Week #7

The Weekend

This was a very quiet, relaxing weekend at home.  On Sunday, we did make it out for a hike on the Billy Goat trail near Glen Echo park.  It felt pretty great to be out in the woods.  See, the thing about hiking is: it's non-competitive, the scenery is gorgeous, and you get to wear boots that make you feel powerful.

What's in the Box?

- Yellow squash
- Basil
- Peach
- Nectarines
- White onions
- Green peppers
- Zucchini
- Jalepeno
- Garlic
- Cantaloupe
- Okra
- Corn
- Heirloom Tomatoes

What to Make...

*Breakfast!

I didn't capture pictures of everything we made for Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, but we used a lot of our farm-fresh ingredients in those meals, which included:

- Fruit Salad with: peaches, strawberries, bananas.  And lots of cantaloupe (pictured above).
- Breakfast potatoes (leftover from a previous CSA pick-up) with: white onion, green peppers.    

*Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
- Greens
- Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- Fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced
- Basil
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Pepper, to taste

Instructions: Pretty simple.  Greens on the bottom of the plate.  Then, layer the slices of tomato, the slices of mozzarella, and the basil leaves.  Top with Balsamic and pepper to taste.

*Rockfish with Yellow Squash Risotto

The Fish: we purchased the WHOLE fish at whole foods.  They cleaned it for us there - head off, cut into the filets.  Brian took the lead on the fish.  He seasoned it with dill, lemon pepper, garlic, some salt and pepper, and slices of lemon.  From there, he wrapped it in tin foil and baked it at 400 for about 20 minutes.  There was a little improvising/winging it with the fish - but it came out great.

*Yellow Squash Risotto

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 large yellow squash, diced (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 6 cups chicken broth, heated
- Splash of white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Rosemary, to taste
- Parsley, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil (on high heat) - add the onion, let it sweat for a few minutes.  Then, add the squash.  Let them cook together for about 5 minutes.  Then, add the rice.  Mix everything, ensuring that the rice is covered in oil - there isn't a lot of oil in this, so mix well.

2. Add 3 cups of broth to the rice.  Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low (think of it as a healthy simmer; there should be just *some* bubbles indicating that the rice is cooking; and you'll see the vapor of the broth cooking off).  Stir A LOT as the liquid cooks off.  From there, add the remaining broth bit by bit, stirring regularly and consistently as the liquid cooks off.  As you're stirring, add in the seasoning: Rosemary, Pepper, Parsley.  I chose to omit the extra salt, since the chicken broth already contained so much.

3. It will take a long time to use up the chicken broth.  Risotto takes a lot of time and attention.  For me, the process of stirring and adding broth took about an hour.  Once the broth liquid had mostly cooked off, I added a splash of white wine, and allowed that to cook off as well.

4. When the liquid is gone and the rice is al dente, add the butter and cheese and mix well.

Lessons Learned


1. Brian plans to gut and clean the fish himself next time.  This is not my thing.  But, I do wish him well in the endeavor.

2. I invented the risotto recipe based on a Pumpkin Risotto recipe I found on epicurious.com (link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Risotto-of-Almost-Anything-388489).  You'll see there are some major differences between my recipe and that one.  The takeaway, though, is this: You can use my recipe or this epicurious recipe to create ANY type of risotto.  Just sub the vegetable of your choice in for the Squash (my recipe) or Pumpkin (their recipe).  I feel like I have a handle on Risotto now - which is great, because it's one of my favorite foods.  I almost always order it when I see it on a menu.  Now, I can make it at home :)

3. Whole Foods is a magical place.  We also picked up some fine looking steaks yesterday.  We'll probably make that tonight - with our CSA corn on the side.

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.

Week #4

The Weekend

Brian's family was in town for one more weekend, and my parents came to visit, too.  Mari and Luis also stopped by on Sunday, and we cooked up ALL NIGHT.

What's in the box?

