garlic, scallions and dill. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat and sautee previous mixture until fragrant. Add shrimp and cook until pink and opaque. Boil pasta and drain. Add pasta to pot with veggies and shrimp and toss. Add juice of one lemon, salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Collards Stuffed with Red Beans and Rice
Adapted from this recipe at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

1 cup cooked brown rice (I'm using brown basmati)

1 1/2 cup small red beans, cooked
1 large onion, finely diced
1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1/2 – 1 tablespoon Tabasco, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
12 leaves collard greens

Directions:

You will need cooked rice and red beans, so before you do anything else, make sure you have those prepared.Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray or wipe it with olive oil, if you like. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring regularly, until it begins to brown. Add the green pepper and celery and cook, adding a little water if it starts to dry out, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Remove 3/4 of a cup of the vegetables from the skillet and mix them in a bowl with the fire-roasted tomatoes and a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To the skillet, add the rice, red beans, the seasonings, and 1/4 cup of bean-cooking liquid or vegetable broth. Reduce heat to very low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly and adding additional liquid if it starts to dry out. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Wash the collard leaves and cut off the stems level with the bottom of the leaves. Turn them with the coarse stem-side of the leaf up, and holding a very sharp knife parallel to the leaf, trim off part of the thickened central rib. Be careful not to cut through the leaves. If leaves are very large, you can just cut out the thickest part of the central rib.

In two batches of 6, place the collard leaves into the boiling water, pressing them down gently to make sure all leaves are submerged. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse in cool water. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Preheat oven to 350F.

To assemble, spoon half of the tomato mixture into the bottom of a long, oiled casserole dish. Place a collard leaf in front of you, trimmed side up and stem closest to you. Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the rice mixture (2 for small leaves, 3 for larger) about a quarter of the way from the bottom.

Fold the side edges over the middle. Fold the bottom (stem end) over the filling, tucking it in behind the filling. Roll up tightly, and place each roll into the casserole dish. Spoon the remaining tomato mixture over the rolls, and cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Pasta with Arugula and Goat Cheese Sauce
adapted from this recipe

a bunch of fresh arugula
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1 8 ounce container low-fat yogurt or sour cream
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
S and P to taste
1 pound fusilli noodles (or whatever you have on hand)
Grated parmesan cheese, as garnish

1. Before preparing sauce, fill a large casserole with water, and bring the water to a boil.
2 Wash and clean well the arugula and parsley. Dry thoroughly. Trim and chop both the arugula and the parsley.
3. Place the arugula and the parsley in a food processor. Add the yogurt or sour cream, goat cheese, salt, and pepper. Blend the ingredients thoroughly. Keep the sauce at room temperature until ready to use.
4. Add a pinch of salt to the boiling water, and cook the fusilli noodles following the instructions on the package. When the noodles are cooked, drain them, and place them in four serving dishes. Pour the sauce evenly over the top of each serving and add some cheese to each dish. Serve immediately.



Lemon Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Scallions and Dill
adapted from this recipe

2 1/4 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch arugula, leaves washed thoroughly, spun dry, and shredded fine (about 2 cups)
3 large scallions, sliced thin
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill, or to taste

Cook quinoa according to directions. Stir in lemon juice, oil, and salt and pepper to taste and cool quinoa completely. Stir in arugula, scallions, and dill and chill for 2 hours or overnight. *I ended up making a "dressing" for this using this Caesar Vinaigrette Recipe and it was delicious.