CSA Week 3: Creamy summer squash pasta

Homemade pasta with yellow squash, zucchini, and onions, with a sauce made of lemon, half-and-half, truffle oil, and shredded basil. Originally I was just going to make this with store-bought spaghetti, but when I realized we were all out I decided it would be easier to make my own pasta than to walk two blocks to the store. The heat does strange things to your head.

To make the pasta, I mixed three eggs, a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt into two cups of flour, then kneaded it until smooth and springy. then i rolled it out thin with my pasta machine and hand-cut some ugly noodles because I'm too impatient to use the pasta-cutting attachment. I sauteed the veggies as I boiled the water for the noodles, then took them off the head and added in the sauce ingredients (be careful heating up cream and lemon juice together - if it gets too hot it could separate and get gross). fresh noodles cook up super quick - once they rise to the surface, strain 'em out and toss them in with the veggies, and then cook on very low heat for just a minute to thicken up the sauce.

CSA Week 3: Kale & eggs + homefries

Similar to the kale & egg toast from last week, but I've figured out how to do it right - instead of sauteeing the kale with mustard, which makes it kind of dry and crispy, I steamed it. then I melted together some butter and mustard in a pan and poured half of it over the kale, then used the rest to fry the egg. to make the homefries I steamed the potatoes right alongside the kale and then rinsed them off in a colander to remove some gluten and rough up the edges, which makes them fry up crispier. then i fried them in my cast iron with some salt and pepper.

CSA Week 3: Kale & lentil salad

Kale salad with brown lentils, cabbage, apples, avocados, almonds, and honey-mustard dressing.

CSA Week 3: More Salad!!!!

Same ol' big garden salad, with some mustard greens from the farmer's market mixed it to make it more interesting.

CSA Week 3

Green pepper, cucumber, basil, lettuce, kale, eggs, beets, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and string beans.

CSA week 2: Kale Salad, Zucchini Galette, and Hand Pie

A dinner made for my cuz - kale salad with craisins, apples, toasted pinenuts, and romano; a ricotta and zucchini galette with basil that you can learn to make by visiting Smitten Kitchen; and a blueberry hand pie made with the leftover pie dough. I made the pie filling by mixing equal parts ricotta and cream cheese with a bit of beaten egg, lemon zest, vanilla, and honey. I spread that out on a scrap of rolled-out dough, topped it with blueberry jam, and then folded it over and sealed it. I baked it right alongside the tart, at 350, for about 20 minutes. It's impossible to go wrong with a meal made of things wrapped in pie dough!

CSA Week 2: Another big salad

Another big green salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, avocado, croutons, and green goddess dressing. I made the croutons  by tossing some cubed stale semolina bread with olive oil and melted butter and cooking it at 350 for about 20 minutes. One thing American cuisine got right - boring lettuce is much improved by a topping of fried bread.

CSA Week 2: Summer rolls and repeat stirfry

Summer rolls with rice noodles, fried tofu, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, basil, and mint. I made the dipping sauce by simmering apricot jam, soy sauce, minced ginger, and water until it thickened up.

I realized this week that I'm inevitably going to eat a lot of the same things from week to week for convenience - I anticipate a lot of stir-fries and pesto in my future. Since the idea of the blog is to document how I use my veggies, I'm going to include them, but not bother to take nice photos or explain how I made them. I made basically the same stir-fry as last week to eat along with the spring-rolls, plus some fresh orange juice in the sauce.

CSA Week 2: Greek quinoa salad

Greek-ish quinoa salad with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta, and mint. I cooked the quinoa with a tiny bit of dried dill and red pepper flakes, cooled it, and then mixed in the veggies. The dressing is made from yogurt, EVOO, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The salad soaked up the dressing overnight and then came along on a delightful sailing trip this afternoon.

veggies ready to be mixed in

CSA week 2: Egg noodles with cabbage and onion

Egg noodles with sauteed spring onions and cabbage. This is essentially my childhood staple "noodles with butter and peas" upgraded. I started by slicing and frying the white part of the onion with a few tablespoons of butter, salt, a tiny bit of sugar, caraway seeds, dill, and a LOT of fresh ground black pepper. After a few minutes I tossed in a bunch of sliced cabbage and cooked it all down until it was starting to brown. Meanwhile, I boiled the egg noodles. When they were al dente I tossed them in with the veggies and stir-fried it all together until everything was very caramelized and delicious. You can add more butter if it gets sticky, and be sure to add more pepper until it's at a sinus-clearing level of pepperiness.

