Category Archives: CSA Pick up

Another Great Corn Recipe: Sauteed Corn with Fresh Herbs Galore

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Sure everyone loves corn on the cob. But after the first few butter-slathered corn on the cobs of the season, most folks start to wonder what to do with all those ears of corn. We had a bunch from our CSA pick-up, and as June reminded me, corn does not last. Fresh corn is a limited time only treat, and we all want to make the most of it.

Hubs and I discovered an awesome recipe in Bon Appetit a few years ago that has become one of our go-to recipes for summer corn. Sauteed Corn with Tons of Herbs is simple, easy and takes advantage of other seasonal items like fresh herbs and shallots. What else are you going to do with that parsley and basil gone wild in your garden?

From Bon Appetit:Summer Corn Saute with Tons of Herbs

This is an easy recipe, but it does take some elbow grease. First, remove the corn from the cobs.

Preparation: Corn removed from cobs

Next, chop up your herbs and shallots:

Hubs Handiwork: perfectly minced herbs and shallots

Then saute the shallots and cumin seeds in some butter, add the corn and continue to lightly saute. Remove from flame and fold in herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Delicious warm or cold. Leftovers always welcome.

What do you do with summer corn once your love affair with corn on the cob has ended?

A Midsummer’s Favorite – Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho

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Such a bountiful CSA Pick-up on Saturday…Here it is on my countertop and I already stored the purple potatoes.

CSA Pick-up 8/4/12

I had a few recipes in mind, like Gazpacho and Zucchini Bread. I also wanted to think of something to do with the corn, since we had corn on the cob the night before, and our pick-up included 6 ears. After June graciously picked some kirby cucumbers for us, I considered a standard gazpacho, but then remembered a favorite recipe from summers past.

I’ve made this recipe  for Roasted Gazpacho from Mark Bittman many times and it’s always been a success. It’s also a good way to use some vegetables like eggplant, squash, and overly ripe tomatoes in bulk that might be otherwise difficult to use up. In a nutshell, you chop up zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions and garlic, toss with olive oil and roast at 400 degrees. I used yellow squash instead of green zucchini here (picture below). Either works fine – another forgiving recipe.

Preparation for Roasted Gazpacho: Chopped vegetables tossed in olive oil and dash of kosher salt, ready to go into oven.

Cool, purée with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and 4 cups water. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped pepper, cucumbers, and/or tomatoes to add crunch. Enjoy!

Rebecca, a blogger in Colorado, transcribed the recipe and included a pic, and funnily enough, her final product looks nothing like mine.

I also made 2 loaves of yummy Orange Zucchini bread.

Orange Zucchini Bread

Our friend Nash passed along the recipe and it was the first time I tried this variation on the classic zucchini bread. The orange rind and juice add a nice touch – slight tartness and interesting accent of flavor. You can also use less white sugar since the orange juice adds natural sweetness than with a traditional recipe (usually calls for 2 cups of sugar).

Zucchini Orange Bread batter

Here is the recipe I followed, similar to the Cooks.com recipe I linked to above:

Orange Zucchini Bread

1/2 c. canolaoil
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour [I used 1 cup whole wheat, 2 cups all-purpose]
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. orange juice
2 tsp. grated orange rind
2 c. grated zucchini

Instructions:

Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. Then mix the rest of the ingredients and cream well. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Grease 2 bread pans and bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes. You can add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to batter as well.

Stay tuned for a great recipe for Sauteed Corn and Herbs…

 

 

Preview: CSA Pick-up 8/4/12

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All this and more! Wow, I felt exhausted and excited just looking at this list. And then I spied a basket of small, shiny green peppers. I chatted with June and mentioned that there was so much included in this week’s pick-up that she didn’t bother with the peppers even. She feared members would have my reaction! But when I told her I was thinking about gazpacho, she kindly offered to pick a few cucumbers for me and said to help myself the peppers, too. So nice! Thank you, June!

Stay tuned for more on the recipes…

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It’s Thursday and do you know what’s Left in your CSA Basket?

