100 lbs Heavier!

I am officially 100lbs heavier...ok, not really, but our 100 lbs of veggies pick up was last Tuesday.

Here's a list of our loot:

• 25 pounds of carrots (washed and bagged)
• 25 pounds of sweet potatoes (bagged)
• 25 pounds mixed roots (celeriac, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, radish, turnip)
• 5 butternut squash
• 3 storage cabbage
• 8 pounds onions
• 12 garlic heads
• 6 stalks brussels sprouts
• Kale
• Broccoli

Sweet, right? David and I picked up our veggies and the following day took off for our Thanksgivings (Yes. We have two every year...First Night and Second Night, each in a different state with a different side of the family. It's awesome for me, because Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday.) Thanks to Mountain View Farm for providing us with storage tips for the above veggies. I'm sharing them here, because they are straight-forward instructions.

Sweet Potato and Yukon Gold Gratin

Happy day before after Thanksgiving! (Oops. This should have been posted two days ago...)

If you have some extra potatoes and sweet potatoes lying around and you're looking for a new side to go with your left-over turkey, this could be it!

These potatoes were a perfect accompaniment to the Roasted Chicken with Preserved Lemon Marinade. Sweet, savory, creamy and comforting. I based my recipe off of this butternut squash and potato gratin recipe from the New York Times, and adapted it to what I already had in the house.

Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemon Marinade

Remember that preserved lemons recipe I posted in early September? Well, I popped open a jar and made a delicious lemon and cilantro marinade for roasting a chicken that I adapted from this latimes.com recipe. Yum, yum, yum. The chicken was really flavorful, with a crispy-lemony-cilantro skin, and I used the juices left in the pan to make a quick gravy (directions on that, below). I served the tasty chicken with a sweet potato and yukon gold gratin. The gratin recipe will be posted within the next few days, because I want you to have it prior to any Thanksgiving meal you may be planning. It will be a delicious and savory addition.

Here's my adaptation of the Roasted chicken with Preserved Lemon marinade for you to give a whirl. I forgot to take a photo of the end result, but I'll post one the next time I make this dish. This marinade is going to be thick, so don't get concerned if you make it and it's not super smooth and watery. If you don't have preserved lemons handy, I bet you can get them from a Whole Foods-type store...but it's not too late to make your own preserved lemons, you know...

Spinach and Feta Triangles

Spinach was abundant in my early fall shares. When I noticed the spinach piling up in the fridge, I realized it was time to take action, and decided I'd make a Greek-style spinach pie. I read through a handful of recipes, all calling for similar ingredients, but with different spices to liven up the dish. I concocted my own version, and made little appetizer-sized pies. They're perfect for freezing and reheating a few to supplement a meal, or to serve as appetizers.

Curried Vegetable Soup

This week was the first week of no veggie pickup since June. I have to be honest here and say that I was kind of relieved. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately with all the veggies that have been piling up and with the very little energy I have for dealing with them, so this is a welcome break. I'm sure I'll be whining about how I miss my copious amounts of veggies in a few weeks, but lucky for me, we're signed up for the 100lbs for $100, which we pick up right before Thanksgiving!

Dave's Fifth Inning Stew

David mentioned to me earlier on in the week that WE should make a stew. I agreed, but suggested that HE make the stew. I only gave Dave one rule when preparing this meal: Use as many CSA veggies as possible because the root veggies are starting to pile up, and we need to start making a dent. So, on Wednesday night, as I was snoring through the 5th inning of the Phillies game, Dave slaved away in the kitchen. (Normally, I'd be in the kitchen back-seat driving, but I'm pregnant, and seem to have mellowed out a little in the control-freak department. I did manage to open my eyes long enough for the last few innings and NLCS victory!)

I Want This Book

The Encyclopedia of Pasta, by Oretta Zanina De Vita and translated by Maureen B. Fant. Read about it in the NY Times.

"Through hundreds of descriptions of pasta styles, with explanations of their origins and of how they’re made, the book places pasta in its social and historical context."

I'd like to think that if I had this book, I'd spend all winter reading and making all the recipes.

And that's all I have to say about that.

100 lbs for $100

When we received our CSA newsletter two weeks ago, David got all excited by the following Mountain View Farm offer to their current share-holders:

100 pounds for 100 bucks...

The share will consist of approximately:

25 pounds of Carrots

25 pounds of Sweet Potatoes

25 pounds of Assorted Roots including:

parsnips, rutabagas, radishes, beets, celeriac

10 pounds of Butternut squash

10 pounds of Onions

5 stalks Brussels Sprouts

A dozen Heads of garlic

Kale

Herbs

and maybe more!

Cool right? We thought so...or, at least, Dave thought so, and I thought just enough to say yes. And then, after he wrote out the check for $100 and handed it in to the farm, I thought a little more about this... What does 100 lbs of veggies ALL AT ONCE look like??? The share will be available for pick up right before Thanksgiving, and we need to take it all at once, so I'll be sure to take pictures and post them. I've also been thinking things like 'What will I(we) DO with 100lbs of mainly root vegetables', 'We don't have a root cellar, so how/where will 100lbs of vegetables be stored', and 'I wonder how much I can manage to give away to family over the Thanksgiving holiday'. These are all thoughts I should have had before I said yes to this $1 per pound vegetable overload. I also should have thought about this before I told David that yes, it was fine with me if he picked up 2 sacks of potatoes from the farm stand on rte 9 in Hadley...I just didn't think about the fact that 2 sacks=50 lbs.

Any suggestions for using potatoes are welcome. In fact, any suggestions at all for using 150 lbs of vegetables/storing 150 lbs of vegetables would also be welcome. In the meantime, I'll be researching ways to store everything, and wishing we'd purchased a home with a root cellar...

Oh yeah, and family members, if you're reading this, Dave and I will bring the sides for Thanksgiving dinners!!! Glad you all like vegetables!

My New Logo

I just wanted you to be formally introduced to my new logo. Fancy, right? It's designed by my friend and design-extraordinaire, John Turner of Boy Burns Barn. You'll probably see new little images and bits of flair showing up here and there throughout the site in the near-ish future, so don't freak out and think you're on someone else's A Bushel of What site, okay? Because this is it.

