And then we ate

Week 12 Pickup

2009-09-22T19:23:00.004-04:00

- Small head red leaf lettuce

- 6 small carrots

- Large bunch cilantro

- 5 ears of corn

- 2 lbs onions

- 2 Sugar Pumpkins

- 2 lbs nectarines

- 2 lb bag of apples

- 2 lb bag of pears

- Carrot Pasta

Throw Away Report

2009-09-11T19:26:00.000-04:00

1/2 bunch basil
1 apple
1 small tomato

SocialVibe

2009-09-11T19:07:00.002-04:00

I love that Blogger is offering a chance for bloggers to make money for charities. I chose to support Invisible Children. Take a look at the link on the right side of this page.

Bread Salad

2009-09-11T18:42:00.005-04:00

From Food & Wine September 2009: Green Goddess Chicken Salad .

I'm assigning it the rating of GOOD. (It was good dish, but wouldn't make it again.) Dear Husband liked it more that that, but since I'm the top chef in this house, it wont be made again.

Left out celery and piquillo peppers, added roasted bell pepper. I don't think that was why I didn't love it...the herbs and dressing was just not that exciting to me.

- and then we ate -

Tuscan Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

2009-09-11T18:15:00.003-04:00

This is a recipe from epicurious: Tuscan Bean and Swiss Chard Soup.

I'm rating this between GOOD and GREAT (Good: It was good dish, but wouldn't make it again. Great: Highly Enjoyable, would make it again) because I would make it again if I had the ingredients and needed to use them, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again.

My changes: subbed Tuscan Beans with canned chickpeas. Didn't have fennel and left it out.

Sweating Onions

Chopped Rainbow Chard

Soups almost done

Final product, topped with grated cheese

Week 11 Pickup

2009-09-08T17:33:00.000-04:00

5 tomatoes
5 peaches
2 nectarines
Head of Lettuce
4 apples
1 bunch basil
1 bunch small carrots
1 bunch swiss chard
5 ears corn
10 radishes
4 beets

Carrot Pasta

Evolution of And then we ate: Rating System

2009-09-05T14:33:00.003-04:00

My rating system for future posts:

Failure: Things went horribly wrong and the recipe should be shredded
Ok: Edible, but nothing special or exciting. Would not make it again.
Good: It was good dish, but wouldn't make it again
Great: Highly Enjoyable, would make it again
Fantastic: Doesn't get any better. Goes in the vault of recipes to keep forever

Week 8 Leftovers

2009-08-26T22:04:00.002-04:00

3 apples
2 nectarines
1/2 head romaine
1/2 bunch dill
7 aji dulce peppers
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno
1 bunch kale
5 carrots
15oz plums
9 radishes
6 beets
1 small watermelon
8oz cranberry beans
8 ears of corn
1 peach

Throwing out: 2 yellow plums

The woes of cooking and blogging...and a refresh to the ol' blog

2009-08-26T21:53:00.006-04:00

To those of you who are still stickin' with me and blog, I'm sorry that things have been so slow. I haven't stopped cooking, but I haven't been able to find the time to properly document everything I've been working on. I have been taking photos and book marking recipes, so not all is lost.

But since I start work next week (yeah for teachers having summer off!) I know the old way of doing things just wont work and I'll get so behind that I just give up. So, rather than letting that happen, I'm simplifying my process...which ultimately means that I'll be saying less about what I'm doing. Haven't quite worked things out yet, but I'm thinking photos, links to the original recipes, a tip or two and rating system.

Stay tuned!

Please?

Week 8 Pickup

2009-08-24T12:30:00.005-04:00

5 ears of corn
2lbs tomatoes
3lbs potatoes
2lbs plums
1 bunch carrots
2lbs nectarines
Pint of blackberries
1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of cilantro

No pasta this week...but double next week!

