Week 7 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Well it is week 7 and this is the moment I have been waiting for - the first tomatoes of the season!  They are big beautiful red & orange slicing tomatoes.  Oddly, we had 3 shareholders not pick up their share without a heads up... but lucky for me a got a few extra tomatoes & string beans out of it.  The rest of the box contained:

2 lemon cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 head green cabbage – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
4 green zucchini – certified organic – Bellview and Rolling Ridge Organics
1 bag red and yellow slicing tomatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
1 bag pickling cucumbers – certified organic – Meadow Brook Organics
1 bag mini-white cucumbers – transitional – Liberty Branch Farm

I also  bought some mint to make some mint iced tea and this drink a friend posted a link to.

It was a long hot day at the CSA pick up site.  I enjoyed the moments I had in the big walk-in fridge.  Today in Philly we hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit.  The whole day I was dreading schlepping all my stuff home from the market.  By time I got home I was schvitzing so bad I was dripping.  It doesn't help matters that I am having air conditioning issues the last couple days.

Today's Yiddish lesson is a two-fer - SCHLEPPING & SCHVITZING.  Schlepping is to lug or carry something, usually heavy, awkward, and/or laborious.  Schvitzing is sweating.  You can also go for a schvitz in a steam room.

Tomorrow I'll be putting up more pickles!  I've got lots and lots of pickles pickling.  In the couple weeks I'll have reports on all the different pickles I am making.  I am experiment with lots of different herbs, spices, and peppers.  Good thing I found those canning jars on sale this holiday weekend when I was shopping with my mom.  I am going to fill them up fast and may need more soon.

Ess Eppis!

Week 6 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Sorry for slacking... here is last week CSA goodies:

1 bag red-gold potatoes – certified organic – Millwood Springs Organics – 2 lbs
2 green slicing cucumbers – certified organic – Elm Tree Organics
1 bunch cippolini onions – transitional – Liberty Branch Farm
1 bunch Detroit red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
2 yellow straight-neck squash – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 bunch spring onions – certified organic – Healthy Harvest
2 hearts Romaine lettuce – certified organic – Riverview Organics

June 26th, Hillside Organics hosted the first of many picnics for the CSA share holders.  It's a really great time to head out to the country, meet the farmers & their families, see where our food is coming from, & eat LOTS of great food.  The picnics are always a potluck.  All the CSA members bring something homemade and yummy.  You could easily tell that delivery everyone received the week of the picnic contained generous amounts of potatoes & kale.

I took a family friend's kid with me to the farm.  We had a sleep over the night before and made a batch of homemade granola bars with raisins, cashews, & almonds for the picnic.  The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Thick Chewy Granola Bars.

Picnic Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats - not instant - 1/3 cup reserved.
1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon - I am not a big cinnamon person, if you prefer more go for it.
15 ounces mixed dried fruit & nuts - rough chop nuts and larger dried fruit like apricots or dates
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup raw honey - locally produced from the farmer's market
2 tablespoons maple syrup - I have a bottle of locally made organic labeled "dark amber grade A".
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Using parchment paper, line an 8x8 cake pan so it goes across the bottom and up on only 2 sides - leaving two sides uncovered.  Leave the ends of the paper longer than the edge of the pan so you can use it to lift the finished granola out.  Give the pan and the paper a quick spray of non-stick baking spray.
Put the reserved 1/3 cup of rolled oats into a food processor and process till flour-like, approximately 1 minute.  Add to the remaining oats in a large mixing bowl.  Add  sugar, salt, cinnamon, and fruit & nuts to mixing bowl.
Melt butter & raw honey slowly over low heat - do not let it bubble.  Remove from heat and add maple syrup, vanilla, & water.  Whisk together and then pour over oat mixture.  Stir together well so that all the oats and other dry ingredients are are coated with the butter/honey mixture.
Pour mixture into the prepared pan.  Using another piece of parchment paper or wax paper on top of the granola, press down firmly.  Press it down evenly across the whole pan and be sure to make sure it is nice and compacted down.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges brown.  Let it cool in the pan for one hour, then use the parchment paper to lift the granola bar onto a wire rack to continue to cool for at least 5-6 hours before cutting.

Because these granola bars do not use any corn syrup (I just couldn't bring myself to add something so overly processed like corn syrup into something homemade & healthy), they will be more crumbly than bars made with it.  I originally made these with "regular" honey, but the raw honey seems to help the bars stick together and they are less crumbly - although both ways tasted great so if you don't have raw honey on hand, don't let that stop you from making these.  They make a great nosh to keep in the house.

