CSA Meals - Week 15

It's never easy to come back from vacation, especially after a week-long trip to the beach that involves multiple gourmet dinners. This year's features were steaks on the grill, lobster, breakfast for dinner, shrimp pasta, and the ever-popular pizza night. Cary and Brian outdid themselves yet again, with the traditional margherita, a spicy jalapeno and pepperoni pie, and an extra special clams casino pizza.

Jalapeno Pepperoni

Clams Casino

The back-to-reality blow was even harder this year since our house was still without air conditioning. I was hoping to score some burrata from River City Cellars to eat with fresh tomatoes and ease our pain a little bit, but, sadly, they were out of it. Instead I took home two other varieties of cheese and a new jar of spicy plum chutney, and we had another dinner with bread, cheese, Hungarian salame, and steamed edamame.

Sticking with the stove-free theme, I made a chickpea salad later in the week, minus the lettuce wraps. The poblano peppers from our share, which I diced and added at the last minute, added a little heat and extra crunch to the dish.

I put together another lettuce-free salad for lunch one day, inspired by this recipe for Mediterranean Chopped Salad from Serious Eats. Instead of onion, I added some garlic to the dressing, and was pleased with the results. I rarely think to add much besides oil and vinegar or lemon juice when I'm making dressing, but the presence of mustard makes a big difference.

One of my favorite annual events, the Hanover Firefighters Crab Feast, took place on Saturday. My parents made their second appearance, and Evan made the drive north to participate.

After the copious amounts of crab and beer, and even a few hot dogs, we relaxed, ordered a pizza, and munched on raw Dragon Tongue beans, which were sweet and crisp.

By Monday, Davy and I ended our oven moratorium. The weather was slightly cooler, and he put together an impressive pan of nachos with ground chicken, a few tomatoes, sweet peppers, salsa, lettuce, cilantro, and plenty of cheese. The oven was on at 450 degrees for fifteen minutes or so, and we barely suffered (only the cheese melted).

CSA Meals - Week 11

I once participated in a conversation with a group of people, including a vegetarian friend, about why she decided to give up meat and how she went about it. She said something that's stayed with me, which was that her family didn't center their dinners around meat every night. 

It struck me that, despite the fact that I consider myself to be a healthy eater, I normally start planning meals based on the protein rather than the vegetables. Even though I think about my friend's words fairly often, I never made much of an effort to put the idea into practice.

Three or four years have passed since then, and this is the first CSA season in which I'm really noticing a difference in the way I approach cooking and eating. I'm getting better about using our fresh, weekly produce items as building blocks instead of side dishes.

We still had potatoes from Week 10 and ate them thinly sliced, off the grill. Davy always manages to season them perfectly, and they accompanied grilled tile fish and raw green beans.

Wednesday marked a turning point in the summer. I was completely worn out from the heat, and had no desire to make dinner until I saw the cover of my neglected Bon Appetit. August's cover recipe is an open-faced tomato and feta sandwich. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it before, but it's a genius way to feature ripe tomatoes. 

I didn't even have to go to the store to make these for dinner now that we have an oregano plant, and Davy and I both loved them. 

The simplicity of this method even allowed me the time to chop a bell pepper and cucumbers from my parents' garden to use throughout the week. For not saving that much time, I certainly felt like I'd accomplished a lot whenever I took out the prepared vegetables.

We used some of them for a chopped salad with tomato, feta, and basil alongside pork nachos, and more the next night in a salad when we ordered pizza.

The weekend highlights were limited to two more rounds of tomato and feta sandwiches, along with leftover grilled potatoes converted into homefries, and a lemony shrimp pasta dish.

On Tuesday, I went home during my lunch break and made a salad with tomatoes, corn, avocado, hard-boiled egg, lime juice, basil and olive oil.

The salad was not only flavorful and refreshing, it also allowed me to clear several items from my fridge before they were past their prime, and not once did the thought of starting with meat cross my mind.

CSA Meals - Week 7

Our house and lot are surrounded by large trees, and we don't have a pet to scare pests away. Squirrels always wreak havoc on my potted plants, but this year I've been fighting them off by sprinkling cayenne pepper over the dirt to keep them from digging holes that ruin plants at all stages. I don't feel the least bit sorry.

