Bonus CSA!

This week, in addition to my normal CSA share, I brought home armloads of fresh veggies from my friends' farm near Ithaca, NY. The summer bounty included: basil, kale, beets (with greens), red onions, zucchini, summer squash, Swiss chard, parsley, lettuce, snap peas, and a cucumber. 

Not to mention that I got to indulge in strawberries with fresh cream and blueberries with sweetened sour cream (kinda like cheese cake, minus the hard work) and a few other random berries picked from amongst the thorns.

After washing and packaging everything, I put together a simple dish that really let all the fresh flavors come through: quinoa with peas (slightly steamed), tofu (browned), zucchini and onion tops (lightly sauteed), and parsley. I dressed it with a bit of white wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Yum!

I also sauteed the beet green stems with some butter and garlic for my morning eggs. Tonight I made use of the kale in one of my favorite, and super simple recipes. You basically just rub the kale with olive oil, lime juice and salt to soften it and then fold it into a delicious taco. I like to use corn tortillas. It went well with my favorite summer beer, Harpoon's Big Squeeze shandy.

Next up I plan to make a veggie lasagna featuring the Swiss chard, beet greens, and summer squash, as well as some red onion and basil. Also on the menu will be a beet, goat cheese and walnut salad, though my lettuce and beets appear to have frozen in my refrigerator :( And for an upcoming BBQ, I intend to recreate the delicious kale and spinach dip made by the Great Trader Joe himself.

In the share today is rainbow chard, spring onions, a bit of cilantro and some snap peas. I'm planning to saute the chard with a bit of garlic for my breakfast eggs, toss the cilantro into some corn and beans and rice, pop the snap peas in my mouth, and save the spring onions for grilling or roasting later.

CSA Time!

So I am restarting this blog as a food blog, mostly as a way to keep track of my own recipes, so I can remember what was amazing and what was just eh. I'm getting a CSA from Rustic Roots Farm, which is run by people who work at the Aquarium (I work at the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA now btw).

Three weeks ago was our first share, we got: pea shoots, radishes, and lettuce. I actually made quite a feast, but it was supplemented by my local Stop & Shop.

So, on the menu was:
1.) Radish leaf pesto - your basic pesto, but using radish greens, and adding a bit of lemon juice.

2.) Mashed chick peas with roasted radishes - I roast the chick peas in the oven in their juice with lots of garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper at a pretty high temp (between 375 and 425) for about 30 min, stirring once. I then take them out and smash them up... it turns out kind of like warm hummus, delicious! The radishes are sliced thin and sauteed in hot olive oil for a couple minutes until lightly browned. You then transfer the whole skillet to the oven (set to 475) for 5-10 min until the radishes are soft. Then remove from heat and add a bit of lemon juice.

3.) Salad - This is one of my favorite combinations and it's so green and light. Start with a bed of lettuce and spinach, top with sliced cucumbers, chopped green onions and capers. Sprinkle on some feta and sunflower seeds and dress with salt, pepper, pumpkin white balsamic and lime olive oil (sounds weird, but it's delicious). Boiled eggs are optional for added protein.

4.) Stuffed peppers - I roasted the red peppers first and they taste so much better that way! Stuffed with a mixture of quinoa, black beans, carrots, corn, onions, garlic, chipotle pepper, and cheese.

Last week we got more radishes, garlic scapes, and lettuce... didn't do too much exciting with that, but saved the radishes for this week. Today we got: arugula, sugar snap peas, garlic scapes, and STRAWBERRIES! So on the menu for tonight was arugula pesto (with a few radish greens thrown in) and a salad with lettuce, spinach, snap peas, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and cottage cheese. I also roasted the radishes and greens using the skillet/oven method above. Yum!

This all was followed by strawberry shortcake, complete with whipped cream and homemade baking powder biscuits. My Grandma would be proud (and also probably would've added more sugar). And of course, it wouldn't have been complete without an experimental cocktail: muddled strawberries with a bit of sugar, fresh squeezed lemon, melon vodka, St. Germain, and tonic. Would've been better with club soda, but I didn't have any. Still pretty tasty though.