Thanks, John! You now have access to a lifetime supply of whatever preserved goodies you desire and permission to request whatever home-baked goods you'd like, whenever we all get together for a visit. Lucky.

Celeriac, Leek and Apple Soup

I have been receiving Cooking Light magazine for the past few years. While I read all the recipes each month, I am rarely interested enough to make anything from the magazine. October's issue, however, was full of recipes that caught my eye. Pages of stews and soups now have a dog-eared corner, and last night, I gave one recipe a whirl. Of course, I messed with it a little...added something I thought it needed, and skipped a few steps, because seriously, I was not busting out my blender, two extra bowls, and a sieve to make this soup. It's a one-pot mess and that's the way I like it! We had the soup as part of a light dinner last night and I froze the rest for later on in the fall.

Apple Butter

 

This fall, we're tackling a little apple butter project. The goal? Make 75 jars of apple butter by October 17! The reason? Our very good friends are getting married 10/17, and their wedding guests will be receiving jars of apple butter as their party favors. Awesome, right? We're psyched. I'll be sure to post pictures of the apple butter all dressed up for the wedding, but you don't need that right now. What you DO need is the recipe for making apple butter, because apples are in season, and there is no better time then right now to make delicious, spicy, apple butter that you can process in a hot water bath and have for a full year. Our apple butter is a big hit over the holidays, and David's grandmother requests a jar every time we visit her.

Roasting Potatoes (and a recipe)

So, a friend of mine asked me this week how to roast potatoes. Some people might think this is one of those questions one might label stupid...not so. Why? Because almost EVERYONE I know has no idea how to roast potatoes, or vegetables, for that matter. And it was not so long ago that I could have been grouped into that category, as I, too, was a potato-roasting failure (not to say that the aforementioned friend(s) is a failure. It's just not something you're born knowing). I think that the reason I never knew how to roast vegetables was because my family never really prepared veggies that way, and I always just thought it was impossible to get deliciously roasted veggies a la professional chef grade. Previously, I "roasted" at 350degrees, which took forever, and always gave me soggy veggies. I tried covering them with foil, but that also just gave me steamed, soggy veggies. I also used to stand around the kitchen and turn the veggies I was roasting fairly frequently, which never gave me any good results.

Apple Dutch Baby

Yesterday felt like fall, but not the fall I enjoy. Crisp with a side of cool? Yes, please. Wet and miserable? No thank you! I felt like doing nothing but huddling under a blanket on my couch for the past day or so, and I was grumpy that I had to put socks on last night. So, what's a cold, soggy, sun-deprived, sock-wearing girl to do in order to make herself feel better? Get a mani and a pedi? No. This girl is going to make her life better by making a beautiful, golden, caramel-y, cinnamon-y, apple dutch baby. And she's going to sprinkle it with lots and lots of powdered sugar, and she's going to ENJOY EVERY MOMENT!!

Preserved Lemons

As far as I know, there are no lemon groves in New England, so this is a post unrelated to my garden or any farm in my area. We love making preserved lemons because they are lovely to look at in the jars, and delicious in winter chicken dishes with olives, or other Middle Eastern/Moroccan dishes (more to come on those recipes when it gets cooler!)

Summer Wind-Down

It may (or may not) have been noted that I've been m.i.a. recently. I have not stopped eating, nor have I ceased going to the farm each week to pick up my share of veggie goodness. And, while my own garden is starting to seriously slow down, I am still getting more eggplant, lots of basil, and a few peppers (although, I've decided not to grow peppers anymore. some bug keeps eating them before they're ready to be picked. The peppers begin to rot on the plant, and I'm forced to remove them and toss into the compost. It makes me angry. Those pepper plants have been renting space in my garden for FAR to long for me to be tossing the veggies out, so I'm evicting them next Spring. Maybe.) I'm still making foods that are tasty, but I've slowed down a little in the home-cooked meals department. August was a very busy month, with lots of travel, etc. And it was crazy hot for a while, which I normally would have liked, but for it to come on so late in the game was just a tease and I don't have a swimming pool...

Cilantro Corn Salad

Here's a quick corn salad that tastes great warm or cold. Fresh corn, roasted chile peppers, and onions add crunch, butter adds silkiness, and plenty of clinatro provides a fresh, herby taste. This salad was a collaboration between my brother-in-law and me, and we were quite happy with the results! We also had leftover corn salad the following morning with eggs and tomatoes.

Two Types of Pickles

Pickles. Tart, sour, garlicky, sweet, and spicy are all flavors that I enjoy when eating pickles. I really love almost any type of pickle that is passed my way. The exception is a pickle swimming in neon yellow-green juice and a soggy pickle. No thank you, not worth it, and what makes the juice in those pickles that color, anyway???

Grilled Summer Bounty

Since we were headed out of town this weekend, I decided to grill up almost any vegetable that was still hanging around our kitchen. The simply grilled veggies made a great, easy dinner, and the kitchen remained cool and almost mess-free. I served this with some chicken, marinated in lemon juice and olive oil and grilled, and bread, toasted on the grll, with a melted farmhouse cheddar on top. A perfect meal for a hot evening, served best at room-temperature, and leftovers will not be frowned upon. (Grilled veggie omlets, anyone? Sandwiches with goat cheese and grilled vegetables? The list could go on and on.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Zucchini with a Tomato Reduction

We've made this recipe twice this summer, and it's quite tasty. Served with a simple green salad and a piece of grilled chicken or shrimp, it's decadent-tasting, but not too bad for you! The recipe is inspired by a recipe in Paul Gayler's A Passion for Vegetables, but definitely changed to reflect what was in our refridgerator at the time. Plus, we cut back significantly on usage of cheese and olive oil in order to slim it down a bit. One of Mr. Gayler's tips is that this stuffing would be wonderful in other vegetables, such as tomatoes and eggplants, or used as a ravioli stuffing. I would certainly try this, but I'd probably add in even more vegetables, like carrots and mushrooms. The sauce in this recipe is a reduction of sorts. The balsamic vinegar, diced tomatoes, and fresh basil all infuse one another with flavor. Combined with the other fresh herbs and goat cheese, this is quite a flavorful and rich dish.

