Now that the Fall CSA deliveries have begun, we are starting the inundation of butternut squash and argula. Soon more squash will be bestowed upon us -acorn squash and pumpkins aplenty. Our first blog post was an arugula salad that is easy, delicious and the perfect way to use up the squash we are getting - sweet potatoes could work in this recipe, too.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Blog Neglect, New Winery Opening
So sorry we have been neglecting the blog lately - we had a few weekends away and some random craziness. The summer share of the CSA is almost over and next week starts the Fall share. We've been pretty simple as of late with our cooking, just grilling up something and serving it with some sauteed greens and roasted potatoes. For a recent potluck party, we made a delicious recipe from Tyler Florence to use up the massive amounts of green beans (and their variations) that we've been getting. Definitely recommend if we get another batch this week. We also have a great recipe for lemongrass chicken that calls for green beans as well and will post that soon.
We are excited for the coming weeks of squash, arugula and other fall vegetables and will get back to posting recipes and other ideas to use them up deliciously.
In the meantime, just wanted to let everyone know about a new winery that is opening up in Amissville, Virginia - Narmada Winery. The grand opening is in November but every weekend until then, they are having tastings so if you get a chance to drive out to beautiful Rappahanock County, please stop by. The wines we have tried are very, very good and they match extremely well with spicier foods such as Indian or Thai.
We are excited for the coming weeks of squash, arugula and other fall vegetables and will get back to posting recipes and other ideas to use them up deliciously.
In the meantime, just wanted to let everyone know about a new winery that is opening up in Amissville, Virginia - Narmada Winery. The grand opening is in November but every weekend until then, they are having tastings so if you get a chance to drive out to beautiful Rappahanock County, please stop by. The wines we have tried are very, very good and they match extremely well with spicier foods such as Indian or Thai.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Zucchini Tart
Our friend who is also doing the PVF CSA but at another location sent us this recipe for a zucchini tart. Can't tell what magazine it is from. She says it is super tasty and could also be adapted to use heirloom tomatoes. She is a great cook so we'll believe her - looks like a delicious weekend project.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Vegan corn chowder
This recipe comes from the Moosewood Daily Special cookbook.
Golden Summer Soup
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato
6 cups water
4 cups summer squash
2 cups corn kernels (about 4 ears)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley or snipped fresh chives
Saute onion in oil for 2 min. Add carrots and 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, cook 2 min. Add 3 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil, simmer 10 min, until potatoes are soft. Puree with immersion blender and set aside.
Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the remaining sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add summer squash, corn, turmeric, lemon juice, and salt, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in sage and reserved puree. Add pepper. top with parsley and chives.
We used potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. Delicious.
Golden Summer Soup
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 Tbs. canola oil
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato
6 cups water
4 cups summer squash
2 cups corn kernels (about 4 ears)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley or snipped fresh chives
Saute onion in oil for 2 min. Add carrots and 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, cook 2 min. Add 3 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil, simmer 10 min, until potatoes are soft. Puree with immersion blender and set aside.
Bring the remaining 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the remaining sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add summer squash, corn, turmeric, lemon juice, and salt, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in sage and reserved puree. Add pepper. top with parsley and chives.
We used potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. Delicious.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Yummy Corn Chowder
Yet another corn recipe, but want to take advantage of it while in season. Here is a tried and true recipe from the Hay Day Country Market Cookbook that we will definitely be making this weekend.
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
3 scallions, white and light green parts finely chopped
1 1/2 cups diced red-skin potatoes (going to use the ones from CSA)
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
2 cups grated sweet corn (about 8 large ears)
salt and pepper
chives for garnish (optional)
melt butter in heavy-bottomed soup pot. add carrots and scallions, and saute over medium-high heat until the scallions are tender (3-5 minutes). add potatoes and stock, bring to simmer, cover and cook gently until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
stir in milk and corn, return to a simmer, cook for 3 minutes. season to taste with salt and pepper.
2 tbs unsalted butter
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
3 scallions, white and light green parts finely chopped
1 1/2 cups diced red-skin potatoes (going to use the ones from CSA)
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
2 cups grated sweet corn (about 8 large ears)
salt and pepper
chives for garnish (optional)
melt butter in heavy-bottomed soup pot. add carrots and scallions, and saute over medium-high heat until the scallions are tender (3-5 minutes). add potatoes and stock, bring to simmer, cover and cook gently until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
stir in milk and corn, return to a simmer, cook for 3 minutes. season to taste with salt and pepper.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Great Local Magazine
If you haven't already picked one up at MOM's or Whole Foods, keep an eye out for Edible Chesapeake (or to save paper, here it is online) - it's a terrific compilation of area farms and their products, local organic or sustainable restaurants and stores and articles and recipes. Last night we made the "Pasta with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard" from the Summer 2009 issue, using up a good chunk of the ginormous amount of tomatoes we got from the CSA, plus the chard we had left over from last week. It was pretty tasty, especially after adding a generous amount of shredded pecorino romano from Cheesetique.
