Weather, Virus and 3 Crazy Old White Men

Crazy weather, coronavirus, canceled everything, and 3 old white men who have trouble breathing want my vote - what a mess. There are lots of things to be grateful for - I have a job I love, good friends, a place to live and enough food, so I’ll go with that for now. 

Last weekend was our first real hint of Spring - although I’m not getting my hopes up - it’s only March and snow has been known to grace us here in MN in May. I’m planning to experiment with straw bale gardening this year - yes Anne Lapkin I am finally taking your advice - I know you’ll be proud. Not the whole garden but definitely part of it. 

My big challenge now is to find the right bales (not rye) and start the conditioning process so if anyone near me knows where I can get bales please send me a DM. Meanwhile, I’ve been busy deciding what to plant and what to experiment with. 

Last weekend I was looking for something fresh to go with the nice weather - I needed a change from the chili and hearty soups we’ve been cooking. I found a recipe for roasted broccoli and white beans on Shutterbean - Food Photography and Inspiration - their recipe is here. 

I had some zucchini, which I wanted to use up so I added it to the broccoli and beans - it was delicious. 

Roasted Broccoli, Zucchini and White Beans

Ingredients:

2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for pan

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large crown of broccoli cut into florets

1 large zucchini 

1 15 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained

a heavy pinch red pepper flakes

juice of 1 lemon, plus a few slices to roast

kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper

freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Drizzle a baking sheet lightly with olive oil, set aside.

Combine olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a bowl, mix to combine. Toss broccoli and zucchini in garlic oil mixture to coat, followed by white beans (be careful not to break up white beans with heavy handling). 

Place the veggie and bean mixture on the baking sheet, and tuck a few lemon slices in the mix. Season with salt & fresh cracked pepper and roast in the oven, tossing occasionally for about 15-20 minutes. When beans and broccoli begin to char, top with a heavy dose of Parmesan cheese, turn the oven to BROIL and cook for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to bubble.

Remove from oven, squeeze with lemon juice and serve. 

We served this with quinoa and baked acorn squash with a little vegan butter and brown sugar. It was delicious.