Bye-Bye Babies

Our CSA newsletters for the past few weeks have included paragraphs lamenting the Phytopythora infestans that has been destroying tomato crops in the Northeast regions. There will be very little, if any, tomatoes from the farm this year, and for anyone who's grown their own tomatoes, or who's enjoyed the fruits fresh from a farmstand or local section in the grocery store, this is a major letdown. I had planned on using the tomatoes that I received from the farm to make jars of homemade salsa and tomato sauce. I purchased six lovely tomato plants from an organic vendor at the Northampton Farmer's Market, which I planted in my gardens and had expected to have a bountiful harvest of tomatoes for eating fresh...

On Sunday afternoon, we returned home from a weekend away to discover that the tomatoes in my garden had begun to succumb to the evil late blight. David removed two half-ripened tomatoes that had the markings of the disease; brown, dent-like splotches. Ripe tomatoes that I had picked prior to going away were also beginning to show signs. Eating the affected fruits are not harmful to humans, but the marks do make the tomatoes quite unattractive, and they rot very fast.

I've been keeping up with the information posted on the UMass Extension website, as well as information published by Cornell University. Once gardeners discover the disease on their plants, the whole plant must be destroyed, and NOT placed in the compost pile. The spores from the infected plants travel with the wind, and composting would actually help the bacteria grow; a very bad thing. The spores travel to other gardens and farms, miles and miles away!

On Tuesday, I removed 2 of my 6 tomato plants from the garden, ripping them right out of the ground, and losing the precious tomatoes that I had been caring for these past few months. I bagged the diseased plants, and they will be put out with the trash this week. It was tough to do, but knowing that farms throughout the Northeast, like my CSA farm, have had to destroy full crops of tomatoes, made me feel as if it was my duty to destroy just a little bit of the mean late blight.

I'll enjoy the nine tomatoes I harvested from my garden for as long as I can. And I've plucked a few healthy-looking green tomatoes for pan-frying (which I'd normally do in the late fall, before the frost sets in). And I'll be waiting patiently for next summer, when I hope that the sun will shine brighter and the tomatoes will be plentiful.

For more information on late blight, visit the UMass Vegetable Program. If you suspect your plants are diseased, there are contact numbers on the UMass website for you to call to confirm the diagnosis.

Sangria!

As promised, I am providing you with my friend Corrie’s red sangria recipe. Although this has nothing to do with produce received from the CSA or anything plucked from my garden, I wanted to share it. Corrie developed an extremely drinkable sangria, that is flavorful but not too sweet. I’m including her recipe below, but she also has it posted on her site, where she writes about all things current, stylish, and interesting. QuietInTheBack Check it out!

Recipe: Quiet In The Back Sangria Red

(1) 1.5L bottle of red wine (shiraz, montepulciano, etc)
*Mei’s reco: Hunter’s Hill Reserve Selection 2006 Shiraz – Australia
(1) 750ml bottle of red wine
*Mei’s reco: Terrazzo Sangiovese 60% Montepulciano 40% Esino Rosso 2008 – Italy
1/3 cup unflavored seltzer
3 tablespoons of brandy
*I used Paul Mason Grande Amber Brandy
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 grapefruit sliced in triangle cubes
2 small oranges thinly sliced rounds
1/2 lemon thinly sliced rounds
2 cinnamon sticks

Combine wine, brandy, orange juice, fruit and cinnamon sticks in a pot/bowl and chill overnight or for at least 6 hours (so I was told). Before serving, remove cinnamon sticks and add seltzer. It goes without saying that sangria should be served in a festive pitcher and fun glassware to enhance the presentation and tasting anticipation! FYI-the marinated fruit packs a real punch, be warned! This recipe fills 2 pitchers worth of sangria or approximately 22-24 glasses.

FYI, Mei is one of the owners of Artisan Wine Shop in Beacon, NY.
Photo courtesy of CB, QuietInTheBack.

T.W. Food, A Review

I just wanted to write a quick little ditty about the amazing birthday dinner I had last week in Cambridge, MA. David was on restaurant-detail, and he called upon a friend's expertise on Boston area restaurants for help in scouting out a special, but not superfancy, restaurant. She gave him a handful of recommendations and we visited each website so we could make an educated decision for the birthday dinner.

I knew T.W. Food was "the one" as soon as I viewed the website. The simplicity of the site and food photographs on the main page drew me in. The discovery that the menu changes daily, the fact that EVERYTHING is house-made, and the information about the husband and wife team that run the restaurant solidified my decision. We made an early reservation...3 1/2 hours after we arrived at the restaurant, we left feeling happy and full (but not in a bad way!)

The food, wine, and atmosphere was wonderful. We invited along another couple, and we all chose the Prix Fixe option. (I tried to convince everyone that we should go for the Grand Tasting, a six-course meal with option of a wine pairing, but no one seemed up to the challenge.) Some of us could not make up our minds on what to order, so we supplemented the three courses with more food. Hey, it was my birthday, right?!

The meal began with an amuse bouche of mushroom ice cream....seriously rich, and not something I'll be craving in the future, but certainly an intriguing start to what proved to be an amazing meal. We dined on house cured meats, country pates, homemade pickled turnips, pork jowl, and I even tried the blood sausage. That was the first course. Then, there was the swiss and rainbow chard gratin (which I'd like to recreate somehow), a creamy and rich fresh garlic soup, a beef tartare, and a farmer's salad. For entrees, I don't remember exactly what everyone ordered, but I selected a fish dish that was tasty, although I was starting to feep pretty full, and needed to save room for dessert! I had the chocolate budino, which is like a thick mousse, topped with olive oil, sea salt, and hazelnuts. The hit of the evening was the dessert that the gentlemen at our table ordered...Scotch and Cigars...the description on the menu reads "dark chocolate mousse, tobacco infused crème anglaise, balvenie 12 year single malt scotch syrup". The next time I go to T.W. Food, you can bet I'll be getting my own Scotch and Cigars! It was one of the best desserts I've ever tasted.

If you're in the Boston area and have not yet checked out this restaurant, you must. And if you live far away, you should plan a weekend getaway to Boston and make this part of your itinerary.

Oh, and check out our friend and trusty Boston restaurant "guide"! Her name is Leah, and she's the Boston Sustainable Food Examiner. Thanks for the recommendation, Leah!

