Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Oops! Comments fixed (I think!)
If you tried to post a comment but couldn't without an account, I think I have fixed it, so you can now comment. Thanks to my sister for pointing that issue out to me! Comment away!
Making a change, and Week 7 (July 16)
So, I have decided to switch things up a bit. I have been uninspired for what to cook using my box, so I am looking to my readers for help! What I am going to do from here out, is I will post a picture of what I get in my box each week, with a description of what is in it. What I want from you is suggestions for what I should cook! Then, I'll post the outcome later each week. So, enjoy, and I hope to learn some new recipes and share the outcomes!
Here is this week's box:
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Here is this week's box:
It includes: Salad, summer squash, heirloom salad tomatoes, eggs, beets, broccoli, and Italian flat leaf parsley.
I was sure that the parsley was cilantro (one thing that I won't even try cooking with), but now that I know it is parsley, I need to figure out how to use it. I assumed that the squash was zucchini, and thought about making some zucchini bread, but now I'm not sure how that will work out. I have an idea for some of the tomatoes... the beets are my big stumper this week... All these root veggies are really stretching my imagination!
I look forward to reading your recipes. Also, I would love to hear what you think of the new format, or any suggestions for improvement. I will post again soon with recipes (just a few) from the last two weeks.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Week 4 (June 25)
I will be catching up again soon, but here is a post written by my awesome sister. I was out of town the week of the box she is blogging about, so enjoy! She has some awesome recipes share, so I hope you enjoy!
I teach environmental science, so of course I'm all about the farmer's market and eating as local and organic as possible. I was really excited that my sister decided to get a CSA box for the summer, especially since it was from one of my favorite growers. I would love to do something like this, but since I have a substantial garden, my family supplements with food from the market instead.
That being said, my sister was out of town and asked me to pick up her box and eat it! Of course we would do that. In our box was salad greens, red russian kale, beets (various colors), strawberries, and sugar snap peas. It was beautiful and colorful, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. See, my garden HAD kale 2 years ago and it went to seed, and then it wasn't maintained at all the following year. What resulted is a garden FULL of kale. Everywhere. I also had a lot of peas and salad greens. However, my strawberries were only producing about 5 berries per day and my beets weren't ready, so those gave me some change from what I had. Here is what I did with each thing:
salad greens & peas: chopped the peas, added them to the greens with cabbage and had chicken salads.
kale: Co-Op Kale Salad (recipe below)
strawberries: homemade ice cream (recipe below)
beets: beet chips!
A friend of mine gave me this wonderful book called Grow Cook Eat (http://www.digginfood.com/about-the-book/) and there was a recipe for "Co-op Kale Salad." I didn't have all the ingredients, so I made some changes to it, but it seems to be pretty good.
Co-Op Kale Salad
1 bunch kale (I used a combo of red russian and nero di toscana from my garden)
1 large, or a couple smallish, carrots, grated
1 ripe avocado (tip for picking a ripe avocado here:http://www.nwedible.com/2012/05/never-buy-a-rotten-avocado-again.html)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
red pepper flakes
top with: sunflower seeds
Wash and then cut the kale into small strips. I cut them about 1/8" wide. Mix the kale and the carrot. In a separate bowl, mash the avocado, add everything else. I sprinkled the red pepper flakes in to taste, just a small bit, but you could add more. Add the avocado mixture to the kale/carrot mixture. Now, here is where it gets messy: mix it with your hands to make sure all the kale leaves get covered. You want a good sauce to kale ratio. The recipe says to refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight, we didn't wait because it was so good already! Before you serve it, top with sunflower seeds - I used raw unseasoned seeds, but I bet it would be good with a different type too.
One pint of strawberries ended up as ice cream. I have an ice cream maker, so I don't know how this would work without that. I followed this recipe (Strawberry Ice Cream Like Ben and Jerry's), but I did make changes to fit my family (not going to feed my family, especially my 2 year old, raw eggs) and my fridge (I had a lot of whole milk, but not as much cream). Verdict: awesome.
Change #1: I used 1 cup of cream, and 2 cups of whole milk.
Change #2: After mixing the eggs with the sugar, 1 cup milk, and vanilla, I cooked it over a medium-low heat to boiling, and then let it cool, before adding the strawberries.
Change #3: I added whipping cream and the remaining 1 cup of milk at the end.