CSA Week 2: Kale & egg toast

I would normally make this toast with spinach for breakfast, but I had kale to use up this week. I sauteed the chopped kale with some mustard and lemon juice and then scooped it onto a buttered piece of toast and topped with a fried egg (perfect when the yolk is soft and very slightly runny). I found that the kale was a little chewy and dry for my taste, but still pretty good. Perhaps I should start steaming my kale instead of sauteeing? Anyone have suggestions on keeping kale from getting crispy?

CSA Week 2

Kale, basil, lettuce, cabbage, eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, snow peas, spring onion, and garlic scapes

very excited about the tomatoes and basil, slightly resentful about having to eat more boring lettuce. what does one do with boring lettuce?

CSA week 1: Zucchini, Artichoke & Spinach Lasagna

Zucchini, artichoke, and spinach lasagna made to finish off the last of week one's veggies. Here are the components to this dish:

veggie filling: sauteed chopped zucchini, spinach, and artichoke hearts

ricotta filling: a mixture of ricotta, garlic scape pesto, chopped parsley, and an egg to bind

marinara: made  by simmering carmelized onions, garlic, lots of fresh oregano, and a mixture of fresh and canned tomatoes with a little bit of salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes.

This was a very sloppy lasagna because I made it after I was exhausted from volunteering at CSA week 2 - basically I just randomly layered lasagna noodles with the three fillings and then tossed some romano on top. It doesn't hold together too well when you cut it, but it was absolutely delicious after a night of hard work.

CSA Week 1: Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry

Stir-fry of tofu, snow peas, zucchini, green pepper, and baby bok choy. I made the sauce by simmering together some tamari, mirin, garlic, ginger, sliced  green onions, and a little bit of cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken it up.

CSA Week 1: Mint Iced Tea

Iced tea made by boiling a bunch of mint in a bunch of water for ten minutes, then adding black tea bags and letting it steep for a few minutes, and then stirring in some honey and lemon.

CSA Week 1: Garlic Scape Pesto

Pesto made by food processing a bunch of garlic scapes, some romano, pine nuts and almonds, lemon, and olive olive. I have never cooked with garlic scapes before and really enjoyed their fresh, green, mildly garlicky taste. The pesto was utilized at our pizza party last night, which also used up some of our spinach and oregano.

CSA Week 1: Blurry Enchiladas

Camera battery died so these enchiladas are in soft focus from my shitty webcam, but they were delicious that way. They are kale and potato enchiladas with salsa roja, topped with a little sour cream and cilantro, plus some rice & beans and guac on the side. 

The filling is made by sauteing kale and onions until soft, mixing with some boiled and half-mashed potatoes plus some lime juice and salt & pepper. The sauce is made of carmelized onions and garlic + canned tomatoes, simmered for a long time with ancho, chipotle, cumin, and cinnamon. To assemble, preheat 375, then put a thin layer of salsa in the bottom of a deep baking dish. Dip your tortillas in the sauce and then wrap them around some filling taco-style. place the enchiladas next to each other, seam-side down, until the pan is all full up. top with more sauce and some shredded cheese and bake until the top is bubbly - you can put it under the broiler at the end to brown it up.

CSA week 1: Quinoa-Crust Quiche

Veggie quiche with zucchini, onion, spinach, carrots, and broccoli, and a quinoa-rosemary crust - made for a breakfast with my gluten-free friend. The crust is made by cooking 1/2 cup quinoa, mixing it with an egg and about 1/4 cup  parmesan (I added some fresh chopped rosemary), pressing it into a pan, and pre-baking it at 375 for about ten minutes before adding the egg filling. For filling recipe, see this post.

CSA WEEK 1: Big Happy Veggie Salad

Salad with lettuce, radishes, snow peas, tomatoes, carrots, and white beans
Green goddess dressing is made of parsley, mint, spring onions, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little bit of sour cream and mayo

Summer CSA: WEEK 1

Ahoy! I'm reinstating the food blog in order to document my first summer of CSA-membership. Every Wednesday I'll post the veggie haul, and then throughout the week I'll post the meals I make out of it.

The Ditmas Park CSA sources from Amantai Farm in eastern Pennsylvania, and the extra veggies get donated to the soup kitchen in the basement of the church where we distribute. I'm signed up for a half share of veggies and a half dozen eggs next week, which I share with my roommate, Chris. Next week we're probably going to sign up for some delicious yogurt from Milk Not Jails as well.

Week 1 Haul (from left to right): 

lettuce, kale, parsley, spring onions, radishes, snow peas, mint, zucchini, cilantro, eggs, and oregano