Crabapple Liqueur

When we moved into our home a few years ago, we were excited to discover that four of the trees in our yard were fruit bearing. We have three pear trees, but unfortunately the fruit is totally inedible. Pears fall too early from the trees each summer, littering the lawn and attracting birds; when they begin to sweeten and then rot, we’ve got bees and wasps. Eventually, we plan on removing these trees and planting something else in our backyard. We decided to plant two more fruit trees this spring on our property. Our front yard is now home to a sour cherry tree and a White Lady peach tree, and we are looking forward to using these fruits for jams, crisps, and fresh-fruit eating!

Quick Tip: Fresh Tomato, Eggplant, and Basil Stacks

Here's a quick meal or easy appetizer that really tastes as good as this picture looks. David and I ate this for dinner on the evening that I made 4 trays of my eggplant parmesan. We used the first tomato from our garden, a few rounds of fried eggplant, a slice or two of mozzarella (fresh is really the best option, if you can get it), freshly picked basil, and a drizzle of an amazing balsamic vinegar that my parents brought back from their recent trip to Italy. It was spectacular and satisfying. I will be making this for the rest of the summer, but I'll be grilling the eggplant or perhaps zucchini, for a healthier option.

P.S. David took that photo. Isn't it gorgeous? (Click on it to enlarge, but try not to drool all over your keyboard.)

Eggplant Parmesan with a Garden Vegetable Sauce

I am half Italian and half German. If pressed to choose which side I identify with more, I'd say the Italian. My maiden name ends in an "o," my family tends to be pretty boisterous and loud, and every Sunday growing up was "macaroni day." My mom or dad would start making a sauce early in the morning; waking up, I'd always smell the onion and garlic browning, or the meatballs frying. Sometimes "macaroni day" meant spaghetti and meatballs, ravoli and sauce, or eggplant parmesan. On special occasions, such as Christmas, there would be (and still is) anything from chicken marsala to homemade manicotti, fettucine alfredo, or lasagna. I assume that my dad learned to make many of the above recipes from my grandmother Josephine, although I'm not sure (and this is a reminder for me to ask).

Carrot Cupcakes with a Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Preface: Sorry about this past week and the lack of posts. Life happens. Let's move on, shall we?


Last weekend, we attended a Summer Soiree at the apartment of our friends, Corrie and John. Corrie and John will be married this October, and they decided to throw a little party to introduce their closest friends to one another prior to the big day.

Hot, Hot, Hot!! (and Raspberry Jam)

Well, it's finally starting to feel like summer. I can't step outside without feeling gross, the AC in my office isn't working properly (as usual), and I've removed the down comforter off of my bed. I'm not packing the comforter away, however, because I know that as soon as I do that, it's going to get cold. I'm feeling like it's too hot to cook anything, so nothing fun is going to happen in the kitchen this week. The plan is to grill, grill, grill, and eat whatever we can COLD. Of course, this was decided after we spent this past Sunday making jam and pickles. For 6 hours straight. No joke. In hindsight, it was a dumb idea, but after David came home with a 20lb box of cucumbers from Pepin Farm and I had the brilliant idea to go raspberry picking at Nourse Farms, we had no choice but to forge ahead and get it done.

Savory Cabbage Soup

 I can't believe I'm writing this, but I'm actually already looking forward to the fall. Perhaps it's the lousy summer weather we've had, or the fact that my crab apples have started to turn red (And this means making something very special, but you'll have to wait until September for me to share!). I make soups all fall and winter long, as they're easy to make, easy to eat, and so much better tasting, and healthier than the canned versions. For some reason, I decided that tonite was the night I'd make my first batch of soup for the fall.

Quick Tip: Kale

Did you know that you can freeze kale? Prior to ever having a reason to know this very useful tidbit, I did not, although, it makes complete sense. Ever purchase frozen spinach? Right.

Freezing kale is quick, easy, and makes your fridge look less full (which was the look I was going for when I decided to do this). I'll use this kale in the late Fall, when I'm ready to make some hearty soups, like a white bean and kale soup. And when I receive the Fall harvest of kale, I'll probably freeze lots of that to make other types of soup during the cold Winter months.

Mark Bittman, Mr. Supersmart

A friend alerted me to an article in the Dining and Wine section of the New York Times yesterday, entitled "101 Simple Salads for the Season". At first, I thought, eh, another list of salads. However, I could not have pulled together a more comprehensive, delicious-sounding, easy-to-make list of salads, even if I wasn't obligated to show up to my full-time job every day, so I'm sharing this article with everyone I can think of.

Who doesn't feel the need to make a new and interesting salad combination? We can't JUST eat greens + veggies + dressing, can we? NO! Mix the fruits with the vegetables! Make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, cut them and use them as little croutons! (You are a genius, Mr. Bittman. Really.)

Read the article. You'll Have to sign in to the NY Times to gain access, but it's free. And worth it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?ref=dining

Sauteed Chard with Currants

As we were making dinner for guests this weekend, I realized that our "easy" dinner of grilled steaks, summer squash and a big salad with my lemony-sweet pickled beets and goat cheese was not going to be so easy. I had no more lettuce in the fridge and there was no way I was going to the grocery store to get more vegetables. I had to think fast, as the steaks and squash were already grilling (read: I had 7 minutes to prepare another side dish)

I had chard and other cooking greens in the fridge (you know, the usual... tatsoi, komatsuna, mizuna), a fresh onion and a fresh head of garlic. I also had a lemon that I'd zested the night before to make the zucchini blueberry breakfast muffins, which needed to be used. Plus, I randomly picked up some dried currants from the grocery store last week. I'd heard of pairing currants with swiss chard before, but I've never read any recipes or tried the combination, as I do not like eating re-hydrated raisins/currants/any dried fruit. I added the currants at the very end of the sauteing, in the hopes that they'd moisten, but not get plump.

What came together was sweet and tasty (and there were no fat currants!):

Zesty Zucchini Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

This week's winner of the Zucchini Bread Challenge is a tasty little combination of fruit and vegetable goodness. Not too sweet, not too much kick from the spice department, but lots of mellow flavors and quite satisfying.

David's given these the official thumb's up: "Normal blueberry muffins are usually more about the blueberries than about the muffin. The blueberry/zucchini/lemon combination is more complex; It is symphony of taste."

Meet My Garden!

