CSA Meals - Week 4

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!

CSA Meals - Week 3

Sometimes inspiration comes in the form of hearing what you already know from someone else. Two weeks ago, I experienced a renewed interest in my CSA after taking a cooking class called "Late Spring at the Farmer's Market" through the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies.

The instructor gave us a few tastes of local and grocery store products to compare the difference between the two, which is more pronounced when they're sampled back to back. I'm already sold on fresh eggs, local strawberries, and turnips grown by someone I can talk to face-to-face, but it was the creamy, tangy, locally made goat cheese we had in class that re-opened my eyes about buying food at a farmers' market. Looking back, my meals during Week 3 seem much more interesting as a result.

On Wednesday, I prepared a salad with some of Week 2's kale, and massaged the leaves with my trusty Asian sesame dressing and lime juice. Sunflower seeds, corn, and edamame helped make the salad into a more substantial meal. That evening, I put together a penne, arugula and feta dish that turned into lunch on both Thursday and Friday.

Although it doesn't have anything to do with local produce, the encouragement I felt from my class led me to change my regular breakfast routine. I tried out a Martha Stewart recipe for breakfast quinoa, which was sweet and comforting. I'm not sure I'd want to eat it every day, but it was a nice switch from my usual wheat toast with peanut butter, and was very filling.

No vegetables were harmed during our Thursday night wine, cheese, and salami dinner, either, but the salami is local (to Harrisburg), and the round cheese and chutney were made within 100 miles of Richmond.

The dish I prepared in class was "Spring-to-Summer Vegetable Ragout Over Goat Cheese Grits," and I loved it enough to attempt it at home for some friends visiting from out of town (recipe below). I made a special trip to the St. Stephen's farmer's market for some extra vegetables, and picked up beautiful baby carrots and large, shelled peas. 

The ragout can be made with a variety of vegetables - we substituted edamame for peas in class - and in my opinion, the dish can be eaten any time of the day. I finished the leftovers for breakfast one morning, and they tasted completely appropriate as the first meal of the day.

A head of broccoli and a container of little cucumbers also found their way into my bag at the market, and I added them, with some peas, to a Thai-inspired noodle salad as part of Shannon's birthday dinner. Along with the noodles, we had arctic char from Yellow Umbrella that Davy grilled, and it was absolutely delicious.

On Monday, Memorial Day, I sauteed the curly kale with some garlic and red pepper flakes, and used some of it to make a frittata. Going with what seems to be the theme this week, I only took pictures before I did anything with the veggies. Luckily, they're pretty enough on their own.

To finish the week, I made another kale salad, this time with tuna fish, cannellini beans, cucumber, lemon juice, and olive oil. It's ideal for warm weather, and could also be used as a sandwich filling.

My trip to the St. Stephen's farmers' market was the first I'd made to a market during CSA season (outside of picking up my share). I'm really going to try to keep it up as we move into summer, and continue to branch out with local products other than what's given to me each week.



Spring-to-Summer Vegetable Ragout Over Goat Cheese Grits
Yields: 4 servings

For the Grits:
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup stone ground white grits (coarsely ground)
1/2 T salt
2 t pepper
1/2 cup goat cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest

1. Bring the water and stock to a boil
2. Add the grits, and stir with a small whisk. Skim off any floating husks and reduce the temperature to medium. Continue stirring for five minutes, or until the grits absorb the liquid.
3. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid, or wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Set in a warm area for 35 minutes - the grits will finish cooking by steam.
4. Add the salt, pepper, goat cheese, and zest, and stir to incorporate. Keep warm until ready to serve.

