RECAP: CSA Weeks 3-6
So it has just come to my attention that I have not posted a recap since WEEK TWO of our CSA, and we are now on WEEK SIX. So, in the interest of saving me time and not cluttering anyone’s f-list, you are getting Laura’s Mondo Post of Veggies for weeks three through six. With all vegetables in alphabetical order no less!
For this post, I’m also going to try to stay away from telling you to “OMG, GO MAKE THIS NOW” because that just doesn’t seem reasonable when I’m telling you what I’ve done with eleven kinds of fruits and vegetables. Plus, I imagine my exuberance can seem hyperbolic and annoying at times. :)
Arugula
Arugula, Potato, and Green Bean Salad. Oh my goodness. If you haven’t had this salad, you have not lived. It’s fresh and crisp and tart and wonderfully simple. And unless you’re like us and decide that you need a little chicken on top of it, it doesn’t require turning on your oven in this god awful heat. (Although, really, go ahead and be like us: Kevin made some divine baked chicken that was coated in parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, almonds, and parsley flakes.)
The vinaigrette looks a little fussy, but it can be adapted for those of us who don’t keep walnut oil or plain yogurt on hand. Kevin swapped them out for olive oil and sour cream, respectively, which resulted in a seriously tangy, creamy vinaigrette. A word of caution though: this is really, really tangy dressing. If you’re not big on tang, then I’d recommend using the plain yogurt instead of the sour cream.
Beets
Right now I’ve got beets that are roasted with a chance of salad. I finally decided that the only way these beets were going to get used on a week night (when we do most of our cooking) is if I roasted them this weekend. So now I have seven tasty looking roasted beets in the refrigerator waiting to be used for a higher purpose.
For the record, roasting beets is just like baking potatoes. Simply wrap beets that have been coated with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt in aluminum foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour, or until tender when pierced with a knife.
Black Beans
These little babies are currently sitting in our pantry waiting to be used in something delicious. There’s a pound of them, so I think there might be enough to make an excellent black bean soup. I’m not sure if I’m the only crazy who thinks that soup is a brilliant summer meal, but I think the spiciness of black bean soup and the sharp contrast provided by a spritz or three of lime juice sounds like the perfect summer meal.
Blueberries
Why sully the sanctity of these by using them in anything? While I have been tempted by a few blueberry syrup recipes, eating these blueberries as they are is just heavenly.
However, if you, too, are tempted by blueberry syrup, then I highly recommend letting blueberries simmer in a sauce pan with sugar, pomegranate liqueur, and lemon juice until you get the consistency you want. I’ve been known to serve this syrup over pound cake and wouldn’t think any less of you if you made a similar decision.
Cabbage
Way back in the day, my mom used bags of coleslaw mix to make homemade mooshu pork. Having a head of cabbage and a bunch of carrots at my disposal, I did something similar with fantastic results. This is one of the few things we’ve made where we’ve used our own recipe, so I’ll probably be sharing it here later.
The only downside to this? Even after making mooshu twice, we have a whole head of cabbage left (These things are HUGE!), and I’m a bit cabbaged out. That means that the extra head is just sitting in the crisper until I can face the idea of it again.
Carrots
These carrots began with such promise. Not only did the carrots look delicious, they had beautiful, crisp tops that were just begging to be used in carrot-top soup. Then we let them sit out on the counter too long before putting them in the crisper, and everything wilted. Literally. The tops were shriveled and lifeless, the carrots themselves were frighteningly soft. The tops were a lost cause, but I salvaged the carrots by channeling my mom from the mid-nineties and soaking them in cold water.
Unfortunately, this means that all of my soup dreams were dashed because, without the tops, I didn't have enough carrots to make something like this lovely looking Indian-Spiced Carrot Soup. I've been throwing carrots in where necessary--like in the mooshu pork we made--but I'll probably have to buy some more at the store if I want to make soup.
Cherries
These cherries made a great cherry chutney, which we ate over chicken. I also used some cherries my mom got at the store to make roasted cherries, which make a great ice cream topper. We didn't have the brandy called for in the recipe, so we used bourbon instead. The brandy was not missed at all. The only downside to this recipe is that you need to keep the pits in the cherries while they roast, so they don't fall apart. This means you either have to remove the pits post roasting or spit out the pits as you eat.
Cucumbers
Kevin has been eating these awful things as snacks. He needs to make the most of a bad thing by adding salt and celery seed (*shudders*). All I can say is better him than me.
