CSA Week 12 and Potluck Picnic

The Millers, who are the very nice organic livestock farmers we’ve enjoyed buying meat from for several years now, are the ones who organized our CSA. This week, instead of picking up our CSA boxes at the growers’ farm, we went up to the Millers’ to get them and to meet the growers and other CSA participants at a potluck. Everyone brought something to share, and we had a very lovely evening getting to know each other and talk about our CSA participation.

The potluck was really fun. The Amish women brought an amazing selection of homebaked breads, butter, jams, cookies, and brownies. There was a creamy bean casserole, a fresh pasta salad, homemade noodles, and “beet chili”- basically beet preserves, which tasted a heck of a lot like strawberry jam. (Delicious on homemade bread, let me tell you!) The Millers made brisket, so soft you didn’t even need a knife, and it fell right off your fork so you really didn’t need one of those, either. I brought potato salad made with my own blue potatoes and a few jars of jam and apple butter from last season. Someone else made a purple-cabbage salad and decorated it with nasturtium flowers (the girls thought that was fantastic, since we also put our nasturtiums in salads). I think there were other dishes, too, but that’s what I can remember at the moment.

We introduced ourselves and, over plates of great food, talked for about participating in a CSA, both from the consumer perspective (someone said it would be very helpful if the more “mysterious” vegetables might be labeled, so the less-herbivoracious among us knew what they were) as well as from the growers’ angle (the late tomato blight is really hitting them hard and they’ve had to resort to using some non-organic fungicides to protect their farms from this devastating disease). It was really nice to meet some of the other consumers and share recipes and food ideas, too.

Many folks in the CSA joined because they felt it was a more economical way to get organic produce. While a share was not inexpensive ($500 for the 25-odd week season), it probably is a considerable savings if I tried buying each item separately in the organic section of my supermarket. There is the reality that I would probably NOT buy things like kale or broccoli, so getting them in my weekly box isn’t really a savings since I wouldn’t buy them anyway. But getting things like kale and broccoli and unusual varieties of other vegetables is part of the fun of a CSA, so I’m not complaining.

And, of course, we picked up our boxes.

This week there were:

• a large bunch of very large carrots (about 2 pounds total)
• four medium red tomatoes
• a pint of cherry tomatoes
• a quart of peaches
• a quart of green beans
• three green bell peppers
• a pair of eggplants

I’m not a big connoisseur of eggplant, but am excited to try it. Perhaps breaded and fried. The carrots look fabulous and will likely go in soup. S5 will demolish the cherry tomatoes, and both girls will take care of our share of the peaches.

Garden Progress

I have to admit to being sort of uninspired by the garden this year. While last season’s garden saw the pumpkins decimated by squash borers, everything else seemed to do fairly well. But this year, a bigger plot and more variety also meant more failures and frustration. But really, I shouldn’t be so hard on myself (or my garden). It’s doing a lot better than I make it sound.

Yesterday, we picked the first cucumbers of the season. I didn’t even see them hiding under all the foliage until I went behind the plants to pick up a big stick that had fallen inside the fence. And there they were! Two cute, pinchy, crunchy, adorable little green cukes. S5 literally squealed when she saw them (she’s a pickle fan).

And I forgot to mention that, last week, while making a barbecue sauce for pulled pork, I ran out to grab these two hot babies:

They were, indeed, hot stuff. But they were very tasty simmered in barbecue sauce.

I also noticed a bunch of green tomatoes that I am pretty sure appeared overnight. I mean, we look at the garden nearly every day, and never noticed them until yesterday morning. So empirically we can assume they appeared overnight, right? Of course, I forgot to photograph them. Maybe later.

Up on the deck in pots, other things are growing nicely, too. There is parsley:

and Pennyroyal, to keep the skeeters away:

The fuschia has bloomed, and is gorgeous:

We’ve even planted some cat grass for Moxie:

Yes, that’s a dog-shaped pot with cat grass in it.  The irony is not lost on me.

Anyway, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about gardeny things again. Next week: time to dig potatoes!

CSA Week 11

Here we are with another fabulous box of fresh, local organic produce.

Included are:

• A very large onion (used to make spanish rice tonight)
• two round zucchini squash
• five six (we found one under the van) hot-ish peppers
• two bell peppers
• a bunch of beets
• a pint of blackberries
• nearly two pounds of beans
• a canteloupe melon

CSA Week 10

Here is the CSA box for this week:

As you can see, it includes:

• 4 ears of corn
• 2 small tomatoes
• a large white onion
• a large red onion
• a summer squash
• a head of cabbage
• a bunch of kale
• a green pepper
• two hot peppers

So far, I have used up everything from last week’s box except the celery, which I put in a freezer bag with other veggie bits for stock. Oh, and there is one potato left. But I’m going to cook it up with my own recent harvest, and we’ll have them with dinner tonight.

Good Things Also Come to Those Who Just Can’t Wait

Yesterday, while weeding* the garden, I accidentally pulled up a potato plant. Ooops.  We’re still a little early to be digging up the potatoes.