For the Ragout: 
1/2 cup shelled peas
4 oz small carrots
4 oz small zucchini or yellow squash
3 green or spring onions
3 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
salt, to taste
1/2 cup stock or water
1 T chopped mint
1 T chopped thyme 

1. Cut the carrots and squash into quarters lengthwise and then into 2 in lengths. Cut the onions in two inch lengths, quarter, and set aside. Slice the garlic thinly.
2. Cook the garlic in the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the carrots, onions, a pinch of salt, and the liquid. Cover and cook until the onions soften, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the squash/zucchini and cover. Cook until it softens, about 3 minutes. 
4. Add the peas and cook uncovered until everything is tender (2-3 more minutes). Stir in herbs, taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Serve the ragout in bowls over the grits.

Pad See Ew

A few years ago, Davy and I went through an intense Thai takeout phase.  We lived within walking distance of four Thai restaurants, each of which emit tantalizing scents at all hours of the day, and we ordered food from our favorite place about once a week. We (I) still crave the spicy and fragrant food from Ginger Thai Taste, but don't go nearly as often as we used to.

My go to Thai dish is Pad See-Ew, and I came across a recipe for it a few months ago on Serious Eats.  When I was thinking about the ways to use the last bits of meat from a roast chicken, Pad See-Ew immediately came to mind.  

I gathered all of my ingredients in preparation,and chopped the chicken, broccoli and garlic.  

The broccoli went in first, since I didn't have to cook the chicken.

I added the other ingredients to heat them through, and voila!  Homemade Padd See-Ew.

My version was darker than the picture from the recipe, and I think I'd use a little less of the sauce mixture next time, or less dark soy sauce.  In general, I was very happy with this recipe, though I have a feeling it won't stop my desire for the occasional Thai takeout.     

Oscar Bites

I was hoping to add a crunchy, cheesy finger food to my repertoire when I found this recipe for "Baked Cous Cous Poppers."  They seemed like a healthier version of arancini (risotto balls), which are one of my favorite savory indulgences, and can also be customized with different cheeses, spices, and dipping sauces.  

The 1/2 cup of panko that was supposed to be sufficient to coat all of the balls disappeared rapidly as I tried to form the first three.  The cous cous wasn't staying together at all, and I ended adding most of the panko to the mix to help it bind.  That helped a little, and with wet hands, I managed to shape half of the mixture with panko on the outside, and half with regular breadcrumbs.

Not bad, right?  I thought a couple of them might fall apart while baking, but all I could do was laugh when I pulled both sheet pans out of the oven.  I kept the baked cous cous with the hope that I'd find a way to make use of it, but I haven't come up with anything yet. 

Thankfully I had a back up plan, and since I subbed cavatappi for macaroni, I didn't even need to go back to Kroger for ingredients for these macaroni and cheese "muffins."  They were sufficiently crisp on the top, and had a nice flavor from the cheddar and parmesan cheese I used, but I would have liked them to be a little creamier.  They do seem to stay together pretty well, which makes them a good option for party food.

These baked chicken meatballs, which I first saw on Smitten Kitchen, are one of my go to recipes for a party.  They get a great deal of flavor from smoky ham, which is a deviation from the pancetta in the original ingredient list, and tomato paste.

In an effort to have something green on the menu, I got two pounds of broccoli with which to make a salad.  The "Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad" wound up being a unexpected hit, and there wasn't nearly as much left at the end of the night as I'd hoped.  

Cumin seed, sesame oil, chili flakes and garlic are an earthy combination of seasonings for the broccoli. It's tossed in a little salt and vinegar to start the "curing", and then cooks down in the hot oil that's poured over top.  I'm always looking for alternate ways to make vegetables, and I would highly recommend trying this method while we wait out the end of winter.  It's much easier than fighting with a big bowl of cous cous.  

CSA Meals - Weeks 7 and 8

I don't fall for all of the pumpkin frenzy that goes on in October, though I'm not opposed to it.  I love squash and pumpkin; I just wouldn't choose them to flavor one of my daily treats if I had chocolate as an option.  


The overabundance of sweet potatoes hanging out on our bakers rack inspired me to bake outside of my comfort zone.  Jamie at Home, one of many in my collection of Jamie Oliver cookbooks, includes a recipe for Butternut Squash Muffins with a Frosty Top that I've had in the back of my mind since I saw him make them on his show. 


