CSA Week #9

Here's what was picked this week at the farmer's market. Two cucumbers, six ears of corn, some pattypan squash (those weird looking yellow/green things), and one eggplant! My husband is excited to start cooking and eating.

By the way, how is it already July 31st? Where did the summer go?

They Weren't Leeks

Remember those tall green things with a white bulb at the end? Those things I said were leeks? Well...they weren't leeks. They were onions! Who knew onions had tall green stalks?! They definitely don't look like that at the grocery store. Anyway, I didn't realize they were actually onions until after I found and made Mark Bittman's recipe for Pasta with Leeks and Parsley. Luckily, leeks and onions have similar flavors, and since these onions were rather young, they didn't have too much of an oniony taste. So basically, it didn't make much difference in the dish.

Not leeks.

This pasta dish was really easy to make - the onions and parsley gave it a fresh flavor. It was a nice alternative to tomato sauce, which can be very heavy. This is definitely a dish I would make again, and Mark Bittman is one of my favorite food critics. He has a really interesting philosophy on eating healthy and enjoying all food in moderation - you should be a vegan for breakfast and lunch, and at dinner, you can eat whatever you want. His reasons are for both environmental and physical health benefits. I want to read his book to learn more about this lifestyle and see how easy it might be to make some of his suggested changes. Maybe it will be my first book review on this blog? 

Red Potato Salad

These next few posts are going to be on the shorter side - I've done lots of cooking but very little blogging, so it's time to cut to the chase and just quickly give an update on what's been going on in my kitchen.

Red Potato Salad

served alongside a veggie burger - yum!

This was a really simple recipe to make and required very few ingredients. Here's how it was made:

Ingredients:

• potatoes
• salt and pepper
• parsley
• mayo
• any other add-ins you like, such as onion (which I took a picture of but didn't end up using), hard boiled egg, or celery

Directions:

1. Boil 2 quarts of water in a medium pot. Wash and scrub potatoes, if leaving skin on. Otherwise, peel potatoes. Cut into bite sized pieces. Place potatoes in boiling water, allowing to cook until soft but not mushy, 15-20 minutes.

2. Remove potatoes from and drain. Season with salt and pepper, add mayo to taste (I like creamier potato salads!), and parsley. 

3. Cool in the refrigerator and enjoy - will last for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

R.I.Peas

The first casuaity of the CSA - snap peas. I waited too long to find a use for them...and so they shriveled up in the refrigerator. Snap peas - you looked so delicious over a week ago. I'll never forget you!

CSA Week #8

It's getting harder to keep track of the weeks - I can't believe it's been 2 months since this whole CSA thing started! Here's what we picked this week:

Even though I hate tomatoes and peppers...I picked them up from the farmer's market. Stay tuned for fresh tomato sauce, fennel risotto, and green pepper/black bean/sweet potato burritos!