There are versions of the magazine for cities and areas all around the country (even Vancouver!) - you can see their complete list at www.ediblecommunities.com.
Now back to figuring out what to do with the rest of the veggies. Corn Chowder?
There are versions of the magazine for cities and areas all around the country (even Vancouver!) - you can see their complete list at www.ediblecommunities.com.
Now back to figuring out what to do with the rest of the veggies. Corn Chowder?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Summer Corn Salsa
What are you planning on making this week? Please share. We need ideas to keep things interesting.
Looks like we are getting a big load of corn, tomatoes and peppers tomorrow. Here's a great sweet corn salsa recipe that will make a dent in the delivery and tastes great with meat, chicken or fish (as a topping or a side dish) or with chips. We made it with some grilled chicken from Let's Meat on the Avenue and I ate half of the bowl just spooning it in my mouth. Yum.
2 tomatoes - diced
1 cup sweet corn (2-3 ears)
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red onion diced
2 serrano or jalepeno peppers minced
1/3 cup cilantro chopped
2 limes juiced
salt to taste
mix all ingredients. best if you let it sit at least an hour before serving.
Looks like we are getting a big load of corn, tomatoes and peppers tomorrow. Here's a great sweet corn salsa recipe that will make a dent in the delivery and tastes great with meat, chicken or fish (as a topping or a side dish) or with chips. We made it with some grilled chicken from Let's Meat on the Avenue and I ate half of the bowl just spooning it in my mouth. Yum.
2 tomatoes - diced
1 cup sweet corn (2-3 ears)
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
1 red onion diced
2 serrano or jalepeno peppers minced
1/3 cup cilantro chopped
2 limes juiced
salt to taste
mix all ingredients. best if you let it sit at least an hour before serving.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Lazy Weekend
We were pretty lazy about cooking this weekend but did make the thai basil corn dip recipe we wrote about in an earlier post to bring over to a friend's house saturday night with the corn we got from the CSA. For breakfast saturday we roasted some potatoes, zucchini, onions and green pepper that we cut up into small pieces (usually just cook this up in a pan like hash browns but it was overflowing so I moved it to a baking sheet) and ate that with some bacon we bought at Del Ray Farmer's market (from Smith Meadow Farms, the zucchini and green pepper were from farmer's market, too.) The leftovers made a nice filling for a quesadilla snack later on that day. We chopped up some CSA tomatoes for a tasty salsa topping.
We'd love to post other people's recipes or ideas for good weekend meals!
We'd love to post other people's recipes or ideas for good weekend meals!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wow with Kra Pow!
Thai food is tasty! It is also healthy and surprisingly very easy to make at home, if you have the ingredients. We were super excited to find a bag of thai basil in our CSA bag this week because the plants we are growing on the deck aren't growing and/or replenishing as fast as we'd like. If you didn't get any this week, there is a great thai grocery store next to the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse on Columbia Pike called Bangkok 54 (also a great thai restaurant) where you can get some for like .99 cents a bag as well as some of the other staples (fish sauce, thai chilis) to make many, many delicious thai dishes.
Here are simple directions to make a thai basil stir fry known at restaurants as Kra Pow or Gra Pow. You can also use the same recipe but add noodles and make Drunken Noodles. Bangkok 54 sells the fresh rice noodles on Fridays - they sell out fast because they rock. We love this dish because you can use any meat you want or even stick to vegetarian. We vary our vegetables with whatever we have - peppers/onions, broccoli, Chinese eggplant, cabbage, or _______ (insert your favorite here). We also vary the meat (tip - using ground chicken or pork saves cutting and cooking time.) It honestly tastes as good or better than at a restaurant and the great thing about this recipe is that you can control the amount of oil and the ratio of meat/vegetables to make it super healthy.
OK - you need: thai basil (1 bag picked and washed), fish sauce, soy sauce, chilis, meat, vegetables, garlic (1 or 2 cloves), sugar, water, vegetable oil. Chop vegetables, garlic and chilis (1-2, or more if you like spicy). Rice if you aren't using noodles.
First - Put rice on if you are making. Put a splash of oil in hot wok or pan, cook vegetables to desired consistency. Move to bowl. Then, put chilis and garlic in wok with another splash of oil and cook meat. When meat is cooked, throw in equal parts (2 tbs, but we now put 1/4 cup because we like sauce) of fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and water (can go a little easy on the sugar if you want). Then mix vegetables back in to pan, put in basil. If you bought the rice noodles, cut and peel apart and put in pan. Mix til hot and covered in yumminess.
Thai basil stir fry - done!
Here are simple directions to make a thai basil stir fry known at restaurants as Kra Pow or Gra Pow. You can also use the same recipe but add noodles and make Drunken Noodles. Bangkok 54 sells the fresh rice noodles on Fridays - they sell out fast because they rock. We love this dish because you can use any meat you want or even stick to vegetarian. We vary our vegetables with whatever we have - peppers/onions, broccoli, Chinese eggplant, cabbage, or _______ (insert your favorite here). We also vary the meat (tip - using ground chicken or pork saves cutting and cooking time.) It honestly tastes as good or better than at a restaurant and the great thing about this recipe is that you can control the amount of oil and the ratio of meat/vegetables to make it super healthy.
