thoughtful consumption

• eggs
• red cabbage
• butter beans
• dried red peas
• apples
• watermelon
• sweet potatoes
• patty pan squash
• rice grits
• globe eggplant
• tomatoes
• basil

I also ordered field peas, 2 lbs of apples, and 1 lb of sausage from the store.

Beans and peas

Every CSA season I discover a couple of vegetables that I thought I didn’t like but actually do when they’re fresh and yummy. (I’m going to be the best eater in a few years!) Last year the big winner was field peas. This year it’s sorrel, and I’m hoping to add butter beans. I shelled a few of the butter beans because I wanted to see whether they were the little green kind or the big white kind. Well, they’re both.

I always thought that the green and white beans were different animals that someone had carelessly given the same name. But it seems to be a matter of maturity. The big white ones practically leap out of their shells while the little green ones have to be dug out. I’m going to cook them all together and hope they’re wonderful. I’ll probably cook them tonight and serve them with some sausage and maybe a sweet potato.  (I can’t wait any longer to try the sausage!)

Having fallen in love with field peas last year, I was happy to order them this week. Unfortunately, many of the pods weren’t as fresh. (I think I missed Fresh Field Pea Week while at the beach.) Here are examples of the three types of peas I shelled.

The green ones are the freshest. That’s what they looked like last year. The middle set looks like the majority of our peas. I’m going to cook those with the green ones and hope for the best. The last set are beans that dried in the pod. I’m going to keep these and use them in some soup. Or maybe I can plant them next year and grow my own field peas. Mmmm…

Finally, I’m going to give the dried red peas another shake. The first time I got these peas I made Hoppin’ John. Unfortunately, I made entirely too much Hoppin’ John and got sick of it. So the last time I gave my peas to my mom. She and my dad love them. This bag, though, I’m going to attempt to use in moderation over a longer period of time. But I haven’t decided how just yet.

Flying saucer squash

I’m not sure I’ve ever had patty pan squash before. Here’s one recipe with sausage that’s a possibility.

Baked stuffed pattypan squash (Serves 4)

• 4 Pattypan Squash, washed
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb. lean sausage, chopped
• 3/4 lb. Parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut squash in half (horizonally) and hollow.
3. Chop onion finely.
4. Crumble the sausage into a pan and cook until no longer pink.
5. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
6. Add onion to the pan with sausage fat and cook about 2 minutes or until soft.
7. Mix together in a bowl the sausage, onion, parsley, bread crumbs, pepper and 2 tablespoons water.
8. Divide mixture among squash halves.
9. Brush the tops of the stuffed squash with olive oil.
10. Place squash in single layer in baking dish just large enough to hold all of the squash.
11. Fill baking dish with 1/2 inch water.
12. Cover and bake 30 minutes.
13. Uncover and continue baking about 15 minutes or until stuffing is browned and squash tender.

Globe eggplant, red cabbage, tomatoes and basil

Asian eggplant is great, but globe eggplant is easier to make baba ghanoush with. So that’s what I’ll do with this one.

I’ll cook the red cabbage according to this recipe. I’ll probably use only half of the cabbage for the first batch and then decide whether to make more.

Maybe I’ll make more cream of tomato soup with lots of basil. I’ll have to add some canned tomatoes to stretch it but that worked fine before. Gotta get some bulk tomatoes soon!