This has been the week of chicken soup. Sometimes, a small gesture goes a long, long ways. A friend, not even a very close friend, dropped by last night because she was "in the area," to pick up a few books I'd promised to lend her (Atonement by Ian McEwan and If This be Treason by Gregory Rabassa, if anyone was curious). She came by as I was in the middle of sorting out my vegetables, with a warm smile and two bowls of chicken matzo ball soup for me and my sick roommate (who she is also friends with). Plus several lovely, thick slices of challah bread. What an angel.
She lives all the way on the UWS and is incredibly busy with her studies, but somehow she managed to make the time to stop by Kips Bay and drop off chicken soup. By the way, "in the area" was actually Penn Station, which is not even remotely in the area at all. Anyways, I really appreciated it and I hope someday that I can return the favor or pay it forward.
After she left, I went back to the task of de-stemming my giant pile of kale. See, I've been getting sick and tired of sauteed greens, and I was far too time-pressed to make kale chips, so I googled kale and what did I find? Recipes for massaged kale salad. Repulsed at first, I was slowly won over by the descriptions of the kale salad that kept popping up. "Silky," "tender," "luxurious," were all used to describe the compliant kale leaves post-massage. I had a lemon slowly drying away into oblivion in the fridge and of course, I had olive oil on hand. So I figured why not, rolled up my sleeves, and set out to make massaged kale salad. It's quite good! I had a small bite and then left the rest to marinate for a few days in the fridge while I do some damage to the more perishable items. The leftover kale ribs were not discarded either. I tossed them in a baggie and added them to my growing "leftover ends for chicken soup" pile in the freezer. I really must make soup this weekend. Anyways, I'll make a post on the kale salad later. I have a lot of posts to write this winter, it seems.
On to this week's CSA share. Lots of repeat vegetables and a few new ones.
CSA Share #18
- 2 sweet dumpling winter squash
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch arugula
- 6 ½ ounces salad mix
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bunch Swiss chard
- 2 eggplants
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 3 red bell peppers
Full disclosure: I swapped out the salad for a head of garlic. I just couldn't handle the thought of more salad...
CWTC: Winter dumpling squash! They really are just so adorable. It's perfect that we got these in our share this week, because I've been eyeing all the little displays of decorative mini squash and pumpkins that the corner delis have set out. They're perfect for decoration and they'll keep for a long while. Multi-functional vegetables that last a long time are definitely my favorite.
TAV: Kale. See above for my little ramble on massaged kale salad.
WTF: Cilantro. T______T No matter. I've been on a roll with preserving fresh herbs lately. I set out to dry the cilantro, remembered that dried cilantro tastes like dried paper flakes, and opted to chop and freeze the cilantro instead. I divided the bunch in two, washed each half-bunch, and chopped them finely and coarsely, respectively. Into ziploc baggies they went, along with a little bit of water (to avoid freezer-burn). I laid them flat in the freezer until they were solid and then stored them away next to the flat-packs of frozen chicken soup.
Side note on the fruit share: Once again, I die. This week's fruit share from Maynard Farms included a bowl of beautiful little Seckel pears and a bowl of large, bright, juicy Golden Delicious. Looks like Maynard Farms was spared the weather problems that have decimated most of the Northeast region's apple crop (yields are down 50%!) This is just not a good year for corn or apples, is it? Apparently raspberries have been hit hard as well, but not by weather problems. Spotted wing Drosophila have decided that the raspberry fields make excellent feeding grounds for their larva and have been quite actively laying their eggs in the berries. Gross. I had to look at Drosophila flies, breed them, mutate them, draw them, examine them, and write papers on them for my entire freshman year of college. These days, I prefer they stay unseen, especially in my food.
In any case, I am still dreaming about that heavenly Macoun I had a few weeks back and I really do wish I had signed up for the fruit share this year. Perhaps next year.
Side note on using up CSA shares: I've noticed that as the summer (and fall) have crept by, I've become more adept at what I've come to think of as vegetable triage. I take stock of this week's share and the leftovers still in the fridge, and quickly assess the survival time of each item. Things that can be frozen or dried are taken care of right away (e.g. garlic, herbs, green onions, soup stock vegetables).
Cut lettuce oxidizes very rapidly, so I store it as a whole head and use it up leaf by leaf, rather than slicing it all up at once. Loose, cut leaves go bad first, so I try to eat those or cook those first (e.g. bok choy, salad mix, arugula, beet/radish/turnip greens).
Long-term storage vegetables, which include essentially all the root vegetables, are separated from their bushy green tops and stored away until the more perishable items are used up first (e.g. potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, turnips). Even if I really want to eat them, I try to hold off until the more perishable items are used up. I actually haven't seen much of these in recent weeks - I assume Free Bird Farm is trying to keep those in the ground as long as possible as insurance against an unexpected frost that might decimate a planned CSA share. Plus, this gives them extra time to grow. At least, I hope that's the case! I'm really looking forward to at least one more haul of onions and garlic. I'm hoping for potatoes too, but I might be asking for too much. I do think there's a crop of peas headed our way too, but that of course, depends on the weather and the bugs. This week's forecast looks chilly but I don't see any real danger of a sudden frost (knock on wood). Then again, there's still four more weeks to go!
Showing posts with label bell pepper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bell pepper. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
CSA Share #17
Let us have more lettuce. Sigh.
