CSA, Week 1

The time has come for spring CSA.  We had a one-week delay because of the crazy rain and the hail storm(s?), but now we're on track.  On the suggestion of many trustworthy sources and consultation with our share-splitter (coworker LA) we chose Roxbury Farms.  Back in the day we had a half share, but no such thing in the Cap Reg.  I had a feeling we'd quickly fall behind on our own, so thank goodness for LA.  The plan is that we'll pick up every other week, and she the same.  If we have an insane amount of something that we think will just go bad, we'll share even when it's "our week," because we're nice like that.

Week 1:

- Lettuce lettuce lettuce!  Salad mix and a beautiful head of red lettuce.
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Summer squash
- Garlic scapes
- Kale
- Herbs!  We grabbed basil and parsley, and we have more growing on the porch :)

I'm thinking kale chips, although at first attempt I found them tasty but too thin.  They were like paper that crumbled in my hand or just disintegrated on my tongue.  Another option is a kale and chickpea or white bean soup; I've seen a lot of similar recipes floating around, and it won't be too heavy for our current weather.

Last night I sauteed up some scapes, squash, zucchini (aren't they also squash?), and spinach and threw them into a giant pasta salad with torn basil.  It's basically my favorite non-winter food. Can't wait until tomatoes are really happening.  Add some grilled tofu or sliced up Tofurkey sausage and you have a protein, vegetable, grain, and lunch is READY.  You can even make mini turkey meatballs and throw them in (we did). Eat it cold (we do), or eat it hot (also we do that). Put it on your salad.  Make it with brown rice pasta for a gluten free version.

The bok choy may turn into a variation on my aunt's family's awesome salad, or maybe a big stir fry.

Supplementing our veggies were the spoils from our strawberry picking at Indian Ladder. For the first time in my picking history, we were asked to pay before we picked.  OK!  Whatever!

We even liked the deformed ones.

Last Two CSA Weeks

The last two weeks of our CSA.  Wow, 8 weeks really flies by when you're looking forward to fresh and local produce. 

Green beans, tomatoes, pears, yams/sweet potatoes, pepper, apples, spaghetti squash, butternut squash.  We had a weekend guest and some friends over for dinner, so we used our haul for entertaining, mostly.  J&G butternut squash soup, sweet potato enchiladas, braised short ribs with a side of spaghetti squash with pesto and tomatoes--yes, mostly we ate orange food.  But the people did not complain!

This week the only tomatoes left were truly sad, so I let them be.  Instead I grabbed pumpkin butter, apples, a spaghetti squash, an acorn squash, and some peppers (that are in the fridge).

Said short ribs, during searing...

Oh yeah, and the pumpkin challah.  This beaut expanded in the oven and got misshapen, it wanted to crack in half.  But it was still delicious.  The smaller loaf and little rolls came out splendidly in appearance.

 
Overall I'm really happy we did the CSA.  Like I said last week, I'm not sure if I'd be as psyched if I didn't pick my own stuff.  But I think we'll try again, especially in the spring/summer. 

Hope everyone had a great week!

CSA Weeks 5 & 6

Can you believe it's week 6 already?  I feel like I just started.

Last week was butternut squash week.  I was making the J&G soup from Metrocurean like it was my job.  It was so delicious, I even brought a lunch starter portion for EM.   Sweet potato found its way into an Indian simmer sauce TJ dinner, and everything else was eaten raw.  I did use some apples for my two batches of Smitten Kitchen's apple cheddar scones, which were well-received each time, to say the least.  I did find that putting the butter in the freezer for a little bit to really chill it helped keep the dough from getting a little melty/soft in shaping the scones.  Also, trying to cut 8 instead of 6 was an error in round 1--making them thicker and only making 6 made round 2 way better.

 Also above with last week's haul was pear cider.  J has been drinking the cider in the morning.  We used to always have Light Chocolate Silk (soymilk), and it was a go to just-before-leaving-the-house thing for both of us when you just need a litttttle something to hold you over til breakfast (we both eat at our desks).  You need a taste in your mouth, not minty toothpaste.  We've been Silkless for a while now, for no particular reason, so J is digging the fall cider.  He reports that this one totally tastes like pear.   (What else would it taste like?)

This week the market was DARK.  Of course, out of a 4-7pm or so pickup I'm there at 6:40 (thanks traffic!), so that's what I get.  I crouched and squinted to catch the names of the apples.  I got a few apples, a pepper, two tomatoes, a couple small zucchini, green beans, a small eggplant, a medium butternut squash, a medium spaghetti squash (can't wait, our first of the season!) and cheddar cauliflower.  Simply roasted of put into a casserole type situation with actual cheddar, that baby should be yummy.  I'm thinking of spaghetti squashing (roasted) with some freshly grated parm and halved grape tomatoes, simple but effective.