One thing I might be up for in regards to cucumbers is a drink called The Cuke, which was suggested by
bloodstones in the comments to my last post. It still uses cucumbers (blech), but they're paired with gin. And, really, gin just makes everything better.
Green Beans
Okay, the green beans are the one section where I'm going to break my rule and tell you to drop everything and go make this now: Julie Sahni's Bihari Green Beans Masala is to die for. We've made it twice and it's been fabulous both times. It's not overwhelmingly spicy, but the spices combine to create a nice complex flavor. I really like that this is both vegetarian and works as a main dish. Obvioiusly, vegetarians manage to find things that meet those specifications on a daily basis, but I'm still new to the world of meatless meals, so it excites me. Plus, as a bonus, it can be made with pretty much any veggie you have lying around. The first time we made it we used just plain green beans, but the second time we made it with green beans and red peppers, which was even better. And there are even more possibilities than that.
A few notes on the recipe: If you're jonesing for meat, add a chicken breast to the dish. Kevin and I have been known to roughly dice up a chicken breast that has been coated in yogurt, cumin, and coriander then broiled until done (roughly 15-20 minutes) and add it to the dish. Also, don't let the coconut milk put you off. It doesn't have the texture of the packaged coconut flakes you're thinking of nor does it taste like one half a pina colada. Also, if you look at the nutrition facts on a can of coconut milk, you might faint, so I definitely recommend using the "light" variety if you're concerned about fat intake. I've never had the full-fat variety, so I can't speak to the taste differential, but the light variety works just fine. Finally, I have found that adding 2-3 teaspoons of sugar to the recipe helps balance the flavors a bit by adding a layer of depth.
Kale
We made the kale chips again. This time I made salted and curry flavored chips. I'm guessing most of them will end up crumbled over pop corn.
Red Leaf Lettuce
Kevin and I threw together a rock-star-style salad Saturday night. Red leaf lettuce (expertly not torn in the slightest by my dear, dear husband) with blueberries, goat cheese, bacon, and homemade lemon-pomegranate vinaigrette. (The vinaigrette is SO GOOD but it’s totally cheating as I used lemon olive oil, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, and just tossed in a sprinkling of ground fennel seeds and some salt and pepper. Literally a minute’s worth of work and I get to-die-for, why did I ever even bother with that store-bought crap dressing.)
For this post, I’m also going to try to stay away from telling you to “OMG, GO MAKE THIS NOW” because that just doesn’t seem reasonable when I’m telling you what I’ve done with eleven kinds of fruits and vegetables. Plus, I imagine my exuberance can seem hyperbolic and annoying at times. :)
Arugula
Arugula, Potato, and Green Bean Salad. Oh my goodness. If you haven’t had this salad, you have not lived. It’s fresh and crisp and tart and wonderfully simple. And unless you’re like us and decide that you need a little chicken on top of it, it doesn’t require turning on your oven in this god awful heat. (Although, really, go ahead and be like us: Kevin made some divine baked chicken that was coated in parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, almonds, and parsley flakes.)
The vinaigrette looks a little fussy, but it can be adapted for those of us who don’t keep walnut oil or plain yogurt on hand. Kevin swapped them out for olive oil and sour cream, respectively, which resulted in a seriously tangy, creamy vinaigrette. A word of caution though: this is really, really tangy dressing. If you’re not big on tang, then I’d recommend using the plain yogurt instead of the sour cream.
Beets
Right now I’ve got beets that are roasted with a chance of salad. I finally decided that the only way these beets were going to get used on a week night (when we do most of our cooking) is if I roasted them this weekend. So now I have seven tasty looking roasted beets in the refrigerator waiting to be used for a higher purpose.
For the record, roasting beets is just like baking potatoes. Simply wrap beets that have been coated with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt in aluminum foil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about an hour, or until tender when pierced with a knife.
Black Beans
These little babies are currently sitting in our pantry waiting to be used in something delicious. There’s a pound of them, so I think there might be enough to make an excellent black bean soup. I’m not sure if I’m the only crazy who thinks that soup is a brilliant summer meal, but I think the spiciness of black bean soup and the sharp contrast provided by a spritz or three of lime juice sounds like the perfect summer meal.
Blueberries
Why sully the sanctity of these by using them in anything? While I have been tempted by a few blueberry syrup recipes, eating these blueberries as they are is just heavenly.
