Last Week from the Farm (November 19)

We missed our Tuesday pickup this week and were desperate not to miss the last week of the CSA distribution. Luckily, our last minute call was answered and we were allowed to do a Thursday pickup. It was a good one:

1/2 pound arugula
3 pounds cauliflower
2 heads lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch kale
8 pounds of potatoes (!)
1 bulb garlic
probably something else, can't remember

Also, we were told that there would be a bonus broccoli distribution, either this week or next. I love it! It is nice to stretch the season out a little longer and have one last visit to the farm (hopefully during daylight hours this time). And we've been in the happy position of not having to spend much at the store, so it is also a little sad for the pocketbook once the season finally comes to an end and the grocery expenditures rise in time for the holiday season. On the plus side: without a fridge full CSA veggies languishing in the fridge, we will be able to buy things like fennel and endive from the market, guilt-free!

This Week from the Farm (November 10)

This week our full share from Cherry Grove Farm consisted of:

1/2 pound arugula
1/2 pound tatsoi
2 heads lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch carrots
2 pounds mixed mini-cauliflowers and broccoli stalks
1 bulb garlic
some bell peppers and potatoes (Matt bagged these, so not sure how much)

As usual, it was quite late when we returned home, so I made one of our standards: Orzo and Mustard Greens, for Tuesday dinner.

I also made another loaf of basic no-knead bread. Again, it didn't rise very well. Then I remembered the state of the yeast when I opened the little packet: it was inflated, the way an over-fermenting bottle of apple cider is inflated, and I knew there was a chance that it would be problematic. And then I promptly forgot all about it. Despite its imperfections, the bread was as wonderful as always, with a thick, brown, crackly crust that sent me into a fit of self-satisfaction. From the look on his face, I knew Matt was getting bored and irritated when, as I chewed each bite, I declared repeatedly, "Mmm. This is really good bread."

This Week from the Farm (November 3) -- late edition

This week our full share from Cherry Grove consisted of:

1/2 pound tatsoi
1/2 pound arugula
2 heads butter lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 bunch red russian kale
2 or 3 pounds of potatoes
a handful of bell peppers
1 head garlic
PYO: not sure if there was anything, possibly herbs, but it was raining, so we didn't go out.

Only 2 more weeks, and then back to buying vegetables at the market.

I had to throw out some arugula that we had sitting around for 2+ weeks. Which is a shame because I love arugula but never actualized the plans I had made for it. With about half of the rest, I made a batch of arugula pesto to save.

This Week from the Farm (October 27)

I was away for several days last week and Matt had a full social calendar. The impact (or lack, thereof) of our busy weekend on our farm share was significant. Tons of leftover stuff, and a fresh pickup on Tuesday. Matt did that one, so I don't know all the specific amounts of everything:

1 bunch red mustard
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 bunch toscano kale
1 bunch rainbow chard
tatsoi
arugula
potatoes
sweet potatoes
purple bell peppers
1 bunch radishes
1 head romaine lettuce
1 garlic bulb

Tuesday dinner:
At my request, Matt made a huge batch of sweet potato soup based on this recipe from Food + Wine, as a first attempt to recreate my favorite soup from small world coffee. Instead of chipotle in adobo, he used some homemade chipotle paste I made from a Millenium Cookbook recipe. Unfortunately, he used the entire thing. The result was very spicy but good, and was improved by thinning with a bit of soymilk. He used all of the sweet potatoes, new and old.

Wednesday lunch:
In an effort to create a better breakfast solution for myself, I made a batch of tofu scramble with all of the tatsoi and a couple of green bell peppers from last week. We also made a couple of veggie breakfast sausages. K and I ate half and saved half for Thursday breakfast.

Wednesday dinner:
Orzo with red mustard greens. It is a wonderful quick meal, a delicious, nutritious, and simple way to make bitter greens very palatable for even the youngest children, but I am sort of tired of it. We've been having it a lot lately. K pronounced it her "favorite" several times, and gave many thumbs up.

This Week from the Farm (October 13)

This week our full share consisted of:
1/2 pound tatsoi
1/2 pound arugula
1 pound summer squash
4 heads lettuce
1 large bunch lacinato kale
1 large bunch collards
1 bunch radishes
2 pounds beets
2 pounds sweet potatoes
3 pounds potatoes
12 green bell peppers
1 garlic
PYO: We only picked up the flowers, and they are beautiful golds and pinks and reds. We passed on the 20 hot peppers and herbs because D. came home with about 40 more habaneros from the middle school garden today.

