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.

CSA Meals - Week 1

If you had to choose between a refrigerator and air conditioning, which would you pick? What about only having a refrigerator or internet?

Davy and I asked each other these types of questions after our fridge broke a few weeks ago and we had to shop for a new one. In the mean time, our chilled food supply was divided between Keith and Carrie's meat locker and two coolers in our living room. 

Sure, it's fun to think about replacing a major appliance, but it was also inconvenient to cycle through bags of ice and wonder whether or not the chutney needed to be thrown away. Ultimately, we cleared out several jars, bottles, and bags that had accumulated over nearly three years, and are still in the process of re-stocking. It was a cleansing experience, and one that reminded me how little it takes to put together meals when you have basic quality ingredients to work with.

This "simple is better" mindset was the perfect way to tackle the first of our CSA produce. We ate multiple salads with both homemade and store-bought dressing (Annie's Asian Sesame), but my favorite was the one we had the first night. I sliced some of our bright red strawberries, toasted/nearly burned some pine nuts, and tossed everything with little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Amy's mesclun salad mix is earthy and peppery, which worked well with the berries' fruity sweetness. 
   

Along with the salad, I improvised with two recipes from How Sweet It Is to make chicken parm-ish tenders. 

We didn't have anything to dip them in, but they hit the spot with salad and roasted zucchini and squash sprinkled with grated parmesan.

On Wednesday, we celebrated a friend's birthday at Joe's Inn, and feasted off of my baked spaghetti leftovers with salad for dinner the next night.

The new refrigerator worked wonders on all of our greens, and the chard still looked fresh on Saturday. I chopped and softened half of an onion in a little olive oil, then added the chard stems to the pan.  

When everything was mostly cooked through, I stopped taking pictures, but some minced garlic, chard leaf ribbons and black beans completed the filling for cheesy lunch quesadillas on Saturday.

My parents were visiting on Mother's Day, and we had wonderful rockfish from Yellow Umbrella, which my dad graciously grilled. I made quinoa and a kale salad with feta and avocado for our side dishes. Again, no pictures, but the kale was tender and just as delicious when I ate it leftover for lunch a couple days later.

The only item left by Monday night was the baby pac choi, and it also held up nicely in our produce drawer.

I found a quick recipe for braised baby bok choy from Martha Stewart that required very little preparation and cooking. The stems retained a slight crunch, and the leaves absorbed the savory flavors from the soy sauce and chicken stock. The only change I made was to add a drizzle of sesame chili oil to give the pac choi an extra kick.

Since it had to happen, I guess I'm glad that our refrigerator stopped working when it did. It may have been a hassle to transfer and get rid of food, but it's made my approach to cooking much less complicated.

Portland

I'm totally ashamed that my Portland post never happened, but now that it's six months (or more) after our trip, I want to at least show off some pictures.

We made the requisite visit to Voodoo Doughnut to indulge in three varieties: the Old Dirty Bastard (chocolate peanut butter with oreo), Maple Bacon Bar, and a commemorative doughnut for Steve Jobs, who passed away the day before.

My cocktail at Whiskey Soda Lounge, which was a special that night and made with one of their infused vinegars. It was spicy and limey - definitely unique!

Whiskey Soda Lounge is under the same brilliant ownership as Pok Pok, and is strategically located across the street so that customers can have a drink or snack while they wait to get into the busy Southeast Asian restaurant. The famous Fish Sauce wings are on the menu at Whiskey Soda Lounge, and they're worth trying there, or at Pok Pok, or both.

We sampled two little cupcakes and a "bonbonbunbun" from Saint Cupcake, which are, according to the bakery's description, "sweet little pillows of buttery brioche dough hand-tossed in a secret mixture of sugar and spice deliciousness." I think that covers it.

Our final meal, and my birthday dinner, was at Meriweather's, a swanky farm to table restaurant with beautifully presented food. Don't let the dark photo mislead you; everything we ate there was fresh and appealing. Davy and I shared a small pantry board, and I had Dungeness Crab Risotto for my entree. My dessert, shown below, was the Dark Chocolate Coffee Torte with honey lavender gelato. It was smooth, rich, and memorable.

There are no pictures documenting our brunch at Tasty N Sons, but it was just as wonderful as our other culinary adventures. The chocolate potato donuts are not to be missed, and I hope that Richmond restaurants will catch onto the idea of small plates for brunch soon.

I feel so lucky that I was able experience a new city so thoroughly, and am still dreaming about the food we ate in Portland, even six months later.

Sprout in the Spring

Today is the first day of the 2011 CSA, and as a warm up, Davy and I went to Sprout for dinner last night.  Actually, we had a Groupon that was going to expire, but it was a nice way to begin the CSA season.  The link to the specials for the day was titled "Nice Weather, Excellent Food," and neither description was misleading.  


I started with the soup of the day, which was mushroom stew, and it reminded me of hot and sour soup without a lot of heat.  It had a pleasant, earthy flavor and texture from the mushrooms and a sweet edge from a few soft chunks of sweet potato.


The local meat and cheese plate was hearty and delicious, consisting of pork sausage, chicken breast meat, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, mixed greens, caramelized onions and a spread that I think may have been a pimento aioli.  They were served on a wooden pizza board with a large basket of tasty Billy Bread, and the remaining goodies made a beautiful sandwich to take home.


Instead of sweet potato and caramelized onion on the pizzetta du jour, there were two kinds of cheese, bechamel and roasted tomatoes, plus fresh mixed greens to cut through the rich cheesy flavors.  I was pleased with my order, and Davy liked his fish soft tacos, which were prepared with trout.


Sprout is one of the most loyal local food venues that we have in Richmond, and is worth a trip, even if you aren't celebrating the start of a CSA.  In fact, it's a great place to console yourself if you aren't, because 90% of the food is produced in Virginia.  Happy CSA season!