CSA - Weeks 3 and 4

Last week was a blur. I could bore you with the details or I could just summarize by saying I cooked for 200 veterans on Monday, was in charge of a full day nutrition symposium on Tuesday, had a "normal" day of work on Wednesday, and was in Nashville for Training on Thursday and Friday! I got back home on Friday afternoon, just in time for Mr. Maestro's parents to arrive for a quick visit! In all of the hustle and bustle, Mr. Maestro forgot to pick up the CSA, but thankfully we have understanding farmers, and he was able to get it after work on Friday. Here is a peek at what we got:

Delicious fresh strawberries, a GIANT head of broccoli, Rainbow Swiss Chard, some more spring onions, and a bear full of local honey!

We sliced the strawberries and served them for breakfast on Saturday with my Mother-In-Law's famous Baked Oatmeal {Although I substituted nearly all the ingredients for something else - so it wasn't much like the original. I'll check my pantry before starting to make it next time!}. Yum-O!

The onions are still in the frige, and the broccoli became Parmesean Roasted Broccoli {recipe to follow}.

The honey will be used off and on for all sorts of things. Did you know that honey has natral anti-bacterial properties? It's even been shown to help heal wounds! Crazy what a little bee spit can do, right?

I do have a confession - this weeks marks my first failure in the committment to eat 100% of my CSA. The beautiful rainbow swiss chard got lost in my veggie drawer and when I re-discovered it...well, let's just say it was too late. RIP swiss chard...RIP.

This week we got this in our CSA sack:

Hello, Summer time! Fresh yellow squash and zucchini, basil, sweet peas, new potatoes, a loaf of whole wheat bread, and PEACHES! I can't WAIT to gobble those peaches up! The peas are really great raw - I just washed them and pulled the tips and strings off so they are ready for snacking! The potatoes, I will store in a cool dark place for a rainy day.

I took some of both week's sacks and made this for dinner last night:

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli {with fresh basil, garlic and pine nuts} - Ina Garten's Parmesean Roasted Broccoli

Grilled summer squash and zucchini - drizzled with a little OO and seasoned with freshly ground pepper, a touch of seasoned salt, and garlic powder - then grilled to perfection courtesy of Mr. Maestro {Check out those perfect grill marks! }

A slice of freshly baked whole wheat bread, and a dainty little 3 oz filet mignon from a local meat shop.

Who is jealous of my meal?

At this point I would like to insert a picture of myself and Mr. Maestro with both sets of our parents {because they both graciously came to see Mr. Maestro conduct the youth symphony at their concert on Sunday}, but alas...I forgot to take one!


P.S. - Remember how I said I was going to china this summer? Well...I leave in TWO DAYS! More to come!

CSA - Week 2

As some of you may know, Blogger was down for a few days last week. That, my friends, is my excuse for the frightfully long delay in my posting. Yep. And I'm sticking to it!

So, as my previous post mentioned, our CSA has just recently kicked back into gear. Mr. Maestro and I have renewed our dedication to consuming 100% of our share each week - and so far {after one week} we're doing a great job! Wanna know what I ended up making last week?

Ok, you twisted my arm...

As excited as I was about the Sorrel Pesto, I had a last minute change in my game plan and decided to make this instead:

Sorrel Soup! Want the recipe? Click here
The soup was delicious, although Mr. Maestro and I decided that it would be great as an appetizer - perhaps served as a "shooter" in a shot glass. The taste was lemony and bright...or as I described it: "Green." Definitely worth a try, however, perhaps not the best consumed in large quantities.  I used some of our spring onions in place of the shallots.

