This week's CSA box had:
Asparagus
Bok choy
Cabbage
Green onion
Beets
Cherries
Strawberries
Haven't used the asparagus yet. I keep thinking I should buy more and pickle it, but I haven't followed through. I'd love to start experimenting with pickling - there is such a fabulous range of flavors with different pickled vegetables. I just haven't had the time or the produce!
The bok choy and cabbage went into a delicious stir fry side dish tonight, along with an organic zucchini from the grocery store, some garlic scapes from my garden, a bit of fresh ginger, and some salt and pepper. We had that along with our bulgogi and sesame rice. One of my favorite meals, and hubby even said the vegetables were good - a rare compliment for a veggie side!
I've been using the green onions here and there. Some went in the bulgogi, some have gone in a salad. Usually at this time of year I'm putting chives in everything while I wait for the green onions in my garden to grow enough to use (why buy produce when I can improvise with something from the yard, right?), so it's nice to have a change!
I haven't used the beets yet - I only got a couple once my friend and I split the bunch, so I need to pull some from my garden and then I'm planning to roast them. Love roasted beets!
We're eating the cherries. LOVE that it's cherry season again!
My daughter ate the strawberries with her breakfast over the last few days. She can't get enough!
We find out on Thursday what our box will have on Friday. Can't wait to see what's on tap for next week! I'll try to start taking some pictures, too - everything has been picked within two days, and they clean it up nicely for us, so it's all bright, crisp and GORGEOUS.
Monday, June 27, 2011
CSA adventures, week 1
I decided to subscribe to a CSA this year. If you're not familiar, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you buy a share in a farm and get a box of produce each week in exchange. I've been toying with the idea for a couple of years, and when a friend offered to split a share so neither of us would be overwhelmed, I jumped at the chance.
The trick, of course, is working it into your meal plans. Week one, I received:
Asparagus
Collards
Rhubarb
Parsley
Strawberries
There were also two gorgeous heads of leaf lettuce, but since I have lettuce taking over the garden, I let my friend take those.
When it comes to asparagus, my husband is pretty set in his ways (actually, my husband is pretty set in his ways about most things, but once in a while, I can slip something new to him and he'll eat it. He won't always eat it twice, but he'll almost always eat it once!). He wants it either roasted or grilled. So I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with kosher salt, and grilled it on a night when I was making grilled chicken.
The collards came with a grilling recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. So I went googling and came up with this recipe for creamed collards. I knew hubby wouldn't want it, and there wasn't much since I'd split the bunch with my friend, so I made it for lunch. I didn't have cream, so I used half and half. It was divine! My daughter wouldn't eat it, but I happily ate her share. And the leftovers were excellent cold, I have to say.
The rhubarb and strawberries are living in my freezer, waiting for the right opportunity (we're getting a ton of strawberries off of our plants right now, so we have plenty to eat fresh).
I've used the parsley in a few things - mixed some into a boxed couscous mix, put some in salad, things like that. I'm probably going to just chop the rest and freeze it in ice cubes for use in recipes later on. It was quite a bit of parsley. I should make tabbouleh, but I think I'm the only person who would eat it!
Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store!
The trick, of course, is working it into your meal plans. Week one, I received:
Asparagus
Collards
Rhubarb
Parsley
Strawberries
There were also two gorgeous heads of leaf lettuce, but since I have lettuce taking over the garden, I let my friend take those.
When it comes to asparagus, my husband is pretty set in his ways (actually, my husband is pretty set in his ways about most things, but once in a while, I can slip something new to him and he'll eat it. He won't always eat it twice, but he'll almost always eat it once!). He wants it either roasted or grilled. So I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with kosher salt, and grilled it on a night when I was making grilled chicken.
The collards came with a grilling recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. So I went googling and came up with this recipe for creamed collards. I knew hubby wouldn't want it, and there wasn't much since I'd split the bunch with my friend, so I made it for lunch. I didn't have cream, so I used half and half. It was divine! My daughter wouldn't eat it, but I happily ate her share. And the leftovers were excellent cold, I have to say.
The rhubarb and strawberries are living in my freezer, waiting for the right opportunity (we're getting a ton of strawberries off of our plants right now, so we have plenty to eat fresh).
I've used the parsley in a few things - mixed some into a boxed couscous mix, put some in salad, things like that. I'm probably going to just chop the rest and freeze it in ice cubes for use in recipes later on. It was quite a bit of parsley. I should make tabbouleh, but I think I'm the only person who would eat it!
Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Menu Plan May 9 - 12
Life is getting busy again, so I need to get back on the menu-planning bandwagon. I also need to get back on the budget-tracking bandwagon, but that's a post for another day. And another blog! Here's what's on tap for this week:
Monday: hamburger casserole
Tuesday: baked chicken
Wednesday: ravioli alfredo
Thursday: pulled pork sandwiches (going to cook the meat in the crock pot)
Friday we have plans, so I don't have to cook!
Have a great week!
Monday: hamburger casserole
Tuesday: baked chicken
Wednesday: ravioli alfredo
Thursday: pulled pork sandwiches (going to cook the meat in the crock pot)
Friday we have plans, so I don't have to cook!
Have a great week!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
After dinner mints
This was my grandma's recipe, and I just discovered that my recipe card has been just about destroyed, so I thought I'd better transfer it to something more permanent. I make these for Christmas, and color them red and green.
1 egg white
1 T. cream
1 t. vanilla
3 - 6 drops oil flavoring (I use 1/2 t. peppermint extract)
food coloring
1 box powdered sugar, plus additional for pressing
1 heaping t. soft butter
Combine egg white, cream, vanilla, flavoring, and color; stir well. Add sugar all at once, mixing thoroughly. Add additional sugar and the butter if necessary to get a thick enough consistency to roll.
