Yard Bean Breakfast Egg Nests

 Every year we try growing something different in the garden. This year one of our new crops was purple yard beans. These beans get their name because they can grow to be almost a yard long! They are very beautiful and delicious, they have a slight fresh garlic taste, and don't loose their purple color when they are cooked. When they are still thin and flexible they can be eaten like a green bean, but they quickly turn mealy and then you have to wait for the pods to dry and harvest the beans later.

check out the size of these beans!

We had a bumper crop of yard beans earlier in the summer and we had to come up with a way to eat them. Joseph created this fun breakfast idea. If you grow yard beans you should try it! It is a fun way to add vegetables to your morning. 

Yard Bean Breakfast Egg Nests

Ingredients:

8 yard beans

8 eggs

Grated cheddar cheese

8 slices of fresh tomato

Butter

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat a large frying pan to medium heat. 

2. Twist the beans into "nests" for your eggs

3. Put 1 tbsp of butter into your preheated pan and swirl around. Arrange your bean nests in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. 

4. Crack an egg into each of the bean nests, season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. (these times are what we used for over easy eggs with a runny middle. If you like your eggs more well done cook them longer on each side)

5. Remove the egg nests from the heat and sprinkle 1 tbsp of cheddar cheese on each one and top with a slice of tomato, salt and pepper & enjoy!

*we did think that hollandaise sauce would round this recipe out well, but we wern't felt motivated for that production. Fresh basil or chives would also work well. 

Curried Lamb Stuffed Zucchini

 

Leftovers are the best lunch at work :)

Do you ever have those moments when you leave your garden one day with a baby zucchini on the way, and then you come back and said zucchini is the size of a small child? I think this happened to our farmer. This past week we got a GIANT Italian zucchini in our farm share. The farmer was super apologetic and offered to get us a new basket, but I told him.."No worries! We know what to do with that!" This incredible version of stuffed zucchini is spicy and rich and savory and totally made my coworkers jealous when I heated up the leftovers at work the next day. 

Some people slice the zucchini lengthwise and stuff it to make zucchini boats. When the zucchini gets really big I find that it is helpful to cut it into rings and stuff the rings. One: I think it is easier to serve, Two: it helps the filling retain its moisture and Three: It cooks the remaining squash ring evenly.

I chose to use ground lamb because I LOVE lamb, but you can totally use any ground meat, beans or meat replacement for this recipe.  The centerpiece of this recipe is a Carribean curry sauce mixed with coconut milk. I used a mix of the veggies that were available in my farm share and garden. You can customize this recipe to make use of your own veggies, as long as you keep the sauce you will get a pretty similar result. 

Curried Lamb Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 giant zucchini

1 lb ground lamb

1 cup rice, dry (or grain mix of your choice) cooked to package directions

1 small asian eggplant diced

1 green pepper diced

1 onion diced

2 garlic cloves diced

2 medium potatoes diced small

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

2 eggs

1 bunch of collared greens (or any greens) sliced in ribbons

1 jar of caribbean curry sauce

1 can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Prepare your zucchini. Cut off both ends, and slice your zucchini into 3-inch rounds. Hollow out the pith and seeds from the center of the zucchini rings leaving excellent veggie "bowls" for your lamb filling. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Find a large pan that will hold all your zucchini rings.  Shake up your coconut milk and open the can. Pour about half the milk into the bottom of the pan, save the rest for later in the recipe.

3. In a large bowl combine: uncooked ground lamb, rice, eggplant, pepper, onion, garlic, potatoes, peas, eggs and collared greens along with half of the curry sauce. Mix it well with your hands...it is the only way :)

4. Fill the zucchini rings with the filling. Push it down in there well, and mound it over the top if you need to. It will reduce during cooking. 

5. Finish the sauce: pour the rest of the coconut milk into the curry sauce jar. Screw the top back on tight and shake that sucker up to combine the sauce and coconut milk. Pour the coconut curry sauce over the stuffed zucchini rings. 

6. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes to reduce the sauce. Let the stuffed zucchini rest for 10-15 minutes before serving & Enjoy. 

This dish makes excellent leftovers. (see the first photo)

Bulgogi

 A Korean friend made this sweet, salty, savory and spicy dish for me once while I was watching her kids and I knew I needed to figure out how to make it myself. Now, if you are a Bulgogi purist, you will probably hate my recipe, I don't have a Korean grandmother to tap, I have probably committed some terrible sins with tradition, but...this is a basic Korean Bulgogi marinade recipe and I will share how I use it when I serve it to my family. 

Traditionally, Koreans use a very thinly shaved beef for Bulgogi. You can easily buy this in an Asian market, most butchers will do it for you, or you can cut it super thin yourself if you have a good knife. I have also used ground beef, which works simialrly to the thinly shaved beef because it provides lots of surface area for the marinade. Really, I feel like this recipe is designed to be everyday accessable, use what you've got.

Bulgogi is also served with lots of side veggies, and rice. You can either lay everything out and have folks build their own plate, or create rice bowls (which is my favorite). We pretty much use whatever is in season or available. It is a great way to use up the last of the farm share, or whatever comes from a walk through the garden. Our favorite Bulgogi bowl toppings are: pickled radishes, cucumbers, avocado, wilted greens, celantro, peppers, shredded carrot, sauted pak choi, and sesame seeds. It is ALWAYS a good idea to top it with a fried or poached egg, and a splash of hot sauce and sesame oil. Experiment, find what you like, and have fun.

Bulgogi:

2 lbs beef (sliced or ground)

Marinade Ingredients:

6 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp rice wine

1 red apple or Asian pear (grated)

1/2 onion (grated)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 bunch of scallions diced

Cooking Directions:

Combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well. I like to do this recipe in a ziploc bag. That way I can mix the marinade, massage the meat and let it rest while only dirtying a bag. You can also feel free to use a bowl...that's cool. 

Add your meat to the bag (or bowl), and massage the marinade into the meat to make sure that there is maximum surface area incorporation. Then let the meat sit in the marinade for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. 

When you are ready to cook the meat, heat a larg skillet or wok on medium heat, and cook with some cooking oil for about 5 minutes. Finish off with 1 tbsp of sesame oil and serve with desired veggies and rice. You can cook veggies with your meat like a stir fry if you want.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 I have not found an oatmeal raisin cookie that is better than the one that you used to be able to find on the Quaker Oatmeal box. It is my go-to recipe, and I am posting it here so I don't loose it. We use this recipe all the time, and often substitute other dried fruits, or add nuts or coconut. You can substitute butterscotch chips and make oatmeal butter scotchies. But my pro tip...ALWAYS add cinnamon.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

14 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups uncooked oats

1 cup raisins (or whatever)

Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat butter and sugars until combined and fluffy, add eggs and vanilla until combined.

Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. When everything is combined add the oats and raisins until combined.

Drop dough by tablespoonfulls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack. 

Makes 4 dozen