Box 89e

It's been a while.

2009-02-02T20:55:00.002-05:00

Wow. I last published exactly 5 months ago. Happy Groundhog Day.

CSA Weeks 12 and 13 and some recipes

2008-09-02T11:19:00.004-04:00

I'm a couple weeks behind now on the lists. While it's useful to keep track of what I've been cooking and I appreciate everyone's recipes and suggestions, I don't think that I'll be posting every week. There's been an excellent selection of potatoes, onions, basil, lettuce, peppers, zucchini, eggplant and new for week 12, WATERMELON! When the selection changes considerably, I'll make a note.

John recently shared his method for roasting tomatoes, which sounds easy and delicious.

Similarly, I made the Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta from Coconut & Lime. So good.

I had been using the purple basil that I picked up in tomato and mozzarella salads. I froze some of it in ice cube trays for later use. Maybe this week, I'll grab some basil for pesto. I haven't made any this year, because last year I grew so much basil that I was tired of it.

Last week, I just cubed the watermelon and enjoyed it for snacks and breakfast. Just yesterday, I came across an appealing recipe for watermelon ice cubes or granita in the print version of Relish Magazine, which is an insert in local newspapers and also available online. Looks worth more browsing.

I'm going to try the cubes, which combine the melon, water, honey, lemon juice, sugar and mint leaves. Water and lemonade are suggested for the ice cubes. I think they would be a great addition to a mojito or a margarita, perhaps.

CSA Week 11

2008-08-19T18:20:00.002-04:00

Lack of getting pictures uploaded has delayed posting again. For now here's the list.

1. yellowy-orange heirloom tomatoes
2. HUGE strangely torpedo-shaped red heirloom tomatoes
3. lettuce
4. purple basil - gorgeous, fragrant, and tasty

I've been enjoying great salads!

CSA Week 10, almost Week 11

2008-08-14T17:19:00.004-04:00

Oops. I never got around to taking any pictures of the absolutely gorgeous tomatoes from last week, so I never posted.

Before I pick up this week's selection tomorrow, let me recap:

1. roma tomatoes
2. large round tomatoes the size of grapefruits
3. potatoes (The mint and peas potato salad totally did not work out. I needed more potatoes in order to reaffirm my potato cooking abilities.)
4. lettuce

I had been waiting all summer for the tomatoes, so it was pretty exciting!

Mondawmin is the Dopeness

2008-08-04T23:57:00.003-04:00

I checked out the new Target at Mondawmin this evening. I'm so glad I don't have to drive out to suburbia anymore for random household goods. I utilized a $5 off $25 purchase coupon and gift card to obtain pest control products (ick), cat food, Bounce dryer sheets, a loaf pan, and a lovely shower curtain liner. Very exciting, I know. Then, I went to Shoppers. My first visit to that location, as well. My only qualm was they were out of peach nectar. I like to mix it with iced tea.

The best part of the trip (besides the mad closeness [Forgive the slang, I saw The Wackness yesterday. Loved it!]) was the soundtrack to the trip's closing credits. As I pushed my cart to my car, there was a drumline practicing nearby. I pushed my groceries in the cart to the car in step to the cadence being played. I am a band nerd for life. I smiled a little to myself. It was a good cadence.

CSA Week 9

2008-08-04T16:31:00.001-04:00

I don't really feel like writing at the moment, but for the sake of consistency...

1. thai basil
2. yellow squash
3. zucchini
4. green bell peppers

Obligatory Happy Hour Advert

2008-07-30T20:49:00.004-04:00

Q: Where will you be on Friday night?
A: Don't Know.

ACW has proclaimed that there will be a happy hour to commemorate his final month of pointlessly titled blogging. Here are the details:

What: Happy Hour

Where: Don’t Know Tavern

1453 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

When: Friday, August 1st, 6pm to ???

Why: Because ACW is so f$*%in’ awesome and ACW deserves it and you really really want to buy ACW a beer for providing so many pants-wettingly excellent laughs over the years (...or so I've heard.)

Hope to see you there.