I managed to give all the tatsoi and 2 bell peppers to my dad. I was hoping to unload at least 1 head of lettuce, because red leaf is not a favorite of mine, but no luck.

Making dinner after the farm excursion is always a bit challenging because it is usually late and we are all hungry and want to get dinner on the table fast. Plus there is the question of how to fit all the new veggies in the refrigerator. I managed to put a flavorful pasta dish with minimal effort by using our leftover marinated eggplant, which also helped clear space in the fridge.

Tuesday dinner:
Whole wheat spaghettini with seitan, marinated eggplant, and kale. Since the eggplant already had a lot of garlic and crushed pepper, there was little seasoning involved. Just chopped and browned the seitan, added the chopped marinated eggplant with its oil and juices, and finally the kale. Then tossed with the pasta, and served with a generous grinding of black pepper and a dusting of grated pecorino.

Weekly roundup (October 12)

Thursday dinner:
On Thursday I made another Ital stew, and realized I'd left the salt out of the original recipe. It doesn't need much, just a generous pinch that goes in with the spices. Adding salt is not strictly ital and is completely optional, but the salt does complement the heat nicely. In making this, I used up a few more small squashes and the rest of our kale.

Friday dinner:
Matt made a miso soup, based on the Autumn miso soup in Peter Berley's Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. Used another little squash! I made a small pot of short grain rice because I like a bit of chewy rice in my miso soup sometimes.

Friday afternoon I made a big batch of arugula pesto and divided it into two containers: one for a wheat berry salad, and the other to have for other uses. As dinner was cooking, I made a large pot of wheat berries and composed the salad on Saturday morning.

Saturday lunch:
Arugula Pesto Wheat Berries, based on the 101cookbooks recipe. It's good! Arugula: done.

Saturday dinner:
We took the night off, and let the kids eat Trader Joe's frozen pizza and masala veggie burgers.

Sunday lunch:
Leftover miso soup and rice.

We had our lovely friends and neighbors over for dinner on Sunday, and they kindly brought a green salad, some watermelon, and wine.
Sunday dinner:
Salads: Beet (all of our farm beets) and Fennel salad with Pecorino (from A16 Food and Wine cookbook), green salad with balsamic vinaigrette (the tomato in this salad was unbelievably good), leftover wheat berry salad.
Soup: Butternut squash soup (it is better the next day).
Bread: Rustic sourdough from Witherspoon Bread.
Dessert: Watermelon, Peppermint Tea, and Conscious Kitchen Guajillo Chile-Chocolate Cupcakes.

Monday lunch:
Leftover butternut squash soup and bread.

Whenever I take stock of what is left from our farm share, I always think we are doing better than we actually are. The refrigerator isn't bursting anymore, but there are a lot of things in it. Especially hot peppers. And bell peppers. And watermelon. And lettuce. And sweet potatoes in the pantry.

This Week from the Farm (October 6) and I Just Ate the Best Sandwich

This week:

1/2 pound tatsoi
1/2 pound arugula
2 heads lettuce
2 eggplant
6 bell peppers, purple and green
2 acorn squash
1 large bunch lacinato kale
1 large bunch red russian kale
2 pounds beets
2 pounds sweet potatoes
3 pounds potatoes
1 head garlic
I think I have forgotten something... I will update when I remember
PYO: 10 habaneros, 10 jalapenos, flowers, parsley, sage

When I got home and had to stuff everything into the fridge, I realized just how much I had leftover from last week. There are a lot of hot peppers. I went searching through all the various bags to find any that needed to be eliminated, but very few were bad. So many good ones. I immediately put a quart-sized bag of habaneros into the freezer. And there are still so many. Then I packed a bag of jalapenos to put up, but I hesitated. There are a lot of gorgeous tomatoes at the market right now, so I am thinking of making a massive amount of salsa to freeze instead. Honestly, I could probably do both -- there are so many. And then there are quite a few long cayenne peppers, red and green, and I was thinking I should batter and fry them Indian-style. Now I am thinking I should give them to my mom so she can fry them.

