Posts filed under 'CSA'
Last night, at around 10:30, I checked my blog to see what I’d planned for tonight’s dinner. It was then I realized I had completely missed my Wednesday CSA pick-up, which closes at 7. We were home doing nothing all afternoon, so it’s not that I was distracted; I just totally forgot to go. I was beating myself up over it last night, but today I’m letting it go.
This week I’ll use up the cabbage, beets, and carrots that are still huddled in my fridge. Plus I’m using four carnival squash for Thanksgiving. Next week is our final share of the 2008 season, and then I will sadly say goodbye to my weekly pick-up until June 2009.
November 20th, 2008
A Chick in the Kitchen reader, Heather, sent me this recipe for Winter Lentil Soup. She was right, it’s exactly the type of soup I like to make at this time of year, and as a bonus it used up the last of my kale.
The recipe combines canned tomatoes (I used diced, per Heather’s suggestion), sweet potatoes, leeks, kale, and lentils — plus fresh basil — for a slightly sweet, chunky soup that just needs some fresh bread to make it a meal. Although I liked the delicate flavor of the leeks, I think a little garlic would perk it up next time. And I would double the lentils, which take a backseat in this soup regardless of their prominence in its name.
The only thing I didn’t like about the recipe is that it really needed the 2 teaspoons of salt specified. Normally I leave the salt out altogether, but the soup tasted very flat without it, even with all that basil and thyme (I used a half teaspoon of dried instead of fresh).
J. and I both liked it; he deemed it “good” and “definitely edible” which is his version of an enthusiastic double thumbs-up. I’ve got a ton of it ready to go into my freezer, but I’m happy to share if anyone local would like a quart bag — just let me know.
November 16th, 2008
This is a post I started over the summer, when we were receiving lots of cilantro from our farm share.
J. and I both make guacamole similarly, which is unusual for us — we tend to each have our own way of doing things, and we also have our own areas of specialty (he wouldn’t bake; I don’t grill — could we fall into more stereotypical gender roles?).
Every time we receive a big bunch of cilantro from our CSA, I can’t help but think: guac! Of course, I’ve found plenty of other dishes to make with cilantro: Spicy Sauteed Chickpeas, Beef & Cilantro, Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad, Vegetable Jalfrezi, and Tandoori Tofu are just a few. Still, guacamole remains my favorite. This is how we make it.
Guacamole
3 Haas avocados, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 small onion, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
handful fresh cilantro, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 lime, juiced
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
kosher salt to taste
Lightly toss all ingredients in a bowl, leaving the guacamole as chunky as you like (we don’t break up the avocado much at all). Serve immediately, or bring to room temperature after refrigerating if you must make it ahead.
November 13th, 2008
My three-year-old may be absconding with the carrots, but I assure you he won’t eat any of them unless they’re pureed and baked into a muffin with lots of chocolate chips.
This week we received 2 of the largest beets I have ever seen in my life, a quart of potatoes, Toscano kale, a small cabbage, the carrots, parsnips (yum), and 2 carnival squash.
I have 4 carnival squash now (2 from a previous week), so I’m thinking I may just hold onto them and make something with them for Thanksgiving. I’ll definitely roast the parsnips. Otherwise, I’m undecided on how everything else will be used. I’ve got an extra week to finish it all up, as there is no pick up next week. And after that, just two weeks left in our 2008 share. I need to get my 2009 forms in before I forget!
November 6th, 2008
This was one of those dishes I never would have tried if it were not for my CSA, which pushes me outside my comfort zone while I try to use up the vegetables from my share. I had read a recipe for a Savory Carrot & Tarragon Tart in Eating Well magazine, and since I am a bit overrun with carrots right now it seemed a good choice for a light dinner.
