5 ideas for cooking with veg

5 ideas for Vegbox cooking

I have been getting the Green Connect veg box for almost three years and with two young kids and limited time, I’ve developed some “go to” recipes for when my creativity levels are getting low. They’re great because they can use just about anything that comes in the box – which means they taste slightly different each time. I mentioned this to Isabel the other day and she was keen for me to share these nuggets of wisdom.
As someone who loves food, I could happily go on for hours/pages about recipes and tweaks to apply to them, but I’ll try to condense it down. See below, my list of favourite “whatever is in the box” recipes.
I hope these help your household as much as they have helped mine! And don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to swap recipes and talk about great food sometime.

Best wishes,
Kylie
Green Connect General Manager

1. Stir fry
   Fry up some onions, garlic and/or ginger. Add any good stir fry veg (beans, peas, cauli, broccoli, kohlrabi, carrots, cabbage, etc). Add protein (e.g. egg, tofu, or cooked meat). Add sauce (e.g. honey and soy sauce; satay sauce – peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, coconut milk). Serve with rice or noodles. Garnish with herbs, crispy onions, crispy noodles, or sesame seeds
2. Shreddies (fritters) – the kids LOVE these!
   Grate or thinly slice almost any vegetables into a bowl (same as the stir fry above, but you could also thinly slice greens like spinach, silver beet or rocket). Add grated cheese (optional) and/or salt and pepper. Whisk in some eggs with a fork until the mixture has enough to stick it together (for four people I use about three eggs). Fry in butter or oil
3. Shepherd’s (or shepherdess’s) pie
   Put some potatoes on to boil while you…Fry onions and minced meat (optional). Add any vegetables chopped into small pieces (I like to make sure there’s some pumpkin or sweet potato in there to sweeten it up). Add canned or cooked lentils (optional). Add a can or two of diced tomatoes. Add seasonings to your taste (e.g. salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, stock powder). Spoon the vegetable mix into a baking dish; top with mashed potatoes (drain those potatoes you boiled at the beginning and mash or whisk with butter and milk); sprinkle some grated cheese over the top and put it under the grill until the cheese has browned.
4. Frittata, omelette or quiche
   Cook any vegetables and/or meat you want (it’s great to have some starchy ones like potato, sweet potato or pumpkin if you want frittata rather than omelette; try frying curly endive for a quick and surprisingly sweet and delicious omelette!). Whisk some eggs (I’d say 8-10 eggs for a big frypan) with some milk (optional) and pour over the top of the veg. Season. Mix in the pan until it is half-cooked, then…
   For frittata or omelette, sprinkle grated cheese over the top (optional) and put it under the grill. OR For quiche, pour it into a dish that has puff pastry you have already half-cooked in the oven then squashed flat again, top it with grated cheese (optional) and bake it for around 20 minutes.
5. Salads
   Grab all your favourite (and maybe some not-so-favourite) salad ingredients (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber… or go with something different like roasted pumpkin or other vegetables, or grated beetroot). Add some protein (Meredith’s goats cheese is a favourite of mine, but any type of cheese works; tofu; meat). Top with garnishes like olives, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts (OK any type of nuts), sunflower seeds, linseed, pumpkin seeds (yep, any type of seeds – except chia, which I find annoying in my teeth), crispy noodles. Maybe include a fruit like apple, pear or mango for something a bit different. Add sauce (homemade vinaigrette – mustard, olive oil, vinegar such as apple cider vinegar; my favourite Asian dressing – equal parts soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and oil; satay sauce – see in the stir fry sauces above; sour cream or yoghurt with coriander leaves, lime and feta). (Some favourite combos are blue cheese, walnuts and pear; mango, goats cheese and pumpkin seeds; tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and olives; Asian dressing and crispy noodles).

What’s that in my box: Doc is an edible weed that was popular during the Great depression of the 1930’s. It has a lemony tang and goes great in soups or sautés to add a zing to your dish. They are excellent in stir-fries, soups, stews, egg dishes, and even cream cheese.
For more information on how to store & cook any of our vegetables, visit: https://draxe.com/ and type in the veggie you’re looking for.