- Dill 

- Yellow and Green Zuchinni

- Swiss Chard

- Garlic

- Lemon Basil 

- Apricots 

- Pattypan Squash

- Green Onion

What to make... 

*Dinner: Grilled Salmon with a Cucumber/Dill Sauce

*Cucumber/Dill Sauce

- 2 cucumbers, diced

- Fresh dill, chopped

- Plain greek yogurt (~2 cups)

- Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: Peel the skin off the cucumbers.  Slice the cucumbers in half, scoop out seeds.  Dice them up.  Add chopped dill, then add yogurt and stir.  Salt and pepper to taste.  And that's it - tastes just like Tzaziki sauce.

*Grilled Vegetables

- 2 Zuchinnis - 1 yellow, one green

- 1 Pattypan Squash

- Leftover beets

Directions: As with the cucumber, slice the zuchinnis in half (the long way) and scoop out seeds.  Cut into long pieces - about 2".  Cut the top off the pattypan squash; scoop out any seeds.  Slice into manageable pieces, too.  For the beets: just rinse and cut off the tops.  You can slice them or grill them whole, skin and all.  Put the vegetables directly onto the grill.

*Side of Roasted Red Potatoes (pictured above, to right of vegetables)

- 1 quart of red potatoes

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1/4 - 1/2 cup Olive Oil

- Rosemary, to taste

- Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: Cut the potatoes into quarters.  Toss in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook at 400 for about an hour.  Use a baking sheet to ensure that they're cooking evenly.

 Lessons Learned
1. For the first time in our salmon-eating lives, we threw the skin and the dark meat away right away.  This is the fishiest tasting and smelling part of the fish.  Because we tossed that part, I was able to eat leftover salmon on a spinach salad for two days in a row after this meal.

2. The Dill/Cucumber sauce also saved really well, and also made it onto a salad for two more days.  We didn't know what we would do with the dill when we first saw it - this sauce was really, really good.  Makes me want to cook something Greek.
3. Scooping the seeds out of vegetables like cucumber, squash, and zucchini makes the end-product less squishy.  Which is what we were going for...

Week #3

The Weekend

Having successfully packed my classroom into the trunk of my car, I went to New York this weekend to celebrate Sara's upcoming wedding.  Brian and I picked our vegetables up, and then he shipped me off to the Bachelorette party so he could enjoy some bro/X-box time for a couple of days.  His mom and Aunt Connie arrived (from California!) to begin a week-long visit to DC late Sunday night. 

What's in the box?

- Swiss Chard

- Bibb Lettuce

- Red Lettuce

- Dark Red Cherries

- Broccoli

- Lemon Basil

- Beets

- Green Onion

What to make...


*Para Beber... Brandied Cherries!

Ingredients: 

- Quart of Cherries

- 2 Lemons, for Peels

- Brandy

- Simple Syrup

- Cinnamon Sticks

- Cloves

- You will also need: a Cherry Pitter

Directions, courtesy of a friendly neighborhood bartender :)

Fill jar 1/2 to 3/4 way full with Brandy.  Fill some of the remaining space with cherries, pitted.  Top with simple syrup, but leave some room.  Add all other ingredients, to taste.  Let it sit in the fridge for a week, as pictured below.

*Dinner: Grilled Chicken with Beet Risotto

*Side: Beet Risotto

*This recipe can be found on epicurious.com at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Beet-Risotto-230999

*Breakfast: Healthy Egg White Omelette 

Ingredients (for 1 omelette)

- 5 egg whites

- Carmelized onion (just make the whole thing and use what you want)

- Swiss Chard

- Fat Free Feta Cheese

Directions: 

1. To carmelize an onion - chop the onion into thin slices.  Then, cook "low and slow" - i.e. at a very low heat, and for a long time, until the onion browns.  Add a pinch of sugar if you'd like a sweeter taste.

2. Sautee the swiss chard with a little olive oil.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice, if you would like to.  I usually do.

