Archive for August, 2008

2008 CSA Week 10

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

I might be a slacker when it comes to posting, but I was no slouch in the cooking department this week! Everything is all used up, save one bunch of beets, thanks to a little bit of work this morning.

Here’s what we got last Wednesday:

2008 CSA Week 10 - Veg

Slicing Tomatoes-3 pounds
Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes-1 basket
Walla Wall Onions-2
Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage-1 head
Black Bell Eggplant-1
Summer Squash-2 pounds
Edamame-1 bunch
Bright Lights Swiss Chard-1 bunch
Basil-1 bunch

2008 CSA Week 10 - Veg

edamame

During the past week we’ve had toasts with chopped tomato, basil, and olive oil, pasta with swiss chard and pine nuts and Cherry tomato & feta salad (from Barefoot Contessa at Home, also Food Network).

Of course we went to the farmers market this weekend, where I was compelled to buy six beautiful eggplant, a bunch of carrots, and some sweet corn.

I used cabbage from the share along with some carrots from the market in a batch of Asian Slaw for a bbq at our neighbor’s house.
I made a couple of batches of eggplant caponata (Everyday Food, April) for the freezer with most of the eggplant. The two remaining eggplant were on my mind this morning, along with the entire two pounds of summer squash from last week. I’m just tired of summer squash. I had enough of the right odds and ends around so I made a batch of ratatouille before work this morning.

Ratatouille

diced yellow onion, whole red pearl onions, eggplant, summer squash, and fresh tomatoes

2008 CSA Week 10 - Fruit

donut peaches, apricots, yellow peaches, and blackberries

I love donut peaches. I’m so glad we’re getting them again this week.

pancakes!

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

I’ve wanted to make these ever since I saw this post/recipe for whole grain pancakes on Bakers’ Banter a couple of weeks ago. I bought the buttermilk almost two weeks ago (thankfully it’s still good) but it took me awhile to get up enough morning motivation and organization to make them. It was quite easy and now I have a batch of mix in my freezer.

whole grain pancakes whole grain pancakes
whole grain pancakes whole grain pancakes

whole grain pancakes

I followed the King Arthur Whole-Grain Pancake Mix recipe almost exactly. I only had 60g of White Whole Wheat flour so used that, plus 420g of their 100% Organic Whole Wheat. My pancakes were a little darker than theirs but the taste shouldn’t be any different. Use what you have. These pancakes are delicious.

2008 CSA Week 9

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Eleven.

I picked eleven pounds of cucumber from my garden last night. My refrigerator is a wee bit ridiculous right now.

Here’s what we got in the share yesterday.

2008 CSA Week 9 - Veg

Cucumbers-2
Orient Express Eggplant-2
*Walla Walla Onions-2
Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes-1 basket
Slicing Tomatoes-1 1/2 pounds
Gold Beets-1 bunch
Lilac Peppers-2
Cilantro-1 bunch
*Fennel-1 head
Summer Squash-2 pounds

Someone had put their onions in the swap box so I swapped out my fennel. Excellent trade in my book.

2008 CSA Week 9 - Fruit

peaches
nectarines
donut peaches
shiro plums

Last night I made chocolate chip zucchini bread with the zucchini. I made four mini loaves and two of them are definitely prettier than the other. I was not in a great mood. The kitchen was hot, it was late, and I should have been paying more attention. I tested one loaf and when it was done I pulled all the loaves out. The others could have used a few more minutes but it was too late by the time I noticed. Totally careless mistake.

For dinner we had chopped tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, Maldon salt (it’s large and crispy), a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. Delicious.

2008 CSA Week 8

Monday, August 11th, 2008

I was unable to take a picture for week 6 and we were out of town for week 7. Here’s week 8 for you.

2008 CSA Week 8 - Veg

Orient Express Eggplant-2
Peppers-3
Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage-1
Walla Walla Onions-2
String Beans-1 pound
Genovese Basil-1bunch
Slicing Tomatoes-1
Summer Squash-2 pounds
Boothby Blonde cucumbers-2
Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes-1 basket

2008 CSA Week 8 - Fruit
Shiro Plums
Peaches
Apricots

I’ve had big plans for these eggplant (eggplant roll-ups) but I haven’t gotten around to making the recipe yet. I’ve also dreamed up an eggplant parm-ish pasta and if I end up making it, I will definitely post about it. We’re getting more eggplant this week so it’s definitely possible.
I made gazpacho yesterday with one of the onions, a pepper, the tomato, and cukes from my garden. The boothby blonde cucumbers were gone the first night. They’re a perfect snack size. I also made a fantastic basil vinaigrette with the bunch of basil, plus some more from my garden. Here’s the recipe:
BASIL VINAIGRETTE
1 garlic scape
1/4 medium onion
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 lb basil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in order in blender and process. Makes approximately 1 pint.

Last night I made a feta and tomato salad with the sungold cherry tomatoes, some grape tomatoes and basil from my garden, parsley from the farmer’s market (I never got around to starting parsley from seed this year). We also ate the whole pound of green beans, lightly steamed. They were very good on their own and I really liked them with a bit of the vinaigrette from the tomato salad.