I find myself eagerly awaiting 3:30pm on Sunday so we can head over to pick up our goodies and then make a menu for the week!
This week's box:
1 bunch of radishes with greens
1 bunch of arugula
1 head of red leaf lettuce
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch kale
1 bunch beets with greens
2 summer squash
2 zucchini
2 small and 1 large cucumber
1 bag of green beans
1 fennel bulb
Plus we still have one zucchini from last week.
After shopping, I started by prepping the beets. I will eat those on my salad this week. I boiled them since I like them that way better than roasted, plus we were using the oven to make veggie pizza. Recipe here: https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/kale-pizza-and-other-thoughts/
We really liked it. I think next time I would render some bacon or Pancetta first, then cook the onions, garlic and greens. Tonight we ate it with pork with applewood rub. Not a great flavor combination, but at least it wasn't chicken with everyday seasoning! There were no real carbohydrates with this meal. I considered making some pasta crust, but I didn't have any milk to keep the pasta together We were also running out of burners.
I spent the remainder of evening making lentils to add some oomph to my salad and washing the lettuce. I used the beet water to make the lentils. Thought I would save some energy by using water that was already heated.
Showing posts with label lettuce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lettuce. Show all posts
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Friday, July 4, 2014
Fixing the kale
Last night we sauteed the kale. I washed and cut the leaves, first in half along the stem, then into 1inch strips. Added some oil to the pan, then the greens, then 1/2 cup of water. Bert kept an eye on it, sort of. Some of the leaves started to burn to the bottom, but he saved them. We could probably use a little more water next time. We sprinkled with lemon juice. We had leftover rice and stir-fry chicken.
For lunch today, I had more salad. Hahaha. I laugh because I am eating a lot of homemade salads these days and expect this will be the trend for the summer. Bert picked up frozen cooked shrimp, so I defrosted that for protein on the salad. We shelled the peas and boiled them for about 10minutes. I cooled them off a little and put them on my salad along with 1/2 of summer squash. Bert ate the peas with a little butter and his grocery store sandwich. I don't know why he eats those things. Originally I asked him what he was having for lunch since I was having a salad. He didn't know, but was going to Walgreens for a Gatorade and was thinking about picking up some fruit there. Yes, Walgreens has fruit, some fresh, some pre-sliced melons in the grab-n-go section. I said, "why don't you just walk the two blocks to the grocery store and pick up real fruit?" Then I proceeded to make a list of things for him to pick up. I even said, "you could get one of those deli sandwiches even." A few moments later I had the idea of putting shrimp on the salad, so I added shrimp to the list. Unfortunately, I didn't specify that we would both have salad and shrimp and to cancel the sub. Oh well.
For supper tonight we sauteed one zucchini. I boiled the rest of the beet greens in water. Those two things didn't take long at all. While those were steaming I prepared the 10-minute brown rice. Bert fixed the chicken with salt and the everyday seasoning. Since my mom likes vinegar on her beets and boiled greens, I put a little red wine vinegar on our greens. I was able to mix some of the beet water with the rice, but it wasn't that noticeable, maybe I'll add more next time. Bert didn't like the greens with vinegar. I thought the meal was pretty good. The zucchini was perfect. How many more days can I eat chicken stir fry with everyday seasoning??
We made good progress today. Almost done with the vegetables. We have 1/2 summer squash, 1 zucchini, a few strawberries and enough lettuce for one to two more salads. I think we'll be done by the next pick-up Sunday!
For lunch today, I had more salad. Hahaha. I laugh because I am eating a lot of homemade salads these days and expect this will be the trend for the summer. Bert picked up frozen cooked shrimp, so I defrosted that for protein on the salad. We shelled the peas and boiled them for about 10minutes. I cooled them off a little and put them on my salad along with 1/2 of summer squash. Bert ate the peas with a little butter and his grocery store sandwich. I don't know why he eats those things. Originally I asked him what he was having for lunch since I was having a salad. He didn't know, but was going to Walgreens for a Gatorade and was thinking about picking up some fruit there. Yes, Walgreens has fruit, some fresh, some pre-sliced melons in the grab-n-go section. I said, "why don't you just walk the two blocks to the grocery store and pick up real fruit?" Then I proceeded to make a list of things for him to pick up. I even said, "you could get one of those deli sandwiches even." A few moments later I had the idea of putting shrimp on the salad, so I added shrimp to the list. Unfortunately, I didn't specify that we would both have salad and shrimp and to cancel the sub. Oh well.
