Chicken with Cabbage, Carrots and Celery (Crock Pot Style)

Roasted Veggies

Sidewalk Salsa

Sauteed Greens with Pierogies

Broccoli Breakfast-for Dottie

Baked Acorn Squash

Pumpkin Soup (from Farmer John's cookbook)

Tim's Roasted Potatoes

Beet Salad

Chicken Sausage Pasta with Kolhrabi, Carrots and Peppers

Week 18's Vegetables

ROOTS
Celeriac-Perhaps saute steamed celeriac with onions and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice
Carrots-Ginger, Carrots and Daikon.
Daikon Radish
Potatoes-We don't wash these. They store better when unwashed
COOKING GREENS
Swiss Chard-bunched, You can curry any of the cooking greens with potatoes.
Red Russian Kale-young
BRASSICAS
Cabbage-Fermentation Class coming up at the Learning Center if you would like to learn to make live sauerkraut
Broccoli
ALLIUMS
Garlic
Onion(s)-maybe; yellow storage
FRUITING CROPS
Winter Squash-a butternut; always pay special attention to the ripeness of the squash; if a particular squash begins to become overripe and has a soft spot, cut off that portion, bake the squash, and use for pie or quick bread or freeze for winter use.
Popcorn-an ear; This popcorn was just harvested and likely needs more drying time before all of its kernels will pop fully. We suggest putting it in a windowsill for a couple of weeks and then removing a few kernels and test popping it to see if its ready.
Eggplant-maybe
HERBS
Cilantro-likely
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce- 2 heads from among the following varieties: Red Salad Bowl (a red oakleaf), Magenta (a red summercrisp), Cherokee (a red summercrisp), Winter Density (a green bibb-romaine) and/or Jericho (a green romaine)

Week 17's Vegetables

ROOTS
Beets-with their greens
Potatoes-We don't wash these. They store better when unwashed
Radishes-with tops which are good for cooking
COOKING GREENS
Spinach
Winterbor Kale
BRASSICAS
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
ALLIUMS
Onion(s)-yellow storage, maybe.
FRUITING CROPS
Winter Squash-an acorn and a pie pumpkin or a delicata; always pay special attention to the ripeness of the squash; if a particular squash begins to become overripe and has a soft spot, cut off that portion, bake the squash, and use for pie or quick bread or freeze for winter use.
Heirloom Tomatoes and/or Tomatoes-green or just beginning to blush
Peppers-some of the last for season
HERBS
Parsley
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce-heads ofBlack Seeded Simpson (a green leaf), Magenta (a red summer crisp) and/or Two Star (a green leaf)

Week 16's Vegetables

ROOTS
Celeriac-with their tops which you can cook just like you do with celery
Carrots
COOKING GREENS
Redbor Kale or Collards
Spinach-tasty cooked or in salads
BRASSICAS
Cabbage-red or green; a few red cabbage recipes at this link, or Cauliflower
Broccoli
ALLIUMS
Onion(s)-yellow storage
FRUITING CROPS
Winter Squash-delicata and sweet dumpling, these are not good storage squash, use soon! Heirloom Tomatoes and Tomatoes-green or just beginning to blush
HERBS
Basil - the final harvest; just before the cold.
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce-heads of New Red Fire (a red leaf) and Black Seeded Simpson (a green leaf)

Cauifower Pasta with Parmesan Broth

Week 15's Vegetables

COOKING GREENS
Helvetican Spinach-See week 12 NL if you missed Bob writes.
Toscano Kale-New York Times recipe for toscano kale
ROOTS
Potatoes-dark red norland, kennebec and/or carola
Beets
BRASSICAS
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Cabbage or Cauliflower-maybe
ALLIUMS
Garlic
Onion(s)-yellow storage
FRUITING CROPS
Winter Squash-pie pumpkin and a sweet dumpling
Peppers
HERBS
Lemon Balm or Anise Hyssop-try in baked goods, fruit or vegetable salads, or fish
Cilantro
SALAD GREENSLettuce-heads of Red Salad Bowl (a red oakleaf), Magenta (a red summer crisp) and/or Two Star (a green leaf)

Chicken with Leeks and Carrots (Crock Pot Style!)

