tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73114346601835972662024-03-12T17:34:05.172-05:00for the beautyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-39003859665562370192013-06-27T18:06:00.000-05:002013-06-27T18:12:03.031-05:00CSA in the KitchenWe're back in the kitchen cooking up some recipes and ideas for you to make good use of your summer produce share! We'll be doing our best to change things up as often as possible, but I will warn you now - we make lots of fresh salsa and we grill often - it's possible that we will eat fajitas every week for the entire month of July. With that said, let's dive into our early summer meals.<br />
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Early summer is the time of greens. Greens and green lettuce and green garlic scapes ... and sometimes a few red radishes. With all the lettuce, of course some good salads are in order. Pictured above is Grady's grilled calamari summer salad. </div>
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1/2 cup of chopped carrots</div>
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1/2 cup of chopped celery</div>
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3 - 4 green onions, chopped</div>
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grilled calamari - enough to satisfy 2 people</div>
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a few spoons of mayonnaise</div>
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a squeeze of lemon juice</div>
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salt and pepper to taste</div>
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Mix it all together, line your bowls with rinsed lettuce - at least 2 leaves each! - and fill with calamari mix. This makes a wonderful, light lunch, especially with some bread and butter on the side.</div>
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When you are given such wonderfully fresh ingredients, such as we get from Montalbano Farms, sometimes the best preparation is the simplest one. Sweet raw carrots and lightly boiled chard with butter to compliment some barbecued chicken. </div>
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The potatoes took a bit more effort here, though, because when Grady cooks it will never be straight-forward and not messy (it will always be good though, so it's a worthy trade). The potatoes were chopped and deep fried in small batches, in a small pot - so as to use less fat - in duck fat. We beyond recommend duck fat for frying; it's delicious. For inquiring minds, we bought ours at our local local-foods store, <a href="http://www.greengrocerchicago.com/" target="_blank">Green Grocer</a>.</div>
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An essential part to properly enjoying your CSA, is to eat meals made with it outdoors (at least if you have an outdoor dining area!). You slow down, relax, take in the breeze and then eat more slowly and enjoy more fully. Summer dinners don't need to be elaborate affairs to be fulfilling. Here we're having a small salad (and by that I mean lettuce with basic vinaigrette), some aged Gouda, kofta kebabs with mint-yogurt sauce and a side of rice.<br />
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We'd love to hear from you in the comments! If you have other great recipes you've discovered, or questions related to what we've made/what we do with our CSA please share them with us. Thanks!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-1312760261551133172012-11-14T18:34:00.000-06:002012-11-14T18:34:08.093-06:00flowers for home, seasonally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Until this year, I never gave much thought to adorning my table seasonally. Of course I decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas and perhaps even a bit for Independence Day, but it never really occurred to me that flowers have seasons. Writing that out feels rather dumb, but I know very little about flowers and I was quite content to simply pick up a pretty bouquet at the grocery store and try to make sure that it at least came from somewhere inside this country (usually California).</div>
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The light bulb finally went off in my mind when we started picking up our weekly flowers from the farmers market. Finally I saw one type of flower give way to another as I was already well aware happened in the edible vegetable world. I've looked through my photos over the summer now gone by and here is a small progression of flowers across the season.</div>
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<i>Table set for a party, decorated by small flowers and greens gathered from my parents' yard.</i></div>
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<i>Pre-party on Labor Day (yes, I realized I just skipped most of the summer - work with me here)</i></div>
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<i> Lilies in September</i></div>
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<i> Our last fresh bunch of the season</i></div>
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Around September, our flower vendor started advertising some types of flowers as being good for drying. I'm glad she did because now we have a few arrangements to cheer us through the winter.</div>
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<i>Dried hydrangea bouquet </i></div>
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<i> Not flowers ... but these squash were too starchy to eat, so they've graced our fall table. The red branches in the corner will go in the living room soon.</i></div>
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<i> A big bouquet of dried eucalyptus - smells so wonderful!</i></div>
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<i>Pink berry branches ... ahem ... I do realize that they're at a slightly funny angle, but you work with what you're given, ya know?</i></div>
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At the last farmers market we were able to pick up a few branches of juniper, which should make our house feel more festive as Christmas approaches. I find myself now wishing that I had thought to plant a few dry-able flowers in my little plot this year so that I could fill my home with flowers through these winter months. Ah, but there is always next year!<i> </i></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-25446665416984361152012-11-01T10:03:00.000-05:002012-11-01T10:03:00.092-05:00settling in {again}Here we are standing at the beginning of November - already?! My last farmers market of the season was Saturday, and when I woke up Sunday morning I realized that, all of the sudden, we're in deep autumn-almost-winter! When did this happen? Only a few days ago the leaves were changing and I started slowly changing out my summer clothes for long sleeves and sweaters. Perhaps my twice-weekly work outdoors simply kept me aloof to how cold it was actually getting (thinking warm thoughts does, sort of, help). In any case, I find myself quickly switching from hanging on to the end of summer to preparing for snowy, cold weather. As today begins November, I'd say this happened just in time.<br />
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As you may have noticed, I was a bit MIA these past ... well ... many months. Full-time farming led straight into selling pies both in a tiny shop and at a farmers market. The summer brought loads of fresh produce through our kitchen that needed eating/preparing/putting up of some kind and I joined a gym! Now that we've gotten a few light frosts though, some of these things will change. My knitting needles have seen some work and there are holidays approaching. I'll start this month out right by saying, I'm thankful for the holidays because they get my creative mind working and inspired!<br />
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Wishing you a lovely November!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-78500275568034076132012-10-18T16:59:00.001-05:002012-10-18T16:59:31.189-05:00CSA in the Kitchen - our final mealsWe have reached our final week of enjoying this season's CSA! You may have a week or two left if you took them off earlier in the season, and some of us will be looking forward to the fall share in just a few weeks from now, but the last regular season share has come to our table. We've been so thankful for the chance to cook with you through this season and hopefully we'll all be returning to Montalbano Farms again next spring!<br />
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We tucked into this autumnal meal over the weekend and enjoyed every bite of it!</div>
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The sweet potatoes we pricked all over then roasted in a 400 degree oven for about an hour (as I recall it was actually just one huge potato). When it is soft, remove from the oven and let cool until you can touch it without burning yourself; remove the skin. Mash potatoes with a fork or masher with 1 tsp of brown sugar (or more, to taste), 1 tablespoon of butter, and a little bit of salt and pepper.</div>
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Our salad was lovely and well-balanced. Arugula leaves, sliced Honeycrisp apple, grated Parmesan cheese and a dressing of honey, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Peppery, crisp, nutty, and sweet!</div>
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Our meal also featured rosemary-infused steak {Grady placed a branch of rosemary beneath the steak as it rested after grilling}, with a side of homemade horseradish cream, and a little brioche bun.</div>
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With the remaining sweet potatoes, I made a side-dish of candied sweet potatoes, but I was so excited to eat them that I forgot to take any pictures. To make these addicting bites, peel a sweet potato or two and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat at least 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the potatoes, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook until the potatoes are soft, stirring every 5 minutes. When they are cooked, remove the lid and turn the heat to medium-high, stirring constantly, but carefully - trying not to break the potatoes. After about 5 minutes, the potatoes should be covered in an addictingly delicious glaze. Off the heat and serve.</div>
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Crispy roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and steamed brussel sprouts with some roasted chicken. Although the chicken was wonderful, the stars of this meal were the veggies. The potatoes are cooked with the roasting chicken, which is a clever idea brought to us by the brilliant people of America's Test Kitchen. They suggest butterflying the chicken and roasting it on a broiler pan in a 500 degree oven for about 40 minutes total, turning half way through. Cover the bottom half of the pan, which is used to catch drippings, with tin foil and that's where you'll spread the potatoes. Peel and slice the potatoes about 1/4 inch thick; toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and allow them to crisp up in delicious roasted chicken drippings - seriously the most amazing potatoes!</div>
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While the chicken is resting after the roast, turn the oven down a bit to 475, put in another foil-covered tray for about 10 minutes. During that time, chop the carrots into 1/2 inch thick, 2 inch long pieces. Toss these with melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. When the pan is hot, carefully spread the carrots on it and return to the oven. After about 10 minutes, turn the carrots over and cook another 3 - 5 minutes.</div>
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Finally, I must admit that I have never loved brussel sprouts. Never. My mom made them for dinner occasionally when I was a child, and only she ever ate them. After sawing each mini cabbage from the stalk and then boiling them for about 10 minutes in a pot of salted water, I bathed my sprouts in melted butter (a consistent theme in this meal - butter makes everything taste awesome). While they were much better than those I turned my nose up at years ago, I still can't say that I love them. However, I'm sure there are a few brussel sprout lovers out there who were very thankful to have received such a beautiful stalk in their share.</div>
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And this brings me to pumpkins ... and by that I mean ... I'm now going to share with you my awesome pumpkin bread recipe. But first, let's quickly discuss homemade pumpkin puree. It's super simple. First, dissect your pumpkin. I do this by stabbing my biggest knife in the top of the pumpkin, taking it straight out, and then stabbing again and again so that I make a circle around the stem on top. Then, I cut from the top and work my knife around the entire pumpkin to cut it in half length-wise. After that, you can open it up, get the seeds out (save and roast later) and cut the halves into smaller pieces if necessary. Cook these halves in a baking dish partially filled with water in a preheated oven at 350. Bake until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. Allow to cool a bit, peel off the skin, and puree the chunks in a food processor. Add water a bit at a time if the puree isn't smooth enough. Now you have puree that you can freeze it for later or use it fresh for pumpkin bread/muffins/pie??!!</div>