This is my garden. I consider this my first official garden, but It's not the first time I've grown veggies...when David and I moved from the big, bad city (I love you NYC) to Western MA, we rented an apartment from some really nice landlords. They were so nice, in fact, that they gave us 1/2 of their garden plot in their backyard.

We were in heaven. Actually, we were in what the city-folk call the country, and after years of living in NYC, it felt pretty heavenly.

Using Up Leftovers With 2 Easy Recipes

I always end up with a few raw veggies left over at the end of the week. I also inevitably roast, grill, or steam too many for dinner, which means that at the beginning of the week, my fridge is filled with raw, fresh veggies, and by the end, it's filled with leftover cooked veggies. The cycle never seems to end! I dislike throwing out perfectly tasty and good food, even though I compost, but I'm not a big fan of "leftovers". Read on for two quick recipes using raw and cooked leftovers...

Carrot and Cabbage Slaw

We got our first cabbages from the CSA last week. Not much...just a large head and two baby cabbages. Last year, David discovered his love for making sauerkraut and sweet pickled cabbage. I discovered my love for eating the sauerkraut and sweet pickled cabbage. We needed a lot of cabbage for David to pickle, and we found that we could get HUGE heads of cabbage for really, really cheap (like, 10lbs for $2. really.) We went overboard purchasing cabbages!

What I'm saying is....I've seen a lot of cabbage in the past year. And that's fine, because I really like it. I've made soups and sautes, David's made krauts and pickled versions. During the summer, a slaw is the obvious usage for cabbage. And, since I sometimes state the obvious, I am offering up a slaw recipe in this post! I think I first had a version of this slaw while visiting my mother-in-law, Cathy. Cathy has tons of recipes memorized, makes stuff up on the fly, and mixes and matches at will. I have no idea how this recipe came to be, or if I even make it the way she does, but it doesn't matter. I like it because it's easy to put together, low in fat, fresh, crispy, and colorful. Plus, there's no mayonnaise, so it's not creamy or heavy.

A New (Old) Cookbook

I went out antiquing today with a friend and I purchased a little cookbook entitled: How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, published in 1945, and written by Bu Wei Yan Chao. I was sold when I saw the inscription, which reads:

"To Agnes Hocking, who told me to write this book".

Upon taking this little gem home, I discovered that the author of this cookbook was a Chinese woman who graduated with a degree in medicine from Tokyo Woman's Medical College. She is apparently credited with having coined the term "stir-fry". Who knew?

Lemony-Sweet Pickled Beets

Within the past week, I've accomplished two things I've never done before: I've pickled and canned beets and I've eaten pickled, canned beets!

I think beets are fabulous-looking freshly plucked from the soil, but I love them even more when I cut into a freshly boiled one...most recently, I sliced into dark pink-red beets. The rings in the flesh made me think about when I was in elementary school science class and we learned how to determine the age of a tree.

I also get a kick out of peeling beets that have been boiled because they're slick and slimy, and THAT makes me think about having a Halloween party and putting things like peeled grapes and cold spaghetti into paper bags and having guests stick their hands in and guess what they're touching ("eyeballs?! eeew, gross!")

Anway, I digress...back to my two firsts...

Chocolate Cardamom Zucchini Bread

David has test-tasted zucchini bread #1 and given it a two thumb's up! Here's his official critique (and if you care, I liked it, too):

"Nice flavor. Still has a zucchini bread-feel. Cardamom and chocolate kicks up the richness you'd expect from a zucchini bread, while still maintaining the texture that you get in a traditional loaf. A good dessert bread, and looking forward to trying it toasted."-David

The Zucchini Bread Challenge

When David realized that summer squash/zucchini season was upon us, his face lit up. I knew exactly what he wanted before he even opened his mouth, and I was already rolling my eyes...While he was thinking "Zucchini Bread!!", I was thinking "Oh, great. I get to make zucchini bread. Yay." I've tried many slices of zucchini bread and I always silently wonder why someone's ruining a completely tasty zucchini by adding it to a quick bread. I know it's for making the bread nice and moist, but plain zucchini bread is just kind of boring to me. It always just tastes like cinnamon. Why add the zucchini, and not applesauce or something? Why not just make a cinnamon bread? I just don't get it.

David is really excited for me to make some zucchini bread, so I've decided to give myself a little challenge. Within the next three weeks, I will make three loaves of zucchini bread, but they will NOT be plain old loaves with shredded zucchini. It will have zucchini, but there will be a twist.
I may fail miserably and end up making David a normal old zucchini loaf, but perhaps I will discover something that I will actually enjoy making and eating...

...Stay tuned for zucchini bread #1...

How to Care for Your Wok

A reader made a comment about my wok looking like it came straight from China, which I take as a compliment. So, thanks! It got me thinking about caring for woks, and how they are similar to fine wine, leather and some really great pieces of furniture (and Harrison Ford, usually)...they only get better with age. You should NEVER, EVER, EVER scrub your wok after you use it. No soap. No harsh scrubby brush. Just hot water and gentle removal of any food. And, as I learned from my Mom this weekend, dry your wok by placing it back on the stove and turning the burner up high, so the water evaporates and the wok dries quickly. That way, there is no opportunity for rust stains. Thanks,Mom. You're so smart.

Note: I've also read that you should oil your wok after rinsing and drying, but I've never done that. My wok's been stir-frying for over 10 years now, and still going strong!

Veggie Fried Rice

When I need a quick, comforting dish, I make this vegetable fried rice. It's great with grilled chicken, shrimp, or with the ribs and dry-fried garlic scapes that we ate this weekend. You can omit the eggs if you'd prefer it be strictly grains and vegetables.

Recipe: Veggie Fried Rice

by Nicole
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
Feel free to add different vegetables, such as chopped broccoli, scallions, or shelled peas.

You'll need:

• a wok
• 2 cups cooked rice (If you can, make the rice a day ahead. You should use a long grain brown or white rice.)
• sesame oil
• 1/2 chopped medium onion2 chopped carrots
• 1-2 cups roughly chopped snap peas2 eggs
• add soy sauce or tamari to your liking.

Heat a drizzle of sesame oil in wok, spreading to coat bottom. Whisk two eggs and add to hot wok. Cook on one side until egg is set, and then flip to other side. Remove cooked egg from wok, fold and thinly slice and chop. Set aside.