Right now, arugula and basil are yielding the most out of everything I planted. The basil pot is elevated on a stand to maximize sunlight, and the arugula seems to like a little more shade. 

Only the arugula and basil came from our garden.
The cucumber and bell pepper are from the share, and
the banana pepper came from Maymont via Caitlin.

I thought my garden and potted plants were finally doing well, thanks to the spicy soil, and then Tex brought some of his homegrown chard over. 

This was taken on the final night of the 
NBA season, in case anyone was curious.

Leafy greens thrive in his beautiful, fenced-in back yard that is almost all garden. The chard, which we sauteed with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, was incredibly fresh. It was an excellent addition to our meal of grilled striped bass and pasta salad with mozzarella, grilled zucchini and squash, and capers.

Earlier in the week, I managed to utilize some of our plants (see first photo) in a makeshift bruschetta and salad. I mixed our lovely sungold cherry tomatoes, pieces of fresh mozzarella, and torn basil with a little olive oil to enjoy on top of thick slices of toasted Billy Bread rubbed with fresh garlic.

By the end of the weekend, the carrots and dense head of cabbage were still untouched in the bottom produce drawer, and I felt obligated to use them that night. I managed to use about a third of the cabbage, and cut the carrots into matchsticks.

Ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and Szechuan peppercorns (thanks, Evan!) went into the pan for flavor, and the resulting stir fry was light and satiating.

It may not have been completely local, but it was good enough to make me excited for dinner two nights in a row. I'm grateful to have the share, and friends with wonderful plants, to supplement the (sometimes literal) holes in our garden.

Recently Made

Looking through the pictures of food I've taken recently and the recipes I've been talking about, it occurred to me that I've been doing a good job of cooking and trying new things more frequently in the first few weeks of 2012.  Below are a few highlights and links to the new dishes I've made.  

The first two were technically put together on December 31, 2011, but the leftovers bridged the transition into the new year.  I wish I'd remembered to take pictures when everything was on display in pretty dishes, but we're stuck with the image of this awesome Asian Slaw in tupperware.

I loved all of the colors in this slaw, the crunch of the peanuts, and the abundance of edamame.  I'll eat just about anything with edamame.  The dressing was flavorful and coated the veggies lightly, and the leftovers retained the crunch from the first night we ate it.


For some reason, Gourmet Live's dairy-free chocolate layer cake recipe was especially enticing during the holiday season.  New Year's Eve was my excuse to make it, and though I didn't have quite enough corn syrup and the frosting was runnier than anticipated, the cake was incredibly moist, and the icing rich and chocolatey.  The "secret" dairy-free component is coconut milk, which I'd never worked with before, but it definitely gave everything a velvety texture, as seen below.

I'm blanking on where I first read about fromage fort, which is essentially a fancy-sounding way to use up the odds and ends occupying your cheese drawer, but it was a welcome alternative to cooking on a night that Davy wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to be in the kitchen.  


Based loosely on this method, I chopped the cheese, added some garlic and white wine, and let the food processor work its magic.  The fromage fort and slices of local bread, brushed with olive oil, all went under the broiler.

And no, this is not creme brulee. 

The cheese was warm and spreadable, just as I'd hoped, but the white wine flavor was a little bit sharper than I wanted.  I think next time I'd use less than 1/4 cup, or try sherry, which was suggested in different recipe.  I'm looking forward to making this again in the future as an alternative to using the cheese in sandwiches or eggs.  It's nice enough to serve to guests, and no one would ever know that it's made of neglected cheese pieces.


My original plan for the fromage fort dinner was pan-fried fish, and Davy and I were both glad that we didn't abandon it completely.  On the following evening, we assembled two breaded flounder filets using flour, egg, and panko, for a very quick meal.  This is especially good if the fish is extra fresh, and ours certainly tasted like it was - we didn't even need tartar sauce.

I also bought fresh fish, halibut this time, for a braised dish one of my friends  has been raving about.  I neglected to take pictures because I was so excited about how well it turned out, but I will say that it's pleasing both to the palate and the eyes.  We served it over whole wheat cous cous, but I'd love to try it over rice or pasta.  Using fresh tomatoes and basil made such a difference, and I'm guessing that it would have turned out even better when those ingredients are in season.  


