Potato-cabbage-kale soup

 

After I unpacked this week's box, I had a hard time getting everything into the fridge because there were so many damn potatoes in there. I love potato-leek soup, but didn't have any leeks. What I did have was a head of savoy cabbage and a bunch of kale that were on their last legs, so Internet recipes to the rescue!

After peeling about 20 potatoes (Carl asked me if I felt like a serf), I started out making colcannon (traditional Irish side dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage) but then realized that perhaps having JUST mashed potatoes for dinner might not be so nutritious.  So, I modified this recipe as follows in order to make a soup: I didn't drain the liquid after cooking the cabbage (and kale - just threw it in there with the cabbage); I put about half of the potatoes, greens, and sauteed onions in the food processor, then added it back into the cooking pot with the rest of the potatoes, greens, and onions. Oh, I also had some parsnips to use so I chopped those up and cooked with the potatoes - yum yum!

In retrospect, I would have used stock to cook the potatoes and greens in instead of water, as that would have made the soup more flavorful (one of the pitfalls of changing intentions halfway through cooking). I made a huge quantity so we could have some for another dinner later in the week -- probably at least twice the proportions of the original recipe.

Farm share week 23

In this week's box:

• Carrots: 2 lbs
• Butternut squash: 3.75 lbs
• Avocado: 1 lb
• Turnip: 0.75 lb
• Lettuce: 1 lb
• Bok choi: 1 lb
• Chard: 1 lb
• Celeriac: 0.5 lb
• Parsley: 0.25 lb

Well, I can see now why the bok choi we had been getting was referred to as "baby bok choi," because this guy is enormous compared to them. But the butternut squashes are scaled down this week -- each about half as big as the ones we got a few weeks ago. Speaking of butternut squash, I made a great curried squash soup last week that was a big hit here among people who don't like squash. Here's the recipe.

The thing in the middle that looks like a pineapple gone wrong is celeriac, or celery root. I had seen it listed on this week's newsletter (PDF) but had forgotten and was like, what the hell is this thing? The top of it does actually smell like celery. I think a person is supposed to cut it up and roast it with other root vegetables.

No apples this week, bummer, although an avocado is a nice treat (it's via the East Coast produce sharing program that my farm belongs to). I wish they'd stop sending parsley every week or so -- how much parsley can a person eat, I ask you?

Potato leek soup

Since I could basically start my own root cellar right now with the number of potatoes I've got stockpiled in the fridge, I decided to make some of them into soup. I'd also gotten some leeks in the past week's box, so thought potato leek soup would be a good option (thanks to Amanda for the suggestion!).

One of the great things about getting recipes from the Internet is you can basically keep browsing until you find a recipe that calls only for the things that you have on hand and not for things you don't have. A lot of potato leek soup recipes include cream, which I didn't have at the time (not something I tend to keep on hand). A lot of them also called for only using one leek, and I had three. So, I kept browsing the Google results until I found a recipe that called for three leeks and no cream!  Here it is: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/potato_leek_soup/.  (I also didn't have any marjoram or thyme, but I never let the lack of certain herbs stop me from making something... I just throw in whatever I have at the time.)  The soup was delicious, so much so that we ended up having the leftovers later the very same evening...

Pasta with chicken, pesto, and tomatoes

I've made pesto only once before, the summer after my first year of college when I first discovered Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook. I was living in an apartment off-campus with a big kitchen and spent that summer making a lot of things from that cookbook (ratatouille, pita bread, pesto...) that were not part of my food experience growing up. It was a lot of fun, but a LOT of work to chop up all this stuff by hand.  Now that I'm all grown up and have a food processor, I'm finding that these recipes I tried once years ago are SO MUCH EASIER. I made this pesto in about 10 minutes; no chopping required. 

I used this recipe from the Food Network.  (I tend to use online recipes a lot for two reasons: I don't have to make a shopping list because I can just refer to the recipe on my iPhone while I'm in the store, and I like reading users' comments and suggestions for improvements/variations.)  I sauteed the chicken in some olive oil in the cast iron skillet (and used a tad less olive oil in the pesto to balance it out). When it was cooked, I added the cooked and drained pasta and the pesto, stirred to coat everything with the pesto, and added some chopped tomatoes. (The tomatoes don't need to be cooked -- just let them sit in with the pasta for 5 minutes to warm up if they've been in the fridge.)