I ditched the crust entirely and simplified the rest of the instructions: in a small saute pan, I cooked the onions in a drizzle of olive oil until softened, then added 2 cups of shredded carrots (2 enormous carrots) and cooked those down with the onions for 5 more minutes. I patted that mixture into a 9″ non-stick round pan, and then combined and poured the following over it:
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 tsp. whole grain mustard
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/2 c. non-fat ricotta
1/2 c. 1% milk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
salt & pepper
I baked it all in my toaster oven for about 35 minutes at 375° F.
All in all, it was an acceptable dinner. The onions and carrots made the dish surprisingly sweet (which made me wonder about the “savory” claim in the original recipe’s title) but pleasant. I should have used a smaller pan — the slices had little height and just weren’t that appealing on the plate because of it. In fact, the fritatta was so flat the boys mistook it for pizza, albeit “not the kind of pizza I like,” according to G. My dad had some leftovers for dinner tonight, and he liked it, too. In the future, though, I’ll stick to fritatta/quiche/baked egg dishes that use greens like broccoli or swiss chard to bulk them up rather than carrots.
November 6th, 2008
Lately, I have not been reading recipes all the way through before I’m ready to cook. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I bookmarked Mashed Potatoes With Kale — not only is it dairy (both milk and butter are added, so not a match to serve with chicken), but the instructions seem unnecessarily complex for a dish that’s so basic. What I took away from the recipe was that I wanted to combine the red potatoes and Toscano kale I had from my CSA, with scallions for a punch of flavor.
I microwaved four medium potatoes until tender and set them aside, and simmered the kale (once the ribs had been removed) in salted water for about 5 minutes. I ran the kale quickly under cold water just to cool it down, then squeezed out as much moisture as possible with my hands and threw it in my food processor. Using a chopping blade, I pulsed the kale a few times until it was finely minced. Then I mashed the skin-on potatoes with the kale, plus a small bunch of finely-chopped scallions, some olive oil, and salt and pepper. It was really delicious — really, how could mashed potatoes not be? J. liked it too, but the boys wouldn’t touch it. It was good as cold leftovers today, too.
The best news of the evening, though, was that both boys ate the roasted chicken! G. has been hit or miss eating “big chicken” — aka drumsticks — lately. He ate the better part of both drumsticks this time. A. normally will not eat chicken at all, but tonight when I put it on his plate he tried it and said he’d like more! Specifically, he asked for more “smooth chicken” — I’d pulled some medium-sized, skinless pieces of meat off the bone for him. It was incredibly satisfying to me to have them both eat and enjoy the main part of this dinner.
November 4th, 2008
I intended to follow ZestyCook’s recipe for sweet potato fries tonight, but I didn’t read it all the way through this morning, and didn’t leave myself enough time to soak the potatoes. Instead, I improvised.
When I think of sweet potato fries, I think of Luna Grill & Diner in Washington, DC (I lived nearby there more than a decade ago!). They serve their hot sweet potato fries with cool sour cream, and if that is not a divine combination I don’t know what is. I don’t recall anything particularly special about the preparation of the fries, just that they were a reason to head to Luna.
Tonight I cut up just one sweet potato from my CSA, and it yielded an entire toaster oven full of fries. This single spud was 9 inches long, and 9 inches in diameter at its widest point. Huge! It’s also a relatively pale potato as far as the sweets I usually see — a light orange rather than deep and golden.
I peeled the sweet potato and cut it into large wedges, then tossed the pieces with a drizzle of olive oil, some fine-grain sea salt, and a little cinnamon. They went into a toaster oven at 425° for 30 minutes, and I turned them twice while they cooked.
I thought they were tasty (and even had a slightly crunchy exterior), but the boys wouldn’t touch them. If I hadn’t needed to get dinner on the table, I might have baked them for another 5-10 minutes to really develop a crust on the outside. And next time, I’ll remember to buy some sour cream for dipping.
October 30th, 2008
I’m enjoying the colder-weather crops we’ve been receiving more than I expected. I can’t help but laugh a little at myself when I get excited over a particularly lush bunch of broccoli rabe, or think I’ve really scored because we got another bag of sweet potatoes.
