CSA Week 26: End of the Year
CSA Week 26: Leftovers
1 celery
1 bunch beets
2 leeks
1/2 # Jimmy Nardelo peppers
1 bunch kale
2 delicata dquash
1.5# baby sweet potatoes
2# butterball potatoes
2# braeburn apples
CSA Week 26
Last month marked the end of the CSA box and this month marks the end of 2011. I’ve barely made it through the holiday season and without a weekly dose of healthy veggies/fruits. The last box came a couple days before Thanksgiving.
A majority of the items were not used for the dinner but rather for leftovers. I really tried to use up all leftovers. Here are two of the three recipes used (unfortunately, the turkey leek soup I made with awesome homemade turkey stock was ruined by my two cats, who decided it was a feast for them. No pictures were taken, either).
Leftover Turkey Chili
I nabbed this recipe from Martha Stewart, but left off the cheesy cornbread topping as it was too much after the holiday. http://www.marthastewart.com/348766/leftover-turkey-chili-cheesy-cornbread-topping It brought a lot of heat and used 2 cups of cooked turkey!
Leftover Turkey Chili
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 leek, white and light green parts only, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons chile powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt
3 cups homemade turkey or chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups prepared turkey gravy
2 pounds shredded cooked turkey
2 (15.8-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
- Add onions, celery, leek, and carrots; cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, chile powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt until combined.
- Add stock, crushed tomatoes, gravy, and shredded turkey; increase heat to medium high and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- Stir in black beans. Let simmer for 10-15 mins. Enjoy!
Penne with Goat Cheese, Kale, Olives, and Turkey
I made this recipe, also found on Martha’s website, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. By this point, I’m really sick of turkey and want to scream at the thought of eating it again. Fortunately, this recipe is very Mediterranean that it doesn’t feel like you are eating Thanksgiving leftovers. http://www.marthastewart.com/312702/penne-with-goat-cheese-kale-olives-and-t?center=276949&gallery=275078&slide=285564
Turkey Penne
Ingredients
1 pound dried penne
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
3 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon zest, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay
1/2 bunch kale, tough stems removed, leaves thinly sliced crosswise (8 cups)
2 cups large shreds cooked turkey
6 to 7 ounces fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water, then drain.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, teaspoon pepper, and the red-pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add lemon zest and wine, and cook until wine has evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in kale and 1/4 cup reserved cooking water, and cook until kale wilts, about 3 minutes.
- Add turkey, and cook until heated through. Add goat cheese and remaining 1 1/4 cups reserved cooking liquid, stirring until sauce is creamy.
- Add pasta to skillet, and cook, stirring, until pasta is coated and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in olives and lemon juice. Sprinkle with Parmesan and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
As I wait for the start of the New Year, I try not to dwell too much on the past. The coming months are the hardest with the grey skies and cold weather. I’m thinking about travel, home improvement projects, and new episodes of my favorite tv shows. And of course – the new growing season! Only 4 more months until the Saturday outdoor market and 5 more months until the CSA starts again.
Happy eating, everyone!
Happy Christmas
Prime Rib Roast
With Yorkshire Pudding
Strawberry Rum Cake
Roast dinner by my mom, the best cook I know
Cake by my sister, baking-extraordinaire in the making
CSA Weeks 22-25
CSA Week 22
Well, once again I find myself behind in updating this blog. The beginning of November was a blur since my job required a ton of overtime as we implemented a new computer system. I’m finally finding time this week to relax and cook. I can’t believe I’ve been working on the Thanksgiving menu and tomorrow will be our last CSA box. I hope we get a ton of goodies which we can use for Turkey day.
To recap the previous boxes, I have posted below some of my favorite recipes for using winter vegetables.
CSA Week 22: Kale
(see picture above)
1 lettuce
1.5# Sweet Girl tomatoes
1 head cauliflower (not pictured)
1 1/4# broccoli
1 delicata squash
1 bunch kale
1 head garlic
1 bunch fresh ginger
1# grapes
Earlier this year, I found a wonderful recipe in Real Simple for using kale. I had never eaten it before, but I love making a good stir-fry in the winter months. They are quick and easy to throw together, and they are much healthier than just making a box of mac and cheese. I was very excited to find kale in the box for week 22.
Kale with Roasted Peppers and Olives
Ingredients
2 large bunches kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 4-ounce jar roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
Directions
- Cut the kale into bite-size pieces, removing any tough stems. Rinse and shake dry.
- Warm the oil and garlic in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Remove the garlic as soon as it browns (don’t let it burn).
- Add the kale and stir-fry 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until tender.
- Uncover and add the sugar, salt, olives, and peppers. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid has evaporated.
- Spoon into a serving dish; scatter the garlic over the top. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Serve warm or at room temperature.