Farm share week 11

In this week's box:

• Corn: 1.75 lbs
• Celery: 1 lb
• Cucumbers: 1.75 lbs
• Eggplant: 1.5 lbs
• Green pepper: 1 lb
• Tomatoes: 1.5 lbs
• Tomatillos: 0.75 lb
• Canteloupe: 2.5 lbs
• Parsley: 0.5 lb
• Basil: 0.5 lb

This week's newsletter (PDF) announced the inclusion of another new item for me -- tomatillos.  They're used a lot in Mexican cooking, so I guess that means some enchiladas are in our future. :)

I learned this week that I've been storing my fresh herbs incorrectly. I thought they should go in perforated bags in the crisper like the other leafy things we get, but according to Joy of Cooking, that's only the case for herb leaves that aren't on the stem. If they're bunches of herbs still on the stem, they should be stored with their stems in water (like a bouquet), outside the crisper. Hoping this means that this parsley and basil will last longer... I'll keep you posted.

Remember last week, when I got a ton of stuff that I knew Carl wouldn't eat?  Well, it happened to be the annual picnic at work this week, and everyone was tasked to bring a salad or a dessert.  I love baking, so usually that would be a no-brainer for me, but I decided to veer off course this year and roast up some veggies instead. I sliced up beets, zucchini, squash, eggplant, and green pepper; marinated them on baking sheets in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and roasted them at 375° for 30-40 minutes.  Cooled 'em, dumped 'em in a Tupperware, and brought to picnic. Came home with empty Tupperware, hooray!

Spanikopita

Okay, this is really kale-ikopita, because we don't have spinach, but we sure have kale. I figured one leafy green could be substituted for another without too much trouble. I think the kale definitely gives it a stronger "greens" flavor, but it was still really good! And I used up two entire bunches of kale, which is such a satisfying feeling. :)

I used the recipe for spanikopita in The Joy of Cooking (my first stop for recipes). It was my first time working with phyllo dough sheets, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. It's time-consuming, though -- I don't see this dish making it into the regular rotation, but it's great for "special."  It certainly gives me respect for the cooks who make tons of this and cheese pies on a daily basis in all those cafes in Greece. (And some of them probably make the dough by hand, too, which boggles the mind...)

...Think I'm going to go finish off the leftovers of this now!

Sesame-peanut noodles

It's been so hot here lately that cold dinners are really appealing. This week I made this sesame-peanut noodle dish -- it can be served hot or cold, or somewhere in between (which is what happens when you put it in the fridge to chill but then get too hungry to wait until it's completely cold).

I used soba noodles for this dish -- they only need to be boiled for a few minutes because they're thin. I tore up a head of kale (remove the leaves from the stems and the thick rib that goes up the middle, tear leaves into bite-sized pieces) and threw that in with the noodles. Since the noodles only take a few minutes, the leaves will turn bright green and not be cooked completely into mushy oblivion, which is nice for this dish.  Drain the noodles and kale and let them sit in the colander in the sink while you prepare the rest: heat up a tablespoon or two of sesame oil in the same pot you boiled the noodles in. Throw in some tofu cubes, chopped up scallion if you have it, and a tablespoon of sesame seeds. After a couple of minutes, add the cooked noodles and kale back in, and stir fry it for a few minutes. As you can see, I also had some purple cabbage that I added at this point. While this is happening, soften a tablespoon or two of peanut butter in the microwave. Some people add milk to make it more saucy, but I didn't. Stir this into the noodles. Season with cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Put the whole mess in the fridge and cool for as long as you see fit. Top with chopped cucumbers if you like. (Can you tell I'm not a rigid recipe follower?)

Cool, colorful, and tasty!

Kale chips

I had heard about kale chips before (basically, a healthier version of potato chips), but hadn't gotten around to trying them before now. They couldn't be easier, and it's a great way to use up a bunch of kale.

To start, preheat the oven to 350. Tear up the kale leaves into large-ish bite-size pieces, keeping in mind that they'll shrink in the oven. Be sure to separate the stems and the central "rib" of each leaf and discard.  Rinse leaves well and completely dry.

Kale: Before

Put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. (Depending on how much kale you have, you might need two sheets.)  Arrange the kale leaves on the parchment, avoiding overlap as much as possible. Brush leaves with olive oil and sprinkle with desired seasonings. I did one batch with seasoned salt and grated parmesan cheese, and another batch with sea salt and rice vinegar. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until leaves are crisp -- they should be browned but not burned.

