Week # 5: A Week of Family

My family lives all across the country.  I have relatives in Oregon, Arizona, Maryland, Iowa, Washington, Utah, Delaware, Minnesota and Wisconsin (and more).  With that being said, we do not get to see each other very often.  Some people may find that very odd, but it is just the way I was raised.  I am not used to having family live close by or just drop in.  Though being spread out has its downsides, it also has its pluses.  First it means I get to travel to really cool places and usually stay for free with my own personal guide – and I have been doing this since I was very little.  Second, it means when we do get to see each other it’s a really big deal.  This week I got to hang out with my brothers, their wives and kids, along with 2 of my uncles and their families.  We all had such a great time catching up…and laughing.  Lots and lots of laughing.  J

Though my little family is just my husband, my dog and me, I do feel it is still a family.  And family dinners have always been important to me.  It’s a time to catch your breath, talk about your day and enjoy something together.  I find our little family dinners even more enjoyable when B and I both put in some labor and come out with something incredible.  Growing up, we almost always all ate together but Sundays were the big meal that you HAD to be home for.  No excuses.  I have discovered that B and I also end up having a bigger, more elaborate meal on Sundays.  I think just out of habit.  Below is one of those big meals.  They make so proud.  So satisfied.  And so happy.

Sunday Supper:
- Pork Chops (that Bryan butchered himself in a class at Underground Butcher) with a Brown Sugar Glaze
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-brown-sugar-pork-chops/
-Sauteed Zucchini (from the Farmer's Market) with Basil (from my garden) and dollops of Goat Cheese
-Roasted Baby Turnips (from my CSA) with Mustard Vinaigrette -- really liked this new recipe! I added thyme in the vinaigrette because I love the combo with the turnips
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-baby-turnips-with-parsley-mustard-vinaigrette
- Lettuce Salad (from my CSA) with blue cheese and Champagne dressing
-And yes, B and I drink milk with our meals, just like our Mom's raised us to do  :-)

Sunday Supper

Roasted Turnips with Mustard Vinaigrette and Sauteed Zucchini 

Obviously, we can't eat those big dinner every night!  On the weeknights, we have stir fry.  Great way to use up a lot of veggies.  In this one we use Broccoli, Mushrooms, Napa Cabbage, and Green Onion.

A very green Stir fry

Finally, here is what we got this past week in the CSA!  Zucchini, Broccoli, Chard, Green Onions, Kohl Rabi, Beets, and Basil.  And a Giant bowl of potato chips! -- Just kidding.

Week #5

Stay warm this week with the Summer Polar Vortex....so strange!  Will be interesting to see what this does to our CSA the next couple weeks.

Week #4: Chugging Along

I don't know about you, but this summer is flying by!  I can't believe it is already after the 4th and we only have 25 days until our trip.  EEK!  I have been pretty good at getting through all of the vegetables so far. We are starting to back up on lettuce a little bit but that just means I need to eat more salads, which I'm ok with.  Here are a few things I made this week with all of our veggies.  I don't have a picture from this week's CSA because my husband picked it up and put it all away for me before I got home (which was very helpful!).  But we got broccoli, cilantro, fennel, napa cabbage, salad mix, green onions, sugar snap peas (HUGE bag), and rhubarb.


Veggie Pasta Bake -- GREAT way to use up a ton of veggies.  We had cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini (from the farmers market), fennel (from the CSA), and onion.  I first sauteed them all up with olive oil and garlic while the pasta cooked.  Then just put it all together in a dish with jarred sauce, topped with shredded mozzarella and baked for 15 mins.  Oogey googey and delicious.  And think of how many servings of vegetables you are getting!

Veggie Pasta Bake

Salsa! -- I decided to take a stab at a different (and easier) salsa this time around.  I found one where you just put everything in the food processor and blend.  No need to peel the tomatoes or cook down for hours.  Though I still prefer my usual recipe, this was great if you need something quick.  It probably also would be better if the tomatoes were homegrown instead of from the grocery store.  But I did get to use the cilantro from last week's box, as well as, serranos from our garden.

http://myfrugaladventures.com/2013/05/simple-homemade-salsa-recipe/

Easy Blender Salsa

Garlic Scape Dip:  For this time around with the scapes, I decided to make a dip since I knew I needed to bring something to a 4th of July celebration.  Like the salsa, this is very easy since you just throw everything into the food processor.  It is very similar to a hummus but without tahini. 

http://journeyofanitaliancook.blogspot.com/2012/06/garlic-scape-recipes.html

White Bean Garlic Scape Dip

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!  I leave you with an adorable picture of my dog.  :-)

Kaiser the dog!

