CSA Adventures Boxes 4 & 5. Corn, Peaches, Onions, Peppers, Zucchini, Squash, Cukes, Beans, Greens

So, the question is, do I share recipes that I made but don’t entirely love? I don’t always have the time or ingredients to make things over and over and get them to the point that I think they’re wonderful, so what I will do is post hyper links to recipes that I know are reliable or from reliable sources. I’ll give opinions on my experience and go from there. So if you see a full recipe here, it is one that I like enough to make again.

That said, the cukes, beans, peaches and greens we just ate, straight up or in salad. Nothing special to report other than that they were crunchy and full of flavor and that there’s something gratifying about watching kids eat fresh summer food. Summer squash was halved, seeded, diced and sauteed in garlic-infused olive oil with onions and peppers to go with grilled meat and basmati rice.

The first batch of corn we just steamed and ate, and it was good but not very sweet and a bit starchy – not very surprising with the wet weather and it still being early in the season. So I set out to make a warm corn salad with the logic that sauteeing the corn would bring out more flavor. Using Ina’s Garten’s Confetti Corn as a starting point, I came up with this:

Warm Corn Salad with Peppers and Herbs

• Kernels cut from 6 ears of sweet corn (about 5 cups)
• 2 Tablespoons garlic infused olive oil (plain is fine, too)
• 1 Small red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 red or orange pepper, diced
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 Teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 Tablespoons julienned fresh herbs: chives, parsley/cilantro and basil
• 1 Tablespoon minced seranno pepper (no seeds), optional

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil, and add the onion, cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet pepper and cook for 3 more minutes. Add 2 Tablespoons of the butter to the pan. Once it’s melted, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook for about 6-8 minutes, adding the additional Tablespoon of butter. If using the seranno pepper, add that and cook for 2 more minutes and then correct the seasoning a bit before adding the herbs. Serve warm or hot.

Serves 4-6.

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CSA Adventures: Box 3. Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Yellow Squash, and (hooray!) more Spring Onions

Now when we pick up the share on Sunday mornings it seems like there’s an advantage to showing up closer to 10am, since we fill our own box from the assortment of produce and they were out of green beans by the time we  arrived (my children will not mourn the loss of the beans, nor will they cheer the appearance of the broccoli).

The chard was the only item I’ve never prepared at home, so I took up that challenge first. A quick poll of friends and a cruise around the internet revealed that everyone just tears the leaves, chops the stems and sautes them with something – pretty much the same as collards. Based on several recipes found, here’s what I came up with to go with the steak and potato salad we served for dinner.

Swiss Chard with Pancetta and Spring Onions

The spring onions were bigger this week so one of them is comparable to a shallot, which is what I would probably ordinarily use (or a small vidalia).

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, washed, with stalks chopped and leaves torn from stems (discard stems)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4-6 ounces pancetta, diced
• 2 ounces dry white wine
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and cook the pancetta and onion at medium heat until they are browned and caramelized. Add the chard stalks and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the leaves. Simmer for 1-2 minutes then add the lemon juice. Simmer until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are tender. Serve hot.

Some folks found the chard still too bitter, but I loved it with the salty pancetta and tangy lemon. It went well with the mayonnaise-based potato salad and would be very nice in winter alongside risotto.

Serves 4

Grilled Spring Onions

Another use of the spring onions was simply to cut the tops off, trim them, halve them, brush them with olive oil and cook them, cut side down, on the top rack of the grill – 6-8 minutes, depending on your grill and how crunchy (or not) you like them. I served them with a grilled pork loin that had been rubbed with cumin, ground black pepper, sea salt, olive oil, garlic and lime juice.

CSA Adventures: Box 2. Spring Onions, Lettuces, Collard Greens, White Turnips and Young Basil

It may have sounded kind of gimmicky at first, thinking that the CSA – and blogging about it – would change the way we eat. And even though no one is adding anything really new to their diet since we started (it’s still early), I have changed the way I cook and onions have become much more popular. Because I have more and different kinds of vegetables on hand I find ways to include them, and I am much more liberal about pulling herbs from the garden to add more flavors to old recipes. Local lettuce has so much more flavor and texture, just mixing red and green leaf leaves together makes a lovely salad in itself.

