...And with this post, I'm all caught up on produce distribution through today. That's the easy part, though. I've still got a bunch of photos and a few recipe ideas to share with you, as chronologically as can be arranged. Be with you shortly...
Week 11 Vegetables
1 lb. carrots
3 onions
1 bunch arugula
1 head garlic
1 cantaloupe
1 small bunch kale
2 lbs summer squash
2 lbs tomatoes
Fruit
6 round peaches
8 doughnut peaches
1 pint blackberries
Fruit share:
Peaches
Plums Notes from the farm:The hot weather a few weeks back sped up plantings of corn and melons which makes for a great abundance right now!
Apparently I wasn't the only person who let things slide in week 8... Not only am I a few weeks behind in posting this update, but the CSA I belong to didn't post the share contents for week 8 on their blog or Facebook page, so I'm going off the photo I took at pickup that week.
Fruit that week was apricots, blueberries, and plumpricots/pluots. I remember that the apricots were excellent, and approved by all ages (as pictured above), but the plum-apricot hybrids were kind of mealy and low on flavor.
Week 6, how you flew! Last Saturday, we received the following in our allotted CSA share:
Week 6 Vegetables and Fruit (and eggs)
Arugula (I think we got lettuce, too, though it's not listed on the CSA website)
Cucumbers
Green cabbage
Fresh onions (note from farm: sweet white onions, with tops that you can use as green onions)
Basil
Carrots
Summer squash
Blueberries
Cherries
Black raspberries
This was an especially big share, and it took us the entire week to get through it. In fact, we still had a few items left this morning, but I think it's all been cooked up as of lunch today.
Big Salad - I think this one was loosely modeled on a cobb salad, with arugula, lettuce, corn, avocado, bacon, and a blue cheese dressing. Another winning salad with CSA greens! Next time, let's grill the corn.
Creamy Coleslaw - Though we live on opposite coasts, through the magic of the Internet, my friend Angela and I both spotted this recipe on Serious Eats on the same day. She sent the link to me shortly after I'd texted it to Dan suggesting it for some of the cabbage in the refrigerator. You might remember from my Week 5 wrap-up that we still had that week's cabbage hanging around, too. Being faced with twice the cabbage tested the resolve of my coleslaw boycott, and reading the long article describing how to make this cabbage both (a) convinced me we should give it a shot, and (b) told me we wouldn't be following the instructions precisely. All respect to the Serious Eats blogger, but that's too much work for coleslaw if you're (I'm) not really sure you (I) even like coleslaw.
All that said, Dan's less precise approximation of this recipe turned out great! It actually was what I consider the perfect blend of tangy, creamy, and chewy. We ate it as a condiment on some sausage-and-English-muffin sandwiches the next night, and I still liked it as leftovers in my lunchbox a couple of days later.
p.s. I accidentally took a 15-second video of this coleslaw. It's over on the Snack Jail Tumblr.
Warm Salad of Grilled Swordfish, Summer Squash, and Feta - Standout of the week! Best of 2013! Here's another Cooking Light recipe that translated beautifully to our amateur hour dinner. I have been, historically, a bit intimidated by the process of cooking fish (yeah, I know it's silly), but Dan and I are both working to improve our seafood-searing skills. So when I saw this featured in what I think is the current issue of the magazine, I added it to my recipe file for consideration. I'm so glad it made the cut.
Speaking of cuts, the wild-caught swordfish steaks I bought were way too thick to cook through in the time allotted, so we had to cut them up midway through the process.
Otherwise, this dish was really easy to put together, the flavors were intensely pleasing, and it was also easy to disassemble into component parts our toddler was willing to eat (pasta, fish, feta).
Black Raspberry Ice Cream - That video looks a little NSFW at first, right? Dan and Sebastian did the work, but I had the good idea. I think this one may have been inspired by another Cooking Light article, but the recipe was in the pamphlet that came with our ice cream maker. Yum.
Braised Cabbage - I can't possibly imagine eating two heads of cabbage in one week, if they were both made into coleslaw, so I needed an alternative for our second head of cabbage. I was thinking it should be less labor-intensive than stuffed cabbage rolls, and braising occurred to me, so I Googled off in that direction. That led me to this Chow.com recipe, which seemed well-received by commenters on the page. I liked that it included some Dijon mustard (I like Maille) along with the brown sugar. I used 3 CSA onions in the recipe, along with a head and a quarter of cabbage (one quarter left over from the slaw).
The end result made me pretty happy. The apple cider vinegar left it sauerkraut-esque, which is a compliment, if you ask me. It was also smoky and bacon-flavored, creamy with onion, and had a good sauce beneath it for crusty bread-sopping.
