Box #3

It's hot and humid outside.  Yuck.  I just swept up the tiny flowers from the deck that have been hiding out under our table and chairs.  I went the el cheapo route and got a cover from Big Lots because it was cheap.  Turns out it was also shitty and ripped to shreds way too easily.  During a storm yesterday, as the wind was making the cover billow upwards, I watched as a small opening in the cover became a giant gash.  I've ordered a new (good) cover from Amazon and the old cover is in the trash.  So, in the meantime, the furniture is spread out on the deck and drying after the monsoons yesterday evening and in the middle of the night.

After sweeping the deck, refilling the bird feeder (I know ~some~ fine feathered friends are probably pleased with that activity), and picking up flowers and junk from the front bedding, I came inside to enjoy some time before Lil wakes up. Now that I have some ice water by my side, I guess I need to catch up on my blog... "Write on blog" is indeed one of the weekend tasks that is on my calendar, so at least I get to check it off, too!

I picked up box #3 on Wednesday.  There's a picture of the goodies below.  What's new this week?  Cabbage and green beans.

I'm not going to list out everything because nothing's too exotic.  So far we've used a tomato and most of the lettuce in salads for lunch.  For dinner tonight, we're having coleslaw (using the cabbage), BLTs (using the tomatoes), and a watermelon I picked up at Costco.   Below is a pic of the salad.  It had the hydroponic lettuce, tomato, blue cheese crumbles, balsamic vinaigrette, and candied walnuts.  I thought it was yummy.  Brian didn't think the nuts went well in it.  We had the salad with baked potatoes that I cooked most of the way through in the microwave, then coated with oil and kosher salt and baked for a bit in the toaster oven.  I've never done it that way, and they were yummy.

I'm making Japanese chicken and veggies tomorrow night, which will use some of the squash and zucchini.  Later this week I'll make something with the green beans.  For the rest of the cabbage, I'm trying a new recipe for colcannon.  I'm still deciding on which recipe, but since I've never made it before, it will be new.  DAMN.  I just realized I forgot to get butter at the store.  I went and did my main shopping yesterday, and then went again today because the store I went to yesterday didn't have everything I needed.  So I guess I'll be going grocery shopping, again, in the next couple of days.  Oh, well.  Maybe I can get Brian to go for me.  Anyways, the uses for the rest of the veggies is still TBD.  I'll let you know after I know!

Short update

Just to get caught up:  the peppers in the box were used in cheese, bean, and veggie quesadillas and the squash and zucchini were grilled (I have to find another way to cook those).  One cucumber went to making Chicago Dogs (for me).  I still have some cucumbers and the whole jar of pickles left.

Buried Stuff (aka carrots & beets)

On Sunday (I think it was), I made a delicious salad out of leftover veggies and fridge/freezer odds and ends.  It had the rest of the hydroponic lettuce from the box, the rest of the basil and mozzarella from our caprese salads, the last tomato from the box, walnuts, grapes, balsamic, olive oil, and s & p.  YUM!

This weekend I also used the carrots from the box.  They were simply roasted, and about 8 minutes before they were done, I pulled them out of the oven and quickly tossed them with sugar and balsamic. Back in the oven they went to get all delicious.  And that they were!  The recipe had me using a bit over a tsp of sugar, which seemed too much so I didn't use it.  However, I'll probably use that much next time.  In the picture, the lighter carrots are from the box, and the orange ones are from the fridge.  Brian and I can chow down on some roasted veggies, and it's not much harder to make extra.  If we don't eat them at the meal, the will certainly get eaten as leftovers.  I'll be making this recipe again, for sure.