Arabic-ish Salad and Pecan Crusted Halibut

2009-08-19T16:48:00.005-04:00

I made this for the previously mentioned Chardonnay dinner. I call it "Arabic-ish" salad because I used a recipe called Arabic Salad and added a bunch of other things...so I'm not sure if its Arabic or not. Click here for the link to the original on epicurious.com or keep reading for my version.

Sous Chefs on Loan: Sister PB, NB and KK

Ingredients for my Version

1 lemon
3/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
3 T olive oil
1 pound diced tomatoes
1.5 T chopped white onion
1 scallion
1 cup coarsely chopped purslane
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 t dried mint (would love to use fresh, but didn't have it)
3 T chickpeas
1/2 medium radish
2 oz crumbled goat cheese

The directions for my version is the same as the epicurious version:

Cut peel, including all white pith, from lemon with a sharp paring knife. Working over a bowl, cut segments from half of lemon free from membranes and transfer segments to a cutting board, then squeeze juice from membranes and remaining 1/2 lemon into bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons juice to a large bowl, then finely chop segments and add to measured juice. Add salt, pepper, and oil, whisking to combine, then stir in remaining ingredients.

The recipe for the fish has to be one of my FAVORITE ways to prepare fish. Its so easy and really delicious. And because you bake it, its also easy to prep ahead, set the timer and forget about it til its ready! Its a simple mix of Japanese bread crumbs (panko), nuts and fresh herbs, plus a little butter and salt. The original recipe uses walnuts, but I prefer to do it with pecans. You can probably sub any nut you want. I also make herb substitutions using the ingredients that I have. Always comes out beautifully! Click here to see the recipe on epicurious.com.

- and then we ate -

Leftovers from Week 7

2009-08-18T16:00:00.002-04:00

4 tomatoes
3 potatoes
1.5 onions
2 apples
1 watermelon
3 ears of corn
2 nectarines
2 peaches
1.5 eggplant
9 aji dulce peppers
3/4 bunch dill
6 beets
2 carrots
11 radishes
2 jalapenos
3.5 bell peppers
Small bunch of kale
1/4 bunch parsley

Would this make you feel overwhelmed? It makes both me and my fridge feel overwhelmed. And word has it that this week's load is going to on the large side!

Fettuccine with Brown Butter & Sage

2009-08-18T12:31:00.006-04:00

Yes, I know, buy herbs during CSA season is a huge crime...but I really wanted to do this with sage because I didn't know how any other leaves would or wouldn't crisp up. I made this for dinner when I held a Chardonnay tasting at my house a few weeks ago. Because of the overall richness of this dish, chardonnay was the perfect pairing.

The recipe originally appeared in Bon Appetit in January 2008. It has relatively few ingredients and is pretty simple to make.

The ingredients are:

1 8.8-ounce package dried egg fettuccine (such as De Cecco)
4 1/2 tablespoons butter
20 fresh sage leaves, stemmed
4 1/2 tablespoons frozen veal stock, thawed, or 2 tablespoons beef broth and 2 1/2 tablespoons low-salt chicken broth
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

I used Demi Glace, which is a duck and veal stock. Also used my fresh CSA pasta. Otherwise, I followed ingredients and directions as written. My guests Sister PB, KK and NB, along with Dear Husband and I, loved it. I would make it again...actually, I did make it again a week later, because I still had sage left over. Yum! This one is a keeper.

Radishes are the New Black

2009-08-14T16:02:00.005-04:00

I remember being irk'd in the beginning of CSA season about getting so many radishes. I would never choose to eat them. But since I had to use them, I sliced them thinly and threw them in salads. But then, KK, her SO, Dear Husband, and I were at a restaurant who was offering a daily special off buttered radish toast. We decided to give it a try so we could discover what, if anything, was so great about radishes. And that's when the obsession began!

The appetizer was so simple: crusty, grilled bread, a thick slab of butter, thin radishes slices and salt. KK and I were hooked and began making our own versions, with different breads, different butters and the addition of herbs. I did one on Trader Joe's Frozen Naan Bread and it was magical. I even packed radishes in my suitcase so that we could make radish toast on vacation. Also did a little research and found that this is a classic French preparation...butter/toast/radishes.