Oh well. I'm tackling the last of the red oak leaf lettuce from CSA Share 15. Dinner tonight? A colorful salad of crisp lettuce and raw beetroot chips topped with oven-roasted chicken. The sweet crunch of the beets contrasts nicely with the chicken. Both the beets and the chicken are low profile with a delicate flavor. The oak lettuce is light and crisp and manages to provide an unobtrusive background that allows the flavor of the beets and the chicken to shine through. Extremely simple (and perhaps plain, by some standards), but delicious. I always tend to like simpler fare anyways. Yum.
Notice that I said "crisp" and "CSA Share 15." That is not a mistake. I kept the lettuce head in the crisper and used one leaf at a time in an effort to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Last night, I took inventory of my fridge and realized the eggplant and yellow bell pepper from CSA share 16 were a bit wrinkly and the lettuce was starting to wilt in spite of my heroic preservation efforts. To revive the lettuce, I washed the lettuce and let it sit in a tupperware container overnight with a bit of extra water clinging to the leaves. Voila, re-crisped lettuce.
I did have to throw out a leaf or two though - they were so far gone that extra moisture might have led to rot, not rejuvenation. I also didn't wash the lettuce well enough...I can taste gritty sand specks here and there >.<
Oh well.
I sliced up the yellow bell pepper for a snack and sauteed the eggplant with some gorgeous opal basil, which was, incidentally, the same deep rich aubergine shade as the eggplant. I wasn't sure if it would keep its color during cooking, but it did! I also wilted the arugula with some garlic, as it was starting to yellow a little bit.
Having taken care of the veggies-in-danger, I cleaned up the 17th share and stored it away in my fridge for later use. Resplendent with rich fall-themed colors, this was a beautiful share worth admiring.
CSA Share 17
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 bunch carrots
- 2 bunches curly leaf parsley
- 1 bunch opal basil
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1 head red Romaine lettuce
- 2 red bell peppers
CWTC: This might come as a surprise, but...carrots! More specifically, carrot tops! See the below post for a full explanation. I washed up the carrot tops along with the celery leaves from last week and tossed it all in a ziploc bag to freeze for later. I have a whole chicken from dinner that I'm working my way through, so I should have a nice bag of chicken bones for stock by the end of the week. I'm hoping that freezing the carrot and celery tops for a few days won't damage them too much. These will have to replace the onions that I usually throw in my soup pot, as I've run out of onions. :(
TAV: Red romaine lettuce. Lettuce is lettuce and this is the same as any other...but the color! It's so beautiful,with a dark green heart gradually shading out to deep shades of red masquerading as purple along the edges. I might cook this. I'm so tired of salads.
TAV alternate: Color isn't really adventurous. I just wanted to wax poetic about my lettuce. My vegetable adventure for the week will be another foray into herb-drying. Normally I would look at my parsley, think very hard about how to eat it, and despair. I am not very partial to the strong taste of fresh parsley. I recall feeding some to my pet rabbit years ago, but sadly, I do not have a pet rabbit anymore. I do like sprinkling dried parsley on my pasta and potatoes for a little color though.
Emboldened by my success in air drying my leftover sprigs of dill, I decided to dry my two large bunches of parsley as well. Why not? But I wanted to avoid perfuming the apartment with the smell of drying parsley, so I decided to expedite the process a bit. I washed and dried the parsley and popped them in my warmed oven on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet. I realized I needed to de-stem them halfway through, in order to fully dessicate the parsley but keep the leaves from burning. After I popped them back into the oven, I forgot about them and went to bed. I did turn off the oven before I put the parsley in, so I'm hoping when I get home tonight, that the parsley will have dried nicely instead of burning to a crisp. I hope. We'll see. This is an adventure, right? One cannot expect perfection when being adventurous.
WTF: I have plans. I am prepared. I can tackle what would ordinarily be a WTF contender (carrot tops, parsley). The carrot tops will be turned into a soup stock ingredient and the parsley is being crisped and dried. So...the WTF vegetable of the week will actually be the more mundane bell pepper. Mostly because this week's bell peppers came in a wider variety of sizes than I have ever seen before. I literally picked out one bell pepper the size of my head and another that was smaller than my fist. You could totally make Russian dolls out of these bell peppers. Or a rather plain, red Faberge egg.
Oh well. I'm tackling the last of the red oak leaf lettuce from CSA Share 15. Dinner tonight? A colorful salad of crisp lettuce and raw beetroot chips topped with oven-roasted chicken. The sweet crunch of the beets contrasts nicely with the chicken. Both the beets and the chicken are low profile with a delicate flavor. The oak lettuce is light and crisp and manages to provide an unobtrusive background that allows the flavor of the beets and the chicken to shine through. Extremely simple (and perhaps plain, by some standards), but delicious. I always tend to like simpler fare anyways. Yum.
Notice that I said "crisp" and "CSA Share 15." That is not a mistake. I kept the lettuce head in the crisper and used one leaf at a time in an effort to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Last night, I took inventory of my fridge and realized the eggplant and yellow bell pepper from CSA share 16 were a bit wrinkly and the lettuce was starting to wilt in spite of my heroic preservation efforts. To revive the lettuce, I washed the lettuce and let it sit in a tupperware container overnight with a bit of extra water clinging to the leaves. Voila, re-crisped lettuce.
I did have to throw out a leaf or two though - they were so far gone that extra moisture might have led to rot, not rejuvenation. I also didn't wash the lettuce well enough...I can taste gritty sand specks here and there >.<
Oh well.
I sliced up the yellow bell pepper for a snack and sauteed the eggplant with some gorgeous opal basil, which was, incidentally, the same deep rich aubergine shade as the eggplant. I wasn't sure if it would keep its color during cooking, but it did! I also wilted the arugula with some garlic, as it was starting to yellow a little bit.
