CSA Share for 2013 Week Twelve

I tried a tasty new sweet pickle recipe today that has the pickles ready to eat in 24 hours (more below).  In our share this week:

• tomatoes
• string beans
• garlic
• eggplant
• cucumbers
• kale
• mizuna
• corn
• turnips
• peaches
• apples

The pickle recipe I tried today can be found here.  It calls for tumeric which, according to the Mayo Clinic, is currently being studied to assess its benefits in the prevention and treatment of cancer.  It’s the tumeric that makes the pickling liquid yellowish.

I thought one cup of apple cider vinegar might be too strong, so I substituted with a half-cup apple cider vinegar and a half-cup white vinegar.  I like that they’re ready to eat the next day.

CSA Share for 2013 Week Eleven

Be sure to check out all the goodies in our farm’s freezer at pickup.  Our farmers work hard at taking care of those cows, including long hours in the hay fields, and in turn we get really good beef (and at reasonable prices).  In our share this week:

• garlic
• tomatoes
• mizuna
• kale
• Tropea onions
• cucumbers
• cherry tomatoes

Love those Tropea onions!  I had never heard of them before joining the CSA.  They are incredible after they are cooked down for awhile…so, so sweet.  Read more about them in one of my previous posts.

(Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

CSA Share for 2013 Week Ten

Looks like the farm party is going to be a little bit earlier this year than past years (end of September versus beginning of October).  This is good because my son keeps asking me when the farm party is going to be!  In our share this week:

• lettuce
• kale
• mizuna
• basil
• green beans
• beets
• cucumbers
• zucchini/summer squash
• tomatoes
• nectarines

Anna’s mention of pot stickers got me thinking of a fun pot sticker lunch that I make with my kids when we do have a little time to spare.  We form an assembly line where one person fills the wrappers, one seals them up, and the last person fries them in the pan.  We use either the round or square Nasoya wonton wrappers; I think there’s about 50 to a package, and my family will devour every single one in one sitting.  They are seriously good.

Homemade Pot Stickers

These pot stickers are best made with an assembly line of three people:  one to fill the wraps, one to seal the wraps, and one to fry the pot stickers.  This recipe calls for Chinese cabbage, but you could add or replace with any other chopped veggie from our share.

• one package of Nasoya wonton wrappers, either round or square
• 1/3 pound extra-firm tofu (or cooked pork, etc)
• 1-1/2 cup shredded/chopped Chinese cabbage (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tsp chopped garlic or garlic scapes
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• one small egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• fresh chopped chives, optional
• sesame seeds, optional

Mix the tofu, cabbage, carrots, garlic, egg, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger together in a bowl.  On a large cutting board, lay out the first batch of wraps.  Place 1 tsp of mixture into each wrap.  Dip finger in a bowl of water and rub one-half of the wrap, and then fold the other half over the mixture and seal by pressing the seams together.  Heat the canola oil over medium heat in a frying pan and add some of the pot stickers (as many as you can without them touching each other).  When the bottoms are browned, flip them over with a tongs and brown the other side.  Remove from pan, placing each pot sticker on a plate, and sprinkle with soy sauce, sesame seeds, and chives.  Add a little more oil to the frying pan and fry the next batch.

To stock up on pre-made pot stickers, you can prepare all the pot stickers but before frying, place on a cookie sheet, freeze, then place in a ziploc bag and return to freezer.  When you get the craving, just take a few out, fry them up, and enjoy!

CSA Share for 2013 Week Seven

I really loved the variety in our share this week, and we even got some delicious fruit!  In our share this week:

• arugula
• kale/swiss chard
• mizuna
• lettuce
• green beans
• cucumbers
• zucchini/summer squash
• cabbage
• peaches
• apples

How right Farmer Anne is when she says in our newsletter that some members are excited to see the arugula back this week.  I admit I was not a fan at all when I joined our CSA 15 years ago, but now it’s one of my favorites.  The turning point for me was when she wrote in a 2011 newsletter to cook some arugula and cherry tomatoes in olive oil, add hot penne pasta, cheese (I use feta), and lemon juice (see photo above).  I’ve been in love with arugula ever since.  Thanks, Anne!

I’m extra-psyched about the arugula this year because not long ago, I discovered my favorite pizza while eating out one night:  Prosciutto and Fig Pizza with Arugula.  I’ve found an online recipe here, but there are lots of variations out there, so take a look and give it a try.  (You could also make it simpler by adapting it to my Tortilla Pizza recipe.)

CSA Share for 2013 Week Four

I love those BIG bunches of greens!  So so healthy for you.  And isn’t that colorful chard gorgeous?  In our share this week:

• swiss chard
• beets
• kale
• cucumbers
• basil

If you are wondering what to do with the giant bunches of greens we are getting, try what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks.  I take all my greens (kale, collards, beet greens), rinse them, then saute them all together in a large pot with olive oil till tender; this really reduces their volume.  I then let them cool a bit, add the other ingredients called for in this Kale Salad recipe, and put it all in a container in the fridge.  Then, over the coming week, it’s easy to add a bit of this mixture each day atop Tortilla Pizza, in any type of stir-fry, into burritos or sandwich wraps,  and over pasta.  The big advantage is that you wash, cook, and prepare it once and then you’re done, plus it frees up space in your veggie drawer.

If you know you won’t get to the cooked-down greens this week, just cook them down, let them cool, then throw them in a freezer bag.  They’ll be waiting for you in the fall or winter.