My First Harvest! -- And CSA Week #3

Last week was very exciting as we are finally starting to get some veggies in our raised bed!  I am especially excited for the turnips and arugula because we started them from seed.  I have honestly never grown something from seed.  So amazing to see this itsy bitsy fleck because a giant leafy plant!  Also, my tomato plants are HUGE! Around 6 ft I would guess.  Each day when I go out there, I am stunned by how much they have grown.  My tomato cages are probably too small but I can't do anything about that now.  Just something to keep in mind for next year.  We have a few little green tomatoes but nothing ripe yet.

First I will show you some pictures of our CSA and my harvest.  Then there are 2 meals that I am very proud of at the bottom.  Enjoy!

CSA Week #3: Lettuce, Sugar Snap Peas, Cilantro, Strawberries, Garlic Scapes, Baby Turnips, Radishes, Mustard Greens and Fennel

Here is the line up of my herbs -- I had cilantro until this week when I needed to harvest is all since it bolted. -- Basil, Green Onions, Chives, Mint, Parsley, Thyme and Dill

First turnips!  Can't believe these were just little seeds at the beginning of May.  I pulled them early because I like both baby and regular turnips.

I also harvested a TON of arugula and our first peppers; Serrano and Banana

Now that I had all of this fabulous food, it was time to may something tasty with it.  The night I harvested all of the arugula, I just had to use it for dinner.  How neat to think that your food was in the ground only minutes before eating it!  Can't get much more fresh than that!   I made an arugula salad with roasted grape tomatoes topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a side of burrata.  I made this again the next day and added roasted mushrooms as well which I really liked.  Now, sadly besides the arugula nothing else it local but I am going to make this all again soon when I can use my own tomatoes and make my own burrata.
Quick tangent...Burrata is unbelievable.  If you have never had it, PLEASE try it the next time you see it on a menu or at your grocery store.  Every time I eat it, I thank the cheese-gods for its existence.  It is seriously a religious experience for me.  Its super creamy curd stuffed inside a fresh mozzarella outside.  Just so decadent!  I got a cheese making kit for Christmas two years ago and haven't used it yet.  My hope is I can figure out how to make burrata instead of just ricotta and mozzarella separately.

Arugula with roasted tomatoes and burrata!

YAY!  Baby turnips!  That means I get to make my favorite recipe; Braised Baby Turnips.  I know I have posted this the last two years, but I have to post it again!  They are just so delicious. And the reason for the name of my blog.  I used both my turnips and the ones from the CSA.  The ones from the CSA seemed better for this since mine are really supposed to be picked when they are bigger but it was still good. Note: instead of herbed de provence, I always used thyme because I love the flavor and I can pick it fresh off my plant.

http://www.sassyradish.com/2008/06/braised-baby-turnips/

Braised Baby Turnips in olive oil and lemon juice

Our whole meal was Seared Scallops with Chimichurri, sauteed Boy Choy, braised Baby Turnips, Brazillian Cheese bread and cantaloupe.  For the Chimichurri, I used my whole cilantro plant because it started to bolt.  I love this sauce to brighten any meat, or mixed into cream cheese and smeared on a bagel.  The bok choy is sauteed with green onions from my garden and ginger in olive oil.  At the end I just added a splash of mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil.  Finally, I must mention the Brazilian Cheese bread.  I am obsessed with these little cheesy morsels!  They are actually frozen but they are from a small company in Neenah, WI.  I first tried them as a sample at the grocery store where I actually got to meet the owner.  She was so nice and her product was delicious!  Now, we always have a bag of these in the freezer.  They are a perfect companion to any meal that just needs "something else."  They also always seen to impress guests.  And one more plus, they are gluten free!

