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.