CSA Week 13

From Shana:

From Bob:

When the CSA started, I began keeping a bag in my freezer for trimmings and leftover items that were about to go bad.  My plan was to use the bag as the base for a homemade vegetable stock.  I finally felt I had enough so I made my stock this Saturday.  Ultimately, I ended up with some fennel stalks and fronds, two celery stalks, a few random halves and thirds of onion, leftover matchstick cut carrots and two whole bell peppers.  I supplemented the stockpile (get it?) with some fresh items I had on hand but knew I wouldn’t need right away – another onion and some fresh parsley – added water to cover and let it cook away.  I let it go for about two hours, after which it had reduced slightly and had some flavor.  Many of the recipes I looked at called for 30-60 minutes which I did not feel was enough, it still tasted too watery.  I salted it well, maybe about 2 tablespoons, but it didn’t end up being enough when I used the stock for a soup but it’s definitely better to salt to taste later than have an over salty stock.  Straining the stock was made easier by a long handled spider and a fine mesh strainer.  I poured the stock through the strainer and into a 2 gallon pitcher for easy fridge storage.  I used some stock to make a simple dinner the next night.  I brought it to a boil, added some frozen peas and corn, a package of udon noodles, some soy sauce and some chili garlic sauce.  It was simple but tasty and a good way to use up CSA scraps that would have gone to waste otherwise.

CSA Week 12

From Shana:

• 3 to 4 cups chopped leeks (make sure you clean them well as they have sand in them)
• 3 to 4 cups chopped potatoes (you want a little more potato than leek–i dont’ peel the skins but Julia would probably be horrified! I like the texture and added fiber and minerals)
• 2 quarts of water (or a little more if it doesn’t look like enough)

CSA Week 11

From Shana:

Homemade Croutons

• preheat oven to 350
• take an older baguette or load of bread and cut into 1″ square chunks
• toss very liberally in olive oil, salt, pepper and any dried herbs from previous CSA weeks.
• bake for 5-10 minutes depending on how brown you like them. Let cool and add to salad!

From Bob:

Google “fingerling potato recipes” and you get about 1,000 variations of herb roasted fingerling potatoes.  Boring.  I was looking for something different and am happy to share a few recipes that caught my eye.  The first, a different take on the typical roast, are these braised fingerlings with garlic, herbs and shallots.  If you pick up kale and eggs in today’s share you could also try this popular Blue Apron recipe for a Kale and Potato Hash.  If neither of those is grabbing your interest, check out Six Burner Sue’s rundown of easy fingerling recipe ideas.

From Bob:

Sorry for the delayed, and light, update this week.  Last Saturday I tried a recipe I had seen in an episode of America’s Test Kitchen for pasta with cauliflower.  It was a perfect way to use up last week’s head of cauliflower and some leftover onion I had in the fridge.  In place of the thyme the recipe called for, I added some of my home dried CSA savory and marjoram.  This one was a keeper and it was actually better leftover: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/7770-pasta-with-cauliflower-bacon-and-bread-crumbs.

Week 8 Share

From Shana:

What a share this week! Nothing like the first week of tomatoes- and what beauties! And the potatoes, the smell of the basil and fennel- we are lucky folks! I love this Blue Apron recipe so much that it’s become a regular in our home. It utilizes our potatoes, red onion and kale, and if you have a fruit share- it has an apple in it!  Even if you’re not a Blue Apron member, you can view the recipe free online here (just click away from the pop-up box asking for your email address, you do not need to enter it).

From Bob:

Before this week I had never cooked or prepared fennel so I was a bit unsure how to use it.  I saw a lot of summery recipes calling for it raw in salads or lightly grilled but I didn’t think I would love the strong anise flavor in a savory dish.  I stumbled on a slow cooker tomato sauce recipe that used fennel, onion and garlic as the base and was intrigued.  The low and slow cooking mellowed the flavor of the fennel but it definitely added something different to the sauce.  It was also a great way to use up some of my CSA onion (if you have any elephant garlic left use that in place of the regular garlic cloves too!).  For good measure I diced some leftover CSA squash, browned it, and added it to the sauce just before serving.

Week 7 Share

From Bob:

I recently bought Rick Bayless’ new cookbook, More Mexican Every Day, and have been cooking my way through it using as many CSA veggies as possible.  Last night, I paired some store bought poblano peppers and corn with last week’s spring onions, elephant garlic and this week’s squash to make his Creamy Roasted Corn, Poblano and Zucchini Tacos.  The cookbook suggests making a large batch of the rajas, the creamy poblano and onion mixture, to use as the basis for additional recipes throughout the week.  I’ll use the leftover mixture as the base for a tortilla soup tonight to which I’ll add stock, black beans, corn and some diced canned tomatoes (don’t waste your precious first fresh tomatoes on a soup!).  You can also puree the rajas, with a touch of cream or broth, into a flavorful sauce to go over grilled chicken or simple enchiladas.