That was Tuesday. We had leftover soup and pasta for dinner.

Wednesday lunch:
I was home with sick children, and I made an easy, popular lunch of orzo with lots of kale (the lacinato), lemon zest, olive oil, black pepper, and a bit of grated pecorino.

While I was trying to sort out my connectivity to work, I roasted the 2 eggplants that we picked up on Tuesday and added them to the others I had roasted on Monday. In a shallow dish I layered eggplant, minced garlic, generous amounts of crushed red pepper, cilantro, and a drizzle of red wine vinegar. After 2 layers, I doused the whole thing with olive oil. The recipe, from Jim Lahey, actually asks for 2 cups of olive oil (!), but I definitely used less than a cup. Then it went into the fridge to marinate for 12 hours to 5 days.

Wednesday dinner:
Matt used all the tatsoi and made an asian-style marinated tofu and greens over rice. It was very good, and I was very pleased to have knocked out all the tatsoi from our share.

Thursday lunch:
I made sandwiches with some of the eggplant (marinated about 16 hours), roasted red peppers (from Monday), pecorino, and arugula on a baguette. Based on a sandwich in the Lahey book; this guy knows his stuff. I couldn't wait for lunch. Ate mine for breakfast.

Stecca, Sandwiches, Soup

Sunday was quite warm, so my stecca dough got off to a good start and had a noticeably improved rise. I baked it off on Monday morning, using a bit less oil and much less salt for the top. I felt, the last time, that some bites were much too salty and wondered if so much oil was affecting my results, yielding the flatter loaves. The answer is no (wait, were those questions?). No the bread was not too salty, even if I thought it was (in fact, it was perfect for sandwiches, where the salt has room to spread out), and No the oil did not hinder the oven rise. So my result on Monday: fuller loaves, adequate oil, not enough salt. I failed to notice that, unlike the standard bread recipes in my new Jim Lahey book, the stecca dough contains very little salt on its own, and thus relies on those generous sprinklings for flavor. Lessons learned: warmer environment helps a lot; don't skimp on the salt. I am still working on my shaping technique as well.

Monday lunch:
Matt had another beet-arugula-goat cheese sandwich on stecca (it needed a bit of salt). The rest of us had leftover stew.

After lunch I roasted a few eggplants, red peppers and poblanos to save for later. I meant to marinate the eggplant with some garlic, cilantro, vinegar, and oil (Lahey recipe), but we were out of garlic so I will try to marinate today.

Monday dinner:
Matt made a double batch of one of our favorite, easy cold-weather soups: Coconut Milk Soup with Sweet Potato and Collard Greens, from Fresh Food Fast by Peter Berley. We used sweet potatoes and jalapenos from Cherry Grove for this. Note: Sometimes you get a jalapeno that is just not that spicy, but it is crucial to get this soup spicy enough because the coconut milk and sweet potato can make it too sweet. And then it becomes a huge disappointment. But the Cherry Grove jalapenos did not disappoint. The cilantro and drizzle of lime juice take it over the top. And we have leftovers!

Taking stock:
We did pretty well this week. We do still have 2 small watermelons hanging around the fridge, though. And a couple of tiny winter squashes, 2 scallions, and quite a few hot peppers.

Tuesday's haul

We will be picking up a full share for the next few weeks. Considering the amount of leftover produce we had from the last week(s), we knew we'd have trouble fitting it all into the refrigerator. We gave a bit away yesterday, and I'm not quite sure what's left, but the list for this week's haul follows.

1/2 pound arugula
1/2 pound tatsoi
2 heads butter lettuce
2 pounds pattypan squash
2 eggplant
2 red bell peppers
3 pounds (I think) potatoes
2 pounds sweet potatoes
2 pounds beets
1 head garlic
3 small winter squash -- I think we have a butternut, acorn, and sweet dumpling
1 large bunch scallions
1 large bunch swiss chard
1 large bunch basil -- this may be the last of it; I know my container plants are going all twiggy
PYO: 10 jalapeno, 10 habanero, small bunch parsley, 30 stems flowers. We didn't take any other herbs because we still have some from last week.

While I ran around with the kids, Matt made Tuesday dinner:
Baked penne with roasted peppers, fresh basil and goat cheese. He made use of a jar of sauce I brought home from Trader Joe's the other day.