Earlier this week I also used the beets.  And guess what?  Brian actually liked them!  He'll say he doesn't like beets, and he doesn't like pickles.  I think he's maybe only had pickled beets, so those always had to be a major loser for him.  So, I looked for a recipe that went another direction. Funny enough, he also doesn't like Swiss cheese (unless it's in "Mad Garlic Potatoes" aka  potatoes gratin).  But he liked the recipe!  I'm amazed.  It was good, but we had it the day after I made it, so it was a bit dry for our tastes.  We both prefer a bit gooier.  Here's the recipe for Beet and Beet Green Gratin.  After the turnip incident, I learned to only make 1/2 a recipe for something new. I forgot to take a picture of it  before we ate it.  It's very purple, probably because I added extra cheese to the top that melted, and the beet juice got all involved. 

Caprese Salad

My favorite salad is caprese, made with tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella.  The first time I had it was at Emeril's in Orlando.  I know, a bit commercial and trendy.  However, we were stupid enough to not have reservations, but were able to slide onto bar stools and delight in the food anyways.  Yum. 

Next to BLTs and tomato sandwiches, the salad is my favorite way to use tomatoes in the summer.  I used the lettuce and tomatoes from the farm box, and cheese and basil from Whole Paycheck (Foods).  I usually don't use lettuce, but I had it in the box and it seemed like a good use.  We topped our salads with balsamic and olive oil, and I also added salt and pepper to mine.  Lil enjoyed her mozzarella. Our plan was to have this for dinner, but we might be doing something else tonight so we went ahead and had it for lunch.

Also, I guess it's normally served with the ingredients sliced and layered.  When you're shoveling food into your mouth and making sure a baby has food on her tray, speed is the order of the day, so I chopped everything as I made the salad so we didn't have to cut it as we ate it at the table. Less refined, but so is little Hoover (AKA Lillian) inhaling everything within sight.

Naked

Dressed

Box #2

With no drama at all, not even a cranky baby (Lil was enjoying the ride in her new carseat), I successfully retrieved farm box #2!  It contains: bunch of carrots, bunch of beets, tomatoes, peppers (bell & other), lettuce, a zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and a jar of pickles.  The pickles are "salt & pepper," so they will not fly at all with Brian, who hates pickles and pepper.  I'm sure there's some witty rhyme there, but I can't think of one right now.  Maybe Brian can come up with a Haiku.  He's weird like that sometimes.    Anyways. I'm excited about the box.  Stay tuned for updates!

Ending Box #1

I pick up my second farm box tonight, assuming there isn't any confusion over when I'm supposed to get it, where I'm supposed to get it, or my name.  Sadly, I still have some things left from the last box.  I have some onions and the rutabagas (I'm scared to use them after the turnip debacle). 

Let's catch up to what I've used from the box since the last post.  As you may recall, there were some garlic scapes unused.  Those went into pesto which I've made but have not eaten. It's in the freezer, just lying in wait for some leftover pasta.  I'm sure it will be fantastic.  I used the random peppers from the box in a salad, which wasn't too exciting.  It was rather green, even though it had lettuce, cucumbers, and three types of peppers.  There were some token carrots and onions in there, too.  I have no idea what kind of peppers they were, or if they were sweet or hot.  When I told Brian my plan to just cut them one at a time and taste it before adding to the salad, he offered to get the camera in case it was hot.  Alas, they were all slightly hotter than bell peppers, but only a wimp would ever think they were "hot."

Stay tuned for pics from tonight's box! 

Lettuce Wraps

On Tuesday of this week, we had lettuce wraps (the lettuce was from the box).  Yum.  On Monday, I made a marinade of soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger, brown sugar, Sriracha (a new condiment for me), and a few red pepper flakes.  I added pieces of very small diced chicken and let marinate about an hour.  I quickly cooked the chicken.  For the veggies, I used finely diced cabbage (bok choy would be good, but I just used generic cabbage) and shredded carrots.  I quickly cooked the veggies separate from the chicken.  Both the veggies and chicken were stashed in the fridge for Tuesday.  On Tuesday, I made a slurry of water, soy sauce, and cornstarch to make the chicken and veggies mixture stick together better.  After cooking the slurry briefly, I added the main stuff until it was all warmed through.  Some cooked rice noodles and fresh green onions were supposed to add nice textures.  I forgot to put the onions on the table so they didn't get used.

