Serving Suggestions: Week 12

Aug26
CSA Week 12

CSA Week 12

 

From Shana:

Julia Child’s Potato and Leek Soup 
I know it’s not a novel idea to do with leeks and potatoes from this week’s share.  But this simple soup is a staple in my household especially in winter.  Warm, cozy, nourishing, vegetarian (and made vegan easily), gluten free and, most importantly, delicious!  This is how I make it:

  • 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)
Simmer on medium heat for about an hr. You can hand mash with a fork as Julia suggests. I use a hand blender b/c I like it somewhat smooth and then allow for some lumps and chunks.

Turn off heat and add salt and pepper to taste and two big gobs of butter  (you can also add a bit of cream instead or in addition- i like just the butter better). Or you can just leave it as it is and season to taste.

8/23 Update & Share

Aug23

To view Farmer John’s update for this week, please click here:

The share for this week will be: Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, beets, choice of chard or arugula, leeks, beans, choice of an herb (parsley, garlic chives, or flavored basil) and possibly a melon or watermelon.

Serving Suggestions: Week 11

Aug18
CSA Week 11

CSA Week 11

From Shana:

Homemade Croutons

I love salad for meals but they often aren’t filling enough for my other half. Our answer? Homemade croutons! They add texture, flavor and take away that empty feeling! Here’s how we make ’em:
  • 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!
Tomato-Mayo-White Bread Sammy
My dad, who I may add, is from India, loves summer for these sandwiches. He requires cheap, sliced white bread, good mayo in abundance and the freshest tomatoes summer can offer. Don’t add anything fancy, just large slices of tomato in between the bread with plenty of mayo and a sprinkle of salt– pretty delicious!

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.

8/16 Update & Share

Aug16

To view Farmer John’s most recent update, click here.

 

The share for this week will be: Beans, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, choice of chard or kale,

savoy cabbage, blue fingerlings, lettuce, red onions and choice of an herb (parsley, chives or Thai basil);

possibly a melon or watermelon. For extras we have tomatillos, hot peppers and okra.

8/9 Update & Share

Aug9

To view Farmer John’s update for this week, click here.

This week’s share will include: tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes, choice of arugula or tatsoi, cauliflower, white onions, summer squash, string beans, daikon, either a melon or a watermelon and choice of an herb (parsley, chives, savory, or Thai basil).

Serving Suggestions: Week 9

Aug8

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.

 

8/2 Update & Share

Aug2

To view Farmer John’s newest update, click here.

Today’s share will include: squash, beets, lettuce, cucumbers, garlic, choice of chard or arugula, fingerling potatoes, melon or watermelon, cauliflower, red cabbage, beans, tomatoes and peppers.  For extras there will be tomatillos and hot peppers.

Serving Suggestions: Week 8

Jul27
Week 8 Share

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.

 

7/26 Update & Share

Jul25

To view Farmer John’s update for this week, click here.

 

The share for this week will be: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, rainbow carrots, red

torpedo onions, choice of chard or kale, cauliflower, red skin potatoes and basil. There will be beans,

eggplant and melons as availability allows. As extras we have fennel and tomatillos.

Serving Suggestions: Week 7

Jul20
Week 7 Share

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