However, if you, too, are tempted by blueberry syrup, then I highly recommend letting blueberries simmer in a sauce pan with sugar, pomegranate liqueur, and lemon juice until you get the consistency you want. I’ve been known to serve this syrup over pound cake and wouldn’t think any less of you if you made a similar decision.
Cabbage
Way back in the day, my mom used bags of coleslaw mix to make homemade mooshu pork. Having a head of cabbage and a bunch of carrots at my disposal, I did something similar with fantastic results. This is one of the few things we’ve made where we’ve used our own recipe, so I’ll probably be sharing it here later.
The only downside to this? Even after making mooshu twice, we have a whole head of cabbage left (These things are HUGE!), and I’m a bit cabbaged out. That means that the extra head is just sitting in the crisper until I can face the idea of it again.
Carrots
These carrots began with such promise. Not only did the carrots look delicious, they had beautiful, crisp tops that were just begging to be used in carrot-top soup. Then we let them sit out on the counter too long before putting them in the crisper, and everything wilted. Literally. The tops were shriveled and lifeless, the carrots themselves were frighteningly soft. The tops were a lost cause, but I salvaged the carrots by channeling my mom from the mid-nineties and soaking them in cold water.
Unfortunately, this means that all of my soup dreams were dashed because, without the tops, I didn't have enough carrots to make something like this lovely looking Indian-Spiced Carrot Soup. I've been throwing carrots in where necessary--like in the mooshu pork we made--but I'll probably have to buy some more at the store if I want to make soup.
Cherries
These cherries made a great cherry chutney, which we ate over chicken. I also used some cherries my mom got at the store to make roasted cherries, which make a great ice cream topper. We didn't have the brandy called for in the recipe, so we used bourbon instead. The brandy was not missed at all. The only downside to this recipe is that you need to keep the pits in the cherries while they roast, so they don't fall apart. This means you either have to remove the pits post roasting or spit out the pits as you eat.
Cucumbers
Kevin has been eating these awful things as snacks. He needs to make the most of a bad thing by adding salt and celery seed (*shudders*). All I can say is better him than me.
One thing I might be up for in regards to cucumbers is a drink called The Cuke, which was suggested by
bloodstones in the comments to my last post. It still uses cucumbers (blech), but they're paired with gin. And, really, gin just makes everything better.
Green Beans
Okay, the green beans are the one section where I'm going to break my rule and tell you to drop everything and go make this now: Julie Sahni's Bihari Green Beans Masala is to die for. We've made it twice and it's been fabulous both times. It's not overwhelmingly spicy, but the spices combine to create a nice complex flavor. I really like that this is both vegetarian and works as a main dish. Obvioiusly, vegetarians manage to find things that meet those specifications on a daily basis, but I'm still new to the world of meatless meals, so it excites me. Plus, as a bonus, it can be made with pretty much any veggie you have lying around. The first time we made it we used just plain green beans, but the second time we made it with green beans and red peppers, which was even better. And there are even more possibilities than that.
A few notes on the recipe: If you're jonesing for meat, add a chicken breast to the dish. Kevin and I have been known to roughly dice up a chicken breast that has been coated in yogurt, cumin, and coriander then broiled until done (roughly 15-20 minutes) and add it to the dish. Also, don't let the coconut milk put you off. It doesn't have the texture of the packaged coconut flakes you're thinking of nor does it taste like one half a pina colada. Also, if you look at the nutrition facts on a can of coconut milk, you might faint, so I definitely recommend using the "light" variety if you're concerned about fat intake. I've never had the full-fat variety, so I can't speak to the taste differential, but the light variety works just fine. Finally, I have found that adding 2-3 teaspoons of sugar to the recipe helps balance the flavors a bit by adding a layer of depth.
Kale
We made the kale chips again. This time I made salted and curry flavored chips. I'm guessing most of them will end up crumbled over pop corn.
Red Leaf Lettuce
Kevin and I threw together a rock-star-style salad Saturday night. Red leaf lettuce (expertly not torn in the slightest by my dear, dear husband) with blueberries, goat cheese, bacon, and homemade lemon-pomegranate vinaigrette. (The vinaigrette is SO GOOD but it’s totally cheating as I used lemon olive oil, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, and just tossed in a sprinkling of ground fennel seeds and some salt and pepper. Literally a minute’s worth of work and I get to-die-for, why did I ever even bother with that store-bought crap dressing.)