Cooking between car rides...

The Weekends
We've taken three weeks off from CSA pickups.  July has been pretty busy - first, a weekend at Penn State for Arts Fest... then, a weekend in NY/NJ for a visit with Melissa, a cousin's wedding, and some time at the shore... and then finally, a weekend in Charlottesville for Sara's wedding.  Regular posts will resume following Saturday, August 4.

Here we are, all dressed up at a real live "manor" in NJ.

Cooking between car rides...
That said, we've still managed to do some cooking with CSA produce from boxes past.  Here's what we made over the past few weeks:

*Bruschetta 
Recipe found in "The Farmer's Kitchen - The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying your CSA and Farmers' Market Foods" by Julia Shanks and Brett Grohsgal (2011-2012).  We followed this guide, with some adaptations to meet what we had in our fridge.  Adapted recipe, below.

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2+ cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (we used Oliver's traditional 18 year Balsamic - a gift from Aunt Connie - pictured above)
- 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
- Whole wheat baguette, sliced into rounds

Directions: Mix the tomatoes and salt - let sit for 30 minutes.  Drain the juice from the tomatoes - then mix in all of the other ingredients.  Spoon the Bruschetta on top of the rounds of bread.


*Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Homemade Marinara, Homemade Meatballs (with Asparagus)

Homemade Marinara Ingredients:

- 10 vine tomatoes

- 1 pepper (yellow or red)

- 1 onion (white)

- 5 garlic cloves

- 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

- Basil, to taste

- Dry parsley, to taste

- Dry red peppers, to taste

- Salt and pepper, to taste

- 2 small cans of tomato paste

Directions: Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan.  Chop the onion and garlic - those go in first.  Cover the pan.  Chop the tomatoes.  Some recipes suggest peeling them first, but I never do.  Just chop them up and throw them into the pan when they're nice and diced.  Cover.  Next: chop the pepper - in it goes.  Let everything cook - slow and low, and covered, for at least 20 minutes.  Then, mash the ingredients together - I use a potato masher to do this.  Add the herbs, to taste.  Finally, add as much tomato paste as you feel is required to bring the sauce to the consistency you like.  The more paste, the thicker the sauce.  The longer the sauce cooks (slow and low), the better it will taste.

*Note: Brian made the meatballs using the recipe found in Joy of Cooking.

Lessons Learned

1. This isn't so much a "Lesson Learned" as it is a piece of advice.  So, here it is: No two sauces will ever come out the same.  Over the past year, I've learned to really improvise with my Marinara recipe, making it one of my favorite things to make.  In general, though, I tend to go heavy on the Basil and Garlic, since those are the classic Italian ingredients.

2. We plan on making meatball subs with our leftover meatballs and marinara sauce tonight.  It will be a very easy, very satisfying dinner.  And my kitchen will stay clean for an extra day :)

Week #6

The Weekend
It was 106 degrees in DC this weekend.  Being without a pool, we were pretty antsy to get out of town, so we spent Saturday and Sunday in "Virginia Wine Country."

On Saturday, we went to Tarara Winery, where we had a picnic lunch, did a tasting (lots of whites), and then went to a Concert in a field.  Who was playing?  Gonzo's Nose - a 80s/90s/Today Cover Band.  I have had "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Dancing in the Dark" stuck in my head, on and off, since then.  For the record, Brian does a great "Springsteen".

What's in the Box?

- Basil
- Beets
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Peaches
- Cantaloupe
- Swiss Chard
- Potatoes


What to Make?


*Scavenger Sangria

- 1/2 glass of red wine (we chose Tarara's Long Bomb - edition 3)
- 1/4 glass of Sierra Mist (this should really be Lemonade + Soda Water, but they didn't have any at the concert... so we scavenged, hence the name)
- Fruit!  (I put Cantaloupe and Peaches into my glass - leftover from our picnic at lunch)


*Egg Drop Soup

- 5 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 carrots
- 1 tomato
- 3 leaves of Swiss Chard
- 2 eggs

Directions: Heat the Chicken Broth, to a boil.  Peel and chop the carrots, then put them in first since they'll take the longest to cook.  Don't add anything else until the carrots are pretty much cooked - everything else will cook really fast.  Dice the tomato - add that next.  Chop the Swiss Chard - in it goes.  Add one egg at a time.  Crack it, then mix the soup immediately so it cooks properly, spread out.  Add the second egg - same thing.