Remember to mash the strawberries well. If you don't, you get big chunks of frozen berries that are hard on the teeth. I left enough so it was still chunky, but small enough to eat.
CSA box success! I learned how to prepare more foods with that I have in the garden too, and will be able to try these foods again later in the season. I'll take your box anytime!
I made the ice cream today, only with raspberries from my current box... yum! Another post soon! Remember to leave comments with your favorite recipes, or if you have tried one of the recipes.
I teach environmental science, so of course I'm all about the farmer's market and eating as local and organic as possible. I was really excited that my sister decided to get a CSA box for the summer, especially since it was from one of my favorite growers. I would love to do something like this, but since I have a substantial garden, my family supplements with food from the market instead.
That being said, my sister was out of town and asked me to pick up her box and eat it! Of course we would do that. In our box was salad greens, red russian kale, beets (various colors), strawberries, and sugar snap peas. It was beautiful and colorful, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. See, my garden HAD kale 2 years ago and it went to seed, and then it wasn't maintained at all the following year. What resulted is a garden FULL of kale. Everywhere. I also had a lot of peas and salad greens. However, my strawberries were only producing about 5 berries per day and my beets weren't ready, so those gave me some change from what I had. Here is what I did with each thing:
salad greens & peas: chopped the peas, added them to the greens with cabbage and had chicken salads.
kale: Co-Op Kale Salad (recipe below)
strawberries: homemade ice cream (recipe below)
beets: beet chips!
A friend of mine gave me this wonderful book called Grow Cook Eat (http://www.digginfood.com/about-the-book/) and there was a recipe for "Co-op Kale Salad." I didn't have all the ingredients, so I made some changes to it, but it seems to be pretty good.
Co-Op Kale Salad
1 bunch kale (I used a combo of red russian and nero di toscana from my garden)
1 large, or a couple smallish, carrots, grated
1 ripe avocado (tip for picking a ripe avocado here:http://www.nwedible.com/2012/05/never-buy-a-rotten-avocado-again.html)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
red pepper flakes
top with: sunflower seeds
Wash and then cut the kale into small strips. I cut them about 1/8" wide. Mix the kale and the carrot. In a separate bowl, mash the avocado, add everything else. I sprinkled the red pepper flakes in to taste, just a small bit, but you could add more. Add the avocado mixture to the kale/carrot mixture. Now, here is where it gets messy: mix it with your hands to make sure all the kale leaves get covered. You want a good sauce to kale ratio. The recipe says to refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight, we didn't wait because it was so good already! Before you serve it, top with sunflower seeds - I used raw unseasoned seeds, but I bet it would be good with a different type too.
One pint of strawberries ended up as ice cream. I have an ice cream maker, so I don't know how this would work without that. I followed this recipe (Strawberry Ice Cream Like Ben and Jerry's), but I did make changes to fit my family (not going to feed my family, especially my 2 year old, raw eggs) and my fridge (I had a lot of whole milk, but not as much cream). Verdict: awesome.
Change #1: I used 1 cup of cream, and 2 cups of whole milk.
Change #2: After mixing the eggs with the sugar, 1 cup milk, and vanilla, I cooked it over a medium-low heat to boiling, and then let it cool, before adding the strawberries.
Change #3: I added whipping cream and the remaining 1 cup of milk at the end.
Remember to mash the strawberries well. If you don't, you get big chunks of frozen berries that are hard on the teeth. I left enough so it was still chunky, but small enough to eat.
CSA box success! I learned how to prepare more foods with that I have in the garden too, and will be able to try these foods again later in the season. I'll take your box anytime!
I made the ice cream today, only with raspberries from my current box... yum! Another post soon! Remember to leave comments with your favorite recipes, or if you have tried one of the recipes.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Week 2 (June 11) and Week 3 (June 18)
I am posting these two weeks together, since I am trying to catch up.
The Week 2 share contained: salad, hakurai turnips, sugar snap peas, red russian kale, and tzan garlic. The salad and peas, I once again ate raw. It was such a treat to have the peas for my last few days of work... just what I needed to give me a little burst of fresh energy (I don't know if that is a real scientific thing, but I definitely felt it).