OK - you need: thai basil (1 bag picked and washed), fish sauce, soy sauce, chilis, meat, vegetables, garlic (1 or 2 cloves), sugar, water, vegetable oil. Chop vegetables, garlic and chilis (1-2, or more if you like spicy). Rice if you aren't using noodles.
First - Put rice on if you are making. Put a splash of oil in hot wok or pan, cook vegetables to desired consistency. Move to bowl. Then, put chilis and garlic in wok with another splash of oil and cook meat. When meat is cooked, throw in equal parts (2 tbs, but we now put 1/4 cup because we like sauce) of fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and water (can go a little easy on the sugar if you want). Then mix vegetables back in to pan, put in basil. If you bought the rice noodles, cut and peel apart and put in pan. Mix til hot and covered in yumminess.
Thai basil stir fry - done!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Easy as Soup
We pick up our CSA vegetables after work Wednesday and try to come out of the gate strong that night making something that uses up a good amount of vegetables all at once. Since K has yoga and doesn't come home until around 9:15 - it's up to me to cook dinner so I tend to stick with easy recipes like soup or stir fry since K is the meat griller, cooker and master chef of the house.
So last night I made one of our favorite and easiest soup recipes, Middle Eastern Chickpea Soup. Even though it is super hot and humid out, I could eat soup every night. This one is taken from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special but since I have made it so many times, I have kind of condensed the instructions into less steps. Check out the cookbook for the recipe in its entirety, but here is my summarized version. It used the potatoes, tomatoes, onions and the swiss chard from the CSA.
Cook 2 cups diced potatoes in water until soft. Meanwhile, chop a large onion (about 2 cups) and cook in pan with a little olive oil then add 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs coriander, 1 tsp tumeric, 1/8 -1/4 tsp cayenne (depending on your spice preference) and some salt and pepper - about 10 minutes.
If you don't have vegetable stock, save 4 cups of the potato water when potatoes are done to reuse as soup base. If you do have stock, drain potatoes when soft and add 4 cups broth. Add two cans drained and rinsed chickpeas to pot and puree. If you don't have an immersion blender or hand mixer, a real blender works (recipe actually has you do all these steps separately in a blender, pouring each item back into the pot when pureed.) Add onions to mixture and stir. Add 2 cups chopped tomatoes and 2 cups chopped swiss chard or spinach to soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
Last night we received a bag of sweet potato greens in our share so I added a handful of those leaves to the chard. We still have potatoes out the wazoo so tonight are going to roast some chicken and potatoes (didn't do it the other night as we planned since babysitting and Los Tios called) and have a friend coming over to help eat them.
So last night I made one of our favorite and easiest soup recipes, Middle Eastern Chickpea Soup. Even though it is super hot and humid out, I could eat soup every night. This one is taken from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special but since I have made it so many times, I have kind of condensed the instructions into less steps. Check out the cookbook for the recipe in its entirety, but here is my summarized version. It used the potatoes, tomatoes, onions and the swiss chard from the CSA.
Cook 2 cups diced potatoes in water until soft. Meanwhile, chop a large onion (about 2 cups) and cook in pan with a little olive oil then add 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs coriander, 1 tsp tumeric, 1/8 -1/4 tsp cayenne (depending on your spice preference) and some salt and pepper - about 10 minutes.
If you don't have vegetable stock, save 4 cups of the potato water when potatoes are done to reuse as soup base. If you do have stock, drain potatoes when soft and add 4 cups broth. Add two cans drained and rinsed chickpeas to pot and puree. If you don't have an immersion blender or hand mixer, a real blender works (recipe actually has you do all these steps separately in a blender, pouring each item back into the pot when pureed.) Add onions to mixture and stir. Add 2 cups chopped tomatoes and 2 cups chopped swiss chard or spinach to soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
Last night we received a bag of sweet potato greens in our share so I added a handful of those leaves to the chard. We still have potatoes out the wazoo so tonight are going to roast some chicken and potatoes (didn't do it the other night as we planned since babysitting and Los Tios called) and have a friend coming over to help eat them.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Frankenstein Ragout
After going out to dinner on Friday (Rasika, amazing!) and to a bbq on Saturday, we had to make yesterday count as far as using up a lot of the vegetables we have accumulated this week. Since the bulk of our stash was zucchini, we thought some sort of ratatouille or ragout would be good. We found several different versions in various cookbooks but we were feeling lazy and didn’t want to run to the grocery store so we found one to use as a jumping off point and made many substitutions and additions. The result = delicious.
