Woops!!

Power of suggestion maybe? Thursday night I was talking to a friend who was complaining about her CSA experience last year (different CSA) and the lack of variety in the crops. Apparently, she had received many more scallions than she ever needed. Each week they came, and she was not happy about it.

So yesterday, with my abundance of green vegetables, I planned to make a pea shoot and noodle dish and a dressing for the baby greens and arugula. One of the ingredients in both dishes was scallions and so I took out the long green shoots from my fridge. Cutting them, I thought they looked rather thin, but continued on my task for the dressing. It was only after finishing the dressing and tasting it that I realized they were not scallions, but chives!!!

What could I have been thinking? Other than looking similar in their length and color, they are

NOT.
THE SAME.
AT ALL.

Urrrggghh. I tried to get the chives out of the dressing all the while cursing myself for the momentary brain glitch. I recovered enough and substituting shallots as I had no scallions.

Both dishes ended up eatable, though not by the youngest member of the household, who was less than happy. While she normally loves noodles, these were pronounced "not oily enough" (??????? what does this mean???), and the pea shoots got the dreaded "no" sign, which for her is the slow and determined shake of the head back and forth, all the while staring at me with eyes that say:

"you.
shouldn't.
have.
made.
me.
try.
this.
you.
will.
pay.
later".

Lesson to be learned: appearances can be deceiving, except in the case of a young one's displeasure.


Here is the recipe for the dressing, which comes from the book, "From Asparagus to Zucchini":

1/3 cup sesame or olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, pressed into a paste
1-2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot or 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
dash of cayanne
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (scallions)

Pea Shoots???? (Week Two)

Rushing to beat the forecasted thunderstorm and sweaty from a Bikram yoga class, I quickly made my way to the farm stand, briefly greeting Ilsa and her young son. "Wow", I thought, "there's a lot of green this week". Thinking back to my quick stop yesterday, at the request of Ariana, for more spinach, I now have a fridge full of leafy things. I know what to do with most of it, but pea shoots???

With a little searching on the Internet (word of caution - do not type pee for pea, unless you want a whole new take on "shoots") I found an entertaining and very informative British site that has a wealth of info on this unfamiliar vegetable. Apparently, they are much more common across the ocean.

 

Making it home in plenty of time, I poured myself a bit of the Apricot Nectar, from Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. I mixed about a quarter of a glass with some sparkling water. The subtle taste of the apricots definitely quenched my thirst and I really enjoyed the fresh new flavor.

One of the challenges of all this produce is figuring out what to do with it. I have some ideas, but tonight's dinner will be particularly difficult as our busy schedule may leave limited time to prepare and eat. Better get thinkin'.

Wok a Bok..

Choy, that is. Given this is used in many types of Asian cuisines, I thought I'd pull out the wok and make a stir fry. Garlic, onion, ginger, soy sauce, mirin and some Chinese cooking wine made the dish tasty. A little chicken, previously marinaded in mirin and soy sauce, along with some cherry tomatoes added protein and color. I would write down the quantities, but the truth is I don't measure - just a bunch of this and a splash of that. Reviews ranged from "really good" to "I don't like it". After Ariana exclaimed that she was feeling very "bok choy", the conversation then moved on to what vegetable the rest of us were feeling like - Arny won with "a sun dried tomato that hasn't gotten enough sun".

The good news is that I made a stop back at the farm stand today, because I had a request for more spinach.

"I Like This, I Like All of It",

exclaimed Ariana, of her dinner last night. At the discerning age of 6, for her to eat everything on her plate is a huge accomplishment. We made grilled salmon with a sorrel sauce and sauteed spinach with garlic and lemon along with some rice. And she ate all of it, continuously remarking how much she was enjoying it. "Can we have this on Wednesday"?, she asked. Sure, honey, if you are going to eat like this, I'll make it every night of the week!