My final offering is Bon Appetit's "Special Sunday Roast Chicken." It seemed like the perfect meal for a lazy Sunday, and its flavors were luxurious and healthy at the same time.  Instead of mustard greens, which weren't available at Ellwood Thompson's on Sunday, I purchased a large bunch of local chard, which held up nicely to the roasted root vegetables and chicken.  The picture below was an afterthought (literally taken after I'd already plated our food), but I think it represents the dish well.  It's served family style, and is intended to be nourishing and comforting.  Despite the fact that it looks like Davy and I ate nearly a whole chicken, that's not the case.  A lot of it was reserved because I knew it wouldn't fit on the platter.  
  

Here's to continuing to branch out and eat well in 2012! 

CSA Meals - Week 15

Please accept my apologies for neglecting my blog.  The last week of our summer share was fairly uneventful, with some homemade 8 1/2 subs, grilled venison tenderloin marinated in chimichurri, grilled peppers and onions, pizza with arugula and prosciutto, and sauteed yellow squash.


We spent the past few weeks coping with various natural disasters, celebrating birthdays, including the first of our friends' 30th birthday.  Along with all of these events came some extraordinary edibles: prime rib started in the oven and finished on the stove when we lost power, funfetti cake, nutella dream cookies, and crab dip made with crabs that were caught and picked within twenty-four hours.  It was a fitting and wonderful way to conclude the summer.


Next up: the fall CSA, which starts on Tuesday!  






  

CSA Meals - Weeks 11 and 12

Tomorrow we leave for ten blissful days at the beach, and as a result, the posts for last week and this week are combined and brief.  I made two batches of pesto with the large bag of basil we received, and still had enough to add several leaves to the meal we made on Tuesday.


I've produced a few different versions of vegetarian pasta dishes as the heat persists.  Last Wednesday I combined penne with grated zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic and pesto.  The zucchini was only available in grated form because I was making zucchini bread, and had a lot leftover.  It was a nice change from eating it sliced or chopped, and it almost melted into the rest of the sauce.

This week's variety included the two-toned squash, tomato, feta, and basil, mixed with the three Bombolini pastas I purchased at the market (black pepper, spinach, and plain linguine).  All of the linguine was tender, fresh, and had a lot of flavor.  I'm looking forward to trying more of the Bombolini offerings the next time I get to the market.

Since it's too warm to make soup, I threw a bunch of ingredients together into a dish that could be called a salad.  Purslane, tomato, parsley, and chickpeas went in the first night, with a lime juice, cumin, onion, and garlic dressing.  We ate it with corn on the cob and grilled rockfish.  I added feta and leftover corn kernels to some of it for lunch on Saturday, and on Monday Davy used the remainder for dinner in a few tortillas.  The purslane worked very well with the chickpeas, lime, and cumin.  It's has thick green leaves, and it gets a little slimy when you chew it (from its omega-3s), but I liked it's substantial texture and savory flavor.

I'll try to post a few pictures of dinners at the beach, and then I'll be back with CSA entries for Week 14.  Have a great week!

CSA Meals - Week 10

The sun is blasting everything outside, but the plants in my garden haven't given up just yet, and luckily the CSA is still going strong.  Most of week was extremely bearable compared to the excessive temperatures we have now, and I managed to make a few different dishes with our CSA produce and Shannon's monster zucchini.  


When Davy has a band activity and won't be around for dinner, I seize the opportunity and make pasta.  Last Wednesday I ate it with sun gold tomatoes, basil, feta, and garlic, and it was spectacular - simple, sweet, and fresh.  The sun gold tomatoes are so tasty, and for someone who doesn't love tomatoes (I'm getting there!), the perfect variety to eat uncooked.

The next night I realized we had a ton of zucchini to use, and some prosciutto, so I decided to try out a version of this salad from Serious Eats.  We didn't feel like grilling, and I was using the oven for potatoes baked in parchment anyway (with basil instead of mint), so I sliced some zucchini on the mandolin and roasted it instead.