We think this could be made with a wide variety of vegetables so it will definitely remain in our arsenal as a good ‘kitchen sink’ recipe when we want to use up what we have and be healthy to boot. For yesterday’s version (which made more than enough for dinner and today’s lunch), first, we satueed some sweet italian sausage from Smith Meadow Farms (Del Ray Farmer’s Market) in a pot (took out of the casing). When that was done, we put the sausage in a bowl and then cut up 3 carrots, 2 of the giant, light purple/green squash/zucchini we got in the CSA, a big purple onion, and the long beans from the CSA two weeks ago all into tiny, bite-sized pieces and cooked them in the same pot. The sausage was so lean that there wasn’t any fat or oil to drain. Nice.
While the vegetables were cooking, we got some pasta going in another pot. After vegetables have gone for around 10 minutes, we added 2 ½ cups of vegetable stock, 3 chopped tomatoes and a handful of basil leaves, both from the CSA. We also added some corn we cut off of the cob, just to use it up. When the pasta was almost finished, we drained and threw into the vegetable/broth mixture so it could absorb some of the liquid. Then we added the cooked sausage and two cubes of garlic scape pesto (from CSA's 'In the Bag') and mixed everything up.
The original recipe called for mushrooms and white beans in the ragout and it wasn’t served with pasta. Instead of basil pesto, it had you make a marjoram one. Our version was pretty delicious and it used up a lot of our vegetables. Tonight we are going to make shrimp tacos with roasted jalepeno quinoa (will use up cabbage for taco topping) and tomorrow we are going to roast some chicken and vegetables to use up the beets, potatoes and chard we have left. Then we should be cleared out and ready for Wednesday’s delivery to start over again. :)
Anyone else have some good recipes that use a lot of vegetables at once?
We think this could be made with a wide variety of vegetables so it will definitely remain in our arsenal as a good ‘kitchen sink’ recipe when we want to use up what we have and be healthy to boot. For yesterday’s version (which made more than enough for dinner and today’s lunch), first, we satueed some sweet italian sausage from Smith Meadow Farms (Del Ray Farmer’s Market) in a pot (took out of the casing). When that was done, we put the sausage in a bowl and then cut up 3 carrots, 2 of the giant, light purple/green squash/zucchini we got in the CSA, a big purple onion, and the long beans from the CSA two weeks ago all into tiny, bite-sized pieces and cooked them in the same pot. The sausage was so lean that there wasn’t any fat or oil to drain. Nice.
While the vegetables were cooking, we got some pasta going in another pot. After vegetables have gone for around 10 minutes, we added 2 ½ cups of vegetable stock, 3 chopped tomatoes and a handful of basil leaves, both from the CSA. We also added some corn we cut off of the cob, just to use it up. When the pasta was almost finished, we drained and threw into the vegetable/broth mixture so it could absorb some of the liquid. Then we added the cooked sausage and two cubes of garlic scape pesto (from CSA's 'In the Bag') and mixed everything up.
The original recipe called for mushrooms and white beans in the ragout and it wasn’t served with pasta. Instead of basil pesto, it had you make a marjoram one. Our version was pretty delicious and it used up a lot of our vegetables. Tonight we are going to make shrimp tacos with roasted jalepeno quinoa (will use up cabbage for taco topping) and tomorrow we are going to roast some chicken and vegetables to use up the beets, potatoes and chard we have left. Then we should be cleared out and ready for Wednesday’s delivery to start over again. :)
Anyone else have some good recipes that use a lot of vegetables at once?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Basil, Basil!!
The basil from the CSA has been amazing this year. Today we got two huge bunches and we aren't going to have any time to use them until Sunday. Here are some tips for keeping basil fresh.
Remove the bottom leaves and cut a quarter inch from the stems and set in a glass of water, just like you would fresh flowers. They will stay fresh for days, even a week. Be sure never to put the basil in the fridge, or the leaves will turn black.
My favorite way to use up lots of basil is to make pesto. You can make a huge batch and freeze it for another time. There is nothing better then pulling out some frozen pesto from the freezer in Winter and getting a taste of Summer. You can freeze a whole batch in one container or freeze cubes in an ice cube tray. Once frozen you can put the cubes in a freezer bag and pull out a cube to add to eggs, soup, or spread on bread.
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1 cup olive oil
1 cup parmesan grated
1/4 cup romano grated
Use a food processor or blender and blend all ingredients well. This recipe is meant to be used with 2 lbs of pasta.
We've also been getting super fragrant lemon basil and made a tasty stir fry with it. We haven't tried it yet, but think lemon basil would also taste amazing with fish.
Beef stir fry with lemon basil
1 1b eye of round steak sliced thinly
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs fish sauce
6 thai chilis
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbs chopped shallot
3 Tbs lemon basil
3 Tbs lemon juice
Pound chilis, garlic and shallots with a mortar and pestle or blend in food processor. Add brown sugar and fish sauce. Mix with beef slices and marinade for one hour. Stir fry the beef until cooked through, toss in the lemon basil leaves. Turn off heat and add lemon juice. Serve with rice.
We served this with a separate stir fry of squash and cabbage. The meat we used came from Mount Vernon Farm.