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For this recipe, I have drawn from <a href="http://kirbiecravings.com/2010/10/pumpkin-muffins-2.html" target="_blank">this blog</a> and <a href="http://www.livinglou.com/2010/10/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread.html" target="_blank">this blog</a> to make what is, in my opinion, the most awesome pumpkin bread.</div>
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour</div>
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3/4 cup of sugar (I've even used just 1/2 cup)</div>
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1 tsp baking powder</div>
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1 tsp baking soda</div>
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pinch of salt</div>
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1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree</div>
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1/2 cup of oil</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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1/3 cup of yogurt (plain)</div>
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1/2 tsp nutmeg<br />
1/2 tsp cinnamon<br />
1/4 tsp cloves<br />
1/4 tsp ginger</div>
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{all spices are ground - or use 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie or 5 spice blend}</div>
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<b>Directions</b></div>
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P<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">re</span>-heat your oven to 350 degrees.<br />
Next, in a medium sized bowl combine the dry ingredients, and in a large bowl combine the wet ingredients.<br />
Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, but taking care not to over mix. Once everything is mixed
together, line a bread pan with parchment paper, and pour the batter
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Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.<br />
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For muffins or smaller loaves, simply adjust the baking time. Muffins take 15 - 20 minutes and small loaves about 25 - 30.<br />
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Finally, we'd like to leave you with a few pictures of the farm from this time last year. We are so thankful to Rob and Christina for taking the plunge and committing to farming in a way that is good for us and for the environment - for their vision, hard work, determination, and care. We're thankful to all of the farm hands and worker share volunteers who help to make this food appear on our table every week. We are thankful to all of our fellow CSA members who agreed to support this lovely farm and enjoy the season of produce with us.</div>
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<b> ~ Grady and Courtney</b> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-69659509463544727722012-10-11T18:04:00.000-05:002012-10-11T18:04:15.332-05:00CSA in the KitchenThe end of the growing season is approaching as the temperature continues to drop, which means that soon we will no longer be receiving our summer share or browsing the stalls at the farmers markets. While most of me is saddened by this, there is also a part of me that is relieved - after the pounds upon bushels of fresh produce that has paraded through our kitchen, much of which we have put up for the winter, I will be glad to have the pace slow and my worry over using veggies before they spoil lessen. With all that said then, let us soak up these last weeks of bounty!<br />
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I've already mentioned that, to me, fall means more oven-roasting and more soup-making. With the coming of winter squash, that season is now in full swing.</div>
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Thankfully, these little acorn squash are very easy to cook. For this meal I cut one in half and scooped out the seeds then I put a nice pat of butter in the center of each and drizzled a little maple syrup over the top. Put this in a roasting dish in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, 45 for bigger squash. Honestly, I find acorn squash to be a bit bland so I like to add the butter and syrup but you can choose an entirely different flavor profile if you wish - maybe garlic with salt and pepper?</div>
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The side salad is adapted from Mark Bittman's <i>How To Cook Everything</i>. I've never tried to make anything with radicchio before so I had to turn somewhere for help! This salad features chopped radicchio and apples with a dressing of about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon of prepared horseradish (it's good! make sure you get some ...), some cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Some of the leaves in our head of radicchio were a little bitter for my taste, but it's hard to find a recipe that uses so many obscure CSA veggies all in one!</div>
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Spinach is one of those greens that can make in appearance in almost any meal, although we usually keep it simple and just wilt it and eat it with butter. It's great as a side for dinner, but there's no reason that spinach, and many other CSA veggies can't contribute to breakfast as well. The only day we usually have time to cook a "real" breakfast is on Sunday, but on our particularly organized days, we like to cook breakfast the night before so that we start the next few mornings off right! This dish is an excellent candidate for such times.</div>
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Eggs baked in a nest of buttery spinach - perfect.</div>
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Wash and trim off long ends of spinach, then wilt it for about a minute in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain and press out as much water as possible then chop. At the same time, heat the oven to 350 and just before you are ready to assemble, put the baking dish in the oven with 1.5 tablespoons of butter. When this has melted, remove from the oven and layer the spinach in. Make as many little nests in the spinach as you have room for/however many eggs you want to cook. Crack an egg into each nest. Sprinkle with grated cheese, salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.</div>
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Enjoy your breakfast. This would be great on a piece of toast!</div>
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Our days have gotten much busier in the last few weeks since Grady has started a part-time MBA program (yes, I am so very proud of him!) and so we have found ourselves resorting to the classics just to get something on the table every night. Once again, we bring you burgers ...</div>
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To make our fries, we chop the potatoes and then cook them in water in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Of course you can also boil them on the stove top, just take care not to overcook because falling apart potatoes don't fry very well. We fry the cooked pieces in about an inch of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. I should say 'Grady' does this - I never do this part because I hate large amounts of hot oil. If you're brave, though, you can make these very tasty fries. </div>
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Our slaw on the side is shredded kohlrabi (no, we didn't get it this week; yes, it's been in our fridge for probably 3 weeks now) and carrots with chopped apple and one finely chopped celery stalk. The dressing is 1/2 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and a touch of sugar, salt and pepper.</div>
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And I will brag for just a moment because I also made the ketchup that went with our dinner. This was my first time making ketchup and while it was time consuming - you need to cook the tomatoes down, then pass through a food mill to remove skin and seeds, then cook into paste with sugar, cider vinegar and spices - the end result gives me great pride and tasty enjoyment!</div>
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We got ginger this week! Awesome!!!! Aside from making a cup or two of ginger tea, I'm going to try and make my own ginger-garlic paste by pureeing ginger and garlic in equal amounts with maybe some vinegar? The store-bought jar I have hasn't spoiled yet and it has been open for a long time, so maybe the bacteria-fighting properties of these two is enough to preserve them. I use this paste often in cooking Indian and other Asian dishes. Because I have been blessed with a dehydrator, I'm also considering drying a few slices and making my own ginger power. I'm sure it would add so much more flavor when made fresh. Here's to better pumpkin bread this winter!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-39640886199026867992012-10-04T17:52:00.001-05:002012-10-11T18:04:15.328-05:00CSA in the KitchenCool-weather crops are back in force now and Rob and Christina (and crew!) provide us with both common leaves, like spinach, and more uncommon, like Napa cabbage and bok choy. The newsletter spelled out a few ways to cook with Napa cabbage and I'd like to elaborate on one of them - Kimchi.<br />
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Kimchi is, in many ways, another variation of <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/fermentation-successes-and-failures.html" target="_blank">Sauerkraut</a> ... or the other way around, if you wish. Both are types of cabbage that are preserved in brine and sour and ferment over time. Recipes for kimchi are widely variant because you can add many different spices and vegetables to the mix.<br />
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Pictured above are all of the ingredients that will be going into our fermentation crock aka a wide mouth mason jar. Napa cabbage mixed with a paste of garlic, ginger, onion, and hot pepper is the core of kimchi, but you should feel free to add grated carrots, bok choy, and maybe a few of those turnips we got this week. The process is fairly simple and I will, once again, be following instructions from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Fermentation-Flavor-Nutrition-Live-Culture/dp/1931498237" target="_blank"><i>Wild Fermentation</i></a>, which I must encourage you to buy or borrow from library or friend. So while I cannot share his exact recipe, I will refer you to <a href="http://www.koreanbapsang.com/2012/01/baechu-kimchi-napa-cabbage-kimchi.html#.UG3n0BhrhFU" target="_blank">this blog</a> that not only gives you step-by-step photo instructions, but also lists many, many dishes that you could make with your finished product!<br />
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While some of our bok choy is headed into kimchi, the rest of it once again graced our bowl of stir-fry. This time we added a little twist and ended up with a dish almost similar to Fettuccine Alfredo, but with Asian spices replacing the Mediterranean. Begin by cooking your noodles of choice - this time we used wide rice noodles. While they cook, heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a large pan. We used coconut oil because 1) it contains lauric acid, which is <a href="http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html" target="_blank">good for you</a> 2) it has a high smoke point and 3) we're finishing the dish with coconut milk.</div>
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Once the oil is hot, add in a dried hot chili or two or a small amount of dried pepper flakes. The amount of heat is up to you. Add in 1.5 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste or an equal amount of minced ginger and garlic. This will sputter like crazy but you only have to do it for about 30 seconds. Then you'll add in 1 diced red bell pepper. Cook about 3 minutes and then add chopped bok choy.</div>
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Hopefully at this point your noodles are cooked and drained (toss with some oil after draining so they don't stick together) and they are ready to be added to the pan. I had to use 2 spoons to mix everything together but you could also try it Grady's way and just sort of toss the pan - but don't say I didn't warn you if you end up with stir fry all over your stove. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1/2 to 1 can of coconut milk. We added about half, but I wouldn't have minded a little more creamy-ness. Allow this to simmer for a few moments, then serve and enjoy.</div>
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We're on a roll, making at least one soup per week for almost the past month now and this week is no exception. This week we went with a New England style clam chowder and wistfully recalled our visit to the Atlantic just two months ago ...</div>