Mashed Caulifower

Week 14's Vegeables

ROOTS
Beets-Decent beet greens; use these greens like you would spinach or chard
BRASSICAS
Broccoli - At least 2 heads; perhaps a quiche for Sunday brunch?
Cauliflower-maybe
FRUITING CROPS
Winter Squash-acorn(s)
Peppers
Heirloom Tomato(es) -maybe; not bagged.
ALLIUMS
Onion(s)-yellow storage
Leek(s)
COOKING GREENS
Swiss Chard-Stacey likes to eat her chard in scrambled eggs with some sort of cheese.
Spinach-You can eat it cooked or in a salad.
HERBS
Dill
Cilantro
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce-likely; baby heads of Nevada (a green summercrisp, Cherokee (a red summercrisp), and/or Two Star (a green leaf).

Eggplant 4-eva!

You want eggplant? This is eggplant! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a nine-inch baking dish. Cut up one large eggplant into half inch slices and decoratively place on a cookie sheet (or baking sheet, whatever you like to call it), sprinkle some salt on top, and then brush some olive oil on top. Bake for 20 minutes and then put it on a plate. You will be tempted to eat the eggplant as is, but don’t. More deliciousness awaits.

Set the oven temp to 350 degrees.

Cut up a red or green pepper and coat with olive oil. Bake for ten minutes and then set aside. Don’t eat these either, although you probably won’t be as interested.

Now, mix together 1 cup ricotta cheese, 3 lightly beaten egg whites, ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp basil, 2 tbsp parsley, a lil’ bit of cayenne pepper, and some salt until thoroughly blended.

Layer half of the eggplant slices on the bottom of the baking dish. Then distribute the cheese mixture on top. Spread ½ cup tomato sauce over the cheese. THEN put the peppers and 1/3 cup sliced black olives on top of that (can you HANDLE how delicious this is going to be???). Then put the rest of the eggplant on top, as if you were tucking the cheesy goodness in for a long winter’s nap. Lightly dust the eggplant with Parmesan cheese like you were Tinkerbell, and then bake for forty-five minutes.

Eggplant Mash Note

I love eggplant! And I love this recipe for forcing me to use the broiler. I never knew what the broiler was or how to use it before this recipe, so thank you, eggplant, for pushing me in new and exciting directions.

Oil the broiler sheet or a baking sheet and fire up the broiler. Cut up an eggplant and lightly coat the slices with mayonnaise. Then dip both sides in grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the broiler three minutes on each side, or until the sides are golden brown. If you are the kind of person who serves h’ors d’ouevres, serve them now.

Puke-umbers

We have gotten a ton of cucumbers this summer and I have had little to no idea as to what to do with them. I have little use for the cucumber. If I was a poet, I would write a poem entitled “I have little use for the cucumber.” It would get published in “The New Yorker” and I would smile demurely when people brought it up, and then return to my day job teaching English at a small New England prep school. If my vegetables held an awards ceremony, cucumbers would sweep the “Most likely to rot in the vegetable bin” category. That being said, here is a recipe I used with cucumbers from the Farmer’s cookbook. We mixed ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp water, 1 tbsp honey, and ¼ tsp Dijon mustard. I then sliced up one of the ginormous cucumbers we had gotten that week and an onion (the onion was supposed to be cut into six thin slices) and added them to the bowl. You can either marinate the veggies for a half hour at room temperature or refrigerate overnight. Either way, I didn’t fall in love with it. But then, I do not have much use for the cucumber.

Choi!

Choi is a great vegetable with a strange name because it reminds me of Steve Choi who I went to school with. He is a smart wonderful guy who just happens to be a lot shorter that me. Steve and I were very competitive when it came to grades. But he won out in the end and was our Valedictorian. I also went to the senior prom with him. He should not take offense to this but I called him my "Boy Choi " I guess like "Boy Toy." Oh God he should be horribly offended. Sorry Steve.
Anyway, my current prom date and I made Choi last night. We had to wash it a lot but it was worth the extra effort. I sauteed it with some sliced mushrooms, and one clove of garlic. Then I added about a tablespoon of soy sauce and sweet chili sauce.