Matt also roasted some beets last night and is marinating them today with some sliced onion. He's using a recipe from our newest cookbook, Jim Lahey's my bread, and if I can get it together we may have fresh bread to make our beet-arugula-goat cheese sandwiches.

Also, via Chocolate and Zucchini, I discovered that there is a group that has organized The Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge and are baking their way through Peter Reinhart's book, week by week. The group started in May 2009 and is already up to the focaccia. That was the recipe I was lusting over the last time I picked up the book -- it involves pouring a half-cup of olive oil, sea salt, and herbs over the top. Imagine the crust. I'm a bit sorry I didn't know about this sooner; joining may have given me the incentive I need to get a regular bread-baking practice started. Although it is still possible to participate, anyone joining now and starting from the beginning would be many weeks behind, so there doesn't seem much point (to me). One nice thing is that the challenge has produced a plethora of blog posts with excellent photos of the various stages of the preparations. Useful. For the near-term (like this week) I am interested in the no-knead method that Lahey presents. Truly, I think that the difference between knead and no-knead is minimal. Most of the bread recipes I have seen only ask for 5 to 7 minutes of kneading. Not bad. It just seems like a lot of work. I think the biggest challenge will be finding a place for the dough to rest for 12 to 18 hours in our crowded space.

Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Fennel, Kale, and Gruyere

My mom invited us to dinner on Friday and then on Sunday, dropped off enough leftovers to feed us all for a couple more days.

In between, we made Saturday dinner together:

Matt made some polenta with onions and fennel seed. He then cooled it, cut it into pieces and fried it. This was not altogether successful because the polenta was still quite wet and soft. We put it in the oven to dry it out, then saved the rest and tried it again this morning for a little breakfast on-the-go. It was nice to have something warm for breakfast.

I made the following, based on a recipe from Patricia Wells' Vegetable Harvest. The original called for bacon. I used some smoked paprika, fennel, and kale. It was good but, I must say, not as good as the simple roasted potatoes with lemon. The kids were thrilled and devoured it.

Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Fennel, Kale, and Gruyere.

There is plenty of room for improvisation here; it is not at all a complicated undertaking and I think most people have probably made something similar before. The original recipe calls for yellow-fleshed potatoes, and while I used the red potatoes from Cherry Grove, I am leaving that detail intact because I prefer yellow. Similarly, I only had a small amount of gruyere, so I supplemented with some organic monterey jack that was sitting in the cheese drawer, but I think all gruyere would have been better. Also, the original recipe was obviously meant to be served as a small side, because it called for only 4 potatoes, resulting in 8 servings. We made as many as I could fit on my baking pan, or until I got bored with scrubbing and prepping. It is definitely scalable.

8-10 yellow-fleshed potatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more for sauteeing
sea salt
1 fennel bulb
1 small bunch kale or other dark leafys
1 clove garlic
smoked paprika
1 cup grated gruyere
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise. Extra large ones may be cut in quarters, as needed. Toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and about 2 pinches (maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons) of sea salt. Place on a baking sheet, cut side down and place in the oven to roast for about 40 minutes, or until tender.

While the potatoes are roasting, mince the garlic, core and dice the fennel, and cut the kale into bite-sized pieces. Warm a bit of oil in a saute pan, add the garlic and fennel and saute for a few minutes, until softened. Add about 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika or more, to taste, and continue to cook a few minutes more. Add the kale and saute until wilted. Remove from heat and sprinkle with a touch of salt.

When the potatoes have emerged from the oven, turn them over on the pan and use a paring knife to score the face lightly with a little hash mark. Grind black pepper over the lot of them. Distribute the smoky fennel and kale mixture atop that, and then sprinkle the cheese. Finish with a light dusting of smoked paprika and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with minced chives and serve.

We have a lot of our share left over:
a lot of hot peppers (I hope they are not going moldy)
a small head of butter lettuce
a few scallions
a small eggplant
a few bell peppers
2 small winter squashes
a handful of beets
a few potatoes
2 small watermelons

Yikes. We will need to get organized. We had plans for most of this food, but the leftovers gave us a way out. On the agenda for this week: chiles rellenos with summer vegetables if the poblanos survived, marinated beets to be eaten with arugula and goat cheese on some fresh bread, watermelon salad or juice or cocktails (see Fanny Singer's agua fresca recipe from F+W).