Having taken care of the veggies-in-danger, I cleaned up the 17th share and stored it away in my fridge for later use. Resplendent with rich fall-themed colors, this was a beautiful share worth admiring.
CSA Share 17
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 bunch carrots
- 2 bunches curly leaf parsley
- 1 bunch opal basil
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1 head red Romaine lettuce
- 2 red bell peppers
CWTC: This might come as a surprise, but...carrots! More specifically, carrot tops! See the below post for a full explanation. I washed up the carrot tops along with the celery leaves from last week and tossed it all in a ziploc bag to freeze for later. I have a whole chicken from dinner that I'm working my way through, so I should have a nice bag of chicken bones for stock by the end of the week. I'm hoping that freezing the carrot and celery tops for a few days won't damage them too much. These will have to replace the onions that I usually throw in my soup pot, as I've run out of onions. :(
TAV: Red romaine lettuce. Lettuce is lettuce and this is the same as any other...but the color! It's so beautiful,with a dark green heart gradually shading out to deep shades of red masquerading as purple along the edges. I might cook this. I'm so tired of salads.
TAV alternate: Color isn't really adventurous. I just wanted to wax poetic about my lettuce. My vegetable adventure for the week will be another foray into herb-drying. Normally I would look at my parsley, think very hard about how to eat it, and despair. I am not very partial to the strong taste of fresh parsley. I recall feeding some to my pet rabbit years ago, but sadly, I do not have a pet rabbit anymore. I do like sprinkling dried parsley on my pasta and potatoes for a little color though.
Emboldened by my success in air drying my leftover sprigs of dill, I decided to dry my two large bunches of parsley as well. Why not? But I wanted to avoid perfuming the apartment with the smell of drying parsley, so I decided to expedite the process a bit. I washed and dried the parsley and popped them in my warmed oven on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet. I realized I needed to de-stem them halfway through, in order to fully dessicate the parsley but keep the leaves from burning. After I popped them back into the oven, I forgot about them and went to bed. I did turn off the oven before I put the parsley in, so I'm hoping when I get home tonight, that the parsley will have dried nicely instead of burning to a crisp. I hope. We'll see. This is an adventure, right? One cannot expect perfection when being adventurous.
WTF: I have plans. I am prepared. I can tackle what would ordinarily be a WTF contender (carrot tops, parsley). The carrot tops will be turned into a soup stock ingredient and the parsley is being crisped and dried. So...the WTF vegetable of the week will actually be the more mundane bell pepper. Mostly because this week's bell peppers came in a wider variety of sizes than I have ever seen before. I literally picked out one bell pepper the size of my head and another that was smaller than my fist. You could totally make Russian dolls out of these bell peppers. Or a rather plain, red Faberge egg.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
CSA Share #16
I can't keep up! But this week's haul looks particularly promising :) I'm very excited to pick it up later today!
CSA Share 16
- 1 eggplant
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 bunch assorted braising greens
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch purple carrots
- 3/4 lb yellow wax beans
- 1 bunch young celery stalks
CWTC: purple carrots! Actually, it's a tie between the purple carrots and the yellow wax beans. I have a thing for odd-colored vegetables and fruits. I don't know. Nom nom. Did you know carrots were originally purple until the Dutch bred all the purple right out of them? Yeah, me either. Someone should invent a produce trivia section on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire,
TAV: Yellow wax beans. I'm going to try very lightly sauteeing them with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of garlic, and a dash of chili pepper flakes. That plus some nice braised greens sounds like a perfect fall weather dish to me!
WTF: Celery tops. What? Apparently, the farm's field team mistook the celery tops for parsley, and harvested them a bit early. Oops.
Oh well! I'm glad they're distributing them, instead of throwing them away. They'll make a wonderful addition to a hearty fall vegetable soup. I've been squirreling away bags of chicken stock for an occasion like this!
I think, with all the work and travel and life happenings that have been going on, that it makes more sense for me to accumulate a pile of post-season topics that I'll return to later. I'll continue to update with the weekly CSA share and interesting tidbits, but I'll save the meatier posts and the recipes for when things settle down a bit. That way, I'll have something to occupy myself with, even during the winter months when there's no fresh produce coming in.
I've been keeping a pretty decent photo log of my CSA adventures on facebook, so hopefully that will help. And I'll try to go back and retroactively post all my lovely pictures in this blog during the post-growing season as well. In the meantime...I will fight off this nasty little stomach bug and the aftereffects of my flu vaccine! Rawr!
It seems frosty weather has begun to nip at our heels. Free Bird Farm reported the first Jack Frost visitations and have wrapped up the summer vegetable patch. No more eggplant, tomatoes, or bell peppers for us. That's okay with me, I think I've eaten more eggplant and bell peppers than I ever thought I could in the past few months. I hope we get potatoes and more garlic!
I've noticed another upside of seasonal eating. Vegetables ripen just when they start to look appealing and appetizing. For example, I wouldn't want a lot of potatoes and heavy collard greens or escarole, winter squash, and chili peppers in the dead middle of a hot and humid summer. Shudder. I'd have to turn my oven on. >.<
Neither would I want light salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers when chilly fall evenings start to creep into the Northeast. I want something more substantial, with more depth and smoke and body. But boy, does a refreshing salad sound delicious in the summer! And on a crisp, cool autumn evening, a hearty dish of roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed beans, and sturdy bitter greens cooked with garlic and a bit of fried pork sounds like absolute heaven. Preferably eaten while wrapped up in a warm, cozy sweater or a fleece blanket. See what I mean? Yum yum.
Side note: I WANT A FRUIT SHARE T___T. This week, Maynard Farms is distributing Chardonnay grapes and the last of the summer watermelon. I die.