Week Twelve's Vegetables

BRASSICAS
Cauliflower
FRUITIING CROPS
Melon-an orange honeydew
Heirloom Tomato
Tomatoes
Peppers
Hot Pepper
Sweet Corn
ALLIUMS
Onions-Red storage
COOKING GREENS
Collards
HERBS
Parsley
SALAD GREENS
Choi
Lettuce-heads of Green Star (a green leaf), Nevada (a green summercrisp), and/or Red Salad Bowl ( a red oakleaf)

Fried Rice

Since we've been back from Canada I have been trying to cook a lot of good healthy food to cleanse my body of all the cheese curds, beer, dill pickle chips, poutine, spicy hot dogs and other terrible things I ate and drank.
I made some fried rice when I had a some egg whites left from Dorothy's dinner one night (she just eats the yolks). Here's what I used:
green pepper
1/2 sweet onion
1 c. cauliflower
sliced mushrooms
chard
ginger
1 c. tofu
chicken (1/2 breast, cooked)
2 c. brown rice
egg whites
I sauteed the onion and peppers until soft, then I added the cauliflower, mushrooms and chard and cooked for another few minutes. I seasoned this with 1 tsp. curry powder, 1 tsp. black pepper, red pepper flakes, 1-2 tbsp. soy sauce and 1 tbsp. grated or finely chopped fresh ginger. Then I added the tofu and chicken (both cut in small cubes), combined well and combined it all with the hot rice. I made a two inch hole in the middle of the pan and added the egg whites. I let them cook for a few seconds and then incorporated with the rice mixture. I ate this with some extra hot sauce and soy sauce.

Week Eleven's Vegetables

Sweet Corn
Dill
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes
Cucumbers
Chard
Beet greens
Beets
Red peppers

Week Ten's Vegetables

FRUITING CROPS
Sweet Corn
Heirloom Tomatoes-2 or 3
Tomatoes-Hybrid
Peppers-Bells
Hot Peppers-jalapeno, Hungarian hot wax, and/or hot paper lantern; bagged with tomatoes
Eggplant
Melon-Asian sun jewel or muskmelon
STEMS
Fennel
ALLIUMS
Leeks
COOKING GREEN
Red Russian Kale or Pac Choi-young
HERBS
Basil
Sage-maybe
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce--A beautiful Jericho (green romaine) and New Red Fire (red leaf)

Week Nine's Vegetables

(I actually cut and pasted the list from our Angelic news letter. We may not have recieved ALL of the vegetables listed)

FRUITING CROPS
Melons- yellow watermelon.
Sweet Corn
Heirloom Tomatoes-maybe
Tomatoes
Peppers-Bells
Hot Peppers-jalapeno, Hungarian hot wax, and/or banana peppers
Eggplant
Cucumber
Zucchini & Summer Squash
STEMS
Celery
See last year's newletter for more information on our celery.
ALLIUMS
Leeks
Sweet Onions
ROOTS
Carrots
COOKING GREENS
Toscano (Dinosaur/Lacinato) Kale
Oregano
Summer Savory
SALAD GREENS
Lettuce--Heads of New Red Fire(a red leaf), Cherokee (a red summercrisp) and/or Two Star (a green leaf)

Week Eight's Vegetables

Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Sweet Onions
Carrots
Parsley
Lemon Balm
Swiss Chard (yellow)
Eggplant (Italian)
Green Peppers
Lettuce

Cucumber Salad with Dill

I may describe the same kind of recipe but with varying ingredients countless times on this blog.

This is because I will be making cucumber salad as long as we are getting cucumbers. Tim likes it, I like it and dammit it's always good no matter what else you put with it. My cousin Patty makes a version by layering tomatoes and cucumber on a plate and topping with fresh dill, oil and vinegar and crumbled blue cheese. My version this week kind of riffs off that. I took the cucumber and peeled about half the skin off with a vegetable peeler (the skin on these organic cucumbers is pretty tough, I'm sure it's wildly good for you but I can't take it). Then I sliced it in half and with a spoon scooped out the seeds. Sometimes I keep them but if the salad is going to sit for a while removing the seeds will keep it from getting too watery. I made half moon like slices about a 1/4 inch thick and put them in a bowl. To that I added about 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. chopped fresh dill, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and garlic powder. The salad kind of tastes a little like pickles if you let it sit for a day. I took slices from this salad (day 2) and put them on a ham sandwich with yellow mustard. Tasted very "Cuban sandwichy."

