You Are What You Eat: June 23 through July 21
Streak of not eating inside a restaurant - 862 days and counting (+28)
My new Recipes for the Year: 82 (+7)
M's new Recipes for the Year 17 (+0)
It's been a while since my last update. Between our long vacation and M's sister coming up the last weekend, we have surprisingly few recipes for such a long interval. Still, I tried out eight new recipes, with the CSA and the CSF pushing me to go out and find new recipes on the internet and in our existing stash of cookbooks.
Let's start with the fish:
- Our CSF gave us our first ever rockfish, and their website offered up the Seared Rockfish with Sizzling Ginger Sauce. Sitka specializes in recipes that are quick to prepare, and this one was an exemplar of the genre in that respect. Flavor-wise, this was ginger heavy but despite that built-in advantage wasn't anything we feel a burning need to repeat.
- We used more of our rockfish for the Creole Spiced White Fish with Cheesy Grits. While the cheesy grits delivered, the recipe pales in comparison with the Smoky Collards & Shrimp with Cheesy Grits we made a few months ago, which had a much more distinctive flavor. We'll have to adopt the shrimp recipe to fish, which should be easy enough, and try it again.
- The real seafood winner this time around was from our old favorite 660 Curries. We went for the Poached Fish in a Mustard Chile Sauce, which somewhat unusually for 660 curries is actually on the internet. We used a nice piece of cod for this recipe, and it was a big hit. M unequivocally wanted me to make this again. It had a very nice sauce which covered the fish and soaked into the rice to give it some more bite.
Part of me wonders if we got better results from the Poached Fish because we used cod compared to the rockfish from the other recipes. The cod definitely had a a better texture, but my guess is that the fish was incidental to the flavor combinations.
Moving on from seafood inspired recipes, the next three recipes can all be blamed directly on our CSA.
- One of the very last wedding presents M and I hadn't used was a spiralizer attachment for our KitchenAid Mixer. Since our CSA, like every CSA everywhere, had a few weeks heavy with zucchini and summer squash, we broke out the spiralizer and made noodles, specifically the Spiralized Summer Squash With Garlic and Basil. We used one zucchini and one summer squash apiece. I'm pleased to report that the spiralizer is very easy to use and works like a charm. Two squashes gave us enough food for one big helping each, and the butter, oil, garlic and basil made it taste delicious. We used fresh basil from M's herb garden to drive it home. This was nice. I don't know that I'd buy squashes just to make this, but as long as the CSA keep giving us squashes I'll be happy to keep making this.
On a side note, it seems likely that spiralizers were invented by someone who wanted to use up their CSA squashes.
- We also got a big bag of small kirby cucumbers. I didn't have the desire to go all the way into canning, but I was happy to make a batch of quick pickles for M to enjoy. I used the Rachel Ray Quick Pickles because it happened to come up first in my search results. M enjoyed them, and as I type this I have another batch cooling on the stove with this week's cucumbers.
- Last week our CSA delivered a big bunch of Swiss Chard. I could have just sauteed them down, but I decided it would be more fun to try out the Swiss Chard with Pinto Beans and Goat Cheese from Allrecipes. This dish required some baking, but the end result was an excellent addition to a big plate of pasta. Would I buy Swiss Chard just to make it? Nope.
As I've noted previously, our Eating Well subscription got turned into a Better Homes & Gardens subscription when Eating Well went digital only. Our very last issue of Better Homes & Gardens came, and it had some grilling recipes. As it happens, we now have a gas grill. My parents brought theirs up for us the last time they visited. Our first grilling attempt was the Pesto Chicken and Radicchio Skewers from the July/August 2022 issue. The chicken came out delicious, which may have been inevitable after marinating in pesto and lemon juice for 5 hours. M wasn't as wild about the radicchio, but I liked it. We did it all on trays inside the grill, so cleanup was minimal. And as a bonus, I managed not to ignite my eyebrows while lighting the grill!
My new Recipes for the Year: 82 (+7)
M's new Recipes for the Year 17 (+0)
It's been a while since my last update. Between our long vacation and M's sister coming up the last weekend, we have surprisingly few recipes for such a long interval. Still, I tried out eight new recipes, with the CSA and the CSF pushing me to go out and find new recipes on the internet and in our existing stash of cookbooks.
Let's start with the fish:
- Our CSF gave us our first ever rockfish, and their website offered up the Seared Rockfish with Sizzling Ginger Sauce. Sitka specializes in recipes that are quick to prepare, and this one was an exemplar of the genre in that respect. Flavor-wise, this was ginger heavy but despite that built-in advantage wasn't anything we feel a burning need to repeat.
- We used more of our rockfish for the Creole Spiced White Fish with Cheesy Grits. While the cheesy grits delivered, the recipe pales in comparison with the Smoky Collards & Shrimp with Cheesy Grits we made a few months ago, which had a much more distinctive flavor. We'll have to adopt the shrimp recipe to fish, which should be easy enough, and try it again.
- The real seafood winner this time around was from our old favorite 660 Curries. We went for the Poached Fish in a Mustard Chile Sauce, which somewhat unusually for 660 curries is actually on the internet. We used a nice piece of cod for this recipe, and it was a big hit. M unequivocally wanted me to make this again. It had a very nice sauce which covered the fish and soaked into the rice to give it some more bite.
Part of me wonders if we got better results from the Poached Fish because we used cod compared to the rockfish from the other recipes. The cod definitely had a a better texture, but my guess is that the fish was incidental to the flavor combinations.
Moving on from seafood inspired recipes, the next three recipes can all be blamed directly on our CSA.
- One of the very last wedding presents M and I hadn't used was a spiralizer attachment for our KitchenAid Mixer. Since our CSA, like every CSA everywhere, had a few weeks heavy with zucchini and summer squash, we broke out the spiralizer and made noodles, specifically the Spiralized Summer Squash With Garlic and Basil. We used one zucchini and one summer squash apiece. I'm pleased to report that the spiralizer is very easy to use and works like a charm. Two squashes gave us enough food for one big helping each, and the butter, oil, garlic and basil made it taste delicious. We used fresh basil from M's herb garden to drive it home. This was nice. I don't know that I'd buy squashes just to make this, but as long as the CSA keep giving us squashes I'll be happy to keep making this.
On a side note, it seems likely that spiralizers were invented by someone who wanted to use up their CSA squashes.
- We also got a big bag of small kirby cucumbers. I didn't have the desire to go all the way into canning, but I was happy to make a batch of quick pickles for M to enjoy. I used the Rachel Ray Quick Pickles because it happened to come up first in my search results. M enjoyed them, and as I type this I have another batch cooling on the stove with this week's cucumbers.
- Last week our CSA delivered a big bunch of Swiss Chard. I could have just sauteed them down, but I decided it would be more fun to try out the Swiss Chard with Pinto Beans and Goat Cheese from Allrecipes. This dish required some baking, but the end result was an excellent addition to a big plate of pasta. Would I buy Swiss Chard just to make it? Nope.
As I've noted previously, our Eating Well subscription got turned into a Better Homes & Gardens subscription when Eating Well went digital only. Our very last issue of Better Homes & Gardens came, and it had some grilling recipes. As it happens, we now have a gas grill. My parents brought theirs up for us the last time they visited. Our first grilling attempt was the Pesto Chicken and Radicchio Skewers from the July/August 2022 issue. The chicken came out delicious, which may have been inevitable after marinating in pesto and lemon juice for 5 hours. M wasn't as wild about the radicchio, but I liked it. We did it all on trays inside the grill, so cleanup was minimal. And as a bonus, I managed not to ignite my eyebrows while lighting the grill!