Week 7: pick up

This week's pick up included:

-chioggia beets
-Asian turnips
-carrots
-red cabbage
-yukon gold potatoes
-cucumbers
-zucchini
-red spring onions

The greens on the beets and the turnips look especially amazing, so I'm very excited for those. I'm also excited for more cucumbers that I can pickle! I polished off one of the jars I made and am reusing the brine to make more with the last cucumber from last week. I also brought some to a BBQ last night. I am interested to see how the second batch in the same brine turns out...

Week 6: friends, roma beans, countrymen

Last night some dear friends from out of town came over for dinner. For an appetizer we had the carrots with some ranch dip, and tomatoes with mozzarella from the farmers market.

Our main course was haddock with roma beans from this recipe, and it was delicious - the bacon added a nice flavor. We also sauteed some sliced summer squash. I always intend to take photos of the meals, but I'm always so excited to eat them that I forget to.

Week 6: cooking date with spring onions

Last night a friend of mine came over for a cooking date, which is something we try to do frequently. Since I had an abundance of spring onions (two white left over from last week, and the red ones from this week), I found this recipe for braised spring onions and fennel. We substituted turnip greens for chard and just used some lemon juice in lieu of the zest and juice of a meyer lemon, and it turned out pretty darn tasty. The fennel flavor pervaded, but it was nice and light. We ate it with a fried egg and sourdough toast. The meal was capped off perfectly by some Brigham's chocolate ice cream which S. procured following the meal.

And! The best part: on the advice of the friend from whom I received the pickle recipe, I tried the pickles last night, and they were EXCELLENT. This is probably my favorite thing I've made so far this summer, and I am very excited about making more. And so easy! Seriously, if there are pickle fans out there (among the 2 of you who read this), this recipe is well worth it.

Week 6: pickles and turnips

Possibly the most exciting this I did this weekend was attempt to make my own pickles using this recipe. I say "attempt" because they won't be ready to eat until tomorrow night so I don't know how they turned out, but I will have to take a photo of them because they look so authentically pickley in their jars. I used two of the three cucumbers we received this week, which were massive, and my friend gave me some dill from her garden. I looove pickles, so I am very exited.

For dinner I made kale chips with last week's red russian kale (so weird how it has little leaves growing off of its leaves...), some baked chicken with barbecue sauce, and roasted turnips. I vaguely remember having turnips for the first time at someone's house in college and thinking they were delicious, but for some reason it has taken me until now to figure this out on my own. I love turnips. I just washed them, cut them up, drizzled olive oil and sprinkles a little sale, and cooked them at 425 for about 30 min or so and they were spectacular.

Another exciting thing about dinner last night is that I used zero recipes. The chicken was just chicken tenders in a baking dish with Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy barbecue sauce cooked in the oven (delicious sauce, by the way). I've made the kale chips so many times that I haven't looked at the recipe in months, and roasting the turnips only required my previous knowledge of how to roast root vegetables. It is very satisfying to see tangible progress like this in my cooking education.

Now, how else will I distract myself until the pickles are ready to eat...

Week 6: Pick-up and beet cake

This week's pick up included:

-turnips (hooray!)
-carrots
-cucumbers
-chioggia beets
-summer squash
-potatoes
-roma beans
-red spring onions

Some friends of ours have a monthly pot luck, which was held last night, and I decided to take the unconventional approach: a chocolate cake made out of last week's beets (recipe here). S. was very wary of the beet cake, but he did have a piece, and the general consensus seemed to be positive. It made for a very moist, if a bit earthly, chocolate cake.

After the pot luck I ended up sending this week's chioggia beets with a friend. I really do like beets, but after eating them every week thus far, I am ready for a little break.

Week 5: cabbage pasta take 2

Last night I made the same Jamie Oliver cabbage pasta recipe as a few weeks ago, though with red cabbage this time and it was just as excellent as ever.

I may try to make a chocolate cake tonight with the beets...

Week 5: broccoli and potatoes

I needed a quiet night in last night, complete with vegging: both the television-watching variety and the vegetable variety. (Terrible pun, I know.)