Gazpacho - Mark Bittman's gazpacho recipe is very simple. Here's a version of his formula online. This is a great summer dish not just because it's served chilled, or because the tomatoes are seasonal, but also because you don't have to turn on the stove or oven to prepare it. Dan combined Bittman's recommendations with those of the gorgeous Spanish cookbook 1080 Recipes. Basil and cilantro, garlic and green onions all play important roles. Gazpacho is sort of "our dish," as Dan and I made 5 gallons of it the night before our wedding -- just over 12 years ago -- to serve at the reception. Romantic, right?!
Regular Basil and Chicken Salad -Cooking Light strikes again, but this time it was just the inspiration. I think Dan glanced at the recipe, then struck out on his own. This was supposed to be made with Thai basil, but we didn't have Thai basil. The regular basil was pretty strong, so Dan added a small head of lettuce (maybe left over from Week 5? Or a bonus we weren't aware of in Week 6?). I'm not sure what his chicken marinade was, but I do believe it included lime and fish sauce. I don't think I really want to eat a lot of raw basil salads without other greens in there, but I appreciated the change.
Cherry, Watermelon, and Limeaid Popsicles - This is too simple to need a recipe. It was fun licking through the frozen limeaid and watermelon juice to get to the CSA cherry prizes inside. I managed to do a semi-fancy, slanty thing with one of them, by tipping the ice-pop maker up and resting one end on a wooden cutting board so that it sat on a diagonal, then letting the limeaid harden a while before pouring in the watermelon juice.
Pickled Cucumbers - Some dill just barely hanging on from Week 5 made it into this jar, along with the cucumbers from Week 6. Our friend August shared the recipe we used:
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
peppercorns
cardamon seeds
dried hot pepper
dill
garlic
Stuff jar.
Boil vinegar and sugar.
Pour boiling shit into jar.
Perfect in a few hours when it cools.
Go for it! These were pretty sour (and we skipped the hot pepper), but everybody loved them. They're good on a sandwich (really improving a slightly dull one) or on their own.
Summer Squash, Carrot, and Blueberry Muffins - These were made on Saturday afternoon, after we picked up Week Seven's share, so I included some Week 7 carrots in the mix. The squash was past its prime, but still shredded well in the food processor. I threw CSA blueberries in on a whim, adding them as I finished stirring the dry ingredients into the wet.
Here's the recipe (we subbed yellow squash for green, and doubled everything; no nuts). Lighter than carrot cake, they're moist like a good zucchini bread, and the blueberries pop pleasantly in the mouth. They may not be technically "healthy," but I am happy to pretend eating them is somewhat virtuous.
While we were making them, Sebastian told me he wasn't going to like them, but he was wrong.
And there we are! We ate the rest of the blackberries and cherries as they came, and I don't think we have any stragglers left in the refrigerator. It's on to Week Seven for me. What did you make with your CSA vegetables this week? Any recipes you'd recommend?
This week, Dan picked up our CSA share while Sebastian and I headed off to a birthday party. We were pretty happy with all the fruits and veggies in our fridge when we returned. Here's a list of the loot, though I'm not sure of the amounts. I think there were 2 bunches of arugula and several cucumbers and squash: Week 6 Vegetables and Fruit (and eggs)
Arugula
Cucumbers
Green cabbage
Fresh onions (note from farm: sweet white onions,
with tops that you can use as green onions)
Basil
Carrots
Summer
squash
Blueberries
Cherries
Black raspberries
It took me a few days to get this posted, so I'll be back soon with a recipe report. I still need to type up week five's recipe post, too.
Look at those sturdy, purposeful mesh and muslin bags up there! Thrilling!
As of this evening (3 days into week four), we've finally made it through week three's CSA share. Minus a few wilted scallions, I think we managed to put everything to use, and I'm back to share details on what we made with this week's produce. To refresh your memory, here's what we received last week:
Week 3 Produce
Lettuce
Broccoli
Arugula
Scallions
Swiss chard
Napa cabbage
Garlic scapes
Japanese turnips
Radicchio
And here are the dishes we made:
A sort of chicken Caesar salad - Dan used CSA lettuce, arugula, scallions, and garlic scapes in this salad, along with tomato and cheese. He cooked the chicken breast on our stovetop grill pan. The scapes were actually used to make a creamy, garlicky dressing.
Breaded Broccoli - I got the idea for this from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything phone/iPad app, but it couldn't be much simpler. Barely boil your broccoli florets and chopped stems, shock in ice water, then pat dry. Next, roll in thin coatings of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs (in that order). Finally, pan fry in a lot of butter. Salt and pepper well, then eat like popcorn. Pretty darn good! I'd spice the breadcrumbs if I made this again (which I may).