*Pasta Primavera with Lemon Pepper/Thyme Chicken





*Veggie Mix Includes:
- 1 head of broccoli
- 2 green zucchini
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 carrots, peeled
- 1/2 large white onion
- 5 leaves of swiss chard
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- Serve with whole wheat pasta
- Add parmesan cheese

*White Wine Sauce Includes:

- 5 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 cup chopped basil
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup white wine/Vermouth

*Chicken:
- 2 pieces of chicken breast
- thyme
- lemon pepper

Directions: There will be three pots/pans, running pretty much at once.

1. In a Wok: Heat Olive Oil and Butter.  Then, add vegetables in order of how long they will take to cook.  Always start with the Garlic, Onion, Pepper.  Add the White Wine/Vermouth.  Then, we went: carrots, broccoli.  Then: zucchini.  Then: Swiss Chard and Basil.  Lastly: frozen peas.  Keep stirring, cooking until everything is cooked through to your liking.

2. In a Sauce Pan, with Lid: Season the Chicken with thyme and lemon pepper, to taste.  Then, let it roast in the covered sauce pan for about 10 minutes.  No need to add any oil - just let it cook in its own juice.

3. In a pot: make your pasta :)

When it's all good to go: Add the pasta to the Wok, mix it up.  Add as much Parmesan cheese as you wish.  Slice the chicken - serve it on top of the pasta.  Done.


Lessons Learned...
1. We realize we are late to the Bruce Springsteen party, but we're happy to be here.
2. It's hard to be an exclusively red wine drinker outside in 100+ degrees.  Sangria helps.
3. The egg drop soup was awesome - it's a variation on the egg drop soup my favorite NJ Chinese Food restaurant (Hot Wok - Sara, you'll know this) makes.  I just added Swiss Chard in place of Spinach.  And, theirs doesn't have carrots, but it was a good add, too.
4. Gonzo's Nose put on a great show.  They played "Old Apartment" at Brian's request.  We will definitely be seeing them again.

Week #5

The Weekend

Every day is weekend to me now.  The good news: I don't go back to work until August 20th.  This means: I have started watching The Wire.

Rahul and Eric threw June Beer Club on Sunday.  It was BBQ-style at Rock Creek Park.  Here we are, sometime after I decided to play soccer in bare feet.

What's in the Box?

- Lemon Basil

- Regular Basil

- Beets

- Green Onion
- Garlic

- Chives

- Patty Pan Squash

- Green Zucchini

- Swiss Chard

- Radish Greens

- Apricots

- Peaches

What to Make?

*Pre-Beer Club Breakfast

- Scrambled eggs with Chives

- Whole wheat baguette toast

- Fruit Salad: Peaches and Apricots

- Roasted Potatoes (leftover from dinner - see: Week 4)

*Post-Beer Club Snack

- Muesli with Almond Milk and Apricots

*When life gives you 2 types of Basil... Make Pesto.

Credit: Bon Appetit via Epicurious.com

@: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Pesto-109802

Ingredients: 

4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino Sardo or Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Directions: 

Combine first 4 ingredients in blender. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add both cheeses and salt; blend until smooth. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Top with 1/2 inch olive oil and chill.

Sous Chef Notes:

We only used one cheese - Parmesan - so we used 1/2 cup total.  Also: using the blender worked just as well as using a Food Processor, which we don't have.  We ate the pesto over fresh Linguini, topped with a little extra salt and cheese.

Lessons Learned

1. I will never play soccer in bare feet again.  

2. Almond milk > Soy milk.  This is just an opinion.  (But it's also the truth).

3. The pesto was so good.  Next time, we're going to try squeezing a little lemon juice into it, though, because it does start to brown pretty quickly.  Also: I didn't add the "extra" olive oil at the end, because pesto can be pretty high in fat - healthy fat, but still high.  This made the pesto seem a little more paste-like than it probably should... so in the future I will probably just follow Bon Appetit's advice, and add the extra, healthy fat.