Check out the Washington Post article from today about the Local Buyers Club. They deliver meat from Mount Vernon Farm and have other products from several farms.
Anyone have any other recipes for basil?
Remove the bottom leaves and cut a quarter inch from the stems and set in a glass of water, just like you would fresh flowers. They will stay fresh for days, even a week. Be sure never to put the basil in the fridge, or the leaves will turn black.
My favorite way to use up lots of basil is to make pesto. You can make a huge batch and freeze it for another time. There is nothing better then pulling out some frozen pesto from the freezer in Winter and getting a taste of Summer. You can freeze a whole batch in one container or freeze cubes in an ice cube tray. Once frozen you can put the cubes in a freezer bag and pull out a cube to add to eggs, soup, or spread on bread.
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1 cup olive oil
1 cup parmesan grated
1/4 cup romano grated
Use a food processor or blender and blend all ingredients well. This recipe is meant to be used with 2 lbs of pasta.
We've also been getting super fragrant lemon basil and made a tasty stir fry with it. We haven't tried it yet, but think lemon basil would also taste amazing with fish.
Beef stir fry with lemon basil
1 1b eye of round steak sliced thinly
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs fish sauce
6 thai chilis
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbs chopped shallot
3 Tbs lemon basil
3 Tbs lemon juice
Pound chilis, garlic and shallots with a mortar and pestle or blend in food processor. Add brown sugar and fish sauce. Mix with beef slices and marinade for one hour. Stir fry the beef until cooked through, toss in the lemon basil leaves. Turn off heat and add lemon juice. Serve with rice.
We served this with a separate stir fry of squash and cabbage. The meat we used came from Mount Vernon Farm.
Check out the Washington Post article from today about the Local Buyers Club. They deliver meat from Mount Vernon Farm and have other products from several farms.
Anyone have any other recipes for basil?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Roast 'em if you got 'em
Even though today was a hot summer day, I had a craving for roasted chicken and vegetables. It was a great way to use up the potatoes, onion, fennel, carrots, beets, summer savory and greens. We picked up some bone-in chicken breasts at My Organic Market (MOMs) from a local farm in Maryland.
We cut up the potatoes and beets into 1/2 inch cubes, the carrots were tiny so we left them whole, the fennel and onions were also small so we quartered them, basically trying to get everything about the same size. Then we put everything on a baking sheet, tossed it with olive oil, summer savory, salt and pepper and popped it in a 400 degree oven.
Then we took more summer savory and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken breast along with salt and pepper and placed the chicken on a second baking sheet. This also went into the same oven. The vegetables took about 55 minutes to cook and the chicken took about 40 minutes. Meanwhile we washed and chopped the beet greens and radish greens. Once the chicken was done we took it off of the baking sheet and put the greens on the same baking sheet. Put this in the oven for about 5 minutes until wilted. Done.
This dish was so simple and the flavors of all of the vegetables were really amazing. If you are willing to heat up the house for an hour or so, this is a great way to use up a bunch of vegetables all at once.
We cut up the potatoes and beets into 1/2 inch cubes, the carrots were tiny so we left them whole, the fennel and onions were also small so we quartered them, basically trying to get everything about the same size. Then we put everything on a baking sheet, tossed it with olive oil, summer savory, salt and pepper and popped it in a 400 degree oven.
Then we took more summer savory and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken breast along with salt and pepper and placed the chicken on a second baking sheet. This also went into the same oven. The vegetables took about 55 minutes to cook and the chicken took about 40 minutes. Meanwhile we washed and chopped the beet greens and radish greens. Once the chicken was done we took it off of the baking sheet and put the greens on the same baking sheet. Put this in the oven for about 5 minutes until wilted. Done.
This dish was so simple and the flavors of all of the vegetables were really amazing. If you are willing to heat up the house for an hour or so, this is a great way to use up a bunch of vegetables all at once.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Farmers market fruit and corn
Despite being inundated with an amazing array of vegetables from our CSA every week, we just can't resist visiting the Del Ray farmer's market on saturday mornings to see if there are any berries or fruit for breakfast and snacking. While there this morning, we noticed that fresh corn has already started to make its debut so picked up a bunch. Here is a great recipe we found in a book called "Cooking with Asian Leaves" by Devagi Sanmugam and Christopher Tan that we actually bought after getting a few interesting herbs from the CSA (korean mint, malabar spinach and sweet potato leaves) last year. We love cooking Asian food anyway so this book definitely added some great recipes to the arsenal. This one calls for Thai Basil, which we are growing on our deck and which you can buy at Bangkok 54's awesome store on Columbia Pike for like .99 cents a bag. We've served this dish as an appetizer, with crackers and chips and other dips. It could also be a great topping or side dish for fish or meat.
Stir-fried Basil Corn
(this cookbook was published in Singapore and we think we bought it online from a UK site, so all the measurements are in grams - we did our best to convert before posting but should taste great even if some parts are a little more or a little less.)
