Week One: Slow Start

Hello and welcome back! Hard to believe we’re into another year at the farm already, but I’m excited for all the goodies to make their way into the fridge. Yesterday was the first official day of the CSA season, so I headed over after work to see what was available. I grabbed lettuce and collard greens for Matt & Aly, spinach, rhubarb, bok choy, and scallions. There’s a slow start this year - I had a choice of kale, collards, or chard this week, unlike last year when I think they had all of those available. They say it’s because of the wacky weather patterns (high of only 45 degrees in the middle of May? No, thank you!), and promise there will be more in the coming weeks.

Collards are photo-hogs! You can almost see the lettuce under there.
Rhubarb and scallions are sticking up.

 Dan and I only have a couple of days this week to use up what I brought home, so Matt & Aly will get most of the goodies this week. I do, however, have a master plan for my four stalks of rhubarb that I’m looking forward to making soon. I will be sure to post the recipe.

A half-pound of spinach. I have no idea what happened to the bok choy...
it's in there somewhere.

We've also started a garden project of our own this summer – after lots of manual labor (and help from our parents!) we've cleared out our previously mulched-over garden and planted grass and some veggies. Our radishes are coming up super fast, and the broccoli seems to be pretty happy as well. We transplanted some mature chives and oregano, which are doing very well, and also planted some basil and dill (time will tell on those). And the pumpkins are practically exploding overnight. Rumor has it that it’s not too late to plant a couple more plants (tomatoes, cucumbers), so I’ll see if I can find some soon!

We’ll be off on adventures next week, so if I post it will be delayed and/or not farm-related. Til then!

Week Seventeen: Early Nights

I can’t believe it’s October already! I’m still bummed that the nights are coming faster, but I’m loving the extended summer weather we've been having. I had to go into Boston yesterday morning and ended up walking a little over 2 miles around the city in what was probably the perfect “walking” weather: not too cold in the shadows but not too hot in the sunlight. (I’m only a little sore today.)

 

Cruising down Route 2 this weekend.

For the first time in ages, we didn’t walk around the picking fields – so hopefully we didn’t miss anything good! We’ve had decent luck with the raspberries, as I’ve said before, by just strolling through and snacking on what looks good. The harvest is starting to get smaller, but I’m looking forward to some yummy fall squash soon! You can probably guess what we picked up this week – we’re creatures of habit, I guess: tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, peppers (red bell and sweet frying), leeks, and broccoli rabe (new!).

It’s been a busy week so I tried to focus on “easy” veg – last night was my big cooking night. I made “Shallot Surprise” and sautéed the broccoli rabe for a side. This weekend I need to find a way to use up all of my potatoes (about 3 or 4 pounds)… maybe gnocchi? I’ve got lots of extra scallions, too, so will need to do something with those. Yikes!

“Shallot Surprise” (a riff on Rachael Ray’s “That’s Shallotta Flavor Pasta”)

~1 lb shallots

1 lb pasta

Olive oil

Butter

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c Romano cheese (grated)

Peel and slice the shallots. (I hate this part – my eyes water like crazy! I have to do this right next to the stove with the exhaust fan on high, but that doesn’t always help very much. I’m told you can also do this with your gas stove on very low heat, to burn off the sulfur fumes.) Heat a couple tablespoons each of butter and olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic to the pan and sauté til it’s fragrant, then add the shallots.

 

I was too weepy slicing these to get a picture!

Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the shallots start to caramelize. Meanwhile, cook pasta per the directions on the box. When almost done cooking, add about a cup or so of the water to the skillet (it will sizzle) and add the cheese. Add the drained pasta and carefully toss to coat with the cheese and shallots. Add more cheese and/or water as needed to evenly coat pasta with the sauce.

Serve hot with additional cheese and freshly ground pepper.

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe (based on Rachael Ray's)

1 lb broccoli rabe, stems trimmed

1-2 T cooking oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice and zest of one lemon

Salt

Bring about an inch of water to boil in a large, deep skillet. Coarsely shop the broccoli rabe, then add to the boiling water and reduce heat to simmer. Salt the water, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Drain the rabe really well, then put the pan back on the stove. Add the oil, garlic, and some of the zest and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, then add the drained rabe to the pan. Sauté a couple more minutes, and transfer to serving dish. Toss with lemon juice and remaining zest to serve.