CSA Week 8 and Recipe Recap

2008-07-28T17:09:00.004-04:00

Sorry, no pictures. I'm slacking, but you know what vegetables look like already, right?

This week's haul:

1. yellow squash*
2. red onions*
3. romaine lettuce
4. more potatoes

(*new to me this week.)

I learned last week that the purple peppers turn bitter (and lose all their color coming out a sickly pale grayish green) when you cook them. They were a bit bitter in the habaneros-substituted-by-mystery-hot-peppers sauce, though the sauce wasn't bad on burritos. I also discovered the long skinny green peppers labeled "hot peppers" were in no way hot. They didn't taste quite like green bell peppers, but they had no hotness, which is fine, just surprising.

I cooked up a bunch of the veggies in the crock-pot and we had them with crumbled turkey Italian sausage over egg noodles. This was pretty good, though there was something about the seasoning that I didn't quite like and the purple pepper was also bitter here. I used this recipe as inspiration.

I didn't make the mint potato salad, yet. I went a more traditional comfort food route with this recipe, of which all tasters approved.

I'm not even sure when I'm going to cook this week. The rest of this week my evening plans include a movie, a meeting, yoga, and happy hour. Maybe I will bring mint potato salad to the happy hour for someone special. :)

Plans for the Purple and Green Veggies

2008-07-21T16:23:00.003-04:00

Summer asked of the purple peppers, "what are you going to use them for?"

I really like green, red, orange, or yellow peppers. I'm happy to eat them raw with ranch dip or in a salad. I'm guessing the same holds true for purple.

For some, I might also try this sauce, as I have the hot peppers (mine are not habaneros) to use, too.

Habanero Sauce

1 cup water
1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
1-3 fresh or dried habanero peppers, depending on how hot you like it.
1 large red bell pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Chop up the bell and habanero peppers, (or grind the habaneros if using dried). Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 8-10 minutes. Finally, puree the mixture in a blender.

I also have the zucchini and onion to use. I did an ingredient search on Allrecipes.com and might go with one of those ideas like the pasta primavera or veggie fajitas.

I think sweet peppers of any color are good sauteed or grilled and added to Mexican dishes or Asian stir fries or you could do peppers and onions with sausage.

As for the potatoes, I might try this potato salad.

POTATO SALAD WITH MINT AND PEAS
2 lb small red potatoes
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup thawed frozen or cooked fresh baby peas (5 oz)
1/3 cup chopped or torn fresh mint leaves
Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a 3-quart saucepan, then simmer, covered, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, whisk together vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large serving bowl.

Drain potatoes and halve or quarter if desired. Add to vinegar mixture while warm and toss to coat. Add oil, peas, and mint and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm or at room temperature.

If the results of any of these culinary experiments are memorable, I'll report back.

CSA Week 7

2008-07-21T14:33:00.001-04:00

Still Life with Cat, originally uploaded by danilou.

Very exciting week in vegetables. Even Gizmo is intrigued. This week there were new options beyond the chard, lettuce, cabbage, spinach standbys. There were potatoes, hot peppers, purple! bell peppers, yellow squash, patty pan squash, zucchini, and basil. Very colorful.

My picks:

1. hot peppers
2. purple peppers
3. zucchini
4. potatoes

CSA Week 6

2008-07-14T19:27:00.003-04:00

I've been remiss in not posting this sooner. This week was exciting as there were new choices! Yes, new and exiting vegetables and herbs. My picks:

1. Sweet potato leaves - These are similar to spinach. Still a green, but new to me. I sauteed them with olive oil and garlic, then tossed with cooked pasta, a bit more oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. A quick, healthy, and tasty side dish.

2. Swiss chard - Not new, but as I've found a very reliable and versatile choice. It keeps fresh and crispy in the fridge all week.

3. Snap peas - New! And not a green, leafy thing!

4. Basil - I was very excited about this as fresh herbs are rather expensive in the grocery store. I have another batch of the fresh basil and tomato pasta salad in mind.

a new favorite photo

2008-07-11T11:26:00.001-04:00

(pinkish) purple coneflowers, originally uploaded by danilou.

