Quick Recap for Week 2

I'm sorry I've been absent the last few days. I believe I caught a mild bug of some kind. The worst of the symptoms is that I've totally lost my appetite! I've actually still been cooking, just not eating as much. But I don't want these veggies to go to waste, so let me recap you on how I've been using the contents of the CSA box this week.

Even though I didn't get green onions in my box this week, I heard that some others received it, so here's a great way to enjoy a lean chicken burger with that addition.

Chicken Burgers with Peanut Sauce from Cooking Light

Sauce:

2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced

Burgers:

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped
Cooking spray
4 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls with sesame seeds
1 cup onion sprouts or alfalfa sprouts

To prepare sauce, combine first 6 ingredients, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Prepare grill. To prepare burgers, place onions and next 5 ingredients (onions through chicken) in a food processor; process until coarsely ground. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with 1/4 cup sprouts, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and top half of roll.

Yield 4 servings.

• I cheated and used the broiler. I have a confession. I've never learned to start a charcoal grill. I'd really like to invest in a gas grill (hubby is a purist and will be hard to convert) just so I can use the grill with ease during the summer. The broiler worked out fine, but I'm sure it would be fantastic on the grill.
• Did you notice that lovely romaine leaf added to the burger in the picture? I've noticed recently that it's a lost cause asking for lettuce on sandwiches or burgers when ordering out. You never get a beautiful leaf like the one we received from the CSA this week. Instead, you get shredded iceberg lettuce that basically tastes like water in solid form. Makes for a very sad looking sandwich. Sniff.
• To make my life easier, I passed on the food processor and went straight for ground chicken from Whole Foods. It actually was excellent. This dish literally took 5 minutes to put together.
• When will I ever learn? I bought chili paste with garlic for this recipe and took a quick whiff and taste before adding it to the burger. I am a wimp. I could not handle the heat and totally skipped it. My throat was literally on fire from a mere pinch of it. Later, while peeking in the fridge, I noticed another opened jar of chili paste with garlic! It was basically full and it dawned on me that I probably just did the same thing twice. Bought it for a recipe, tasted it and never used it again. Classic Karen.
• The sauce was decent, but I would add a little more water next time. It was very thick and not very appetizing to look at. But tasty, nonetheless.

Also on the menu this week was Roasted Lemon, Asparagus & Green Garlic - inspired by two bloggers. Lori at The Recipe Girl (http://www.therecipegirl.blogspot.com/) and Laura at The Spiced Life (http://www.thespicedlife.blogspot.com/) both inspired me to try roasting a lemon for the added depth in flavor. I just sliced the lemon and placed it on top of asparagus & green garlic on a baking pan. Before I put the lemon on, I added 2 T of extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt and pepper on the veggies. Then I laid everything flat on a baking sheet and roasted it at 400F for 25 minutes. I paired it with turbot cooked briefly (6 minutes on each side) in a skillet with white wine. I added freshly grated parmesan on everything and enjoyed it immensely! The smell of the veggies and lemon roasting was truly out of this world. By the way, as Laura suggested, don't try eating the lemon. Just squeeze the juice onto the veggies and discard the rest.

One other quick dish I made was a Spinach & Strawberry Salad. We didn't recieve that much spinach this week, but it is so mild and sweet that I prefer eating it raw. I chopped up some spinach, sliced about 4 large strawberries, added 2T of crumbled goat cheese, 1T of sliced almonds and drizzled my favorite balsamic vinegar on everything.

On tap today is soup. We have some amazing collard greens this week. I thought I would create a white bean and greens soup and use the rest of the green garlic, too. I'm totally winging it!