Reheat wok with another drizzle of oil. Add onion and carrots and brown, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add snap peas and continue stir-frying, about 1 minute, until peas are a bright green. Add rice, constantly tossing and stirring, so that it does not stick. Add soy sauce to taste while tossing. Rice should not be clumping together, but should not be dry, either.

Dry-Fried Garlic Scapes

My parents visited this weekend and we skipped the traditional 4th of July bbq fare. Instead, we served bbq pork spare ribs with an Asian-inspired sauce (whipped up on the fly by Chef D), vegetable fried rice, and a garlic scape dish that I have been dying to test-drive...

More Stuff in Jars

I suppose this week's theme is "Things You Store in Jars", and you either love this or hate this. For those who are hating, here's a little secret...this recipe is easy, as there is no processing time. Follow the preparation instructions and let them marinate in the fridge.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that we used our kohlrabi to make pickles. Click here to read that post. Oh. My. God. Seriously, they are really tasty. Tart, gingery, crispy, sweet and salty. With a little spice. Without knowing it, I ate 1/2 the jar during my taste-test.

Garlic Scape Pesto, Two Ways

It seems like everyone is into making pesto with their scapes. Ever since the CSA started offering these chartruese specialties, I've been racking my brain and researching scape ideas. I came across suggestion after suggestion to make scape pesto. I read the words "Dorie's Pesto" over and over again. (Have you read Dorie Greenspan's blog? She has 5 James Beard awards.)

Zucchini Relish

Confession: I am not a member of the clean-fridge club this week (see my last post for details on why). It's frustrating, since I'm very goal-oriented, and frankly, not reaching my goal of using all my vegetables makes me feel like I failed. However, one of the many lessons I've learned in my very lengthy 28 years on the planet is that I get to learn from my mistakes, and I should really be grateful for screwing up (for more ways I've screwed up lately, see my broccoli rabe and turnip vs radish posts).

It's natural to not reach all of the goals you set for yourself, right? It's all part of life's process....

Party Excess

David and I threw a baby shower bbq for our friends this afternoon. We made everything from scratch; my couscous salad (I substituted spinach with swiss chard), a pasta salad with homemade pesto from last year's basil overload (we froze pesto in glass jars, and this was our last one... good thing it's almost basil time!), and a coleslaw that my Mom always makes for picnic-y events, which everyone loves. In addition, Chef D made his famous ribs and we grilled up some chicken that we marinated in dijon, garlic and olive oil (recipe courtesy of Chef D's Mom).

Oh, and there was fresh hummus with lemon and garlic scapes, pita chips, fruit salad and crudites for snacking. (And the soon-to-be Mom requested ice cream sundaes, so, we had those, too)

Have I mentioned that there were only 14 people at this party? David and I prepared food for about 40. This is what happens when a girl of Italian heritage marries a Jewish boy...there is ALWAYS enough food.

Fabulous Feathery Fennel

Fennel is one of my all-time most favorite vegetables. I love them because they are crispy and licorice-y (this is ironic because I do not like anything that tastes like licorice, except fennel), and delicious raw or simply roasted.

Fennel made it's debut at the CSA this week, and I've got 12 fennel plants in my garden, so I am feeling very lucky. I'm including my top three favorite ways to use fennel at the bottom of this post. I plan on spending some time researching and devising more ways to incorporate the fennel fronds and harvest fennel seeds, because I cannot imagine that everyone just throws them out.

Dumpling Soup with Roast Pork

I had grand plans of trying out some new recipes yesterday. However, when I returned home after work, working out, and running errands, I realized that I had only two goals for the evening (as opposed to, say, my usual 4 or 5):

Eat Dinner and Lounge

The full fridge was calling to me, but I just could not muster the strength. I'm blaming it on the lack of sunlight. Lame? Maybe. But that's the only excuse that seems to make sense.

Happy Hour

I wanted to take a moment to say hello to all the Mountain View Farm CSA readers, and I also wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to Ben and Liz, who included the link to my blog in the latest Newsletter.

I am so flattered that you've taken the time to visit my site, and I hope you find inspiration, enjoy the photographs (starring our very own Mountain View Farm Vegetables!), and maybe have a laugh or two when reading my posts. Welcome!

Mondays have become my favorite day of the week. This is my "pick-up day", and I truly look forward to leaving work, coming home, doing a quick wardrobe change, and then heading back out with my husband for the farm visit. I LOVE pulling in to the farm parking lot (sometimes in a car, sometimes on a bike) and seeing everyone mulling about. Some are toting their empty bags in to the barn, others are returning to their cars with bags brimming with fresh vegetables. I love it even MORE, when I get a glimpse of the lovely rows of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, with the lush, dark treeline in the distance. There are kids running around, dogs are hanging out with their owners, and people picking their own strawberries, herbs, and flowers. AND, there's a row of beautiful red poppies right in front of the flower beds. (If you see a tent in the fields next week, it's because I've decided to move in).

Did I mention that I LOVE this? Well, I do.

It is my Monday happy-hour.

Week 3 in Review

My week 3 came and went way too fast. I honestly have no idea what I did last week. I can't think of any hilarious stories, and I can't even think of anything remotely witty. And, the first thing I thought about doing when I woke up was to write this:

Dear Sun,
I miss you. My plants miss you.
Please come back.
Love, Nicole and her garden

I then thought about writing this:

Hey Sun,
Get your lazy butt out from behind those clouds and DO YOUR JOB. STAT.
(I'm hating you right now)
Nicole

Now that I got that out of my system, let me tell you how I cleaned out my fridge before the Week 4 pick up....

In addition to all the tasty recipes that I posted recently, we made fresh fettuccine with our leftover greens and strawberry syrup this past Sunday. Both store well, as the fettuccine can be frozen and syrup will last for a good long time in the fridge. Actually, I'm not really sure just how long the syrup lasts...it's usually been eaten well before the "time's up" date.

Check them out:

Strawberry Syrup

Greens Fettuccini

Greens Fettuccine

This recipe's been adapted to utilize my leftover cooking greens, not spinach, as the original recipe requires. It's from Lidia's Family Table, by Lydia Bastianach. This is time consuming, but the results are really delicious, and you can freeze the pasta.