My feature recipe for week two involved the kale. Let me start by saying I have had kale before. My mom makes an amazing zuppa toscana with winter kale in it. However, I have never used it myself, so there was a bit of a learning curve. I put some of it in my smoothies (just rip them up, sans stems, and toss them in the blender). I could taste it a bit more above the fruit than the spinach (it also didn't grind down as small), but it was still a nice addition.
With the rest of the kale, I made kale chips. A former college dorm-mate suggested I do so, and I loved it! Just cut or rip the leaves into pieces (again, leave the stems out), then toss it in olive oil. Lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, though, they cross over into burnt pretty quickly. When you take them out, sprinkle them with seasoning (I did half with salt and half with Johhny's Seasoning Salt). Don't put this on before baking, since it will dry the chips out too fast. And be careful not to over season them... they are not very substantial, and it is easy to overdo it.
Next, the chard. I didn't actually cook this, but my mom did, and she threw in some of the chard. I think that chard would be great in any sort of stir-fry situation... it sure was yummy in this (and added a pop of color!).
The Week 2 share contained: salad, hakurai turnips, sugar snap peas, red russian kale, and tzan garlic. The salad and peas, I once again ate raw. It was such a treat to have the peas for my last few days of work... just what I needed to give me a little burst of fresh energy (I don't know if that is a real scientific thing, but I definitely felt it).
My feature recipe for week two involved the kale. Let me start by saying I have had kale before. My mom makes an amazing zuppa toscana with winter kale in it. However, I have never used it myself, so there was a bit of a learning curve. I put some of it in my smoothies (just rip them up, sans stems, and toss them in the blender). I could taste it a bit more above the fruit than the spinach (it also didn't grind down as small), but it was still a nice addition.
With the rest of the kale, I made kale chips. A former college dorm-mate suggested I do so, and I loved it! Just cut or rip the leaves into pieces (again, leave the stems out), then toss it in olive oil. Lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them, though, they cross over into burnt pretty quickly. When you take them out, sprinkle them with seasoning (I did half with salt and half with Johhny's Seasoning Salt). Don't put this on before baking, since it will dry the chips out too fast. And be careful not to over season them... they are not very substantial, and it is easy to overdo it.
The verdict: These are a tasty treat! They are good for fulfilling a salty tooth (is there such a thing?), without the extra unhealthy bits you get from chips. The husband loved them too, and even took some to work to share! These will be fun to experiment with and try different seasonings. I don't think that it matters what variety you have either, though the red russian kale has a very pretty shape. I was also thinking that it would be good to saute some of the garlic from this box to toss with the olive oil, to give it a little extra kick.
Week 3 contained salad, carrots, radishes, chard, and strawberries.
I LOVE fresh strawberries! With many of these, I indulged in a weekend treat, strawberry shortcakes (my first weekend of summer I always have ALL this energy, so I put it into baking not only these shortcakes, but also an angel food cake to share with my family). The recipe is nothing special (taken from the Bisquick box), and I used Cool Whip (much to my mom's shame), but it was tasty. The strawberries I just sliced and mixed with a little sugar. And I took pictures, so enjoy!
Next, the chard. I didn't actually cook this, but my mom did, and she threw in some of the chard. I think that chard would be great in any sort of stir-fry situation... it sure was yummy in this (and added a pop of color!).
Note that my sister grew those pea pods... because she is awesome like that! Anyway, if you are interested, you can find it here, on my mom's blog: Soy Sauce Lime Chicken. As far as I know, she just chopped it up and threw it in with the other vegetables. It cooked down pretty far, so put in more than you think would make sense.
And finally, radishes. This is another root vegetable that I don't remember ever eating before. I didn't have very high hopes, after my struggles with the turnips. HOWEVER, I used a simple recipe suggested in one of my sister's farmer's market cookbooks. Apparently this is the French way to eat radishes. I sliced them thin and put them between pieces of buttered bread, with a little bit of salt. I thought it was really good! The radishes give a little crunch, and had a mild enough flavor that it didn't overpower the rest of the sandwich. If anything, I would put less butter on it. It was a refreshing sandwich to eat yesterday, when it was about 85 degrees inside the house. Unfortunately, no picture for this one... but just picture radish slices with bread and butter.
That is all, and gets me officially pretty close to caught up! My sister will be guest posting for the next blog entry-- she picked up my Week 4 box, since I was out of town for a work training. She made some tasty stuff, so I can't wait for her to share the recipes!
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