As I mentioned when I first reported on our Week 4 haul, I took less than half of the produce because we were traveling to Pittsburgh for the wedding of my good friend, Sarah. The bride was exquisite, and all of her careful planning resulted in a fabulous weekend, including delectable brownie truffles in the hotel gift bag and tea sandwiches for the bridal party that were the perfect pre-ceremony lunch.
Davy and I started our trip to Pittsburgh with regular-sized sandwiches I made at home. They utilized the remaining arugula, along with some Idiazabel cheese and Hungarian salami my grandma had given us.
Prior to leaving Richmond, I finished up the kale, tuna, and white bean salad, and we made hoisin turkey burgers for dinner on Wednesday night. I had high hopes for the burgers, and while they were flavorful, they didn't stay together well on the grill, and we didn't end up eating the second round of them. Luckily, the grilled carrots, squash and broccoli turned out well (we just tossed them with olive oil and seasoning), and were a refreshing afternoon snack the following day.
I was on my own Sunday evening, and seized the opportunity to eat pasta with pesto. In addition, I made what has been my go-to salad for the past few weeks: lettuce, edamame, sunflower seeds, and Asian sesame dressing. It's simple, summery, and has a blend of textures and tastes that's been very appealing lately.
For once I'd had the foresight to prep the chard I wasn't going to use right away, and sauteed it with garlic halfway through the week. On Monday night, I chopped it and added it to risotto with spicy turkey sausage. The onion, pictured below, is also from our CSA, and it formed a great base for the dish. I neglected to take any photos of the finished product, but the risotto turned out beautifully.
My forgetfulness can probably be blamed on the extended recovery that was required after celebrating the union of two wonderful people. Congratulations, Sarah and Thomas!
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.