Apparently, these are very sweet grapes with 24% sugar content, that can be eaten right out of hand. To reiterate, T___________T.
Next year...I am going to sign up for chickens, eggs, and fruit. I can eat the light veggies and eggs during the summer and cook/freeze up the leftovers in soup for winter. The chickens come pre-frozen, so I can just store them away in the freezer until the winter, and then I can make all sorts of lovely dishes. A whole roast chicken on a cold, snowy December night sounds brilliant. I'll have to think about this a little more and check the past few growing seasons to see if this is feasible, but if I'm careful, I may be able to stretch out a full CSA share over a good portion of the year. Hmm...
CSA Share 16
- 1 eggplant
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 bunch assorted braising greens
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch purple carrots
- 3/4 lb yellow wax beans
- 1 bunch young celery stalks
CWTC: purple carrots! Actually, it's a tie between the purple carrots and the yellow wax beans. I have a thing for odd-colored vegetables and fruits. I don't know. Nom nom. Did you know carrots were originally purple until the Dutch bred all the purple right out of them? Yeah, me either. Someone should invent a produce trivia section on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire,
TAV: Yellow wax beans. I'm going to try very lightly sauteeing them with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of garlic, and a dash of chili pepper flakes. That plus some nice braised greens sounds like a perfect fall weather dish to me!
WTF: Celery tops. What? Apparently, the farm's field team mistook the celery tops for parsley, and harvested them a bit early. Oops.
Oh well! I'm glad they're distributing them, instead of throwing them away. They'll make a wonderful addition to a hearty fall vegetable soup. I've been squirreling away bags of chicken stock for an occasion like this!
I think, with all the work and travel and life happenings that have been going on, that it makes more sense for me to accumulate a pile of post-season topics that I'll return to later. I'll continue to update with the weekly CSA share and interesting tidbits, but I'll save the meatier posts and the recipes for when things settle down a bit. That way, I'll have something to occupy myself with, even during the winter months when there's no fresh produce coming in.
I've been keeping a pretty decent photo log of my CSA adventures on facebook, so hopefully that will help. And I'll try to go back and retroactively post all my lovely pictures in this blog during the post-growing season as well. In the meantime...I will fight off this nasty little stomach bug and the aftereffects of my flu vaccine! Rawr!
It seems frosty weather has begun to nip at our heels. Free Bird Farm reported the first Jack Frost visitations and have wrapped up the summer vegetable patch. No more eggplant, tomatoes, or bell peppers for us. That's okay with me, I think I've eaten more eggplant and bell peppers than I ever thought I could in the past few months. I hope we get potatoes and more garlic!
I've noticed another upside of seasonal eating. Vegetables ripen just when they start to look appealing and appetizing. For example, I wouldn't want a lot of potatoes and heavy collard greens or escarole, winter squash, and chili peppers in the dead middle of a hot and humid summer. Shudder. I'd have to turn my oven on. >.<
Neither would I want light salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers when chilly fall evenings start to creep into the Northeast. I want something more substantial, with more depth and smoke and body. But boy, does a refreshing salad sound delicious in the summer! And on a crisp, cool autumn evening, a hearty dish of roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed beans, and sturdy bitter greens cooked with garlic and a bit of fried pork sounds like absolute heaven. Preferably eaten while wrapped up in a warm, cozy sweater or a fleece blanket. See what I mean? Yum yum.
Side note: I WANT A FRUIT SHARE T___T. This week, Maynard Farms is distributing Chardonnay grapes and the last of the summer watermelon. I die.
Apparently, these are very sweet grapes with 24% sugar content, that can be eaten right out of hand. To reiterate, T___________T.
Next year...I am going to sign up for chickens, eggs, and fruit. I can eat the light veggies and eggs during the summer and cook/freeze up the leftovers in soup for winter. The chickens come pre-frozen, so I can just store them away in the freezer until the winter, and then I can make all sorts of lovely dishes. A whole roast chicken on a cold, snowy December night sounds brilliant. I'll have to think about this a little more and check the past few growing seasons to see if this is feasible, but if I'm careful, I may be able to stretch out a full CSA share over a good portion of the year. Hmm...
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
CSA Share #15
I just had the best damn apple of my life. Excuse my language. Now I know I haven't been around that long (relatively speaking), but I have eaten more than my fair share of apples in my lifetime. I love apples. Every time I see a new variety, I have to try it. I am very picky about the freshness of my apples, but otherwise, I'm open to trying anything and everything.
This week's fruit share included Macoun apples and as a reward for volunteering at this week's distribution, the coordinator let me poach an apple from the leftover pile. I didn't expect much of it, which made my first delicious bite all the more surprising... Anyways, I'll make a separate post dedicated to the Macoun Apple Experience - yes, it really deserves its own separate post.
In the meantime, this week's share and my sneaky plotting ways to use it up without eating salad all week:
CSA Share 15:
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 bunch mixed "braising" greens (kale, tatsoi, green and red mustard, hon tsai tsai)
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 jalapenos
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
CWTC: jalapenos! I've been craving something spicy lately.
TAV: Mixed braising greens. These look incredibly beautiful, with a variety of green and purple stems and gorgeous veining patterns on some of the leaves and bright, tender green leaves poking through. They intrigue me. I have never heard of tatsoi or hon tsai tsai and I have never cooked fresh mustard leaves before. I didn't even know there was a red variety. I love that Free Bird Farm incorporates Asian-style veggies into our shares (e.g. Thai basil, bok choy, hobak). Yay!
