Here’s the update from week 8. I’ll try to be more timely about the week 9 update. Still no luck getting all the ingredients for gazpacho in one week, but I still have hope.

Red Potatoes-1 quart basket or 2 pounds
Bright Lights Swiss Chard-1 bunch
Cilantro-1 bunch
Islander Purple Peppers-2
Biscayne Cubanelle Peppers-2
Jersey Wakefield Cabbage-1 head
Chiogga Beets-1 bunch
Orient Express Eggplant-6
Mini Purplette Onions-1 pint or 1 pound
Summer Squash-1 pint
Shiro Plums-1 bag
Peaches-1 bag
Nectarines-1 bag

Last night I made a really excellent egg dish. I carmelized three big onions (took about an hour) and sauteed up the chard mentioned above. In the big pan I layered the chard on top of the onions and poured my egg mixture over the top. I used a dozen eggs, since I wanted leftovers to take for lunch this week. I flecked a bit of goat cheese into the egg layer and let it cook on the stove for a few minutes. Then I popped it under the broiler until it got nice and brown. Unfortunatly, the middle wasn’t quite set yet so I let it sit in a 375 deg. oven for about 12 minutes. Very delicious. I didn’t take a picture of it, but I should have.
I did take a picture of the rustic peach tart I made over the weekend. It was divine and not too much work.
Here it is before oven time:

and done:

Tasty!

2 slicing cucumbers

1 quart basket string beans

1 bunch scallions

1 head Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage

4 eggplant

1 bunch spinach

1 fennel

1 bunch summer savory

1 bunch Red Ace beets

1 basket Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

1 basket Red Lake Currants

1 bag Sugar Plums

1 bag peaches

Really beautiful stuff. The cherry tomatoes are as sweet as candy and the currants are large and sweet this week. I took a bunch for lunch today.

Here’s the artsy picture:

Last night Jeremie, Eric and I saw “Who Killed the Electric Car?”. It was avery interesting film and if it comes to your area, you should go see it. Check out http://www.pluginamerica.com for more information about plug-in hybrids.

It makes me really sad to see such short-sighted business thinking on the part of the American car companies and I wonder how the engineers feel, changing the packaging but basically keeping up with the status quo. Being from Michigan, it’s hard not to feel profoundly sad and angry that instead of embracing innovation and creating jobs and long-term possiblities, the US car companies chose technological stagnation, job loss and cars that use a lot of gas. The car companies should be in the business of selling cars, any type of cars necessary to compete in the marketplace long-term. If they’d get out of bed with the oil companies maybe they could brush their teeth, look in the mirror and find their way to a future that’s good for business and the people.

The movie doesn’t go in to this, but I think we should take a long hard look at the relationship between technological innovation , the stock market and executive compensation.

This week was a very interesting week and a major score vegetable-wise. There won’t be a picture this week, most likely, as everything is already in the fridge. Wednesday we worked the “closing” shift at the CSA pickup and then we had to spirit the veggies home, stash them in the fridge and head off to dinner. My “class” at work met at Telluride for dinner to celebrate our 5th anniversary. Good food, good drinks and a good time was had by all. It was really enjoyable to talk with everyone since we’re all working on different things and don’t necessarily see each other very often.
Back to the CSA. Working closing is cool because you get to take 2 extra veggies (if there are extras). We got double portions of potatoes and spinach, which is fantastic. Here’s this week’s haul:
Red Sails Lettuce-2 heads
Dill-1 bunch
Summer Squash-1 qt mix of pattypan and zucchini
Perpetual Spinach-1 bunch
New Red Potatoes-1 quart basket or 2 pounds (x2)
Scallions-1 bunch
Fennel-1 head
Escarole-2 heads
Lemon Cucumbers-1 pt
Red Lake Currants-Certified Organic-1 basket (I got 3.. there was a bunch of extra. I’m going to try and make a currant buckle)
Regional Blue Berries-1 pint basket
Sweet Cherries-1 bag

Forgive me for not posting the CSA bounty from last week. I was very tired when I got home and I forgot to take a picture.

