Cherry Tomatoes and Green Beans

Picking up my CSA loot this week was quite exciting. I really missed it. I was thrilled to see a beautiful pint of cherry tomatoes. I was less excited about the green beans. I like green beans, but they don't excite me with possibilities. I was flipping through Farm to Fork looking for something that featured green beans and found a great recipe for a salad with beans and tomatoes. I didn't have the majority of the ingredients, so this is what I did instead:

Green Beans, trimmed (I think I had somewhere between 1/2 and 1 lb)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt
Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/6 c olive oil
1/6 c white wine vinegar
1 t sugar
Thai basil leaves, torn

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt water and blanch green beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately drain and put in an ice bath (no ice so I just ran cold water over the beans until they were cool. Put beans in a large bowl with tomatoes.

Mix dressing ingredients: oil, vinegar, sugar, basil, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss vinaigrette with beans and tomatoes and add more salt if desired. Divide among 4 bowls and serve with crusty bread and goat cheese. We ate the beans with our fingers, tomatoes with a fork, and soaked up the dressing with the bread spread with goat cheese. Really good. Really filling. Really simple. Really.

Emeril's Braised Kohlrabi with Fennel and Leeks

*I didn't have leeks so I just used a yellow onion. I also don't buy alcohol so I used water instead of white wine.

2 T olive oil
1 T butter
3 large heads kohlrabi, cut into 1/2-inch-thick-wedges
1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 c water
3 c chicken stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh fennel fronds
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper

Combine olive oil and butter in a large deep saute pan. Once butter has melted and foam has subsided add kohlrabi, onion and fennel and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, browning kohlrabi on each side (mine did not brown). Add water and cook until it has reduced by half. Add stock, thyme, and fennel fronds and season with salt and pepper. Cook partially covered for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender crisp. Remove thyme sprigs and fennel fronds before serving.

I spooned the polenta into a bowl and then topped it with the braised veggies, including the braising liquid. Connor drank the liquid after eating his food. It was that good.

Mind-blowingly good spinach. Who knew?

I did not realize that spinach could be amazing. But it can. And it is easy. I put this on top of cottage cheese on top of a baked potato for a quick meal.

Heat some olive oil (just a bit) in a large skillet over medium-ish heat. Add fresh spinach, 1 clove minced garlic, some salt and pepper, and REAL maple syrup. Perhaps a tablespoon or two. Stir until evenly wilted, remove from heat and add just a bit of cream.

That's it. It is very, very good.