Week Fifteen: The Cold Begins!

The weather continues to be all confused: nights in the high 30s/low 40s and days that just seem to do whatever… yesterday (Tuesday) was 64 and today is in the low 70s. Friday may hit the near-80s. I guess it’s time to take the A/C out of the window and relocate it to the attic! I've got some grand plans for this week, including roasting a chicken for dinner tonight (with local veg, of course!), making stock and at least one kind of soup, and freezing some stuff for later. A small offshoot of the freezing task is to assess and organize what’s already in the freezer… how fun! Must be the onset of fall putting me into hibernation mode – I just wish I had more sunlight to work with ;)  

Good time to break out this candle!

This week at the farm was pretty chilly, but the harvest is still going strong. I picked up some leeks, scallions, potatoes, kale, and celery – the lightest bag I've had since June! We've definitely turned the corner back into “leafy things”. Aly got tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and broccoli. I almost got some kohlrabi (it looks like a purple alien turnip thing – and we had no idea what to do with it), but then the scallions came out so I scrapped that. We took a short trip through the fields to grab some dill and snack on some raspberries. They were delicious, as usual.

 

Celery and scallions.

Kale! To be chipped, souped, frozen...

I still had my melon from last week, and I finally got a chance to cut it up. I’d looked up how to de-seed a watermelon, but I think the technique is better used on the ginormous ones you get at the grocery store – I don’t think there would have been much left of my little round one if I’d gone along with this plan completely! I don’t have any pictures, unfortunately (it’s really messy!), but here’s a link to the guidelines I used.

Basically, you cut the ends off the melon, and then cut a wedge into the long side (not all the way to the middle). You can then break off that chunk – the seeds will come out with it. Keep doing that all around the melon until you get back to the beginning, and then you’re left with the delicious “heart”. You can cut the seeds out of each long slice, and then use the flesh as you normally would. It seemed exceedingly wasteful to do that with mine, so I did my best to scrape out the seeds and chunk up the rest for freezing.

 

Filthy dirty leeks - who let them out of the barn?!

Bacon, Leek, and Egg Risotto (via Smitten Kitchen)

I usually halve this recipe because I feel it makes plenty for a side plus leftovers, but I've made it for a meal and been happy.

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable broth, plus some extra to thin out the rice

1 cup (4 ounces) finely chopped bacon (about 4 slices) or pancetta (I would never halve this!)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large or 3 smaller leeks, quartered lengthwise, cleaned*, and chopped small

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to fry eggs

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 cups arborio, carnaroli, or another short-grained Italian rice

1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth

1 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish if desired

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 to 6 large eggs, you’ll want one per serving (I don't usually use them)

Put the stock in a small pot and heat gently - it should be warm but not yet simmering. Heat another pan, about 3 quarts, over medium heat, and cook the bacon until just crisp and the fat is rendered. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and put aside. Add a splash of oil to the pan if needed, then cook the leeks on medium/low for about 10-12 minutes. Scoop out and add to the bacon.

Add the butter to the same pan and cook the onion until translucent and tender, 5 minutes or so. Add the rice and saute about 4 minutes to lightly toast. Add the wine/vermouth and cook until almost gone. Add about a cup of the warm stock to the pan and simmer while it absorbs. Stir frequently. Add the rest of the stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring, until the rice is done. This usually takes me 20 minutes or so for al dente. Keep tasting to check for your personal version of "done". When you're happy, add the bacon and leeks back into the pan, then stir in the cheese. Add salt and pepper if desired, then serve.

If serving with fried eggs: Melt about a teaspoon of butter in a small nonstick pan on medium/low heat. Crack an egg into the pan and cook gently until the whites are set - you can put a lid on the pan to speed this up if you'd like. Cook to your preferred "done" - this recipe calls for sunny-side up, but if that's not cooked enough for you, keep on cookin'. Transfer to the first bowl of risotto and add more cheese and seasonings if desired.

* To clean leeks: Shake over a sink to get the easy stuff off, then peel back a couple of the dirtiest leaves if needed. Quarter lengthwise as directed, then slice thinly. Have a big bowl or pot of cold water handy. Dump the sliced leeks into the pot or bowl and gently swish them around to loosen up the dirt. Let everything sit for a couple minutes for the dirt to settle, then carefully skim off the floating leeks. Dry in a towel or salad spinner.

Week Fourteen: Mixed Bag of Weather

Over the past few years, I’ve been finding September to be a very strange month. The days leading up to Labor Day are hot and sticky, and then on that darned Tuesday everything gets all confused about what season it’s supposed to be. Do the leaves start to fall now? Do I need to keep blooming? Should it get cold at night? How hot are the days, again? Does it rain, or should it hail instead?

Seriously. Please explain.

We had beautiful days and cool nights this weekend. Friday I had to dress for two seasons: fall on top (sweater and fall-colored nails) and summer on bottom (skinny jeans, sandals, and pink toenails). I can’t say I minded; it really was a beautiful day. I unfortunately wasn't able to post last week, but don’t worry, nothing exciting happened. We got more of our usual: carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, lettuce, and so on.

More tomatoes, including a few "orange blossom", this week.

This week we got a bunch of good stuff: peppers (two kinds), broccoli, collards, a melon, tomatoes, beets, radishes, onions, and carrots. I pickled the radishes, half an onion, and a couple of the peppers... can't wait to try those! Unfortunately it does seem that most of the “delicate” summer veggies are going away for the season since the weather’s turned cooler… thanks for everything, cucumbers! It was great while it lasted

Collards and broccoli (!)

I signed up for some “techniques of cooking” classes over in Cambridge, and the first class this past weekend was knife skills – so I’ve been practicing the proper grip and slicing technique. I’ll try to play with (and document!) my newfound skills and cuts as I get more stuff to slice up. My immediate takeaway from the class was that I have a weird mental block about using the “claw” grip… I totally get that it’s supposed to protect you from slicing off your fingertips, since you have your knuckles out in front, but then I worry about slicing my knuckles off. Even though that’s not supposed to happen at all!

Frying peppers, bell peppers, and onions.

Little radishes and another melon.

I got an “all vegetables all the time” cookbook from my aunt for my birthday (wohoo!), so I’d been eager to try out one of the beet recipes in there. I got a chance to try it tonight – it’s sort of a beet and potato latke thing. I’ve also kept up (of course) with my regular pickled things… the frying peppers I got a couple weeks ago were great, and last week’s tiny bell peppers were, too. 

Golden beets this week

Crisp Beet and Potato Cake (from Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop)
We halved this recipe since I was making something else alongside... and I'm very glad! I'm sure we would have had too much for the pan if we'd used the full amounts. I think next time we'll try draining the beets a little bit; the outside seemed to be overly crisp and the inside a little mushy, although it still tasted great! It had the potato-y goodness of a latke and the "red" taste of the beets, which I thought made a great combination. Confession: Most of (okay, all) the hard work of washing, grating, and mixing was done by Dan, so thanks, honey!

1 lb russet potatoes (we used farm potatoes, no idea what kind)
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 medium beets (we used one red and one golden in the halved version)
1/4 c fresh snipped chives (subbed in leeks instead)
2 T butter

Peel the potatoes and grate with a box grater (don't forget your safety glove!) or a food processor. Toss with the salt. Peel and grate the beets, then mix with the potatoes. Throw in the chives and mix well.

Melt 1T butter in a wide (10-inch) nonstick skillet. Once the butter stops foaming, add the beet-potato mixture to the pan and press down to spread in an even layer. Cook over medium heat about 10-12 minutes until the bottom is nice and crispy. Press down with a spatula every now and then.

This is the tricky part: getting the cake out of the pan, onto a plate, and flipping it back into the pan so you can cook the top. Once the bottom is cooked, carefully slide the cake onto a big plate (ours wasn't quite done so it didn't slide very nicely). Melt the last tablespoon of butter in the pan until it stops foaming. As I'm re-reading the recipe now, I realize there is a much easier way to have done this: flip the cake onto another plate and then slide back into the skillet. (In the heat of the moment I just asked Dan for help, since I was stirring risotto and he happened to be there. He saved the day.) Cook the second side another 8-10 minutes until crisp on the bottom.