WTF: Dill. :( These herbs are killing me. What am I going to do with this much dill?! I still have my cilantro too. FML.
Brainstorm area:
This is me thinking out loud. Welcome to my brain. HA.
I have two lemons in the fridge and some cilantro. The rest of my share has (thankfully, finally) been consumed, with the last sad remnants of the lettuce from last week straggling into my lunch and dinner salads today. No more salads please...
I suppose the lettuce is best in a salad, since I don't have time to grill or cook them this week. I can throw some radishes, cucumbers, and tomatoes together and make a decent lunch and dinner for myself. That leaves the braising greens, bell peppers, jalapenos, green onions, and dill. And radish greens.
The braising greens can become dinner for later in the week. The radish greens can wait in the fridge until next week. The green onions and dill can be mixed into some cream cheese for a nice savory spread.
I can also mix the dill with lemon juice and Greek yogurt for a tasty yogurt dip that I can pile into pita loaves. !!! I am brilliant. I can stuff the pita loaves with yogurt dip, shredded lettuce, cucumber and tomato for a yummy Mediterranean style vegetarian sandwich. I am so genius. That's how I'll use up my leftover veg next week.
The leftover green onions and dill can be tossed into chicken soup for lunch next week. (I still have several Ziploc bags of frozen chicken soup in the freezer, so this is really perfect).
Too bad I don't have potatoes. Then I wouldn't be stuck wondering what to do with all my dill. Ah well, maybe next time.
This week's fruit share included Macoun apples and as a reward for volunteering at this week's distribution, the coordinator let me poach an apple from the leftover pile. I didn't expect much of it, which made my first delicious bite all the more surprising... Anyways, I'll make a separate post dedicated to the Macoun Apple Experience - yes, it really deserves its own separate post.
In the meantime, this week's share and my sneaky plotting ways to use it up without eating salad all week:
CSA Share 15:
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 bunch mixed "braising" greens (kale, tatsoi, green and red mustard, hon tsai tsai)
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 jalapenos
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
CWTC: jalapenos! I've been craving something spicy lately.
TAV: Mixed braising greens. These look incredibly beautiful, with a variety of green and purple stems and gorgeous veining patterns on some of the leaves and bright, tender green leaves poking through. They intrigue me. I have never heard of tatsoi or hon tsai tsai and I have never cooked fresh mustard leaves before. I didn't even know there was a red variety. I love that Free Bird Farm incorporates Asian-style veggies into our shares (e.g. Thai basil, bok choy, hobak). Yay!
WTF: Dill. :( These herbs are killing me. What am I going to do with this much dill?! I still have my cilantro too. FML.
Brainstorm area:
This is me thinking out loud. Welcome to my brain. HA.
I have two lemons in the fridge and some cilantro. The rest of my share has (thankfully, finally) been consumed, with the last sad remnants of the lettuce from last week straggling into my lunch and dinner salads today. No more salads please...
I suppose the lettuce is best in a salad, since I don't have time to grill or cook them this week. I can throw some radishes, cucumbers, and tomatoes together and make a decent lunch and dinner for myself. That leaves the braising greens, bell peppers, jalapenos, green onions, and dill. And radish greens.
The braising greens can become dinner for later in the week. The radish greens can wait in the fridge until next week. The green onions and dill can be mixed into some cream cheese for a nice savory spread.
I can also mix the dill with lemon juice and Greek yogurt for a tasty yogurt dip that I can pile into pita loaves. !!! I am brilliant. I can stuff the pita loaves with yogurt dip, shredded lettuce, cucumber and tomato for a yummy Mediterranean style vegetarian sandwich. I am so genius. That's how I'll use up my leftover veg next week.
The leftover green onions and dill can be tossed into chicken soup for lunch next week. (I still have several Ziploc bags of frozen chicken soup in the freezer, so this is really perfect).
Too bad I don't have potatoes. Then I wouldn't be stuck wondering what to do with all my dill. Ah well, maybe next time.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
CSA Share #13 and Radish Greens
Slow on the updates in spite of a long weekend... I have a few posts in reserve and will update accordingly when I get the chance.
In the meantime, this week's share:
- 2 red bell peppers
- giant lovely mess (10oz) of arugula (or rocket, as it's known in the UK)
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch Italian basil
- 3/4lb green beans
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1/2lb soybeans!
- 2 large tomatoes
CWTC: soybeans! I don't think I've ever had fresh soybeans before. Only frozen. This should be interesting, and fun.
TAV: Radish greens. Typically something that gets thrown out, but I was determined to make them edible in my quest to reduce food waste.
WTF: Arugula. I love it. But what do I do with this much of it? Maybe I can saute a plate of arugula and top it with a fried egg?
Radish Greens
Wasn't sure what to do with these, as they didn't look very appealing, especially with bug holes eaten through nearly all of them. After washing them very well and chopping them into small pieces, they looked considerably more appetizing.
I chopped up and froze the green portions of the scallions for later use, but I reserved the bulbs for my radish greens. The scallion bulbs were about as big across as a quarter, so they probably were more like onions than scallions at that point.
I sliced two cloves of garlic, the reserved onion bulbs, stray basil leaves, and sauteed them in a pan over medium heat. I added the chopped radish greens fairly quickly. I used a dash of fish sauce, rice vinegar, and a drizzle of sesame oil to finish off the dish, which actually turned out quite nicely. I think it was the seasoning that did it. Sesame oil is a nice counterpoint to root vegetable greens, with the nutty flavor balancing the bitterness of the greens. It's similar to using bacon when cooking turnip greens, but more subtle.