The one pictured below was on a multigrain peasant bread with a sea salt and herb blend from O&Co.

It was very good, but I'd recommend doing a bread that is less complex...the grains were a little more prominent that previous renditions. Still delicious.

So thank you CSA, once again for opening my eyes. I feel like I was totally missing out and now have years of radish toast to catch up on.

Summer Squash & Carrot Soup with Cilantro Pistou

2009-08-14T14:53:00.002-04:00

I used virtually the same recipe as I did when I made squash soup a few weeks ago. This time though, I didn’t have as much squash, so I increased the amount of carrot. I also decided to make the pistou. The original recipe called for mint and parsley but I subbed cilantro for the mint. Yes, different flavor but both have a refreshing quality to them.

This time, I used my immersion blender. I had never used it before…mostly because I didn’t have a reason to use it, but also because I really wasn’t sure how well those tiny little blades would work. I was amazed at how easy it was and how well it pureed the veggies. It was smoother than the previous batch, which I transferred in small portions to a food processor. It was also much cleaner and safer…no transferring hot liquids!

Anyway, because it had more carrot in it, it was a bit sweeter than last time. Still delicious. Notice though, that I tried to do something fancy with the pistou and it turned out looking like some kind of crazy starfish. Next time, I'd either try to thin it out or just make droplets all over the bowl.

Week 7 Pickup

2009-08-12T18:42:00.003-04:00

This week brought some really fun and exciting stuff. Aside from the green peppers, this should be an easy week!

6oz watermelon
2.75lbs eggplant (2)
3 ears of corn
3 bell peppers
2lbs roma tomatoes (7)
10 aji dulce peppers
5 nectarines
4 peaches
3 apples
2 containers of pasta

Best Salsa Ever!

2009-08-12T17:17:00.006-04:00

I'm really behind on posting, but wanted to get this one up ASAP because Dear Mother was interested in making it herself. This recipe comes from epicurious.com, but its originally from Rick Bayless's cookbook "Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen". He calls it Essential Chopped Tomato-Serrano Salsa.

The ingredients are:

12 ounces (2 medium-small round or 4 or 5 plum) ripe tomatoes
Fresh serrano chiles to taste (roughly 3 to 5, 1/2 to 1 ounce total, or even more if you like it really picante), stemmed
A dozen or so large sprigs of cilantro
1 large garlic clove, peeled and very finely chopped (optional)
1 small (4-ounce) white onion
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Salt, about 3/4 teaspoon

Click here to see the recipe on epicurious.com and get full preparation directions

Since I got jalapenos from the CSA, I substituted those in for the serrano chiles. Jalapenos are not as hot as serranos, so you could add additional jalapenos if you like it hot, but I'm not too into that, so I did just 1. This gave it just a little heat and kept the flavor nice and fresh.

Ingredients before combining

The final product

The recipe says to let the salsa sit for awhile to let the flavors meld together. I let it sit covered at room temperature for about 2 hours. It was perfect!

Also, I was at a foodie event and saw Kimchi Salsa. It was delicious and I tried to buy some, but the vendor put the wrong thing in my bag, so I never got a full container of it. I took a portion of this salsa out of the bowl and chopped up some traditional cabbage kimchi and mixed them together. It doesn't change things too much but adds a little spice and a little sourness. I thought it was good. Kimchi lovin' Dear Husband thought it was better than kimchi-less version.

- and then we ate -

Week 6 Leftovers

2009-08-12T17:01:00.003-04:00

Going on vacation set me back a bit...lots of cooking to do this week! Here's what I have left in my fridge this week:

5 donut peaches
1/2 bunch parsley
1 bunch basil
1/4 head lettuce
Swiss chard
2 carrots
Bunch of kale
2 jalapenos
3 green peppers
14 radishes
6 beets
2 yellow plums
2 onions
3 potatoes
2 apples
Bunch of dill
Bunch of basil
Fettuccine

And then we ate, missing in action...