This week marks the start of the fruit share. Beautiful, delicious fruit. Here’s what we got:

Red Sails Lettuce-1 head

Genovese Green Basil-1 bunch

Summer Squash-6

Perpetual Spinach-1 bunch

Rat Tail Radishes-1 bunch-these radishes grow at the top of the plant. Pick off the pods and enjoy. One catalog now calls them “Podding Radishes”.

Mini Red Onions-1 bunch

Bright Lights Swiss Chard-1 bunch

Cucumbers-Boothby Blonde -small white – 1 basket

Slicing Cucumber – 1

Red Lake Currants-Certified Organic-1 basket

Regional Blue Berries-1 basket

Sweet Cherries-1 bag

The fridge is full and I need to do some meal planning.

A. K. A. OMG more lettuce. I see salad in our future.

This week we got:

Garlic scapes

Red Leaf Lettuce-1 head

Buttercrunch Lettuce-1 heads

Romaine-1 head

Bok Choy-1 bunch

Radishes-1 bunch

Sugar Snap Peas – 1 basket

We also had mint in this week’s share, but we left ours in the swap basket since our garden produces way more mint than we can handle.
Tonight I made a tofu and lettuce soup with the remainder of last week’s romaine. It is a very good soup, except I don’t love the vegetable stock I used: Whole Foods 365 brand. The stock is thicker than I like and has an unusual taste that I haven’t been able to pinpoint. I’ll have to remember not to buy it again.

Last night Jeremie and I saw Wordplay at the Avon and it was … superb! It was funny, entertaining and heartwarming and I highly recommend you see it should it come to a theater near you. Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times Crossword and author of countless Sudoku books, lives in the area and he was at the special showing last night to do a Q & A session at the end of the movie. He was very nice and it’s always interesting to hear from people who are really passionate about what they do. He stuck around a bit at the end and I asked him to autograph my sudoku book, which I always have in my tote bag that pretends it’s a purse.



Super cool.

The bounty continues.

Sorrel-1 bunch

Garlic scapes

Tatsoi-1 bunch

Red Leaf Lettuce-1 head

Buttercrunch Lettuce-1 heads

Romaine-1 head

Bok Choy-1 bunch

Oregano-1 bunch

Ancho peppers – 4 (grown last season and dried in the greenhouse during the winter)

We finished up last week’s romaine last night with some grilled fajitas and we started in on the red leaf lettuce. I’m going to have to flip through my cookbooks and other recipe sites to figure out what I can make with the sorrel that doesn’t involve heavy cream. I think I’ll make at least 1 stir fry with the bok choy, tatsoi and garlic scapes but I’m soliciting ideas as to what to do with the rest.

That’s how long I’ve been married. It’s been a good time.

Last night we got a new bookshelf and I had to rearrange some furniture between the living room and the “kitchen” living room (yes, wierd, I know) to accommodate it. I don’t know if it really is better or if I just needed a change, but I like the new setup much more than how I had it before. Both rooms seem more balanced.

Saturday night I had dinner in the city with Jeremie and Kate. Our dinner and conversation were delightful, but I wore Impractical Footware and ended up with a gigantic blister on the bottom of my foot. I hobbled around the house for most of Sunday and in the evening we went to the drugstore to see if there was anything we could get that would make my poor foot more comfortable. I picked up some Dr. Scholl’s Blister Treatment and I’m very impressed with the results. After three days of wearing the bandage, the blister is still visible but not raised and I can comfortably put pressure (and a shoe) on my foot. I highly recommend.

I’m a Yankee Doodle Daaaaandy,
A Yankee Doodle do or die.
doot doot doo
I was listening to NPR’s Morning Edition on my way to work this morning and they had a brief interview with Robert Beard, president of AlphaDictionary.com. I get a real kick out of linguistics and who doesn’t love a quiz? This is a pretty good one: Are you a Yankee or a Rebel? My answers indicated that while I am indeed a Yankee, I am definitely a Michigander.
Yes, Michigan. The feeling’s forever.