This time around I am focusing on the tender new basil and the spring onions, because they each led me to recipes I would have not thought to try before.

Spring Onions Braised in Butter with Chives

This is a variation on a Bon Appetit recipe and I changed it because my onions came out a little soggier than I expected – I think the onions in their version are larger than the ones I had, so keep that in mind. So even though mine were not very browned, they were tender and silky and delicious – and there weren’t nearly enough.

• 1 1/2 pounds spring onions (about 12)
• 6-8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Plugra, which is available locally)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped chives (optional)
• Sea salt

Trim the tops off of the onions and trim the green ends enough so that they will fit nicely in the skillet you are using (remove any really limp ends, too). Lay them in a large skillet and add 1/2 cup water and half of the butter. Bring to a boil and cover, simmering until they are almost tender (7-10 minutes). Uncover and simmer a little longer until tender, 3-5 minutes longer. (Again, take into consideration the size of the onions you are using for the simmering times.) Remove onions to a warm serving plate, and simmer the remaining liquid, reducing it to about 3 Tablespoons. Whisk in the rest of the butter, turn off the heat and return the onions to the pan to coat with the butter. Season to taste with the sea salt. Return the onions to the serving plate, pour the sauce over them and sprinkle the chives on top.

Serves 4.

Lime-Basil Sorbet

The basil in this box was very tender and so the flavor was not as strong as older basil with somewhat tougher leaves. I think this would be great suing Thai bail, also. One person suggested this sorbet as a base for a frozen cocktail with tequila, which sounds great to me but I haven’t tried that yet. The basis for this recipe is the sorbet section of the cookbook that came with my Cuisinart ice cream maker.

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice (chilled is better but not required)
• 1/3 cup young basil leaves, chopped

This simple syrup appears amber because I used organic sugar. White sugar will result in a clear syrup.

Make a simple syrup with the sugar and water: combine them in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and then chill until ready to use.

In a blender combine the lime juice, the simple syrup and the basil leaves. Blend them all together until the basil is completely pureed within the mixture. Pour the mixture into a 1 quart ice cream maker and mix until thickened, about 30 minutes. remove to a 1 quart carton, topic with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Makes 1 quart.

Note: I buy cardboard ice cream cartons in pint and quart sizes from Amazon.com.

CSA Adventures: All Local Summer Menu, All on the Grill

Groton, MA

Everything just kind of turned out to be all local, so it wasn’t really contrived, honestly. And in a heat wave it’s key to avoid the stove and oven. Once again, it’s really just a combination of things with no actual recipes (I call this the Mark Bittman approach):

• Tomato and basil salad – tomatoes grown by Springdell Farm, basil from our John Crow Farm CSA. These tomatoes were so good we did not dress them at all – my resourceful daughter put them on the grilled bread for an improvised bruschetta.
• Blood Farm ham steak, grilled. If you ask, they will cut the steaks from a whole ham for you.
• Steamed broccoli (in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and a little crushed red pepper, on top rack of the grill) from our John Crow Farm CSA (from Box 4 – I’m behind in my reporting).
• Grilled sourdough bread (with a little olive oil on it) from Nashoba Brook Bakery.
• Dessert? Local blueberries and peaches from Springdell. Ice cream is nice (Kimball Farm?), but not required.

Stay cool.

CSA Adventures: The Lessons of Ignorance and Taste

First, the ignorance. The beets that I killed were not beets at all – they were turnips. That explains a lot. I foresee  we will have another chance at mastering turnips. Onward.

Despite the kindness of suggestions from far and wide – Alaska to Maine, really, and several spots in between – I was unable to sell kale to my family, although we had some guests munching happily on kale chips one summer evening. To me, they tasted like slightly overcooked brussels sprouts, to which I am a very recent convert. I would make them again but would likely be eating them by myself. So that’s the lesson of taste: I’m only sharing things I would eat again, even if I am alone in that desire. Having said that, next time I would try something with more spice to it, like the recipe for kale chips they have over at Food 52, which adds cumin and paprika to the basic olive oil and vinegar recipe.

