This week as been extremely frustrating. Once again, my work life has gotten in the way of my real life -- the parts of my life that I enjoy. Working 13 hours day, on the computer until 11:30p and crunching numbers all day Sunday has definitely made it difficult to find time to cook. The good news is work finally slowed down yesterday so now I can re-focus. The bad news is I have a lot of food left over from last week and we just got these week's share. So, I am going to have to write this entry a little different than usual because I started combining the food from the two weeks. This weekend we have decided to go up north to visit B's family. I am hoping to cook and meal plan most of the weekend to get through a lot of this food. And hopefully make a big, Delicious meal Saturday for his family -- because the best way to get through the veggies quickly is to throw a party. :-)
I am going to start with Week 8's picture since I will be combining the food for the 2 weeks. Fennel, Red Onion, Nappa Cabbage, Big tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green bell pepper, cucumbers, eggplant, and zucchini! We are starting to see the transition...less zucchini and more tomatoes. The good think about tomatoes is that there are plenty of recipes you can make and freeze. Zucchini is a little harder.
Zucchini:
We haven't used most of the zucchini this week. I am hoping we will get through it all this weekend. Either by baking it into breads and muffins or having it for dinner with B's family. I did find a recipe I wanted to try that takes 8-10 of them.
Here is the recipe I am hoping to use. http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/09/printer-friendly-recipe-south-beach.html
I did use zucchini last Sunday for a great side dish. It is a traditional Mexican dish with corn, jalapeno and zucchini. I had everything in the recipe from my CSA or my garden besides the corn. I decided to just use canned corn because it was easy. Whenever we have Mexican food I struggle with coming up with a side dish. This ended up being perfect. Light, complimentary flavors and added more veggies to the meal.
Onion:
Obviously I have just been using the onions in everything. The nice thing about the onions being uncured is they are fairly mild. I can use a lot without overpowering a dish. Some things I have used the onion in are tacos, egg scramblers, salsa, pizza, the Corn Zucchini side dish and a stir fry.
Garlic:
I still have most of the garlic left but that's fine. I use a lot of fresh garlic every week so I will get through it before it goes bad. I used to garlic in basically all the same things as the onions. I love not having to buy garlic at the grocery store. We will basically get a replenishment every couple weeks from now on.
Big Tomato:
The big tomato from last week wasn't very ripe but I still ended up using it because I needed one for that Corn Zucchini side dish. I am planning on waiting this week for the tomatoes to ripen. Maybe use them in a salsa or pasta sauce...or just slices with salt and pepper. Num!
Jalapenos:
Again, I have been putting jalapenos in everything again. Specifically this week we used them as a taco topping, scrambled eggs topper, in a cucumber salsa and in that Corn side dish. Luckily I like spicier food because these peppers were pretty hot!
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| Grilled Shrimp tacos with onion, salsa verde, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado and sou cream. |
Carrots:
Once again, we have just been eating these raw. I know, I know. We are very boring. I did put a few of the carrots in a stir fry last night! --- still boring. Oh well.
Nappa Cabbage and Green Pepper:
Both of these are actually from the CSA I received yesterday but they were perfect for the stir fry last night. The cabbage adds an awesome crunch to the stir fry. I think it may because a requirement for my stir fries in the future. The Green Pepper was amazing. If you have never had a homegrown green pepper, you need try one! They taste so much better than the ones in the grocery stores. The taste is so much fresher and the texture is crisper. Makes me wonder what our "orange bell peppers" would have tasted like. Oh well, hopefully next year.
Little Tomatoes:
I love cherry tomatoes. So sweet, like candy. I made caprese salad twice this week for lunch. So easy, so fresh, and you feel great after you eat it! I also use the tomatoes in my scrambler, on top of the pizza and on the tacos. I have combine my own tomatoes with the CSA ones, so I basically have a endless supply right now. My little bowl just keeps filling up! Then, this week's share we got TONS more. I see many caprese salads in my future.
Cucumbers:
This is probably the most exciting this I did this week. My mother-in-law sent me a recipe for a Cucumber Salsa. I was planning on making refrigerator pickles this week but then a little party at work. I re-read the recipe and realized I had all of the ingredients for the salsa, thanks to the CSA. I whipped it up Wednesday night and brought it into work on Thursday not really knowing what I made. OH MY GOD, it was a HUGE hit!! So refreshing and delicious. It was all gone by 10:30a! I only got about 2 chips worth so I may have to make this again this week. If you need something a little different to bring to a party, this is definitely it!
Cucumbers (2 -3) peel cucumbers, cut lengthwise in quarters, take seeds out, chop
Jalapeno pepper (1) cut, take out seeds, chopGreen bell pepper (1) take seeds out & chop
Vidalia onion (1) peel & chop
Cilantro (1/4 pkg) wash & chop
Lime juice (1 Tbsp)... more or less to taste
Tastes wonderful with "Hint of Lime" Tostitos chips
From last week's share, I still have the eggplant, chard, and fennel left. I am thinking of making fries out of the eggplant but I am not really sure what I am going to do with the rest. I will figure it out...and it will be delicious!
Can you believe we are at the end of July!?!?! I hope everyone takes some time during the peak season the next couple weeks to go to your local farmers market and eat some fresh homegrown food. Eat it slow!! Enjoy every unique flavor and taste the sun and love!
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