R74 Buttons

We recently ordered some Referendum 74 buttons in order to show our support for marriage equality in Washington state.  It took a while for the order to ship, but once they got here they quickly found new homes on each of our messenger bags. 

This is the best shot I could get with our camera.  I think it might be time to get a new one.

CSA Week 17

From left to right:  Lettuce, eggplant, carrots, tomatillos, bell peppers rutabaga, onions, summer squash, rainbow chard, celery, and green beans.

Green Curry Eggplant

After receiving eggplant in our CSA last week I was searching the web trying to find some inspiration.  Eggplant parmesan is always an option, as well as fried eggplant, however when I came across this recipe for green curry eggplant I felt compelled to try it.

We were able to find all the specialty ingredients at our Asian market and the process of making it couldn't have been easier.  I'd call the finished product restaurant quality and I'm excited to try it again in the future with tofu or chicken.  At some point I may even break down and finally buy a wok to really take my skills to the next level.

CSA Week 16

From left to right:  Lettuce, dakon, celery, tatsoi, carrots, patty pan, yellow beans, eggplant, garlic, onions, bell peppers and cilantro.

We are going to be out of town this weekend so I'm not sure when we are going to find the time to eat all this good stuff.

Tatsoi Ramen Soup

This is really just Top Ramen that has been fancied up.  Since we receive a lot of Asian greens as part of our CSA we had been trying to figure out more ways to use then, other than adding them to stir fry.  Adding Tatsoi or Bak Choy to ramen works really well to make the soup a little more healthy and flavorful.  This time around we also added sauteed garlic, green onions, lime juice, and fish sauce.  Cilantro can also be a nice addition, or hot peppers if you like a little kick.

From the pictures below you can see you prepare the ramen like you normally would and then stir in the additional ingredients near the end.

 

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Sometimes I put off writing about something I made, usually because the experience wasn't that memorable.  This would be one of those times.  The soup seemed like something we should really love but it was just OK from what I remember.  We even went with the extra aged cheddar with the hopes it would be work the extra few dollars.

This was early on in our CSA experience and we had received quite a bit of broccoli.  The farmer that we pick up your vegetables from suggested cheddar broccoli soup, and since LJ loves cheese, it seemed like an excellent idea.

The end results weren't bad by any means.  I think part of the problem was that my expectation were so high that I was left a little underwhelmed by the final results.  I'm sure if I were to make it again in the middle of winter I would enjoy it a bit more.

Artichokes

Before last week, I'd only eaten artichokes once.  Technically a few more times I guess if you count having artichoke dip or spread, but only once where I peeled the leaves off the actual plant.

After receiving four in our CSA we turned to the interwebs to determine how to prepare them.  The process was simple but did take a little bit of time to steam them.

At first eating them seemed difficult.  The outer leaves didn't have much meat on them and we thought we were doing something wrong in our technique of peeling the flesh away from the leaf with our teeth.  However once we got in a few layers the leaves became much more plump.

I wasn't overly impressed with the experience but it must have not been that bad considering we each ate two artichokes.  You can see the remains below.

Kimchi

I made this a few months back and have been putting off writing about it because I'm not sure what to say.  The problem is I've never eaten kimchi before so I'm not sure if this batch is good or not.  I think my batch could have been spicier for my tastes so I will keep that in mind if I make it again, though I don't even know how much sriracha I added this time around.  I also should have used more green onions because the final result seemed closer to sauerkraut then I thought it should have and I think that was because there was too much cabbage.  I also think my final result could have used more water.

Other then that I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. One of the beautiful things about kimchi is that it is flexible.  You can make it to your tastes and the ingredients you have on hand.  I've enjoyed eating it with rice for lunch.  For an introduction to kimchi making I'd recommend the Hungry Tigress blog.

CSA Week 15

Some excellent surprises and some old favorites in the CSA this week.  Starting on the far left and going clockwise:  Butterball potatoes (my favorite!!), green onions, celery, golden beets, tatsoi, green beans, summer squash, lettuce, artichokes, lemon cucumbers, and parsley.

Zucchini spread

After volunteering at the farm this time last year I knew we would be getting a lot of zucchini in our CSA for at least a month straight.  As a volunteer I harvested summer squash nearly every morning and became exceptionally good at spotting green zucchini growing in the middle of giant green zucchini plants.  The plants themselves can be a little prickly on the skin so when you are harvesting large amounts it can be helpful to wear long sleeves (just a tip if you ever find yourself working on a farm).

I was happy to come across this recipe for turning zucchini in to a delicious spread.  We've had it on bialy and it is good warm or cold straight out of the fridge.  We used a mixture of Patty Pan and zucchini which is why there is a bit of yellow in the mixture.

Pickled Beets

When I get overwhelmed with vegetables from the CSA I mostly turn to pickling. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these but we keep getting beets as part of our CSA and I don't know what else to do with them.  I think we now have 2 pint jars and 2 quart jars full of pickled beets in our pantry.  

Since LJ hates anything that remotely resembles a pickle I'm going to have to eat a lot of these this winter.

More pickled beets (pink this time instead of the traditional red beet), along with carrots, green beans, and cucumbers.