My far-flung helpers also identified the sorrel leaves in the box, and while I really would have like to make a sorrel soup, it was just too hot for that. So I just used the fresh sorrel in sandwiches because it has such a lovely texture and tang to add to things like avocado, humus, and cheddar, or roasted chicken, guacamole, and tomato. Note also that when making wraps, square or rectangular lavash (sometimes labeled flatbread) is far preferable to circle wraps, which seem too moist and gummy for me.

That pretty much covers the misadventures of box 1. The decidedly better results from  boxes 2 and 3 will follow soon.

CSA Adventures: killed the beets and made a salad. I served it with Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary, Garlic & Balsamic Vinegar, if that helps.

Off to an epic start. Not.

I roasted the beets and they just didn’t hold up. Maybe they absorbed too much water in the recent rains because they didn’t really seem to roast the way that golden and red beets do. They looked fine and peeled great but when I sliced them they didn’t hold firm, and the taste was earthy in a way not entirely good. Lesson learned.

My backup vegetable for Father’s Day dinner was a red leaf lettuce salad with cucumbers and blue cheese dressed with a red wine Dijon vinaigrette. It was lovely but needed a little sweetness – next time I will add dried cranberries.

I don’t really need to post a recipe for a green salad so I will share the recipe for the lamb chops I served with it. Also on the menu: Rooney’s potato salad and flourless chocolate cake.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Rosemary, Garlic and Balsamic Vinegar

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found on Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 8 1 inch thick loin lamb chops, trimmed.

About the lamb: I have tried both New Zealand grass-fed and American local chops. The New Zealand meat has nice flavor but the fat does not grill nicely and is chewy. The American chops are bigger and fattier so they need to be trimmed more, but the remaining fat is more flavorful and edible. Also, the more fat there is the easier it is to burn them, so watch them carefully on the grill.

Whisk the first six items together to make the marinade. Pour a little into a 9 x 13 glass pan, enough to just cover the bottom. Place the chops in the pan and pour the remaining marinade over them. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally. (I have been known to let them marinate in a cool place on the counter for an hour before grilling.) If you are going to smoke them on the grill, soak the wood chips (mesquite or whatever you like) while the meat marinates.

Heat the grill to medium – if you have a smoker put that on before you light it. When you have good heat and smoke, grill the chops to desired doneness, taking care to avoid flare-ups that will burn the small chops. We have a very hot grill, so 3 minutes on each side gives us medium rare chops. Adjust your own times as needed. After removing chops from the grill, let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.

CSA Adventures: Box 1. Lots of greens and some albino beets.

Just the box was practically worth buying the farm share – I am a type/font geek of epic proportions.

We’re such newbies.

When we arrive at the farm sign said it was closed, but then we realize that the door was open and people were picking up their shares. There’s something kind of speakeasy about it. It’s a little dim on this overcast morning, with just the light from a single window. A boy asks you what you’re there for. “Veggies.” What size? “There are different sizes?” Yep. Checks a list. Name? We give it. He tells us: “Small.” Then he disappears into a back room and emerges with the box. A young guy comes in for a pickup. Exact same exchange. They start to discuss eggs. Time to leave.

I wondered if it made any difference if we picked up our share early or not – if the boxes would be on display and thus be “picked over” if you were the last to arrive. Happily, no. Not only can you not compare boxes, they are closed on top so you can’t even see what’s inside – like a surprise package of vegetables. I decided to wait until we got home to open it.

Here’s what we got: two beautiful heads of lettuce, one green (Boston or bibb, depending on what you call it) and one red leaf. Plus, what I think are two kinds of kale, and four sizable albino beets. There is also this beautiful leafy green with an unexpected lemony citrusy taste – just phenomenal to eat plain. If you recognize it tell me – in the meantime I am going to ask the farm what it is.

While I will wait to post any recipes until later in the week, today’s lesson is this: my salad spinner is my new best friend. Last week was quite rainy and though the produce appeared quite clean, I washed all the greens again, wrapped them in towels and put them in the crisper.

I did not save the beets for later (they are roasting now), but let the record show that Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home will be another terrific resource for this endeavor. Something to try with the next round of beets: Roasted Beet Potato Salad with Soft-Cooked Egg, Smoked Salmon and Mustard Vinaigrette. This link is to a site where someone else has already tried it.

If anyone reading this has good recipes for kale that are not soup, please share. Seriously.