Pretty pleased with myself :)
In the meantime, this week's share:
- 2 red bell peppers
- giant lovely mess (10oz) of arugula (or rocket, as it's known in the UK)
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch Italian basil
- 3/4lb green beans
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1/2lb soybeans!
- 2 large tomatoes
CWTC: soybeans! I don't think I've ever had fresh soybeans before. Only frozen. This should be interesting, and fun.
TAV: Radish greens. Typically something that gets thrown out, but I was determined to make them edible in my quest to reduce food waste.
WTF: Arugula. I love it. But what do I do with this much of it? Maybe I can saute a plate of arugula and top it with a fried egg?
Radish Greens
Wasn't sure what to do with these, as they didn't look very appealing, especially with bug holes eaten through nearly all of them. After washing them very well and chopping them into small pieces, they looked considerably more appetizing.
I chopped up and froze the green portions of the scallions for later use, but I reserved the bulbs for my radish greens. The scallion bulbs were about as big across as a quarter, so they probably were more like onions than scallions at that point.
I sliced two cloves of garlic, the reserved onion bulbs, stray basil leaves, and sauteed them in a pan over medium heat. I added the chopped radish greens fairly quickly. I used a dash of fish sauce, rice vinegar, and a drizzle of sesame oil to finish off the dish, which actually turned out quite nicely. I think it was the seasoning that did it. Sesame oil is a nice counterpoint to root vegetable greens, with the nutty flavor balancing the bitterness of the greens. It's similar to using bacon when cooking turnip greens, but more subtle.
Pretty pleased with myself :)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
CSA Share #12
Time is flying! Hard to believe, but there's only 10 shares left in the season (barring some unfortunate early frost/storm).
CSA Share 12 is in and it looks pretty solid:
- 5 medium red onions
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 1/4 lb small tomatoes (~12 ping pong size tomatoes)
- 2 small bulbs garlic
- 1 eggplant
- 3 leeks
- 3 bell peppers
- 6 oz baby salad greens
- 1 bunch cilantro
Lots of heartier vegetables this week than in earlier CSA shares. I noticed we've been getting a lot of stuff from the Solanaceae aka Nightshade family (tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers), which is fine by me!
CWTC: eggplant! I know, I know. I've had eggplant in the last few shares AND there's still one forlorn eggplant sitting in the bottom of my fridge. But this one is so beautiful! It's a rich, bright purple with creamy white streaks stippled across the skin. Also, I discovered several recipes for eggplant that I want to try (I have another eggplant in my fridge remember?) Baked eggplant chips anyone?
TAV: Cilantro. I normally would place this in WTF, since I'm not sure what to do with an entire bunch, but this time, I'm going to experiment with broiled eggplant marinated in a cilantro-lemon based sauce (lots of eggplant, remember?). Also, I cut off the bottom of the stems, stuck the bunch in a cup of water, and tented an open ziploc bag over the top of the cilantro bunch. Hopefully it'll stay alive until the weekend.
WTF: None. These are all quite literally garden-variety vegetables!
CSA Share 12 is in and it looks pretty solid:
- 5 medium red onions
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1 1/4 lb small tomatoes (~12 ping pong size tomatoes)
- 2 small bulbs garlic
- 1 eggplant
- 3 leeks
- 3 bell peppers
- 6 oz baby salad greens
- 1 bunch cilantro
Lots of heartier vegetables this week than in earlier CSA shares. I noticed we've been getting a lot of stuff from the Solanaceae aka Nightshade family (tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers), which is fine by me!
CWTC: eggplant! I know, I know. I've had eggplant in the last few shares AND there's still one forlorn eggplant sitting in the bottom of my fridge. But this one is so beautiful! It's a rich, bright purple with creamy white streaks stippled across the skin. Also, I discovered several recipes for eggplant that I want to try (I have another eggplant in my fridge remember?) Baked eggplant chips anyone?
TAV: Cilantro. I normally would place this in WTF, since I'm not sure what to do with an entire bunch, but this time, I'm going to experiment with broiled eggplant marinated in a cilantro-lemon based sauce (lots of eggplant, remember?). Also, I cut off the bottom of the stems, stuck the bunch in a cup of water, and tented an open ziploc bag over the top of the cilantro bunch. Hopefully it'll stay alive until the weekend.
WTF: None. These are all quite literally garden-variety vegetables!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
CSA Share #11
The drought is really hitting Free Bird Farm pretty hard...
...but the tomato, I am pleased to say, is alive and well!
This week's share:
- 1 bunch basil
- 3/4 lb green beans
- 4 large tomatoes
- 3 lbs salad tomatoes
- 3 red bell peppers
CWTC: all of it? If I had to pick one, I'd probably pick the large tomatoes. They look like they'd be amazing on a piece of foccacia with basil and olive oil drizzled on top.
TAV: bell peppers. These are ordinary peppers, but I think I'll experiment with charring them over my open gas stove to see if I can get the equivalent of a roasted bell pepper.
WTF: none! I like it all :D
I'm really excited about the green beans too. They're such a treat when they're as fresh as they are in my CSA share.
Free Bird Farm purposely put a bunch of basil with the bumper tomato crop this week in the hopes that some of us would get proactive and make some tomato sauce. If you recall, we've been getting a LOT of garlic and onions in the last few CSA shares, so this really is a great suggestion on their part. I could even make a batch of spicy tomato sauce with the jalapenos! Yum.
I need a break from all the partying, so I think I might devote my weekend to tomato sauce and soup making escapades. Both tomato sauce and soup freeze well in ziploc bags and they'll be welcome additions to my winter meals when CSA shares become a distant, wispy memory. I'm already excited. I really need to get some ground pepper though. Tomato sauce without ground pepper just seems wrong. It's like wearing sneakers without socks. >.<
...but the tomato, I am pleased to say, is alive and well!