We're still doing a great job finishing everything up before it goes bad, and I definitely see a difference in our visits to the supermarket.  We're working around what we've got and being creative.  We aren't aimlessly picking things out that we forget to use.  When you have a true limit (what fits in a tiny basket), you really have to be thoughtful in your choices!  I am so so so thankful that at Norman's I actually get to choose what I'm getting.  I don't need a lot of onions and potatoes, and sometimes I want to make butternut squash soup, but other times I want all acorn squash for a particular recipe.  And sometimes I don't want any apples, I want all pears!  I'm not sure I could go for a CSA where someone else chooses for me.  I want it my way, darn it. 

CSA Friday and Shared Items

Woo! Happy Friday, guys.  This week brought GREENS!  Collard greens, kale, and some gorgeous looking lettuce.  I picked kale, zucchini, pears, one lone apple (after all, we had picked so many), 2 red bell peppers, green beans, and little bebeh tomatoes.  This was one of those weeks that I wish we had a full share.  But I'm thrilled that nothing is going bad.  We're cooking better, planning meals better, and eating every last drop.  I would have liked another zucchini or two, a few full size tomatoes, and, as per usual, Concord grapes. I gave up my grapes for bebeh matoes (or the kale, depending on how you look at it). 

We made zucchini boats from State Dinner again (mmm), kale chips from Smitten, and a lot of other stuff is being eaten raw. 

Tomorrow I must make these scones from Smitten.  Apple cheddar omg I want it now.

When is a bagel not a bagel?  From the WSJ.  Also from WSJ, some people are still hunting down the McRib.

It's fall now, which means I'm looking forward to making these CSK butternut squash enchiladas (mild of course), J&G's butternut squash soup (via Metrocurean), and the pumpkin challah I found on the list of amazing 100 Ways to Cook a Pumpkin from Endless Simmer.  I'd like someone to make the pumpkin spice latte cheesecake for me, though. (h/t Mel)

And lastly, I need to go to Vegas right now.  Because I have to camp out in front of China Poblano until it opens, and maybe along the way they'll feed me some practice dishes.  Jose Andres, you are killin' me!

CSA deliciousness and apple picking!

Week 3 of the CSA brought some smaller butternut squash, so much so that they were two per option instead of one.  I mixed and matched with a small butternut, regular-sized acorn squash, and of course, concord grapes.  You can smell those babies across a room.  Otherwise I got a few apples (not too many, since we'd be picking soon), tomatoes, onion, and pears.

Stuff we made:
-  African Peanut Soup from The Dirty Radish - very tasty. I served this to some guests on Friday night, and the reviews were rave.  I emailed the recipe to my Grandma.
- Acorn squash and gorgonzola pizza....or at least, our own special variation of it.
- Butternut squash and chickpea salad from I Flip For Food.
- Cakeballs from Eat Run Read.  OK, these had zero to do with farm-freshness, but they were a HUGE hit with the gang at home, in the office, and on our picnic.  Red velvet.  Decadent.

J just demanded that I take a wedge of tomato and suck out the seedy gooey part "like an oyster," because "this is the sweetest tomato [he's] ever had in [his] life."  I obliged.  Thanks for sharing, friend.

Apples are still ready for picking.  We love pairing local farms with wineries (see Stribling Farm adventure, and we've also done Great Country Farms + Bluemont Vineyard).  So Homestead Farm + Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard seemed natural.  I'd been hearing about SMV from my very favorite future sister in law for quite some time, and it was high time I enjoyed the stunning view of the mountain, a $5 tasting, and a glass of sangria.  Plus, we stumbled upon the perfect farmstand for J3 to find a beautiful white pumpkin.  Did I say beautiful?  I meant spooky!

CSA Friday and What I've Been Sharing

We picked up more CSA items, this time together.  This week's bounty includes zucchini (for ERR zucchini bread, perhaps), peppers, apples, pears, Concord grapes, grape tomatoes, green beans...all things that want to be eaten muahahahh.  I am controlling myself around the squash because I know it'll keep coming week after week.  Spaghetti squash and butternut, I'm watching you!  You will be turned into a pasta substitute and a soup (M&T perhaps), respectively.  Mmm.   

What I've been sharing: My weekly recaps started in February when I had become stir-crazy and blog-crazy from the snow, and they ended right around the time Top Chef began.  Instead of confining myself to something weekly, I just want to round up some things I've shared via email, Google Reader, Twitter, and *gasp* face-to-face conversation recently.  Maybe you'll find something story-worthy in my yammering.

Pretty cranberry beans from Cara's Cravings.

I am dying to eat this goat cheese and tomato quiche from Corcoran Street Kitchen.  It's beautiful, mostly because like me, she's not shy with the parsley : )

Skirt steak salad! And also, a sock monkey. From Smitten Kitchen.

