Filed under: CSA
No kids accompanied me on this week’s pickup, and it was a little lonely! The weather has been very England-like the past few days — a fine mist of rain, too light for an umbrella but enough to get you wet. I like a little gloom every now and again, but for several days straight it gets a bit much. Thankfully, today is sunny and it should stay that way for almost a week.
We received a bag of beefsteak tomatoes, ping pong tomatoes, 3 plum tomatoes, 6 ears of corn, a handful of cilantro, 3 jalapeños, 3 Carmen peppers, 2 bell peppers, 2 small cucumbers, chard, a huge head of (filthy) lettuce, and a quart of small potatoes.
Lauren took the corn, bell peppers (I share Michael Ruhlman’s opinion of them) and some tomatoes off my hands — I still have the 6 ears from last week, and I knew that we’d never get through another half dozen. I know, I should freeze the kernels. But the truth is, my family is not that fond of corn — if we don’t eat it when it is awesome and fresh, no one’s going to be excited when I pull it out of the freezer in the middle of winter, either.
August 26, 2010
The list this week looks kind of small, but the yield was huge! Especially with the large amounts of corn and tomatoes, my bag is so heavy I’m glad I don’t have to walk far to my car.
We received a beefsteak tomatoes, Juliet tomatoes, 6 ears of corn, 3 Carmen peppers, 2 poblano peppers, 2 bell peppers (one of mine is red), swiss chard, green beans, beets, and a cucumber.
I’m going to make another Swiss Chard & Gruyere Quiche this week to bring to a brunch, but I did think Ranee’s recipe for Corn & Chard Stacked Enchiladas looked delicious (it uses leftover chicken, too, which I often have in the fridge).
August 19, 2010
I was inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s Grilled Eggplant and Olive Pizza to make this pizza; mine included grilled slices of CSA eggplant and onion, plus fresh parsley and provolone cheese. J. didn’t want olives, so I nixed those.
I slice the eggplant too thin and didn’t brush them with enough olive oil, so instead of getting smokey and creamy while they cooked on the grill, they became a little like eggplant chips. I figured the texture wouldn’t be terrible underneath provolone, so I carried on with the pizza-making. I buy refrigerated pizza at my local supermarket — they carry both white and whole wheat varieties (I used one of each this time). I follow the directions on the package, letting the dough come to room temperature and dusting my surface with flour before stretching it out. Even though I’m able to get the dough stretched out pretty thin, it never gets crisp like a crust should. Maybe I should be par-baking the crust before I add toppings? A different pan? (Usually I use a cookie sheet.) I wind up taking the pizzas out when the tops look done, but often the crust is undercooked a bit and still doughy.
J., who is getting better at figuring out ways to be both truthful and tactful about my cooking at the same time, took one bite and said “We probably need a pizza stone in order to get the crust crisp.” He ate salad instead. The plain mozzarella and tomato sauce pizza I made for the kids suffered the same consistency/undercooked issues, and even G. who is our most eager pizza-eater only made it through half a slice before making a beeline for a container of yogurt. I thought it was fine, but clearly I have lower pizza standards than the rest of my family. I ate a couple of slices of the eggplant pizza, and then peeled the toppings off the rest of the pie to round out my lunch.
Once the three of them had alternate food in front of them, there was a lull in our lunch conversation, and G. piped up out of nowhere: “There are all different kinds of happy.” Yes, there really are. We talked about some (excited, kind of sad/emotional like at a wedding, etc.), and then I volunteered this one: “I’m happy because even though this meal didn’t turn out as planned, I’m proud (happy) that I used the grill again and that I made a nice meal for my family.” Even if they didn’t eat it. That’s still a happy in my book.
August 16, 2010
I had a new helper with my farm share pick-up this week, my sweet neighbor who is just about to turn 4. My kids were at Camp Grandparents, but the two of us had a lot of fun feeding the animals anyway!
We received a quart of Golden Rave tomatoes, a pint of Juliet tomatoes, 6 ears of corn (the corn is so good this year!), 2 cucumbers, some basil, an eggplant, a cantaloupe, 2 green bell peppers, 2 red Carmen peppers, a huge head of lettuce, and green beans.
A huge bunch of swiss chard was also part of this week’s haul, but we fed it to the goats. And now that one weeks’ worth (out of many) has been sacrificed, I feel ready to tackle it again next time we receive a bunch.
August 13, 2010
It was hot. The boys weren’t listening. It was a get in, get out kind of a pick up.