Chimichurri Recipe -->  http://eclecticrecipes.com/cilantro-chimichurri
Brazilian Bread -->  http://saborzan.com/

Sunday Dinner

Cooking Up a Storm

Well, it's official.  I love cooking.  Each night this week I have come home from work and cooked up a storm.  Monday I made scones, just because they sounded good.  Last night after making dinner for myself, I decided to make a Lovage Soup to use up the herb from the CSA.  And tonight I made a quick sauce to use this weekend  as well as a big orzo dish for dinner.  The dog is all out of sorts because he doesn't understand why I am spending so much more time in the kitchen and not petting him.  It's great having more free time this summer so I can do what I love so much!

LOVAGE SOUP

Lovage is an herb that is very similar to the leafy tops of celery.  I had never had it before but after googling it, a potato-based soup seemed like the best recipe to try it.  This soup tastes very homey and comforting.  I like how the texture is somewhere between brothy soup and a creamy soup.  I decided to add orzo to mine which I think was a necessary addition to add some substance.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/lovage-soup/

Boiling down the potatoes in chicken stock

Not the best picture, but a cup all ready to go to work with me the next day

PARMA AND SPINACH ORZO

The other day I was going through all of my Pinterest recipes noting that I never try any of them.  I ran across this one and thought it would be perfect for using up the last of my Spinach from my CSA.  Pretty basic but tasty. This made be realize I don't eat enough orzo.  What a great little pasta!

http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/10/parmesan-spinach-orzo/

Coming Up:  Pictures of this week's CSA, as well as my first harvest from my garden!

It Begins: CSA Weeks #1 and #2

Here are some pictures of my fresh local food from this past week!  Enjoy!

CSA Week #1: Rhubarb, Swiss Chard, Radishes (very spicy!), and Spinach.  A nice small spring box to ease into the CSA.

CSA Week #2: Swiss Chard, Mixed Greens, Radishes, Baby Turnips, Lovage, Baby Bok Choy and Strawberries.  Great Spring box!

My new raised bed! (Thanks to my dad!)  2 Cherry Tomato plants on the left, turnips along the back, carrots in the middle, peppers in the front and arugula on the right.

Breakfast on Sunday -- Eggs Benedict!  Madison Sourdough Country bread topped with Asparagus from the Dane County Farmer's Mkt, Sunny-sided up egg, bacon from Lodi and Hollandaise sauce.  Farm-Fresh strawberries on the side. 

Strawberries from the farm across the street for my work.  They were still warm from the sun!

I'm Back!!

Well, I’m back!  I first feel I need to apologize for my year hiatus.  I had all intentions to keep my blog going last year but it just didn’t happen.  First, we bought a new house.  With the new house came LOTS of big projects.  I honestly spent every waking moment that I wasn’t at work, working on the house.  We painted 8 rooms, tamed the garden, updated the kitchen with fresh paint and hardware on the cabinets, removed paneling, removed carpet from the stairs and so much more.  Sometimes I look around our house and forget all of the stuff we have already done.  Second, I started a new job right when we bought the house.  My new job is fabulous and I have WAY more free time but I no longer have my ½ day Fridays in the summer.  And those ½ day Fridays were primarily dedicated to writing the blog.  Without them, I was a little lost on when I had time to sit down and do it.  People may not know this about me, but writing really doesn’t come naturally for me.  It doesn’t just flow out.  It takes a lot of time and thought which means each week I was spending 1-2 hours to just recap what I made and try to write something a little witty.  Finally, one HUGE factor on why I didn’t continue the blog last summer is it did what it was supposed to.  I started the blog for myself.  A place for me to keep notes and recipes of what I made in the past.  What I liked and what I didn’t.  Last summer I found myself time and time again going back to the blog and making the same recipes as last year.  I greatly enjoyed it but I didn’t think it would be any fun for someone who was reading to see the exact same recipe as last year. 

With that being said, I am starting back up but with a slightly different format.  I will still take pictures of my CSA each week so everyone can see what I am getting; see what is in season.  I will not be recapping exactly what I do with every item each week.  Instead, I will focus on all local food I am eating.  Food I am getting from my CSA, farmer’s market and even the grocery store that is local.  Each week, I hope to post a 1-2 meals I have made that are especially inspiring and made of mainly local food.  I plan on posting some pictures, the recipes, and if I know them, the farms everything has come from.  I truly love my CSA.  I am excited every Thursday when I get to pick it up, but it’s not the only way to eat fresh local food.  It’s not the only way to support your local farmers.  And it’s not the only thing we eat. 