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As with many tasty soups, this one starts with minced onions sauteed until soft in butter. We decided to throw in some carrots as well because we have them and because more veggies means more goodness, right? Once the onions are soft, add about 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for another minute. Then, slowly whisk in some bottled clam juice. If you're not into seafood this step smells rather fishy and makes you question your reason for ever beginning this soup - I promise though, it gets better! We used 2 small bottles of clam juice, which was maybe 1.5 cups. We then added another 1.5 cups of chicken stock and threw in quite a few diced potatoes along with 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme and 1 can of cooked baby clams (you can use a can or two more but we're trying to stay low-budget). Cover and let this mixture simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are cooked. Serve in a big mug with lots of buttery croutons on top.</div>
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The rest of our potatoes - the purple ones to be specific, will be roasted along with an herb-butter coated chicken tonight. I'll make a little side salad with the arugula and lettuce to go along with it. I'm thinking the spinach is going to be blended with some of the fruit we froze earlier in the summer for an excellent pre- or post-workout snack. Yum!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-36701400076737698232012-09-25T18:03:00.000-05:002012-09-25T18:03:47.133-05:00CSA in the KitchenHappy {official} Autumn to everyone! The frosts are coming and so we mark a change in what's on our table - which is a little sad and a little relieving (I don't know how many more new tomato dishes I could come up with!). Time to look forward to more greens and hearty root vegetables and winter squash. I tend to think of fall as the season of roasting and soup-making.<br />
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And so, not surprisingly, the first item this week is a roasted heirloom tomato soup.</div>
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You may need to use some frozen or canned tomatoes to have enough for this soup, or you can use what you have and make an individual serving. This recipe is adapted from <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/bookstore/detail.asp?PID=173" target="_blank"><i>American Classics</i></a>. </div>
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Halve or quarter the tomatoes and remove the seeds. If you like, you can also remove the skin by dipping the whole tomato in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Arrange the tomatoes in a roasting pan on tin foil. Sprinkle with brown sugar and roast for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. When the tomatoes have lost most of their juices and are starting to color, remove from oven and set aside.</div>
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In a pot over medium heat, melt 1.5 tablespoons of butter. When foaming, add 1 minced small red onion or shallot and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Stir occasionally until the onion has softened. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Then, stirring/whisking constantly, add in 1 to 2 cups of chicken stock then add in the roasted tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Remove from heat and pass through a food mill or a blender. Return to the pot and add as much cream as seems delicious to you. Enjoy with a grilled cheese sandwich, or just some buttery croutons on top!</div>
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If you decide to make croutons (toss cubed bread with melted butter and toast in the oven, turning once, for 15 minutes), they would also be delicious atop a salad such as this - grilled romaine.</div>
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Normally, you see recipes for grilled romaine hearts, which is the tight part inside of the greener leaves. After attempting to grill and entire head of romaine, we now understand why. The grilling wilted the outer leaves rather significantly, leaving them limp and unattractive. On the plus side though, smoky salad tastes awesome.</div>
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If you'd like to give it a try, coat the outside of your whole head of lettuce with olive oil or a neutral oil. Heat the grill as hot as it will go then put the lettuce right on there, turning to cook all sides for a total of only 2 minutes or so. When "cooked" chop into smaller pieces, dress with vinaigrette and serve.</div>
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We ate this salad as a side to our usual {delicious} burgers and another side of creamed spinach. Creamed spinach is not such a pretty thing to take a picture of, but it sure does taste good! <a href="http://www.theparsleythief.com/2010/02/creamed-spinach.html" target="_blank">Here </a>is a good-looking recipe. We simply cooked the spinach in boiling water until wilted, drained and pressed the water out. Returned to the pot with about 1/2 cup or less of cream, 1/4 cup of grated Romano cheese, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Pretty simple and so satisfying.</div>
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This week we had the option of taking horseradish with our share. It was optional since it seems people don't like the stuff. Well, Grady does so we took a whole bunch home. We peeled it like carrots and then grated it using our food processor, although a cheese grater would also work just as well. Once grated, we blended it with a few tablespoons of white vinegar and we've got a condiment for ... steak? {Honestly, I don't use this stuff in cooking, but Grady makes it taste good!} all ready in our fridge. Because it contains vinegar, it should last a while this way.</div>
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This week we chose peppermint as our herb and we have turned it into a syrup. We made a simple syrup by dissolving 1.5 cups of sugar (you can go up to 2) in 2 cups of boiling water. Once dissolved, off heat and throw in your bunch of peppermint. Cover and allow to steep for about 30 minutes, or longer, to taste. Cool the liquid and store in a jar in the fridge. This syrup will likely make its way into adult beverages seeing as we have also made mint-infused vodka, a.k.a. creme de menthe. However, if you'd like to make something sweet and non-alcoholic, I would highly recommend making peppermint ice cream. We made some last year and it was by far the best homemade ice cream we'd had (and this was after getting the Ben and Jerry's recipe book from the library).</div>
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We have some Asian greens again this week. Our stand-by at the moment is stir-fry since it worked so well last time and we haven't gotten tired of it yet.</div>
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Oooh! Kohlrabi! I almost forgot - we haven't made it yet so I don't have a picture, but I'm sure we will be shredding our kohlrabi with some crisp apples and making a coleslaw with it. Come to think of it, we probably should have made that to go with our burgers! </div>
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As always, please let us know if you have any ideas or if you've tried our recipes and discovered better ways to make them. Hope everyone has a great week!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-36344707075711210322012-09-18T17:14:00.000-05:002012-09-18T18:14:22.255-05:00CSA in the KitchenWell, friends, we seem to be looking at some of the last fruits of the summer this week in our share - that isn't to say there won't be a few more tomatoes and peppers still coming but fewer and fewer. Don't let your share go to waste! I know how hard it can be to use some of the ingredients you may not be used to cooking with (remember the green onions I used at least 3 weeks after getting them?). If you can't think of a way to use what you have before it goes bad, try freezing it. Many things freeze well or may be OK if pre-cooked first. Probably straight frozen zucchini isn't awesome, but if you saute it first then freeze maybe it will reheat better? Better to give it a try and possibly lose it than not try and simply throw it out!<br />
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This week's share would be an excellent one from which to make ratatouille. I wrote about this dish a few weeks ago and you can read that <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/08/csa-in-kitchen_28.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Truly, one of the most delicious late-summer meals I've had and I have made it twice since writing about it.</div>
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Here is another great meal to make with eggplant and tomatoes (although the ones pictured above came from a can). I would call it eggplant Parmesan except that there's no Parmesan involved in what we made. So, we'll call it Eggplant a la Grady.<br />
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Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds, we peeled it first too. If you have time you can also toss the slices with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and let sit for 30 min to an hour to draw out the bitterness - be sure to rinse thoroughly before preceding. Heat a neutral oil in a large pan and when a pinch of flour sizzles in it, dip the slices in a beaten egg, then coat both sides with breadcrumbs and place carefully in the oil. Be sure not to crowd too many slices into the pan. Flip them after about 2 minutes so that both sides are evenly browned. Cook the slices in batches and set aside until all are done.<br />
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Arrange the fried eggplant in an oven-safe pan (Grady likes to make food look pretty - the arrangement is up to you), top with slices of fresh mozzarella and place under the broiler for 2 minutes until the cheese is soft and partially melted. Top with tomato sauce, sauteed fresh tomatoes, or simmered diced tomatoes from a can (what we did).<br />
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We enjoyed this dish with a simple side salad made from our crisp Romaine, dressed with a red wine vinaigrette and topped with Parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes.<br />
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So bear with me, sandwiches are not the easiest things to make pretty in pictures. However, they are so delicious. Pictured here is a steak and cheddar cheese sandwich with sauteed sweet peppers and onions and a sprinkle of freshly dried thyme. I'm not sure there's much more to say on this topic except that the thyme on this sandwich was pretty awesome. If you haven't sliced and frozen some of your sweet peppers yet, I would encourage you, again, to do so. We actually used some frozen ones here because we didn't have any fresh on hand this week - the sandwich wouldn't have been nearly as good without them!<br />
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This lovely dinner is another that showcases the excellent produce we got this week. Here we have grilled chicken rubbed with parsley butter {for guidance on making herbs butters read <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/08/csa-in-kitchen_28.html" target="_blank">here</a>} topped with an arugula and turnip green salad, grilled zucchini and a side of rice ... and a glass of red wine!</div>
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The chicken is best if you take the time to brine it for an hour before cooking. Use 1 cup of kosher salt for about 2 quarts of cold water, you can also add 1/2 cup of sugar which I recommend doing! Soak the chicken in this solution in the fridge for an hour then rinse thoroughly. Pat the skin dry and continue, or for more crisp skin you can let it sit uncovered in the fridge for up to 4 hours. Use your fingers to loosen the skin from the meat on the breast and legs. Using a spoon or just your fingers, spread the herb butter on the meat, under skin, attempting to do so as evenly as possible. Then either roast or grill the chicken - the herb and butter will flavor and moisten the meat as it cooks!</div>
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The salad is simply the arugula and turnip greens dressed with a mustard vinaigrette and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. The greens themselves are a bit strong so you can opt to add spinach or another milder green to the mix.</div>
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The zucchini was simply sliced, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled away from direct flame for a few minutes.</div>
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As we face {embrace?} cooler weather this week, we're planning to cook up a hearty beef stew complete with purple potatoes and possibly some turnips. We're also returning to some of our old stand-by's like fresh salsa in bean burritos because we know our opportunities are getting fewer.</div>
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Finally, we'd like to say 'thank you' to Rob and Christina for working so diligently not only to fill our plates with excellent food, but also to grace our homes with beautiful flowers. You guys are the best.</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-49197241773683956832012-09-11T17:00:00.000-05:002012-09-11T17:01:08.147-05:00CSA in the Kitchen<br />The ingredient that really caught my attention this week was the bok choy, so let's start there. The types of dishes that usually call for this green are not what Grady and I are used to cooking (or eating) so this was a bit of an adventure for us! After looking at what we had on hand, I decided to make a noodle stir-fry.<br />