Sauteed Japanese turnips - How predictable -- I turned to this recipe for a third time. I'm really into it. This time, however, I left out the herbes de Provence, used garlic scapes instead of garlic, and reduced the amount of soy sauce (increasing the water). Also, because the turnip greens had gone limp and yellow by the time I got to this vegetable, I used beet greens from week 4's share instead. It was the best iteration yet!
Cabbage and radicchio slaw - there's a red pepper in there, too, as well as cilantro and "probably" mayonnaise. Dan made this dish, and seems hazy on the details, so I can't report more that.
Sauteed swiss chard - Dan sauteed this with onions and we ate it as a mildly flavored side dish with sausages one night.
That's Week Three in a nutshell. Sorry it's a little short on recipe specifics.
I don't have greens fatigue yet, but I imagine that's coming in a few weeks. How about you? Got any great ideas for future cabbages or chard?
We were out of town for Saturday's pickup, enjoying the less-edible "greens" of Harriman State Park, but friends nabbed our share for us and held on to it until we got back. Here's what it consists of this week:
Week 3 Produce (no fruit until July)
Lettuce
Broccoli
Arugula
Scallions
Swiss chard
Napa cabbage
Garlic scapes
Japanese turnips
Radicchio
Looks like some salads are in order. What would you make with these ingredients?
Bonus! Week 2 Revisited!
If you read the posts about last week's share, you may remember that I did my volunteer shift and took home some extra vegetables during week two. I wanted to let you know that I did, in fact, try the bok choy skillet supper recipe I found online. It uses bulgar wheat, which I'd never cooked with before -- but which is very easy to prepare. It was pretty quick, too. Most of the time spent on this dish is in cutting and chopping veggies during prep. Finished, it was surprisingly flavorful -- especially considering some of the online reviews suggested it wouldn't be. Since I had "full-sized" bok choy (the recipe calls for baby), I just cut the greens off and arranged them alongside the stalks in the pan.
Modifications: We are not vegetarians, so we used chicken stock (which changes the flavor), and we also subbed in portobello mushrooms (chopped) for the button mushrooms. I also doubled the tomatoes, and it could have handled even more. Our skillet is pretty large. Oh, and I "cheated" when it came to the garlic-infused oil, by doing it on the fly with some smashed cloves of garlic in the pan with olive oil. I removed them before finishing the dish (and ate them on their own: yum!). This dish used up our remaining bok choy and garlic scapes (I used the scapes in place of shallots). Top with a drizzle of soy sauce.
Greetings! We've been cooking and eating the vegetables from our second summer CSA pickup for most of the week, and I've got another consumption update for you.
Here's what we received for Week 2:
(this was my volunteer shift week, so the numbers below are "official." I actually took home otherwise unwanted extras of a few things -- like a few extra scapes; extra bunches of turnips, arugula and bok choy; and a dozen eggs. The eggs, by the way, are a game-changer. Amazing. I immediately decided to sign up for an every-other-week egg share for the rest of the season.)
1 head Lettuce
1 bunch Arugula
1 bunch Broccoli
1 stalk Bok Choy
1 bunch Tuscan Kale
2 lbs Summer squash
5 Garlic scapes
1 bunch Japanese sweet turnips -- CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
Here's How We Ate It:
Zucchini and grilled garlic scapes on flatbread - Dan conceived of and made these sandwiches with pocketless pita bread. He sauteed the grilled scapes and zucchini together before layering them on the bread, then topped them with feta and a homemade yogurt-cucumber-dill sauce. Garlic scapes are mild, and this was lovely.
Omelet of kale and garlic scapes - Farm-fresh eggs made this a standout. The eggs were as creamy as the melted havarti dill cheese, and the kale gave the dish some texture. I almost made a really embarrassing pun here, it was so good.
Bok-and-Broc stir fry - This dish was based on a Mark Bittman recipe for stir-fried broccoli. I made the variation with (soaked) dried mushrooms, added bok choy, and topped with cashews. Frankly, I cooked it too long and it became mushy. I kept waiting for the liquid to evaporate, and it just wouldn't. I also found the finished product a little bland, so I don't think this is a recipe worth repeating. We added a lot of soy sauce and a bit of Sriracha to make it more palatable.
Arugula and Lettuce soup (adapted from this recipe) - The recipe for this soup is attributed to Emeril Lagasse. I added an extra cup or so of chicken stock (I just used the whole box) and two bunches of arugula (because I only had one head of lettuce). I also adjusted the herbs, using dried tarragon and parsley to taste (along with fresh garlic and chives), and about 1/2 tsp. of Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle. The cream is definitely the kicker. It's a good soup before the cream goes in, but it's a great soup after.
