Tomato sauce time

We bought at least 20 pounds of heirloom tomatoes at the market on Saturday plus 9 pounds of Amish paste tomatoes. Beginning last summer we have made and frozen batches and batches of tomato sauce.  Last years sauce was a fresh tomato sauce which was not cooked down and was somewhat watery but had a great flavor.  This year we have not skinned the tomatoes but are cooking them much longer so the skins dissolve in the sauce, it makes for a thicker richer sauce.   The sweet husband is at least 15 pounds into the sauce making project, and if it weren't for my Amish paste tomatoes would have hopes of finishing tomorrow.   The paste tomatoes do, I think, have to be skinned, I'll let you know when we get there.

so many potoatoes, so little time . . .

Tonight my husband made dinner, and what a dent in the bag he made. Two kinds of blue potatoes, fried with onions and mashed plus yellow squash sauteed with onions and garlic. Yumm. It went well with Grammie's (really Julia's) chicken. A chicken breast simply sauteed in butter & olive oil. Tonight seasoned & rolled in panko before frying. The kids were fighting over it.

Flank steak with sweet slaw

The cabbage awaits! I found a recipe on Epicurious for an Asian slaw (Flank steak with sweet slaw). I have a sirloin from Milgate farms which will have to do in place of the flank steak. It was great, as was the sweet slaw. 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar & 3 tbsp sugar, boiled with a hot pepper and some ginger, poured over 5 cups of cabbage, 1/2 cup of green onions and 1/2 cup of cilantro.

It was an excellent use of cabbage on a hot day. Fish tacos next?

Ty Fun

Sunday night we used a tea hills chicken, corn and a cubanelle pepper as well as a variety of fennel, onions and carrots - not much of which came from the bag! So on Monday, did we make the dent we were hoping to? No, we went to Ty Fun in Tremont. Turns out they have 20% off on Monday nights. We tried to go to the Greenhouse Tavern, but were turned away due to a private party. Ty Fun is by far the most amazing Thai restaurant in the area. The atmosphere is beautiful and the food is incredible. We had duck in a red curry sauce with pineapple and red peppers and lettuce. We also had a green curry with shrimp, eggplant and green beans. We were indecisive and also ordered the noodles with Thai basil chicken. So now, we have food for lunch and still haven't cracked the bulk of the bag.

Malabar Spinach

I found the most beautiful Malabar Spinach at the market (but not alas not in the bag). According to Allen's research, it is not spinach at all but a variety of Asian greens more closely related to bok choy than spinach. Unfortunately, this was after I cooked it like spinach, steamed with sauteed garlic. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't nearly as delicious as it was beautiful. I will try it again, but next time in pasta.

Publish Post

Corn and peppers

We had the most amazing corn at Bar Cento the other night. He split the cob in fourths lengthwise and sauteed it with slivered hot peppers and garlic. I made a variation the other night where I cut the corn off the cob after I cooked it and then sauteed it with peppers and garlic. Tonight, we may have roasted Tea Hills farms chicken, with spinach and more sauteed corn and peppers.

We used a tomato, some basil and some corn at lunch to today with our Millgate farm burgers. Somehow, using one tomato doesn't feel like I've made a dent in that bag.

Bouillabaisse

When I have a new recipe I often make it over and over for a while. This week it was bouillabaisse. I saw a recipe in Real Simple and used that as a basis for something I had never made before. It wasn't difficult. I chopped garlic, onions, red celery and fennel and sauteed them in olive oil. I added a can of chopped San Marzano tomatoes, although after this mornings trip to the market I have a ton of fresh ones. I added some white wine, saffron & a touch of sugar and salt & pepper. I let the mixture simmer for a while, then added grouper, shrimp, scallops & mussels. Real Simple said to add tarragon at the end, that would have been great and I had some in the garden, but somehow it never made it in there. I served it over basmanti rice. It's a keeper.

Red Celery

When you open my refrigerator, all you see is red celery. I bought two bunches and mentioned to the farmer that I have been giving them away. I think the red celery is one of the greatest examples of the difference between what you find at the market and what you find at the grocery store. The stalks are narrow and the odor and flavor is amazing. I gave one bunch to my neighbor and still have two more to give away to other people who don't frequent the market.

Preping the vegetables

I've found that if I prep the vegetables when I pick them up on Saturday, I'm more likely to use them during the week. The problem with that is it takes an hour or two when the kids are clamoring to go to the pool. This week, prep the vegetables means to snap the ends off the beans and maybe shuck the corn. The last few weeks it meant to shell the English peas everyone loves so much, and snap the ends off the beans and the snow peas. My challenge this week will be the cabbage. I love stuffed cabbage, but it doesn't feel like a summer dish to me, so the cabbage from last week still sits on the counter and now I have a second one!

Week Nine

In Your Family Bag...
Yellow Beans
Corn and Garlic
Savoy Cabbage
Tomatoes - small and green
Green Bell Pepper
Cuban Elle sweet Pepper
Summer Squash and round zucchini
Cucumber & Basil
Eggplant

Add to that the red celery, french melons, spinach, blue potatoes, and garlic that I couldn't resist, I have quite a lot of produce to cook for my family of six this week. Having struggled with the challenge of using the bounty of vegetables we receive from our CSA (community supported agriculture) membership, I've decided to share my struggle with others, hence this blog. We are lucky to live within a few blocks of the North Union Farmer's market and have subscribed to the wonderful CSA at Covered Bridge Gardens and Peter's Creek. We like the variety we get with the larger family membership but wow, what a lot of vegetables to cook. I hope to share recipes, ideas and maybe even some vegetables!