Posted in Farmers Markets on November 23, 2009| 2 Comments »
Saturday I went to a holiday market in Carrollton. There were crafts and other gifts, but I’m a food girl. And I’m starting to think it’s good that I don’t get to go to a farmers’ market very often – at least for my wallet’s sake. Everything looked so pretty and interesting! I wanted it all!
Here’s what I got. 
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Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 18, 2009| 2 Comments »
This Saturday (11/21) there is a farmers’ market and holiday gift extravaganza at the Carrollton Ag Center from 9-3. Here’s the flyer…. (more…)
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 18, 2009| 1 Comment »
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Feeling greens
Tuesday I blanched kale and turnip and radish greens. From what I can figure, about 5 cups of roughly chopped leaves cooks down to about a cup of cooked greens. And that was the kale, which I only boiled a minute. The other greens I boiled for nearly five minutes. Their ratio of fresh to cooked was even higher.
The good thing about blanching en masse is you can reuse the water. I had one pot of boiling water and one bowl of ice water for three rounds of blanching.
Cooked turnip greens feel like velvet! They’re so soft. I just wish they tasted a little better. (more…)
Posted in CSA notes on November 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Got enough to get through Thanksgiving?
We won’t get vegetables the week of Thanksgiving, so if you need to stock up or get extra for Thanksgiving dinner, it’s time to visit the store.
Patricia usually updates the store with the latest stuff available by noon Sunday. The cutoff to make the coming week’s delivery is Monday at noon. (more…)
Posted in Recipes on November 14, 2009| 4 Comments »
Fried rice is the traditional vegetable vacuum in my kitchen. But now there’s a new contender: shepherd’s pie!
Shepherd’s Pie
I made this Thursday night and served it with an arugula and lettuce salad. Chris and I ate the whole thing!
And when it was all gone, Chris licked the serving spoon clean.
Here’s what was in it.
I sautéed the turnip, radish, and garlic in the butter. Once they were soft, I added the beef and cooked it until it was no longer pink. Then I added the green onions, Worchestershire, mustard, and bouillon. After it cooked down a little bit, I scooped it into a baking dish and topped it with the mashed potatoes.
(The mashed potatoes I had frozen weeks before. I mixed in an egg and then flash froze them in muffin tins to get serving size portions. I defrosted five of them in the microwave for this dish.)
Then the dish baked at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes until the potatoes were brown.
This recipe idea came from Elise at SimplyRecipes.com.
Future Pies
I’m sure there are lots of other veggies that could go in here. Maybe even some of those turnip greens blanched and chopped. Or the peas, Brussels sprouts, and various green beans in my freezer.
And I read that beef actually makes “Cottage Pie” and lamb makes “Shepherd’s Pie.” So now I have a good excuse to try some ground lamb from Gum Creek.
Between Pioneer Porridge and Shepherd’s Pie, I think we might be able to make it through the CSA off season!
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Pioneer porridge
We had Pioneer Porridge the other night for a late, late supper. It was terrific! I made it with milk instead of water. Next time, I think I’ll do half and half. It did take about 30 minutes to cook. Maybe if I soak it during the day in the fridge before putting it on the stove at night, I won’t have to be so patient.
I look forward to many more bowls of porridge this winter. With lots of honey on top.
Blueberry Oat Mini-Loaf
So moist! Instead of toasting slices of this little loaf, I microwaved them. They made our morning.
Honey Flax Wheat bread makes great peanut butter sandwiches!
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Posted in Squash and Pumpkin on November 14, 2009| 1 Comment »
My nice niece Grace asked about Squash and Pumpkin this week. So these are for you, Grace.
Squash and Pumpkin get dressed for the theater.
Pumpkin, at the last minute, remembers to bring Nana's old opera glasses.
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Caramel corn
My step-son’s away at college, and our new hobby is sending him care packages. (Okay, so I guess shipping boxes to Michigan cuts down on the environment benefits of eating local. But it’s his first quarter away.)
The most recent package had a movie theme and included homemade caramel corn. (more…)
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA on November 11, 2009| 4 Comments »
Behold my new yellow kitchen wall!
And the produce on the table, too.
Fall food: the easy and the greens
I like fall food. So much of it seems self-evident. (more…)
thoughtful consumption 