This made enough soup to easily serve 4 as a meal

• 1 32 oz. container mushroom stock, or other vegetable stock
• 8 baby bella mushrooms
• 1 head bok choy
• 1/4 large head of cabbage
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tsp asian chili sauce
• 3 servings buckwheat noodles
• 1 package of tofu, cubed
• 4 hardboiled eggs

1. Saute the onion in the bottom of your soup pot, add the garlic after a couple of minutes and cook for another couple of minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and let brown.

3. Add the cabbage and bok choy, salt and pepper, a splash of soy sauce, and the chili sauce. Allow the greens to cook down over medium heat, about 8 minutes.

4. Add the stock and tofu and bring to a boil.

5. Add the noodles and cook another 5 minutes until the noodles are done.

6. Garnish with sliced hard boiled eggs.

If you have a favorite pesto recipe, you can basically substitute scapes for some or all of the basil.  If you need a starting place, the recipe below will get you started.  Note that it can be easily halved or quartered depending on how many scapes you have avaiable:

• ~1lb. fresh garlic scapes
• 1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop the garlic scapes into pieces about 1/2-inch long, then put into blender or food processor with the cheese, nuts, and about half the olive oil. (If you're using whole walnuts or almonds, you'll want to run them in the processor first to break them up.) Blend everything up until the well mixed and then slowly add in the rest of the olive oil, stopping when you reach a consistency you like.  For smaller batches of pesto, a blender may not be effective, but a heavy duty mortar and pestle would also do the trick.  Add salt and pepper at the end. Some folks substitute a little broth to reduce how much olive oil is in the pesto, and other will add in a little parsley, basil, or cilantro when first blending the mixture together.  Experimentation leads to new loves!

Pesto is good with almost anything, from fresh bread to pasta to salads to eggs.  If you put it in an airtight container, it will even keep for several days in the fridge and can be frozen for a couple of months!

• 1 to 2 bags baby (or a big bunch of fresh CSA) spinach
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced
• 1 bag slivered almonds
• shredded cheddar cheese, optional
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced onion, optional

Get a bag or two depending on how many people you need to feed of baby spinach
1 pint of strawberrys ( slice them up)
Get a bag of slivered almonds
Some fancy shredded cheddar cheese ( you can skip the cheese, I am from the midwest, we thrive on cheese)


For dressing, mix together: 
Vinegar, olive oil, sugar, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce, and paprika.

Right before you want to have the salad, toss the spinach in the dressing ( dress to taste) toss with cheese and almonds then top with strawberriies. Make sure you get some of the dressing on the strawberries.

OPTIONAL:  cheese. this salad is great and healthier without cheese, but this recipe often recommends it so...try shredded cheddar (midwesterners), a little crumbled blue, or my personal fave, some creamy goat cheese.  YUM!

Ingredients

• 2 TBsp of Olive Oil
• 2 Bunches of Braising Greens, washed, and roughly chopped (You may choose to chop the stem and add if you like
• 2-3 Cloves of fresh garlic, Spring garlic is available now, all the flavor of garlic, slightly milder
• 1/8 of a cup of broth or water, I use vegetable or chicken broth
• Enough course salt to taste. I use kosher salt, none of that iodized stuff...
• A few drops of sesame oil to bring out a nice flavor

Directions

This is so easy! Enjoy

1. Heat a medium sized saute pan over med-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute.
2. Add the greens a handful at a time, stirring for a minute or two while the leaves begin to wilt.
3. Add the stock or water, allow everything to steam together until the greens are tender
4. Season with salt to taste, and add a few drops of sesame oil

This will feed 4, half the recipe for 2.. This is great, serve with some nice BBQ Pork Tenderloin and some rice. Welcome to "Food Heaven!!!"

As the colder months approach now is the perfect time to whip up something yummy befitting of a Jedi Master. Here's a tasty interpretation of "Yoda's Incredible Herb Stew" -- originally prepared exclusively for National Public Radio by noted gourmet chef and author, Craig Claiborne.

This recipe goes waaay back to 1983, when NPR debuted a new 10-part radio drama based on The Empire Strikes Back. Craig Claiborne was invited to create his own tasty version of "rootleaf," a succulent dish featured in both the film and radio versions. If you remember, "rootleaf" was prepared for Luke Skywalker by Yoda, the ancient Jedi Master.