I began my well-rounded dinner with popcorn using my favorite new trick of microwaving the kernels in a paper lunch bag: 1/4 cup kernals, single staple to close the bag, listen/smell when it's done, top to taste - I used butter spray and seasoned salt.

This was followed later in the evening by roasted potatoes and broccoli. I cut the potatoes into quarters or eighths, depending on their size, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for about an hour before adding the broccoli. I cooked it at 425 for another 15 minutes or so with the broccoli, and then topped with some grated parmesan. A tasty dish indeed!

Week 5: ginger tip

I forgot to mention this in my post this morning, but I wanted to share a tip for fresh ginger. I used to get annoyed because it would always go bad before I could use it all, and then I heard from a friend that he keeps it in the freezer! This has been a delightful discovery not only because it lasts much longer, but it is also easier to peel and grate.

Week 5: tofu, kale, and cousa

This week we received:
-potatoes
-chioggia beets
-green beans
-red cabbage
-cousa squash
-red Russian kale
-broccoli
-spring onions

Friday night for dinner I made some marinated tofu, kale chips (last week’s kale), and the greens from the kohlrabi I bought at the farmers market. Here is the recipe for the tofu marinade:
extra firm tofu, drained cut into six slices
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

I pressed the tofu for about 20 minutes between dish towels to get some more of the moisture out, as suggested here. I marinated it, turning over occasionally, for about 30-45 minutes. First I tried baking it on a cookie sheet at 375 , but that became rather smoky in the kitchen so I turned the temp down. It turned out really tasty, though I need to invest in some low sodium soy sauce because it was too salty.

For the kohlrabi greens I boiled them for a few minutes and then tossed them with some soy sauce and sesame oil.

And I finally used the parsley! S. and I needed to bring a picnic lunch to an outing on Saturday, so I made an orzo salad from a friend's recipe (orzo, tomatoes, feta, parsley, olives, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper). I intended to also add broccoli, but I forgot.

Last night for dinner I made stuffed cousa squash, modified a bit from this recipe. I used brown rice, and changed up the spices (coriander, garlic powder, chili powder)and used parsley instead of mint, and one of the spring onions instead of shallots. It turned out well, especially given that neither Steve or I are huge summer squash fans... And also it made enough to feed an army. I had a LOT of filling left, and will be having that for lunch this week. I also sauteed/pan steamed the green beans with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.

And though it wasn't with farm share ingredients, I will also share the recipe I used last night to make lemon ricotta cookies for a coworkers birthday.

In the last couple weeks I have started to plan meals further in advance, rather than the usual deciding what to make for dinner that night while I'm at work. I live quite close to a grocery store, so I just pick up whatever I need on my way home. But planning for formally has been nice since it also gives me an idea of what I can bring for lunch for the week, and helps me make sure I have a game plan for the veggies.

Week 4: creative pesto

So technically, dinner last night didn't consist of veggies from the farm share. However, I had some cilantro (from the grocery store) left over from the beet salad, and some mustard greens I couldn't resist from the farmers market I visit. During the day yesterday I was struck by the thought to combine the two into pesto to eat with pasta for dinner, and I was so excited I couldn't wait to get home. The pesto (made in small batches in my mini food processor) consisted of the mustard greens, cilantro, olive oil, parmesan, salt, and pepper, and turned out quite nicely. The mustard greens overpowered the cilantro, but it had a nicely earthy, green flavor.

I also made a slaw out of the purple cabbage, carrots, and a kohlrabi bulb (also from the farmers market). I had hoped to use fennel instead of kohlrabi, but it was nowhere to be found. The slaw (some of which I'm currently enjoying for lunch) also includes mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and chives. This was my first crack at anything resembling cole slaw, and I am pleased with the outcome: very fresh and crunchy. The only potential downside was the tedious chopping, but I solved that by doing it in front of the television...

I intended to have kale chips last night as well, but didn't get around to it. Perhaps this evening, although a new batch of veggies needs to be picked up today as well. Now, what to do with the parsley...