3 tbs coriander root (some Asian grocery stores sell this, we used cilantro stems/leaves)
4 cloves garlic
3 chilis
2 tbs cooking oil
2 1/4 cups corn kernels (can use frozen)
1 tbs grated palm sugar (gula melaka or could use brown sugar, plain sugar)
2 tbs fish sauce
1/3 cup thai basil leaves
- pound coriander root, garlic and chilis coarsely
- heat oil in a wok. add the pounded ingredients and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute or until aromatic
- add in the corn kernels, grated palm sugar, fish sauce and basil leaves.
- stir-fry over high heat for about 5-8 minutes until the corn is cooked (with fresh summer sweet corn cook only 2-3 minutes)
- serve hot (it's also good at room temperature or even cold)
Enjoy!
Week six's bounty
This week we finally got a bag that had more that just lettuce and greens in it. We love them, but it's been hard to find a way to eat them all each week. This week's bag came with onions, garlic, potatoes, cucumber, carrots, lettuce, squash, beets, radish, fennel, chard and summer savory.
Here are some of the things that we made this past week:
**Potato-Chorizo Tacos (we used the potatoes and onion from the bag this week and cabbage from last week's bag)
3 potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
Salt
12 oz. fresh chorizo sausage (remove casing)
1 small onion, finely chopped
Bring one quart of water to boil in a medium pot add 2tsp. salt to the water and potatoes. Simmer until tender about 10 min. Drain.
In a large skillet, over med. heat, combine chorizo and onion. break up sausage and cook 10 minutes until sausage is cooked through. Drain excess fat.
Add potatoes to pan and cook over med. heat about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm corn tortillas.
Serve with tomatillo salsa and avocado. Or, blend the two together to make a sauce
Top with thinly sliced cabbage (toss cabbage with lime juice and salt)
Check out Nellie's market (formerly Tanya's market, before that, Chirligua market) at the corner of Mt. Vernon Ave. and Glebe Rd. It's right next to the 7-11. They have great corn tortillas and you can find other Latin American ingredients for crazy low prices (30 corn tortillas, 6 limes and 6 fatty jalepenos for literally $1.69.)
**Beet salad with goat cheese
Once again we have used the Giada recipe as a base to make a roast beet salad. We have thrown in as many vegetables from the bag as we can - lettuce, cucumber, roast beets, and radish. Also, we have found a local goat cheese that we really like from Firefly Farms. They can be found at the Dupont farmer's market on Sundays and most of the time at the Whole Foods in Alexandria. It is very mild and creamy and works great in salads and pasta.
** Penne with Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
There is a farmer's market in the cafeteria of the House of Representative's Longworth building. Since I work near there I like to see what they have to offer. This past week the farmer was from the Northern Neck of VA and had an offering of delicious looking tomatoes. She had samples to taste of the yellow cherry ones. They were amazing - so sweet and delicious. I bought 2 pints and brought them home. I found a good looking recipe from Epicurious.com that slow roasts the tomatoes and would use up some of the basil we got from last week (we kept them fresh in a glass of water) and some leftover goat cheese and we made yet another salad to go with it. Very delicious.
** Grilled Zucchini and Halloumi salad
If you have never tried grilled Halloumi cheese, you should. It is delicious, especially when grilled (or pan-fried). You can find it at Cheestique and MOMs on Mt. Vernon Ave. I saw this recipe in the food section of the Washington Post this past week. We haven't made it yet, but are planning on making this with some lamb kabobs (from Mount Vernon Farms).
Enjoy and keep sharing those recipes.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Eating locally on the road
While planning a recent road trip, we came across this great website called Eat Well Guide that lists restaurants, farmer's markets, orchards and stores that support fresh, locally grown and sustainably produced food and products. You can search by a variety of categories and they have a mapping tool to plan your route.
We ate at one of the restaurants the site suggested during our trip and it was definitely one of the highlights. :)
We ate at one of the restaurants the site suggested during our trip and it was definitely one of the highlights. :)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We love soup
We love soup in our house and it is a great way to use up the abundance of greeens we have been getting. Check out this recipe from fellow CSA member Meg. We will definitly try this one. Thanks for sharing. K
Portuguese Green Soup (from Gourmet w/ modifications and comments)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, center stems cut away, leaves thinly sliced
1 pound fully cooked spicy sausage (such as linguiça, andouille, or hot links), cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
5 3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is soft and golden , about 5 minutes. Add collard greens and sauté until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and sauté 5 minutes. Add broth and potatoes. Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 2 cups soup (without sausage) to processor. Blend until smooth; return to pot of soup and bring to simmer. Mix in crushed red pepper. Season with salt and black pepper.
Meg's modifications: I used TJs chicken and jalapeno sausages. I used 1/2 the EVOO and next time won't use any, just Fat Free Chicken Broth. I used my braun and pureed in the pot, probably too much. I think next time I will sieve out the potatoes and some broth and puree that. I didn't need any salt and pepper - it was well spiced.