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<span id="goog_423129695">The great thing about stir-fry's is that you can throw in what you have - a big plus in CSA cooking! For this dish I thinly sliced the thick ends of the bok choy </span>and cut the leaves into strips. I added small broccoli florets and some chopped green onions (please don't look back at how many weeks ago we received those!). You could possibly also add sliced onions or even sweet peppers.<br />
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While I was waiting for the water for the noodles to boil, I cooked the veggies in a large pan over medium-high heat in a few tablespoons of sunflower oil (peanut would be ideal but we don't keep it on hand). Once the greens were wilted and everything was soft - about 4 minutes - I removed them to a bowl. The noodles I boiled for a few minutes, drained and tossed with a little more oil to keep them from sticking. In the same large pan, I heated another tablespoon of oil and added 1.5 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste (or use 1/2 tablespoon each of minced fresh ginger and garlic). After 15 seconds, I added in the noodles and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Saute this for another 4 minutes then combine with the veggies and you're ready to eat.<br />
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I was considering making a soup with the bok choy and if that suits your fancy, take a look at <a href="http://urbanchickpea.com/2011/08/16/seared-bok-choy-and-rice-noodles-in-a-light-coconut-broth/" target="_blank">this</a> recipe. <br />
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Likely due to the transition to cooler weather, we were both feeling a bit sick on Sunday as we picked up our share. Not wanting to put too much effort into cooking, but needing something filling and soothing, we stirred up a pot of comforting creamy chicken soup.</div>
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This soup uses a base of about 3 cups of homemade chicken stock and probably another 2 cups of water (we add the water because our stock is very flavorful and concentrated, if you're using canned you can use 5 cups). Bring this to a boil and add in 1 cup of rice, which can be white or brown; reduce to a simmer and cover.</div>
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While the stock simmers, chop a carrot or two, some onions and celery if you have it - we even added thinly sliced garlic. Saute these in some oil over medium-low heat until soft (about 15 minutes). When the rice in your stock is cooked, add in the vegetables. Alternatively, you could do the sauteing first in a large pot and then add the stock right on top to deglaze and then cook the rice, all in one pot. Finally, mix in some chopped parsley (our herb of choice this week) and maybe some thyme? We did. To make it creamy, we simply added cream at the end. If you'd like to skip the cream it will still be wonderful. We also didn't have any chicken on hand but if you do, feel free to add it.</div>
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This soup was so satisfying to me that I ate two bowls of it for dinner and two again for lunch the next day.</div>
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Pickles again! I believe this is <i>at least</i> the 3rd time we are talking about pickles. I really can't take any responsibility for it. It's all Grady and his love of sour condiments. Rob and Christina had just the perfect sized cucumbers at the Logan Square market, so I guess it was just too hard to resist. These are quick refrigerator <a href="http://wellpreserved.ca/2009/02/19/quick-dill-pickles/" target="_blank">Dill Pickles</a>, another <a href="http://wellpreserved.ca/" target="_blank">Well Preserved</a> recipe.</div>
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Our beautiful, soon-to-be-gone tomatoes this week may be heading into a casserole of sorts. I work for some excellent bakers/chefs at a pie company here in town and the savory chef has just created a Roasted Heirloom Tomato pie. The pie is delicious and would be a perfect way to showcase these tomatoes, but I don't want to undertake crust making for a mid-week dinner, so here's what I'm thinking:</div>
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I will slice (or maybe just quarter?) the tomatoes, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and also a decent amount of grated Parmesan cheese and basil. I will layer this in a small (or whatever size looks like it will hold the amount I have) casserole dish with pre cooked white beans, such as Cannellini. Likely, I will also add in some minced garlic and sauteed onions. Breadcrumbs on top? Then I will bake it in the oven at 350 for however long it takes ... 20 or 30 minutes, I'm guessing.</div>
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Sound good to you? If so and you actually try to make this tomato bake or something like it, let me know how it goes!</div>
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Hope that everyone is enjoying these beautiful days!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-70941873713371752562012-09-04T18:55:00.003-05:002012-09-11T17:01:08.150-05:00CSA in the KitchenWelcome to September and to the beginning of autumn. Of course, the true start of the fall season is not until the autumnal equinox on September 22nd but the coming of cooler temperatures, fewer hours of daylight and the start of school for students signals a change of pace and perhaps a shifting of mindset from reveling completely in summer glory to considering making provision for the cooler days ahead. This week we are focusing more on preserving our share.<br />
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We were excited to see the giant bag of string beans in this week's share. Every single bean this week went first to the cutting board, to trim the ends off, and then into a large pot of boiling water. We blanched the beans for about 1 minute then strained them out and transferred them immediately to an ice water bath. Once cool and dry, we spread them on a tray to freeze, and then bag and store. They will wait for a day when fresh veggies are not as accessible.</div>
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Our share this week also went towards the spread we prepared for our Labor Day barbeque. We served the traditional fare of burgers and hot dogs ... oh wait, we live in the Midwest so we served brats, not hot dogs. To go with this, Grady made some quick bread and butter pickles the day before.</div>
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Quick refrigerator pickles are just that - quick and stored in the fridge. If you are thinking of making a big batch and canning you'll need to follow a recipe that has been tested for safety but if you just want a jar or two of sweet little guys to go atop a juicy burger, <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/06/bread-and-butter-pickles/" target="_blank">here</a> is a recipe for you.</div>
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Grady was such a handyman in the kitchen that while he was whipping up these pickles, he went ahead and pickled some jalapenos too. Honestly, I'm not sure what we're going to use them on at the moment but perhaps that husband of mine has a few brilliant thoughts he hasn't shared with me yet. Whatever use we make of them, pickling with vinegar is an easy was to preserve peppers, if only for a few extra weeks. He followed this <a href="http://wellpreserved.ca/2010/10/17/tigress-can-jam-pickled-hot-peppers/" target="_blank">recipe from Well Preserved</a>, but reduced the liquid down to 1 pint, cooled the jar on the counter and then refrigerated instead of water bath processing.</div>
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Speaking of extending the life of foods, our main tomato dish this week was inspired by the need to use milk before it went bad. Usually, I make yogurt from almost all of our milk (post about that <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-yogurt-style.html" target="_blank">here</a>) but this week I still had some leftover and it was on the edge of going bad. This was the perfect situation for making cheese!</div>
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The easiest cheeses to make are the ones that require only milk and an acid - paneer is one such cheese. This is the soft, fresh cheese that it used in Indian dishes and it is wonderfully simple to make. I would recommend following <a href="http://www.journeykitchen.com/2011/11/how-to-make-paneer-at-home.html" target="_blank">these</a> instructions if you'd like to give it a try.</div>
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With fresh paneer on the table, I knew I should make an Indian-flavored dish to use it in. Often I simply make a tomato-butter sauce but with fresh tomatoes on hand we decided to ... grill!</div>
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One of the most delicious dishes Grady and I have eaten at an Indian restaurant was a paneer and fresh vegetable kebab. Whatever marinade or rub they used, when paired with the smoky grill flavor in the soft, creamy cubes of cheese - oh goodness it was excellent. We were aiming to replicate that in some way so we marinated the tomatoes and cheese with spiced yogurt. We used about 1/2 cup of plain, whole milk yogurt, 1 TBS of ginger-garlic paste (or an equal amount minced fresh), 1/2 tsp of chili powder or to taste, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of cumin, a pinch of salt. You could also use a garam masala powder if you have that on hand.</div>
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The tomatoes, as you can see above, were cut in quarters and stuck on a kebab; the cheese we left as a whole. These were grilled on medium-low heat with some wood chips for smokiness, for around 15-20 minutes.</div>
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While I cannot say we achieved the restaurant quality we were longing for, grilling tomatoes and cheese is just a great idea. With a side of fried potatoes tossed with Indian spice mix and some steamed braising mix and rice, this meal was a delight straight from our CSA bag. Although we didn't use them, onions and green bell peppers are also often part of the kebab.</div>
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Does anyone have a plan for what they will do with the tatsoi we received? If you have a good recipe, please share it in the comments!</div>
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Thanks!</div>
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Grady + Courtney </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-46814225059143029512012-08-28T17:07:00.000-05:002012-09-11T17:01:08.143-05:00CSA in the KitchenOne of the things I love about our share is that we get to pick which herb we want every week and what usually amounts to one extra item of produce. I appreciate this because it means that we can eat more of what we like! When it comes to picking an herb I almost always go for thyme - I don't really know why except that I just love the smell! Thankfully, thyme dries very well.<br />
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I would highly recommend selecting your herbs not just with the week's meals in mind, but your winter pantry as well. Thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary all dry relatively well and are useful for brightening winter dishes. For my birthday last week, my wonderful husband bought me a dehydrator! Maybe this wouldn't be exciting to you, but I'm over the moon about it. As soon as we got our share home, I set the herbs to dry.<br />
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<span id="goog_494597420">You don't need a dehydrator to dry your herbs though, just a paper bag and some time. Think ahead just a bit and you will be delighted with the results mid-winter. Freshly dried herbs truly make a difference!</span><br />
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<span id="goog_494597420">There are some herbs that I don't seem to use much of when they're dried. Sage, which I have in the picture above, is one of them. Instead of adding to my underused store, I preserved the sage in butter. Compound butters work well for herbs that either don't dry well or that you would prefer to use "fresh" in a dish with butter.</span><br />
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Mince the herb (I just use scissors) and mash the butter in with it, using a fork. Room temperature butter is much easier to work with. Once it's properly mixed, scoop the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap and shape into whatever shape suits you - logs are good. Wrap the log and place in the freezer for future use. My plan for this butter is to be gently melted and browned then tossed with pasta. Simple and delicious. <br />
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When we see the first tomatoes of the summer we are always overjoyed. By the end of August, tomatoes have become old news - I almost get bored trying to think of what to do with them. We must not let this happen! To bring new life to my tomato scene, I plan to make a tomato tart. Fresh tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil all on top of a flaky tart crust. It's like pizza but more buttery.</div>