I also made a dipping sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and a splash of water. 

Results:  Yummy, but worked better as a salad.  The lettuce was just too delicate to hold all the filling.  It worked better to just cut it all up and mix together as a salad.  This method also worked well for the leftovers.  I added peanuts, and also the green onions, when I had the leftovers. Both will be added the first go around next time.

Lettuce washed and ready to go

Ready to roll, dip, and eat

Bonus notes of the day:
I've found that if we want to eat real food, I really need to plan well.  Part of that is having more time intensive/last-minute intensive meals on the weekends when Brian can be on baby duty.  The other part of that is being able to prep things ahead of time.  On Monday, when Brian was off work, I prepped for Tuesday.  Tuesday night I made the marinade and sauce for fish tacos tomorrow.  So on Wednesday I just had to add the fish to the marinade and grill, make the rice, and cut up the cabbage.  Not too complicated or time intensive.
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Still to use from this box of goodies: 1/2 of the garlic scapes, peppers, onions, rutabagas.  I better hurry up because I get another box this Wednesday!

Finally Cooking!

So I've actually used some of my farm box goodies!  So far we've used all the tomatoes (salad, BLTs, and tomato sandwiches), the turnips (glazed), the zucchini, scapes, and squash (grilled), and the bell pepper. 

Grilled (on the grill pan)

 

Glazed turnips



Ready for BLTs



Picture I almost forgot to take of the grilled garlic scapes





So how would I review what I've made so far?  The grilled zucchini and squash were yummy, as usual.  The garlic scapes I just grilled with olive oil. However, I think I need to try grilling them longer or blanching then grilling.  I have 1/2 of them left, so I might try grilling the rest or using them in pesto.  The tomatoes were good, but being early summer tomatoes, they were not great.  Still, they were leaps and bounds above grocery store ones, though there's still room for improvement. I'm not complaining about the need to eat more tomato sandwiches and BLTs this summer.  A day later, my house still smells like bacon. 

The biggest fail was the turnips. YUCK!  GAG!  I used a recipe that came with the box of veggies, and I really don't think it was the recipe's fault.   I just really haven't had turnips before (that I can recall), and I will be totally happy if I live the rest of my life without eating another.  Three bites and I was content to say "not my thing."  Brian agreed after one bite.  They ended up in the trash.

Of the stuff we've made so far, Lillian only had the squash.  She liked it for many bites, but then once she started chunking it on the floor, we declared her dinner done.

Box #1

My first box pickup didn't go as planned. I was told the wrong pickup day.  When I didn't pick it up, they called, saying I could get it the next day but the lettuce would be bad, etc.  I was out playing Bunco and Brian was watching Lil, so we couldn't get it that night.  Anyways, my fantastic husband worked it all out and I was able to get a fresh box the next morning.

Here are the contents:

So far I haven't been very creative at all.   We used the bell pepper and a tomato on a salad Thursday night. Brian was out of town all day Saturday and is coming back on Sunday before dinner.  Sunday and Monday will prove more exciting, I promise!

Cocktail Hour!

Grab a cup of milk, soda, tea, coffee, wine, beer, a G & T. Pick your poison and get comfy. This is going to be a long one. I feel like I need to lay out where I’m coming from so what’s to come will make sense. I promise my future posts won’t be as wordy. Here we go!


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Who I (we) are:  Sarah (32) stay-at-home wife and mom.  Likes lots of stuff, and loves black pepper and   sweet tea (but not in combination.  At least I don't think so).  Does not like mushrooms, mango, coffee, wine, or liver.  Brian (31) software engineer/professional nerd.  Brian likes most foods including sweet tea (I converted him!), but does not like mushrooms, olives, pickles, black pepper (which is an issue), coffee, wine (especially red) or most citrus dishes.  Lillian (almost 15 months) super sweet little girl and the light of my life. Lillian has yet to meet a food she doesn’t like. She’s allergic to kiwis.