This week's share:
- 1 bunch basil
- 3/4 lb green beans
- 4 large tomatoes
- 3 lbs salad tomatoes
- 3 red bell peppers
CWTC: all of it? If I had to pick one, I'd probably pick the large tomatoes. They look like they'd be amazing on a piece of foccacia with basil and olive oil drizzled on top.
TAV: bell peppers. These are ordinary peppers, but I think I'll experiment with charring them over my open gas stove to see if I can get the equivalent of a roasted bell pepper.
WTF: none! I like it all :D
I'm really excited about the green beans too. They're such a treat when they're as fresh as they are in my CSA share.
Free Bird Farm purposely put a bunch of basil with the bumper tomato crop this week in the hopes that some of us would get proactive and make some tomato sauce. If you recall, we've been getting a LOT of garlic and onions in the last few CSA shares, so this really is a great suggestion on their part. I could even make a batch of spicy tomato sauce with the jalapenos! Yum.
I need a break from all the partying, so I think I might devote my weekend to tomato sauce and soup making escapades. Both tomato sauce and soup freeze well in ziploc bags and they'll be welcome additions to my winter meals when CSA shares become a distant, wispy memory. I'm already excited. I really need to get some ground pepper though. Tomato sauce without ground pepper just seems wrong. It's like wearing sneakers without socks. >.<
Friday, August 10, 2012
CSA Share #9
This drought must be heavily affecting Free Bird Farm. Supposed to get a ton of rain this weekend though. Good for them, bad for me, especially since I have no clue where I put my umbrellas as I was moving to my new apartment.
Anyways, this week's share:
- 2 japanese eggplant
- 2 light green bell peppers
- thai basil
- carrot and carrot tops
- 3 leeks
- swiss chard
CWTC: leeks! I'm thinking about making leek soup this weekend. om nom nom.
TAV: Carrot tops. Must find a new use for them, as I would very much prefer not to repeat last week's toasted grass experiment.
WTF: Thai basil. What to do with MORE thai basil???
I've actually managed to do pretty significant damage to this week's share already. Down to the eggplants, one bell pepper, the leeks, and some thai basil. But before I get ahead of myself, I must admit that it's probably just because the drought is reducing the sheer volume of our shares.
Since my update is a bit delayed, I already made a few things with this week's share, with varying degrees of success.
Bell pepper and carrot sticks make for lovely office snacks, especially with a bit of 된장 or hummus.
Carrot top tea is...interesting. I couldn't stomach (haha) the thought of eating more woody, chewy, bitter stems, so I decided to try carrot top tea. Besides, I fucking love tea. Apparently, carrot top tea is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and detoxes your kidneys. I probably need a liver detoxifier more than anything else, but any kind of detox is probably a good idea for me. Pretty straightforward stuff.
1. Wash and trim carrot tops.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Drop carrot tops into the pot and wait one minute.
4. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let cool.
6. Strain out carrot tops.
7. Refrigerate and enjoy.
The carrot top tea was a pale olive green color and tasted pretty nasty when still warm. Much better after being chilled in the fridge overnight, but it was a struggle to finish the entire glass. I would probably only make two or three cups of tea and call it a night. I don't think I'm capable of drinking more than that in one week. Definitely interesting though!
Sauteed swiss chard with garlic and wilted thai basil
Yum. This was probably the crowning glory of my culinary experiments with my CSA shares this season. I blanched the chard and sauteed it with some aromatics. It's pretty simple, but it's more like a real recipe than anything else I've done so far, so I'll document it as such. Really delicious stuff. Even my coworker thought it tasted good. It probably can't compete with anything from the food trucks or midtown eateries, but hey, one step at a time right? #turtlewinstherace
Ingredients:
- Handful of thai basil
- 7-8 large leaves of swiss chard
- 5 cloves garlic (or to taste)
- olive oil
- salt
1. Wash chard and basil thoroughly.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
3. Drop the swiss chard in the pot of water for about 30 seconds to a minute.
4. Drain and refill pot (with swiss chard still in there!) with cold water. Repeat until water drains cold.
5. Squeeze the water out of the swiss chard, chop into ribbons, and set aside.
6. Slice garlic.
7. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan (medium-low heat). When a drop of water "spits" back at you, add the sliced garlic. Stir occasionally until the garlic just begins to brown.
8. Add chopped swiss chard to the pan.
9. Sprinkle some salt over the pan.
10. Add the handful of thai basil leaves (stripped from their stems).
11. Stir gently until the thai basil is wilted.
12. Remove from heat and serve!
Yum yum. This weekend will be eggplants and leek soup. We'll see if I can top the swiss chard dish...
Anyways, this week's share:
- 2 japanese eggplant
- 2 light green bell peppers
- thai basil
- carrot and carrot tops
- 3 leeks
- swiss chard
CWTC: leeks! I'm thinking about making leek soup this weekend. om nom nom.
TAV: Carrot tops. Must find a new use for them, as I would very much prefer not to repeat last week's toasted grass experiment.
WTF: Thai basil. What to do with MORE thai basil???
I've actually managed to do pretty significant damage to this week's share already. Down to the eggplants, one bell pepper, the leeks, and some thai basil. But before I get ahead of myself, I must admit that it's probably just because the drought is reducing the sheer volume of our shares.
Since my update is a bit delayed, I already made a few things with this week's share, with varying degrees of success.