Yiddish lesson #2, NOSH.  A nosh is a snack or something to nibble on, but not a full meal.  If someone says they are noshy, it means they are hungry but just for a little (or bissell) of food.

Ess Eppis!

Week 5 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

This week's CSA box of goodies contained:

1 box new red potatoes – certified organic – Green Valley Organics – 1 quart
1 bag pickling cucumbers – certified organic – Meadow Brook Organics – 2 lbs
1 bunch beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 green zucchini – certified organic – Bellivew and Autumn Blend Organics
1 bunch spring onions – certified organic – Healthy Harvest
1 bunch green kale – certified organic – Autumn Blend Organics
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 head butter head lettuce – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 head radicchio – certified organic – Bellview Organics

I found a recipe for bread & butter pickles posted by Smitten Kitchen on Facebook for the pickling cucumbers last week.  This afternoon while manning the CSA pick up site, I opened my laptop to find a mouth watering recipe posted on Smitten Kitchen for a blue cheese red potato tart - perfect timing.  The Fair Food Farm Stand carries lots of local sustainable foods, including one of favorite local cheese makers Birchrun Hills Farm (they are at Headhouse Square Farmers' Market every Sunday).  So I picked up some of their blue cheese to make the tart.  I even picked up some broccoli to make more of the Blasted Broccoli I discovered last week.

One of the farms that participates in the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative is hosting a potluck picnic this weekend.  I'll be going with my best friend and a daughter of close family friends.  She'll actually be spending the night before so we can make the potluck dish together.  Any suggestions of something that can be easily packed, transported, and deal with not being refrigerated are welcomed.

The Cabbage & The Cupcake

Early in the week I had what can only be described as cupcake-a-paloza in my apartment.  I was trying to create a sampling of different cupcakes & since you can't just make one cupcake (well maybe you can, but I can't), I now have a dozen assorted cupcakes in the fridge ready to eat and 2 dozen more in the freezer.  I think my neighbors are worried I am trying to fatten them, although it doesn't stop them from eating my cupcakes.

In need of something savory, I grabbed the Napa Cabbage from my latest CSA box.  Its long broad leaves just begged to be stuffed, and I was happy to obliged.  Two pounds of ground beef, some spices & rice made 12 perfect meaty packages.  I cooked them covered in a simple tomato sauce of a can of whole tomatoes blended with garlic.

I decided to give the Blasted Broccoli from Dana Treat a try.  As I said before, I hate broccoli so I didn't really care if I ruined it.  I cleaned the head of broccoli - finding a wee inch worm hiding in the stalks.  I tossed it on olive oil and popped it in a hot oven.  Then tossing it in a bit more olive oil with 3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic and a schtickle of red pepper flakes.  Back into the oven it went to sizzle away.  It actually smelt good.

Here is your first Yiddish lesson - SCHTICKLE.  A schtickle and bissell are similar that they both mean "a little bit", but in cooking a schtickle - a generous pinch - is a bit more than a bissell.

I thought I had really burnt it when it finally came out, but decided to taste it anyway.  It was GREAT!  Garlicky & kind of crunchy, it was perfect.  In fact, after my dinner guest left, I ate all the left overs.
 
Since Masha was coming over for dinner and cupcakes, I decided to also make a salad with the last of this week's CSA lettuce (thank goodness the lettuce season seems to be slowing down).  I made a quick simple vinaigrette & tossed in the raspberries left over from make buttermilk cupcakes with berries.  Masha brought red wine to go with our dinner.  The dinner and the company made the night.

After a couple of helpings of stuffed cabbage, salad, and broccoli (we both agreed that the Blasted Broccoli was simply amazing in the way it transformed this veggie), we were ready for cupcakes.  I had 3 to choose from: banana daiquiri with blueberries topped with a rum glaze, vanilla with dark chocolate chips topped with vanilla chocolate swirl cream cheese frosting, & buttermilk with berries,.  We each indulged in a couple different flavors & Masha left with an assorted 4 pack.

For the stuffed cabbage recipe, click the read more link

Week 4 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Click to go to Flickr & roll over photo for details

1 head broccoli – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bunch red beets – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 head Napa cabbage – certified organic – Bellview Organics
1 pc summer ball squash – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 bunch spring onions – certified organic – Healthy Harvest
1 head green butter head (bib) lettuce – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 head red leave lettuce – certified organic – Railroad Organics
1 bag cress – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch

And a happy accident landed me a flower share this week.  It is a huge bunch of mixed flowers & greenery.  Some of it looks & smells like mint, but I am going to double check with the farm before trying it just to be safe.