Then I spied a wee little spud nestled in the dirt, right where the plant had been. Well, who could leave a motherless potato buried in the dirt? Not I. I gently brushed the dirt away and rescued it.

This process uncovered another potato plant, and another potato. Before I knew it, I had pulled up three plants, and a handful of potatoes.

Darn.

*weeding generally implies walking past the garden and noting that, yes, there are weeds. In this case, I was actually pulling some of them out.

If The Shoe Fits

It’s quite telling that my last NaBloPoMo post for July was actually written on August 1.  Okay, if you want to be all technical about it, it’s 1:25 AM at the moment, so I guess that’s really August 2.  Whatever.

I don’t have much to say about NaBloPoMo, other than it is amazing how a little competitiveness and a fear of public failure can motivate even the lamest blogger (ahem… you’ve found her) to churn out 31 posts in as many days.  And let’s not nit-pick about the quality of said posts, shall we?  This time, it’s the quantity that matters.

Sadly, this was definitely an exercise, and I’m not regretting that it’s over.  (So why do it?)  (A very good question.  Perhaps I shall discover the answer in a separate conversation with myself.)  But I think the CSA posts will continue, since they’re somewhat useful (and brainless, which is always helpful in matters of routine).  And hopefully there will be something besides shorn landscaping to discuss on the subject of the garden.  (As a matter of fact, the first female flower of the year bloomed on the pumpkin vine yesterday, so there’s a possibility that we might actually get some fruit!  Yay!)

(Oh, and I promise to cut out all these ridiculous parenthetical remarks.  They’re making it painfully obvious just how scatterbrained I really am.)

CSA Week 10, And A Recipe To Boot

Here is this week’s box:

It included

• An enormous cucumber
• a medium sized zucchini
• celery
• some green onions
• a head of cabbage
• five potatoes
• a bit of broccoli
• some flowers (we think they are zinnias)

Last night I made a beef stir-fry for dinner and used up most of the onions, the beans, some of the zucchini, and the rest of the green pepper from last week. I will share the recipe because it is not only tasty, but ridiculously easy.

Let me say that what follows here is not an authentic stir-fry recipe. Or let me say that any resemblance to authentic stir-fry recipes, living or dead, is completely unintentional. This is how I clean out my refrigerator and come up with a quick dinner at the same time.

I should also mention that we buy our beef by the half. If you imagine a brown paper grocery bag, and then imagine six of them filled to bursting, that is about how much beef you get out of a half. (Many folks prefer to buy a quarter, since this is an awful, awful lot of beef.) About two or three of those bags contain ground beef, which comes in handy in the winter time as a filler for other casserole dishes and soups. But we also get a lot of steaks. And while I like the taste of steak now and again, I personally can’t sit down to a slab of meat and just dig in. Even my husband, who has been called “Beef Boy” in the past, can only eat so much steak.

This thing about the steaks is important because you should know that I probably would not go out and buy a steak to make stir fry with. But if you have a steak in your larder and cannot bear the thought of just frying it up and carving it, or maybe you have just one or two steaks and several people who want to eat, this is a nice way to spread the love.

First off, get out your meat ingredients. They need to be sliced and then marinated for about an hour. You can also use tofu in place of the meat (so they say), or I’ve used julienned pork chops or chicken pieces as well. Sometimes both.

For the marinade, you’ll need soy sauce, mirin (sweetened sake) OR you can use a tsp of honey plus some white wine vinegar or rice vinegar; I also use red pepper flakes and a tablespoon or so of oil. My favorite oil is sesame or walnut, but you can also use a mild olive or even a vegetable oil. You only need a tablespoon, so just use what you have. The point of this recipe is to use things up, not to add rarely-used items to the pantry. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a proportion that is about four parts soy sauce to one part mirin/vinegar and one part oil. Put the meat in a bowl and cover it with the marinade, tossing to coat all the pieces. There should be just enough to coat everything. It should not be swimming in marinade. For two steaks, I generally use about 1/4 cup soy sauce (or less) plus a tablespoon each of mirin and a tablespoon or maybe even two teaspoons of oil.

Next, while the meat/protein is marinating, make a pot of rice. I use a rice cooker (since it’s brainless) but just work with whatever you have. Make whatever kind of rice you think you’d like to eat with your stir fry: brown, white, whatever. I find that wild rice and risottos are not so good with stir frys, but what do I know?

Now it’s time to get the vegetables ready. This is a very flexible recipe. It’s one of those clear-out-the-crisper-drawer kind of efforts (my favorite kind!) In addition to one or two steaks, our family likes to add some carrots, peppers, onions, peas, beans, and whatever else is hanging around that looks like it needs to be fried up and eaten. Last night we had some leftover corn-on-the-cob that I scraped off and put into the bowl, along with some cherry tomatoes. The only important thing is that you arrange your vegetables so that the ones that need longer cook times (peppers, carrots) go in the pan first, while things that just need a quick swish in the hot pan (tomatoes, green onion tops, already-cooked things) go in last. I use a large cutting board and scrape things into the pan in order. You can also use small bowls or whatever system works for your kitchen’s layout.

