Week 4

This weeks bounty is pretty impressive!! Lots of great produce and some summer favorites!

Top row: lettuce, bell peppers, kale and sugar snap peas

Bottom row: Basil, parsley, kohlrabi, zucchini, summer squash, cherries

I think I'm most excited about figuring out a great  zucchini bread recipe that my son will eat (gotta get those veggies in!) as well as something to do with the alien-esque kohlrabi (people say slice it and eat raw)

A nod to my CSA!

So I haven't mentioned it previously, but it's time for some props! I've been getting our CSA distributions from the Good Food Collective, who has a large range of drop sites, a fun "Green truck" option in certain locations like mine where I can hand pick the produce, and a great network of suppliers. If you're local to Rochester, check them out. They're very gentle with us first-timers and provide recipes and inspiration on their blog and Facebook page!

Stay tuned, I pick up our Week 4 share this afternoon and am looking forward to some inspiration. The headliner of the week will definitely be Kohlrabi!

Beets on the Grill

So today is a little different. First off, there's no recipe I'm going to refer to, and instead I just whipped this one up myself. Second, this is the last remaining veggie in my CSA for this week, but I've seen a peek of the coming distribution and I'm so excited I can barely focus!

However, there are beets that must be utilized.

For those tuning in the last time, beets were not a huge hit in my house. I ate them with relish because I COOKED them and had to set a great example. But I'm not going out of my way to make them with feta again.

So today, I was already planning on doing hawaiian kabobs with chicken, pepper, onion and pineapple. The marinade even comes in a nice little packet that you just whip up with vinegar and oil.  However, when I went to get my veggies out for the marinading, I saw the beets. Hmmmm, What if I were to marinate and grill beets? I don't really have anything to lose do I? If they suck we'll just continue to find other ways to use them right?

Sadly, I was out of marinade after the veggiea and chicken. But a marinade is a marinade, and as long as you have the basics the rest is just magic.

Hawaiian Beets on the Grill

Husband friendliness - 0

Toddler friendliness - 0

1/4 c. oil
1/3 c. cider vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
couple of shakes of cajun seasoning (it smelled right)
shake of garlic powder
shake of onion powder
two shakes soy sauce

Wrap in foil with the marinade for 2 hours

Place on skewers with pineapple

Grill 15 minutes

 

Pretty to plate, first bite wasn't terrible. If you like beets it might be an option (with small beets). I would recommend a more viscous marinade (maybe with honey) And grilling for a much longer timeframe on lower heat. These came out hard on the outside and fibrous on the inside, where roasting or steaming may have made them softer. I won't make them again, because I'm really struggling to like the flavor of beets, but for hose who enjoy them it's worth a shot!

Week 3 - Holiday and LAZINESS!

I would love to say I did a great job utilizing this week's CSA distruction. The reality is it was 4th of July, and so much of our CSA distribution this week was delicious raw that I didn't even have to do much with it. And I had no interest in cooking anyway. Either way, here's the list:

Asian Greens - bitter, used in a salad and should have cooked them instead!
Sugar Snap Peas - Yeah, I just ate these raw as a snack all weekend!
Broccoli - Went great raw with ranch dressing
Lettuce - SALAD
Scallions
Cherries - Saving them for this week's distribution, there's a pie in my future!
Beets

Garlic Scape White Bean Dip

Canellini Bean Dip with Garlic Scapes
 from http://andreasrecipes.com/cannellini-bean-dip-with-garlic-scapes/

Husband Friendliness: 10
Toddler Friendliness: 8 (he actually ate some off a chip!)

Prep: 15 mins     Cook: 0 mins    Total: 15 mins
Original recipe says it makes 16 servings, but who are we kidding, we could eat this all by ourselves in one sitting. It kept 4 people very happy at a picnic

About to head out to a family weekend at the lake camp, Friday night I was in a rush to throw this together and get it packed. So sadly, there are no pics of my own, however I promise it really did look exactly like the picture in the source recipe!

Ingredients

15 ounces (425 g) cannellini beans, canned, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 cup (100 g) grated Parmesan cheese (I used regular shaker cheese like you put on spaghetti)
1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

SERVE WITH
whole grain crackers
sliced baguette
grape tomato halves

Preparation

1. Add the beans to the bowl of the food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add the garlic scapes and olive oil and process for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper and process until the dip is thick and creamy. If the dip is a little dry, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and process. Serve with whole grain crackers or sliced baguette.

Variations

You can also use about 5 or 6 fresh garlic cloves instead of garlic scapes.
If your scapes are very spicy, you can reduce the amount or add some flat leaf parsley to balance the flavor.

Notes:
1.   Garlic scapes are a different kind of spicy, not quite like garlic but greener (duh!). The amount to recipe called for was perfect.
2. This made a good amount for a few people as a snack. Next time I'll double the recipe to have leftovers.
3. You would think this would be similar to hummus. It is and it isn't. Husband is not a huge fan of hummus, but kept coming back for this.