This week we picked up a small head of broccoli, a large bunch of broccoli rabe, another large bunch of Toscano kale, a quart of white potatoes, a bag of sweet potatoes, a quart of beets (no greens), some braising greens, and a bag of carrots.
I really enjoyed the Vegetarian White Bean & Kale Soup I made with last week’s kale, but I had enough of it to freeze so I want to do something different this week. I’m leaning towards Mashed Potatoes with Kale.
I’m making a small batch of Sweet Potato Fries tonight, but the rest I’ll use in my Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos this weekend.
I’ll probably combine the braising greens with the broccoli rabe, and do a pasta and sausage dish with them. I’m looking at this Savory Carrot & Tarragon Tart to put a dent in my carrot stash. The beets will keep — I’ll hold on to them until I’m ready to roast them as a side dish.
Only three more weeks in this year’s share. According to Roxbury Farm’s blog, they’ve harvested a bumper crop of cauliflower, and I’m eagerly awaiting my portion!
October 30th, 2008
When I planned my menu for this week, I had no idea a huge, cold, rainy, windy storm was upon us. Wet leaves are whipping around my yard, I’m chilled to the bone. It is a perfect day for soup.
I noted in the title that this soup is vegetarian, because many of the recipes I found with kale included sausage. Take Mark Bittman’s Pasta With Black Kale, Shiitakes and Italian Sausage, for example. While I do cook with sausage every now and then, I was looking for something without meat for tonight — I was trying to avoid going to the butcher for another week!
This soup turns out rich and creamy thanks to the navy beans being blended into the soup. It has a fresh but hearty flavor, and if you’re not a huge greens fan this is a good way to eat them since their flavor is not overbearing. Substituting sweet potato or squash for the navy beans would also be a delicious variation.
I use Spike seasoning because I have it in the house, but any spice blend that you enjoy (Mrs. Dash, herbes de Provence, etc.) will work fine. I served Alexia Ciabatta rolls with the soup, which were delicious. Just pop them in the oven for 10 minutes straight from the freezer, and you have freshly-baked rolls ready for dinner.
Vegetarian White Bean & Kale Soup
Adapted from Bean Soup With Kale
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 tsp. crushed garlic (or 6 cloves, minced)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 c. fresh Toscano kale, rough-chopped (about 8 large leaves, stems removed)
4 c. vegetable broth
2 15-oz. cans navy beans, undrained
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tsp. Salt-Free Spike seasoning (or any general spice mix you like)
1/2 tsp. salt (adjust based on your spice mix)
ground black pepper (I used about 15 grinds)
Parmesan cheese (optional, to sprinkle on top)
Heat oil in a large soup pot, and cook onions, garlic, and carrots over a medium-low heat until they are caramelized (about 10 minutes). Add remaining ingredients, stir well, cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer the soup, covered, for 20 minutes. Using an immersion (stick) blender, blend soup until almost smooth. BE CAREFUL not to splash hot soup on yourself! Cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Adjust seasonings and serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
October 28th, 2008
A packet of organic Chicken Tikka Masala spices from Arora Creations caught my eye at my kosher butcher a few weeks ago. The price made me pause — $4.49 for spices that would wind up serving 6 — but I bought it anyway just to give it a try. I love Indian food, and J. hasn’t been into it lately so I was looking for a fix!
It was delicious, and worth every penny. (Yes, I could make the spice mix myself, but I wouldn’t. Plus buying all the spices I needed would be a much more expensive outlay.) The spice packet comes with a simple recipe on the back, so it’s easy to cook a restaurant-quality dish with minimal effort, even if you’re not familiar with Indian spices.
I served the tikka masala with brown basmati rice and side of roasted cauliflower that I’d sprinkled with garlic and curry powder.
Arora makes several other organic spice blends, including a bhindi masala mix that looks great and is one of J.’s favorite Indian dishes.
October 23rd, 2008
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I'm Dara, the chick in the kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two boys, ages 3 and 5, and husband. Trying to feed my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Reach me at .