We received a little bit of lettuce mix, 6 ears of corn, 1 cantaloupe (!), 2 cucumbers, 1 quart of beefsteak tomatoes, 1 pint of Juliet tomatoes, 3 small Carmen peppers (red), 3 jalapeños, 1 quart of red potatoes, 1 large bunch of swiss chard, and more green beans.
As soon as I saw those jalapeños, I started craving guacamole. Too bad there was no cilantro in the share this week!
August 4, 2010
It was a beautiful day, and we remembered to bring a little bread to feed the chickens. But much to the boys’ annoyance, there was nothing from our share that I was willing to sacrifice to the goats this week. They had to settle for grass.
We received a head of lettuce, 5 ears of corn, a bunch of swiss chard, green beans, a kabocha squash, 3 Mariachi peppers, 2 bell peppers, a pint of Golden Rave plum tomatoes, a small eggplant, 1 cucumber, 2 zucchini, and 1 yellow squash.
We’re taking the corn to a barbecue today, and I made the yellow squash, zucchini, and kabocha squash into a pasta salad. I roasted all those vegetables, plus an onion, with a little olive oil and salt, and then tossed them with cavatappi (a corkscrew-shaped noodle) and goat cheese. Seasoned again with a little more sea salt. We also made a salad yesterday with the lettuce, a bell pepper, tomatoes, and cucumber. With the Slow Cooker Ratatouille cooked earlier this week, we’ve pretty much finished the share already, except for the green beans.
August 1, 2010
This was a super-easy, quick slaw that was surprisingly delicious. I thinly sliced a small green cabbage, and tossed it with a chopped bunch of scallions and a couple of shaved (with a vegetable peeler) carrots. For the dressing, I combined a squirt of sriracha sauce with some honey, apple cider vinegar, and fresh lemon juice. (I just splashed them together in a bowl without measuring, and adjusted the quantities to taste.) You can season with salt and pepper, as well.
Toss the cabbage mixture with the dressing and let it sit at room temperature for a least 15 minutes, so the cabbage can soften slightly. The spicy sriracha is a good contrast to the cool, crisp cabbage. Definitely a nice change from the sesame oil-based slaws I have been making recently.
July 27, 2010
I’m sliding this one in right under the wire, as I’m about to pick up Week 8 tomorrow…
We received 2 green bell peppers, 2 onions, 3 cucumbers, 1 tiny eggplant, a bunch of fingerling carrots (I made that term up, but I like it!), 5 ears of corn, a small handful of basil, green beans, lettuce mix, 1 small yellow squash, and 2 small zucchini.
The peppers tasted watery to me, but not bitter. The corn was absolutely fantastic, as in previous years. I can’t help but eat some of it raw, sliced off the cobs. I wound up cooking the corn and basil up into Corn and Basil Cakes, which were good — the fresh corn is barely cooked and remains the highlight of the pancake, its sweetness nicely contrasted by the bite of ground pepper. I would make my Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad next time, though.
July 27, 2010
I love the easy parking and super-organized group running our new farm share pick-up site, but — perhaps because it’s huge now (80 members in one location, I think) and inside a college building rather than someone’s home — it feels more like shopping in the produce section of a store rather than being part of a local group participating in a CSA. The vegetables are still lovely, but I am missing the homey vibe of our previous location, and this feeling was highlighted when I ran into the lovely host of our old site this week. So is it about the organic vegetables, supporting local, sustainable agriculture, or feeling like I’m part of a like-minded group?
This week we received 3 cucumbers, 3 zucchini, a bunch of small carrots, 1 cabbage, a bunch of chard (or you could choose kale), cilantro, lettuce mix, 2 onions, 3 summer squash, and green beans.
I still have the chard from last week, but I have plans for both bunches — they’re going being sauteed with the onions, and then added to a quiche. I will probably freeze the quiche for another time, or give one away. We already ate the green beans tonight, tossed in a saute pan with a little olive oil, the juice and zest of two lemons, and a little salt. I may try to sneak zucchini muffins past the boys this week, too.
July 15, 2010
On Sunday night J. grilled so much summer squash, zucchini, and onions that he had to do it in two batches, completely covering the grill with vegetables each time. We ate some and I’ll use the rest during the week, either on sandwiches or in pasta.
We also cut our small red cabbage into wedges, drizzled it with olive oil, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Cooked right on the grates, the leaves got a nice char on them, and stayed firm, not mushy. I really loved the flavor of the cabbage cooked this way, but as J. put it, “It’s still cabbage.” Well, I like cabbage so this is a great additional way to prepare it. The spare, crisp flavor was a good contrast to the rich marinated steaks J. grilled alongside.
July 12, 2010
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I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 4 and 6, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 