CSA Week 23: Sweet Potatoes
1 lettuce
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch arugula
1 basket grape tomatoes
2# sweet potatoes
2# Nicola potatoes
1 butternut squash
3/4# Jimmy Nardelo peppers
2# Liberty apples
CSA Week 23
I think Sweet Potatoes are a vegetable frequently associated with Thanksgiving. Growing up, I know I only ate them on Thanksgiving and always with melted marshmallows. It’s not until recently I’ve noticed a sweet potato revolution where they are offered in place of fries at several restaurants (including the awesome Burgerville). They are a great source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. I found another delicious and easy recipe for them on Real Simple‘s website.
Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
1 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons maple syrup
6 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions
- Heat oven to 400° F.
- Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.
- Arrange the chicken, onion, and sweet potatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Drizzle the oil over the chicken and vegetables and season with the salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Drizzle with the maple syrup and top with the sprigs of thyme.
- Roast, stirring the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
CSA Week 24: Delicata Squash
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch carrots
1 head celery
1 head cauliflower
3/4# broccoli
1# Sweet Girl tomatoes
1 delicata squash
3 heads garlic
1 basket strawberries
2# Johnagold apples
It was a definite surprise to see strawberries in the box – so much so that I didn’t snag a picture for this week! But, I am enjoying the steady stream of apples we’ve been receiving (the Liberty apples are probably the best).
For this week and a previous one, we received delicata squash – a squash I wasn’t familiar with. I’m finding that cooking with real gourds can be a pain. They are so difficult to cut through, even with the sharpest knife. However, I love roasted squash. After researching delicata squash, I was promised by several websites that the skin would be easier to slice. For the record, it was still a pain to cut through, but it’s just a smaller squash.
Inside, it looked like a pumpkin...
I simply roasted it with olive oil and seasonings. A very simple and healthy side dish.
Roasted Delicata
CSA Week 25: The last of the tomatoes
1 cabbage
3/4# broccoli
1# tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro
1 onion
2 bell peppers
2# sweet potatoes
2# Red potatoes
2# Liberty apples
The second to the last week of the box. It makes me feel a little sad, already longing for the summer months. For now, this past week has been spent planning and shopping for the feast, and I’ve made it a point to make easy meals leading up to it. I’ve managed to use almost all of the box.
On Friday night, with the promise of snow (even though we didn’t get it), I stayed in, creating a quick spaghetti sauce, without even using a recipe. I slow-sauteed half of the onion, the bell pepper, the last of the tomatoes, and some ground beef. Threw in some seasonings and within 30 minutes, I had a tasty meal to keep us warm on a cold night.
The previous night, I made a very German inspired dinner. I took the cabbage, the apples, the other half of the onion, and some all-beef sausage. I threw in a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar and slow-sauteed them all together until tender. On the side, I roasted the red potatoes. Another classic fall meal with the help of some Two Towns Cider (we are a semi-gluten free household and cider is awesome in place of beer).
I’m going to miss the box greatly for the convenience alone. I always intend to go shopping to the winter markets, but end up sleeping in or forgetting about it. For now, though, we still have one more box to pick-up tomorrow, and I am still looking forward to what it will bring us.
Posted in November | 
apples, cabbage, chicken, cider, delicata squash, fall, garlic, kale, potatoes, spaghetti sauce, sweet potatoes, tomatoes | 
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CSA Week 21: Giveway Box
1 lettuce
2# Sweet Girl tomatoes
1 bunch French Breakfast radishes
2# carrots
1 leek
1 1/4# broccoli
2# red potatoes
1 Sunshine squash
4 Sweet Italian peppers
2# Liberty apples (from La Mancha Ranch & Orchard)
CSA Week 21
Last week we had house guests from out of town visiting. I knew I wasn’t going to cook much since we wanted to show our guests all the fine restaurants in this state. I brought a majority of the box to work to share with my co-workers. The peppers and tomatoes went fast! Until next week…
CSA Week 20: Apple Pie
1 radicchio
2# Sweet Girl tomatoes
2# carrots
1 bunch beets
1# red onions
2# Sierra Rose potatoes
1 Delicata squash
2 sweet Italian peppers
1# Canadice grapes (from Reynolds Farm)
2# winter banana apples (from Gala Springs Farm)
CSA Week 20
This week introduced grapes, which was awesome. I wasn’t expecting them at all, but this box has been wonderful with its variety. I love it. We also were supposed to get beets, but it’s one of three vegetables I do not care for. I’ve had a savory and creamy Borscht (beet soup) before, but it was made by someone’s Russian grandmother. I also don’t think I could eat more than a bowl of it. We traded the beets for more sweet peppers and didn’t look back!
Apple Pie
I love making apple pies in the fall. I usually make one for Thanksgiving, but since we were going to have company in town this month and we’ve been receiving apples every week, I decided to make one early this year.
