how i spent my summer vegetables

why a blog on vegetables?

we didn't eat many vegetables when i was growing up. we ate all the usual suspects - corn, broccoli, frozen peas and carrots - but nothing really adventurous. i'm pretty sure i didn't ever have asparagus until i went to college.

this is the third year i've participated in the lancaster farm fresh CSA here in south philly. each year i get a little more familiar or daring with cooking and eating all the amazing veggies we pick up each week, lug to our houses and divvy up the fruits and greens and summer foods. (we share our share with our totally inspiring neighbor, leslianna). 

my goal for this year is the same as last years: to waste as little of it as possible. which means lots of googling and recipe scouting and talking to people about the best way to eat, prepare, freeze, pickle and enjoy it all. and unavoidably eating my five a day. i figured a blog would be a fun place to share all the learning, as well as a resource for when the mystery produce starts again next spring.

if you have a moment, please feel free to stop by my other blog, all things girlscantell. enjoy!

black bean and corn vegetarian stuffed peppers

this dinner used up a whole lot of the veggies in our fridge (thank goodness, at this point, we need the space! our fridge has been stuffed to the gills with vegetables for a few weeks now).

we made vegetarian stuffed peppers, with the recipe variation in the infallible cook's test kitchen cookbook that cute erik so wisely invested in a few months ago. (we've yet to find any recipe that even barely resembles a flop from that book, and at this point, i don't expect to ever find one). 

in trying to search for a link for you all so  you can see exactly how awesome this dish was, i realized it's part of the 'premium content' on the cooks test kitchen website. since i can't emphasize strongly enough how awesome this cookbook's been, instead of potentially violating a copyright and posting it here, i'll just give you a list off the top of my head of the good stuff in the filling and tell you that it's worth the cost of the book if you're just dying to make it yourself.

the filling included:

- white rice
- monterey jack (though we subbed in cheddar + some mozzarella)
- a can of black beans
- corn
- jalapenos
- green peppers
- tomatoes
- onion

i think i just like stuffed vegetables in general - i've always been a fan of stuffed cabbage.

enjoy!

adventures in beet eggs.

i love beets. i unabashedly declare this love of beets pretty much every chance i get. it's true.

so when i tried pickled beet eggs for the first time a few weeks ago, i became obsessed. this obsession was only heightened by our recent trip to amish country, when i realized it's a traditional pennsylvania dutch / amish food. yay! 

i was sure to pick up a good local cookbook that had a recipe for pickled beet eggs in it, since we still get beets quite often in our farm share. and i love them.

turns out the recipe in the cookbook i bought didn't make as much sense when i actually read it in preparation to begin making the eggs than it did when i skimmed it in the shop. faaaaan-tastic. google to the rescue. only most of the recipes i found called for jarred beets. which is fine, except that a goal in making this dish was to use my fresh beets. 

to make pickled beet eggs, here's what i did:

boiled about 5 smallish / medium beets in about 3 cups water.
hard boil 8 large eggs.

when the beets and the eggs were sufficiently boiled, i removed both from their respective pans of water. don't discard the beet water. let the eggs cool and set them aside. the beets i peeled and set them aside. 

to the beet water, i added 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup sugar. i let this reach a boil, then reduced it to a simmer for about 15 minutes. peel the eggs, leaving them whole. then let the beet water mixture cool slightly, and pour it over the peeled beets and eggs in a large bowl or pitcher. let cool and then store in the fridge for 1-3 days.

any new way to enjoy beets is the best thing ever. right?

a tiny beginner guide to squash

tonight i noticed we have not one or two, but about four delicata squash (is squash the plural of squash?) in the fridge. since i've been on a bread making kick lately (well, a bagel making kick, to be more specific, but that could be a whole other post), i decided i really wanted to make a squash bread.

so i figured out what kind of squash it is we have - it's delicata. and thanks to this really helpful chart on squashes, including appropriate squash substitutions and some flavor and texture descriptions - i've narrowed my recipe candidates down to just a few. my theory on bread (or really any recipe i look for when trying to use the CSA veggies) is the fewer the ingredients, the better. simple recipes seem to really bring out the flavors in our fresh, local, organic veggies. and that's really the point, isn't it? 

oh, veggie blog. i missed you.

whew!

where did the summer go?

while we're probably reaching the tail end of the CSA season, we still have a fridge full of veggies, and i've been cooking (and baking!) more than usual lately, so i figured now's as good a time as any to revisit this blog. 

so check back! i promise to post some kitchen adventures a little more often. xo!

week... 9? and cole slaw.

we've been enjoying the veggies immensely lately!

1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Bellview Organics
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bag red Norland potatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
4 green zucchini – certified organic – Autumn Blend Organics
2 candy onions – certified organic – White Swan Acres
1 bunch Swiss chard – certified organic – Organic Willow Acres
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bunch red bor kale – certified organic – Life Enhancing Acres
3 cucumbers – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 head magenta lettuce – transitional – Taste of Nature

this week we have the whole share, as our partner in veggie-crime is away for the week. so it's a lot of vegetable eating to be done, but the share this week is so awesome, i don't think we'll have any problems. and we totally swapped out the rainbow chard for more of my favorites - beeeeeeets! - so i'm looking forward to lots of beety goodness between now and next thursday!

i made a simple cole slaw again with the cabbage from last week, but i didn't core enough of the tough white center and i managed to goof up the slicing blade on erik's food processor (erik likes kitchen toys way more than i do!), so i wasn't too happy with the cabbage itself in the slaw. the simple recipe for the vinagerette is really tasty, though.