Also, the month of August the blog will be hijacked to document my month long European adventure.  I am fortunate enough that my husband’s company “pays” for a 4 week vacation to anywhere in the world.  (I use pays loosely because the reimbursement is still taxed).  We have decided to enjoy these wonderful 4 weeks in Europe, specifically Zurich, Monaco, Italy, Bratislava, Budapest and Croatia.  Many people of requested to see what we are doing while we are there.  As long as we have internet, I am hoping to post pictures from each day as well as a quick bullet point of what we did.  Nothing too elaborate since I want to spend my time relaxing and enjoy the culture (read: food and drink), not struggling to find the right words. 

I hope people are too disappointed with the change but I think this will be much more manageable for me.  I am excited to share all of the local food in our area.  And I encourage everyone to go out to their own farmer’s markets.  Try some that was just picked that day.  Try something new that don’t even know what to do with it or how it tastes.  You may surprise yourself, just as I did with turnips.

P.S. I plan on posting my first 2 CSA photos last today along with a few others.  

Weeks 7, 8 and 9: And Peak Begins

After looking back at some posts from last year, I found it very interesting to compare the food and size of the shares.  Though last year we had a pretty bad drought, our farmers irrigated the fields so our shares were still large.  This year, though drought isn't as big of a problem, summer came late so we are seeing smaller shares than last year but you can tell they are about to get much bigger. Finally, tomatoes and cucumbers are ripening and I can start making some of my favorite meals.  It is also time to start making bigger helpings to freeze or give away. A coworker of mine recently had surgery so I am planning on making large portions of my dinners and giving them to her while she recovers.  Besides lots of nummy nutrient rich veggies we have also been eating our salmon CSA.  It is quite delicious!  Once we have eaten all of the King, I will write a post dedicated to just the salmon but you will see it in some of my pictures.  As always, I highly encourage everyone to get out to their local farmers markets this weekend.  We are finally in peak and there is some amazing stuff out there!  Take a risk and try something you have never had before.  You may surprise yourself!

Now on to the food!  Lets start with the shares.

Cucumber, kohlrabi, zucchini, arugula, beets, red turnips, green onions and basil

Beets, lettuce, onion, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, cilantro and a jalapeño

Beans, cherry tomatoes, lots of cucumber, zucchini, onions, purple carrots, cilantro, eggplant and lettuce

BEETS

As you may remember, I don't love beets unless sliced thin and grilled.  Well luckily I received an email from Bon Appetite with a recipe that included grilled beets paired with burrata and a citrus vinegarette so I had to try it. For those of you who don't know what burrata is --- it's pure heaven.  Basically it's fresh mozzarella stuffed with ultra creamy ricotta.  I really loved this salad recipe as the citrus dressing contrasted with the sweetness of the beets.  I added arugula on top since we has some.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Beets-with-Burrata-and-Poppy-Seed-Vinaigrette-51175080?mbid=rotdNL&spMailingID=5598123&spUserID=MjkyNTI0ODQ5NTUS1&spJobID=326350031&spReportId=MzI2MzUwMDMxS0

Grilling the beets on our grill pan

Final result!  It was scrumptious.

BASIL

This was a pretty large bunch of basil so I made my usual pesto recipe. I used a little bit over some pasta one night and froze the rest.  One problem was with the move I discarded our ice cube trays since we now of an ice maker in our fridge.  So I have one big thing of frozen pesto instead of nice portion-sized cubes.  Oh well. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/26396

CUCUMBERS

Over the last few weeks, we have definitely gotten a lot of cucumbers.  One easy way I used them is in a pitcher of water.  Cucumber water is super refresher and was a nice touch when I was hosting some friends.  I also made my mother-in-law's Cucumber Salsa recipe.  Again very refreshing.  It was a big hit while sitting in the sun on my friend's boat.  This recipe also used up the onion, cilantro and jalapeño from one week. 