For supper tonight we sauteed one zucchini. I boiled the rest of the beet greens in water. Those two things didn't take long at all. While those were steaming I prepared the 10-minute brown rice. Bert fixed the chicken with salt and the everyday seasoning. Since my mom likes vinegar on her beets and boiled greens, I put a little red wine vinegar on our greens. I was able to mix some of the beet water with the rice, but it wasn't that noticeable, maybe I'll add more next time. Bert didn't like the greens with vinegar. I thought the meal was pretty good. The zucchini was perfect. How many more days can I eat chicken stir fry with everyday seasoning??
We made good progress today. Almost done with the vegetables. We have 1/2 summer squash, 1 zucchini, a few strawberries and enough lettuce for one to two more salads. I think we'll be done by the next pick-up Sunday!
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Second week
We left my parents place early on Sunday so we could get back in time to pick up my box of vegetables. We made it back with time to spare! The good thing to know is that if we miss a pick-up the food goes to Rosie's place, or a food shelter, or back to the farm for the pigs. (I can also request a change in day/location for pick-up, but the alternatives are not as convenient.)
The box
1 small bunch kale
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch beets
1 head fennel
1 small bunch arugula
1 pint strawberries
1 bag of shell peas
2 zucchini
2 summer squash
1 head of green lettuce (not sure of the variety)
Bert went to the store and picked up butter and cottage cheese. I need the cottage cheese for my lunch and he needed the butter for our scallops.
Sunday night we had roasted beets and fennel per the recipe suggestion on the flyer.
Recipe here: https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/roasted-beets-and-fennel/
This time I trimmed all of the beet greens off and washed/ rubbed the dirt from the beets. I cut them in quarters and started them in the oven at 400degrees. I then prepped the fennel. Cut off the stalks, then sliced the bulb. I still don't think I sliced the bulb right. I put the pieces in the oven after 10minutes lead time. I also added red potatoes we had on hand. They took the same amount of time (maybe quicker) than the beets. I roasted everything for another 30minutes. Maybe the beets were a little underdone. Bert fixed the scallops. The meal was okay. I think it needed some greens (of which I had plenty, but didn't use!) to round it out. The scallops were perfect and tasty! The more I talk to other people, the more I think I should have peeled the beets before I roasted them, oh well!
For lunch Monday I ate the leftovers from Friday (that we didn't eat Sunday as planned). We ate dinner out since we went to the Sox game.
The farm also recommended roasted beets on green salad, so I brought the leftovers to work today. Sprinkled olive oil and red wine vinegar on the greens, beets and fennel. That was very good. Ate the Kashi crackers with cottage cheese and the tomatoes with the cottage cheese. Yummy!
For dinner tonight, Tuesday: I forgot to defrost some chicken, but luckily Bert wasn't coming home for dinner, so I could keep things easy. I washed the arugula. Cut up the strawberries (they expire so quickly!), tossed the rest of roasted beet/fennel on the greens and sprinkled the leftover goat cheese on top. I made a fried egg for some extra protein. Dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe the meal was a little short on the carbohydrates, but everything else was tasty!
Still in the fridge: lettuce, squash, peas, Swiss chard and kale. Tomorrow I think I will fix the kale or chard. The squash lasts a little longer, so I have been saving those for the end of the week.
Need to remember to defrost some chicken for tomorrow!
The box
1 small bunch kale
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch beets
1 head fennel
1 small bunch arugula
1 pint strawberries
1 bag of shell peas
2 zucchini
2 summer squash
1 head of green lettuce (not sure of the variety)
Bert went to the store and picked up butter and cottage cheese. I need the cottage cheese for my lunch and he needed the butter for our scallops.