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I believe most basic cookbooks can guide you to a decent tart crust (I'd suggest one without sugar). Simply roll out your dough, fill it with fresh-cut tomatoes and whatever else sounds good - garlic maybe? Fold the sides of the dough up as pictured above and bake on a tray or pizza stone until golden brown. Again, I'd reference the dough recipe for heat and approximate time. <a href="http://www.edibletimes.com/wiaw-asparagus-tomato-quiche-with-whole-wheat-crust/" target="_blank">Here </a>is a recipe for a savory, whole wheat pastry dough.</div>
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Second tomato inspiration: roasted! Yes, you can make your very own sun dried tomatoes in your oven at home. If you're lucky enough to have an oven that bakes below 200 (or a dehydrator!), you're in even better shape as a slower roast dried them better with less risk of burning. Set your oven to its lowest heat setting. Wash your tomatoes, slice them in half lengthwise and toss with olive oil. Spread slices open side up on a tray (you may want to line it with parchment paper). You can also add pieces of garlic if you wish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and leave in the oven for a few hours, checking periodically until they are shriveled and flavorful. You can find good directions <a href="http://www.thetarttart.com/2012/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/" target="_blank">here</a>, as well.</div>
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I said I would give an update as to what we did with our hot peppers ...</div>
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Wearing gardening gloves, I took the tops off these hot peppers and sliced them down the middle. Put them in a pint Mason jar, covered with high-quality vodka and left it on a shelf in the pantry.</div>
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I was planning on leaving it there for a few days but thought I'd check up on it about 6 hours after starting the infusion. I dipped in a spoon and took just a tiny drop to taste. I would describe the sensation as <i>liquid fire!</i> Seriously though, I immediately dropped the spoon and ran to the fridge to start gulping whipping cream. We'll keep this stuff around, but we'll be sure to use it <i>very</i> sparingly!</div>
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And finally, when you can't think of what to do with your veggies, I suggest ratatouille. Yes, it sounds fancy and yes, it's delicious. Thankfully, this dish is also flexible and simple. We still had an eggplant on hand last night, not sure from where, so I peeled and chopped that into 1/2 inch pieces, chopped a sweet pepper (you could use more than one), chopped and onion and chopped, cored and seeded a handful of tomatoes. All of these I sauteed in olive oil over medium heat, separately (this isn't necessary but according to some it makes the overall dish better - if you'd like, just toss them all straight into the baking dish). As each batch was finished, I layered it into a lightly oiled 9 x 13 baking dish. Once everything is in, add some pieces of crushed garlic and bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven at 350 for about an hour. </div>
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If you happen to have zucchini or summer squash on hand, you can add those or substitute them. You could add more peppers or make it onion-heavy. I sprinkled freshly dried thyme and basil-oregano vinegar on ours, which was tasty! I'd show you a picture but have you seen baked eggplant? It's just not pretty. So, take my word for it that it tastes wonderful.</div>
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Have a great week!</div>
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Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-71292654579418085992012-08-27T07:46:00.001-05:002012-08-27T07:46:28.813-05:00days, recentlyApologies for my blogging absence outside of our CSA posts. I'm not sure if it's just the late summer days or feeling just busy enough with work and home that I don't often find myself with the mental energy and motivation for writing. I'm rather sure that cooler weather will have an effect on this feeling, though!<br />
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Important days that have passed in my absence: blog anniversary! I've been blogging for just over one year now. I can't believe it's only been one year, actually, because it seems that so much more has happened between now and last summer - the biggest things being that we now live in Chicago and I have employment. Many thanks to those of you who have encouraged me along the way in this writing. I don't think I would maintain this space if I knew that no one out there cared :-)<br />
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Day after anniversary: my birthday. Yes, it was lovely. I did work, which made for a quiet evening with my love and two slices of pie. We've decided that turning 25 makes me a real adult. Whether that's true now, earlier or later, I am so thankful for another year of life and growth.<br />
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Finally, we were on a vacation earlier this month that I have yet to share much about.<br />
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Cape Cod is an annual trip for my family reaching back almost 50 years. My grandparents took my mom and her siblings, my parents take my family, and this year Grady and I returned to a cottage we called 'ours.' As always, it was beautiful.<br />
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I just started a page on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/for_the_beauty/sets/72157631161891300/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> as well, where you can find a few more photos from our vacation, if you like.<br />
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Happy Monday, friends!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-71726287009941146972012-08-21T17:08:00.002-05:002012-08-21T17:09:03.152-05:00CSA in the KitchenLet's start the week off right with a salad. We got two lovely heads of lettuce this week and promptly turned them into a Caesar salad. The salad part is quite simple - tears the leaves off of the stem and rinse thoroughly, then dry thoroughly (it's important to dry lettuce well so that the dressing actually stays on it).<br />
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We make our Caesar dressing from scratch, so it's a bit more labor-intensive but so very delicious. Beat one egg yolk (yes, this involves eating raw egg) with the juice of half of a lemon. Add one or two cloves of freshly pressed garlic, 1/3 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1 TBS of Worcestershire sauce and 1 minced fillet of anchovy. While mixing, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress your salad greens and enjoy.<br />
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These last few weeks we have found ourselves with quite a few bell peppers. This is a wonderful thing but, you see, Grady and I enjoy certain foods so much that we will often eat them once per week - we have had fajitas or something along those lines involving fresh salsa at least that often and sometimes more. You, however may not love fajitas so much and so we bring you: meatloaf.</div>
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Yes, we did chop a green pepper and add it to our meatloaf mix. The carrots we added were from our share last week. We like to top our meatloaf with BBQ sauce so while you can taste the distinct green pepper a bit, mostly it tastes like delicious sauce with some meat and veggies. For the mix I would use 1 medium carrot, 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a bell pepper per 1 pound of ground meat.</div>
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This share is also looking perfect for making a refreshing batch of Gazpacho (use tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, jalapeno, and possibly even the herb you picked up). According to <i>Cook's Illustrated</i> magazine, the way to make a perfectly creamy soup is to slowly drizzle in the olive oil as the blender is running. Take a look at the recipe on <a href="http://www.ouichefnetwork.com/oui_chef/2012/08/silken-gazpacho.html" target="_blank">this website</a> to guide you to your simple dinner-from-a-blender!</div>
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<i>Photo taken from <a href="http://www.ouichefnetwork.com/oui_chef/2012/08/silken-gazpacho.html" target="_blank">oui, chef</a> blog</i></div>
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Our love affair with the grill continues this week as we plan to attempt grilling beets and fennel - maybe at the same time, maybe not. I would say this could be a recipe for burned roots and bulbs but Grady is determined and so we will seek to enhance these foods with grill-supplied smoky flavor. We'll let you know how that works for us ... if any of you have tried grilling either of these items before, please do let us know.<i> </i></div>
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Got hot peppers? I know we do! We took a handful to attempt infusing in vodka for future use in such drinks as very spicy Bloody Mary's. Not wanting to drink your peppers? Well Preserved food blog had a great recipe for hot peppers fermented with whey. Check it out <a href="http://wellpreserved.ca/2012/08/19/whey-fermented-jalapeno-and-other-hot-peppers-slices/" target="_blank">here</a>!</div>
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Have a great week, everyone!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-22593462235028547692012-08-14T17:52:00.001-05:002012-08-21T17:09:15.469-05:00CSA in the KitchenWelcome to another week in the kitchen!<br />
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It seems that the temperature may finally be dropping a bit {I try to be as cautious as possible when talking about Chicago weather!} and yesterday we even had a rainy day! Hopefully this means good things for Montalbano Farms. <br />
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As I consider the coming cooler weather, I'm reminded of an excellent way to prepare essentially any vegetable: roasting.<br />
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A good friend of mine reminded me recently that it's not just beets and winter squashes that take well to this form of cooking. Last night, we tossed some chopped carrots with olive oil (you can also use butter) and sprinkled with salt and pepper, set in the oven at 400 for 45 minutes or so - voila! Dinner. ... ah well, part of dinner! We had a tiny cabbage on hand as well, so I cored and chopped that, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper - are you noticing a trend? and cooked it alongside the carrots.<br />
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Your new kitchen motto could be: When in doubt, Roast it. Many vegetables are made sweeter by roasting, which can make even the ones you might think of as less-pleasing, more tasty.<br />
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On with the sweet peppers! I've already suggested quite a few ways to prepare these crisp veggies and I probably already suggested grilling. If you haven't tried it, you should. Cut the peppers in half (remove seeds and ribs), rub with olive oil and place on the grill. You should use a lower flame or keep them partially away from the flame. Here we were working with a charcoal grill and we put them over very hot embers. {You also see onions, garlic, jalapenos and tomatillos here. We're serious about grilling stuff}.</div>
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Predictably, these all went into some fabulous fajitas!</div>
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Speaking of peppers, did you grab a handful of hot peppers when you picked up your CSA? Or maybe you got a whole bunch in your share? Great! Aside from making excellent fresh salsa, jalapenos will serve you well in the form of Jalapeno Poppers.</div>
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As you may have guessed, these were also grilled. Grady cut a little 'window' into each pepper to get the seeds and ribs out. Then he mixed our fajita seasoning into cream cheese, the amount of seasoning will vary with your taste but I'd say he used a big pinch per pepper. Stuff the peppers with the cheese mix, close the 'window' with a toothpick, then cook on the grill away from direct heat for 20 minutes until slightly charred and cheese is melty. Beware the tips! They'll be hotter (spice-wise) than the body of the pepper.</div>
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This rather creepy looking jar of stuff is actually a rather delicious and easy way to make pickles. We've been getting cucumbers of just the right size for the last few weeks and every new one has gone into this jar as it has arrived in our kitchen. I can't say I love pickles, but Grady does so we make them. For a batch of pickles you'll need a large glass or ceramic jar with a wide mouth plus a small plate that fits inside the mouth and a mason jar filled with water to weigh the plate down when the time comes.</div>
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Dissolve 6 TBS of sea salt in 1/2 gallon of filtered water, add your cucumbers, up to 2 heads of peeled garlic, and a few branches of fresh dill. Make sure everything is fully submerged under the brine (this is where the small weight and plate come in), cover with a cloth and leave on the counter for up to 4 weeks after which time you can move it to the fridge. Over the course of these weeks, the salt will inhibit the growth of bad (food-spoiling) bacteria and encourage good bacteria that will sour and preserve the cucumbers. If the water level gets low, add 1 TBS of salt dissolved in 1 cup of filtered water. If white stuff grows on the top, just skim it off - no worries!</div>