CUCUMBER SALSA

Cucumbers (2 -3) peel cucumbers, cut lengthwise in quarters, take seeds out, chop

Jalepeno pepper (1) cut, take out seeds, chop

Green 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

 

Pretty cucumber water -- looks like I forgot to take a picture of the salsa

NAPA CABBAGE

Several weeks ago we got some napa cabbage.  Luckily it stayed crisp so I didn't need to rush to use it.  When I finally had a spare hour, I made up the egg rolls I made last summer.  B was begging me to make them.  Though they take a little time, they were easier to make than I remembered.  I also used up some carrots and the green onions.  We actually haven't eaten any of them yet but are planning on it this week.  For now, they are in the freezer waiting to be devoured.

http://www.steamykitchen.com/13029-my-mothers-famous-chinese-egg-rolls-2.html

Sautéing the veggies for the egg rolls

Filling is ready for the rolls!

BEANS

As always we ate the beans raw.  Great snack to bring on my friend's boat!  I also made my typical dilly beans which I didn't realize but B had never had.  Again, super easy.  Just a sauce of dill, sour cream and white vinegar on top of steamed beans.  I truly love dill!!

Dilly Beans with grilled zucchini and Wild Alaskan King Salmon!

LETTUCE

Lots of salads!  My typical salad lately has been topped with blue cheese and French dressing. But I finally made something a little more fun!  My mom and dad went to a cooking class at Whole Foods and gave me the recipes.  One of the recipes was for a BLT Salad.  Overall, pretty obvious but it has an awesome dressing.  I have remade the recipe a couple times already.  Really, homemade dressings are infinitely better than bottled and totally worth the extra time. 

BLT SALAD

6 slices thick cut bacon, chopped

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved, divided

1 head butter lettuce (I used mixed greens)

3-4 slices crusty bread, cubed and toasted

2-3 Tbsp mayo

1-2 Tbsp minced dill

1 clove of garlic, grated

Zest of one lemon

1/2 cup buttermilk

--I added a chopped avocado

Heat a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Carefully remind the bacon, leaving drippings in the pan. Add half of the tomatoes and cook until blistered, 3-4 minutes. Set aside. Whisk together mayo, buttermilk, garlic, lemon zest, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss together bacon, pan-fried tomatoes, raw tomatoes, bread, (avocado), greens and dressing to taste.  

Yield: 2-3 entree servings 7-8 side dishes

ZUCCHINI 

This was probably the most exciting vegetable the last couple weeks!  As always, we grilled them but I also baked with them, made a soup and a lasagna!  First baking...

I made Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins.  I made these last summer as well.  They are amazing!  Super chocolatey -- especially because I put the whole bag of chocolate chips in instead of 1 cup. Num!  I brought then to work and they were a huge hit!  Great way to use up zucchini and be healthy!  And anyone who is scared of the idea...you can't even taste the zucchini.

http://www.simplylifeblog.com/2012/07/double-chocolate-zucchini-muffins-from-whats-baking-in-the-barbershop/

Using my new food processor!  So much easier to shred mass amounts of veggies.

As for the lasagna, this is another repeat from last summer but it is one of my favorites.  A no-bake lasagna with cherry tomatoes and zucchini.  I made it for a couple friends who came over to see the progress of the house.  It was a huge hit! It just tastes like summer.  I splurged on the ricotta cheese and bought some locally made from Whole Foods.  It's not necessary but it makes it all that much better.

http://www.marthastewart.com/334102/no-bake-summer-lasagna?center=276955&gallery=274270&slide=332288

I tried to make it pretty but it's a little hard.  Oh boy was it delicious, though!

And finally soup! Well it was my lucky day when I open my new Food and Wine and found a zucchini soup that took 2.25 lbs of zucchini!  It was also really fast to make-- about 40 min!  I really enjoyed the fresh zucchini taste.  We ate it hot but I think it would be even better served cold.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zucchini-soup-with-creme-fraiche-and-cilantro

Zucchini Soup with grilled King Salmon!

Well once again I feel I need to apologize for not writing every week.  Once all of the house projects are done, I promise to put up some pictures so you can see what has been consuming most of my time.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!