Sunday night we had roasted beets and fennel per the recipe suggestion on the flyer.
Recipe here: https://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2013/06/29/roasted-beets-and-fennel/
This time I trimmed all of the beet greens off and washed/ rubbed the dirt from the beets. I cut them in quarters and started them in the oven at 400degrees. I then prepped the fennel. Cut off the stalks, then sliced the bulb. I still don't think I sliced the bulb right. I put the pieces in the oven after 10minutes lead time. I also added red potatoes we had on hand. They took the same amount of time (maybe quicker) than the beets. I roasted everything for another 30minutes. Maybe the beets were a little underdone. Bert fixed the scallops. The meal was okay. I think it needed some greens (of which I had plenty, but didn't use!) to round it out. The scallops were perfect and tasty! The more I talk to other people, the more I think I should have peeled the beets before I roasted them, oh well!
For lunch Monday I ate the leftovers from Friday (that we didn't eat Sunday as planned). We ate dinner out since we went to the Sox game.
The farm also recommended roasted beets on green salad, so I brought the leftovers to work today. Sprinkled olive oil and red wine vinegar on the greens, beets and fennel. That was very good. Ate the Kashi crackers with cottage cheese and the tomatoes with the cottage cheese. Yummy!
For dinner tonight, Tuesday: I forgot to defrost some chicken, but luckily Bert wasn't coming home for dinner, so I could keep things easy. I washed the arugula. Cut up the strawberries (they expire so quickly!), tossed the rest of roasted beet/fennel on the greens and sprinkled the leftover goat cheese on top. I made a fried egg for some extra protein. Dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Maybe the meal was a little short on the carbohydrates, but everything else was tasty!
Still in the fridge: lettuce, squash, peas, Swiss chard and kale. Tomorrow I think I will fix the kale or chard. The squash lasts a little longer, so I have been saving those for the end of the week.
Need to remember to defrost some chicken for tomorrow!
Sunday, June 22, 2014
First Week
I am a little behind, since this idea just came to me. I want to make a record of our first summer with a CSA so I can remember what it was like, in truth, when next year comes around and I think about doing it again. I don't mince words, so I think I will leave an accurate impression here.
I am going to back-date the first post just so it is chronological.
I picked up my vegetables Sunday at 3:30pm. Stillman's Farm delivers to Brookline Village, on a Sunday, which I thought was perfect. 1) it is close to where I live, 2) there is a parking lot in case the haul is bigger than what I can carry 3) it is a Sunday, so I can go shopping after I know what I am working with and plan for the week 4) I will have time when I get home to wash everything as needed.
They gave me my veggies, a reusable grocery bag, $20 punch card to buy more veggies as needed, newsletter with a recipe, and a friendly greeting. The items in the box fit almost perfectly in the bag, so I left the box with them! We then made a quick trip to the Bevy (is that a VT or SMC thing? Did I spell that right?) and picked up some cold beer, Sierra Nevada Summer Ale. Pretty good stuff.
The box:
1 bunch beets with greens (5 of them)
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 head of green leaf lettuce
1 summer squash
2 zucchini
1 pint strawberries
1 large bag of spinach
1 small bag of shell peas (my dad had to identify them for me. I wasn't sure if they had to be shelled or not, plus if I ask my dad he can feel useful)
The first recipe they provided was for a spinach and roasted beet salad with goat cheese! I didn't have goat cheese, but I had just about everything else so we went to the store and picked up some goat cheese. Well, I thought I had Dijon Mustard for the dressing, but that was expired and I realized that after we returned from the store, so we used Ken's Light Caesar dressing instead, which Bert preferred.
