Kale Chips

We have been wanting to try making kale "chips" all summer, but it hasn't worked out until now. They were really easy to make, and taste great! We overcooked them, so this photo doesn't do it justice, but now we know to bake them for less time the next time around (I think they were in the oven for 8 minutes, it might be better to bake them for about 6 minutes or so...).

Kale "Chips" (from Red Fire Farm)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb kale, chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 400˚.
2. Toss kale with olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake, turning every 5 minutes until brown and crispy. Kale should be dry and able to be eaten by hand like chips!

Read more...

Napa Cabbage

We got a head of Napa cabbage from the CSA a few weeks ago, but weren't sure what to do with it. We finally made it tonight, using a loose interpretation of this recipe for Warm Apple-Cabbage Slaw (I used cranberry juice and added Craisins). We served it with corn from the farm and oven-"fried" tilapia. It was a delicious meal!

Here are some photos:



I also considered a bunch of other recipes before finally choosing one:

• Poppyseed Cole Slaw
• Napa Cabbage Salad with Lemon-Pistachio Vinaigrette
• Sesame Napa Cabbage Coleslaw
• Cabbage-Red Pepper Slaw
• Napa Cabbage, Carrot and Almond Slaw
• Napa Cabbage Slaw with Caribbean Citrus Dressing
• Chinese Cabbage and Peanut Slaw

You can find some great tips about how to cut cabbage here - I never knew that it can turn your knife black because of the chemical reaction when the cabbage touches something metal that's not stainless steel! (although this didn't happen tonight when I cut it and I don't think that our knives are stainless steel...)

Read more...

Stir Fry

We made stir-fry again the other night. (I already know what you're thinking - again?) What can I say? It's one of our go-tos...

This version included:

• Eggplant
• Orange and red peppers
• Yellow squash
• Green beans
• Celery
• Onion
• Brown rice

Dan made the sauce a little bit differently this time because I wasn't in the mood for soy sauce, so it was basically just a lot of juice from the pineapple. It was tasty!

Some photos...

The finished product!

Read more...

This Week's Share - 9/1/10

We received some new and interesting items this week! Any ideas on what to do with them would be greatly appreciated...

Napa Cabbage

Okra

Celery

Tomatoes

Yellow Squash and Broccoli

Bell Pepper and Hot Peppers

Read more...

Red Fire Farm Tomato Festival

This past Saturday was the Red Fire Farm Tomato Festival - I had been excited about it all summer and it turned out to be a lot of fun! It was much more crowded than we had been expecting, which made things a bit hectic, but overall we had a good time.

Inside their barn were all different varieties of tomatoes (see the photos below) and other produce for purchase. We had fun wandering around looking at everything. We bought several melons and a bag of apples. The apples (Macintosh) have been quite tasty - we haven't cut the melons yet, but the ones we tasted at the festival were delicious (we bought one Peace Yellow melon and one small watermelon).


They had food vendors, including Black Sheep Deli which used their veggies in what they were offering. I had wanted to get a quesadilla, but they were out by the time we got to the front of the line. :( Oh well, the bruschetta was very tasty! Dan got grilled tomatoes, which were very good as well. I also got an apple smoothie and an AMAZING lemon almond cookie from El Jardin Bakery.

We waited in line for a very long time to taste lots of different heirloom tomatoes. The tasting was held inside their new building covered with solar panels - it's really a neat concept! As you can see from the second photo below, they will be able to generate half of their electricity from these panels once it's finally hooked up!


Although we would have liked to taste ALL of the kinds they were offering, they had a lot of trouble keeping up with the demand. I would say that we still tasted about 30 or 40 tomato varieties, and I'm not sure that I would have been able to eat that many more anyway. My favorite varieties were Matt's Wild Cherry, Juliet, and Favorita. Although my three favorites were red tomatoes, we also tried some that were green, orange, or brown. It was quite an experience!


After tasting the tomatoes, we had the opportunity to pick some veggies of our own - as CSA members, we are entitled to a certain amount of each kind of vegetable the farm grows. We hadn't had an opportunity to get to the farm before now, so we were excited to pick a lot of stuff!

We picked several pints of tomatoes, two pints of green beans, and ground cherries:


If you've never tried ground cherries, they are quite different from what I was expecting. They are ripe when they fall off the plant, and to eat them you peel off the husk and then eat the small yellow fruit inside. I actually thought they tasted more like grapes than cherries. Dan liked them more than I did!


We also had the chance to pick our own flowers - I'd never done that before, and it was a lot of fun creating our own bouquet. We were allowed to pick up to 7 Sunflower stems, and up to 10 of the other varieties. I've been enjoying our arrangement all week...

Read more...

Egg Recall

For those of you who are concerned about whether or not your eggs have been recalled, here's a great chart from the FDA!

They also have a good photo to explain how to know the specific plant number and Julian dates affected - they must both match for your eggs to be considered contaminated:

Read more...

This Week's Share - 8/25/10

Swiss Chard

Eggplant

Pickling Cucumbers

Bell Peppers
(yes, the one on the left is purple/brown!)

Tomatoes

Parsley

Dan made Israeli salad with the tomatoes and cucumbers - if you've never had Israeli salad, you should definitely try it sometime. It's delicious! When I was in Israel in 1996, we ate it everyday! Here's a great recipe for it...

Read more...

Braised Winter Veggies

Our friends M and S recently gave us this recipe to try - they are big fans of the blog and have made several of my recipes, so I was excited that they gave me one in return. We haven't made it yet, but it sounds delicious (and came highly recommended!)...

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 medium carrots, peeled
- 1 medium parsnip, peeled
- 2 small turnips, peeled (about 8 oz.)
- 2 small onions
- 1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 1 bouquet garni (1 sprig fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, and 4 parsley stems tied with twine)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water (or 1/4 cup lower-salt chicken broth and 1/4 cup water)
- 2 tbs unsalted butter
- 2 tbs chopped fresh herbs (ex. a mix of parsley, thyme, and chives)

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut carrots and parsnip on diagonal into 1 inch chunks.

2. Cut turnips and onions into wedges about 1 inch thick at their widest point. Split the fennel bulb length-wise, notch out the core and then cut the fennel crosswise into 1 inch slices.

3. Heat oil in a medium (9-inch) Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned (about 5 minutes).

4. Add the other veggies, the bouquet garni, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Raise heat to medium-high and cook until veggies are lightly browned (about 5-7 minutes).

5. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover pot, put in the oven and bake until veggies are fully cooked but still hold their shape (about 20-25 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer veggies to a serving bowl.

6. Bring pan juices to a boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, discard the bouquet garni and whisk in butter and herbs.

7. Spoon the sauce over the veggies and serve!

I'm definitely going to try this once it gets a bit cooler outside...

Read more...

Apple Raisin Kugel

Ok, so I know that the following recipe has nothing really to do with the CSA, but it's one of my mom's oldest recipes (and one of my favorites!). A good family friend just asked me for the recipe, and it reminded me that everyone who tries it, loves it! (she's actually not even the first person who's asked for the recipe either...)

I've even started bringing it to Dan's family's Thanksgiving, and it's a hit all around!

Besides, it's got apples in it, and it's starting to feel like fall, so what's the big deal anyway? Right?

PS - If you've heard this called "Lokshen Kugel," that just means "noodle pudding" in Yiddish. Oh, and for those of you in the know, I believe that this recipe is originally from the Complete American-Jewish Cookbook (although my mom's copy is light blue, hard-cover, and easily falls open to this page the second you touch it - I told you it was a family favorite!).

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 8-ounce package egg noodles
- 1/4 cup oil
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3 medium apples
- 1/4 cup seedless raisins
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain noodles and put in a large bowl. Stir in oil and eggs.

2. Peel and chop apples. If using raisins, rinse in hot water and drain. (my sister HATES raisins, so sometimes my mom will leave them out - it's up to you.)

3. Combine all ingredients together, add seasoning and mix well.

4. Pour kugel mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until lightly browned.

Makes 12 pieces (notice I didn't say 12 servings - it's too good to eat just one piece!).

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

For extra softness, add another 2 eggs.

Variation: PINEAPPLE KUGEL - Replace apples and raisins with one 16 oz. can crushed pineapple. Add an additional 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. (I personally like the apple version better, but that's just my two cents...)

Read more...

This Week's Share - 8/18/10

It had been a few weeks since I was able to go to the CSA pick-up, so I had a lot of fun selecting our veggies last Wednesday. Here's what was available:

• Basil
• Green Peppers
• Chili Peppers
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Greens
• Summer Squash/ Zucchini
• Beans
• Broccoli

I took the broccoli and the onions, and J kept the greens, the chili peppers, and the basil (since we grow our own). I picked a pint of tomatoes that were heirloom varieties - I wish I had taken a photo of them before we ate them! Oops. They were very tasty, but a little mushy...

For my half of the summer squash, I picked one yellow squash and one patty pan squash. If you've never had a patty pan squash, you should definitely try it - they're not only fun-looking, they taste great too! We made grilled veggies and grilled tofu with the squash, some leftover zucchini, and some onions and peppers. YUM!

Read more...