Never having used sorrel before, I took a look through The Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices and Flavorings, one of those books I don't remember buying, but is stacked along side various cookbooks in my kitchen. It certainly came in handy last night and I'm sure it will be a regular reference for me now. Apparently, Sorrel has been around since the pharaohs ruled Egypt and was used to aid digestion. I must say, it is a very pretty herb, with lovely green leaves and deep red stems. Filled with vitamins A and C, and a good source of potassium, it has a very subtle scent that is more evident once cooked.

While my husband grilled the salmon outside, I made the sauce, first sauteing onions, then adding the leaves and a little milk (should have been cream, but I didn't have any), salt and pepper. According to the book, the leaves were supposed to "melt", but when they didn't (may not have cooked it long enough), I just took out my small processor and pureed the mix. Nervous to just spoon it over the fish, just in case it tasted awful and not wanting to ruin a beautiful piece of fish, I put the sauce on the side. There was no need to worry though, because after one taste, we just slathered on top. Rich, creamy, yum! No wonder Sorrel is popular in France as they are experts in good food.

The spinach was a whole different experience from the bags you buy in the grocery store. Instead of thick dark leaves that are slightly tough, these were lighter all around. The color was fresh "just picked", the texture was much softer and the taste, aided by a little garlic, oil and lemon was terrific. Even Ariana couldn't stop eating it!

Perhaps it was just beginners luck, but the meal was a success for all of us. Ariana can't wait to go back to the farm. Knowing the food we ate came from there makes the experience so much more "real" for her. Plus, they have a rockin' sand box!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can (Week One)

I have been waiting for this all winter!

Sunny but still windy and too cold (when, oh when, are we going be treated to some genuine spring weather??), I drove over to the Garden of Ideas for my first pick-up. I was a bit nervous, having heard stories of people joining CSA's and getting inundated by unpronounceable, un-cookable veggies. What a surprise to see the wonderful variety that awaited me.

I was lucky to meet Ilsa, the propriator, and spent some time gushing over her establishment. We talked for awhile and while she went off to help a customer purchasing one of the wonderful sculptures scattered around the property, I took the opportunity to shoot some photos:

All lined up and ready to go "home";

carved eggs, ready for Easter;

a view of the art gallery, with organic herbs lined up for sale;

potted lettuces;

This is the "store", where I will pick up my share every week. There are many items available to the public as well. In fact, I was a patron well before I signed up for the CSA. They carry items from local farms in CT. and NY., so there is always a great variety - milk, juice, honey, wool yarn, etc.

Now, back to my share this week. Nothing to be nervous about. I can easily handle spinach and bok choy; eggs are sooo easy; sorrell, well, I've never cooked with it, but it smells good, so I'm sure I will be using that up. Maple syrup - as you can see, we barely got home when Ariana requested pancakes, so Darth Vader got drenched.

She prounouced it "yummy". It has a stronger, sharper taste than the Maple syrup from New Hampshire that we are used to. It would work well with fruit. In fact, I poured some into the leftover Haroset that I made a couple of nights before and it really punched up the taste.

Tonight, we will have salmon, with the spinach. Tomorrow - omelets for breakfast. Stay tuned for the recipes and taste testing results..

Almost Time

I am counting the days until my first vegetable pick up at the CSA. Not sure what it will contain, I am gathering recipes hoping I'll be able to use a few. I have to admit, the mystery is a bit exciting. Not just the anticipation in seeing what we get and figuring out how I will prepare it, but also seeing if anyone will eat it.

While waiting, we have been working on a very non-vegetable thing - finishing the expansion of our family room so we can take advantage of the views the property affords us. What was a long, narrow and dark room with a skanky screened in porch is now a light filled open space with windows all around. The painters are here and in a few days the construction will be done and we will be able to move on to the decorating - the fun part!!

We will also be finishing up on the outside - moving dirt around and putting in patios - for the alfresco dining we will be doing this summer. Now all we need is some warm weather...