2009-08-07T11:58:00.002-04:00

Just want to inform my dear readers that I haven't abandoned my blog. I've been virtually unable to get online due to Time Warner issues. I've also been going over the final details of the annual Women and Wine trip. 4 days of wine tasting and dining in California Wine Country!

Thanks to Virgin America and its on-board wireless, I'm updating from exactly 36,140 feet above the ground. Anything I don't finish today will be completed by Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week.

Also, I have radishes, beets, a green bell pepper and some 'Hog Wash' Mignonette that Sister PB and I made last night for a coastal picnic later today, packed in my suitcase.

Week 6 Pickup

2009-08-04T17:18:00.001-04:00

Here's what we got this week:

4 large beets
Bunch of HUGH Swiss Chard
1 bunch dill
1 bunch basil
1 small bunch kale
6 radishes
4 medium carrots
2 ears of corn

2lbs apricots
2lbs apples
2 pounds donut peaches

Regular fettuccine

Best fruit of the summer so far...apricot and donut peaches

Everything looks really good this week..especially the perfectly colored and shaped apricots and peaches. Unfortunately, I have dinner plans on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, so I won't be doing that much cooking. I'll also be leaving Friday morning for a long weekend vacation. Hope everything keeps in the fridge over the weekend. Thank goodness for Debbie Meyer's Green Bags!

Week 5 Leftovers

2009-08-04T16:07:00.000-04:00

For once, I feel that I don't have too many leftovers and that I'm actually in control of my rations! Here's whats still in the fridge as I go to pick up Week 6:

Half head lettuce
1/4 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch parsley
5 small beets
1.5 carrots
3 jalapenos
3 green bell peppers
4 large, 10 small radishes

I had to throw some stuff out this week because it ripen too quickly: 2 red plums and 1 peach. And I'd say for the number of plums and peaches I received for Week 5, that isn't too shabby. It's also the first produce I've tossed thus far!

Cooking in Korean

2009-08-04T14:15:00.007-04:00

Every once in awhile, I attempt to make the cuisine that Dear Husband adores: Korean. I found a recipe on epicurious.com and was amazed by how many CSA ingredients I could use, so I made Japchae. Japchae is a classic Korean dish made with cellophane noodles and vegetables. I think it's very light and not too bad for you either. The few times I had it, it did not have meat in it. This particular recipe calls for beef, but I switched it to chicken.

The recipe was published on Epicurious.com in May of 2009. It's reprinted from by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee's Quick & Easy Korean Cooking.

Japchae (Sweet Potato Noodles)

Serves 4-6

If you want to make this, click the link and print the recipe from epicurious. I'm gonna save room and only include the ingredients, so you get an idea what it includes.

Ingredients

8 ounces sweet potato noodles
1/2 bunch spinach (about 4 ounces), rinsed and trimmed (CSA)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 ounces beef rib-eye, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick strips
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 medium onion, sliced (CSA)
3 to 4 pyongo or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, shredded or cut into thin strips (CSA)
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup sugar
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

My notes and changes:

Sweet potato noodles can be found at most Asian grocery stores. I haven't looked at regular grocery stores. I'd say that you could probably use a different type of cellophane noodle, but you'd need to follow that noodles cooking directions.
I used chicken instead of ribeye. We sliced it the same way as directed.
I skipped the sesame seeds, since I'm indifferent to them

Ball of blanched spinach

Dear Husband, chopping veggies

Carrots, onion and mushrooms, just hitting the wok

Chicken in the wok

This is definitely a quick, weeknight recipe that I would make again. It was also equally as good reheated the next day for lunch. Dear Husband's Mom would be so proud.

Final dish, in the wok

And there it is, in the bowl

Mama O's Kimchi, which we served on the side

- and then we ate -

Week 5 Pickup

2009-07-30T15:37:00.004-04:00

I was thrilled this week not to have too many herbs or leafy greens...those are always the hardest for me to get through. And tomatoes? Whoooooooo hooooooooooo! Couldn't be more excited.

