Week Seven of the CSA

I got a heart shaped potato in my CSA this week, Fun!
We got...

Carrots, Chard, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Onions, Potatoes, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil

Fruit: Nectarines

My plans...

Carrots and Onions – This Indian Chicken Wrap might make for a great pool side dinner.

Carrots, Summer Squash, and Zucchini – My friend and I love this recipe for Spaghetti and Asparagus.  She recently adapted it for Carrots, Summer Squash, and Zucchini.  She has a cool peeler that Julienne cuts her veggies, I think I’ll just shred mine.  I’ll have to put that peeler on my kitchen tool wish list.

Chard – I’ve made this Dal with many different greens, this week I’m making it with the Chard.

Eggplant, Basil – This Cod with Eggplant, Tomatoes, andBasil looks yummy!

Green Beans – I made the Balsamic Green Bean part of this recipe with frozen CSA Green Beans over the winter.  Can’t wait to try it with fresh.

Green Peppers and Onions – Fajitas!  Check out the link for a great FajitaSeasoning Mix.

Potatoes – a lovely Tuna Salad Nicoise for a hot summer day.

Vacation and the CSA!

We were on vacation for Week Six of the CSA!  The week before, I was able to put almost everything from that share in the freezer.

We had gotten...

Carrots, Chard, Cucumber, Green Beans, Head Lettuce, Salad Mix, Scallions, Spring Onions, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil, Parsley
 
Carrots and Green Beans went in the freezer with the helpful advice of this website that tells you how to freeze all sorts of garden vegetables.
 
I did make the Chard salad I planned on, and it was great!
 
Cucumbers and Lettuce got eaten or shared.
 
Scallions and Spring Onions I diced and put in the freezer. 
 
Summer Squash got blanched, pureed, and frozen in ice cube trays.  You can put it in soups or hide it in meatloaf.
 
The Zucchini got shredded and frozen.  Good for Zucchini bread later.
 
Basil and Parsley got frozen.
 
Upon our return home...
 
There was a little bit of cucumber left that was still delicious (yeah CSA!) and that and the frozen onions provided us CSA ingredients for these Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps.

I hope these tips help you plan for while you are away or give you ideas on how to store items from the CSA.

Recipe Reviewed: Scallion Sesame Rice

Thursday Menu – Salmon, Scallion Sesame Rice, Chard Salad Farm Share Food – Chard, Scallions

Scallion Sesame Rice
 
What a fun way to use scallions in a side dish!  Watch the sesame seeds while you are toasting them, they can burn quickly.
 
I didn’t have sushi rice.  I used jasmine rice and it was just fine.

Recipe Reviewed: Chard Salad

Thursday Menu – Salmon, Scallion Sesame Rice, Chard Salad
Farm Share Food – Chard, Scallions

Chard Salad
 
I really enjoyed this salad.  I used the dressing to coat the Salmon before cooking it, just like the original recipe does with the pork chop.  I didn’t have the time or energy to look for hazelnuts and work with them, as they are a new ingredient for me.  I used walnuts instead.
 
My one note of warning is that Chard raw is the slightest bit tough, so this makes for a salad that needs a little extra chewing.   It was not detrimental to my dinner experience.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

Farm Share Food – Cucumbers, Cilantro, Onions  
Spicy Cucumber Salad
adapted from the recipe in “From Asparagus to Zucchini” which is originally from Twinhawks/Clearview Family Farms
 
Printable Version
 
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced into half moons
1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
1 T cilantro, roughly chopped
1 T rice wine vinegar
2 T sesame oil
½ t salt
1 t soy sauce
1 T sugar
2 t hot sauce
 
Toss together the cucumber, onion, and cilantro.  Whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt, soy sauce, sugar, and hot sauce.  Toss the dressing with the cucumber mixture. 
 
NOTE: the printable version mentions a whole chile.  The above version uses hot sauce.  Either works!

Week Five of 2012

We got...  
Carrots, Chard, Cucumber, Green Beans, Head Lettuce, Salad Mix, Scallions, Spring Onions, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil, Parsley

My ideas...

Carrots – Here is a basic recipe for Perfectly CookedCarrots.  You could add any spices that would complement the rest of your menu.

Chard – Braising these greens will make for a great poolside dinner.  This dish can be eaten at any temperature. 

Cucumber – Food Network’s blog started Summerfest this week.  Here are a bunch of great Cucumber recipes.

Green Beans – With all this heat, cold salads are welcome dishes.  This Green Bean and ShallotSalad looks good.

Summer Squash and Zucchini – You can shred and freeze them or boil for 2 minutes, puree and freeze.  With frozen puree I’ve been making these muffins for my kids.  If I make them mini muffin size, they gobble them down.

Basil and Parsley – I love having this Salsa Verde around for just about anything – eggs, meat marinade, or mix with salad dressing, and so on.

Recipe Reviewed: Persian Rice Stuffed Zucchini

Thursday Menu – Persian Rice Stuffed Zucchini Farm Share Food – Zucchini, Cilantro
 
This recipe was a delightful aromatic preparation – the Zucchini roasting in the oven, and the cumin, cardamom, cinnamon smells from the rice while it cooked kept me happy while I moved around the kitchen.
 
I also loved it because each bite was so interesting.  Fruity bursts from the apricot, crunch from the pistachio, warmth from the zucchini and cheese.  Flavor explosions in every bite!
 
A few notes – The Zucchini from the farm is on the bigger side, like 15 oz. each when I weighed them.  The recipe calls for 6 oz. Zucchini, 6 of them.  I made only 2 Zucchini. 
 
We don’t particularly like dill, so I substituted in some of that great Cilantro we got in the CSA.  Also not big goat cheese fans, so the fresh mozzarella that needed used in the fridge got substituted for that.   These flavors worked well and the cheese did it’s job of holding together the rice mixture inside the Zucchini boats.
 
I had too much rice mixture for my 4 Zucchini boats.  It made for a nice side dish.