Strawberry Syrup

I must confess, I cannot eat 3 pints of strawberries in one week. Or two weeks. Last night, as I was taking fridge-inventory, I noticed that the strawberries were not looking their best. In retrospect, I should have frozen them as soon as I got them home last week, so I could save them for a jam making session in the Fall. I could not bear to toss them in the compost, so I thought back to the days when my parents took us strawberry picking and when my mom made jams and syrups. On Sunday at 5pm, I was not about to start a canning assembly line. I was, however, willing to spend a little making strawberry syrup.

Quick Tips: Scallions,Radishes, Beet Tops, Chard

Have scallions and radishes?
A friend in Maine (who has an amazing garden and two cute kids) gave me the idea for this quick and tasty breakfast.
Pick up some cream cheese
(I like whipped. Less calories and easier to spread.)
Stir in chopped scallions.
Spread on toasted english muffin, bagel, or toast.
Top with thin slices of radishes.Devour happily, knowing you've just had some veggies first thing in the morning.

Have Beet Tops?
David always looks forward to fresh beet tops!
Wash, trim stems and steam.
Serve with a twist of lemon or sprinkling of parmesan.

Thinking of Tossing the Swiss Chard Stems?
People often throw out the large stems, thinking they'll be too bitter or tough to eat. Not so!
Heat up a pan with a generous, but shallow coating of olive or vegetable oil.
Trim ends of stems.
Dredge in egg, then coat with a combination of breadcrumbs or panko, parsley, and parmesan.
Fry until crispy and golden brown.
Place on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up oil.
Serve with slice of lemon or nothing at all.
Enjoy!

Syrian Beet Salad (I Heart Beets)

Beets were not a household staple when I was growing up. In fact, I don't think I ever had beets until a few years ago, when I discovered that they were delicious with goat cheese, nuts and green apples in a salad. I'm now somewhat obsessed. I love them because they are sweet and slightly earthy, and kick ass in the color department. They make me feel insanely healthy, even when I'm eating golden beets, boiled, sliced and tossed with butter and salt.

Kale with Spicy Italian Sausage

Whenever my husband (Ok, ok, his name is David. "My husband" sounds too.... well... possessive, doesn't it? From now on, he'll be referred to as David, or, if he's cooking, Chef D).

Ahem... Whenever Chef D makes this meal, he says something like "Ah, this recipe reminds me of my bachelor days, when I'd make this for just myself. Mmmmmmm...."

Pan-Fried Cod with Sauteed Garlic Scapes and Swiss Chard

This was my first attempt at using garlic scapes. When I heard we were getting scapes, I was excited. I also had no idea what they were, what they looked like, or how I'd use them. However, because the word 'garlic' was in the name, I was sure Mr. Scape and I would be fast friends. With a lovely bright green stalk, a little bulb that's not yet flowered and a graceful tapered top, the scape is almost snake-like. They taste sort of like a cross between a string bean, asparagus and a chive. I'd suggest substituting beans or asparagus to this recipe if you don't have scapes, and maybe a clove of garlic, sliced super thin.

What is a CSA, anyway???

Community Supported Agriculture

A farm sells crop shares to community members prior to the growing season. Some CSA's require their share-holders to work a bit at the farm, others offer shares on a sliding-scale, or "large" and "small" veggie boxes. Once the season begins (that's June for me), share-holders visit the farm once a week to pick up produce or the produce gets delivered to directly to the share-holder. In exchange for supporting our local farm, we get loads of fresh veggies and fruits (and flowers) and we get to cultivate a relationship with the people responsible for providing us with local, delicious, as-fresh-as-it-gets food. I love the visual of rows and rows of greenness and beautiful barns, with a backdrop of mountains and lush landscape. And as I remarked to my husband, as we pulled in to the farm during the downpour this past Monday, "Ahhh, I love the smell of rain, dirt, and manure."

For more information on the CSA I belong to visit:
http://www.mountainviewfarmcsa.com

and for locating a farm in your area, check out:
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

When is a Turnip Not a Turnip?

When it is a RADISH...

The List, Week 3

And...we're back to the beginning of the week!

My fridge is full of:
Radishes
Hakurei Turnips
Beets
Summer Squash
Broccoli
Bok Choy
Mixed greens
Red Leaf Lettuce
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Kale (Russian Red and the Curly Stuff)
More Cooking Greens
Kohlrabi
Scallions
Garlic Scapes

I'm psyched for the garlic scapes. They look cool and smell awesome.

Week in Review (And some recipes)

YES! It's Sunday night and there's nothing but some lonely lettuce in my fridge. I am feeling victorious and mighty healthy. I would like to use this evening's post as a reflection of how many veggies we managed to consume this week AND to show how you, too, can be a member of the clean-fridge-club. As a teaser to keep you reading, the recipe that utilized the most veggies was Vegetable Dumplings. We ate 12 tonite, and we've got another 50 or so chillin' in the freezer for later meals, appetizers, or additions to soup.

You may be thinking that I'm over-exaggerating how much we receive from our CSA share, so here's a breakdown of what we picked up last Monday (The list below reflects only 1/2 of the share, as we divide it with our CSA buddies) and what we yanked from our little garden in the past week(which is ALL ours!)

1 head of lettuce 1/2 bag* of mixed lettuces/arugula 1/2 bag of mixed greens (tatsoi, mizuna, komatsuna, mustard greens) 1 1/2 quarts strawberries 2 radishes 1/2 kohlrabi

1/4 bag of spinach 6 baby bok choy 1/2 bag of larger "cooking" greens (more mature tatsoi, mizuna, komatsuna, broccoli rabe) 1 very large bok choy 4 medium scallions 2 hakurei turnips

*Go to your grocery store and grab a produce bag. Fill it to the top with loose greens. Then triple that to see what a full bag of mixed greens looks like. Intimidated? Yeah, I thought so. And if you're reading this and you have a CSA share, you're nodding your head in agreement.

Simple Green Salad with Garlic and Lemon

Simple, easy and delicious.

You'll need:
one large head of lettuce, washed and cut
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 large clove of garlic, pressed (this makes it a little tangy, so if you're not into garlic, use less)
pepper
fresh parmesan, optional

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, swirling it in the bowl to coat the bottoms and sides. Add in lettuce and toss, evenly distributing the dressing. Finish with fresh ground pepper and parmesan, if you're feeling so inclined. Makes enough for 4 as a generous side-salad.