Kale: After

Eat and enjoy!  I definitely made these waaay too salty, so I would advise going easy on the salt...  They also need to be eaten right away, as they don't seem to maintain their crispness after a while.

Souvlaki with roasted potatoes and tzatziki

The Greek restaurant in our area closed unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago (like, 2 days after we last ate there... we had no idea it was coming). Since Carl and I got married in Greece last fall, I've developed a fondness for Greek food but had never tried preparing it myself. We're starting to have a bit of a cucumber situation in the fridge, and short of pickling them all, I thought I'd try making tzatziki (Greek yogurt with chopped cucumbers and herbs, drizzled with olive oil). I make my own yogurt anyways, and it's super easy to "Greek" it by letting it strain through a coffee filter or cheesecloth overnight.  I used the recipe for tzatziki in The Joy of Cooking, which was simple.

Once I had the tzatziki, then I had no choice but to build a Greek menu around it. :) I made chicken souvlaki (kebabs) on our George Foreman grill, marinating the chicken first and using farm share zucchini and non-farm onion. I also roasted some farm share potatoes in the toaster oven (it's way too hot to have the big oven on). Delicious! I only wished I had had some olives to go with it...

Potatoes with collard greens

Potatoes seem to have replaced lettuce here as the vegetable we have too much of. Fortunately, they generally last longer than lettuce does; nevertheless, another week of potatoes in the shipment and we'll need to dig a root cellar.

Fried potatoes (aka home fries) are a quick and filling dinner, which can be combined with a variety of different ingredients to produce a relatively healthy meal (I use olive oil, and it's really more of a saute than any kind of deep-fry). First I cooked the potatoes in some water to soften them up (right in the skillet, about an inch of boiling water + potatoes, cover and simmer on medium for about 10 minutes). This is about 4 medium potatoes, by the way.  Then I threw in about a pound of collard greens, rinsed and shredded (don't put the stems in). Cover again  for a couple of minutes to wilt the greens. Then, I drained the potatoes and greens in a colander and let them sit there while I sauted some chopped-up onion in olive oil. Once the onion was soft, I threw the potatoes and greens back into the skillet, added some more olive oil (1-2 Tbsp), and fried it all up. Keep the heat on medium or the greens will disintegrate.  I also added some sliced up veggie sausage (Field Roast, the best you will ever taste!). Seasoned with cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt/pepper, and some fresh parsley.

As you can see from the photo, I threw some corn in a pot of boiling water while all this happened. Meal prep totaled about 20 minutes.

P.S.: After the corn water cooled, I used it to water some of my outdoor plants.

Farm share weeks 4 and 5

Special double post this week! I was out of town last week, so Carl picked up the box at City Feed. When I came home on Sunday night, I got the veggies out of the fridge and took a photo, but catching up on life/work took a little longer than planned and so I didn't get a chance to actually post about the share until now.

So, here's week 4:

In the box:

• Red leaf lettuce
• Collard greens
• Parsley
• Red potatoes
• Grape tomatoes
• Popcorn!
• Strawberries (not pictured due to their having been mostly eaten by the time I got home)

Sorry, no weights given this week... I forgot to weigh everything. Carl did report that the box seemed lighter than 10 pounds, so that's the second week in a row.

It's been really nice to have this fresh parsley -- usually I just get dried parsley from the bulk herbs and spices bins at Harvest Co-op. But fresh has so much more flavor! This week I used it in an omelet and with some fried potatoes and turnips. The Enterprise Farm newsletter highlighted it, as well (PDF).

The strawberries were tasty, and I was disappointed to not get more of them this week. I resorted to buying supermarket strawberries in order to make strawberry popsicles* in my new popsicle molds (thank you, Freecycle).