Vegetable Share

1lb red potatoes
5 roma tomatoes
3 green bell peppers
2 ears of corn
1 bunch small radishes (about 10)
1 bunch cilantro
4 jalapenos
2 red onion

Fruit Share

4 pounds of peaches
5 yellow plums

Pasta

Unlabeled...looks like the plain stuff we got the week before.

The tomatoes, upclose. They are huge and perfect!

I love when the pickup consists of things that naturally lead to how to use them...jalapeno, tomatoes, onion and cilantro? Hello, Salsa!

Peach Custard

2009-07-30T14:29:00.009-04:00

As I previously report, once I made this awesome strawberry custard. I tried again, skimping on fatty ingredients and came out with a pretty good tasting, but icy rendition. I'm determined to re-conquer my claim of being a kick as custard maker. Next batch: peach.

Peach Ice Cream with Vanilla Scented Peaches, from epicurious.com

Ingredients

Ice Cream:
1 1/2 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced; peels and pits reserved
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 1-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise

4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Peaches:
1 2-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons sugar
4 peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced

Procedure

For ice cream:

Place peach slices in large bowl; add lemon juice and toss gently. Set aside. Combine peach peels, pits, cream, milk and vanilla bean in heavy large saucepan and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to very low and barely simmer 20 minutes.

Sliced peaches with lemon juice and sugar

Strain cream mixture into heavy medium saucepan. Whisk yolks and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot cream. Return mixture to same saucepan; stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 7 minutes (do not boil). Strain into bowl. Mix in corn syrup. Chill custard until cold.

Puree peach slices in processor. Add 1 cup custard; blend until smooth. Whisk into remaining custard. Transfer to ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to covered container and freeze. (Can be made 2 days ahead.)

For peaches:

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into heavy small saucepan; add bean. Add wine and sugar and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil Pour syrup into medium bowl. Refrigerate until cold. Add peaches to syrup and toss to coat.

Serve ice cream with peaches.

My results were NOT AWESOME.

I followed the directions for prepping exactly and it was pretty easy but I totally screwed up the actual custard…it boiled and broke! But because it was going to be painful to start over (and I no longer had the skins and pits to simmer with) I went ahead with the recipe, hoping that when it was churning, the texture would magically fix itself.

Boiling cream with peach skins, pits

Pureeing peaches

Ice cream maker attachment for KitchenAid Mixer

After being in the ice cream maker, it did LOOK like a nice peach custard. But when we ate it, we decided it was not a nice peach custard. The best word I can use to describe it is CHALKY. Not completely chalky, but a chalky element.

The bowl, after I removed the frozen custard

Anyway, we made the peach topping for it and ate it anyway because it wasn't HORRIBLE. The topping helped a lot too. In fact, I liked the topping enough that I would think about making it as an addition to store-bought vanilla ice cream. BUT actually, I should mention that I modified this. Rather than pouring the syrup on raw peaches, we added them and cooked them a bit til they were a little softer. This helps a lot of if you have less than perfectly sweet peaches, which I did. So yes, cook 'em a bit.

Peach topping, simmering with wine and vanilla

Final product, with sunflower that I thought would accent the peach color nicely.

Probably wont try peach custard again, at least til I get the custard cooking part down pat. Stay tuned though, for another summery frozen custard!

- and then we ate -

Leftovers, Week 4

2009-07-28T16:07:00.002-04:00

Hopefully, since I'm having a dinner party on Sunday, I can cut this list down significantly over the weekend, but as it stands at 4pm today, here's what's in the fridge:

9 peaches
3 plums
1 yellow squash
1/2 bunch of purslane
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch collard greens
1 1/4 heads of lettuce
5 small beets
5 small. 2 large radishes
5 large carrots
1 small turnip
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 white onion
2 yellow onions

I also need to write about:

Peach Ice Cream
Arabian Salad
Glazed Turnips
Korean Jap Chae

So much to cook. So much to write. So much to love!