Couscous with Spinach, Pignoli and Mint

I made this one up on Wednesday evening...it was light, fluffy and refreshing.

Couscous with Spinach, Pignoli and Mint

by Nicole

You'll need:

• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp butter/olive oil (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh, chopped spinach
• 1 scallion-I used just the green portion in this.
• 1/4-1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts)-I used raw, but toasted would be nice.
• Mint-infused olive oil*
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

*I know, I know. Who has this, right? I was in O&Co. and saw this tiny can of mint olive oil and I was in love. This is the first time I used it, and it was great. If you don't happen to have this in your pantry, try finely chopping a few leaves of mint and add to the bowl of couscous and spinach.

Put water and butter/oil in small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes, until water has been soaked up.
While couscous is resting, toss spinach and scallions together in a medium-sized bowl.
Fluff couscous with fork and add to spinach and scallions.
DO NOT STIR TOGETHER YET!
Cover the spinach with the hot couscous to warm up the spinach, 3 minutes. Then toss to combine.
Drizzle mint-infused olive oil over the couscous and spinach if you didn't add fresh mint. Otherwise, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.
Add pignoli, salt, and pepper.

Serve as a side dish, warm or cold.

Strawberry Love

I'm lucky. I got a quart and a half of beautiful strawberries from the CSA. I'll probably get antsy later in June and start looking for tart recipes and oother time-consuming projects such as strawberry jam, but for now, I'm really only interested in eating them. If you have strawberries, you should do the same. Whip up some cream with a tad of vanilla and a sprinkle of sugar (You do have a hand-mixer, right? Because it's going to take some serious arm energy if you're using a whisk...). Grab a bowl of strawberries, top them with some fresh whipped cream and enjoy.

If you've got strawberries that are starting to look less then glamorous, cut them up, toss them in a little sauce pan with a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice (if you have it) and heat everything up, stirring so you're not burning. Just 5 or so minutes, and you've got yourself a delicious strawberry topping for angel food cake, pound cake or ice cream. Top with the whipped cream and be thankful for summer. And if you're my husband, you'll drizzle the whole thing with some chocolate, for extra decadence.

Lessons Learned: Broccoli Rabe

Let's get one thing straight. I'm just a regular ol' girl who likes cooking. And eating. I have no training whatsoever in the food field, unless you count my stint as a dishwasher during my high-school days, or when I waited tables at a tiny Italian restaurant in the West Village after college. While it is rare that I make something inedible, I do make silly mistakes. I also manage to get whatever it is that I'm cooking all over my kitchen floor, even if it is something simple, like, say, eggs.

I had a bunch of broccoli rabe from the CSA. The stalks were really quite large, and since I'm into using the whole veggie, I coarsley chopped everything up. I just figured I'd heat up some olive oil, sautee some garlic, add scallions and hot pepper flakes and then cook up the greens (I also added a bit of fresh lemon juice). The plan was to have a simple little dinner of sauteed broccoli rabe and leftover grilled chicken over pasta, with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and a glass of red wine.

I should have realized after I chopped up the rabe, that the thicker stalks with the white center probably weren't going to cook down well. And that thought did cross my mind, just as I was dumping all the greens into my sautee pan...

My pasta and rabe was delicious!
I did, however, spend most of my meal picking through and pulling out the thick stems. They tasted the way I imagine snacking on bamboo might taste.

Good thing I had that glass of red to wash it all down.

Vexing Indexes (or Why I should not judge a book by it's cover)

Feeling inspired by the abundance of vegetables, I visited my awesome local used book store and procured another cookbook. I chose it based on Cuisine (Chinese) and Photographs (Delicious-looking). The food photography was lovely and many of the recipes in the book reminded me of the real Chinese food I've eaten; None of that chow fun/fried egg roll nonsense. I brought my fancy new book home, and after tying up the out-of-control peonies and attacking the weeds in my garden, sat down to devour my new text.

I tend to read cookbooks in the following order:
I look at all the pictures first. I can't help it.
And then...
I go right to the index and look recipes up by ingredient.

This new book I purchased? Total sham. Here I was, distracted by all the pretty pictures, and when I looked up bok choy, the index pointed to ONE STINKING PAGE that referenced bok choy. I was forced to read the whole damned cookbook. And you know what? There were practically a dozen recipes that showcased bok choy. Same thing with scallions (For the record, Scallion Pancakes were only listed under Appetizers. Ridiculous.)

And this brings me to what I hope to provide in the future: A search function on my little blog where you can type in your veggie and, voila, a list of recipes that showcase your veggie. Or at least include that veggie. Is this helpful? Or would you rather just type in "appetizer" and come up with a list of recipes you probably don't have the ingredients for...

Quiche of Greens

So far, the first 2 weeks of the CSA have been fun. Week 1 was really just a warm-up for what week 2 had to offer...after about 4 hours of sorting, having a veggie "photo shoot", cleaning and figuring out exactly where these chock full o' vitamin-goodies would live (fridge AND cooler on back porch, and that's after I divided the share for our CSA Buddies), I finally had it under control. However, I'm beginning to feel the pressure of locating/devising enough new recipes to use everything up and to make sure we won't be turning green after the week's end.

The Hakurei Turnip

We were picking out our first bunch of Hakurei Turnips when we heard a tiny voice behind us. "Momma, can I have a turnip?" We turned to see our farmer's daughter begging for a turnip snack. Really? I thought. This 3 year old wants a turnip? Yup.

Wok'd Greens (Greens, Greens and Greens)

June 1 marked the first CSA visit for the season. Make that the first CSA visit ever for my husband and me. Last summer, when we decided to join, we also promised that in 2009, we wouldn't plant much in our backyard garden...a tomato plant or two, some basil, and maybe a few other herbs. And some dill. And fennel. And then, I decided that square-foot gardening was the way to go, which gave me so many little spaces to plant. So, I planned spaces for the aforementioned veggies, plus chard, red cabbage, and carrots, eggplant, peppers, onions, and potatoes. Yup. Just a few things to keep us busy. But, enough about our garden. I'll get to those tasties later.