Recipe 2-fer: Washington's Green Grocer Produce Box Adventure

I recently signed up to have a vegetable and fruit box delivered to me from local farms through Washington's Green Grocer. It doesn't cost too much more than I usually spend on produce in a given week, and it's local and organic!

I got my first box yesterday, and it had so many beautiful fruits and veggies including huckleberry potatoes (never even heard of them before--they are pink inside!), purple potatoes, purple top turnips (yikes don't usually cook with those), and kale.

Having never used turnips before in anything but chicken soup I was skeptical, but they were really flavorful, and in a good way! I peeled them after reading they have a tough and sometimes bitter skin, then roasted the turnips and potatoes simply with olive oil, salt, garlic powder and Aleppo pepper (you could substitute red pepper flakes).

For protein I decided on a stovetop chicken rubbed with a spice mix of smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and mustard seed (gave a great crunchy texture!), and then did a quick braise on the kale in the leftover juices.

All in all delicious, and I'm so glad I decided to do this local farm produce delivery!

Roasted Purple-Top Turnips with Huckleberry & Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 large turnips, peeled and cubed
6 huckleberry potatoes, cubed
6 purple potatoes, cubed
1 Tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Aleppo pepper

Directions:

1. Place veggies in a roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with spices, mixing to coat.
2. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes covered, 20-25 minutes uncovered or until veggies are tender.

Smoked Paprika & Mustard Seed Crusted Chicken w/ Braised Kale

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
6 scallions, chopped (or 1 onion, I just didn't have any)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
3 boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp vegetable stock
1 bunch of kale, cleaned

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saute pan and saute scallions and garlic 4-5 minutes.
2. Combine paprika, mustard seeds, garlic powder & salt in a bowl. Pat chicken breasts dry, then dip into spice mixture, rubbing and massaging into chicken.
3. Add chicken to pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from pan.
4. Remove kale leaves from stalk and tear leaves into bite-sized pieces (discard stalk or save for making soup stock another time). Deglaze pan with soup stock and add kale, turning to coat in juices. Cook 1-2 minutes until tender but still very green.

The cost:
veggies: $9.00 (1/4 of box)
chicken: 6.17

Grand total: $15.17; serves 2 + lunch leftovers :)