This Week from the Farm (September 22)

Our half of a full share included:
1/4 pound salad mix
1 head lettuce (I chose butter leaf)
1 pound summer squash
1 pound beets
1/2 large bunch basil, but I gave our half to my mother, so she would have a whole large bunch
1/2 large bunch rainbow chard
1/2 bunch scallions
1 pound beets
1 pound eggplant
1 1/2 pounds potatoes
1 acorn squash
1 butternut squash
3 bell peppers
1 watermelon
PYO: 15 stems assorted flowers, small bunch parsley, 5 habanero, 5 jalapeno, 5 cayenne. I didn't take any other herbs because I still have quite a bit left over from last week.

Tuesday dinner:
Thai-ish takeaway

Then off to the Princeton Regional school board meeting, where my nervous comment and questions about board ownership of school lunch standards and food education were met with blank looks and patronizing smiles. No responses.

Weekly roundup

We have been doing a lot of cooking. One of the many pleasurable things about the arrival of fall is that it is a lot more comfortable -- cozy, even -- to stand in front of the stove. And because the start of school and fall activities and birthdays mean, inevitably, that we need to spend a significant amount of money, the economy of home cooking doesn't hurt.

Thursday dinner:
Matt and I collaborated on a quick pasta meal. I made basil-parsley-walnut pesto and boiled the pasta, while Matt sauteed a whole bunch of eggplant, summer squash, and bell peppers. Then we tossed it all together and called it dinner. If we were feeling less tired, we would have made a salad, too.

Friday dinner:
A standby of Seitan and Greens with coconut green curry sauce. We did not have enough of any one grain, so I made a quick pilaf of millet and rice with scallion. Each dish was good on its own, but they didn't go together that well.

Friday night snack:
Lavender shortbread, cut into heart shapes. I made these to save for teatime at the birthday party (see below), but Matt and I enjoyed a few with our Friday night tea. I make my shortbread vegan, and I know there are many who would say that it isn't real shortbread without real butter or consider my occasional use of non-hydrogenated vegetable oil spread disgraceful, but I like it and I don't feel nauseous after.

On Saturday, we had a sleepover party for D. Six 12 year old girls, 2 younger siblings, and us. It went off pretty well. I was very pleased with my craft project -- I made a giant fabric dahlia and attached it to a ponytail holder for K -- but only a few of the girls finished theirs. I had convinced D to rent "Better Off Dead" for one of her movie showings. I remember watching this movie repeatedly with Anouck when we were young, but these girls are too young get the Howard Cosell references, which may be my favorite part of this weird, funny 80's teen movie.

Afternoon snack:
Watermelon from the farm and pretzels from a huge container that D won in a contest.

Dinner:
Burrito bar consisting of warm tortillas, rice cooked with a bit of oil and cinnamon, Rancho Gordo Santa Maria Pinquito beans, sauteed veggies with a bit of jalepeno, monterey jack cheese, and mango salsa. It was quite good, and well-received by the party-goers.

Dessert:
Chocolate mousse cake with cashew crust (from Millenium Cookbook recipe for Chocolate Almond Midnight, but without the almonds and raspberry sauce and some other minor variations). Scattered with fresh raspberries and served with raspberry sorbet. Vegan.

After-movie teatime:
Peppermint tea, organic (and local, from PA) apples, lavender shortbread.

Sunday breakfast:
All store-bought: bagels, regular and tofu cream cheese, orange juice. More farm watermelon.

Sunday dinner:
Matt made stew with leftover Pinquito beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and the leftover vegetables we bought for the burrito saute. Seasoned with 2 habeneros and served over rice. I thought it was delicious, but he was not thrilled.

Mad Men snack:
I made a quick vanilla cake (vegan, Peter Berley) even though I knew I shouldn't. We ate way too much.

Monday lunch:
Whole wheat elbows with greens and lemon zest, lots of pepper, and shaved pecorino. Quick and easy. K loved this. It had been a while since I made this type of preparation for her. There is never any picking at the greens in this dish, no matter what kind or how much, and we have an absolutely clean plate at the end.

Monday dinner:
Courtesy of mom.