Meatloaf and Confetti Squash

When I made this I looked at a few recipes to check oven temp and cooking time, but it got me in my head and I didn't trust my own version of meatloaf (which is a pseudo-version of my Mom's and Aunt's). I'm going to describe this recipe as I would make it NEXT time. The hybrid version I made was okay but I think I'll go back to my old version. Okay so take 1.5 lbs ground beef or turkey or a combo but don't use the super lean turkey unless you want super lean meatloaf-which translated means super DRY meatloaf. To the meat add 1 small onion, 1 small carrot, 5 or so mushrooms and 1 stalk celery that have all been super diced in a food processor (almost pureed) or grated or diced by hand super small. For spices I add about 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, a squirt or 2 of Worcester sauce, hot sauce, Dijon mustard, ketchup and/or BBQ sauce, fresh parsley is good if you have some as is a little curry powder if you like your food to bend that way. In another bowl put two pieces of bread (you can pulverize this in the processor too for bread crumbs but I usually just break up the bread when it's wet) or about 1/3 cup bread crumbs, pour a couple of tablespoons of milk on top just to wet it the bread but not so much that it pools, and an egg. With a fork mash up the milk-bread-egg, then add it to the meat-veggie-spice bowl and mix the whole thing gently with your hands until it's combined. It should be sticky but not watery and if it seems too dry add a little more milk. On a sheet pan lined with foil make a nice mound about two inches high and 8-9 inches long. Bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes until a meat thermometer reaches 160. Half way through the cooking baste with ketchup or BBQ sauce if you like and again just before it's done. DON'T BLINDLY TRUST my cooking times, my oven is a little wacky, so trust the meat thermometer. Serve this with mashed potatoes. This part is not negotiable. I made mine with boiled red potatoes which I mashed with chicken broth. This makes great potatoes that are not full of butter and cream (which also make great potatoes).

The confetti squash was two medium or large zucchini and/or summer squash cut into very small cubes a little larger than the size of a pea. I sauteed that squash with some olive oil, salt pepper and fresh or dried Thyme. The size of the squash doesn't matter at all, I just cut it up this small for Dorothy. But I will say it was super fun to eat, kind of like a yummier version of mixed vegetables, you know, the pea, lima bean, carrot cubes that haunted us all as kids. If you liked them you are weird but I understand.

Sauteed Arugula, Grape Tomatoes and Basil with Pasta

We really had a lot of arugula this week, which I love. But the week was slipping away from us and I wanted to use it up all in one shot. And I wanted to make some dinner for me and my mother-in-law Sally. She and Ed were visiting and unfortunately Ed had to be admitted to the hospital for a few days. To deal with all the stress and family issues I cooked and did dishes like I was the CEO of "Suzy Homemaker INC." If you scroll through you'll also see I made Meatloaf in an attempt to provide comfort.
This pasta was a bit of a risk to serve to Sally. She likes plain food, American food. So I had a jar of Marinara standing by.
In a large skillet I sauteed 1/2 of a sweet onion in about 1 tbsp. olive oil. When the onion was soft I added the arugula (it was a ton, maybe 4 cups?), it is going to cook down to almost nothing so use a lot. If you don't have arugula this works great with spinach too. I sliced a pint of grape tomatoes in half and added those just to warm up and a finely chopped clove of garlic. Then I added 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio (or any light white wine) and about 1/4-1/2 cup water. If you want you could use chicken broth. I let this bubble away to burn off the alcohol and then I added a sprinkle of salt and pepper (usually I would also add red pepper flakes but not for Sally) and about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Add 1/2 pound hot cooked pasta and let the sauce/vegetables/pasta meld together for a few minutes and serve with more Parmesan.

p.s.-I still have the jar of sauce in the cupboard because Sally really liked it.

