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!

Mid-week #2

Tonight I prepared the Swiss chard. I pulled it out of the fridge. The leaves were exceptionally soft and wilted. I wasn't sure if I could revive them, or if they were even edible. I had read somewhere that you can freshen your greens by bathing in ice water with some vinegar, so I did that. I chopped some onion and garlic and sauteed with the Swiss Chard stems. I read somewhere that the stems are tougher so need to be cooked longer than the greens. I was working solo with limited space so everything was cooking while I remembered I needed to start the rice and slice the Swiss chard leaves. The onion and stems were starting to burn just as Bert came home and the first thing I said to him was "I need some help here!" I didn't even give him a chance to tell me how hot it was outside. With the spare hand, I was able to slice the chard and put that with the stems. He finished stirring that while I prepared the chicken and turned off the rice before it burned in the pot.  Not easy!

I tasted the chard and it tasted too much like burned garlic. I sprinkled some lemon juice on it to see if that would help.

Bert said the garlic was a bit much, but overall the chard was not bad.
I added some fennel greens to my rice, which didn't really add much flavor, so maybe I should have cooked it with the rice the last few minutes of cooking (if I catch the rice in that time frame).

We finished the chard with better success than last time. Tomorrow the kale or the zucchini!

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!