What's left:

• A very small watermelon, meant to be made into watermelon-feta salad. Did I mention how I tried to make this salad and went to the cheese shop and bought Bulgarian feta because one of the recipes I looked at specifically called for this. I usually buy French. The Bulgarian feta is much stinkier and affected my enjoyment of this salad. And I still have 1/2 pound left. Argh.
• Some arugula, meant to be made into pesto and eaten with mashed potatoes.
• Potatoes.
• A number of hot peppers, including those poblanos, which were meant to be made into chiles rellenos.
• Varied and sundry fresh herbs.
• Quite a few beets. Please, Matt, no more of that pasta sauce. It wasn't bad, but I don't want to eat it again for ... a pretty long time.
  
• A tiny amount of salad mix. No salad was prepared this week, but small amounts of lettuce were consumed nonetheless.

This Week from the Farm

On Tuesday, we picked up our share. Our half consisted of:

1 green bell pepper
2 red bell peppers
1 eggplant
1/4 pound salad mix
1/4 pound arugula
1/2 large bunch basil
1/2 large bunch rainbow chard
1/2 bunch of radishes
1/2 bunch scallions
potatoes and beets, not sure how much because Matt got those
1/2 large bunch gorgeous celery with perfect leaves
1 watermelon
1 head garlic (it was our turn this week)
PYO: 15 stems assorted flowers, 5 jalapenos, 5 cayenne, 5 habaneros, small bunch parsley, a bit of thyme, mint, and sage

After picking up, we usually head straight over to my parents' house to drop off their half of the share. This week, my mom fed us. She served Matt some pasta with beet sauce, like a ragout, that she had made with golden beets, from a recipe in an Ayurvedic cookbook. The color wasn't that great (I think adding a carrot would have helped retain the golden hue), but it was savory and good.

Wednesday Lunch:
Matt was inspired to get up early and make a similar dish the next morning using some of our red beets. We'd been collecting them weekly but not using them often.

Wednesday Dinner:
Matt cooked Veggie Sausage with Caramelized Onions and Peppers, Celery and Chard, and a whole minced habanero. He served it over brown rice. It was very spicy and very delicious. Habaneros are my favorite hot pepper. I love the rich, spicy, smoky flavor they impart. Matt didn't use any other spices or seasonings in his dish, but the habanero gave it complexity. Awesome.

Tuesday pickup and so-so dinner

This week, from our half of a full share, we got:
1/2 bunch beets
1 small bunch basil
1/4 pound salad mix
2 heads lettuce
1 pound unblighted tomatoes
5 bell peppers, green and purple
2 pounds summer squash, mostly crookneck
1 bunch cippolini onions
1 small bunch lacinato kale
1 small bunch toscano kale
1 small bunch chard
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes
We gave my parents the head of garlic, the eggplant, and the beautiful celery this week. We didn't use any of our celery from last week, and we had determined to alternate weeks on the garlic.
PYO: small bunch of parsley, 3 jalepenos, 20 stems of really wonderful flowers in deep reds and pinks, yellows, and purples.

Of last weeks share, we still have a lot of cucumbers. I'm going to have to try doing the garlic dill pickle thing asap. I had to toss last week's salad mix; it was going black and liquidy. And we still have quite a bit of lettuce. We'll have to be more prepared on the salad front.

It was late when we returned from the farm and began cooking. I made a quickie meal that everyone ate and enjoyed, but fell short of what I was going for. The plan was based on a memorable meal I ate at a friend's house in Boulder Creek, CA about 18 years ago, and had attempted unsuccessfully once before. It was supposed to be a pureed squash sauce over linguine, ideally. But there was no linguine in the pantry, so we had penne. And since we don't have a blender anymore, I tried using the food processor, but that left things somewhat chunky. I should have known, really. The texture was not at all what I was going for. The flavor was pretty right-on, though it could have been a bit spicier. Sauteed, and slightly carmelized, chunks of squash with garlic and shallot, subsequently pureed with lots of basil and olive oil, salt and pepper.

Blighted

Just yesterday I was reading this post from a young farmer on a Massachusetts CSA farm. When we went for our pickup in the evening, we got the bad news: they found late blight on their tomatoes, and the 2 pounds of not-very-gorgeous tomatoes we brought home last night may be the only ones we get this season. So, so sad.