Nachos con Dinosaur BBQ Sauce

Sweet-Sour Red Cabbage and Onions

Stuffing with Carrot, Celery and Onion

(image courtesy of, or as some would say "stolen from" www.tinyfarmblog.com, check out this site and my Bro's blog 25X50)

Arugula and Beet Salad

Week Seven's Vegetables

Red Cabbage
Green Peppers
Broccoli
Kale
Arugula
Lettuce
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Basil
Dill
Cilantro
Carrots
Celery
Eggplant (a white one and two Japanese)
Sweet Onion

Sauteed Young Turnips with Fennel, Sweet Onion and Thyme

Sorry this is a "google image" picture, I dropped my camera at my Aunt's house last week and the lens is completely broken and well the whole thing is %#*$^ed. But picture or no this was a fun experiment. I took a TON of extra young turnips from the "swap" box where we pick up our vegetables. I guess no one likes them? I think they are good but I hadn't really ever made just turnips, they have always just been added to things. I also had never cooked fennel, I've eaten it but I wasn't sure what to pair it with and we only had a small bulb. So in my mind these two vegetables would be forced to become friends and if it all tasted terrible no one would be the wiser. I washed and sliced up the turnips in half moons (about 16 of them). I sliced a small sweet onion similarly and washed and chopped the fennel (the bulb only and I removed the wonky outside leaves). I sauteed everything together with 5 or 6 thyme stalks, olive oil and a little butter. I let them cook for a good while on medium heat, maybe 20 minutes. I also made another butterflied pork tenderloin (see my sage recipe from week one or two). It all married really nicely. Don't forget to remove the twiggy little thyme stalks before you eat.

Week Six's Vegetables

Radishes
Young Turnips
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Collards
Mizuna (baby greens)
Leaf Lettuce
Thyme
Sweet Onions
Green Peppers
Carrots
Broccoli
Fennel
Eggplant (Italian and Asian)

Week Five's Vegetables

Dorothy Food

I was pretty lax this week with cooking (it's flipping hot and we don't have air conditioning in our kitchen) but I did manage to enjoy some of the raw veggies. What I did cook was for Dorothy. She is very fond of pasta with vegetables to that's what she had several times. We shredded summer squash and sauteed it with some basil and chopped it all up (ala. food processor). I also made her these very labor intensive baby meatballs to go with it. And when i say baby meatballs, they were not only tiny but made just for babies. I used some chicken breast that I ground up, then I added baby Oatmeal, two egg yolks, some fresh thyme and basil, and shredded Pecorino cheese. I fried them in a little Olive oil and wow, they were so delicious. They tasted like a rich little appetizer on a silver tray at a swanky wedding. But Dorothy thinks they taste like crap so I have to break them up and sneak them into her precious pasta without eating 6 of them myself.

Week Four's Vegetables

Cucumbers
Broccoli
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Baby Greens
Kale
Scallions
Onion
Radishes
Young Turnips
Basil
Parsley
Lettuce

Cabbage and Chicken with Peanut Sauce

THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE BEST THING I HAVE CREATED FROM OUR ORGANIC VEGETABLES SO FAR. I was eating it for breakfast the next day and hiding it in the back of the fridge so Tim wouldn't find it. Here's what I did. I took half of a small green cabbage washed it and sliced it in long thin pieces. I also chopped up three scallions (green and white). I started by cooking the chicken, boneless/skinless breasts diced about 1inch pieces. I cooked them over medium heat with some oil until they were browned. Then I sprinkled some ground ginger (about 1 tsp), ground garlic (1/2 tsp), white pepper (you can use black), red chili flakes and soy sauce (2 tbsp). I added the cabbage and scallions and sauteed everything until the cabbage was tender and the chicken cooked through (about 5 more minutes). I made a little circle of space in the center of the pan, I added 1 big tbsp of peanut butter, a little more soy sauce and some Siracha (hot sauce, use this to your heat level, I probably used about 1 tsp). When this sauce was all warmed up I combined everything. I didn't' eat it with any rice but you could. I also used three chicken breasts and you could just use one or two. I found myself scraping for the cabbage so I would double it next time or use less chicken. So good though, seriously they had better send some more cabbage so I can make this again!