I had never prepared beets before, so appreciated the details in the recipe. Cleaned the beets (keep skins on), trimmed the greens about 1-2 inches from the top of the beet, then boiled (in my brand new, never been used before, Dutch Oven!) in water for like an hour. While the beets boiled, I washed the beet greens. Spinning then all dry with my salad spinner. Best investment EVER. I also washed and dried the Swiss chard since it took up a huge amount of room in the fridge and squeezed the leaves into a gallon size plastic bag with two paper towels. (Then I read this week you aren't supposed to clean the Swiss Chard so far in advance, oh well.). Cleaned the spinach I needed for dinner. Since Bert refuses to have a meal without a "meat" he cut up a chicken breast and stir-fried that. Since I refuse to have a meal without a starch, we microwaved potatoes. I know, we used the microwave. Took like 7minutes. If I had planned better, we could have roasted the potatoes while the beets were boiling. Oh well.
When the beets were tender, I pulled them out of the water and cooled them in a bowl in the fridge. After maybe 10minutes? Or less? I could easily peel the skin off. I sliced one beet for each of us. Crumbled the goat cheese, tossed the chicken and potato on top, and dressed with Caesar. Yummy!
Recipe from here: http://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/spinach-salad-with-goat-cheese-and-beets/
This was the first time Bert remembers having beets. He didn't think they tasted like much. I thought they tasted earthy, which I liked. We ate that salad for three nights (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)
I realized Sunday that we were not going to get through all of the vegetables unless I started bringing my lunch to work, so we also picked up lunch stuff at the store. If you are going to eat tomatoes out of season, then you have to choose Compar(i). (The out-correct wants to write compare). I bought cottage cheese for my protein, melon for my fruit, and Kashi 7 grain crackers for some extra carb.
Wednesday I boiled/sautéed the Swiss Chard. Looked fine coming out of the bag, so maybe the early prep/wash was okay. I added some lemon juice as it cooked. The leaves turned kind of brown, so not sure if that was because of the lemon juice or what happens when it cooks. And, maybe I put too much water in the pan (used one cup) since they were kind of soggy too. I was trying to cook them like I cook kale, but maybe that doesn't work for them. I had never prepared Swiss chard before. We also had that with chicken and roasted potatoes.
Thursday night we had events after work, so we didn't eat at home. Friday I followed a recipe from my Cooking Light book: Mediterranean Pasta. Zuke with chickpeas, olives and (canned) diced tomato over pasta. I added goat cheese, which made it better, and seasoned with Trader Joes Everyday Seasoning, which works well on everything. The recipe itself, meh. I think the Zuke needed to be stir-fried a little, rather than boiled in the tomato juice. Maybe I should have used fresh tomatoes. We saved half the recipe for Sunday since we were going to be away and it is nice to have something ready for dinner after a long trip.
The head of lettuce was getting soft and wilted by Friday. I kept the leaves on the head, and washed a few as needed for lunch. Maybe I should have washed it all at once and stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.
I brought beet greens, one summer squash, one Zuke, and the bag of peas to my parents since I wanted to get rid of the veggies before I had to pick up my new box on Sunday!
I ate the berries quickly early in the week for breakfast since they were expiring in the fridge. The berries tasted like fresh, real, strawberries. They weren't sweet and perfect like the Driscoll variety, but that's what you get when the berries come from a small farm instead of a giant production in California. I ate, and still eat, berries with Greek vanilla yogurt, walnuts and Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, with a little cinnamon on top. Yummy! My favorite breakfast!
Week One: Success!
I am going to back-date the first post just so it is chronological.
I picked up my vegetables Sunday at 3:30pm. Stillman's Farm delivers to Brookline Village, on a Sunday, which I thought was perfect. 1) it is close to where I live, 2) there is a parking lot in case the haul is bigger than what I can carry 3) it is a Sunday, so I can go shopping after I know what I am working with and plan for the week 4) I will have time when I get home to wash everything as needed.
They gave me my veggies, a reusable grocery bag, $20 punch card to buy more veggies as needed, newsletter with a recipe, and a friendly greeting. The items in the box fit almost perfectly in the bag, so I left the box with them! We then made a quick trip to the Bevy (is that a VT or SMC thing? Did I spell that right?) and picked up some cold beer, Sierra Nevada Summer Ale. Pretty good stuff.
