Wow. I have been a delinquent blogger. I have been trying to figure out why it has taken me over 3 weeks to write this blog post. Maybe because I have been very busy between work, working out and such. Or maybe because I have been lazy. Or maybe because I don't have another share coming, so I'm not trying to get through the food as fast. I think it is probably a little bit of all 3. But I think the biggest reason I have been putting this off is I know its the end. I didn't really know how to wrap this all up. The CSA was such a big part of my life for 20 weeks. I had to plan my whole week around it. Planning out recipes that could either be eaten that week or frozen. Finding the time to cook it all up before the next share comes and fills my fridge. Now that it is over I am both sad and relieved. I am of course sad to not be getting amazing fresh, organic vegetables each week. I will have to make more of an effort to make sure I get enough vegetables each day. I am relieved that I will have a little more freedom week-to-week with my meals. Especially since with the colder weather I am craving comfort food.
In the last newsletter from the farm, they recapped the amount we got for a few of the crops for the whole 20 weeks. I thought you would find it interesting...
Beans: 10.29 lbs
Carrots: 9 lbs
Sweet Corn: 3.8 dozen
Tomato Slicers: 21 lbs
Tomato Cherry: 10.8 lbs
Zucchini: 46
Can you believe it? I basically ate all of this since Bryan is travelling most of the time. Its crazy to think about! The farm also offers a Holiday Share which gives you two big shares; 1 before Thanksgiving and 1 before Christmas. I would consider signing up for it if we cooked these meals ourselves but since we celebrate at our families homes, it would be too much food.
So as we move into Winter and Spring, I am planning on still writing entries time-to-time. I love trying new recipes and I would love to share the outcome with everyone. Of course, I will post about my foodie vacations and my upcoming Holiday Party. If you don't want to check back every couple weeks, you can sign-up to get e-mails that tell you when I have posted.
AND finally I want to end on the food. Below are some of the recipes I have made with the last couple weeks of shares. I still have potatoes, acorn squash, shallots, garlic and onions left. I think the best part of all of this is what I got in my last share....TURNIPS!! How ironic! I end right where I started.
FINAL SHARE
Leeks, Shallots, Sugar Pumpkins, Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts, Garlic, Carrots, Potatoes and TURNIPS!
LEEKS
As I said before, I have been craving comfort food. Meals with cream, fat and richness! For the leeks, I found an awesome recipe for a pasta sauce that included cream, bacon, leeks, cheese and mushrooms. It was very fast and easy and delicious served over cheese tortellini.
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| Horrible picture! but delicious. |
BUTTERNUT SQUASH
I have two favorite recipes for butternut squash and I was so happy to see that I had enough to make both recipes.
First I made a Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. The squash is roasted with garlic and sage and then pureed with cream. The sauce is amazing on cheese ravioli or on short pasta like rigatoni with Italian sausage.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA SAUCE
1 medium butternut squash (about 1 ½ pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon dried rubbed sage
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 garlic cloves, peel on
1 cup half-and-half
Pasta (such as cheese ravioli or any short pasta), for serving
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon scoop out seeds; discard.
2. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove and discard skin from garlic.
3. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add half-and-half through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Pour sauce over pasta; toss to coat. Serve with desired toppings such as Parmesan cheese, toasted walnuts or fresh sage.
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| Finishe sauce! |
Second I made a Butternut Squash Soup. I specifically love this one since it has curry powder in it. It is packed with vitamin A with the squash and carrots and fairly low in fat. I love taking this to work for lunch each day.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), quartered lengthwise and seeded
1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, halved horizontally
olive oil for brushing, plus 1 Tbsp
1 whole garlic bulb
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp minced fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
salt to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
2. Place squash segments, skin-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Surround with the onions and carrots. Brush all surfaces lightly with olive oil. Gently remove the loose papery skin from the garlic bulb. Trim off the top stem and about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the garlic bulb, exposing the cloves but leaving them intact; brush lightly with olive oil. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and place on the baking sheet.
3. Roast the vegetables in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until they are very tender. Set aside until the squash and garlic are cool enough to handle.
4. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins; scrape the flesh from the squash; remove the outer layer from the onion. Add half of the garlic, squash, onion and carrots to a blender. Add about 1 cup of vegetable stock and puree until smooth; repeat.
5. Heat the 1 Tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the curry powder; stir for about 30 seconds. Pour the soup into the pan. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of stock, the sherry, brown sugar, pepper, oregano, and cinnamon. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the milk and stir until heated through. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Garnish each serving with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of nuts and fried sage.
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| After roasting the garlic, carrots and squash |
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| Container of soup for work |
SPINACH
A few weeks back we got a large bag of spinach. I knew I wanted to make a salad but at first I didn't know what kind. Then it hit me! A classic Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing. (Again comfort food). I specifically loved this salad because it had you saute the onions and mushrooms which is a great contrast to the fresh spinach.
DELICATA SQUASH
Actually not too much to say here except I really didn't like it. I don't know why. I just sliced and roasted it like Epicurious.com said. I think for me it was just a texture issue. Sometime the mushy thing really bothers me. Oh well...until next year!
PUMPKINS
I had all intentions of making pumpkin ravioli but after reading the recipe a few times, I decided it was just too much work for the time I had. Instead I roasted all of the pumpkins and popped the puree in the freezer for another time. I may still make ravioli but it will need to find a different recipe. I also may try to make some chewy pumpkin cookies from Martha Stewart. My mom tried them last week and said they came out beautifully. Please see the link to read about roasting and pureeing pumpkins. I would highly recommend putting the puree in a mesh sieve lined with paper towel before storing. After about an hour, I had over 1 cup of water in the bowl.
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| Cooked Pumpkins |
TURNIPS
I am so happy I get to end on turnips. With big turnips my favorite thing to make is Turnip Gratin. Turnips have a little bitterness that I love compared to the richness of the cheese. This recipe has a little heat as well with a few dashes of cayenne. I can't wait to bring this to Thanksgiving and make everyone have their first taste of turnips!
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| Thinly sliced turnips layered in the pan |
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| 1/2 gone! |