We believe you'll find the following recipe a perfect food idea for eight hungry young Jedi. Kids should have adult supervision and assistance when making this meal.

3 pounds lean lamb or other meat 
 Salt to taste, if desired
 Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons light vegetable or other oil
6 cups finely chopped parsley 
3 cups thinly sliced onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger root
1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded hot green or red chilies
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon 
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
3 pounds fresh spinach, well rinsed and tough stems removed.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut the meat into one inch cubes, and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Heat half the oil in a heavy skillet and add the meat, turning to brown the pieces on all sides.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven or heavy casserole and add parsley, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often until the onions are wilted. Add the meat, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger root, chilies, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir.

4. Add water to cover, bring to boil and cover tightly. Let simmer about 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the meat is quite tender.

5. Meanwhile, drop the spinach into a kettle of boiling water with salt to taste and let simmer about five minutes. Drain well and run under cold water. Drain thoroughly.

6. Squeeze the spinach to remove all excess liquid. Place the spinach on a chopping block and chop coarsely.

7. Add the spinach to the stew and stir. Let simmer together about five minutes.

Yield: Eight servings.

I’m a dill pickle addict. Once that seal has been popped on my jar of Claussen dills, I usually take care of that jar within 24 hours. Pickles aren’t cheap, however, so I went for a DIY remedy that tastes pretty darn good (and you won’t need any canning abilities to make these homemade pickles.)

Pickle-making isn’t sexy, and it won’t get you any special perks beyond the joys of eating your own pickles. But it’s cheap, quick, and gives you a sense of accomplishment that you won’t get from throwing an overpriced jar into your grocery cart. Here’s a recipe that that will take care of your pickle cravings with little money and even less time:

Grab your cukes. Pickle connoisseurs will try to tell you that you can’t use the overgrown ones to make pickles. You can, it just won’t be quite the same. If you don’t mind eating pickled seeds (I happen to love them), there is no reason you can’t use up some of those giant, longer-than-your-arm cucumbers in your pickling recipe. If you don’t like the mushy insides, you can always cut the cukes in half lengthwise and scrape out the seedy pulp with a spoon. No hard feelings. (Note: Be sure to wash the cukes and scrub them well or rinse them in a veggie wash – you will be leaving the skins on for flavor and texture.)

Cut them. This isn’t rocket science. You can slice them in any manner you choose. (I prefer short, stubby pickles for snacking, but you can slice them thin or in hamburger sized slices, as well.) If the cucumbers are small enough, you can leave them whole (but pickling time will be longer.)

Prepare your brine. Simply boil 3 cups water (bottled is preferred), 1/8 cup kosher or sea (not iodized) salt, and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Once it has come to a full boil, remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature (you don’t want to boil your cucumbers.)

Add your seasonings. While the liquid is boiling, you can begin packing the jar as full of sliced cucumbers as you can fit (with room at the top). Then add your seasonings, which includes 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (you can use less, if desired), ¼ tsp mustard seed, 1/2 tsp black pepper (whole peppercorns work well), and finely chopped garlic cloves (5 or more, depending on how strong you want them.) I also add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes and will occasionally throw in a small jalapeno pepper for extra kick!

Fill and seal. Now that your brine has cooled, pour it over the pickles until the jar is full.Screw on your lid (if you’re using a recycled spaghetti sauce jar) or your canning lid and ring (no need to pressure seal.) Now just stick these guys in the fridge for a minimum of 5 days for awesome pickle flavor! They’ll keep in the fridge for weeks (although they are usually gone within days.)

Any questions? (This recipe is an adaptation from several old recipes I found, and one really great one on Recipezaar. Feel free to throw in veggies and spices of your choosing, including onions, carrots, and peppers.)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 (5-ounce) pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, drained and thawed
• 6 cloves chopped garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups lima beans, cooked and drained
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 lemon, quartered

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the chicken breast with Dijon mustard on both sides. Sprinkle with garlic powder and dip into bread crumbs, creating a crust. Drizzle with the 4 tablespoons olive oil. Bake chicken for 15 minutes or until done, turning once halfway through. Meanwhile, heat the 2 teaspoons olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic and sauté until hot, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add lima beans, chicken broth and butter and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Place the spinach and broth mixture into a bowl and top with the chicken. Top with a squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately.