thoughtful consumption

Here’s what arrived in last week’s box:

Swiss chard!

a very photogenic vegetable

Winter veggies!

carrots, kohlrabi, and cauliflower

Tomatoes, lettuce, and garlic

Oh, my!

Sweet stuff!

apples, honey, and pumpkin goat cheese

Wondering what to do with pumpkin goat cheese? Try graham cracker sandwiches…

I also picked up a few things from the online store

eggs, rice grits, on-sale goat cheese, and garlic

Brushchetta

The first night we made bruschetta. I chopped up the tomatoes and some garlic and cooked them in olive oil for about half an hour. Then I dumped the goat cheese (non-pumpkin variety) into a bowl with some olive oil and let that warm up by the stove. Then we spread the cheese and oil on some French bread slices, topped with the tomato mix, and put them under the broiler for a few minutes. It really needed some basil or Parmesan cheese but was still good. A sprinkle of finishing salt helped.

The goat cheese was on sale because it wasn’t super fresh. When you start getting fresh goat cheese, you learn it has different life stages. Basically, it goes through a gradual souring process that gives you plenty of warning. I had gotten the cheese to eat fresh in a sorrel salad, but after tasting it, I went with yummy bruschetta instead. I like how, with fresher food and some cooking experience, things aren’t either “fresh” or “bad.” There’s this whole psychologically healthier spectrum of “We can work with this.”

Stem-fry

Better than it sounds. Basically I stemmed the chard and left the leaves for sautéing another day. Then I cut up the cauliflower into florets for steaming another day and reserved those stems. And I had some baby pac choi stems from last week. Here’s the all-local cast (except for the onion):

cilantro, garlic, onion, pac choi, cauliflower, chard stems, chicken stock, eggs, and shrimp

(Okay, so the shrimp’s not exactly local, but it is Georgia coast shrimp, and it did come from Farmers Fresh.)

I didn’t have leftover rice, so I started cooking some rice grits. Then I ended up adding the rice grits. So it wasn’t fried rice, and it wasn’t stir-fried stuff over rice. More than anything, it was Asian gumbo.

And it was good.

Sausage-kohlrabi hash pockets

We made this up last night, and it worked well for a winter supper.

1. Slice up the kohlrabi and some garlic. Sauté in olive oil or butter for a few minutes and then let cook on low for about fifteen minutes. Add mustard, white wine, and/or a splash of nice vinegar at some point.
2. Half two pieces of pita bread and stick them in a slow oven to toast a little.
3. Cook bulk sausage in another pan and then add to kohlrabi. Deglaze sausage drippings with more wine.
4. Cook a little bit longer and then stuff into toasted pita pockets. Serve with lettuce and carrots.

Cauliflower

If you’re like us, cauliflower has always been the non-vegetable: colorless, tasteless, and mushy. Local cauliflower is different, though. There’s such a thing as cauliflower flavor. The best way to try it out is just to steam florets. They take a little longer than broccoli – maybe seven minutes? Just keep testing with a fork. They should be easy to pierce, but not mushy.

Try them with nothing first and then add salt or seasoning. Or Hollandaise sauce….

Enjoy your food!