Everything Slaw

I tried to use up as many vegetables as possible in this so I wouldn't feel guilty or have to throw away anything. I'm so damn cheap that come Friday night before our new veggie box arrives I freak out that I haven't used up everything and I make some crazy stuff. For this slaw I just diced up a ton of raw things: cucumbers (seeds removed), radishes, young turnips, kolrahbi (shredded) and carrot (also shredded and from the grocery store. Give me a break, Dorothy likes carrots!) I tossed it all with a little cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt and olive oil. Then I added some fresh basil (just torn up) and a little sweet chili sauce.

Vegetable Curry

Oh man the Chard in this was the best part. Tim and I were both sifting through all the other veggies to get to it. To make this curry I used a canned curry base KYOTI I believe is the name and Masala is the flavor. I chopped up a large amount of Kale, a little Chard, some greens from out beets and a summer squash (some of the squash went to Dorothy). I sauteed everything in a little olive oil (squash first) and then added the sauce. I served it with brown Basmati Rice and a little plain yogurt drizzled over.

Week Three's Vegetables

Broccoli
Cabbage
Baby Kale
Leaf Lettuce
Iceberg Lettuce
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Popcorn
Anise
Chard
Scallions
Turnips
Beets (one Golden!)
Radishes

Grandma McEvoy's East Indian Bean Dip

I made this yesterday for a 4th of July Barbecue with one of our Organic (tm)zucchinis. It was a big hit. Recipe reprinted courtesy of "Weight Wacher's Annual Recipes for Success 2003" cookbook (2003 was a great year for weight loss - remember how slim we all were while watching "Mystic River?"). I would recommend going light on the yogurt and heavy on the chutney for producing a less gloopy dip.

1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 16 oz can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 small zucchini, chopped
3/4 cup choopped yellow bell pepper (about 1 small)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup hot mango chutney
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp plain fat-free yogurt

cook spices in a small skillet on low heat, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat

combine beans and next 5 ingredients in a bowl, add spice mixture, stirring well. Stir in chutney, yogurt, and mint.

Beans and Greens Pasta with Sweet Italian Sausage

Tim really loved this. It's something I make a lot but for this version I used every last little green I could find from our box-beet greens, radish greens, and some beautiful little greens they sent for salad (baby spinach mostly). First I removed the sausage from the casings (just squeeze it out) and browned it. I used mild Italian pork sausage this time but I usually like to use turkey. I drained one an great northern white beans and added them to the pan. I also added two cloves chopped garlic. Then I sprinkled it all generously with dried basil, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I add the salt later if it needs it, **you'll see why. I added the baby greens and let them wilt a little. Then about a 1/2 cup each of broth (or water) and white wine. Let the wine come to a boil so the alcohol burns off. Lastly I added about 1/4 cup diced Pecorino and Parmesan cheeses (I had two heals that were almost done so i just cup the up, too small to shred). I let this all simmer for a few minutes then serve with pasta of your choice and more shredded cheese too! **The broth and cheese usually add plenty of salt but you may need to add a little more at the end.

Kohlrabi-Choy Stir Fry and Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Our family is big into boneless skinless chicken thighs. They have tons of flavor and are a nice portion size. Tonight we browned them on both sides in a hot pan with a little cooking spray. Before I put them in I also sprinkled both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground ginger. When both sides are browned nicely (about 4-5 minutes each side) I turned the heat down, poured some Teriyaki Sauce over them and put a lid on the pan. I let the chicken cook in the sauce for about another 8-10 minutes on low. For the stir fry I used two Kohlrabi and a 1/2 bunch of Choi and some scallions. I usually peel the outside of the Kohlrabi with a vegetable peeler but lots of recipes say it's unnecessary. I don't know, it can be a little tough, I say peel it but don't waste a ton of the bulb. I cut up the Choi into half in or so pieces (greens and stalks) and the scallions about the same size. As the vegetables were cooking I added soy sauce (about 1 tbsp maybe more), garlic powder, sweet chili sauce and Sriacha (hot sauce). Hey do you all see a trend here? Yep, I use a lot of the same spices for a lot of recipes. You don't need to re-invent the wheel every time you make a new dish. Choose flavors you like (for me garlic, hot sauce, ginger, curry, etc) and apply them to new foods you're trying.