Sweet potatoes are close enough to butternut squash that I thought I could make the substitution work.  I used the same amount of potatoes by weight that Jamie calls for in his recipe, and steamed them for about five minutes to soften them a little before pulverizing in the food processor.  

I also cut back on the sugar (I used a scant two cups instead of 2 1/4) and used vegetable oil instead of olive oil.  The olive oil flavor would probably be a nice foil for the sweet potato, but Jamie made muffins, and I was making cupcakes, and vegetable oil just seemed more appropriate.  It made the cupcakes less orangey, which was a little surprising, but I found the color to be appealing.  They were fluffy but not too light in texture, and held up well to the icing. 

I love Jamie, but my cupcakes were not going to have a frosty, citrusy "top" like his muffins did.  The frosting I made was thick and flecked with cinnamon, and the base was cream cheese instead of sour cream.

We may or may not have dipped gingersnaps in the extra frosting after the cupcakes were gone - I tried to pile as much of it on top of the cupcakes as I could, but we still had some extra.


To counter the indulgence of the cupcakes, I made a veggie soup with the collard greens.  Until my mom made soup with collards, I didn't think they were a viable soup ingredient.  The leaves are tough, but as long as they're cooked long enough, they are delicious in soup.  

I sauteed chopped onion, carrots, and the greens in a little olive oil.  When they wilted down, I added chicken stock and a big cheese rind to the pot.  Everything simmered together, and sat overnight.  Before dinner the following evening, I added the remainder of a box of orzo and a can of white beans, and let the soup boil softly until the pasta was cooked through.  Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the finished product, but it was a hearty and pretty soup.


The roasted broccoli from earlier in the week turned out beautifully, and tasted as great as it looked.  I had it with some pasta and pesto when I was on my own for dinner one night.  


We ate the sweet peppers raw, cut into slices and dipped into hummus with the last of our homegrown cherry tomatoes.

I ate both of the Asian pears for my mid-morning snack, and I wasn't blown away by them.  The smaller one definitely had more flavor, but they were both fairly bland and it wasn't easy to get used to the texture.  I like them better than, say, eggplant, but wouldn't go out of my way to eat them again.


Our kohlrabi and turnips were neglected for over a week, so I decided to roast them with the massive sweet potato.  When I was chopping the turnips, I was surprised to see how beautiful they were inside.

I wish I could say that I liked them better than I have in the past, but I'm still not a big fan of their bitter taste.  Davy and I both preferred the sweet potato to the kohlrabi and turnips after everything was roasted.

We ate them with roasted red snapper and sauteed spinach.

I wish I could say that the subsequent meals were as healthy as that one, but the only vegetable we've eaten at home since them is sauteed broccoli rabe with leftover Belmont pizza.  Don't worry though, I'm still getting my daily (plus) dose of chocolate.

CSA Meals - Week 6

I'm not sure how the past few weeks have been so busy and exhilarating, since we haven't gone out of town, but I don't know where the time is going.  


My efforts in Week 6 weren't so wonderful again, but I did manage to try a few new recipes.  


Since we knew we weren't getting anymore green beans, we decided to just eat them in their crunchy, raw state.  Our spicy salad mix was delicious, and it lasted longer than delicate greens in the summer normally do.  I ate it in salad form, as well as in a sophisticated sandwich that Davy made to use some of our nice salami and cheese from our antipasto night.   


The broccoli we got in our share was bright green, as you may have seen from my pictures last week, and didn't have a weird odor, like most of the broccoli I eat usually does.  We made a delicious macaroni and cheese from 101 Cookbooks, which called for broccoli-studded bread crumbs.  If you've eaten roasted broccoli, you know how sweet and nutty the florets turn after being baked on a high temperature.  That flavor definitely carried over into the casserole topping, and the incorporation of basil lifted the dish without overpowering the taste.  