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Our CSA Pick-up day is Saturday and I’m usually out of food, ideas and energy for creative home cooking by Thursday night. Quick review of this week’s recipes:

But I’ve still got a few usable and useful items left, so it’s back to work tonight. I have the following left:

  • 1/3 quart cherry tomatoes – dinner tonight
  • Shallots and Garlic- dinner tonight,and these will last, so no hurry
  • Zucchini – have plans for zucchini bread this weekend, so sit tight
  • 1/2 head of cabbage – I’m out of ideas for you, cabbage head
  • 1 ear of early drought corn – Sam was going to eat for dinner, but the crazy rows look uninviting

Krazy Korn from CSA Pick-up 7/28/12

Krazy Korn is going in the compost bin.

We’ll have Salmon en Papillote and a green salad for dinner tonight. As I wrote in an earlier post, fish en Papillote is a simple to prepare dish for the kitchen weary. I’ll use the cherry tomatoes and shallots from my CSA pick-up, and then we’re ready again for Saturday’s stash.

Pasta al Pesto Genovese per il Pranzo di Domenica, or Sunday lunch Italian-Style

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A few days late, but wanted to share details on Sunday’s yummy lunch, prepared primarily from Saturday’s CSA pick-up. We made a delicious, traditional Pasta al Pesto Genovese. The traditional version is prepared with boiled potatoes and green beans in addition to your standard pesto. You use the same boiled water for the veggies as the pasta, giving the pasta another layer of flavor. I was inspired by a few things:

  • String beans, potatoes and garlic in our CSA stash
  • Basil plant in my garden growing like wild. Growing like wild for Western Massachusetts, not the Mediterranean, meaning it was about 6″ high, bright green and bushy, and in want of a haircut
  • My upcoming trip to the Italian seaside (please don’t hate me)

I’ve only had this dish in restaurants or at someone’s home and never prepared it on my own, so I was excited to give it a whirl. Here’s the final product:

Pasta al Pesto Genovese with local green beans, potatoes and pesto

It did not disappoint. Hubs and I loved it. We used orecchiette pasta (shaped like little ears) because  it would be easier for little Sam to eat than spaghetti, which would be the traditional pasta to use. Ironically, omnivorous Sam wanted nothing to do with the Pasta al Pesto lovingly prepared by his parents. Normally a big fan of pasta, I guess he’s just not that into pesto. His loss. Here’s the recipe for 4 servings

Pasta al Pesto Genovese

  • 2 medium new potatoes, sliced 1/4″ thick
  • 1/4 – 1/2 pound string beans, trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
  • 1/2 pound spaghetti (or other long, thin pasta)
  • Pesto. Here is a basic recipe to follow (1/2 a batch should do, and you can keep the rest of the batch for another use)
  • 2-3 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid from the pasta

Instructions:

  • Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Salt generously and add potatoes. Cook until tender. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and set aside Some recipes instruct you to cook the potatoes whole, then slice them after they’ve been boiled. I think it is easier to start with the potatoes sliced so you don’t have to wait for them to cool later
  • Add string beans to the same pot of water. Cook until tender (not overcooked), and remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
  • Add pasta to water and cook according to directions on package. Test for doneness and reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water when you drain the pasta.
  • Toss the pasta in a serving bowl with the pesto, potatoes, string beans and cooking liquid (as needed). Serve immediately.

Go USA! Sunday Night Dinner featuring Red, White and Blue

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Hubs and I had a simple summer dinner tonight featuring our locally sourced goodies.

  • Early Corn Chowder served cold to start  the meal (left over from last night’s dinner). Tastes even better on day 2T
  • Arugula salad with Shaved Parmiggiano and Cherry Tomatoes, dressed in balsamic vinaigrette. The arugula was a treat from our friend Steve’s farm, Berkshire Bounty Farm, tomatoes from yesterday’s CSA pick-up
  • Finished off with Macerated Strawberries and Blueberries, pictured below. The strawberries were grown in our friend Nash’s greenhouse and the blueberries were local, though not certified organic. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it’s heaven

  • Red, White and Blue: strawberries, blueberries and vanilla ice cream

    GO USA!!!