I had the pleasure to explore someone's lovely garden and plantings last weekend. I like this shot of purple coneflowers with daylilies in the background, particularly.

For your weekend pleasure...

2008-07-11T11:11:00.003-04:00

Despite the convenient proximity and my penchant for coffee, I've yet to visit El Rancho Grande, small music venue and late night coffee house at 3608 Falls Rd., the corner of Falls and 36th across from the 7-11 in Hampden. For some pictures of the space, see here.

I may remedy that this Saturday night and take in this performance. I'm a fan of Caleb Stine. Anyone else?

Tomato and Fresh Basil Pasta Salad

2008-07-08T10:43:00.002-04:00

Tomato and Fresh Basil Pasta Salad, originally uploaded by danilou.

I made this for my sister's going away party recently. It was devoured by all party attendees. The recipe is a result of my combining various pasta salad recipes that included basil, as I had some growing that needed using.

16 oz. (1 box) mini wagon wheels pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes halved
1/4 cup finely sliced red onion
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon style mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
optional: minced garlic, shredded/grated cheese, pine nuts

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Drain and cool.
In small mixing bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and
pepper.
In a large mixing bowl combine pasta, basil and tomatoes.
Pour vinaigrette over top and toss together.
Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

CSA Week 5

2008-07-05T16:38:00.001-04:00

CSA Vegetables Week 5, originally uploaded by danilou.

- Onions
- Green Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Green Leaf Lettuce

Other options were various types of chard, kale, and sweet potato leaves, which apparently can be cooked like spinach.

I never did make coleslaw, so that's the plan for the cabbages.

Here's the aforementioned chard-utliizing sesame noodles:

CSA Week 4

2008-06-27T16:44:00.003-04:00

Wow, a month already!

This week...

- 2 bunches of beets with greens attached*
- 1 bunch rainbow chard**
- 1 head romaine lettuce

I was torn between the romaine and some nice looking kale, but decided lettuce is easier to use given the lack of cooking required and a salad goes with everything. Other options included - red and green leaf lettuce, other varieties of chard, and cabbage.

*Golden West cafe had a "CSA Salad" on their specials menu last week. They buy produce from One Straw Farm. The salad included roasted beets on beet and assorted greens with chevre. Sounds like good inspiration, but I'm not sure yet how exactly I'll prepare the beets, you know since I don't think I've ever eaten any save a bite of the pickled variety.

**Rainbow chard probably will go in the aforementioned potential sesame noodles.

CSA recap - how to eat your greens

2008-06-27T12:12:00.009-04:00

Maybe I should start a new food blog to organize all of my CSA-related accounts, but...then I wouldn't have any posts over here.

I realized it might be more interesting and helpful to share not just a list of what produce the CSA provides every week, but more comprehensive information on what I end up making with that produce, in case you find yourself with these various veggies on hand.

Thus far, I've had...

- lots of salad, garden salads with red and green leaf, a great grilled chicken caesar with the romaine

- strawberries, eaten plain and with shortcake. I always make the classic Bisquick recipe.

- linguini with rainbow chard and bacon (subbed for pancetta in this recipe) with a few splashes of balsamic vinegar added while cooking the chard

- *swiss chard, grape tomato, and basil frittata

- "Warm Sesame Slaw Salad", a Rachel Ray recipe. Not a bad way to quickly and easily use up some cabbage. I had the few ingredients on hand.

- "Vegetarian Southern-style Collard Greens" - picture, recipe, post

planned...

- *garlic naan personal "pizza" topped with mozzarella cheese, as well as rainbow chard and baby bella mushrooms sauteed in olive olive with minced garlic and onion

update: I sauteed the veggies last night and assembled the pizza today for lunch. It was quite tasty and much better than my typical lunch-time Lean Cuisine.

- tortellini soup with italian sausage, tomatoes, and cabbage

- sesame noodles using this recipe from Everyday Food magazine and subbing out broccoli for more swiss or rainbow chard

I'll post on how these turn out and what this week's selection provides after my pickup today.