Pickles on the horizon

Tuesday we picked up our full share -- again. It consisted of:
4 heads of lettuce
1/2 pound salad mix
1 large bunch scallions
1 large bunch basil
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch gorgeous, leafy celery
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 bunch toscano kale
1 bunch collard greens
4 pounds zucchini and summer squash (mostly pattypan)
3 pounds red potatoes
1 head garlic
10 cucumbers
I forget how many green peppers
PYO: 30 stems flowers (black-eyed susans, snapdragons, yarrow, my favorite funky weird ones), 1 small bunch parsley, 2 boxes green beans (about 2 pounds, maybe?).

Tuesday dinner - using up leftover veggies from last week:
Matt made a huge amount of risotto, with carrots, zucchini, beets, kale. It wasn't the prettiest, because the beets turned the whole thing pink, but it was very good. And enough leftovers for lunch the next day... and day after.

Wednesday lunch:
Lazy me served whole wheat pasta with some of the basil-parsley-walnut pesto I made on Monday. It needs some marinated portabellas or something. Still, it went over well.

Wednesday dinner:
Matt made some baked marinated tempeh, which he served on bread with some lettuce and kimchee. It was alright. He also made some baked tofu, to be saved for later. I ate a large amount of lettuce with leftover dressing.

I am definitely making pickles of some kind this week. I don't think I have the "right" kind of cucumbers, but I'll give it a try... plus I will use up that lonely kohlrabi from last week.

Refrigerator organization and another Cherry Grove pickup

When last I left off, I was preparing for the holiday weekend. I did manage to make the planned pasta salad for Saturday lunch/dinner. I used all the broccoli, minus 1 stalk, and most of the basil in the sundried tomato vinigraitte. But no green salad was made that day, and because of our scheduling miscalculations, we arrived late at the gathering and went home with nearly all of the pasta salad.

Luckily, on Sunday we had extra mouths to feed. Sunday brunch:

We had 2 kinds of coffee. Andrew came with his own bag of Small World Rocket Blend, a Melitta drip cone, and filters. Matt had a Stumptown Guatemalan Bourbon varietal, which he usually makes in a french press. They dueled, and the Small World Rocket Blend won. Everyone agreed that the Stumptown had a much better and more complex aroma, but that the Rocket Blend had nice body and mouth-feel. Next we should try brewing the coffee in the drip cone and the french press and decide which is better.

Beignets. This time, they were really good. Fatter, more doughy.

Leftover pasta salad and a quickly-made tofu scramble, with carrots, cabbage, kale, fresh herbs.

Strawberries.

On Monday, I made a pot of Rancho Gordo vaquita beans, and some creamy salad dressing which used up the rest of the basil, plus chives and oregano from the porch containers. I washed and dried a whole lot of salad greens.

I suggested some dinner ideas to Matt. He made Monday dinner:
Big mixed green salad with red and green leaf lettuce, arugula, and radishes.
Tuscan Ribolitta with the vaquita beans and celery, carrots, cabbage, and chard.
Great dinner. I brought home some bent spoon mango and coconut sorbet for dessert.

I have a strategy for dealing with all of this food in our refrigerator. Organization is a key part of the strategy. Unfortunately, Matt is not privy to the workings of this system (also, is uninterested) and does not usually put things back precisely where he found them.

So on Tuesday, I discovered some squished and blackening salad mix, and semi-frozen, semi-wilted arugula in the refrigerator. I had to throw out the salad mix and the frozen part of the arugula. And we got more food.

Tuesday score from Cherry Grove Farm (Week 5 or 6?):
1 bunch beets
1 large bunch basil
1 large bunch lacinato kale
1 large bunch toscano kale
1 bunch carrots (can't wait to eat these)
1 head garlic
2 heads green cabbage
2 heads escarole
2 heads lettuce (1 red, 1 green)
8 cucumbers
4 pounds broccoli
1/2 pound of salad mix

PYO: 30 stems flowers, including black-eyed susans, yarrow, agastache (I think), and 2 snapdragons. Small bunch of parsley, a little thyme and mint.

Immediately, I thought of making vegetable juice the next morning. Hours later, I remembered that one of the juicer pieces has a crack in it, a bad one. Have determined to duct tape it.