I would wholeheartedly recommend this recipe to any mac and cheese lover, because it was decadent and hearty without that mild guilt that washes over me from eating an unhealthy children's food. I halved the recipe and omitted the squash for Davy, but we had the opportunity to try a more authentic replication of the recipe later in the week, and it was just as satisfying.

It's been so long since I made the food from this week that I've lost track of one of the recipes I tried with the napa cabbage.  It was basically a slaw with a warm dressing.  If I remember correctly, the dressing consisted mainly of pepper flakes, sugar, and vinegar.  The cabbage we got was absolutely beautiful, and I enjoyed this dish, but it didn't hold up well as leftovers, and was a bit too much for those who don't love spicy food.

Every once and awhile I'll notice a food trend that doesn't interest me or that, for some reason, I resist for awhile.  Raw kale fell into that category for several months.  I'm not sure what changed, although it may just have been a kale salad that was posted in the right place at the right time, and the fact that I had all of the ingredients to make it.  It may also have been that like everything we've gotten recently from Fertile Crescent Farm, the kale looked more vibrant than it does in the spring, and thus more appropriate to eat without cooking it. 


A kale salad is definitely worth trying, even if it's very simple, like the one I made.  I didn't bother with the mushrooms, and used pine nuts instead of walnuts, but I enjoyed the dressing, and the basic nature of the salad, which could be used as a base for just about anything.


I'll do my best to get a Portland post up soon, as well as a report about Week 7.  I'm still running behind because of Halloween, and a new addition to my Richmond family (Shannon's sweet baby girl!), but it's still comforting to be handed a bag of vegetables every week.

CSA Meals - Week 4

My creativity in the kitchen seemed to have departed with the month of May, at least for the first half of the week.  The produce we received in Week 4 was varied and included some of my favorite vegetables, broccoli and spinach, but I didn't make anything special with them.  The familiar veggies lent themselves to habitual preparations. 


We ate some of the leftover quiche with sauteed spinach for dinner one night, which is one of the most common ways that we eat spinach.  On Thursday I made a salad for lunch using some cucumber, and both the romaine and more bitter curly endive for a nice mix of flavors.  We ate fajitas for dinner, made with garlic scapes, onion, sweet peppers, and leftover grilled chicken.  

Our green side was steamed broccoli - another standard at our house.


After two days of attending festivals (the Greek Fest and Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ Festival), things got a little more interesting.  I made a stir fry with bok choy, squash, and the garlic scapes to eat with some boxed macaroni and cheese.  

I used some of the ingredients I'd purchased for my attempt at fish-fragrant eggplant last year, including dark soy sauce, bean paste with chili, and rice vinegar.  The dish tasted way better than eggplant, and had a spicy, rich flavor while still tasting fresh.  I would definitely use this technique again with different combinations of veggies, and it would be easy to add in meat or seafood and rice to make it a full meal.

I made this Lentil Kohlrabi Salad on Monday evening because I was at a complete loss as to how to use my kohlrabi.  I've eaten it in the past, mostly roasted with root vegetables, but was never really wild about it.  The salad recipe caught my eye because I had almost everything for it at home already, and my friend came over with a loaf of cheese bread to round out our dinner.


After several years of putting sunflower seeds on salad, I got sick of them and no longer keep them in the freezer.  I used a combination of chopped pistachios and peanuts for crunch and to try to mimic the soft nuttiness of sunflower seeds. 


Considering how often I use cumin for Southwest/Mexican food, and sesame oil for Asian food, I was a little hesitant that the combination of the two would result in a pleasurable taste.  Somehow they blend together perfectly, both brightening and enhancing the lentils and kohlrabi.  This is another dish that would be a great meal for a hot summer night and packed lunches on the following day(s).  

I didn't use the remaining lettuce or curly endive, but the Lentil Kohlrabi Salad re-inspired me to stay away from my fallback kitchen habits and continue to try recipes that highlight the fresh produce we're getting.