7.17.2010

Week 7 - Vegetables on Vacation!

[Posted by Ruth]

We had to quickly pick up the week 7 box and load it up for our week on Martha's Vineyard.  Here is this week's haul:


8 beautiful, fresh ears of corn
Big bunch baby carrots
1 bunch chard
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Summer squash
1 kohlrabi
1 cabbage
wax beans
1 small bag mixed lettuce
1 bunch kale


Since there has been an abundance of zucchini these last two weeks it was time for the inevitable zucchini bread.  I adapted this from Paula Dean's recipe, replacing the water with orange juice and zest and adding a tsp of vanilla.  Really nice texture - plus everything looks better on the Vineyard!!


Zucchini Bread
(adapted from Paula Dean) 
makes 2 loaves


3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 T grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup currants

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.  Mix flour, salt, soda and spices.  In separate bowl whisk sugar into eggs until well blended.  Add oil, vanilla, orange juice and zest and stir in zucchini.  Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and mix just until fully blended.  Fold in walnuts and currents.  Divide into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 1 hour.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then take out and cool fully on a wire rack.  Wrap well and go on vacation. 

We could definitely see the difference using really fresh zucchini made.  It just disappeared into the batter and had a lovely texture.

7.12.2010

Week 6

[Posted by Ruth]

With the heat finally breaking somewhat this weekend and the fact that we're leaving this Friday for vacation, it was time to get caught up on some of the vegetables I hadn't gotten to yet.  Unfortunately, my garage refrigerator was cranking out so much cold during the heat that I found a few things had frozen in there.  So, it was time to get going.  I roasted and froze the cauliflower and all of the kohlrabi and made coleslaw out of the remaining head of cabbage.  My husband likes a mayonnaise-based coleslaw, while I prefer one with a bit more spice and acidity.  I put this together to try to keep up both happy.





Compromise Coleslaw 
1 head of cabbage, shredded (preferably by hand)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T prepared mustard
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T honey
3/4 cup to 1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk garlic, sour cream, mustard, vinegar and honey.  Gradually add the olive oil in a thin stream while whisking constantly.  Toss with cabbage, add salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate for at least one hour to let flavors blend.