*more or less my own creations/adaptations

more food blogging - a semi-original recipe

2008-06-23T20:55:00.011-04:00

Tonight I had to figure out what to make with the CSA swiss chard. I made pasta last week, so tonight, I settled on a frittata. Super easy, super tasty.

I usually use this recipe as my guide to frittas and then I just substitute various veggies and seasonings. I've done asparagus and mushrooms, as written; ham, peppers, and potatoes is another popular combination.

Tonight was swiss chard and grape tomatoes with fresh basil because that's what was on hand. I just threw it together, but I'll try to recreate it below because I was surprisingly pleased with how it turned out. This makes a veggie-heavy frittata, you can easily adjust the veggie-egg ratio, or anything else. That's the great thing about frittatas. You can dump almost anything in. I think mushrooms and some crumbled bacon would also be great with the chard in this.

SWISS CHARD, TOMATO AND BASIL FRITTATA

INGREDIENTS

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/8 - 1/4 cup onion (I used a Vidalia), chopped finely
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
* 1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed and cut into pieces
* 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, slice in half
* 6 eggs
* 1 tablespoon water
* handful fresh basil, chopped
* salt and pepper, to taste
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Heat oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. (If you have one, I don't, I use my regular skillet.) Add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the onion turns golden and softens, a few minutes.

3.Add swiss chard. Cover and cook tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 3-5 more minutes until the tomatoes are softened.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, water, basil, salt and pepper. Pour into the skillet, and reduce heat to low. Tilt the skillet slightly and turn to coat the ingredients in the skillet with the egg mixture. Cover, and cook 5 minutes. (If not using oven-safe skillet, remove chard mixture from skillet and place into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Pour egg mixture over chard in this dish.)

5. Transfer the skillet (or baking dish) to the preheated oven. Bake 10 to 15 minutes (or 20+ minutes if in dish), until eggs are no longer runny. Remove from oven. Top the mixture with the cheese. Turn on the broiler, and broil until cheeses are melted and lightly browned.

CSA Week 3

2008-06-23T16:26:00.002-04:00

This week more greens...

1) rainbow chard
2) swiss chard
3) cabbage (a new option)
4) the largest head of green leaf lettuce I have ever seen

I made this recipe last week with the chard. It was really tasty. Almost anything is good with bacon added, even chocolate.

As for the cabbage, the easy answer seems to be coleslaw, which I happen to love. Then the question is what kind of coleslaw, since there are endless variations...creamy, vinegary, finely chopped or coursely shredded...

Lettuce of course equals salad. I had some for lunch today.

There were also beets available. I don't know if I like beets. I'll probably try them next week if they are available again. Should I be so adventurous, I've been scoping out the beet recipes at Coconut & Lime.

CSA Week 2

2008-06-16T23:52:00.003-04:00

CSA - Spinach, Rainbow Chard, Collard Greens, originally uploaded by danilou.

Same selection of greens as last week. Instead of going for the lettuce, I decided to try spinach, rainbow chard, and collard greens.

I've had collards, but never cooked them before. Rainbow chard is completely new. Haven't cooked it, yet. Have to find a good recipe.

For the collard greens, I used this vegetarian recipe. Most recipes call for a ham hock or some other meat, which I certainly didn't have on hand. This recipe was tasty. I subbed canned stewed tomatoes for the fresh and added the tomato juice to the cooking liquid. I also added some cider vinegar and brown sugar. Very tasty and healthy for my first effort, but probably not a dish I'd go out of my way to make, especially given that they take 45 minutes to cook.

...and there were more delicious strawberries. I made shortcakes this time. Had one for breakfast this morning.

Reunion Delimma Decided

2008-06-09T12:43:00.003-04:00

A few folks weighed in on my reunion dilemma.

Responses were mixed. My feelings are still mixed, but I've decided not to go due to practical considerations and given my limited free time, I think I'd rather spend the weekend with good friends here versus old acquaintances there. Then, I'll be having my own reunion of sorts during my visit the following week. The people I like I do keep in touch with.

As one of those friends I do keep in touch with succinctly put it,

"I'm not going to the reunion either. Why pay money to see people I can't stand?? No thanks!"