How I learned to cook/prepare food: As a cook, I don’t have too much breadth or depth, but I’ve picked up techniques along the way and have my favorite recipes. I’ve learned from my Mom, kiddie cooking class through the local rec center as a kid, Girl Scouts, Food Network (Sandwich King is sexy), cookbooks, cooking magazines (a little mainstream, but I eagerly await my Food Network magazine each month), trial-and-error/guess-and-check, my job at Entrée Vous, and Lori Keiper (I worked with her at EV and she is a great cook).

What I cook: I am not a foodie or gourmet cook. I’m lazy. Sloppy Joes made w/Manwich Bold and some fruit salad is OK. I’m even guilty of having tater tots instead of fruit. I like salads but often negate their overall nutritional value by adding stuff like blue cheese dressing and croutons. That said, Brian does cook a mean grilled pork tenderloin, we love grilled fish tacos, roasted veggies, and the usual favorites of tacos, spaghetti, assorted casseroles, breakfast food, etc. I have a great granola recipe, and putting that on some Greek yogurt is a super yummy breakfast or snack.

My kitchen equipment: I have a flat top stove, but would love a gas one. I like to grill outside, but since our neighbors are ghetto and their yards/decks don’t look very good, it’s more stressful to cook outside and see that mess than to just use my handy dandy grill pan. Also, there are less mosquitoes. I have a few fun gadgets and the basic skillets, pots, pans, knives. I’m open to getting some new things throughout the summer if I need ‘em. That includes new neighbors. Or a new house away from our current neighbors (we actually are actively house-hunting).

Why am I doing this? 1) We need to eat more fresh foods and expand our recipe/technique/ingredient repertoire. 2) I really hate throwing away food, so I am *going* to find a way to use everything in my box. It will force me to be creative. 3) I like the idea of supporting local farmers. I chose this particular share because it was recommended to me, and I also know one of the participating famers. He did some great work at the High Point Museum when I worked there, often donating his skills and time teaching Colonial dancing, or working on or demonstrating the loom. It’s good to help him and his family’s farm.

So there you have it. Take or leave it.  However, I hope you choose to ~take~ some new ideas and maybe ~leave~ some of your own!  If you're getting a farm box this summer, I'd love to post how you used your items!  Just drop me an email or a Facebook message and I'll try to post it.  Cheers!

What's coming up?

I am not a foodie, nor do I really want to be one. There. I said it.  I think it's more important to chase down the baby who just cruised through the cat escape hatch on the baby gate.  In other words, I have more pressing concerns than threading kabobs onto rosemary skewers (nothing wrong with that, but it's just not me right now).  However, this summer I’m jumping into cooking a little differently. Well, maybe not all the time, but sometimes. I usually cook normal “American” food, often not being the best choice health wise. I’ve decided to do something to help with this challenge; I took the plunge and joined a CSA cooperative (Triad Farm to Table).

My goal for this blog is to show how I, a normal American non-foodie cook, incorporates a grab bag/box of fresh and local fruits and vegetables into my usual cooking. I’ll experiment with new recipes and maybe cooking techniques along the way. Don’t expect anything fancy, but I hope to learn a thing or two and pass it along to you. Bon appétit! Wait, nose too high in the air. ~Ringing the dinner bell.~ No, a little too low brow. How about “Dinner’s almost ready! Start heading to the table, y'all!” Yes. Perfect. I’ll see you there!





I'm Back!

I can’t believe it’s been more than three years since I posted!  I think Facebook took over the “let the world know what I’m doing” segment of my life.  So why did I decide to restart my blog now?  It can’t be because nothing’s happened in the last three years (one job ended, I went on a cruise, I got pregnant, I went on another cruise, I quit my job, I had a baby, we went to Disney World, Holly (one of our cats) died, and now I have a 14.5 month old).  Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment and want to add another project to my to-do list!  Luckily, the next couple of months will be following a theme:  FOOD!  Stay tuned for details.