This week your basket contains: sweet peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beans, basil, zucchini, cucumber,  golden beets, onions, and carrots.

The recipe below calls for golden beets, but if you have red beets, it still works.  In some ways I prefer using red beets because I like the pink color they impart to the couscous!  We often skip making the ponzu  sauce and just use the bottles from the store.

PONZU GRILLED SALMON WITH GOLDEN BEET COUSCOUS

Couscous:

1  teaspoon  extra virgin olive oil

2  tablespoons  thinly sliced shallots (about 1 large)

8  ounces  golden beets, thinly sliced, peeled, and quartered (about 1 1/2 cups)

1  cup  uncooked Israeli couscous

2  cups  water

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1  cup  raw spinach leaves, trimmed

Sauce:

1/2  cup  fresh orange juice

2  tablespoons  brown sugar

3  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce

2  tablespoons  sake (rice wine)

1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice

1/2  teaspoon  cornstarch

1/8  teaspoon  crushed red pepper

Remaining ingredients:

4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets with skin (about 1 inch thick)

Cooking spray

Lime wedges (optional)

To prepare couscous, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and beets; sauté 5 minutes or until shallots are tender and just beginning to brown. Stir in couscous; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add water and salt; cover and simmer 8 minutes or until couscous is tender. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Toss gently until combined and spinach wilts. Keep warm.  To prepare sauce, combine orange juice and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper) in a small saucepan, stirring well with a whisk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 1 minute.  To prepare fish, brush cut sides of fillets with 1/4 cup sauce; place, skin sides up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill salmon, skin sides up, 2 minutes. Turn salmon fillets; brush with remaining 1/4 cup sauce. Grill 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or desired degree of doneness. Serve with couscous and lime wedges, if desired. Yields 4 servings.  Adapted from Kathryn Conrad, Cooking Light, JUNE 2005

This is another good beet recipe.

BAKED BEET SALAD

Bake a beet in the oven by wrapping in aluminum foil and baking at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  After baking, the beet will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.  When you want to make the salad, gently rub the skin off the beet and slice onto a bed of salad greens.  Top with crumbled blue cheese and roasted hazelnuts.  Dress with your favorite vinaigrette.

GREEN BEAN SALAD WITH PROSCIUTTO

1 Lb. green beans

4 Oz. prosciutto cut into thin strips

2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

3 Tbs. olive oil

½ medium onion chopped

1 Tbs. fresh basil

1/2 cup shavings of Parmesan cheese

Cook beans in a pot of salted water until tender; approx. 5 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Allow to dry.  In a large non-stick skillet add prosciutto and onion.  Cook over high heat until onions are translucent and prosciutto starts to crisp.  In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, kosher salt and white pepper.  Whisk in the oil.  Add the prosciutto mixture and the basil and mix well.  Add the beans and cheese shavings and toss gently.  Serve immediately.  Adapted from 1999 Food and Wine Recipes.

IF YOU WANT HOT PEPPERS (when they are ready) please email us as we only give them to people who ask for them.  If you were on the list last year we still have you on the list and you don’t need to email again.

EGG CARTONS:  If you have egg cartons (pulp or paper; no plastic please) you can leave them in your empty basket for us to collect and re-use. Please do not include containers larger than 1 dozen.