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This recipe is taken from <i>Wild Fermentation</i> by Sandor Katz and I strongly recommend reading the book for further questions and excellent recipes! Our pickles have turned out quite well, so don't be afraid!</div>
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Finally, here's a picture of that pasta dish from last week that involves fresh chopped tomatoes. If you haven't tried it, this is a great meal to throw together at the last minute.</div>
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Love selecting your herb every week and then by mid-week you sadly realize you've yet to use it? Most herbs can be dried very easily and they make so much of a difference in your cooking that you simply must try it! I soak the herb in a little bowl of cold water and swish it around just to make sure all the dirt gets rinsed off. I spread it to dry and, once dry, place loosely in a paper bag, fold the bag closed and leave in the pantry (away from heat and light) until I forget about them. At the point that I remember them, which is hopefully about a month all together, I strip the dried leaves from the stems and store in an air-tight container. The smell of thyme mid-winter or a little crushed oregano to brighten your chili - just these things make it worth your while.</div>
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We are always looking for new ideas and feedback about how to prepare CSA veggies! If you'd like, please share any tips or recipes you've discovered along the way. Thanks!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-26316692027358741702012-08-07T18:12:00.000-05:002012-08-21T17:09:15.474-05:00CSA in the KitchenIt's that time of the week again! To all of our Montalbano Farms friends, sorry about the confusion as to which CSA week we're in. Different locations started on different days so we're not all numbered the same. From now on, I will simply be sharing what we're doing/have done with what we got in our Logan Square Market share on Sunday morning. Again, please feel free to comment with ideas and recipes!<br />
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Beautiful, crisp green beans. I'm not going to lie - this week I will be eating every single one of these raw and probably with my hands. I love these veggies and they're so refreshing on a hot summer's day that I'm not really sure why you'd want to cook them. If, however, you do not love green beans as much as I do, I would suggest slicing them on an angle to make smaller pieces and then combining them with sliced cucumber and tomato. Dress this mid-summer salad with olive oil and the vinegar of your choosing - we have an oregano vinegar that I would use for this!<br />
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The bell peppers this week would be great candidates for stuffing, following the same guidelines as we used a few weeks ago for zucchini (found <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/csa-week-8.html" target="_blank">here</a>). If I were considering turning up the heat in my oven (which, to be honest I'm probably not since we don't have central air), I would love these pepper sliced on top of a pizza! Green peppers, mushrooms and onions is my favorite topping and all of these things can be be found in our CSA/other farmers market vendor stalls. This week, however, I may be setting these peppers aside for a cooler day when I do want to make pizza so I'll wash and slice them, lay the slices on a tray to freeze and then store them in a freezer bag once they're solid. The texture doesn't hold too well, but they still taste great!</div>
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This heap of jalapenos may get frozen this week too. The heat drops significantly once frozen, but I don't much mind that. Another simple way of making these peppers last longer is to make chile paste. Wearing gloves (really, you should - have you ever touched your eyes after handling peppers? seriously unpleasant!), stem and seed 2 - 3 or more peppers and chop. Puree in a blender while slowly adding hot water to make a paste. Add salt and then store in the refrigerator. You can use this paste as a base for sauces, to spike soups, flavor meats, maybe veggies - the possibilities are only limited by your taste buds and your ability to remember that you have it in the fridge!<br />
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Those last little red peppers I'm thinking are going to be in an infusion of some kind but I haven't decided yet (oil? vodka? vinegar?); I'll keep you posted.<br />
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More lovely tomatoes! Tonight I plan to enjoy these raw, chopped and tossed with pasta. For the dish I'll add some shredded basil, drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. If I'm feeling very accomplished in the kitchen I may even crush a few garlic cloves to simmer very lightly in the olive oil before tossing - this will infuse the oil and I'll discard the cloves once the oil is ready. Come to think of it ... this is essentially the dinner version of the appetizer from last week, bruschetta. Parmesan cheese would also be a welcome topping for this meal.</div>
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The beets we received will likely be roasted (wrapped in foil in the oven at 400 until soft when pierced) and eaten warm with butter as a side dish. I plan to eat the greens steamed and also with butter, possibly as a side with my pasta tonight. Butter just makes so many things better!</div>
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The cucumbers probably won't get buttered ... although ... bread and butter pickles, while not containing actual butter, are extremely delicious ... however, I was more thinking of trying a salad of <a href="http://www.kitchenriffs.com/2012/08/hungarian-cucumber-salad.html" target="_blank">this</a> type. </div>
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Watermelon! How could I forget?! Do you really need to be inspired to eat this treat? Well, if you don't want to get your cheeks sticky with juice, we offer the following suggestion - try something a little different involving muddling a few watermelon cubes with fresh mint leaves and simple syrup then shaking with ice and gin (or white rum or vodka or no alcohol at all, just add more soda) - top it off with a bit of club soda.</div>
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Thanks for stopping by!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-24568423961675077802012-07-31T17:36:00.000-05:002012-08-21T17:09:15.472-05:00CSA Week 9We're coming to you live this week from the Cape Cod Bay! Yes, we actually brought our share with us in the car on our 19 hour trip so that we could enjoy our Montalbano goodness while on vacation. In addition to bringing produce from home, we also went to some effort to seek out local farms here on the Cape - let me tell you that they are not so easy to get to! We hope to get to a small farmers market tomorrow though and we're very excited at the prospect.<br />
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If I were to describe this week's share in one word it would be: corn. Like, a serious amount of the stuff. I'm certainly not complaining though since sweet corn season is so short that we should all gorge ourselves while we can since the fresh ear's counterpart in the frozen food aisle just can't compare.</div>
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The kitchen we have to work with out here is tiny, to say the least, so pretty much everything is going on the grill. According to Grill Master/Guru Steve Raichlen, only Midwesterners grill their corn with the husk on and he would say that the rest of the country takes the husk off with good reason. Grilling corn sans husk means you're getting delicious grill flavor in the corn itself ... instead of in the husk.</div>
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So far we've had grilled corn with homemade mayo and grilled corn with just butter, salt and pepper. Later this week we're looking forward to corn and tomatillo salsa made in the same style as the salsa from last week but with different ingredients to go with steak fajitas (this will be a recurring theme I'm sure) with grilled onions and sweet peppers. </div>
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If you've never grilled onions, I would highly recommend it - they're smoky and deliciously amazing. Grady runs a toothpicks through the onion lengthwise and then slices in between so that the rings are held together by the pick. He the lays them on the grill away from direct heat or on very low heat for just a few minutes each side. I'll try to add pictures of the process the next time we do it.</div>
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With fresh tomatoes you can make salsa, as we did last week, or make Italian salsa aka bruschetta. Chop a few perfectly ripe tomatoes and toss in a bowl with some salt. Tear or chop a handful of basil leaves and toss with the tomatoes. Finally, drizzle olive oil on a few pieces of crusty bread and toast in a skillet over medium-low heat. You could also pour a generous amount of oil into the pan and add a crushed garlic clove - this will result in very oily, very addicting crisp breads. When the bread is browned a crispy, top with tomato mixture and serve. This is a great, quick appetizer that requires a few simple ingredients and very little heat.</div>
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Our last two meals this week have used very little from this week's share but feature other local produce rather prominently. First we had bratwurst with a side of kale and grilled corn, a cup of potato and leek soup, and homemade sauerkraut (from Montalbano cabbages, post about that <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/fermentation-successes-and-failures.html" target="_blank">here</a>). I'm still learning what to do with leeks but we brought an enormous one home and we already had potatoes and it was in the upper 60's so soup is what happened. Chop the white and light green part of the leek and saute it on medium heat in a whole bunch of butter until it's soft. Add potatoes and water/milk/stock and salt. Bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are soft. Mash/puree/leave whole and serve.</div>
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The second meal was pub-style burgers with lots of veggies. Once again, grilled corn and kale plus quick-sauteed zucchini. The burger was topped with caramelized onions (low heat with lots of butter in a skillet) and special pub sauce as developed by the food geniuses in America's Test Kitchen. I am personally opposed to sharing published recipes on the internet so I will have to tease you by saying this sauce is revolutionary and you should find it at the library or pay to get access to it online. It involves 3 cloves of garlic, some Worcestershire sauce and mayonnaise. </div>
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We're haven't quite decided what we'll be doing with our little eggplant - probably roasting. This is one of those vegetables that just doesn't inspire me yet. I love moussaka but it's a significant amount of work and is usually a main dish and I haven't personally experimented much beyond that, I'm sorry to say. Rachel's recipe from the newsletter looks great so we may give that a try. We'll let you know what we do this week but we'd love for you to share any recipes or inspirations you may have in the comments - we will certainly benefit from it!</div>
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And finally, just to let you in on a bit of the beauty we are currently enjoying I give you: My Morning Cup of Coffee.</div>
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See you back in Illinois next week!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-63974142492629982692012-07-26T17:30:00.000-05:002012-07-26T17:30:54.755-05:00Counting Down<div style="text-align: center;">
In less than 24 hours we will be leaving Chicago for this place </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-40309671725477361162012-07-24T17:27:00.000-05:002012-08-21T17:09:15.476-05:00CSA Week 8Friends! I've been asked to write about what we make with the produce that comes in our CSA share every week. I'm excited to share what goes on here in our kitchen and I will be the first to say that Grady does way more of the cooking work than I do, so I can't take credit for most of the good-looking food here! Hope you enjoy what we have to share and please leave comments on how we can improve or other recipe ideas you may have using similar ingredients. Cooking is so much more enjoyable when it is a friendly, communal experience.<br />
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Hello to all of our fellow CSA members! We're excited to begin sharing with you the ways in which we use the items that come in our share every week. The vegetables we receive every week from Rob and Christina are the building blocks of all our meals and while our cooking is not always the most brilliant, we are almost always assured a tasty meal all the same because of the excellent quality of our ingredients. <br />