Dorado Steak with Wholly Frijoles Salad

Tortellinni with Summer Squash Sauce

The colors were vibrant and so was the garlic flavor. Maybe a little too vibrant. I haven't used Garlic Scapes all that much so I thought I'd try something new and put them in a sauce fresh (as in hard, not cooked). It was definitely a strong taste. Not bad really but next time I'd saute them a bit first. Anyway here's what I did:

1 summer squash (cut into half moons)

1/2 cup diced roasted red peppers

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with olive oil and garlic

1 diced garlic scape

Cheese Tortellini

I sauteed the squash in a little olive oil until it was tender and browning on both sides. Then I added the peppers and tomatoes. I added the scapes just at the end but don't do this, cook them with the summer squash it will be better. Then I just boiled the tortellini and served it all with grated cheese.

This recipe is indicative of my disregard for common sense in the kitchen. I sometimes get defensive about cooking and think I can make anything work. This attitude usually comes about when I haven't been cooking in a while and I feel guilty I guess. This vegetable share for sure makes me feel guilty if I haven't used a vegetable of if "GASP" I have to throw it out. I am a super cheapskate and I hate wasting anything. Back to my disregard for common sense. I was starving when I made this recipe up and rushed through it, also it was like 100 degrees in my kitchen and I made HOT TORTELLINI? I often fall under the title of "good cook, bad planner," this was one example (this is also why I didn't cook the scapes first, I forgot about them and threw them in at the last second thinking I was brilliant and that the sauce would just get more garlicky and better, whoops, it did not, it got WAY garlicky and not better). Over all this sauce tasted good and I would recommend making it in the winter. I am done beating myself up for now.

At Long Last, Vegetables

I have not been as dutiful with our vegetables as Erin has, but I hope I will be forgiven since I am juggling working full time, raising my nine-month old daughter, and nursing our new puppy through kennel cough. Oh wait, that's Erin, who does all the former while making pork tenderloin with sage rub. Thanks Erin, if you need me I'll be on the couch licking my Cheetos-stained fingers and watching "Law and Order" reruns.

Anyway, the first week all we did with our vegetables was make salads. And by make salads, I mean cut stuff up and then put things in our new salad spinner. An inauspicious debut, to be sure, but we liked them and enjoyed using the new salad spinner.

But last night, we made potato-beet hash and choy in a buttery ginger sauce. The hash was made with shredded beets, potatoes, and onions. It was pretty tasty but it probably could have used more onion (the recipe called for two but I just used one). The choy was delicious and couldn't have been easier. I blanched* the choy and then melted some butter in a sauce pan, added two tablespoons of soy sauce, some freshly grated ginger, and the choy and stirred it around for two minutes. Here is a helpful tip for this dish: melt the butter on medium heat like the recipe tells you and not hight heat, under the mistaken assumption that the butter will melt faster. Otherwise when you add the soy sauce it will visciously splatter all over the stovetop and the wall behind your stove and will cause lengthy clean-up. Then I mixed it up with some basil from this week's delivery. The original recipe tells you to use cilantro, but I didn't have any. The basil was very tasty in there, however.

Pictures to come!

*Blanching is a term that professional cooks like to throw around and which you probably have never heard before unless you yourself are a professional cook. It involves mercilessly plunging the vegetables in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. I had never done it before last night and it was exhilarating

Second Week

Here is what was in our box:
Radishes
Baby Turnips
Choy (or CHOI)
Kale
Garlic Scapes
Scallions
Basil
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Boston Lettuce (or Bibb Lettuce)
Red Leaf Lettuce
Broccoli
Baby Greens (maybe?)
Beets
Kohlrabi

Erin's Dishes

Here's what I made this first week:

Salad of Mixed Greens-Arugula, Baby Spinach and Red Leaf-and Radishes (with Oil and Vinegar and Pecorino Cheese) This was a pretty straight forward salad in theory, but wow-wee it was so fresh tasting. I'm probably influenced by trying to "get my money's worth" and maybe in a blind taste test I would pick out bagged salad as tasting better. No I wouldn't. I love the convenience of bagged salad but it always tastes a little Chemically? right? And these greens just didn't taste that way, they tasted like green grass and clouds and... you get my point.