I normally use a basic apple pie recipe, but I found a new one through allrecipes.com This one seemed unusual since it requires making a syrup which is partly poured over the crust. The lovely aspect of the website are the comments people can leave, usually with hints of what worked and didn’t work. I’ve included the modifications with the recipe below.
Ingredients
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Less than 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 apples – peeled, cored and sliced
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
- Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Carefully pour a majority of the syrup over the apples.
- Cover with top crust. Gently pour the rest of the syrup over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
- Bake for 1 hour. Cover with foil if crust becomes too brown.
Week 19: Applesauce
1/2# spinach
1.5# Heirloom tomatoes
1 1/4# broccoli
2# White Rose potatoes
1 acorn squash
3-4 ripe bell peppers
1 head garlic
1 melon
1 basket French petite plums
2# Rome apples (from Gala Springs Farm)
- CSA Week 19
October is almost over, and my, has it been a busy month! I’m currently playing catch-up again on the blog. It’s a shame because we have been receiving such great amounts of produce now that we are in the middle of the harvest and I’m struggling to find the time to use it all as well as document it here.
The autumn is always little stressful, but in a good way, with football games, book clubs, holidays, and house guests from out of town. I feel like I’m going from one place to another without even having the time to stop and reflect. However, I wouldn’t want it to be any other way before the January blues come in a couple months.
Applesauce
I did find the time earlier this month to make applesauce. With all the apples we’ve been receiving, I definitely wanted a way to use them up besides just freezing them (I don’t know how that would affect the texture of them but I did see it suggested on a couple different websites). I culled together parts of different recipes to create one which included all the best parts (or you can definitely use Alton Brown’s quick 10 Minute Applesauce recipe). I used my Kitchenaid Mixer to strain the apples, but you don’t need to do that if you peel the apples before boiling them and then handmash them.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
First, throw all the sliced apples in a big pot with only 1 inch of water. I know some people like using apple juice instead of water, but I didn’t have any on hand.
Cover the pot and over medium heat, cook the apples for about 15-30 minutes until softened. My apples cooked down pretty quickly and were ready in about 10 minutes.
Carefully spoon the hot apples through the Kitchenaid strainer, which will remove all the skins and create a nice consistency. Add the applesauce back into the pot over a low heat and season it with cognac, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. After about 10 minutes, the sugar and other seasonings should be melted, creating a tasty and warm applesauce.
CSA Week 18 – Sweet Peppers and Helpful Hints
1/2 # spinach
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1.5# Heirloom tomatoes,
1# Romano green beans
2 sweet Italian peppers
8 ears corn
2# Nicola potatoes
1 watermelon
1 basket French petite plums
2# Gala apples
CSA Week 18
This week introduced sweet peppers! I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of peppers. I just really can’t handle the spice. But I’m often reminded how roasted red peppers can be very delicious on top of a sandwich or mixed into a breakfast burrito. For the sweet peppers, I followed the newsletter and sauteed them until crisp. There were not spicy at all but were very sweet. I served them with scrambled eggs.
Sweet Peppers and Eggs
The Freezer is Your Friend
I’ve realized this past week that the CSA is over half way over. I’ve started to reflect on this past year, and for this blog, on how the CSA provided wonderful challenges to me every week.
One of the best things I’ve learned throughout this journey is how to make food last and how to use every bit as possible. In a previous entry, I mentioned that roasting vegetables and then freezing them for later is a great way to save the items of your CSA box if you happen to have a busy week eating out. This idea was given to me by a co-worker, and I’ve collected more hints along the way.
Leftover Celery
- Carrot Tops
While I try to compost any scraps I don’t use in a particular recipe, I still would prefer not to “throw out” a majority of the vegetable, whether it be an onion peel or carrot tops. I learned from Smitten Kitchen to save those unwanted scraps for making stock later on. I know that when I’ve wanted to make a stock from chicken or turkey bones, I’ve ended up buying more fresh vegetables to boil with it.
Instead, I now have a few bags of celery ends and carrot tops waiting in the freezer. It’s also great if you are vegan/vegetarian and just want to make a vegetable stock.
Frozen Parsley
I also love using fresh herbs, but find myself not needing a whole bunch of parsley at once. Instead of drying them out, which could take time and take away some of the taste of the herb, I simply keep a couple bags in the freezer. I usually have parsley and chives on hand since I seem to need those the most. The only herb I don’t keep in the freezer is rosemary. Since we have a rosemary bush in the backyard, I can grab a fresh spring whenever I need it.
Frozen Leeks
The last trick is just simply freezing vegetables for later. This week we received a lot of corn and the newsletter again offered the good idea of blanching and then freezing the kernels for later. I also have frozen leeks on hand from when I traded fresh basil with a co-worker earlier this year. I popped them in the freezer and they, too, will be ready for a soup stock later on. I also have berries which I freeze using this method.
If the zombie apocalypse were to come, I think I’d be ready. At least, my freezer is ready, filled with delicious frozen fruits and veggies for later use.