* Note on recipe: I used soy milk instead of cow's milk, and agave nectar instead of refined sugar. They taste great! But I would probably strain the seeds out next time.

~~~

Week 5:

In the box:

• Green leaf lettuce
• Kale
• Red cabbage
• Zucchini (4)
• Cucumber (giant)
• Yukon Gold potatoes (5)
• Beets (3)

Sorry, I forgot to weigh the things again. But this box definitely felt closer to 10 pounds. (The leafy greens in previous weeks filled up the box, so maybe they should really tell us that they calculate a week's share by volume rather than weight. Obviously potatoes and beets will weigh more than parsley.)

No berries this week, sad.  And upon reading the weekly farm newsletter (PDF), I was super-excited to get garlic scapes in this week's box. But they must have only gone in the larger shares, so disappointing! I've been reading a lot recently about garlic scapes and was looking forward to having them in that omelet I mentioned above.

I think it's time for another update on how well we're managing to consume the food each week, and how long it lasts in the fridge. We are definitely not coming close to eating everything we get each week. But I have to say, this stuff lasts a lot longer than I expected, even the lettuce. I'm thinking it's because it's coming straight from the farm to us, whereas lettuce and whatnot that's bought in the store has generally gone from the farm to a distributor to the store to me. In other words, the produce we're getting is a lot fresher, so it lasts longer once we get it. So far I've only had to toss half a cucumber and some individual leaves of lettuce that were a bit past it. With greens that are going to be cooked (like kale), it's okay if it gets a little wilted. With the lettuce, I generally can get away with trimming the edges off leaves and using the rest.

Beet L.A.!

Carl likes beets about as much as I like watching basketball ("Tastes like dirt!" pretty much sums it up for both of us).  So, I did a little jig tonight when he told me he was going over to his friend's place to watch the NBA finals, because, you know, no basketball background noise for me. It was also the perfect opportunity for me to cook all the beets and beet greens we got in our first two boxes.

I peeled and chopped up two large-ish beets and cooked them in water in the microwave for about 8 minutes -- so they were mostly cooked but still needed a little more.  I chopped up all the greens and blanched them in my cast iron skillet (they cook down like spinach to about a quarter of their original bulk), then added olive oil and chopped onion, and sauteed. Then I threw in the drained, mostly cooked beets and stirred them around to coat with oil. Since the skillet retains heat well, I turned the heat off and covered for ~5 minutes, then ate with some parmesan cheese on top. Delicious! 

(Sorry I forgot to take a picture!)

Ever feel like someone's watching you?

I stored the Yukon Gold potatoes in the pantry, because that's where I always put potatoes (I read in How to Pick a Peach that refrigeration converts the starch in potatoes to sugar, so should be avoided). I usually have no problem with keeping potatoes in the pantry, but I noticed last night that these guys were regarding me beadily with newly formed eyes. They were also starting to get soft. It has been pretty hot here lately; perhaps the "cool, dry place" that the pantry is supposed to be isn't really happening. So, they got chopped up and fried last night in the cast iron skillet. (Along with a farm share carrot.)

In other meal prep news:
Sunday night: My neighbor, coworker, and fellow CSAer Amanda advised that when she gets a lot of salad greens, she makes a salad with grilled chicken and a couple of veggies on top. I decided to make an approximation of the Santa Fe Chicken Salad from our local burrito place -- lots of greens, grilled chicken, shredded carrot and beet (thank you, thrift-store Cuisinart), chopped tomato (from the market, not quite up to par yet), shredded cheese, and some leftover beans and quinoa from a meal earlier in the week. Served with corn on the cob.  It was REALLY good. Sorry, Purple Cactus.

With two days left until the next box of produce arrives, we still have left: a ton of carrots, a whole onion, two beets, a bag of beans, a zucchini, and about half the lettuce/mixed greens. eep.

We're going to need a bigger fridge.

Contents of the first box!

The farm says that a half-share is generally about 10 pounds of stuff per week. They send a newsletter each week that lists everything they're sending out; cautioning that because of different pickup sites and different share sizes, you might not get everything on the list. Here's this week's newsletter (PDF).

Here's what we actually got:

• Potatoes: 1.25 lbs.
• Zucchini: 0.5 lbs. (I never heard it called "summer squash" until I moved to New England)
• Vidalia onion: 0.75 lbs.
• Beets: 1.5 lbs.
• Carrots: 2 lbs.
• Romano beans: 1 lb.
• Mixed salad greens: 0.5 lbs.
• Lettuce: 1.75 lbs.
• Blueberries: 6 oz. pkg.

We started eating the blueberries right away, and they were delicious. I set about putting away all the stuff, using the guidelines in The Joy of Cooking (my go-to vegetable reference; there might be better ones out there, but this is what I rely on) for proper storage of each veg.  I'm hoping that proper storage will lead to greater longevity/less wastage. It turns out I could use an entire refrigerator that's just crisper drawers... If this stuff doesn't get completely eaten each week, we're going to run out of storage space really fast.


Prepared tonight: Salad of lettuce, mixed greens, two carrots, one zucchini. (Tonight's main course used non-CSA ingredients.) We ate half the salad; I hope it'll get finished tomorrow.