WEEK 1

In the individual bag this week is lettuce, radishes, onions and garlic scape.  We actually traded popcorn for lettuce, as we have tons of popcorn.  At the market I also bought zucchini, summer squash, fresh spring onions and snap peas.  I've been making a salad to take to work every day for a while now so this weeks bag will fill the bill.  I bought a chicken from Tea Hills Farm and some pork chops from New Creation farm.  I'm planning to marinate and grill the pork chops tomorrow night and serve them with potato-zucchini pancakes.   

I made the potato-zucchini pancakes last week for the first time.  I grated yukon gold potatoes, zucchini, some onion and garlic.  Then added salt, pepper and an egg.  I squeezed out most of the liquid and fried them in olive oil.  They turned out well enough, that I'm looking forward to making them again this week.

Ramen

So the sweet husband made the complicated Ramen broth from the Momofuku cookbook & then it was up to me to make the soup.  Luckily he had followed Momofuku's instructions and made the pulled pork already.  I took his fancy broth, added the bok choy from the bag, scallions, the pork, a touch of lime juice and fresh cilantro and made the family some soup.   We still had two gallon bags of ramen broth and a vat of soup after dinner was over (and no uncooked bok choy!)  Everyone over eight liked it, no one under eight tried it. 

Hey Mikey, he likes it.

Last nights dinner was a hit all around.  We roasted the New Creation Farms babyback ribs for 2 1/2 hours in the oven at 225 degrees, then sauced them with 1/2 bbq sauce, 1/2 teriyaki and finished them on the grill.   Yum, the kids loved them & it was much easier than my former boiling method. 

Sides were green beans and pasta.  I frenched (sliced lengthwise) the beans like my mom does.  It takes some time, but seems to be worth it.  I boil them, then do a quick saute with some kosher salt & butter.   My 6 year old eats platefuls with her fingers.

The best part was the pasta.  My friends picky 7 year old asked for 3rds.  A tomato, garlic & fresh parsley sauteed in some olive oil and tossed with fresh Ohio City Pasta and some asiago cheese.  Too bad there wasn't more.

Carnitas Casserole

Carnitas - I used cubed New Creation pork, salted it and cooked it slowly for several hours in orange juice, cumin and some Goya creole marinade until it fell apart.   The casserole is easy to assemble.  I put in a layer of prepared fresh salsa, because I didn't have time to make my own.  I used our local Heinen's supermarkets fresh salsa.  Then a layer of flour tortillas, then a layer of carnitas, then more tortillas, then a layer of Heinen's canned organic refried beans and white rice with cilantro and more carnitas.  I topped it off with a layer of shredded mexican cheese and baked it in a 350 degree oven.   Before serving, a corn and cilantro salsa, more of the prepared salsa and some sour cream top it all off.  Church function here we come!

Meatloaf

I have some catching up to do!   On Sunday, I made a meatloaf we are going to have for dinner tonight.  I sauteed onions, scallions, carrots, peppers, garlic, celery and one roasted beet.  The Silver Palate has a great recipe for Market Street Meatloaf which I used as a model.  I used ground Milgate farm beef, New Creation farm pork and humanely raised veal, some panko, cream, ketchup, salt, pepper & a bit of cumin.  We'll see how it turns out with the mashed potatoes & green beans from "the bag".