I probably tell everyone I know a million times - and will probably say it on here over and over - but I LOVE my CSA. The family is so kind and very passionate about the food they grow. Every week before we receive our baskets, they send out a newsletter updating everyone on what's new in their baskets and explaining what the vegetable/herb is and how to cook it, along with recipe ideas. It always gives me a good idea of what I need to purchase for the week.
Right now, we are eating the crap out of some lettuce and greens. I remember in "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" Barbara Kingsolver is talking about when her asparagus plants first start producing and everyone is so excited but then it slowly dwindled after two weeks of eating nothing else. I am starting to feel that way about salads. I like a good salad but we have seriously been eating them for almost every meal for the past month and a half, between the romaine I grew and the different varieties we are getting in our CSA baskets. Luckily the accompanying food allows for the salads to get creative. Last night I mixed in some turnips, radishes, carrots (all from the CSA) with some of the romaine (we're still eating it!) and spinach and lettuces from our CSA as well. I made a simple garlicy/balsamic dressing and mixed it all together.
One of the great things about our CSA family is that they grow unique varieties of every day foods. You don't just get "spinach" in your basket but "red cardinal spinach", a variety where the veins are so red, when you cook it, you just want to admire it for a bit before taking a bite. I am learning about vegetables I have never heard of before and am learning to spot and identify them at the farmer's market. I even have to label them from the newsletter as soon as I get the basket home because there is something every week that I have never tried before. This week it was garlic scapes...they are DELICIOUS! And so pretty - just google them and you'll see what I mean. Along with the salad, I pureed a can of white beans in with the garlic scapes and made a creamy dip.
I decided to make a flatbread for the dip and made some pizza dough from my favorite vegetarian cookbook. I was excited because the recipe actually made two flatbreads so I was able to freeze half of the dough for later. Mark was in the studio so I decided to get creative and grill the pizzas - something I have never done before, although I have heard great things so I was eager to try. I'm not the best at the grill but I thought pizza probably has to be pretty hot since the regular oven is normally 450 degrees so I light all five burners and put the bread on. The cookbook said to grill for three minutes on each side but by the time I went out to check, the entire crust was burned to a CRISP. The grill was over 500 degrees!!! I shut off all by two of the burners, got out my "spare" crust and started over with a much cooler grill. I spread olive oil, garlic, oregano and basil from my pots and a little salt and pepper on the crust and only cooked it for about 5 minutes total. It was awesome, except a bit salty. Since there is already salt in the crust, next time I won't put any on top. We dipped that into the garlic scapes/white bean dip and curled up with some Freaks and Geeks...good food and TV makes us happy.
Right now, we are eating the crap out of some lettuce and greens. I remember in "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" Barbara Kingsolver is talking about when her asparagus plants first start producing and everyone is so excited but then it slowly dwindled after two weeks of eating nothing else. I am starting to feel that way about salads. I like a good salad but we have seriously been eating them for almost every meal for the past month and a half, between the romaine I grew and the different varieties we are getting in our CSA baskets. Luckily the accompanying food allows for the salads to get creative. Last night I mixed in some turnips, radishes, carrots (all from the CSA) with some of the romaine (we're still eating it!) and spinach and lettuces from our CSA as well. I made a simple garlicy/balsamic dressing and mixed it all together.
One of the great things about our CSA family is that they grow unique varieties of every day foods. You don't just get "spinach" in your basket but "red cardinal spinach", a variety where the veins are so red, when you cook it, you just want to admire it for a bit before taking a bite. I am learning about vegetables I have never heard of before and am learning to spot and identify them at the farmer's market. I even have to label them from the newsletter as soon as I get the basket home because there is something every week that I have never tried before. This week it was garlic scapes...they are DELICIOUS! And so pretty - just google them and you'll see what I mean. Along with the salad, I pureed a can of white beans in with the garlic scapes and made a creamy dip.
I decided to make a flatbread for the dip and made some pizza dough from my favorite vegetarian cookbook. I was excited because the recipe actually made two flatbreads so I was able to freeze half of the dough for later. Mark was in the studio so I decided to get creative and grill the pizzas - something I have never done before, although I have heard great things so I was eager to try. I'm not the best at the grill but I thought pizza probably has to be pretty hot since the regular oven is normally 450 degrees so I light all five burners and put the bread on. The cookbook said to grill for three minutes on each side but by the time I went out to check, the entire crust was burned to a CRISP. The grill was over 500 degrees!!! I shut off all by two of the burners, got out my "spare" crust and started over with a much cooler grill. I spread olive oil, garlic, oregano and basil from my pots and a little salt and pepper on the crust and only cooked it for about 5 minutes total. It was awesome, except a bit salty. Since there is already salt in the crust, next time I won't put any on top. We dipped that into the garlic scapes/white bean dip and curled up with some Freaks and Geeks...good food and TV makes us happy.
