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 8

We sustained 100+ degree temperatures and crazy storms over the past week, and managed to maintain both hydration and power. 

Before all of the extreme weather hit, Davy grilled burgers, which we ate with sauteed chard (below) and corn on the cob.

There was a third, small ear of corn that we didn't consume on Tuesday, but I cut the kernels off the cob to use later in the week. I've been on an avocado kick since March, and I mashed half of one with a little lime juice and olive oil, added the corn, and made it into sandwich filling with some arugula. As a bonus, I ate it with a medium-boiled egg on my back porch.

The sungold cherry tomatoes, quartered and arranged carefully with fresh basil and mozzarella, were the highlight of a homemade pizza.

On Saturday morning, we made our traditional breakfast for out-of-town guests: a frittata with whatever vegetables and cheeses happen to be available. This time, it contained summer squash, onion, banana pepper, and cheddar cheese.

Those same out-of-town guests, our good friends Lyndsey and Travis, weren't as fortunate with the weekend storms. They lost power at their house in Rockville, MD, and aren't supposed to get it back until this Friday (!). We convinced them to stay for the week and celebrate the 4th of July with us. Travis went back to Rockville on Sunday to check on everything and returned with some of the rescued contents of the fridge and freezer.

On Monday evening, we grilled rockfish, ate a green salad with the Hoffmanns' CSA veggies, and made a chickpea, barley and zucchini salad to round out the meal. 

I am sorry that Lyndsey and Travis have to be displaced for so long, but I think Davy and I made out pretty well in this arrangement - it's been great having them (and their food).

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!  






  

Pizza Night

My brother- and sister-in-law live in Chicago, and when we go to the beach, they're usually asked to make pizza on their assigned cooking night.  My brother-in-law is also thrilled to come to the east coast so that he can eat soft shell crabs, and this year he decided to utilize the fresh seafood in a delicious dinner for pizza night.

Cary and Brian started with my pizza crust recipe (below), topped it with my homemade pesto, added sliced jalapenos and fried soft shell crabs, and covered everything with shredded mozzarella.  The resulting pie is pictured below, and it doesn't need much more of an explanation aside from me saying that it was a delicious as it looks.

Homemade Pizza Crust

1 packet dried yeast, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon oil

Stir flour, salt, and sugar together; add oil and yeast dissolved in water

Combine and knead until smooth and elastic; form dough into a ball

Grease a large bowl with oil, turn dough to coat, and allow to rise to twice its size (up to an hour and a half)

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and knead until smooth

Press into pizza pan, brush with oil, and allow to rise for 10 minutes

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until the crust is slightly brown

Add toppings, and bake for another 10 minutes or so until the cheese is brown and all toppings are heated through

(If you're pressed for time, omit the resting phase and simply top the raw crust, then bake the entire pizza at 500 degrees until the cheese is brown.)

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.