CSA 2010 Week 5

One head green leaf lettuce
One head of red leaf lettuce
One bunch of beets
One pint of sugar snap peas
One zucchini
Two summer squash
One bunch of scallions
One bunch of komatsuna
One bunch of yukina savoy
One beautiful tomato

Quiche with Swiss Chard, Bacon and Caramelized Onions

This dish features Swiss Chard from our CSA farm share. I served it with a side salad.

One bunch of Swiss Chard, leaves and top half of stems chopped
One large sweet onion, thinly sliced
Small amount of olive oil for cooking vegetables
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup of whole milk
Three eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar or Swiss
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Six strips of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
One prepared (uncooked) pie crust (lately I'm lazy and use Pillsbury)

First, you must prepare your vegetables. Cook the onions and chard stems in a saute pan over medium low heat with just enough olive oil to coat the pan for at least 30 minutes or until browned and soft. For the best caramel color, don't stir the onions/stems much while cooking. Let the heat do the work. Then, add the chopped Swiss chard leaves. Stir frequently while cooking for about 2 minutes, or until leaves are thoroughly wilted. Put pan and vegetables aside.

CSA 2010 Week 4

Two heads of green leaf lettuce
One head of radicchio
One bunch of beets
One pint of sugar snap peas
One bunch of scallions
One bunch of swiss chard
Two beautifully ripe tomatoes

CSA 2010 Week 3

One bunch of Swiss chard
One pint of sugar snap peas
Two lovely tomatoes
One bunch of garlic scapes
One bunch of beets
One bok choy
Two heads of lettuce

CSA 2010 Week 2

For the second week of our CSA share, we got a nice variety for so early in the season, including:

1 head of Boston lettuce
1 bunch of small beets with greens
1 bunch of turnips
1 bunch of scallions
1 bunch of garlic scapes
2 tomatoes
1 quart of beautiful strawberries

I think the tomatoes are destined for pico de gallo, and we'll enjoy the strawberries with just a little whipped cream. As for the rest, I'll have to think on that. Will post anything exciting I come up with, but all will surely be eaten even in non-exciting form.

Asian Veggie Stir Fry with Udon Noodles

Asian Veggie Stir Fry with Udon Noodles

After receiving some yukina savoy cabbage and scallions in our CSA share, a Web search of the savoy cabbage inspired me to do a stir fry.

I used the following veggies that I had on hand. Use as much or as little as you like. The key is to cut them all about the same size so they cook evenly:

Summer Squash
Zuchini
Red Bell Pepper
Celery
Carrots
Scallions
Yukina Savoy Cabbage

I served my stir fry over Udon noodles, which I boiled in advance according to package instructions and chilled with a cool water rinse to cease cooking.

Honey Mustard Dressing

This is the simplest honey mustard dressing recipe you will ever find and it's perfect just the way it is.

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
salt & pepper to taste

Whip it all up and store covered in the refrigerator. Shake lightly before each use.

CSA 2010 Week 1

This year, we purchased a full farm share from Heron Pond Farm in South Hampton, NH as part of their Community Supported Agriculture program because the half share last summer just wasn't enough. They offer a great variety and a very fair return on investment--which was $500 for a full share (paid back in February to help kick start the farming season).

Each week, I will post a picture of our share to build awareness of this great opportunity to get local produce at its peak of freshness. I will also try to post pictures of anything I prepare featuring weekly ingredients.

Two heads of red leaf lettuce
One half pound of yukina savoy greens
One bunch of scallions
One tomato
One pint of perfect strawberries

This week, among other things, we had sliced strawberries with whipped cream and this salad:

Salad with farm-fresh red leaf lettuce, scallions and tomato. Also has leftover pulled chicken, crisp bacon, granny smith apple, celery, green pepper, cucumbers and grated carrot. Topped it off with homemade honey mustard dressing.

And, we had a nice Asian veggie stir fry a couple times, using the yukina savoy greens (recipe follows in later post):