Pasta with Chicken, Artichokes, Garlic Scapes and Parsley
I wasn't sure if the Parsley and Garlic Scapes (which if you haven't seen them are crazy looking curly-q's that look a little like scallions) would be the stars of this dish, but they really were. First I sauteed some chicken tenders and then cut them up into bite sized pieces. In the same skillet I sauteed the Garlic Scapes (2 whole), Parsley (about 1/3 cup) and Artichoke Hearts ( 1 can-drained, rinsed and chopped into quarters) in some butter (about 1 tablespoon). In another pot I boiled about 1/3 pound whole wheat fettuccine, before I drained it I saved about a cup of pasta water. I added a little of the water to the skillet until there was a fair amount of "sauce." Then I added the fettuccine and tossed it all together with some freshly grated cheese. This is some SERIOUS starchy comfort food. The fresh parsley really made it, I always for get about parsley, it just seems like a garnish to go on top of a Veal Cutlet covered in red sauce.













Dorothy Food (aka Baby food)with Baby Spinach, Carrots, Zucchini and Parsley In case you're wondering what I feed my baby here is what I made. Spinach, carrots, zucchini, parsley and multi-grain angel hair pasta-I boiled them all together and then chopped up in the little mini food processor. I usually save a large batch by freezing in ice cube trays. I didn't invent this technique, some way smarter mom than me thought of this long ago. Then when it's dinner time I pop about 5 cubes out, defrost and she's set. I have to stress that she enjoys pasta and vegetables very much but I really get her attention if I add some grated cheese. She freaking flips her little lid as soon as she tastes it. Her arms start flapping and her feet bang against the high chair. It's a joy to watch for a food nerd mom like myself. I don't know what I'll do if she turns out to be a picky eater and will only have Cheese Nips and Chicken Nuggets.

Turkey and Pastrami Sandwiches with Green Leaf Lettuce and Horseradish Mustard

Teriyaki Skirt Steak with Stir-Fried Broccoli, Bok Choy, Scallions and Carrots This was great, especially the stir fry. I basically chopped up all the vegetables and sauteed them at the same time so they wouldn't get too over done. I seasoned them with some ground ginger, garlic powder, soy sauce and hot sauce (sriracha). FOR ONCE! I didn't over cook the flank steak. I always do. I have never believed that meat could cook in 3 minutes on each side, but it was true. I cooked it on a very hot grill pan coated with cooking spray. BUT I did screw up something-I marinated the meat in the Teriyaki sauce before I cooked it. That sauce made so much smoke when I cooked it and burned the Sh%%4#t out of my grill pan. So word of caution, add your teriyaki sauce only at the end of cooking if your using a grill pan.









Butterflied Pork Tenderloin with Fried Sage and Quinoa "Stuffing"
This pork was my favorite thing I made all week and I didn't really eat it. I made it for Tim because all week he kept saying "What are we going to use the Sage in?" My husband tends to throw around the word we a lot and in this case it meant "me" what was I going to use the Sage it? So I wanted to make something he's really love so I butterflied a small pork tenderloin (about a pound and a little more). By butterflied I mean I cut in length wise but not all the way through then opened that cut up and continued slicing until the whole thing was flat and opened up and the same thickness. Then I put three sage leaved on each side with salt and pepper. I seared the meat (and consequently the eaves that were stuck on each side) and then covered the pan and cooked it for a few more minutes on a lower heat (I like to use a meat thermometer for pork) then I put it on a cutting board when it was 145 degrees and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The Quinoa Stuffing was another Homage to sage. I sauteed a little scallion, celery and carrot, age and salt and pepper until the veggies were getting soft then I cooked the quinoa in the same pot as the package says. If I could change one thing I would have cooked it in Chicken broth for a stronger taste and added some fresh sage at the end. Overall though, it turned out great and WE really loved it, and by we I mean Tim.

First Week's Vegetables

To start, this is what we recieved:
Radishes
Arugula
Green Leaf Lettuce
Red laef Lettuce
Zucchini
Garlic Scapes
Scallions
Sage
Parsley
Choy (we called it Bok Choy)
Broccoli
Baby Spinach