Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Week Eight of 2014

The game at pick up was to get the craziest looking eggplant.




We got...

Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Green Beans, Head Lettuce, Onions, Potatoes, Salad Mix, Scallions, Serrano Peppers, Small Tomatoes, Zucchini

Peaches

My ideas...

Bell Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes – Chicken Scaloppine with Peperonata

Broccoli  - Sesame Broccoli
This recipe suggests steaming the broccoli.  I may roast it to get a bit of crunch and char to deepen the flavor.

Cantaloupe, Cucumber, and Serrano Peppers – Spicy Cantaloupe Cucumber Salad

Eggplant, Onions, and Tomatoes – Vegetarian Aubergine Tagine
No Tagine?  I’ll be making this in a dutch oven.

Green Beans – Green Beans with Lime
Easy side dish!

Head Lettuce, Salad Mix, Scallions, Tomato, Cucumber – First week of the season that the whole salad will be from the CSA share!  YEAH!!!



Zucchini and Tomatoes – Silky Pappardelle and ZucchiniRibbons

Review of Week Seven of 2014

Here are some dishes I made this week...

Chorizo Rice Skillet – This dish used the bell peppers, onions, and scallions.
This dish came together so quickly.  The idea of sautéing some vegetables, combining with ground meat or sausage, and adding rice to simmer could be used to create several different flavor profiles.



Tingly Chicken and Green Noodle Bowl – This dish used chard, cucumber, and scallions.
This was delicious!
I thought this would be true to it’s tingly name with both Szechuan peppercorns and Sriracha, but I didn’t find it to have much of a bite.  Next time I would sprinkle the peppercorns on top of the dish and add more Sriracha to the ground chicken.

Grilled Eggplant Bahn Mi Sandwiches - This dish used eggplant, carrots, and cucumber from the CSA.
I made these to take to dinner at the pool.  They can be prepared ahead of time. 

Indian Zucchini and Summer Squash – This dish used onions, zucchini and summer squash.
I made this Zucchini Paneer recipe, but did not add the paneer.  It made for a nice side dish.

Indonesian Vegetable Salad – This dish used carrots, green beans, bell pepper, and cucumber from the CSA.
This is a cold salad good for dinner on a hot summer night.  There is only boiling water for blanching some of the veggies to make any heat in the kitchen. 

The recipe says this salad is often served with crunchy shrimp crackers.  I did not have a crunchy cracker option and it would have rounded out the dish.  

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Week Seven of 2014

We got...

Bell Peppers, Chard, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Green Beans, Head Lettuce, Onions, Poblano Peppers, Scallions, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Dill

Peaches

My ideas...

Bell Pepper, Onions, and Scallions – Chorizo Rice Skillet

Chard, Cucumber, and Scallions – Tingly Chicken and GreensNoodle Bowl
Yes!  This will be tingly with Szechuan Peppercorns and Sriracha, but I’m sure you could cut back on the spiciness. 

Eggplant and Bell Pepper – Eggplant Sloppy Joes
A nice Meatless Monday option.

Green Beans – Grilled Green Beans



Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Week Five of 2014

Week Five of 2014

We got...

Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cucumber, Head Lettuce, Kale, Onions, Salad Mix, Scallions, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil

Strawberries

My ideas...

Broccoli, Onions, Scallions – Five Spice Orange Beef andBroccoli
Use the whole recipe for a complete meal or just do the broccoli as a side dish.

Cabbage, Scallions – Hoisin Glazed Pork Mu Shu Casserole

Carrots, Cucumbers – Cucumber and Shaved Carrot Salad


Summer Squash and Zucchini – Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia withSquash Salad


Basil – Pesto to Freeze

I’ll freeze the pesto in ice cube trays.  The blocks of pesto come in handy throughout the year for soups and other recipes.

Monday, July 7, 2014

CSA Staycation

The kids are away visiting family and we have been having a great time checking out lots of local eateries and barely cooking.  What then to do with the wonderful items in our CSA?

Here is what I did with many of the items we got...

Broccoli – I froze it.  Trim, boil 3 minutes and then submerge in ice water.  Drain and freeze.
Here are great guidelines for freezing many different vegetables.

Chard & Beet Greens – Braised in Tomato Sauce, then frozen
I will eat these with pasta or rice for lunch.

Summer Squash & Zucchini – shredded and froze
I’ll use this later in soups or quick breads.  Follow this link for other great ideas for shredded squash.

Parsley & Basil – froze
Frozen herbs are great for pasta and soup recipes.

Grilled Beets and Kohlrabi

The farm newsletter a couple of weeks ago had a suggestion for Grilled Kohlrabi.  I used this recipe as a guide.


I thought I’d try it with beets too.  It was a great side dish.



Grilled Beets and Kohlrabi

1 Kohlrabi, peeled
1 bunch Beets, peeled
olive oil
salt & pepper
1-2 Garlic Scapes
Basil – rough chop

Boil Kohlrabi and Beets until tender (45 minutes).  Let cool.  Slice.


Mix olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil.  Once Kohlrabi and Beets are sliced allow them to marinate in oil mixture.  Grill up to 5 minutes per side on medium heat.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Week Four of 2014

Later in the summer the farm will not be able to provide basil, so they potted basil for us to grow and have for use all summer.

We got...

Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Chard, Cucumber, Head Lettuce, Salad Mix, Scallions, Snow Peas, Summer Squash,  Zucchini, Basil, Parsley, Basil Pots

My ideas...

This recipe calls for Golden Beets, but I’m sure the striated Chioggia Beet would look great in this dish.


We needed a slaw for the July 4th Holiday!

Chard and Parsley – Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli
I have some wonton wrappers I need to use so I’m going to replace the spinach with chard and try this recipe.

Cucumber – Shaved Cucumber Salad

I’m going to try the snow peas as a substitution for the snap peas.


Summer Squash and/or Zucchini – Chickpea and VegetableTagine