Portuguese Green Soup (from Gourmet w/ modifications and comments)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, center stems cut away, leaves thinly sliced
1 pound fully cooked spicy sausage (such as linguiça, andouille, or hot links), cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
5 3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion is soft and golden , about 5 minutes. Add collard greens and sauté until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and sauté 5 minutes. Add broth and potatoes. Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 2 cups soup (without sausage) to processor. Blend until smooth; return to pot of soup and bring to simmer. Mix in crushed red pepper. Season with salt and black pepper.
Meg's modifications: I used TJs chicken and jalapeno sausages. I used 1/2 the EVOO and next time won't use any, just Fat Free Chicken Broth. I used my braun and pureed in the pot, probably too much. I think next time I will sieve out the potatoes and some broth and puree that. I didn't need any salt and pepper - it was well spiced.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sorrel? Sorrel!
One of the cool things about the CSA is the wide variety of vegetables you get each week - ones you've never tried before or in some cases, even heard of. Last year, we received sorrel and after some recipe investigating online, we found this delicious and easy recipe for chilled sorrel soup on foodnetwork.com and made it several times last summer. Sorrel is very good for you - a rich source of iron and potassium and contains vitamins A and C. In last week's delivery, there was a bag of sorrel so we dug out the recipe and made it for dinner tonight. Super easy and perfect for a hot night.
4 tbs unsalted butter (tonight I used a little olive oil instead)
1 med onion chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb. sorrel leaves, stems removed
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs chopped parsley + extra for garnish
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
plain yogurt garnish
Heat butter in saucepan. Add onions and saute until soft, 10 min. Add garlic, 2 min. Add sorrel and celery and cook 5 min. or until sorrel is wilted. Add stock, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Simmer 20 min.
Blend, adjust seasonings - then chill. Serve with yogurt garnish.
Drinking Locally
Two weeks ago, I noticed that Toigo Orchards (Shippensburg, Pennsylvania) was selling bloody mary mix at their booth at the Del Ray farmer's market - Birth of Pain - so I bought a bottle (it was 6 bucks at the market, or 2 for 10.) I wish I had bought 2 (or more) because when I went back specifically to buy more this past saturday, they didn't have any with them. They make it with heirloom tomatoes, other fresh vegetables and spicy scotch bonnet peppers. The website says it is out of stock, so we are hoping that once tomato season fully hits its stride, they will be cranking out more of this delicous mixer so we can stock up. It was especially good when we garnished it with "Dilly Beans" from another booth at the farmer's market (I can't remember the name of the farm but they sold pickled string beans and other jarred products as well as free-range eggs, cheese, etc. - I'll get the name this coming saturday.)
So if you like spicy and tasty bloody mary mix, keep an eye out for Toigo Orchards' Birth of Pain.
So if you like spicy and tasty bloody mary mix, keep an eye out for Toigo Orchards' Birth of Pain.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Greens, Greens, Greens
So we picked up the vegetables today and are now completely inundated with lettuce and greens. We found this delicious recipe in a cookbook titled "Mediterranean Grains and Greens" by Paula Wolfert that calls for a lot of greens, plus it is very easy to make. Tonight we used chard - two bags (one from last week and this week's) - super tasty!
ingredients:
-3 quarts mixed greens: book suggests mixing it up between mustard greens, spinach, chard, arugula, but would probably work with just about anything
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1/2 cup chopped onion
-5 ounces lean ground lamb (Mt. Vernon Farms sells)
-1/2 tomato paste
-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
salt
2 tablespoons medium- or long-grain rice
Trim all the greens and discard any yellowed leaves. Wash the greens well, then place in a deep pot with 1/2 cup lightly salted water. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water (if necessary, add water to make 1 cup). Allow the greens to cool, then squeeze out excess moisture. Roughly chop the greens to make about 3 cups.
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet, add the onion, and saute until soft over moderate heat, about 2 minutes. Add the lamb and cook, breaking up the meat with a fork, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes (we drained the fat). Add the tomato paste, pepper, allspice, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the chopped greens, reserved cooking liquid, and the rice. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until all the rice is fully cooked. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
The recipe ends there, but we add toasted pine nuts for that little something extra and we also added four more tablespoons of rice (and extra liquid) because we like to eat in our house.
week one follow up
This week has been so crazy busy. We did a pretty good job almost finishing off all the vegetables from our robust share ourselves. We still have one head of lettuce, chard, tons of garlic scape and some chives, oregano and basil. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any time to take pictures of what we were cooking. This blog thing is new to me and I hope to do better in the future.
Here is how the week went down.
Wednesday: we picked up the veggies and J made Portuguese Kale soup while I was at Yoga. I came home to the best meal. I had made homemade beef broth with soup bones that I got from Mount Vernon Farm the weekend before. J used this and some andouille sausage from “Let’s Meat on the Avenue.” We will probably make this again this week and I will try to take pictures and post the recipe.
Thursday: we made a huge salad with roasted beets that I had leftover from the farmers market and honey goat cheese from Cheestique. Check out the recipe we used from the food network. We made it without the avocado and used mixed baby greens instead of arugula.