3 T oil
3T vinegar (i used white, but red wine is really nice in it)
1/4 t dry mustard (i sub'ed in table mustard in a pinch)
1 t hot sauce (erik made his own a few weeks ago, which is awesome)
pepper to taste
1/2 t celery seed (optional - we never have these)

it's nice and light for the summer, and super simple to prepare. enjoy!

(one day soon i'll post photos. i never have my point-and-shoot from the house at the studio where i keep my computer. but one day they'll meet again, and presto! photos!)

grocery list - week 7?

i think i've mussed up the count on the weeks, but let's not worry about that.
this week's veggie list includes:

1 head Napa cabbage – transitional – Green Acres Organics
1 box new red Norland potatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bag snow peas – certified organic – White Swan Acres
1 bunch beets – certified organic – Millwood Springs Farm
1 bag young rainbow chard – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 head escarole – certified organic – Windy Hollow Organics
1 bag baby head lettuce – transitional – Taste of Nature
1 head green leaf lettuce – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch

one of my favorite recipes of all time is stuffed cabbage (i used to make a crazy-good vegetarian version, but my new-meat-loving edition is unbelievably super), but i'd love to hear a fresher take on what to do with cabbage - something more summery. i made a simple asian slaw earlier this year (from the america's test kitchen cookbook, if memory serves), but what else should i try?

turnips au gratin, oh my!

last night, my good friend, maya, was in town and we decided to cook dinner in, since the fridge was completely full of veggies from last thursday.

we made a really awesome dinner that included potatoes and turnips au gratin (i used the simple recipe below, since my theory lately is the simpler the ingredients, the better it'll probably be), sauteed spinach, a salad of mixed greens with scallions, goat cheese and pine nuts and day-old multigrain rolls from le bus.

how are you using your vegetables this week? and i'd love more spinach recipes, since we have more than i can imagine using in the next few days. thanks! xo!

5 medium red potatoes
6 medium-large turnips
salt, pepper to taste
pat of butter (for greasing the dish)
2 cups cheddar (grated)
2 cups heavy cream

slice the turnips and potatoes with the fancy food processor slicer tool. pat them dry and spread one  layer in a buttered casserole dish. add salt, pepper and about 1/4 of the cheese. add another layer of turnips and potato, repeat salt, pepper and cheese. repeat until the dish is full, ending with a layer of salt, pepper and cheese on top. slowly pour the cream evenly over the dish. baked in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the top is crisp and brown.

enjoy!

week 5 vegetable list

this week's veggie list:

1 head broccoli – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
2 bunches red scallions – transitional – Taste of Nature Farm
1 bag of snap or snow peas – certified organic – White Swann Organics
1 bunch purple globe turnips – certified organic – Maple Lawn Organics
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 head butter head lettuce – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1/bag young rainbow chard – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics - ¼ lb
1 head red leaf lettuce – transitional – Green Acres Organics

i'm really excited about the snap peas - those are always delicious! what plans do you have for these veggies?

beets and nuts, greens and fruit

summer is so awesome because eating five vegetables a day is not only easier, sometimes it feels unavoidable. for breakfast, i've basically been chopping and tossing into my blender whatever fruits and greens i want to use up. yesterday's smoothie was two peaches on their last legs, a frozen banana, OJ, and spinach. totally perfect for a pre-gym breakfast.

since i've been home around lunchtime the past few days, i've had fun putting together nice, big salads for lunch with all the veggies we have around. yesterday i realized, much to my delight, that i had the makings of my absolute favorite kind of salad - beet, walnut, goat cheese. so i boiled the beets for about 15 minutes, crumbled the goat cheese and lightly toasted the walnuts. i dressed it with balsamic and olive oil, and topped it with some red onion, salt and pepper. perfect summer lunch. 

today is a little different - i wanted to use up some of the carrots and celery we had leftover from a platter of chopped veggies we made last weekend, then i added some of the bazillion scallions we've been getting in the farm share lately (using the plethora of scallions we have is a huge challenge - scallions, scallions, scallions!), some pine nuts that i lightly toasted and a little of last week's broccoli. i topped it with some of my new guilty pleasure - yogurt based ranch dressing. one of the best things about the CSA is the noticable difference in the salad greens vs. what's available in the grocery store - basically, every salad is completely awesome no matter what, since the greens are so delicious.

week four: grocery list

1 head broccoli – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bunch Hakurai turnips – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bunch white scallions – certified organic – Country Boy Farm
1 bunch Lacinato (or dinosaur) Kale– certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 bunch tatsoi – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bag wildfire lettuce mix – certified organic – Farmdale Organics – 1 lb
1 bag young rainbow chard – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics – ¼ lb
1 head red leaf lettuce – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 pint Chandler strawberries – certified organic – Friend’s Road Organics

so this week's challenge veggies will be the tatsoi and the turnips - and i'm sure you all have amazing turnip recipes that i'm excited to hear about, so link away! not to just totally leave us out on a limb with strange veggies, our CSA provided this recipe as an idea for the tatsoi from epicurious:

 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb mixed baby greens such as kale, mizuna, tatsoi, mustard, arugula, and spinach (16 cups)
1 1/2 oz edible flowers (optional)

whisk together vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. add greens and flowers and toss until coated well.

notes:
· greens can be washed and dried 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag lined with paper towels. · vinaigrette can be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered. bring to room temperature before using.