Week 4: beet salad

It turns out that it hasn't been as difficult to use all the vegetables as I thought it might be. Except for the parsley... Perhaps I'll use some of it in a slaw I'm planning to make tonight using the red cabbage.

Yesterday as part of my lunch I ate the sugar snap peas with some hummus. I think sugar snap peas are my favorite thing to eat with hummus.

Last night I prepared a beet salad which I brought to work today for lunch. I am excited to have something to do with beets besides roasting them to put on salads (which is delicious, but was getting too repetitive with beets every week). I've been wearing gloves to handle the beets the last few weeks after having beet-stained fingernails for a week last year, but decided to forgo the gloves last night, and it was fine! No beet stains for me.

For dinner last night I made a stir-fry with the same Szechuan sauce as last week's stir-fry using the baby bok choy with some scallions and chicken. Also like last week, we ate it served over quinoa.

Week 4: cooking date

Last night was the first time my coworker and I were able to pick up the veggies together, and goodness was it easier to have two sets of hands! My half of the pickup included:

beets
carrots
kale
baby bok choy
parsley
red cabbage
sugar snap peas
green beans

My friends came over and after a quick run to the grocery and liquor stores, we got down to cooking Szechuan Tofu & Green Bean Stir-Fry. I will definitely be making this one again. We also added a red bell pepper and my scallions from last week. The green beans were so fresh and crisp. It was an easy recipe, and would be tasty with a variety of vegetable and protein substitutions.

We also enjoyed one of my favorite cocktails as we cooked: champagne (I opt for cheap since it'll be mixed... Andre), St. Germain, and grapefruit juice. So summery and delicious. The cashier at the liquor store got a kick out of the two ends of the spectrum my two purchases represented.

End of Week 3

Last night I made the pureed turnip with crispy shallots recipe, and it was amazing. I will definitely be making this one again. I didn't use as much oil as Ina suggests, probably about half a cup. At first I didn't have the heat high enough and my shallots weren't turning brown, but after turning it up a bit and with a little patience the shallots came out delicious. I had white turnips rather than yellow, so I was a bit worried about how it would turn out, but it was a really nice flavor. I used an immersion blender (best present ever), less butter at the end than the recipe suggests (3 tablespoons, rather than 6), only used a bit of milk (1%, not whole) and I tasted it before adding the salt and pepper and decided not to at all: the flavor was nice and clean and S. agreed that salt and pepper would have detracted. He literally licked his plate... Plate-licking good turnips: who knew.

In addition to the turnips I made some steaks. Meat is not my strong point. I had too much going on and overdid it a bit. Edible, certainly, but I need to remember that it keeps cooking after I deem it "done." I also cooked the turnip greens in a little bit of the leftover shallot oil and a little bit of cajun seasoning, and I liked that a lot too. I enjoyed the turnip greens better than the beet greens from a few weeks ago: much less bitter. Lunch today is last night's leftovers.

I have one item remaining from Week 3: scallions. Perhaps I will find a use for them tonight. I have two friends coming over for a cooking date, but we haven't decided what to make yet since it will depend what is in today's pickup.

Week 3: cabbage

Last night for dinner I made the cabbage and pasta recipe linked in my last post, and it was delicious. I ended up buying fresh mozzarella and fresh pasta at the farmers marker. I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch today.

I plan to make the turnips tonight, and to use the scallions as well. That will leave me ready for a new pickup tomorrow!

I also thought I'd post the kale chip recipe I use with a few small changes: I rip the kale into pieces instead of cut, I use regular salt instead of seasoned, and usually only need to cook for about 7 or 8 min.

Week 3: Taking the veggies on the road

We are heading to a friend's cabin for the holiday weekend, and in addition to the carrots, and snap peas, I am also planning to bring the rest of the romaine and the beets I roasted last night for a salad, and the kale to make into chips.

I also have two recipes I can't wait to try with the cabbage and turnips next week.

My sister told me about this pasta and cabbage recipe. There is a farmers' market nearby that sells amazing fresh mozzarella, so that will definitely be dinner Tuesday night.

I think Wednesday night I will try out this turnip recipe using the rest of the shallots I bought for the pea pasta. Might have it with a steak...