Friday: we went out to Los Tios with friends.
Saturday: we made a huge stirfry with baby bok choy and cabbage from the CSA and asparagus and broccoli from the farmers market.
Sunday: whenever we get endive, chicory, escarole or frisee we like to make pasta with sausage. Basically, you cook ½ to 1 lb. hot sausage without the casing until cooked through and put aside, then sauté a chopped onion. In the meantime you should be cooking up some pasta. Once the onion is cooked add chopped escarole or one of the other above mentioned greens to the onions to wilt. Put the sausage back in the pan, add the cooked pasta and mix in some pecorino or parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Monday: we made a greek salad and grilled up some chicken. I used a bunch of the fresh oregano and chives in the dressing and marinade.
Tuesday: we should have finished up what was left in the fridge. But, the thunderstorms and a long day at work called for some take out. Some vegetable noodle soup from our favorite Vietnamese place, Nam Viet in Clarendon, hit the spot.
The basil I got last week is still fresh and sitting in a small glass of water. I still have a ton of the garlic curls. I plan on using both to make some pesto and freeze it. I found an interesting recipe for oregano pesto that I would like to try. But, if I don’t have time to make it, I will hang the oregano up to dry. I am already feeling like the robust share we ordered is a little more than we can chew. But, we are going to do our best. Please share your CSA and farmers market adventures.
Here is how the week went down.
Wednesday: we picked up the veggies and J made Portuguese Kale soup while I was at Yoga. I came home to the best meal. I had made homemade beef broth with soup bones that I got from Mount Vernon Farm the weekend before. J used this and some andouille sausage from “Let’s Meat on the Avenue.” We will probably make this again this week and I will try to take pictures and post the recipe.
Thursday: we made a huge salad with roasted beets that I had leftover from the farmers market and honey goat cheese from Cheestique. Check out the recipe we used from the food network. We made it without the avocado and used mixed baby greens instead of arugula.
Friday: we went out to Los Tios with friends.
Saturday: we made a huge stirfry with baby bok choy and cabbage from the CSA and asparagus and broccoli from the farmers market.
Sunday: whenever we get endive, chicory, escarole or frisee we like to make pasta with sausage. Basically, you cook ½ to 1 lb. hot sausage without the casing until cooked through and put aside, then sauté a chopped onion. In the meantime you should be cooking up some pasta. Once the onion is cooked add chopped escarole or one of the other above mentioned greens to the onions to wilt. Put the sausage back in the pan, add the cooked pasta and mix in some pecorino or parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Monday: we made a greek salad and grilled up some chicken. I used a bunch of the fresh oregano and chives in the dressing and marinade.
Tuesday: we should have finished up what was left in the fridge. But, the thunderstorms and a long day at work called for some take out. Some vegetable noodle soup from our favorite Vietnamese place, Nam Viet in Clarendon, hit the spot.
The basil I got last week is still fresh and sitting in a small glass of water. I still have a ton of the garlic curls. I plan on using both to make some pesto and freeze it. I found an interesting recipe for oregano pesto that I would like to try. But, if I don’t have time to make it, I will hang the oregano up to dry. I am already feeling like the robust share we ordered is a little more than we can chew. But, we are going to do our best. Please share your CSA and farmers market adventures.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Week One
Our first year as CSA members we got a mini share of vegetables. Then we graduated to the regular share. Now for the first time we are trying the robust share. Keep in mind there are only two of us, though our dog wishes she could help.
Yesterday I picked up our first bag which contained the following: a huge pile of garlic scapes, two onions, two heads of lettuce and bag of salad mix, one bunch of swiss chard, kale, endive, a few small mei qing choy, a tiny cabbage head, chives, basil, oregano and a surprise quart of strawberries.
Off the top of my head I can think of a few things to make this week:
Roasted beet salad with honey goat cheese and walnuts
Portuguese kale soup
Sausage, endive pasta
garlic scape pesto
Stir fry with mei quing choy
strawberries with yogurt, honey and granola
We'll see how it goes. I will post recipes as we go and try to figure out a way to freeze or preserve the excess.
Anyone have any good ideas on how to use a huge amount of fresh oregano? My only idea is to dry it.
Yesterday I picked up our first bag which contained the following: a huge pile of garlic scapes, two onions, two heads of lettuce and bag of salad mix, one bunch of swiss chard, kale, endive, a few small mei qing choy, a tiny cabbage head, chives, basil, oregano and a surprise quart of strawberries.
Off the top of my head I can think of a few things to make this week:
Roasted beet salad with honey goat cheese and walnuts
Portuguese kale soup
Sausage, endive pasta
garlic scape pesto
Stir fry with mei quing choy
strawberries with yogurt, honey and granola
We'll see how it goes. I will post recipes as we go and try to figure out a way to freeze or preserve the excess.
Anyone have any good ideas on how to use a huge amount of fresh oregano? My only idea is to dry it.
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