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The first thing we made when we got home with this week's share was a nice bowl of fresh salsa and some fajitas to use it on. Perfectly ripe tomatoes are best used (in our opinion) in a recipe that allows their full flavor shine.<br />
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For the salsa we simply chop a large tomato (or a handful of small ones), a medium onion, and a jalapeno. Mix in a little salt and a few splashes of white vinegar and lime juice and you're ready to go!<br />
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Fajitas themselves are very versatile and what we make is probably somewhere between a taco and a fajita but I must admit I'm not quite clear on the distinctions between the two. In any case, this is a simple dish to make. If you have a taco/Mexican spice blend on hand, rub that into your meat of choice. We used chicken and cooked it on the grill.<br />
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While the meat is cooking, saute sliced peppers and onions in a neutral oil over medium high heat until soft and lightly browned (the photo below is in process - cook longer than shown here).<br />
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Shred your cooked meat and put it, along with the onions and peppers, into warmed tortilla/fajita shells and top with your fresh salsa.<br />
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This week we also received a few summer squash. These work well as a side dish - sauteed in oil until brown and seasoned with salt and pepper - but when we had those rather monstrously huge squash a week ago, we decided to make a main dish from the vegetable itself. </div>
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Stuffed Zucchini</div>
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Stuffing for vegetables can be whatever you think would be delicious. We used brown rice, browned ground beef, sauteed onions with a bit of garlic, a little tomato paste and a generous amount of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. To round out your flavors, season with salt and pepper, chili, garlic and onion powders and perhaps a dash of brown sugar. You can choose to mix in the 'guts' of your zucchini as well so as not to waste.</div>
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Grady somehow figured out how to hollow out the zucchini without breaking or mangling it {I'm still trying to figure out how he did it}. We then stuffed the (cooked) filling in there and baked them at 350 for probably 30 minutes. The cooking time and amount of stuffing will vary greatly with the size of your squash but extra filling is always delicious on its own so, personally, I would overestimate on that front. We topped our dish with some homemade sweet barbeque sauce as well to add a little kick.</div>
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While it may not be the most photogenic stuffed vegetable, it is certainly filling and delicious!</div>
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For those days when you simply don't have time to do much chopping or veggie-prepping there is always pasta with basil pesto. We try to use basil as soon as possible after bringing it home so that we enjoy it at its peak flavor and so we often make pesto and either use it right away, or freeze it in these handy silicone muffin trays we have to use later (top pesto with oil when storing to keep it from oxidizing).</div>
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I don't use a recipe for pesto although they are certainly plentiful in a Google search. I throw as much basil as I have plus a few cloves of pressed garlic into the bowl of my food processor and process with a generous drizzle of olive oil. If the mixture isn't enough like a paste, I add more oil. Next, add Parmesan cheese. Again, the amount will depend on how much basil you have and your taste but the cheese is what makes pesto so addicting so add rather freely (omit the cheese if you're freezing). Include a few pinches of salt and process again to blend.<br />
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When your pasta is cooked, toss with the pesto and serve with extra cheese. You may want to save 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water when you drain it just in case your pesto needs a bit more moisture when added to the pasta. To add a bit more interest you could also throw in a chopped tomato or two!<br />
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We haven't finished out our week of cooking yet, nor have we exhausted our share. This week we received a bag of bean sprouts that have left me wondering how we are going to use them. Pad Thai is the first dish that comes to mind. A quick search of a few trusty food blogs brings a few more suggestions to the table:</div>
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<a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/2011/05/noodles-with-sprouted-beans-and-curry-lime-dressing/" target="_blank">Noodles with Bean Sprouts and Curry-Lime Dressing</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mykitchentreasures.com/2010/03/chicken-with-soy-sauce-and-bean-sprouts.html" target="_blank"> Chicken with Soy Sauce and Bean Sprouts</a></div>
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<a href="http://chowdivine.com/spicy-mung-bean-salad-maewoon-sukju-namul" target="_blank">Spicy Mung Bean Salad</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.adorasbox.net/2011/09/chicken-and-prawn-pad-thai.html#&disp=170428" target="_blank">Pad Thai</a></div>
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We hope you enjoy your week of good eats!</div>
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~ Courtney and Grady</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-55354579899579822272012-07-20T17:51:00.002-05:002012-07-20T17:51:49.137-05:00Joe's BluesMid-July is the time for local blueberries and this year we were able to go out and pick nearly 13 pounds of fresh, organically-grown Michigan blueberries! We rented a blueberry bush from a place called Joe's Blues and they guarantee that you will get at least 12 pounds from your bush. This past weekend we took a mini vacation just around the lake to go see our bush and take from it every ripe berry we could find.<br />
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These are a high bush variety that are nearly 60 years old! I hope to be this productive when I get to be that age :-)<br />
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The day was lovely, sunny and a bit hot so after we packed up our bounty, we headed to the little downtown area to grab a bite to eat and followed that with a short trip to the beach.<br />
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Being an East Coast girl, Lake Michigan has always creeped me out just a little bit. It's so huge and ocean-like, but it's not the ocean. I just get confused and a little disturbed, which is probably why this was actually my first time <i>ever</i> touching this lake. I know, I've lived near the lake for almost 8 years now and have never even dipped a toe in. I guess it took a blueberry high and the beauty of Michigan to convince me! I was still confused though since my first thought when we chose our beach spot was that we would have to move soon if the tide was still coming in. To me 'beach' will likely always mean 'ocean.'<br />
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No beautiful summer vacation would be complete without a bite or two of ice cream so that was our last stop before heading home. <br />
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Almost a week later, we're still working on getting all those blueberries into the freezer - we finally ordered our deep freezer and it comes tomorrow. Between the cherries and the blueberries and hopefully soon some peaches and possible 1/4 of a cow ... well, we're going to need it!<br />
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As I said in my <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/07/cherry-season.html" target="_blank">cherry post</a>, we've decided to freeze because it's simple, stores produce close to peak nutrition and you can use it months in the future for most of the same purposes as fresh. We realize we're using up electricity to keep our goods frozen and that we're in some trouble if we lose power for an extended period of time (although I would imagine being city apartment dwellers that this may not be as likely for us as for others) but dehydrating would probably be our next ideal option and we don't have a dehydrator yet, so we'll wait.<br />
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For now, we are overflowing with delicious, little blueberries. This experience only compounds my desire to grow fruit on our own property some day - we got 13 pounds in one day from one bush - just imagine the possibilities! Fruit growing can be challenging work, but oh how rich you feel when you run your hands through pounds of fresh berries! Such extravagance.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-1840057293708788842012-07-16T11:31:00.001-05:002012-07-16T11:31:35.188-05:00Fermentation: Successes and FailuresA few months ago I ordered two very exciting books:<br />
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<i>The Essential Urban Farmer</i> is filled with excellent information about all things urban/small-space farming and I'm sure I will gush more about it's usefulness when I finally get around to writing about our little community garden space. But the other book - <i>wild fermentation</i>, well, it's been causing a stir here in our kitchen.<br />
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The only real fermentation I've been doing has been yogurt, which you can read about <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-yogurt-style.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and because we don't buy raw milk at the moment there isn't much that's truly wild about that process. Thanks to Sandor, though, we're branching out!<br />
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<i>Fermentation #1: Sourdough</i><br />
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The basic way to make a sourdough starter is to mix equal parts flour and water, stir a few times per day and wait for wild yeast to show up and feast upon the meal you made for them. We caught our little critters within 48 hours!<br />
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Once you catch them, you need to keep feeding and watering them, but you're also free to bake with their natural leavening power! This is mostly where the success/failure comes in - we made the "Alaskan Hotcakes" recipe in the book and they were generally a success although I still need to figure out how to cook them properly.<br />
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They were quite edible, noticeably sour and improved greatly with maple syrup and apple butter.<br />
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Next I tried bread. Bread brings with it a long list of failures for me (see <a href="http://for-the-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/02/laughing.html" target="_blank">this post</a> for an example). When I first started, things were OK but I was using all white flour and commercial yeast and that's just not what I'm after for regular consumption anymore. After exploding glass in a hot oven on two occasions and attempting many "foolproof" and "scientific" methods, I still am mostly disappointed. But it's bread for goodness sake! Haven't people been making bread for almost forever? How could it be so hard and complicated? So, based on Sandor's kitchen ethic of never measuring, I mixed up some sourdough bread (I did this also because I really couldn't find a plain sourdough recipe that uses whole wheat flour, only sourdough starter, and makes 1 loaf). Serious failure.<br />
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I've read many times that the main problem with novice-made bread is that they add too much flour while kneading, so you're supposed to wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Let me tell you - I kneaded this dough with wet hands, dry hands, floured hands and everywhere in between for probably 45 minutes and never achieved the smooth, elastic dough that all bread makers aspire to. I also got embarrassingly angry and frustrated with my dough. Eventually, I got it in a semi-manageable state, let it rise again and dumped it in the oven. The resulting bread was edible but seriously dense and had a pathetic crust. I'm giving up on bread making for the foreseeable future. Grady says he may try his hand now and that's just fine with me!<br />
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On to successes...<br />
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<i>Fermentation #2: Cabbage aka Sauerkraut</i><br />
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Pretty straightforward: chop cabbage, add salt, pound it to release water to cover and let it sit and do it's thing.</div>
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I have actually failed at this before too and I'm not totally sure why except I think I didn't get the water level high enough (I added salt water to the crock above because the amount pictured is definitely not enough). Our kraut is coming along nicely now and we may begin eating it tonight (it was started about a week ago).<br />