Yoshi's Japanese Turnips (recipe online here) - The advice at our share pickup for Japanese turnips was to eat them raw. They're not bad that way, but I wasn't in love with them, so I looked online for a way to cook them and thought this recipe had promise. The verdict? This dish is going in my "Best of 2013" recipe list. I honestly never thought I'd enjoy a turnip as much as I enjoyed these. The recipe suggests you try different combinations of "cooking liquid," and I look forward to making this again with vinegar. For my first try, I used half Tamari soy sauce (definitely should have been low sodium) and water. With cheese or without, and even a bit too salty, this was a revelation.
Zucchini pancakes - I used Mark Bittman's recipe, but didn't have time to chill the patties, so they didn't quite hold together in the pan. For the most part, though, these are dead simple -- zucchini, onion, egg, salt, pepper, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Fry in an awful lot of butter. We topped them with more cheese, of course. Despite declaring, "I don't like squash," even the kid ate (and enjoyed) it.
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That's it for week two's share. I do have a few bits and bobs bouncing around in the fridge -- a few more scapes, another bunch of turnips, and that extra head of bok choy -- so I'm looking for something that doesn't involve a stir-fry to use up the scapes and bok choy. What do you think of a Bok choy skillet supper (recipe here)? I'll let you know if I try it. I'll also be making that Japanese Turnips recipe again, by golly.
What did you especially love or loathe in your share this week?
Well, we didn't get any asparagus or strawberries or rhubarb, which is a bit disappointing (the share is always greener in someone else's CSA, right?), but we still took home a fun assortment of greens and other goodies this week.
Week 2 Produce:
1 head Lettuce
1 bunch Arugula
1 bunch Broccoli
1 stalk Bok Choy
1 bunch Tuscan Kale
2 lbs Summer squash
5 Garlic scapes*
1 bunch Japanese sweet turnips** --CHALLENGE VEGETABLE
Notes from the farm, via the CSA blog:
* The immature flower of the garlic plant, we snap garlic scrapes off in the spring because they're a great treat, and doing so will make the garlic bulb larger. Can be used in cooking like garlic, or raw like chives.
** The fresh turnips are best eaten raw; the exterior has a little bit of radish bite and the interior is super sweet and mild. Great on salads or just as a snack. You can cook the greens too!
Most exciting this week? Those turnips! I wasnt expecting a "challenge vegetable" (i. e. something i haven't prepared before) this year, but I don't think I've gotten this variety of turnip before. I guess there's still a frontier out there!
Also, I'm always thrilled to see green, curly garlic scapes. Should we make pesto this year, or something new?
I joined a new CSA this year, the East Williamsburg CSA. I was hoping to get in to this particular one last year, but the timing didn't work out, so I'm pretty psyched. Friends have been members for several years, and I always thought their
weekly shares looked like the best deal in the neighborhood. Our pickup is also in a lovely community garden a short walk from our house (which makes getting there with a two-year-old much easier).
Once again, my goal is to provide you with coverage of the entire season -- what we get and what we do with it -- and I'm relatively optimistic that I'll make it to the end this time. I'm not pregnant. I don't have a newborn. I don't really have any excuse other than boring standard "busyness" to not share with you what we get each week. As long as I keep things simple, don't go crazy with the formatting and editing, and don't beat myself up if I'm lacking a photo or get behind, I think I'll make it there.
As usual, I'll be trying out new recipes, in addition to going back to some old standards. I'd love ideas for my veggies. Comment here if you'd like to share what your family is enjoying in CSA goodness each week.
Week One Veggies* and notes from the CSA blog
* We purchased a fruit share, too, but that doesn't start for a few weeks, I think.
Lettuce
Mizuna (a salad green like arugula, but with more serrated
leaves and milder spiciness)
Green garlic (immature fresh garlic; use
the root as you would garlic; leaves can be used as a garnish or in
stock)
Bok choy
Radishes
Green kale
Spinach
Ah, I remember this! The beginning of the season is always heavy on the greens. I ordered some cotton muslin and mesh bags for storage this year, and I'm looking forward to swapping them in for the Ziplock baggies of previous years. What gets me excited about this share? Bok choy! I love young bok choy in a stir fry. Also, my toddler loves pickled radishes (we get them as a side from the nouveau-Korean place in the neighborhood), so I think I'll make some at home. Dan is an excellent salad maker, so the kale is a welcome item, too.
