CSA Meals - Weeks 12 and 13

It's normal to make a big pot of soup when your air conditioning breaks at the end of July, right? The heat of the stove certainly doesn't increase the temperature of the kitchen and surrounding rooms to the point that you just want to leave your house.

I'm not sure making soup in the summer is a good idea even with functioning central air, but I had a significant number of vegetables to work with, and wasn't creative enough to think of another use for them. I chopped potatoes, scraped corn off cobs, cut ribbons of Tex's chard, sliced carrots, and minced garlic in preparation. 

To start, I sauteed the garlic in olive oil in my dutch oven, added the carrots and potatoes to brown them a bit, and then dumped in a mixture of chicken stock, water, and some diced tomatoes that were taking up freezer space. Rosemary, thyme, and a parmesan rind went into the broth to add some flavor, and I let everything simmer for a couple of hours. When I turned off the heat (to Davy's relief), I stirred in a can of rinsed cannellini beans, corn kernels, and the chard. 

The soup rested in the fridge over night, and on Sunday, I made a cross between gremolata and pesto by blending lemon zest, basil, garlic, and olive oil to add a little bit of freshness and citrusy tang.

What I should have made, instead of soup, was something like the Vietnamese chicken salad that we ate earlier in the week. I don't have the source of the recipe, but it includes chicken, napa cabbage, scallions, cilantro, and peanuts. I added grated carrots, and the dressing contains fish sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. It's quick, light, and especially satisfying served over rice noodles.

To go with the salad, we tested out the Padron pepper method I mentioned, and it worked beautifully. 

On average, about one in every ten pepper is supposed to be extremely hot, and the bunch that we got fit that standard. The few that were spicy hit me in a surprising rush of heat and saltiness, which only made me want to eat more.

Luckily, Amy had more Padrons available this week, and Davy and I made another round on Tuesday night. In the interest of not turning our kitchen into a room-sized oven, we ate Hungarian salami, a few cheeses from Caramont, and a makeshift bruschetta with yellow cherry tomatoes and basil marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I will admit to making pasta a few times, despite the unofficial stove ban, but all of our tomatoes were practically begging me to make fresh pasta sauces. There may have been a few tomato and feta sandwiches thrown in as well, which only require the brief, contained heat of a toaster oven.

We're leaving for the Outer Banks tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to bringing the rest of our share and using a kitchen to its fullest capacity without worrying about the temperature ramifications. Have a wonderful week!

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 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 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 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.

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 3

Can anyone guess what this is?

I know I would have a hard time figuring it out.  It's a blend of fresh strawberries, ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and sugar that was eventually poured into popsicle molds.  


The strawberries we got last Tuesday were a little soggy, but still delicious, and Darbi recommended eating them that day.  Davy and I were going out to dinner, and I knew we probably wouldn't get to them, so I made the mixture above based on this recipe.  I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't tasted the popsicles yet, but I have a feeling that they're going to be creamy and refreshing.


Looking back on the week, I have to give myself credit for being somewhat more creative than normal with the produce.  Aside from some standard salads with sliced radish, feta, pistachios and medium-boiled eggs, I made the popsicles, quiche and a kale sauce that is similar to pesto. 


The quiche was based on a recipe for ham and spinach filling, and I substituted blanched rainbow chard for the spinach.  I'd never made a quiche before, or used a store-bought pie crust, but it seemed to go pretty well.  I baked the pie with dried beans according to the recipe directions, although I'm not sure that I needed to take that extra step.

The eggs I got from the market, not surprisingly, were far superior to eggs from the grocery store.  You can see how deep the color of the yolks is in the picture below, and they don't have that weird chemical taste when you boil them.

I still have some of the amazing Christmas ham in my freezer, and it was smoky and divine in the quiche.

The only other change I made was the addition of some grated cheddar cheese.  I just didn't feel right having eggs and ham without it, especially since the quiche was already extra healthy from the chard.  

The quiche took a lot longer to set than twenty-five minutes, which is what the recipe suggested.  The picture above was taken before it was really done, and I was so hungry by the time it was ready that I forgot to take another one.  


We had some pieces of quiche for dinner last night, and I think it was almost better after sitting overnight in the fridge.  Quiche is an easy, versatile meal, and can be made with tons of different fillings, so I'm glad I finally got around to trying it in my own kitchen.


On Friday night I was trying to figure out how to incorporate the curly kale we got into an appetizing side dish for a cookout we were having on Sunday.  I was envisioning a smooth, creamy sauce for pasta salad, but I ended up with something fairly different.  


I blanched the kale and chopped it, and then pureed it in the food processor with several cloves of garlic.  At this point I was horrified at how much garlic there was, so I tried adding lemon juice to cancel some of it out.  I squeezed in the juice of a lemon, sprinkled in some salt and pepper, and then the remainder of a container of ricotta (which was probably only a tablespoon or two) before giving up and using a lot of olive oil to get it to the right consistency.  


I made a pound of orzo the same night, and while it was still hot, I added about half of my makeshift kale pesto so the pasta would absorb some of its flavor.  When I was ready to assemble the salad on Sunday, I chopped and roasted an onion and several small sweet peppers.  They went into the bowl with the orzo as soon as they were ready, along with about 3/4 lb of feta, 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts, and more lemon juice and olive oil.  

Miraculously, the salad wasn't dry or too garlicky, probably because because I made the kale pesto ahead of time and the flavors had time to mellow.  I think it also turned out so well because feta is such a great pasta salad ingredient, and can mask as well as heighten certain tastes.  It's also a good dish to have hot, cold, or at room temperature, which is ideal for a summer cookout.


It's already June, and the weather has been absurdly hot already, so expect an update on the mysterious strawberry-ricotta popsicles any day now.