I have never been a fan of broccoli.  I always thought it smells & tastes like farts (well what I imagine what a fart would taste like).  I found a recipe called Blasted Broccoli that quick roasts the broccoli at a high heat with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  I have never had broccoli roasted and always roast my other veggies like Brussels Sprouts and asparagus, so maybe this will be the thing that finally brings me around to broccoli.

Tomorrow I'm going to pick up some ground meat so I can use my Napa Cabbage to make a batch of stuffed cabbage.  It's perfect for the crock pot & freezes well so I'll have some for the future.  I am also looking forward to trying a new and exciting recipe for a flourless cupcake using the the sweetness of the beets to keep the sugar added to a minimum.

Tomorrow will be a fun day of baking & cooking in the Ess Eppis kitchen!

Garlic Scape Oil

 With a couple of bunches of garlic scapes from the CSA, some grape seed oil, & a food processor I made a small jar of bright green garlic scape oil.  It was quick and simple.  I think this will work nicely as a finishing oil, in salad dressings, and in marinades.  It will top grilled veggies & meat, hummus, and other foods to add color & flavor.

Click to go to flickr & roll over for details

If you aren't familiar with garlic scapes, it is the top part of the garlic plant harvested before it flowers.  They kind of look like scallions, but tastes like garlic.  They are the long green tendrils in this picture.  They can be used raw, sauteed, grilled, any way you want.

To make the garlic scape oil:

2 bunches of garlic scapes
1 tsp cream of tartar (this gives the green color a little 'kick')
1 tbsp kosher salt
1-1 1/2 cup grape seed oil (I use this because it is nearly tasteless & light allowing the flavor of the scapes to shine)
s&p to taste

Cut the garlic scapes into 2-3 inch pieces.  Add the cream of tartar & salt to boiling water and then drop in the scapes.  Remove them from the boiling water in 1 minute and drop into ice water to stop cooking.  Drain the scapes and pat dry with a paper towel. Place scapes into a food processor or blender with about 1/2 cup of oil.  Turn on food processor and let it run till the scapes are broken up and nearly pulverized.  Add more oil to get the consistency & taste you are happy with.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  I am keeping it in the fridge in an air tight jar.

Week 3 Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA

Click to go to Flickr & roll over photo for details

This weeks CSA share was a another bumper crop of greens:

1 bag snow peas – certified organic – White Swan Acres
1 bunch radishes – certified organic – Friends Road Organics
1 bunch garlic scapes – certified organic – Orchard View Organics
1 bunch green shallots – certified organic – Shady Brook Organics
1 bunch dandelion greens – certified organic – Hillside Organics
1 head endive – certified organic – Meadow Valley Organics
1 head red leaf lettuce – certified organic – Green Valley Organics
2 heads red oak leaf lettuce – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch
1/2 head of Napa Cabbage shared from the other site host's full share

The photo is of my half share AFTER giving half the dandelion greens, half the endive, 1 head of read leaf lettuce, and 1 head of red oak leaf lettuce to Catlyn when she came over for a dinner of BBQ shredded beef over lettuce.  Nearly everything I have been eating has been on a bed of lettuce.  Luckily, it's all really good lettuce!  The BBQ shredded beef from my winning of U.S. Wellness Meats was GREAT!  I loved it so much, I wish I had more.  I am tempted to order more knowing the quality of the food and way it is raised, but I do know I can find quality like this with a local farmer.  If I was closer to network of farms that this impressive cooperative or did not live in an area with access to exceptional farmers, I would not hesistate to regularly order from them.

This weekend I am making a dish for a Paleo potluck.  I do not follow a Paleo diet, but want to participate in the potluck with Catlyn & her CrossFit group.  The idea of swearing off potatoes, beans, and grains makes me shake in my boots - I think my love of those foods is imprinted on my Eastern European DNA.  I have narrowed it down to two possible dishes:

Almond Date Balls Drizzled with Dark Chocolate
Cucumber & Radish Rounds Topped with Garlic Mint Aioli

I just have to decide if I want to go sweet or savory.  Either way, I am sure there will be lots of goodies and new people to meet this weekend.  Only once I figure out what I am making, I then have to figure out what to wear!  Will the decisions never end?!  I think I should mull all this over while a make a cake.