Roll into firm, small (about 3/4 inch) balls. Arrange on wax paper; press each ball with tines of a fork dipped in powdered sugar. Let stand overnight to form a crust.
Pack in tins with wax paper between each layer. May be frozen and kept several months.
1 egg white
1 T. cream
1 t. vanilla
3 - 6 drops oil flavoring (I use 1/2 t. peppermint extract)
food coloring
1 box powdered sugar, plus additional for pressing
1 heaping t. soft butter
Combine egg white, cream, vanilla, flavoring, and color; stir well. Add sugar all at once, mixing thoroughly. Add additional sugar and the butter if necessary to get a thick enough consistency to roll.
Roll into firm, small (about 3/4 inch) balls. Arrange on wax paper; press each ball with tines of a fork dipped in powdered sugar. Let stand overnight to form a crust.
Pack in tins with wax paper between each layer. May be frozen and kept several months.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Menu Plan February 7 - 11
It's a pretty boring food week at my house. I'm still getting used to working my second job (five or seven hours a week isn't much, but since I don't work it till after everyone is in bed, it pretty much eats up any time I have for doing extra things around the house), so I'm making easy plans this week.
Monday: Bulgogi and sesame rice
Tuesday: Tacos
Wednesday: Pork chops (haven't figured out just how I'm fixing them yet)
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Pineapple chicken
Have a great week, everyone! And remember to visit orgjunkie.com for tons of great menu planning ideas!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Menu Plan January 30 - February 4
Another week, another menu! We did pretty well last week, except for one night when hubby forgot to put the casserole in the oven, so we made a run for the border...Taco Bell is the only restaurant my daughter asks for by name. She loves their potato tacos! I should figure out what's in the sauce because those would be so easy to make at home...
This week is shaping up to be a pretty busy one. I have meetings for work two mornings (fortunately one of them is for my regular job, which means I get to come home early that day), and we are rejoicing in the return of story time (at the library) after a two-month holiday hiatus, but that all means less time for me to make dinners in the mornings.
So here's what's on tap for this week!
Sunday: Hamburgers and oven fries
Monday: Chili dogs
Tuesday: Bean and rice enchiladas (using the leftover Spanish rice and beans from last week)
Wednesday: Pineapple chicken
Thursday: Cranberry pork tenderloin
Friday: Chicken paprikash over noodles
That's it for this week! And remember to always visit menu plan Monday at orgjunkie.com to see what everyone else is eating!
This week is shaping up to be a pretty busy one. I have meetings for work two mornings (fortunately one of them is for my regular job, which means I get to come home early that day), and we are rejoicing in the return of story time (at the library) after a two-month holiday hiatus, but that all means less time for me to make dinners in the mornings.
So here's what's on tap for this week!
Sunday: Hamburgers and oven fries
Monday: Chili dogs
Tuesday: Bean and rice enchiladas (using the leftover Spanish rice and beans from last week)
Wednesday: Pineapple chicken
Thursday: Cranberry pork tenderloin
Friday: Chicken paprikash over noodles
That's it for this week! And remember to always visit menu plan Monday at orgjunkie.com to see what everyone else is eating!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Must try to recreate these!
Today my daughter and I were cruising the aisles at Whole Foods, and I thought I'd try something new for lunch. In the frozen food aisle, my eye landed on a box of Dr. Praeger's Kids All Natural Broccoli Littles. They were on sale, so I picked them up and took a look. Hmm...looked like they were basically tater tots with broccoli mixed in. Sounded tasty! So, I tossed the box in my cart and headed for the checkout line.
I got them home and popped them in the oven (super quick, super simple - you just broil them for eight minutes on a side). I tasted one when they were done and was very surprised - they were delicious! I've been burned by frozen kid's food so many times...like all those chicken nuggets out there that don't seem to have an ounce of chicken in them! But these were great - basically they tasted like tater tots with broccoli mixed in. My daughter loved them, too (I had to laugh as she gleefully bit the head off of a teddy bear...). And I suddenly thought to myself, I could totally make these!
So here's the ingredient list: Broccoli, potatoes, onions, egg whites, potato flakes, expeller pressed canola oil, arrowroot, salt, and garlic. It surprises me that broccoli is the first ingredient, because it seems like there is a lot more potato than broccoli in there, but maybe they blended it together.
Anyway, next time I have a free afternoon and am in the mood to experiment, I'm going to try to recreate these. They were cut into fun little shapes - stars, dinosaurs, teddy bears...but I can use little cookie cutters for that.
Once I've had a chance to play around with it, I'll report back!
I got them home and popped them in the oven (super quick, super simple - you just broil them for eight minutes on a side). I tasted one when they were done and was very surprised - they were delicious! I've been burned by frozen kid's food so many times...like all those chicken nuggets out there that don't seem to have an ounce of chicken in them! But these were great - basically they tasted like tater tots with broccoli mixed in. My daughter loved them, too (I had to laugh as she gleefully bit the head off of a teddy bear...). And I suddenly thought to myself, I could totally make these!
So here's the ingredient list: Broccoli, potatoes, onions, egg whites, potato flakes, expeller pressed canola oil, arrowroot, salt, and garlic. It surprises me that broccoli is the first ingredient, because it seems like there is a lot more potato than broccoli in there, but maybe they blended it together.
Anyway, next time I have a free afternoon and am in the mood to experiment, I'm going to try to recreate these. They were cut into fun little shapes - stars, dinosaurs, teddy bears...but I can use little cookie cutters for that.
Once I've had a chance to play around with it, I'll report back!
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