We served it with some delicious savory roasted sweet potatoes and spring onions {tossed in olive oil and seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and some garlic powder prior to roasting} and a delicious chicken quarter. Hello, Chicken Quarter! Where have you been all of my {married/cooking} life! You are so CHEAP, and oh so tasty! I rubbed these bad boys down with a bit more oo {olive oil - extra virgin if you must know-  I am refusing to use RR's famous "EVOO" tag-line!}, and then sprinkled with a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley, and some chopped fresh rosemary. They do still have skin {remove prior to eating to reduce Calories and fat}, but I rubbed the spice mixture up under the skin to be sure the meat was flavorful. I cooked @ 350 for about 40 minutes {or until the internal temp reaches 180}.  FEAST!

 And for dessert? Angel food cake with some of those yummy fresh strawberries!

I used the salad greens to make a couple of killer salads - and we enjoyed the fresh baked bread with a few different dinner meals. That wraps up week one of our CSA!

Now, on to week two!

I'd show you what came in our bag, but I seem to have deleted the photo! Oopsies!

I'll tell you instead.

We got more spring onions, more salad greens, more sweet potatoes, some radishes, some fresh rosemary, and a loaf of fresh homemade whole wheat bread!

We love radishes cut up and served with hummus. Want a great hummus recipe? Ok!
Try this one: 5 Minute Hummus

We have baked a few of the sweet potatoes and served with cinnamon {yum!} but we've roasted most of the so far.

The salad greens have made us some more great salads, and the onions have been used both cooked and raw.

I love the aromatic nature of rosemary and I've used it this week to season both meat and vegetables!

I still have a few ingredients yet to use before we pick up week 3 on Thursday!  Can't wait to see what's inside!

CSA - week 1

Yesterday was an exciting day {and no, i'm not referring to Cinco de Mayo} - it was exciting because it was the first day of our yearly CSA. What is a CSA, you might ask? Well, CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" and basically, it's a way to source locally grown food to local people, in the appropriate season. Because it is community supported, we pay a flat fee to our CSA farm and then sit back and wait to share in the bounty of the harvest. The risk is that if the weather does not favor a bumper crop of tomatoes {like last season}, we do not get a bumper crop of tomatoes. The reward is that no matter the weather, our CSA goes on providing us with as much local, organic food, herbs, and flowers as possible.  This is our fourth year to participate in the CSA and our CSA farms fourth year to offer the service {which means we have been there since the beginning...oh yeah!}. Our CSA is from the delightful Whitton Farms in Tyronza, Arkansas. The owners are the ever inspiring Keith and Jill Forrester {if you are a Memphian, you may know the Forresters as the owners of the amazing Trolley Stop Market in downtown Memphis}.
So what is the point of this post? Well, I wanted to share with you what is in the CSA bag this week and what I plan to do with my goodies!

Here's a peek:

{L to R, front row: sorrel, spring onions, mint, strawberries 

back row: fresh baked bread, lettuce mix, sweet potatoes}

This week's most challenging ingredient? Sorrel!  Sorrel is a spring green with a sharp lemony flavor. It can be used to substitute for spinach (in small quantities) or along with other greens in a salad mix.

While searching for sorrel inspiration, I came across a blog called Two Small Farms filled with recipes for their CSA subscribers. These two small farms are located in California.  

Here is a link to their sorrel recipes: Two Small Farms

There were several recipes that caught my eye, but I think that this week I have decided to make Sorrel Pesto to use as a sauce for fish (I think the lemony flavor would be delicious!). Here is the recipe:

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh sorrel, ribs removed
1/3 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In a food processor or blender puree the sorrel, the parsley, the garlic, the parmesan, the pine nuts and the oil, transfer the pesto to a jar with a tight fitting lid and chill it, covered. The pesto keeps, covered and chilled, for 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.

As for my other CSA goodies, they seem a bit easier to use. The salad greens will be used for {obviously} salads. The strawberries will most likely be eaten straight from the container {yum!} or perhaps mixed with mint to make a Strawberry Caprese Salad { My dear friend Artsy Fartsy has been talking about this recipe and I am so intrigued by it!}. 

Take a look at this:

Strawberry Caprese Salad

The spring onions, bread, and sweet potatoes will also be delicious additions to our meals this week.  

What would you do with these ingredients?