CSA Week 3

Here's this week's share from the farmer's market:

Spinach, red leaf lettuce (I like to eat salad!), strawberries, and zucchini! This should be a tasty week :)

Mizuna and Chard Quiche

Ok, this also seems like a bit of a cop out. The meals made from the first week of this year's CSA strangely resemble those from the first week of last year's CSA. What can I say? I'm a little rusty when it comes to making creative recipes. And, I had NO idea what to do with the mizuna!

So...I made a delicious mizuna and chard quiche, adapting the recipe from smitten kitchen, just like last year. Besides adding mizuna to sandwiches and salads, I was at a loss as to how to eat it. Despite it's versatility in stir-fry, soup, and rice dishes, I could not bring myself to slave over a hot stove in June! Maybe its time to turn up the air conditioning...

How Was Vegetarian Month?

February feels like a long time ago. A really long time ago! Considering how hot and humid it's been lately, it's hard to imagine there was ever a thing called a polar vortex. As you may recall, February was "Vegan Before 6" month. Since I never posted any updates on how the month went and what was eaten, here's the long-awaited update:

It didn't happen.

For two main reasons, February was not a good month for cooking and/or eating. First, I was sick for about a week and half (sinus infections are quite the appetite suppressants), and therefore, cooking consisted of heating up a can of soup or putting a piece of bread in the toaster. These meals were Vegan Before 6 friendly...but clearly not the most exciting food items. And the main reason for this month not going as planned - Winnie.

Like most dogs left alone during the work day, Winnie decided to find new ways to entertain herself while her loving parents were gone. One day, she decided to eat EVERYTHING in the pantry that was in reach of her cute little snout. EVERYTHING. Oatmeal, Parmesan cheese, pasta, quinoa, prunes, you name it, she ate it. You can imagine what a a joy it was to come home to her that evening...Needless to say, we had to throw out most of the food in our pantry, since she had sunk her little nubby teeth into most of our packaged food items. We also had to buy and build a new pantry - with doors! - to keep our little scavenger at bay. By the time we found a kitchen cart, purchased it, built it, and restocked it, the month was basically over. Oh well.

Overall, Vegetarian Month was unfortunately a bust - hopefully it will be more successful next year. I was really hoping to try some new foods, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

Tried and True

Ok, so this post is a bit of a cop out, but what can I say - this is really one of our favorite recipes! It was one of the more memorable things that came from the CSA last year, and we've made it a few times since the end of last year's share. It is great with Swiss chard or kale, but spinach (or any other leafy green) would probably work, too.

 Spaghetti with Chard and Goat Cheese

It's a really easy recipe and tastes fresh. Here it is again, for those who don't feel like searching through the archives:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 box spaghetti
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed and de-ribbed
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• olive oil

Directions:
1. Prepare spaghetti as directed by box.

2. Pour 1 tbl of olive oil into medium skillet. Heat to medium. Add onion and garlic, cook 5-10 minutes, until translucent.

3. Add Swiss chard. Cook until wilted, approximately 10 minutes.

4. When spaghetti is done, add into skillet. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Add goat cheese and stir , to melt the goat cheese onto the pasta.

5. If desired, add additional goat cheese, enjoy!

CSA Week 2

Here's what was picked today at the farmer's market:

Red leaf lettuce, beets, strawberries, and edible chrysanthemum greens (the fern-like green plant between the beets and the strawberries).

Like the mizuna from last week, edible chrysanthemum is commonly used in East Asian cuisine. I was told the stalk tastes similar to carrots (I would describe it more similar to celery), and the leaves are rather bitter and salty when eaten raw. The recommendation from the farmer was to stir fry it quickly or boil it...but the results of that will be in a later post. And yes, the edible chrysanthemum is a different species of the more common flower which is often seen in autumn. I already know what I plan to do with the rest of this week's share:

Lettuce: salads
Beets: roasted and then added to salads
Strawberries: eaten plain and possibly in salads...if I don't eat the whole pint first!

Looking forward to some yummy meals this week!

And a little farmer's market humor to end the post -

Roasted Asparagus

Nothing fancy here! Just a quick and easy recipe for roasted asparagus:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the asparagus and snap or cut off the woody end (about the bottom inch of the stalk). On a foil covered baking sheet, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. I like to add garlic or parmesan cheese.

We had our asparagus with some leftover pasta (with a delicious Tuscan pumpkin sauce) and breaded chicken. Delicious, as always!

...And We're Back!

That was quite the hiatus, huh? Well, after a long break, Lizzil 'n Things is back in action! And there's no better time than today, since the CSA has started again! Nothing says summer like farmer's markets and fresh produce! Here's the view from today's stall:

And without further ado, here's what I picked up this week:

Rainbow chard, strawberries (!!!!!), asparagus, and mizuna. I never saw asparagus or mizuna last year, so it seemed right to snatch them up. To be honest, I never even heard of mizuna before. The woman behind the stall wasn't so familiar with this item but said it would be good in salads. After some brief research (thank you, Internet), I've learned that mizuna is a Japanese green, similar in taste to mustard greens or arugula. It is mostly consumed raw or lightly sautéed, and it seems to be a popular addition to stir-fry, rice dishes, soups, and salads. Considering mizuna's versatility, it doesn't seem like I should have a problem cooking with it!

I promise to write a few posts to update you with what's been going on since I last wrote, so keep watching for those. Thanks for your patience :)