Slide onto a plate and serve in wedges.

Week Three: Healthy Stuff

I'm way late on updating this week - sorry! Between work, being sick, and the 4:30pm-on-a-Friday "The client says they still don't have this thing you sent two weeks ago" phone call... I've been distracted. But - the Whitecaps won again to become the Eastern Conference Champs, and off to Philly they go!

This week we picked up more garlic scapes, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, beets, collard greens, and chard. We had a cooking party, and Aly whipped up this recommended collard greens 'n' onions dish, I made a chard and feta pasta dish, and over the weekend I got in some baking. I made another Caesar salad since I was so happy with how the first one came out, but haven't had a chance to eat much of it yet.

We also discovered just how crazy good for you this stuff is. Did you know that 1 cup of collard greens has 288% of your daily recommended Vitamin A? And 57% of your daily recommended Vitamin C? And a cup of Swiss Chard has 44% of your daily recommended Vitamin A? Wikipedia tells me that Vitamin A is good for the immune system (so why am I getting sick, I ask?!) and "for the maintenance of good vision." Aly told me some time ago me that Vitamin C is good for building and maintaining connective tissue, which was good knowledge when we both injured ourselves with sharp objects - she just before telling me this, and my a week or so after.

So, on to cooking. I made some yummy cupcakes last weekend, and made more this weekend since I had more of my secret ingredient. It's a Martha Stewart recipe, because who else would add beets to chocolate cake? It's a very stealth-healthy recipe, so if you were looking for an excuse to eat chocolate cake, you're welcome.

Chocolate Beet Cake (adapted from Martha Stewart)

4 medium beets, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch chunks (I used 2 medium-ish beets, since that's what I had, and ended up with about 3/4 - 1 cup of puree)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Salt (about 3/4 teaspoon)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup safflower oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Put beets in a small pot and cover with 2" of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for ~30 minutes, until beets are very tender. Process in a food processor until smooth.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then mix in beet puree, eggs, water, and oil.
3a. To make cake (which I haven't done yet): line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and spray pan with cooking spray. Pour in batter and bake about 45 minutes in 350-degree oven. Let cool on a rack about 20 minutes, pop out of pan and allow to finish cooling right-side up.
3b. To make cupcakes: Line muffin tins with paper liners, and fill about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way*. My first batch yielded 15 cupcakes, my second 18. Bake about 20-22 minutes in 350-degree oven, rotating racks top to bottom and back to front so they cook evenly.

*Don't overfill the tins! The cupcakes dome like crazy. In my first batch, I was seriously considering redistributing the extra 3 cupcakes' batter back into the full pan of 12, and I'm glad I didn't. I'd have had a brick.

Week Two: Garlic Scapes

This week was not as leaf-intense as last. We picked up radishes, garlic scapes, cabbage, beets, lettuce, collard greens, and more “radishes”. I’m putting the second “radishes” in quotes because they were labeled “salad turnips” this week – and there were also teeny tiny cute radishes, which looked much more like the radishes I assume most people think of when they hear “radishes”. We also picked some herbs: lavender, chives, oregano, and a mystery leaf that we can’t recall the name of. While wandering around, we also sampled some pineapple mint – jury’s out on whether it’s worth picking lots of.

Oregano, Lavender, Chives, Mystery Leaf

Our winning item this week was definitely the garlic scapes. We got to pick eight things from the barn (instead of last week’s seven), and each ended up grabbing 10 scapes. Aly couldn’t resist biting into one, and then told me I MUST do the same – oh wow. It’s a very “green” garlic taste, almost like biting into a clove of garlic, with a little of the heat of an onion, too. In the pick-your-own field, I found the cutest, most perfectly tiny strawberry in existence. It was everything a strawberry should be – bright red, heart-shaped, and outrageously sweet and juicy. 

In relation to the "real" radishes. How cute?