3. Separate your egg whites.  Put 'em in a pan.  Add onion and swiss chard to the egg as it cooks.  Then, add the Feta cheese right before you fold the omelette in half.

Lessons Learned
1. Who knew there were so many types of beets?  I still think they taste weird.  

2. Brian's mom took the lead on the Risotto - and it was pretty awesome, even though it "tastes like beets" :)
3. We used the Brandied Cherries in an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan.  They taste great with Bourbon, but in the future we will use less brandy/less cloves and more simple syrup.

Week #2

The Weekend
The last day of class was yesterday.  In case you didn't catch that: THE LAST DAY OF CLASS WAS YESTERDAY!!!!!  I have (almost...) officially made it through my first year of teaching.  It's surreal.  And it makes me want to sleep in/eat/drink.

Brian's friend Robbie is visiting this weekend.  This led us to several cool spots (with el Todd-o, too).  Friday: Meridian Pint, Taylor Deli, Black Jack at Pearl Dive, The Passenger.  Saturday: American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery, Ming's for Chinese in Chinatown, the Sculpture Garden (see also: make your own Tinto de Verano), and then the Willard Hotel for Mint Julips.

We were the first ones to arrive at the Farmer's Market stand to pick up our vegetables this morning.  We were there before they had even labeled the boxes.  Last week's mishaps = redeemed!


What's in the box?

- Mint leaves 

- Beets

- Romaine Lettuce

- Red Lettuce

- Chives

- Garlic Scapes

- Scallions

- Swiss Chard

What to make...

*Dinner for 4 - Grilled Steak with...

Appetizer: Apple/Bacon Salad

- 2 types of lettuce, chopped

- 1 pink lady apple, chopped

- 4 slices bacon, chopped

- Black pepper, to taste

Homemade Salad Dressing

A first attempt...

*Note: I only did this because I said I would last week.

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 1/2 cup balsamic

- several shakes of Penzey's Ranch dressing spice (~2 tablespoons)

- 1/4 cup feta cheese

Directions: Make the dressing first.  Toss the lettuce(s) in the dressing.  Top with apple and bacon and black pepper to taste. 

Side: Mashed Baked Potato

- 3 large potatoes

- 1/4 cup milk

- 2 tablespoons Garlic Scape/Scallion Compound Butter (see: Week 1)

- 1/2 to 1 cup(s) fresh Cheddar cheese, grated

- Chives, to taste

Directions: Peel potatoes.  Slice into quarters.  Bring potato to a boil, then simmer until they're soft (this takes about 20-25 minutes).  Drain the water.  Add: milk, compound butter, cheese, and chives to taste.  

Side: Swiss Chard

- 1 bunch Swiss Chard

- 3 garlic cloves, minced

- Splash of olive oil

- 1/4 lemon (for the juice)

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Making Swiss Chard is just like making Spinach.  Throw the olive oil in a pan - throw the garlic in once that's heated.  Add the Swiss Chard, then lemon juice.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Side: Grilled Scallions

- As many scallions as you want/have

- Nothing else... assuming you have a grill up and burning 

Directions: just throw them on the grill.  They come out kind of sweet - not too overwhelming at all.

Lessons Learned
1. Put the vegetables in the fridge when you get home from the market - even if you plan to make them that day.  I accidentally left a window open, and there was some wilting again this week, despite our early bird arrival to the market. 
2. Ever tried Kraken rum?  It's from Indiana (like Robbie).
3.  Grilled Green Onion.  It's okay to eat the bulb.  Actually, it's pretty good.  DO IT - I DARE YOU! 
4. Penzey's Spices.  They're the best, and there are shops all around.  Site: http://www.penzeys.com/
5. "I could just eat this Compound Butter on its own" -- Robbie.  "Brian, did you put Compound Butter on your steak?!  You can do that!?" -- Todd. 
6. Swiss Chard cooks like spinach, but it doesn't taste like spinach.  It tastes like Swiss Chard.  Do not be fooled.  The End.