Off to the Races, Week 3

13 May 2016

• radishes x2
• rhubarb
• anise hyssop plants x2
• sorrel
• Ethiopian mustard greens (love the sharp bite)
• nettle
• plus ramps! (from a neighbor)

I missed the first two weeks, only to catch the end of the sorrel. It’s been a too-warm winter, too-cool spring.

Menu Week 3

• radishes: raw for munching
• mustard greens: sauteed, stirred into Japanese buckwheat noodles
• sorrel: soup, thickened with potato, cream, 2 eggs; sauteed ramps torn and stirred into soup
• rhubarb: compote with cherries, braised duck legs in compote, sauteed ramps on side
• nettles: dunked in pasta water until cooked through, stirred into pasta carbonara
• bonus: sea scallops with ramps; ramps ‘n scrambled eggs

Sorrel is so terribly delicate. Next year, blanch and puree.

Turn! Turn! Turn!

The results of veggie FOMO

It’s been busy since the last post, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped supporting J&A Farm with a CSA share. In fact, as crazy change happens, Jeff, Adina, their family, and the food they grow are one of the grounding forces throughout the year.

The blog goals for CSA Year 2016 are to document what I buy every week and what I cook with it. This will mainly take the form of lists with the occasional random longer post. Better to be brief and consistent than sporadically long-winded.

And for the first time ever, I made a New Year’s resolution: to overcome my veggie FOMO. In 2015 I bought five pounds of sunchokes and twenty pounds of tomatoes because… they were there! and they might never come back!! Ever!!! Actually, I cooked and froze the tomatoes for winter et voila, no scurvy. But five pounds of sunchokes just causes flatulence, and many bags of fine produce were wasted.

The point of my resolution is to appreciate the gifts of each week in the season and then to let them go. I can’t preserve everything all the time. The climate hasn’t changed so much – yet – that there won’t be ground cherries or arugula or sunchokes next year. And if the climate does change, then I guess Jeff can work some okra into the rotation. Until then, I’ll appreciate the fruits of his labor and what the season brings.

Strange Bedfellows, Week 14

8 August 2014

• anise hyssop
• cilantro
• cranberry beans
• ground cherries
• leeks
• radishes
• red cabbage
• red potatoes
• spearmint
• tomatillos

Time to dip a toe into fall veggies AND make some salsa.

Farm Tour! Week 13

3 August 2014

More details and pics to follow.

Veggie FOMO, Week 13

1 August 2014

• Carola potatoes
• eggplant
• garlic
• ground cherries
• jalapeno pepper
• leeks
• serrano pepper
• string beans
• tomatoes
• zucchini

The refrigerator is still reeling from the bounty of Week 12, but I can’t stop myself! This wonderful-ness won’t last forever.

A, B’s, C’s and Greens, Week 12

25 July 2014

• anise hyssop
• basil
• carrots
• fava beans
• kirby cucumbers
• lemony cucumbers
• tropea onions
• purple string beans
• tuscan (aka lacinato aka dinosaur) kale

This is the time of summer where every meal is easy.

Adventure! Week 11

18 July 2014

Ginger and the Skipper had a vacation. The vegetables did not.

Summer, with a Vengeance, Week 10

11 July 2014

• chamomile
• fava beans
• kirby cucumbers
• tropea onions
• spearmint
• spinach
• stevia
• tuscan kale
• zucchini

1 minute: The amount of time it takes to buy $15 worth of fava beans.

1 hour: The amount of time it takes to shell and hull $15 worth of fava beans.

Recovering from the Herb Binge, Week 9

4 July 2014

• red kale
• chamomile

Who can think of hot dogs when the chamomile smells like a high mountain meadow at noon.

Herbs & Alliums, Week 8

27 June 2014

• carrots
• chamomile
• fresh garlic
• garlic scapes
• lavender
• purslane
• sorrel
• spring onions
• thyme

A week of whimsical choices where I try to offset my allium obsession with colorful veggies. Healthy, vitamins – blah, blah, blah. Mainly, they’re pretty. And purslane sounds medieval.