Week 2

[Posted by Ruth]

I was pleased with how much we really did use from week 1.   There was just a little bit of lettuce left over.Which means we must be ready for week 2.

This week's haul is:
3 big heads of lettuce
1 bag Asian mix
1 big bag asstd lettuce mix
2 bunches salad turnips
2 bunches radishes
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 bunch garlic scapes
4 kohlrabi
1 dozen eggs 
and, my bread share from Wave Hill

The eggs made the choice for tonight easy...Frittata

Frittata with Garlic Scapes

3 small yellow potatoes
1 bunch garlic scapes
Olive Oil
8 eggs
splash milk
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Salt, Pepper

Partially cook scrubbed, unpeeled potatoes in microwave for about 3 minutes and allow to cool.  Cut into small cubes.  Cut the garlic scapes into 1/2 inch pieces.

Whisk the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Heat a generous coating of olive oil in a pan that can also go in the oven.  Add the potatoes, garlic scapes and salt and pepper and cook over med/low heat until scapes are tender and potatoes are fully cooked - about 5-7 minutes.  Taste to make sure they are seasoned enough.  It's important to season both the potatoes and the egg mixture.

Preheat the broiler.

Add in the eggs, sprinkle the cheese on top and continue over low to med/low heat until the eggs begin to set at the edges.  With a flexible spatula, lift the sides a few times and tilt some of the uncooked eggs under the edge.  Cook gently until the sides and bottom are set but there is still a fair amount of loose, runny egg on top.

Run under the broiler for 1-2 minutes (watch the whole time) until the top is golden brown and you see the sides puff a little bit.

Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  This is also good cold.  This makes enough for 4, or for 2 with plenty of leftovers for lunch.

Serve it, of course, with a salad and some bread!

This was my first time doing anything with garlic scapes and they are really lovely.  Raw, they have a definite garlic taste and cooked they become very mild and sweet with a tender/crisp texture. 

 

Week 1 - Finally - A Meal

(Posted by Denise)

The week is half over (since my pick-up is on Saturday morning) and I have finally cooked something other than salad. My family is so pleased! Tonight's menu was Salmon, Bok choy with garlic and ginger, and brown rice.

To tell the truth this is my first time cooking bok choy, which is exactly the reason I signed up for the farm share. I thought it was really tasty and very easy to cook. I was also surprised that my youngest enjoyed it. Any vegetable that is kid approved will show up again in my kitchen! (Maybe as soon as next week.)

Bok Choy with Garlic and Ginger

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 Cups Bok Choy, chopped (I used the four heads that were in the share)

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

Heat oil in the pan (a large pan) and saute the garlic and ginger for one minute.

Add bok choy and stir fry until tender. (If the stems of your bok choy are really tough you may want to throw those in first and then add the more tender pieces.

Add soy sauce and saute for an additional minute.

My Usual Salmon

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 lb salmon filet

Combine brown sugar, chili powder, and cumin in a small bowl.

Place salmon on a foil lined baking pan (easy clean-up).

Sprinkle sugar/chili mixture over the salmon.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. (If you like your salmon rare you can start checking at 15 minutes.)

Week 1

[Posted by Ruth]

There is a light at the end of the lettuce tunnel and it's called Lettuce Soup!

I googled "what to do with too much lettuce" and found recipes for lettuce soup.  Most of them are thickened with a potato and pureed; to be served hot or cold.  This seemed like a solution to...

T

The mountain of lettuce that remains in spite of our diligent salad eating this week.  I decided I would use a sweet potato and some curry paste to give it a little twist.  Try the one below or do a little on-line searching and find one you like.

Mild Curried Lettuce Soup
These are approximate measurements

8-10 cups stock (I made chicken stock from the leftover Stone Gardens chicken carcass this week)
1 or 2 sweet potatoes
5 scallions - chopped
2-3 T mild curry paste (or more, to taste)
20 cups loosly packed lettuce -roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes
Flavored oil (hazelnut, pistachio or even just olive oil)
Lime juice and lime zest
Plain yogurt or sour cream
Salted cashews


Initially salt stock to taste and bring to simmer w/ cut up peeled potatoes and curry paste.  Simmer until potaotes are soft.  Add in the lettuce and scallions - you will have to push it down a bit before it reduces.