At home, we still had 2 giant heads of escarole and some radishes, 1 stalk of broccoli, and the arugula left over. There was no way I could fit the rest of this food in there. So I gave two heads of escarole, a couple of broccoli stalks, 2 cucumbers, and a cabbage to Michele. Then I finessed the rest into the fridge. I also made 2 small batches of basil pesto -- 1 with the farm basil, and 1 with the porch basil. The porch pesto went into the freezer. I then washed and dried some of the arugula, a few stray lettuce leaves from last week, and most of the new salad mix.

Tuesday dinner:
A big, big salad of greens, radish and cucumber with leftover creamy herb dressing.
My version of Francis Lam's koshary. I use brown basmati rice, Rancho Gordo beans, and whole wheat elbows, instead of white rice, lentils, and presumably white pasta. I think my way must be better.

Wednesday dinner:
Matt made another big salad with radishes and cucumbers and carrots and leftover dressing.
And whole wheat spaghettini with the farm pesto, broccoli, red onions, and yellow squash.

For Thursday, we need a portable dinner. We are planning to picnic and hear some music.

Cherry Grove Week 4

Way behind on posting, and I suspect I am a bit off on my week count, but will carry on as if I am not, at least until I can correct it.

This week, our full share consisted of:
1 large bunch chard
1 large bunch toscano kale
1 large bunch lacinato kale
1/2 pound arugula
1/2 pound salad mix
2 1/2 pounds of broccoli (!)
1 bunch radishes
2 heads green cabbage
2 heads lettuce, red and green leaf
2 heads escarole
1 small bunch basil
1 bunch of golden beets that were forgotten at the farm, sadly.

PYO: Flowers, 20 stems -- black-eyed susans and some lavender-colored flowers that start with an "a". Some thyme, mint, and tarragon.

Tuesday dinner:
Brown basmati rice and Tempeh, Broccoli, and Cabbage with fresh basil in green curry sauce. This came together really quick, and I used up a whole cabbage!

Also, we had some leftover baguette, so for dessert we had some bread and chocolate, crisped in the panini pan. So good. Beats any pastry, for me.

Wednesday lunch:
Leftover beet soup, and sandwiches with Melissa Clark's white bean and scape dip and salad greens.

Wednesday dinner:
Was left in Matt's hands, and he decided to go out to dinner instead of cooking. We are a day behind.

Thursday dinner:
Quinoa with Harissa-spiced Cauliflower and Lacinato kale. I had made a big batch of harissa paste a while ago...

Friday dinner:
Brown rice and Green Curry again. With Seitan, Toscano Kale, Cabbage, and Summer squash.

We have been using the salad greens here and there for packing lunches, but I haven't made any dressings because we have been out of olive oil for the last couple of days. That had foiled my plans to make dressings and pestos to freeze. We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on oil and a few other staples.

For tomorrow, I'm planning a big pasta salad to bring to a gathering. That should take care of the basil and broccoli. I'd also like to make some scape pesto. And a big salad for lunch, before we leave for the party.

A New Beginning, courtesy of CSA week #3

Instead of excuses, list-making.

Here's what we picked up this week, from our half of a full-share at Cherry Grove Farm CSA:
1 pound spinach
1/4 pound tatsoi
1/4 pound salad mix
1/4 pound (I think) arugula
2 heads lettuce (1 red-leaf, 1 romaine-like, with fingery leaves)
1/2 bunch radishes
1/2 bunch golden beets
1/2 green cabbage
1/2 large bunch toscano kale
1/2 large bunch lacinato kale
1 pound garlic scapes (we got the whole portion of this item, just because).
Also, PYO (pick-your-own) black-eyed susans, 10 stems; small bunch of lemon thyme; small bunch of tarragon; slightly larger bunch of mint.

Tuesday dinner:

Salad of mixed greens, including some salad mix, some arugula, and some of the romaine-y lettuce. With chopped scapes.
Dressing: Lemon, McEvoy Ranch olive oil, lemon thyme, tarragon, salt, white pepper.

Brown basmati rice and seitan with sauteed garlic and spinach and tatsoi (from last week's share).

After dinner, I washed more salad greens for lunch the next day. Then Matt took the sink apart, broke the connector to the dishwasher hose, and discovered a live wire.

Wednesday lunch:

Salad, like the one from Tuesday dinner. Prepared without use of the sink, so it was fortunate that the greens had been washed the night before. Matt declined the salad, and ate at the food court instead. Wack.