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<i>Fermentation #3: Honey Wine</i><br />
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This one is also very simple. Mix honey and water and let it sit out, stirring a few times per day. In the same way as with sourdough, the sweet mixture attracts yeast and starts the fermentation process. Once you've got some bubbles going (ours fizzed like soda when stirred), transfer to a carboy with an airlock to finish.<br />
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This is also a more immediate gratification concoction than other alcoholic ferments in that it can be ready 2 weeks after starting, although you can let it go for about 4 and bottle and age it, if you want to. We haven't tasted it yet but all seems to be going according to plan, so hopefully we'll be enjoying it soon!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-19280541103249077692012-07-09T21:28:00.001-05:002012-07-09T21:30:44.767-05:00Cherry SeasonThe cherries are here! Cherry season is finally upon us and the tables at the market now stock neat boxes packed with the deep red little fruit. For some, however, this season either didn't come at all or came with little promise. Here in the Midwest, we had a week of summer weather in very early spring followed by more normal, down to freezing, spring temperatures. This combination proved disastrous for fruit blossoms as they came out for spring and in some cases were then frozen off their branches. Thankfully, a few vendors at Green City Market were still able to bring a small crop to market.<br />
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Knowing that the harvest would be small this year, Grady and I took the first opportunity to buy 8 pints of cherries to save up for future use. Not only did we get a delicious box full of sweet and sour (1/2 and 1/2) cherries, but Grady also bought me a small bouquet of elderflowers {post to come on this}!!! <br />
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We spent about an hour together on Independence Day just standing in the kitchen, pitting cherries. Having no special device to remove said pits, we experimented with different techniques using a wooden chopstick. Overall, certainly a messy endeavor but so worth it as long as you're wearing an apron!<br />
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For the moment, we are freezing most of the excess produce we bring home. There are many ways of preserving food and there are pros and cons to each one. Freezing uses up energy to keep things frozen, it's a big problem if you lose power for more than a few hours (well, less of a problem with fruit than meat), and it can make the produce watery once thawed. Still, we are using this method for fruit right now because it seems to be the best way to keep just the fruit. I don't want to make jams and jellies, except a very small batch or two, because we rarely eat them and they all require sweetener, usually white sugar, to preserve. We simply are looking to have fruit in as close to natural state as possible come winter. I have no citation for this at the moment, but I have also read in numerous places that freezing is the best method for retaining maximum nutrients since canning cooks them and depletes them. One caveat to the above would be that natural fermentation often is the best choice because it preserves using no energy and it often makes nutrients more available than when the produce was fresh. We have a few fermentations on the counter right now too, but that will also wait for another post. <br />
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Our summer kitchen is busy and full. Cherries are our latest joy but there are still more fruits and berries to come (not to mention the cabbage, cucumbers, squash, basil, etc ....)! How are you putting up summer's bounty in your kitchen?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-33686906835190737022012-07-03T16:52:00.000-05:002012-07-03T16:52:43.108-05:00Summer Celebration<div style="text-align: center;">
Good friends, good food and good music. Just after the summer solstice, we gathered for a celebration of the season.</div>
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Our beautiful hostesses provided lovely food and drink - we brought more food, more love and perhaps a song or two to share. </div>
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How better to spend a summer evening than in such circumstances and with such company? </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-19858654958350233092012-06-29T13:16:00.001-05:002012-06-29T13:21:16.413-05:00traveling eastA wedding of friends, a graduation and family. These are the joyous events that had us driving across the country to Pennsylvania/Virginia in late May. I wrapped up the last day of my farming internship, got home and we drove well into the night, stopping in Ohio then waking early to drive the rest of the way to the wedding in a tiny, beautiful town called Waterford.<br />
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I am in love with old houses - with places that could tell you many stories and reveal history. This town has been preserved and changed very little since the 1840's. Between the ceremony and reception (just a walk through town from one building to another) Grady and I wandered the streets, me taking pictures of almost every house and marveling at how tiny some of them were. Of course, there were also near mansions, like the ones pictured above. Many of the houses had small gardens and a few even had sheep in the backyard!<br />
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This step back in time was a matter of minutes, really, from our nation's capitol. So, to make the most out of our trip we spent the night in DC. We've both done the tourist version of DC before, but this was the first time I truly realized that there are other things in the city aside from the White House and lots of big monuments. We stayed on Embassy Row and so spent the morning wandering more streets and taking more pictures of amazing houses (seriously, I love old architecture). We were directed to the most ingenious place for brunch, called Kramer Books. <br />
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This place is a bookstore, a diner, a bar and a performance space - talk about making the most out of your space!<br />
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From Washington, we went on 'home' to be with my family. Lancaster, PA is a home I have never actually lived in, but I love it all the same. It's the 'Home is where your heart is' kind of place. And not only is it the place I find my family, it is a place the claims the oldest continuously operating <a href="http://www.centralmarketlancaster.com/" target="_blank">farmers market</a>. I mean ... that's awesome - not to mention the architecture ...<br />
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Family gatherings are few and far between for us since we have all spread out to so many areas and, of course, there are quite a few schedules to try and coordinate. Even at this gathering, we were still missing two siblings. Still, time together is precious and often centering. I am reminded of the things in my life that are constant and lasting - Love above all. <br />
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<i>A birthday celebration</i></div>
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<i>A long table set for guests and celebration</i> </div>
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<i>Flowers and greenery gathered from the yard</i> </div>
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<i>The bright-colored sugar to add to the festivity</i> </div>
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<i>The beautiful woman whose achievement we celebrate</i></div>
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It was, perhaps, the most ideal way for us to step fully into our summer season. Love, celebration and more love.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-46428062524388037152012-06-21T11:16:00.001-05:002012-06-21T11:16:49.644-05:00water - the stuff of lifeIn this modern society of ours we often find ourselves disconnected from our food, the earth, weather, etc. I'm not the first person to say it nor do I think I'll be the last - we're sorely out of touch with the stuff of life! One of the things I deeply appreciate about receiving a CSA from our farmer every week (in addition to the delicious produce!) is the opportunity to be more connected to the land. This experience coupled with our ventures into community gardening has given me a new perspective on this world and a deeper sense of awe at how beautiful, fragile and yet resilient life is.<br />
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Until a few days ago, the only source of water for this little community garden was rain. We set up a series of rain barrels at the bottom of rain spouts to collect water and we simply hoped it would rain enough to last us most of the summer, except maybe August when we would need some supplementary water source.<br />
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I don't know what the weather has been like where you are, but here in the Chicago area, our weather report has look like this for the last 4 weeks, at least:<br />
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That thundercloud may look promising, but it represents a 30% chance of rain. Also, thunderstorms aren't quite the kind of rain we need. They pour and then move on - no gentle, full-day soaking of the ground. It's only June and we're already in drought. I can't help but think, if we lived just 100 years ago, this would be a serious crisis. This season's weather is already causing crisis for many farmers - that summer in early spring followed by deep cold? One farmer told me he lost his entire cherry crop. No long freeze over the winter affects the lakes in our region, it also means more bugs may have survived to haunt us this summer. And now the rain. We got very little early spring rain and now even less. If it were not for modern water systems, we would likely be looking at regional famine. Maybe that's a bit extreme since I don't know all the ways they got water to crops before plumbing but I do know that, had we not bought a hose for our garden, all of our plants would have died by now.<br />
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There was a time when food didn't just show up at the store. The weather in California would have been largely inconsequential to us. What would matter most, for most of the year, would be what the sky above us looks like today. Today my sky is actually overcast and looks like rain but still none has fallen - hopefully it will though! Whether it does or not, I will continue to be thankful for the technology that allows me to eat today and tomorrow and the days after that in spite of the sky. Don't get me wrong - water is a precious resource, weather pattern shifts are a concern and it's quite possibly some of our modernizations that have caused the current problems we face, but as we work towards a more sustainable future, I'm thankful that we have the means to live to see it. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7311434660183597266.post-28575622012572260442012-06-15T09:18:00.000-05:002012-06-15T09:18:29.351-05:00excerpts from an urban farmToday I bring you just a few pictures from around the farm(s) in Chicago. Farming in an urban environment is a unique challenge but also an inspiring and creative endeavor. From composted restaurant scraps to rooftop bee keeping, there is a world of opportunity in the city, which makes pieces of vacant land less of an eyesore and more of a blank slate of farming potential.<br />
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<i>Steam rising from our hot compost pile - it still amazes me to feel how hot it gets (150 degrees!). The mural in the background was painted in collaboration with local youth around themes of food, farming and food security.</i></div>
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<i>Raised beds and a hoop house on a gray day.</i> </div>
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<i>Rainy day farming at Grant Park.</i> </div>
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<i>I didn't expect to be driving around a 12 passenger van this young in life but I guess 'plant mom' precedes 'soccer mom.'</i> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HiEVv_ZTg_E/T9tBCUryGwI/AAAAAAAAAxU/QaghlpxiW1c/s1600/IMG_0114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HiEVv_ZTg_E/T9tBCUryGwI/AAAAAAAAAxU/QaghlpxiW1c/s640/IMG_0114.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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<i>The harvest knife is sharp.</i> </div>
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<i>Rooftop bees!</i></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpuxRsfU5q0/T9tBGHm17zI/AAAAAAAAAxo/TowrzusrH2s/s1600/IMG_0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpuxRsfU5q0/T9tBGHm17zI/AAAAAAAAAxo/TowrzusrH2s/s640/IMG_0149.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>I got to help 'catch' this swarm as my first bee keeping experience. It was amazing and a little bit scary. Bees are just so cool.</i> </div>
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<i>Seriously full hive. Again - a little scary and a lot amazing.</i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0