I am on a mini staycation for a couple of days this week — the boys have gone to their grandparents and I am truly soaking in every bit of silence in my house.
I did manage a batch of Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos, but I am otherwise not doing much cooking over this week and next, since our schedule is packed with end-of-summer parties and cramming in day trips before school starts again on September 7.
I’ll be updating Chick in the Kitchen with my farm share pickups this week and next, but otherwise I won’t be back here until September 5, when I post my back-to-school meal plan for the week. That post will include our Rosh Hashanah dinner plans, too — I’m excited to try some new recipes this year.
We were in and out this week, with a stop off to say hi to the chickens and goats.
This week’s share included 1 head of lettuce, 2 summer squash, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 3 large beets (greens went to the goats), 3 white onions (green tops also went to the goats — they love the onions!), a bunch of chard, and a mini red cabbage. No herbs this time, sadly.
First, I have to thank everyone who commented on my Week 1 post with suggestions on how to enjoy spring turnips. April, Carol, Allyson, Magpie, Amy, and Bard all weighed in with ideas! I was thrilled to get so many suggestions. Thank you.
This week I did my volunteer stint for the season, setting up the pick-up site and maintaining it for a couple of hours. Two local sites were combined into one large group this year, hosted by the Sustainability Committee at Pace University. Joan, another member, was also there to help out and she was good company (I’m glad she accidentally came early so we got to chat). We were responsible for organizing and labeling all those bins of veggies in the photo, and then moving empty bins out of the way and keeping the area neat as people pull their shares out of the containers.
We received 1 bunch of spring turnips, 1 pint of sugar snap peas, 1 bunch of rainbow chard, 1 yellow summer squash, 1 cucumber, 1 very heavy “mini” cabbage, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, a handful of broccoli rabe (leaves and stems), braising mix, salad mix, and a handful each of cilantro, parsley, basil, and arugula.
No garlic scapes! Boo! Last week I sauteed chopped scapes in olive oil, then added in chopped Russian kale and spinach (let the kale cook first, since it takes longer than the spinach). This is the easiest way to deal with greens in a tasty way. They’re so good for you but they are not my favorite. Still, tossed with pasta or potatoes, or as a side dish to a steak (the way we ate them last week) they are definitely palatable. I have also finely chopped braising greens and added them (raw) to ground beef or turkey to make meatballs. They don’t add much flavor but do bring a nutritional boost. I’m going to do that tomorrow.
I have a tiny pantry, but it has pull-out shelves that enable me to cram more than I should be able to in a very slender space. I was reorganizing my baking supplies the other day and found a 3.5-oz. bag of cooked, shelled chestnuts that I bought because they were on sale for 99 cents. Turns out, it was no bargain.
I decided to chop the chestnuts into a cookie, and I used these Back Bay Chestnut Cookies as inspiration. I’m sure the recipe didn’t expect my chestnuts to be a little mushy, and practically flavorless. I proceeded anyway, and used mini chocolate chips instead of the golden raisins.
The result was a cakey cookie, which on the day they were baked were OK with a cup of coffee, but not something I’d make again. The chestnut flavor was imperceptible (I believe this is due to the quality of my ingredients, not the recipe itself), but I did enjoy the combination of cinnamon and chocolate. The flavor actually reminded me of biscotti, though the texture was much softer than that. A. ate one but didn’t ask for more; G. had a bite and then told me he was full. Full of cookies! Impossible! I think he just couldn’t wrap his head around not liking a chocolate chip cookie.
By the second day, the chopped chestnuts had hardened, and were out of place in the soft surroundings. On the third day I threw the rest out. Next time, straight chocolate chip cookies — I promise.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I am on a mini staycation for a couple of days this week — the boys have gone to their grandparents and I am truly soaking in every bit of silence in my house.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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