I got last week’s chard all blanched and into the freezer – hopefully it tastes good when I actually use it! My pink stems looked a little droopy, but the yellow ones seemed fine. At least I’m adding some color to my freezer? I did the same for the spinach I had left over from the failed smoothie. I know spinach condenses a lot when boiled, but jeez, shouldn’t I have ended up with more than 2 ounces from more than a half pound of the fresh stuff?

I’m much less busy this week than last, so I was able to plan ahead what I might be able to make with this week’s harvest, thanks to the CSA newsletter. I’m defrosting some dough for a pizza with chicken for tomorrow (as our plans were rearranged thanks to the Bruins), and will probably make a cabbage salad as well. I also made a Pinterest-inspired lavender mojito. Yum!

Letting the booze infuse...

To make this week:

Garlic Scape Pizza (it's only fair to give Smitten Kitchen credit for this inspiration, even if the only similarities shared between her recipe and mine are pizza dough and tomato sauce!)

Caesar Cabbage Salad (via New York Times)

Blanched greens

- boiling water
- greens, stems chopped into 1-inch pieces and leaves cut into ribbons (roll the leaves to make this easier)
- ice water

Drop the stems (or leaves) into the boiling water, cover, and boil for two minutes (one source I looked at stressed that this should be exactly two minutes and not a second more or less. Something about enzymes.). Use a slotted spoon or strainer to remove leaves/stems from the boiling water and immediately submerge in the ice water. Swish everything around to stop the cooking, and then strain/squeeze out excess water. Store in zip top bags in the freezer.

Week One: Green Monsters

My fridge is full of leafy green things. As Dan so eloquently put it, the “fridge looks like a damn prehistoric forest. Some small creature is going to jump out and bite me!” We, along with some friends of ours, have just kicked off our first ever CSA season, and the amount of produce that’s now in my fridge is astounding. On Tuesday, Aly and I picked up collard greens, Swiss chard, bok choy, scallions, spinach, radishes, and Napa cabbage from the harvest barn, and then picked some sugar snap peas (I think 9 total – the weather was not so good for leisurely picking) and a few random snips of herbs (thyme, sorrel, catmint, and what I think is chocolate mint) from the fields.

It doesn’t seem like much when I write that, but as you might be able to tell from the pictures, these greens are ENORMOUS. The Napa cabbage is longer than my forearm and weighs 3 pounds. The collard greens could be used to fan me while I sit on a lounge chair by the pool, book and frosty beverage in hand. The Swiss chard leaves are the size of a sheet of printer paper (and I gotta say, I LOVE that the stems are hot pink and yellow!).

It’ll be a challenge this week to cook all of this up, so I’ll be doing some research into preserving this for later!

First project: Green Smoothie (Tales of a Kitchen)

1 small cucumber, cut into chunks (The recipe called for the cuke to be mostly peeled – I didn’t do this but might next time. I may also seed it.)

1 apple, cored and cut into chunks

1-2 handfuls spinach, washed*

1 lime, juiced

1 T ginger, minced or grated on a microplane

1 T honey/agave/simple syrup

1 cup water

Throw everything into a blender and process until smooth.

I had to process this for much longer than I had expected, first to get everything down to the blades of the blender, and then to get everything to a “drinkable” consistency. My first iteration was … meh. I added the juice of a lemon to wake it up a bit, but I think it needed something else. It was pretty tart (probably because I used a Granny Smith apple), so I think next time I’ll use a sweeter apple and some more honey. After consultation with friends who’ve made this type of smoothie before, I’ll also throw in some yogurt or avocado for a smoother texture.

*Washing greens: Snap or cut the stems off your greens – I also had to chop the root ends off (yep, this stuff’s fresh!). Dunk the leaves into the pot filled with cool water, a few at a time, and swish gently to rinse off all the dirt and crud, then shake gently over the pot or sink. Pile the leaves on a clean dish towel, gather up the corners into a hobo bundle, and give it a few lasso spins to dry everything. If it’s not raining, do this outside, otherwise you’ll get water all over your kitchen (maybe you could avoid this by carefully arranging a plastic bag around the bundle?). Or you can be all fancy-pants and use a salad spinner!