Week 2 - Keeping Things Under Control

[Posted by Ruth]
Here's what we have for Week 2.

One of my favorite food blogs, The Bitten Word, had a great suggestion last year to help manage the weekly onslaught of produce from a CSA.  Use a simple white board to keep track of what you get in each week, and what is leftover from the previous week.  This has been a big help in keeping on top of what we've used and what is waiting to be used.  I put a second one on the door of my downstairs freezer, to help me keep track of what's in there as well.  Maybe it's just me, but  I find it really satisfying to erase each item as we finish it.  It feels like a tiny victory.  (Yes, I know, I should probably get a life.)

Facing the board the last night of week one, I realized I still had a lot leftover.  We'd made our way through the salad greens, but still had kale, 1/2 the Asian mix, 1/2 the dandelion greens, one bok choy and some chard.  Time for a clean out the fridge meal.

The reality of trying to use everything in a CSA farm share is that you're often faced with a hodgepodge of produce and no set plan.  Where are you going to find a recipe for a few partial bags of this and that and a bit of wilted something else?  Sometimes, you just have to pull it all out, chop it up, get in in a pot and hope for the best.  So, rather than provide a set recipe, I thought I'd let this post reflect the way I really cook many nights; which is more ingredient, seat of the pants based, rather than following a set recipe.  The key here is to channel your inner Julia Child, serve it with confidence and, as she would say, "Never explain, never apologize!"

Along with all those greens, I had a bag of green French lentils, some mushrooms, a hot pepper, some onion and a few leftover cloves of roasted garlic.  Time for beans and greens.

Beans and Greens, basic game plan
(Mark Bittman's book "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" has some great suggestions as well)


Coarsely chop a seemingly impossible amount of greens and set aside.  I had 8+ cups.
In a heavy bottomed pot, saute onions, peppers, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil.

 Add the greens, if you have tons, you may have to do this in stages to allow the volume to go down a bit.
Season to taste - you can keep this as simple as salt and pepper or have it take any direction you like:

Head southwest, with cumin, chile powder, etc.  (I did cumin, aleppo pepper and chipotle pepper with a bit of Worcestershire sauce)
Go Asian, with ginger, soy, hoisin sauce and some sesame oil added at the end
Try French: add tarragon, thyme and a bit of lavender and some wine
etc.

Add your beans, the lentils are great because they don't require presoaking, but you can add any presoaked beans you like, or even canned in a pinch.

Add enough water or broth to cook the beans, usually at least double their volume, and cook slowly until beans are tender, checking along the way to see if more liquid is needed.  You can taste the broth along the way to adjust the seasoning.  It should seem flavorful, not bland.

Serve with rice, pasta, quinoa, etc. and relax.  You've cleaned out the fridge... for now!

And so, Baby Bok Choy, we meet again...

[Posted by Ruth]

Last year, I made a fairly miserable meal out of grilled baby bok choy.  It was completely my fault; didn't wash it enough, didn't marinade it enough and didn't grill it long enough.  So, aside from being gritty, tasteless and undercooked, it was terrific.

Fast forward to the last two weeks.  We got some Baby Bok Choy in each box.

Look at it sitting there, green and cute....mocking me...  It was time to face my bok choy fears.


Baby Bok Choy and Shrimp Braised in Coconut Curry Sauce


 6 small heads of baby bok choy, cut in half (cut larger ones in quarters)
(note, wash them again after cutting, grit hides down in the recesses of the leaves)
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 lb medium raw shrimp, cleaned
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
2 T red curry paste (or more to taste)
2 T natural peanut butter
2 T brown Sugar
salt, pepper to taste


Heat butter and olive oil in a large, nonstick pan over medium, high heat and lightly brown the baby bok choy on the cut side.  Remove bok choy from pan and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan and stir in the curry paste, peanut butter and brown sugar.  Cook, stirring constantly, until all is well incorporated and the mixture begins to get very fragrant.  Stir in the can of coconut milk, raise the heat,  bring to a slow boil and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly.  Taste sauce and add salt and pepper as needed.  Place the bok choy back in the pan, pressing the cut sides down into the sauce and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes.  Add the shrimp, pressing them down into the sauce as well.  Simmer, uncovered, until the bok choy is tender and the shrimp is cooked through, about 5 more minutes.  Serve with Jasmin Rice.

It was flavorful, cooked enough, not gritty and still a reasonably quick meal to prepare.  This round goes to me, Baby Bok Choy.

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]
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.