From Nina:

I tried this recipe tonight. I was tired of roasting those whole chickens so I hacked one up with cooking shears and tried this. It was really, really good. Get to use your celery, onions and peppers too. http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Country-Captain

From Shana:

From Bob:

Still have leftover beets or radishes from last week?  I do and will be using these two recipes to help clean out the fridge:

• Beets: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/03/roasted-beet-salad-with-goat-cheese-walnuts-honey-dijon-vinaigrette.html
• Radishes: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-braised-radishes-with-shallots-bacon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-48969

I actually made the beet salad tonight and it was excellent.  Admittedly it was my first time making beets and I was a bit skittish but they were actually very good.  I paired tonight’s dinner with a lemonade to which I added mint (from my garden) and CSA rosemary.  You wouldn’t think of the rosemary as a welcome addition but it is – it lends a nice fragrant and herbal tone which balances the sweetness of the lemonade.

Unsure of what to do with those mondo-sized spring onions from this week’s pickup?  I found a good suggestion online: clean them well then slice in half lengthwise, leaving the root intact to keep it together, then liberally coat with oil and grill.  Definitely worth a try!

From Bob:

Dried Herbs

When I got today’s share home and went to store the marjoram, I realized that I never used last week’s savory.  I also still had some dill left over (two weeks in the fridge and it’s still great – gotta love dill!) that I wanted to use too.  For the life of me I couldn’t come up with a recipe that would use all three with the other ingredients on hand so I thought I should try drying herbs for the first time.  I turned to one of my favorite kitchen reference books, Herbs & Spices: The Cook’s Reference, for help.  In one of the tips it mentioned using the microwave to dry which I had never thought of.  Rinse the herbs well, dry them on some paper towels and lay them on a dry paper towel in as close to a single layer as possible.  Sure enough, it worked really well.  The book called for 2.5 minutes but I found I needed more like 3.5 for my bunches, probably because I didn’t try them too well after rinsing.  Let them cool and further dry out on the counter for an hour or so before removing the leaves from the stems.  I bagged and tagged them and now have some CSA flavor that I can turn to at any time, regardless of what is fresh that week.  If you’re finding yourself with leftover fresh herbs you should definitely give it a shot!

CSA Week 4 Share

From Shana:

From Bob:

I had some leftover steak that I needed to cook up tonight and today’s fresh broccoli was just the perfect side dish.  The steak was from the newly re-opened butcher on Park Ave, the Caldwell Market Place, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t already – Chris, the owner, is very friendly and everything is superb.  Since I had the grill on anyway, I figured why not cook the broccoli on there without having to turn on the stove or oven too.  If the steak and broccoli isn’t enough – you could also sautee some of your greens with some nutmeg, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil until they wilt and are a fraction of their original volume.  Here’s how I cooked the broccoli:

• 1 head of broccoli (florets cut into bite size pieces; stalks into thin rounds)
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli and remaining ingredients to coat.
2. Fold a large piece of foil in half to create a double layer.  Form the foil into a packet large enough to hold the broccoli.
3. Start the broccoli over indirect heat while your steak is cooking.  Move over direct heat when you remove the steak from the heat and cook over direct heat while the steak rests.
4. Remove from the heat, plate and pour the collected juices on top of the broccoli.

CSA Week 3 Share

From Shana:

Garlic Scapes & Spinach

 

Kohlrabi

From Bob:

I thought peas would be one of the easier CSA veggies to meal plan for, but I did find myself struggling a little bit last week.  My hesitation was this: with a half share I didn’t have a ton of peas once they were shelled, I didn’t want to stretch them with frozen but I still wanted to showcase their freshness and flavor.  Throwing them blindly into another dish and hiding them was the last thing I wanted to do.  So, I decided to try something new.  I bought a sliced panella loaf from Calandra’s and made a batch of homemade ricotta (it’s so, so much easier than you think – trust me, try it, and you’ll never go back to store bought – don’t be afraid to substitute low fat milk for the whole).  While I toasted the bread, I quickly blanched my peas and then smashed them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh herbs (the dill from your CSA share would be good – mint was good too).  I topped the toasted bread with a smear of my ricotta then topped with the smashed pea mixture.  Simple, fresh and delicious.