6-8 servings

 3 green onions, white and green part, coarsely chopped

3/4 lb beets, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste

¼ teaspoon dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tablespoons plain whole-milk yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped basil, dill, parsley, or bronze fennel

Cook green onions, beets, onion, and apple in oil in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Add water, vinegar, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, until vegetables and apple are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs. Purée soup in batches in a blender or food processor and chill. Just before serving, season soup with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Serve cold, drizzled with yogurt and sprinkled chopped herbs.

Adapted form a recipe found at:  http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/diaryofafoodie/2008/02/beetgazpacho, June 2010.

1/2 lb campanella pasta, or shape of your choosing
4 slices bacon (about 3 1/4 ounces), chopped
1/4 cup garlic scapes, cut into 1/4 inch coins
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

Set a pot of water to boiling on the stove and cook the campanella pasta (or desired shape).

While it’s cooking, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and add the garlic scapes. Cook until soft (2-3 minutes). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. (Drain both the bacon and the garlic scapes on a paper towel).

Whisk together the eggs, salt and red pepper flakes.

When the pasta is done, quickly remove it from the stove and set a different burner to low heat. Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot, on the burner set to low. Stir in the garlic scapes and bacon. Add the egg mixture and stir feverishly for 3-4 minutes until sauce is thick and creamy. Don’t let it overcook or it will be gloppy. Sprinkle the romano cheese in, a little at a time, and stir to combine. Don’t add it all at once or it won’t mix through out the pasta as well (since it will clump).

Serve immediately.

 Remove tips and strings from sugar snap and snow peas. Cook macaroni according to package directions, adding sugar snap/snow peas and shelled peas during last minute of cooking. Drain and rinse. Halve pea pods diagonally; set pasta and pea pods aside.
     In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, mustard, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, combine cooked macaroni, pea pods, peas, celery, and onion. Pour mayonnaise mixture over macaroni mixture. Stir gently to combine. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours. Stir before serving. If necessary, add additional milk to moisten. Top with additional pea pods, if desired.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix flour, herbs, and salt together in a medium bowl until well-blended.

3. Add the olive oil and half of the cold water and begin to mix. Add more water until the mixture forms a rough dough - if chunks are falling off when you pick it up, it's too dry and more water is necessary, but if it's soupy and clinging to everything it touches, it's too wet and you'll have to add a little bit more flour.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough makes a firm, but elastic, ball.

5. Divide the dough into quarters. On a lightly floured surface or on a silicone baking mat, roll one of the quarters of dough out until it's as thin as possible - about the size of a baking sheet.

6. Transfer the rolled-out dough to a piece of parchment paper and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares about 1.5" x 1.5" or your desired size. Prick each square several times with a fork and sprinkle with kosher salt.

7. Transfer the parchment paper with the cut and salted dough to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown, turning the baking sheet once halfway through.

8. Repeat the process for the other three quarters. When all the crackers are baked and cooled, store in an airtight container for up to two weeks (I like to use a half-gallon mason jar).

Notes: You can use any combination of herbs or other seasonings for the crackers - if using dried herbs, reduce the measurements to 1-2 teaspoons rather than tablespoons since they're more potent than fresh herbs.

6+ servings

adapted from www.portuguese-recipes.com

1  T. olive or canola oil

6-8 garlic cloves (crushed or minced)

1  large onion, chopped

4  cups kale, chopped if fresh (1 bunch is plenty). You can use frozen 2 or 3 pkgs. or if canned use 2 to 3 cans) (I use fresh)

4  cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 (15-1/2 oz.) cans white beans

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes or 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (I use canned)

1 t. dried thyme

1 t. dried rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of chopped parsley

This is a great meatless soup, but you can also add sausage, chicken or stew beef (cook the meat first).

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil, then add garlic and onion.
2. Sauté these ingredients until soft.
3. Add kale and sauté until wilted.
4. Measure off 3 cups of broth and 2 cups of beans and add to the sautéed vegetables, along with the tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper.  (See step 6 for what you do with the rest of the broth and beans.)  (Not reading ahead to step 8, I added the parsley here.  Next time I'll leave a little out for a garnish at the end, but will still cook most of it.)
5. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Using a blender or food processor, mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth.  Mix into the soup (makes it thicker).  Add the cooked meat, if you're using it.
7. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Serve it up in bowls and dress with parsley.

Makes about 1 cup of pesto.

10-12 garlic scapes, cut into half-inch lengths
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or almonds
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ - 1/3 cup olive oil

Sauté the garlic scapes in olive oil until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool, then add to food processor along with nuts, cheese, salt, and pepper. Pulse to puree then slowly drizzle in additional olive oil to reach desired consistency. For thick pesto add less oil. If you prefer it thinner, add a bit more.

For Pasta: Cook ½ lb of pasta and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Mix pasta water into pesto then add to warm pasta. For a creamy pasta, add ½ cup cream or plain Greek style yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

1. Prep all ingredients before you start cooking - this saves some scrambling later on! This recipe make an eggy rice bowl for one person, so double/triple/quadruple ingredients and cooking times for multiple diners.

2. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute briefly - about 1 minute.

3. Add peas and saute until al dente (and heated through, for frozen peas).

4. Add chard and saute until it begins to wilt - 1-2 minutes.

5. Add rice; season with a generous pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Continue to saute until the rice is heated through and it's just starting to cling to the bottom of the pan (if you're not using a non-stick pan). 

6. Add eggs, break the yolks and incorporate into the rice mixture. Stir periodically until no uncooked white is visible but the yolk is still creamy (or until the egg is cooked to your preference).

7. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Stir in parmesan and basil and enjoy! 

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 binch of greens

2-3 green onions or half yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

opt ingredients: chopped fresh peppers (hot or mild), chopped tomatos, chopped carrots (add with onions)

Wash greens thoroughly.  Take greens and pull stem out. Take greens and lay several on top of one another. Chop length wise and then again sideways. They should end up being chopped into small squares.

Chop onions and garlic.

Heat large pot on medium and add oil. Add green onions and optional ingredients. stir and saute for 5 minutes add 1 cup water and seasonings.  add garlic. Add chopped greens. put lid on and cook for 7-10 minutes on medium to low heat.