What would you make with all of this? I'll share the outcome soon.
So. The first 9 weeks of this year's CSA season were a bit...leafy. And I totally fell apart, as far as blogging about the season is concerned. I had a new baby; I should have known this would happen.
About the leaves: I don't want to seem whiny in this post because I really value CSAs as a service in communities. This year, I joined a new CSA program in my neighborhood. It's run well, full of lovely people, and shares were sold for a great price. I also know that different farms produce different kinds of produce, and that each growing season is different from the last. I also know that the beginning of a farm's spring growing season often produces many greens. And I remember when I helped run a CSA (now closed) and got a little tired of people complaining about getting too much kale. All this said, my shares this year have felt quite heavy on the greens. Though I could have used some more kale.
Don't get me wrong. I like leaves, and leafy greens, and they're good for me. Dan makes a kick-ass giant salad, so they almost never go to waste. Still, as the weeks went by, I kept expecting them to diminish, in favor of more hearty vegetables that I could use to make exciting recipes. Other vegetables did come, but in small number. Each week's share was only four or five different kinds of produce, instead of seven or eight. And there have been more "side" items like scallions and radishes, which can be hard flavors to build a dish around, rather than heartier elements like squash or tomatoes.
I could have signed up for a full share, instead of a half share, when I joined the CSA. But the variety of items would not have increased -- just the amount of each item, which would have meant even more greens. I did sign up for the second half of the season, another 12 weeks, because I figured that as autumn begins we'll be shedding some leaves. Perhaps I'll even end up with an eggplant or two?! A girl can dream.
If you're keeping track, like I am, to compare to other CSAs and other growing seasons, here's what we've gotten. I won't make you suffer through a thousand photos of salad, but you can guess that's usually what we were eating with these ingredients.
Week 03
1/2 pound of Spinach (leaves)
1 head of Lettuce (leaves)
1 bunch of Scallions
1 bunch of Quelite (leaves)
2 Tomatoes ("tomatoes are not in season yet, but we are able to offer them to you through McEnroe Organic Farm's greenhouse.") = Yay!
The tomatoes were beautiful and delicious. We sliced them, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and ate them immediately.
Week 04 Produce
1/2 pound of Spinach (leaves)
1/2 pound of Verdolaga (purslane) (leaves)
1 bunch of Kale (leaves)
1 bunch of mint or tarragon (leaves)
1 bunch of Scallions
This week, the purslane, which I quite like, was gone by the time we picked up our share, so we went home with a cabbage instead. Cabbage is my least favorite CSA vegetable ever, but that's no one's fault.
Week 05 Produce
1 Bunch of Kale (leaves)
1 Bunch of Red Amaranth (leaves)
1 Bunch of Radishes
1 Bunch of Basil or Oregano (leaves)
1/2 pound of Heirloom Lettuce (leaves)
The lettuce this week was loose, rather than a head of lettuce, and incredibly bitter. I wish I knew what sort of lettuce it was. I'd avoid it in the future.
Week 06 Produce
1 Bunch of Red Amaranth (leaves)
1 Bunch of Heirloom Radishes
1 Bunch of Scallions
1 Bunch of Beets
1 pound of mini Bok Choy
Hello, stir fry! I love bok choy. This was a great week for non-leaves.
Week 07 Produce
1 Bunch of Red Amaranth (leaves)
1 Bunch of Basil (leaves)
1 Bunch of Beets
1 head of Cabbage (leaves)
1 pound of Summer Squash
Oops. The beets withered and died before we could get to them. Maybe beets are the new cabbage for me. There's just so much stain-y prep with beets.
Week 08 Produce
2 Cucumbers
1 head of Cabbage (leaves)
1 pound of Summer Squash
1/2 pound of Quelites (leaves)
Week 09 Produce
1 Bunch Beets
1 Cucumber
1 Bunch Scallions
1/2 pound Mustard Greens (leaves)
1 pound Green Bell Peppers
The leaves are definitely diminishing. And cucumbers always make me happy, though we seldom do anything with them but eat them raw.
Do you belong to a CSA? Have you eaten a lot of greens this spring and summer?
p.s. I seem to be missing a bunch of photos. I'll add some later, once I've had time to check the other camera for strays...
Yeah, so, I had a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's in March. They can be hard to find in NYC, but I found it at the joint just around the corner from my house.
It wasn't bad, BUT it was clearly just a vanilla shake with some sort of colored flavoring mix stirred into it. I could tell because it hadn't been stirred very well, so it was white and streaky at the bottom. I guess the woman who prepared my shake doesn't consider herself an artisan. Or something.
Also, the whipped cream on top? Complete overkill.