Heat up the pan – or, if you’re really fancy (I am not), your wok. Add a few tablespoons of quality oil. Sesame oil is good for high heat stir frying. Walnut oil also works. Olive oil is also fine (but not EVOO, that is best for uncooked dishes or low heat). Let the oil get hot (practically smoking) and then add the meat. Make sure you’ve got everything that needs fried right at the ready, because this part goes pretty fast.

Put the meat pieces in first. For thinly (1/4″) sliced steak, I usually cook the pieces for about 2-4 minutes TOTAL. As soon as they are colored on all sides take them out of the pan, for goodness sake. Even if you like your meat medium, or well done, do not let them hang out all day to turn into leather. The meat will continue cooking once the outside is seared, so you really want to get them out of there right away. Some pieces will cook faster than others, so you have to watch each piece and take it out when it’s ready. Chicken might take a minute or two longer. You can always add them back to the pan if you need to.

Toss in the vegetables once the meat has started cooking. Add the ones that need to cook longer first. Peppers, zucchini and carrots can practically go in with the meat. You’ll have to sort of wing it based on what you’re cooking. Remember, though, that the point is not to make the vegetables mushy. You’re just trying to get them slightly soft. If they were crunchy when they went into the pan, they should still be slighly crunchy when they come out.

Any extra liquid that’s in the bowl can also go into the pan. It makes a good sauce. Once everything is cooked, put the meat and veggies into a clean bowl and serve along with the rice. Enjoy!

A Gift for Every Occasion

Here’s an idea that took care of at least two of the 9,320,235,412 pieces of art the kids have generated thus far:

1. We started off with a watercolor painting that the girls did on regular old copy paper. I laminated each painting with laminating sheets, cut the laminated pages in half, and creased each half to make a “cover” for a book.

2. I cut some more copy paper – about four sheets for each book – just slightly smaller than the cover, then creased and stapled them inside the cover to make the “pages”.

3. Since the girls were using these particular ones, I covered the staples with clear packing tape to help prevent them from getting scratched. Et voila! A sweet little book for them to write in or give away as a gift.

They each gave one to Grandma for her birthday. I am still patting myself on the back for (a) coming up with such a clever gift that is both sentimental and functional, and (b) getting rid of some of the kids’ artwork without feeling guilty about it. Score!

The 300(th)

This is my 300th post.

Thank you, and good night.

All Is Not Lost

I’m rather disappointed in this year’s garden, mostly thanks to the varmints, deer and bunnies who were under the incorrect assumption that all the vegetation growing out back was some sort of free wild animal all-you-can-eat buffet. In fact, I had rather resigned myself to a sparse harvest of a few heads of sad-looking garlic. And, while the garlic harvest is a bit sad-looking (the deer trampled all the foliage before it had finished bulbing), there are still some signs of life out there in the vege patch.

For example, I nearly forgot about the cucumber plants. They’re around the corner of my “L” shaped garden, against the wall, so I don’t often see them unless I go back behind the tomatoes to look. The other day I happened to venture back, and lo if there aren’t some lovely vines growing up the trellis.

Even better, we have some little baby cucumbers beginning to form.

If you look past the weeds (actually grass growing out of the manure mulch), you can see a little hot pepper here:

There are quite a few of those, and several flowers on each of the six plants. I’m surprised, actually, considering how cool it’s been.

There’s also a sturdy looking pumpkin vine:

I check it vigilantly, every day, for squash beetle borers. They decimated my pumpkin plants last year. So far, so good, though I am having no luck getting both a male and female flower to bloom at the same time. So we may just end up with a really big vine and no pumpkins. But I’m hoping.

The one thing I’ve been especially glum about so far this year is the tomatoes. My plants look pretty healthy, but there aren’t too many flowers yet, and no tomatoes. But then I noticed these on a few volunteer plants which I had let go:

If I remember right, these are the yellow cherry tomatoes, which were very tasty (and very pretty!). But I also found these volunteers:

If those are also yellow, then they’re Taxis. If they’re red, I am fairly sure they’re either Stupice or one of the black varieties I grew last year. Time to check my notes.

Not only are the wee little tomatoes exciting, but there’s about to be a bloom on the fuschia plant. This is thrilling, because fuschias are typically grown as annuals in these parts. I cut this one back practically to nothing last fall, overwintered it in a cool, sunny room, and now look:

Aren’t they adorable? Such cute little buds? I ask you. It looks like there are about 3 or 4 pair of buds all ready to bloom any day now.

Speaking of blooming, the acidanthera have just passed their peak. I managed to catch a shot of one of the best bloom days:

I seriously can’t decide if I like acidanthera or nasturtiums better. The nasturtiums probably win, on account of they are (a) edible and (b) much longer-blooming. But damn, those acidanthera are gorgeous!

And here is the garlic harvest, somewhat small but still serviceable, hanging up to cure:

Hey, it might not be pretty, but there are definitely NO vampires coming in my back door anytime soon.