(It WILL all fit)
  
Simmer for about 10-15 minutes - until the lettuce is well softened but hasn't quite lost all it color.  Puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor.  Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.  Garnish as desired.  With more time than I have on a week night, I can see adding roasted garlic, etc. or a different blend of spices.  The soup has a lovely, fresh taste, very light. 

What did I serve it with?  A salad of course.  My husband is a patient man. 

Week 1 - The First Salad

(Posted by Denise)

Important Safety Tip: Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator for the mountain of lettuce that arrives in your CSA box. Ruth told me there was a lot, but seriously there is a TON of lettuce. It also takes a while to wash all of the produce and package it for storage.

I was at a yoga weekend this weekend so today was my first real day with the farm share. I had a delicious salad for lunch and made a large (really LARGE) salad to accompany some leftover chicken for dinner. The salad included, lettuce, radishes, salad turnips, and scallions. Tomorrow when I make another salad I think I will include some carrots, edamame and some other things from the fridge, maybe some dried cranberries to keep it interesting.

This is also a busy time of the school year and the boys have games, so tonight was a night where we eat in shifts. It was nice to have the salad our for every one to take some and then get on to homework. I've never done that before and it was freeing to not have to be in the kitchen for the better part of three hours!

Quick Red Wine Vinaigrette
1 clove of garlic minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt

pepper

1 teaspoon agave syrup

1/2 C red wine vinegar

1/4 C water

3/4 C olive oil

Sometimes I just put all of the ingredients in a jar and shake it up or I give it a spin in the blender. I also taste the dressing on a piece of lettuce to make sure that the seasonings are right.

Week 1

[Posted by Ruth]
Grilled Bok Choy...FAIL!

We said we'd talk about what didn't work and this definitely didn't work.  I like the marinade I used, which is one I've used many times but we just didn't like how this came out.

F

First off, I would have been better off it I'd marinated them rather than just brush the mixture on while the coals were getting ready.  Even with continuous brushing, not enough of the flavor got in.

Secondly, even though I had cut them in half and thought I had them well rinsed, there was still a fair amount of grit down at the base.  If I'd cut these up and sauteed them as I normally would, the grit would be been eliminated.  We did eat the smaller ones - 2 each - with dinner but next time I'll do them another way.

Still the marinate is worth noting.  You can use this on fish, chicken, eggplant, (apparently everything except grilled bok choy) and it's very nice.

Asian Marinade/BBQ sauce

1 T Shoyu or your favorite soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T Hoisin sauce
1 T Brown sugar
3 T Dry white wine
3 T Olive oil


Mix all and use.  great on grilled or baked salmon, shrimp, eggplant etc.

Week 1 First Pickup

(Posted by Denise)

Finally our pick up day arrived! Of course it is on one of the busiest Saturday mornings of spring and we were in a huge rush so I couldn't post until today. (I'm not sure any cooking is going to get done this weekend either!) Anyway, we got to the farmer's market nice and early. I am so glad that I found out that you don't get to take the box with you. I was luckily armed with some huge grocery bags to get everything to the car.

Here is the Stone Garden booth at the market. We met Stacia and she was great. She even had a surprise for us. Strawberrries!

Jones Family Farms is open for pick your own strawberries and as a treat put some in our CSA to entice us to come down and pick. They have me hooked. The kids ate most of them within two minutes of getting them in the door and washed. They were sweet and juicy and tasted like summer! So, this week on top of the mountain of lettuce that was in our share, there will be strawberries.

Here is our farmshare. All of the vegetables are beautiful and I can say that I'm a little intimidated by the amount of lettuce. The family looks a little nervous too!

Week 1

[Posted by Ruth]

Just a quickie tonight.  Too hot for a lot of cooking and eating.  Made a salad w/ the mountain of lettuce and croutons from the last of the Wave Hill bread and topped it w/ chicken salad made from the leftover lemon chicken w/ garlic/basil mayonnaise topped w/ salted cashews and some shaved parmesan cheese.

Garlic Basil Mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch basil, chopped
pepper to taste.

With a spoon or mortar and pestle, blend the garlic and salt into a paste.  Whisk in the egg yolks.  Begin whisking in the olive oil - just a drop at a time at first and then in thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until all the oil is emulsified in.  Stir in the chopped basil and pepper and refrigerate for an hour if possible for flavors to blend.