If you need to find another way to get rid of zucchini, the lentil salad is a healthy and delicious way to do so.  The thin pieces almost melted down in the dressing, and the red wine vinegar provided just enough of a bite to keep the flavors interesting.  I chopped my prosciutto and mixed it in instead of serving it on the side, and it contributed to making the dressing taste richer, which is completely worth it when you're eating health food like lentils and zucchini.

My parents came to visit for the weekend, and we welcomed them with takeout from 8 1/2 plus lime and peanut coleslaw on Friday night.  I love this coleslaw recipe from 101 Cookbooks because it's a totally different take on shredded cabbage.  It's tangy from the lime, crisp from the cabbage and peanuts, slightly juicy from the beautiful sun gold tomatoes, and very light because it doesn't have mayo.  The slaw can be eaten for several days after, as long as you don't mind if the peanuts lose some of their crunch, because the cabbage is even better as it softens.

When I made the parchment potatoes, I used every potato we'd gotten in the share because I knew they could be recycled into other meals.  We ate a them a second time in a Sunday morning frittata with zucchini, since both of those vegetables were in abundance.


After all of the glorious weekend eating (another phenomenal meal at Secco!), Davy and I were worn out.  We made a cucumber and tomato salad with feta, and decided to defrost some bread to eat with Idiazabal cheese from Trader Joe's and spicy plum chutney for dinner on Monday.  It's the kind of meal that's perfect in a heat wave, so we probably should have held off until Week 11,  though I don't think either of us would complain if we repeated it the next round of candy-like sun golds.

CSA Meals - Week 9

My default cuisine, especially in the summer, is Italian.  Something about the combination of multiple vegetables and the abundance of basil always inspires me to make pasta, pizza, or risotto.  


Week 9 was no exception.  I combined the remaining zucchini and corn from the Fourth of July extravaganza with arugula, raw green beans, thyme, lemon juice, and tomatoes to make a tasty salad.  It didn't have typical Italian flavors, but using the ends of several different dishes to produce something new is a very Italian technique.

I employed the same method on Wednesday and used cherry tomatoes, arugula, and more of the Brigid's Abbey cheese in a pasta dish for lunch.  The cheese lent the perfect "saline funk" (the appropriate words Melissa Clark used to describe a pecorino) to the plain pasta and fresh vegetables.   

That night for dinner we used more of the arugula to imitate 8 1/2's arugula, prosciutto and mozzarella hero.  Davy even got the rolls and mozzarella from 8 1/2, and the prosciutto from the butcher.  By now I don't need to describe how much we love these ingredients together, but hopefully the pictures do them justice.  We also had a cucumber, tomato, and feta salad to complete the meal.

Our bag of arugula seemed never-ending, though it help up nicely for the whole week.  On Sunday I made myself an arugula and feta omelet, and on Monday I finished it off in a risotto tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, onions, garlic, and basil.


I sauteed the garlic, onion and zucchini, and added the tomatoes and arugula after I'd turned off the burner.  When the risotto was ready, I was able to unload all of the contents in the pan, as well as three cheeses (fresh mozzarella, Brigid's Abbey and parmesan), and we had a wholesome one pot meal for dinner and lunch the following day.  If I lived in Italy, I would have used the risotto to make arancini during my siesta the next day, but for now, I'll have to be content with mimicking the cuisine as well as I can from Richmond.

CSA Meals - Week 7

To kick off Week 7, we got subs from 8 1/2 and had the first cucumber and tomato salad of the year.  I never get over how such simple ingredients (cucumber, tomato, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, pepper) can turn into such a subliminal combination of tastes.  This year's tomato crop has been sweet and beautiful so far, perfect for my staple summertime salad.

The next night we raided the fridge to eliminate some of last week's stragglers, and wound up with kale and potato quesadillas.  The kale and potatoes were already cooked, so they took almost no time at all to make.  I need to remember that almost all vegetables taste good encased in a tortilla, warmed with cheese, and served with salsa.