Bell pepper and carrot sticks make for lovely office snacks, especially with a bit of 된장 or hummus.
Carrot top tea is...interesting. I couldn't stomach (haha) the thought of eating more woody, chewy, bitter stems, so I decided to try carrot top tea. Besides, I fucking love tea. Apparently, carrot top tea is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and detoxes your kidneys. I probably need a liver detoxifier more than anything else, but any kind of detox is probably a good idea for me. Pretty straightforward stuff.
1. Wash and trim carrot tops.
2. Boil a pot of water.
3. Drop carrot tops into the pot and wait one minute.
4. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let cool.
6. Strain out carrot tops.
7. Refrigerate and enjoy.
The carrot top tea was a pale olive green color and tasted pretty nasty when still warm. Much better after being chilled in the fridge overnight, but it was a struggle to finish the entire glass. I would probably only make two or three cups of tea and call it a night. I don't think I'm capable of drinking more than that in one week. Definitely interesting though!
Sauteed swiss chard with garlic and wilted thai basil
Yum. This was probably the crowning glory of my culinary experiments with my CSA shares this season. I blanched the chard and sauteed it with some aromatics. It's pretty simple, but it's more like a real recipe than anything else I've done so far, so I'll document it as such. Really delicious stuff. Even my coworker thought it tasted good. It probably can't compete with anything from the food trucks or midtown eateries, but hey, one step at a time right? #turtlewinstherace
Ingredients:
- Handful of thai basil
- 7-8 large leaves of swiss chard
- 5 cloves garlic (or to taste)
- olive oil
- salt
1. Wash chard and basil thoroughly.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
3. Drop the swiss chard in the pot of water for about 30 seconds to a minute.
4. Drain and refill pot (with swiss chard still in there!) with cold water. Repeat until water drains cold.
5. Squeeze the water out of the swiss chard, chop into ribbons, and set aside.
6. Slice garlic.
7. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan (medium-low heat). When a drop of water "spits" back at you, add the sliced garlic. Stir occasionally until the garlic just begins to brown.
8. Add chopped swiss chard to the pan.
9. Sprinkle some salt over the pan.
10. Add the handful of thai basil leaves (stripped from their stems).
11. Stir gently until the thai basil is wilted.
12. Remove from heat and serve!
Yum yum. This weekend will be eggplants and leek soup. We'll see if I can top the swiss chard dish...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
CSA Share #8
I love my new apartment! I think a housewarming party this weekend is in good order.
Sangria + CSA produce + friends + summer nights = happy people
In fact, my eighth CSA share seems like it was designed just for a nice summer dinner:
- 1.5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 Italian eggplant
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch red onions
Extras:
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 bunch carrots
CWTC: POTATOES! Eek! I love new potatoes and these are as new as they get. They look so lovely and waxy and yummy... My absolute favorite dish to cook when I'm in a hurry but need a crowd-pleasing favorite for potlucks or dinners is roasted new potatoes. This "recipe" is super forgiving. Quantities, temperature, and timing are all approximate and have large margins for error, which is excellent news for challenged cooks like me.
WTF: None. I like all these. And I know what to do with mostly all of these.
TAV: Thai basil. Everything else is pretty garden variety, but I'll admit that I'm less sure of how to use this herb. However, I've eaten it in pho and curry countless times, so I know I definitely like it. Brainstorming ideas for this weekend...my best ideas so far are:
- Thai basil infused lemonade (spiked :D)
- Eggplant stir fry with garlic and thai basil
If I still have leftover basil, I suppose I could always try to freeze it. Nahhh...moar cocktails! :D
Sangria + CSA produce + friends + summer nights = happy people
In fact, my eighth CSA share seems like it was designed just for a nice summer dinner:
- 1.5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 Italian eggplant
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch red onions
Extras:
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 bunch carrots
CWTC: POTATOES! Eek! I love new potatoes and these are as new as they get. They look so lovely and waxy and yummy... My absolute favorite dish to cook when I'm in a hurry but need a crowd-pleasing favorite for potlucks or dinners is roasted new potatoes. This "recipe" is super forgiving. Quantities, temperature, and timing are all approximate and have large margins for error, which is excellent news for challenged cooks like me.
- Preheat oven to 350 ish.
- Wash potatoes thoroughly.
- Quarter into bite size chunks. Leave the skin on!
- Drizzle with olive oil.
- Add a dash of salt, rosemary, and pepper. Extra points if you can get coarse sea salt flakes, fresh rosemary, and freshly ground pepper. I just love the texture and taste of the giant salt crystals on the potatoes. In lieu of rosemary, feel free to experiment with dill, parsley, or plain.
- Line a pan with foil for easy cleanup.
- Evenly spread the potatoes in a single layer.
- Pop in the oven and wait a while. Depending on the size of the potato chunks, this could take anywhere from 15-40 minutes. Check the potatoes by poking them with a fork (or chopstick). If the fork slides in easily, the potatoes are cooked. If not, best leave them a bit longer. If I'm in a huge hurry, I'll slice the potatoes smaller so they cook faster.
- Garnish with sprigs of rosemary or other pretty things if desired. ENJOY.
WTF: None. I like all these. And I know what to do with mostly all of these.
TAV: Thai basil. Everything else is pretty garden variety, but I'll admit that I'm less sure of how to use this herb. However, I've eaten it in pho and curry countless times, so I know I definitely like it. Brainstorming ideas for this weekend...my best ideas so far are:
- Thai basil infused lemonade (spiked :D)
- Eggplant stir fry with garlic and thai basil
If I still have leftover basil, I suppose I could always try to freeze it. Nahhh...moar cocktails! :D
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