I’m not sure if there’s an official rule about seafood on Meatless Monday, but I’ve generally avoided it thus far. Since part of the purpose of Meatless Monday is to raise awareness of the environmental impact of our food choices, I figured I’d make an exception for a farewell to Gulf shrimp. This dinner was loosely inspired by Aimee’s coconut rice, in that I had the two ingredients on the mind. The snap peas came from the farmers market, and were just as crisp and sweet as they look. And the basil was the first harvest from my freshly-potted herb planter.

Recipe: Coconut Basil Shrimp Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 pound wild Gulf shrimp
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 2 cups snap peas
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 basil leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions: Toast coconut in cast iron skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. Warm olive oil in skillet and cook garlic until soft and translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until pink and cooked through. Add soy sauce, snap peas and coconut and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle basil over top. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

The FoodieTots family participates in Meatless Mondays, cutting out meat one day a week for our health and for the environment. (When we do eat meat, we choose local and grassfed whenever possible.) Visit the Meatless Monday pledge page to learn more, and sign up for weekly tips and recipes you can use to go meatless, too!

After getting through the first trimester of my pregnancy, where we relied on take-out dinners far more frequently than usual, I’ve been trying to get back into the habit of daily cooking and adopting some new strategies that’ll make it easier to get dinner on the table when dealing with two kids underfoot. My favorite trick: cooking a Sunday supper that can be re-purposed into different quick meals during the week. This has the added benefit of stretching the budget for local, pastured meats.

First up, Cuban roast pork. Pork shoulder is a less expensive, higher fat cut of meat that benefits from a long cooking time. Once prepped and placed in the oven, you can head out to the playground for a while and let it cook. I served the pork, sliced, with brown rice and black beans cooked with bacon and garlic. If you can’t find a blood orange, a regular one will do.

Recipe: Cuban Roast Pork

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4-pound pork shoulder (also called Boston butt)
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 blood orange, cut into eighths
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces salsa verde
• 1 bottle Mexican beer

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork generously with salt, pepper and a touch of smoked paprika and set aside. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear pork until browned, 4-5 minutes on each side. Spread onions around and under pork, and arrange orange slices around pan. Add bay leaves, salsa and the beer. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Remove lid and cook 1 hour more, until pork falls apart when prodded with a fork.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Cut out excess fat, and slice a portion for the first night. Serve with rice, black beans, fresh cilantro and additional orange slices.

Prep for Night 2: Shred remaining pork, using two forks, and removing excess fat. Refrigerate shredded pork. Check back Thursday for the second recipe: carnitas!

Our CSA farm, Potomac Vegetable Farms, takes great pride in their sweet onions. Onions’ flavor is heavily dependent on the soil they are grown in, so great onions require careful treating of the soil and are a good indicator of a farmer’s commitment to the land. Carrots from our farm are likewise sweet and flavorful, and carrot puree from our CSA share was one of my son’s favorite baby foods. He has a more fickle attitude towards raw carrots now, so I came up with this creamy risotto as a way to get some of that vitamin-A rich carrot into him. The husband was skeptical but surprised that it didn’t taste “too healthy.” People often think risotto is unhealthy but in fact a lot of the creaminess comes from the starch of the rice, and you can make perfectly rich risotto with just a little butter and cheese, no cream needed.

Rice is traditionally a heavily pesticide-treated crop, so in addition to the dirty dozen produce items, look for organic rice when you can. I love Lundberg’s organic California-grown rices for most other uses, but use an organic Italian carnaroli, from Cascina Belvedere, for risotto.

Recipe: Organic Carrot Risotto

Ingredients:

• 4 large organic carrots, peeled
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 1/2 cups organic carnaroli or arborio rice
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 cups water (including reserved carrot water)
• pinch of white pepper
• 1/4 cup parimigianno reggiano, grated
• minced parsley to garnish

Instructions: Cut carrots into 1/2-inch pieces and steam until just tender, approximately 10-12 minutes. Reserve the water, and puree cooked carrots with in food processor until smooth. Add spoonfuls of cooking water as needed to thin the puree; it should be about the same consistency as apple sauce.

Add water to reserved carrot water to make 2 cups. Combine with stock in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and leave to simmer while you begin the risotto. In a dutch oven or large saucepan, heat butter over medium low until melted. Cook shallots until soft and translucent (do not brown), about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot puree and cook 2 minutes. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute. Ladle in broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and letting cook until liquid is absorbed between each addition. Repeat until all the liquid is added and rice is thick and creamy, about 25 minutes. Stir in pepper, salt and cheese; stir and remove from heat. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Shared with Presto Pasta Nights, created and hosted this week by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.