Last Thursday was the NBA Draft, which has turned into a notable event in our house.  I got some frozen Trader Joe's goodies (including the transcendent fried mac and cheese balls), and made sauteed cabbage to ensure that we consumed something healthy that evening.  The cabbage, as I mentioned in Week 6, had the appropriate balance of tenderness and crunch, and with soy sauce and sesame oil, blended in nicely with the rest of our spread.


The final culinary endeavor of the week was a white pizza.  We'd obtained a beautiful piece of Brigid's Abbey cheese from River City Cellars, and I shaved several pieces off to layer onto the pizza crust.  For the next layer, I sauteed a small portion of one of Shannon's giant zucchinis with onions and garlic until the onions were transparent and the zucchini started to soften around the edges.  The vegetables went on top of the cheese, followed by a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, grated parmesan, and additional shavings of the creamy Brigid's Abbey.

We let the pizza warm up for five minutes in the oven, then added chopped tomato, and put it back in for a few more minutes.  The cheese had a hint of brown when I pulled the pizza out and sprinkled it with several leaves of amethyst basil.  

It was an aesthetically pleasing pizza, and also loyal to the season, which made it all the more satisfying to devour.  As long as the tomatoes continue to be this wonderful, I'm going to try to use them in dishes that aren't (all) salads featuring them with cucumber.

CSA Meals - Week 5

Sharing recipes and methods of cooking with friends is one of my favorite parts of participating in a CSA.  Last week ended up being slightly different than normal, because Shannon and I arranged for a veggie swap over the weekend.  She gave me a giant zucchini and lettuce from her garden, and I unloaded cabbage, radicchio, and kale into her produce drawer.

We both had the benefit of variety, and I got to try a recipe that I've been holding onto in anticipation of the zucchini harvest: "Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad."  The New York Times recipe includes zucchini, fresh mozzarella, basil, and lemon, all of which scream summer to me.  

Frying the zucchini takes a lot of time, and I don't think that it has to be fried to make this dish.  Next time I would grill or roast the zucchini, which would probably improve the taste and healthiness of the salad.  

My favorite part of the pasta salad wasn't the tenderness of the mozzarella or the kale pesto-coated penne (although I always love pesto-coated pasta).  What I liked most was the inclusion of capers, red wine vinegar and lemon zest, all of which brightened the dish and elevated it to a more interesting level.  The dish isn't simple, but every component of it blends together effortlessly.  I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but the recipe and my modifications are below.

The other big cooking effort of the week was "Kale Fried Rice," from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook, and it was recommended by my friend Lyndsey.  I used my garlic scapes in place of garlic cloves, and added eggs and edamame to make it into a one pot meal.  I also ran out of brown rice, and ended up using half brown and half jasmine, which made the dish a little bit lighter.    

   

 

My kale should have been sliced more finely, and I used more than called for, but this fried rice is deceivingly flavorful and satisfying.  

We munched on the green beans and cucumbers raw, which really makes me appreciate just how fresh and cared for our CSA produce is.  After the swap, we were only left with potatoes at the end of the week, which will endure longer than the greens I traded away.

Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad

Published: April 26, 2011 (NYT)

Time: 45 minutes

Adapted from “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi (Chronicle Books)

Salt and black pepper

2/3 cup sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)

3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3/4 cup frozen edamame

2 cups basil leaves, shredded coarsely*

1/4 cup parsley leaves*

1/3 cup olive oil*

9 ounces penne

Zest of 1 lemon (I used zest and juice of 1/2 lemon)

1 1/2 tablespoons capers

7 ounces buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks.

*I used kale pesto from my freezer and a few leaves of fresh basil

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a medium saucepan, heat sunflower (vegetable) oil over medium-high heat. Fry zucchini slices in batches (do not crowd them) for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a colander to drain. Tip zucchini slices into a bowl, pour vinegar on top and stir, then set aside.

2. In the hot water, blanch edamame for 3 minutes; drain, refresh under running cold water and set aside to dry. Keep boiling water in pot.

3. In boiling water, cook pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water. Return pasta to pot. Pour zucchini slices and their juices over pasta. Add edamame, basil sauce (kale pesto), lemon zest and juice, capers and mozzarella. Stir together gently, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in remaining basil.

Yield: 4 servings