CSA Week One

2008-06-06T13:46:00.004-04:00

I seem to be taking a detour into food blogging...I just got my produce! I think I'm going to like this CSA thing.

I just picked up:

one head of red leaf lettuce,
one head of green leaf lettuce,
one head of romaine,
and one pint of strawberries. (pictures to follow)

That was what I picked for my half share. Those with a full share got 2 pints of strawberries and six of the selection of greens, which also included spinach, rainbow chard, chard, collards, and a couple others. Since I'm not sure what I would do with the chard or collards, I stuck with the salad lettuces for this week. I'll get more adventurous as this goes on.

The strawberries are divine. I have never had such juicy, red berries.

And the lettuce is oh so fresh and crisp. For lunch I just had some lettuce wrap sandwiches. In a couple of the huge romaine lettuce leaves, I wrapped up turkey, cheddar, and hummus with slices of red bell pepper and red onion. Tasty and healthy. (Of course, I followed that with half a Midnight Dark Milky Way bar.)

It looks like I'll be having a lot of salads this week and looking forward to the next installment.

Also, as we go along, maybe you, my dear readers and visitors, can share any suggestions or recipes.

Reunion Conundrum

2008-06-02T11:59:00.008-04:00

My 10 year high school reunion is coming up. It is a fairly last-minute, low-budget, laid back affair, which is fine. I wouldn't want to pay a lot to share a fancy dinner with people I haven't seen in a decade.

I feel like I should go. I mean you only have one ten year high school reunion. My high school and hometown are only a couple of hours drive away, so it would be possible to make the trip.

On the other hand, I already have plans to make the drive to my hometown and my parents' house for a family event the weekend following the reunion. I don't want to make that trip two weekends in a row, especially given the cost of gasoline.

Furthermore, I already had other plans before I found out about the reunion. I know I'd enjoy these events, whereas I don't know how great it is going to be to make small talk at a bar with people I don't really know well anymore. Some of my classmates, I wouldn't mind catching up with, but most that I'd really like to see aren't available to attend. It's really a wild card at this point what the interaction would be like.

If I wasn't already going to my parents' house the following weekend, I'd probably go if only out of curiosity. I'm just not sure it's worth the cost of gasoline and the commitment of an entire weekend.

Anyone attend their high school reunion??? Why or why not? If so, how was it?

Coconut & Lime Blogiversary Contest Entry

2008-06-01T21:58:00.007-04:00

Here's another cooking related post.

I've been meaning to post my entry to Coconut & Lime's Blogiversary Contest, but I keep failing to take a picture before eating all the treats.

Recently I've made Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes and Ginger-Coconut Milk and Cereal Bars. I've made both of these recipes multiple times. They're favorites and easy to make.

For my entry, here's a picture of Caribbean-Style Mango Chicken, which was made not too long ago to share with friends (AKA willing new recipe guinea pigs) for dinner. It was tasty and very colorful! (I'd make it again, but I might adjust the seasonings and the wine-poaching process a bit.) Our chicken turned quite purple, more so than shows in the picture.

Given that I'm sure there are a ton of entries to this contest, my chances of winning are probably slim. However, it's a prize in itself to try all of these great recipes. I strongly recommend that you check out the site if you haven't already.

"My Grill Friday" - Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

2008-05-29T14:47:00.006-04:00

my grill friday, originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime.

Rachel at Coconut & Lime started a new weekly feature "My Grill Friday". Starting with Porcini Mushroom Dry Rubbed Steak, she's focusing on grilling related recipes and has invited others to share their recipes, too. I won't have something to share every week, but as Monday was Memorial Day there was some grilling...

We threw together some simple and tasty teriyaki chicken kabobs.

Not following a recipe, we just cut some chicken breasts into about 1.5" pieces and marinated in a bottled teriyaki marinade.

Meanwhile, we cut up a whole fresh pineapple, 1 green pepper, and 1 vidalia onion into chunks. We also soaked the bamboo skewers in water.

Finally, we assembled the skewers to our liking and grilled.

Voila! Simple and delicious...chicken on a stick.