Sometimes eating makes us tired.  Puppies too.

This Crispy No-Knead bread from Evan the Carnivore looks awesome and crusty (in a good way).

Amsterdam Falafel is expanding, says Metrocurean.  I'd like to see one in Bethesda!

Quinoa got a prime nerd spot on the popular law blog Volokh Conspiracy. Then another.

What to do with all those apples (and apples, apples, and more apples )?  Pinch My Salt has a few ideas. Don't forget to pick them too!  It's nice to see that Stribling was popular this year!

I did a noodle kugel showdown between BGSK and the Shiksa by making half of each recipe for an official taste test (and by official I mean at a staff meeting).  The (legal) opinion of our team was for the Shiksa's recipe, but J liked BGSK better.  Both are delicious.  Shiksa's has a crumb topping (YUM), less butter, and adds cottage cheese to the mix.  J thinks it's too dessert-y because of the crumb topping (which could easily be left off).  Anyway, it was my first kugel ever, and I'm happy with the results.

W. Mark Felt (the fictional one, not the real one mayherestinpeace) hit up Volt's Table 21. Jealous!

Lunching in the DMV laid out the details for next week's Curbside Cookoff, maybe a chance for those of us working in outer Mongolia to try some trucks?

I recently ordered Girl Scout cookies from a coworker's daughter.  I finally took the 30 seconds to Google the answer to the age old question: why are they sometimes Samoas and sometimes Caramel deLites, but always the same and delicious?  Two bakeries, my friends.  Two bakeries that are the Official Girl Scout Cookie bakeries, and each council can pick which one they want to go with.  Certain cookie varieties and package sizes are required, and some are nearly identical due to popularity.  My favorites are Thin Mints from the freezer. Samoas/Caramel deLites are second favorite.

Other than that, recently I've eaten from Taylor Gourmet in Bethesda twice, BGR The Burger Joint once, and I haven't been to Pete's Apizza in almost 3 weeks, so obviously I'm going through withdrawal.  We're saving our appetites and pennies for a special dinner coming up.

CSA - Community Supported Agriculture

Recently, at a friend's holiday table, we were discussing apples.  And I said, "Oh it's not apple-picking season yet!  It's too hot!"  And friend's friend said, "It is too.  My CSA has been full of apples!"  Then, a little silent reflection on how funny that statement sounds, or at least would have sounded 5 years ago.  And then smiles all around.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Even if people aren't sure of that at first mention, they usually get what I mean when I continue with "it's where you sort of buy a share in a farm and get some fruits and veggies every week for a season," and I usually only get halfway into that before the nodding and the "OH YEAH THAT, I HAVE HEARD OF IT."  I wanted to try using a CSA a few years ago thanks to major raves from F, but I kept shying away.  Cost (and no income, as a student), work (finding time and recipes to use the produce), and travel (I always wanted to do it for summer, and I'd look at the calendar and see we'd be gone half of it).  So this fall I said no more excuses, let's do this.  On the sage recommendation of Evan the Carnivore I signed us up for a half-share for fall at Normans Farm Market.  $120 for fall.  A slight discount if you do all three seasons.

A handful of my pals have blogged their CSA adventures, including The Dirty Radish and The Proudfeet.  I'm following in their footsteps. 

First, Normans is pick-up.  The pickup I chose isn't far from where we live, and it's easy for me to pick up on my way home because I drive.  When I arrived on the first day, I was given a small basket from a stack of small and large options.  I could fill it up once with my choice of veggies (zucchini, onion, tomato, eggplant, potatoes sweet and not, cucumbers, peppers), then again with fruit (pears, peaches, plums, apples), then I get 2 "options."  2 acorn squash = one option, 1 pt grape tomatoes = one option, 1 butternut squash = 1 option, 2 heads of broccoli = one option, etc.  I just ask someone who works there what is what and go from there.

Here's my goods from the first week.  Very little planning went into what I chose.  It was mostly OMG I GET TO CHOOOOSE SO MANY CHOIIIIICES YAY. I am easily entertained.

glamour shot:

Decoded: Black plums (that at first looked to me like figs), white eggplant, yellow zucchini, acorn squash, pears, sweet potato, tomato, grape tomatoes, peaches.

I sauteed some of the vegetables and added a can of no salt diced tomatoes, white wine, garlic, quinoa and chicken breast pieces into a big bowl of steamy food.  Mmmm food.  I want to try to make this quinoa squash gratin next time. 

I sort of wish I was picking up on Tuesday so I could have the haul at the beginning of the week.  But I usually have the most time to cook on the weekends, and fall/winter food usually takes roasting and simmering (I'm talking to you, roasted squash and hearty stews).  Also, I find myself busy after work this past Tuesday, next Tuesday, and the one after.  So I guess Thursday was meant to be. PS click that link and watch the trailer if you know what's good for ya.