(Top image courtesy of flickr)

CSA Share for 2012 Week Ten

The pickup list sure is looooong this week.  Such variety!  And the peaches and apples are an extra-special treat.  In our share this week:

• garlic
• basil
• tomatoes
• green peppers
• white onions
• broccoli
• greens (kale, swiss chard, or collards)
• eggplant
• cucumbers
• carrots
• potatoes
• peaches
• apples
• hot peppers

Green peppers galore!  I’m glad to see them since I love simply dicing them up and freezing for use atop our winter pizzas.  To use them now, though, Rachael Ray’s Green Pepper and Tomato Salad sounds refreshing.

Those white onions look interesting, so I needed to find out more about them over at onions-usa.org.  Frankly, I use all types of onions interchangeably with no thought to each one’s nuances, so the info on each type’s best usage will be particularly helpful in my efforts to change my onion-usage ways.  Be sure also to click the History of Onions link and the Onion Health Research link at this website.

(Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

CSA Share for 2012 Week Nine

With all this lovely basil we’re getting, don’t forget to keep making that basil pesto and then freezing it.  You’ll be happy you did come wintertime.  In our share this week:

• basil
• swiss chard
• cucumbers
• bell pepper
• kohlrabi
• beets
• potatoes
• corn
• tomato

I thought a mid-summer collection of recipes for this week’s veggies would be helpful.  I haven’t tried any of these, so let me know what you think.  I found these over at the Mayo Clinic’s website, where they have lots of recipes and healthy living tips.

Peppers:  Pasta Salad with Mixed Vegetables.  This recipe calls for several of our farmshare veggies including garlic, onions, zucchini, and basil.  You could even throw in some of the sweet corn.  It calls for green and red bell peppers, but you could omit the red bells until they start coming in.

Cucumbers:  Cucumber Pineapple Salad.  Never had these two foods together!  I wonder if it’s good…

Beets:  Beet Walnut Salad.  In addition to beets, this recipe calls for some of our greens.

Potatoes:  Potato Soup with Apples and Brie Cheese.  Save this one till later on when the weather turns a bit cooler.  Doesn’t this one sound delicious?

(Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

CSA Share for 2012 Week Eight

the beach of Tropea

Aren’t those Tropea onions beautiful?  See my post from last year for info on and ideas for these onions, and check out wikipedia for more images.   In our share this week:

• lettuce
• swiss chard
• Tropea onions
• cucumbers
• beets
• corn
• garlic
• basil
• sweet corn

Farmer Anne mentioned in our newsletter that, despite all the recipes you can find online, she still likes looking through cookbooks; I certainly am with her on that one.  And I also agree with her that the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks are fantastic.  Currently, Moosewood has published 12 cookbooks and have another one coming out soon.  I’m sure you can find some of them at your library, or you can buy them right from the Moosewood website.  One of my favorites is Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health, which has a fantastic Oatmeal Cookies recipe.

But until you track down some great cookbooks, these recipes featuring Tropea onions should hold you over:

• Spaghetti with Tropea Onions
• Grilled Sweet Tropea Onions
• Bruschetta with Tuna Loin, Tropea Onion, and Black Olive
• Lidia’s Sweet Onion/Tomato Soup

Happy cooking, and happy eating!

CSA Share for 2012 Week Seven

Even if I know how to prepare my veggies, sometimes I just need a little inspiration.  Reading cookbooks usually does that for me, and this week I found a beautiful new cookbook at the library:  The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila.  I especially like Alana’s writeups before each recipe which make each one special.  I’ll be sure to try her Hummus and her Nut Butter recipes, but I’ll wait till winter to make her Lentil Soup.

In our share this week:

• garlic
• basil
• lettuce
• swiss chard
• cabbage
• Chinese cabbage
• cucumbers
• potatoes

Basil and Garlic:  My family looooooves basil pesto, so the big bunch of basil was a welcome sight.  I thought I had my pesto recipe down-pat, and had been using walnuts instead of pine nuts for years (see my Arugula Pesto recipe post, and simply replace the called-for arugula with basil).  But then my husband was talking to a friend recently who recommended trying pecans as a pine nut replacement instead of walnuts; they’re still half the price of pine nuts but give the pesto a smoother taste than walnuts.  If you’d like to try it, here’s an actual Basil Pecan Pesto recipe.

Cucumbers and Cherry Tomatoes:  Now that the cherry tomatoes are really kicking in, try simply cutting them in half and mixing with diced-up cucumbers, then tossing with olive oil, balsamic, feta cheese, and a little fresh-ground pepper.  This is even better if left to sit for a bit.

Chinese Cabbage:  This is perfect for one of my favorite recipes:  Ellie Krieger’s Chop Suey.   As I mentioned in my previous post from a few weeks ago, I like to replace the called-for wonton skins with chow mein noodles.

CSA Share for 2012 Week Five

I was thinking yesterday that it sure seems easy for me to wander up our farm’s path and load up my veggie bags, but I do try and remember that our farmers combine their experience, expertise, good judgement, and a lot of hard work to produce our absolutely outstanding produce.  THANK YOU, guys!!  In our share this week:

• lettuce
• swiss chard
• mizuna
• red cabbage
• summer squash/zucchini
• cucumbers
• golden beets
• broccoli

Since there were extras of summer squash, it’s time to share with you my favorite way to enjoy zucchini:  Zucchini Brownies.  I posted over a year ago on these, in which I link to an old farm newsletter from 2007.   Also in the post is a link linking to another post which links to an old newsletter containing a member’s recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (it takes some clicking around, but it’ll be worth it!).  🙂

If you don’t feel you can get to your cabbage right away, try freezing it using these tips and see what you think.  Speaking of freezing things, I posted last year on freezing cucumbers and when I took them out months later, they were DELICIOUS.  And, if you have tons of garlic scapes still in your veggie drawer like I do, just mince them up, throw ’em in a bag, and freeze.

(Image courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net)