The box:
1 bunch beets with greens (5 of them)
1 bunch Swiss Chard
1 head of green leaf lettuce
1 summer squash
2 zucchini
1 pint strawberries
1 large bag of spinach
1 small bag of shell peas (my dad had to identify them for me. I wasn't sure if they had to be shelled or not, plus if I ask my dad he can feel useful)
The first recipe they provided was for a spinach and roasted beet salad with goat cheese! I didn't have goat cheese, but I had just about everything else so we went to the store and picked up some goat cheese. Well, I thought I had Dijon Mustard for the dressing, but that was expired and I realized that after we returned from the store, so we used Ken's Light Caesar dressing instead, which Bert preferred.
I had never prepared beets before, so appreciated the details in the recipe. Cleaned the beets (keep skins on), trimmed the greens about 1-2 inches from the top of the beet, then boiled (in my brand new, never been used before, Dutch Oven!) in water for like an hour. While the beets boiled, I washed the beet greens. Spinning then all dry with my salad spinner. Best investment EVER. I also washed and dried the Swiss chard since it took up a huge amount of room in the fridge and squeezed the leaves into a gallon size plastic bag with two paper towels. (Then I read this week you aren't supposed to clean the Swiss Chard so far in advance, oh well.). Cleaned the spinach I needed for dinner. Since Bert refuses to have a meal without a "meat" he cut up a chicken breast and stir-fried that. Since I refuse to have a meal without a starch, we microwaved potatoes. I know, we used the microwave. Took like 7minutes. If I had planned better, we could have roasted the potatoes while the beets were boiling. Oh well.
When the beets were tender, I pulled them out of the water and cooled them in a bowl in the fridge. After maybe 10minutes? Or less? I could easily peel the skin off. I sliced one beet for each of us. Crumbled the goat cheese, tossed the chicken and potato on top, and dressed with Caesar. Yummy!
Recipe from here: http://stillmansfarm.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/spinach-salad-with-goat-cheese-and-beets/
This was the first time Bert remembers having beets. He didn't think they tasted like much. I thought they tasted earthy, which I liked. We ate that salad for three nights (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)
I realized Sunday that we were not going to get through all of the vegetables unless I started bringing my lunch to work, so we also picked up lunch stuff at the store. If you are going to eat tomatoes out of season, then you have to choose Compar(i). (The out-correct wants to write compare). I bought cottage cheese for my protein, melon for my fruit, and Kashi 7 grain crackers for some extra carb.
Wednesday I boiled/sautéed the Swiss Chard. Looked fine coming out of the bag, so maybe the early prep/wash was okay. I added some lemon juice as it cooked. The leaves turned kind of brown, so not sure if that was because of the lemon juice or what happens when it cooks. And, maybe I put too much water in the pan (used one cup) since they were kind of soggy too. I was trying to cook them like I cook kale, but maybe that doesn't work for them. I had never prepared Swiss chard before. We also had that with chicken and roasted potatoes.
Thursday night we had events after work, so we didn't eat at home. Friday I followed a recipe from my Cooking Light book: Mediterranean Pasta. Zuke with chickpeas, olives and (canned) diced tomato over pasta. I added goat cheese, which made it better, and seasoned with Trader Joes Everyday Seasoning, which works well on everything. The recipe itself, meh. I think the Zuke needed to be stir-fried a little, rather than boiled in the tomato juice. Maybe I should have used fresh tomatoes. We saved half the recipe for Sunday since we were going to be away and it is nice to have something ready for dinner after a long trip.
The head of lettuce was getting soft and wilted by Friday. I kept the leaves on the head, and washed a few as needed for lunch. Maybe I should have washed it all at once and stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.
I brought beet greens, one summer squash, one Zuke, and the bag of peas to my parents since I wanted to get rid of the veggies before I had to pick up my new box on Sunday!
I ate the berries quickly early in the week for breakfast since they were expiring in the fridge. The berries tasted like fresh, real, strawberries. They weren't sweet and perfect like the Driscoll variety, but that's what you get when the berries come from a small farm instead of a giant production in California. I ate, and still eat, berries with Greek vanilla yogurt, walnuts and Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal, with a little cinnamon on top. Yummy! My favorite breakfast!
Week One: Success!
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