Extreme Weather and Corn

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Ever heard of “Early Drought Corn”? Well, that’s what we picked up today at the Farm. Unfamiliar phrase to me as well, but the result of all the intense heat and sun combined with below average rainfall means that the first corn cobs of the season are small, not super flavorful and even kind of ugly.

We had our first of the season local corn on the cob last night purchased from the Amenia Farmers Market in Dutchess County, NY. We soaked the ears, grilled them and then slathered them with butter, salt and pepper. They were good, not great.

Prepping for the grill: soaking the corn on the cob, silks removed

Fresh off the grill, grilled corn on the cob still wearing their husks

Finished product: slathered in butter, salt and pepper and ready to go

Today’s haul of 8 ears from Wolfe Spring Farm had a similarly undernourished look to last night’s, so we decided better to cook with them than feature them in all their glory ‘naked’ on the cob. I decided on a corn chowder and combined 2 recipes to make my own: this recipe from Mark Bittman’s Minimalist column and this recipe from the Red Cat Cookbook. I like Bittman’s recipe because he makes a rustic ‘broth’ from the corn cobs and I like the Red Cat’s recipe because they add a little heat. Here’s my adaptation.

Early Corn Chowder

  • 6-8 ears corn
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 shallot [I used this because we have them from today’s CSA pick-up, but not necessary]
  • 4 medium new potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 cubes
  • 2 dried peppers
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2-3 small tomatoes cored and seeds removed, optional [I used them as I had tomatoes in my pick-up, but not necessary]
  • 1 cup milk
  • handful of fresh chives, optional

Instructions: 

1. Shuck the corn and use a paring knife to strip the kernels into a bowl. Put the cobs in a pot with 6-8 cups water; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10-20 minutes.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or soup pot and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts, add the onion and shallots, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes; then add the potatoes and saute another 5 minutes; add the tomatoes if you’re using them and cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Add the dried peppers, crushing them if you like more heat.

3. After the corn cobs have cooked for at least 10 minutes, strain the liquid into the onion-potato mixture. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down so the mixture simmers. When the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes, add the corn kernels and milk and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature or chilled. If you like a creamier soup, you can puree the soup partially with a stick blender, and/or use 1/2 cup of heavy cream in place of 1/2 cup of the milk. Garnish with the chives, and serve.

It’s still early days for the corn season. Please share your favorite recipes, too.

American Classics: CSA Pick-up 7/28/12

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This veritable bounty will be transformed into:
– Tangy mustard coleslaw – use cabbage
– Corn chowder – use corn, potatoes, tomatoes, shallots
– Spaghetti al pesto genovese (ok, this isn’t an American Classic. Realized that after I published. Oops) – use string beans, potatoes, garlic and basil (from our garden and Wolfe Spring)

And more…stay tuned

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Many Dishes, 1 Delicious Entree: CSA pick-up 7/21/12

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We had several exciting adventures yesterday: a real bounty pick-up at Wolfe Spring Farm, took in the annual New Marlborough Garden, and received a tasty, unexpected homemade treat from our neighbor Dan Doern (more on that later). Let’s focus on the CSA pick-up and ensuing kitchen chaos.  As a refresher, we picked up the following:

And we had a bonus: U-pick ’em blueberries. June lifted the netting off the blueberry bushes and let us have at ’em. We picked almost a pint, unsure of how much Sam consumed along the way.

Hubs and I were excited to see the yellow cherry tomatoes in the basket and he suggested a great recipe that we’ve made several times –  Spaghettini with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic and Fresh Herbs. It’s a little counter-intuitive because you have to heat up the kitchen roasting the tomatoes, which stinks in the middle of summer, and it’s also best served at room temperature. But let me tell you, it’s worth the effort (and the heat). You slow roast the tomatoes with a bunch of garlic cloves and it makes a sweet, savory sauce with deep, rich flavors. You will not be disappointed.  I can’t remember where I originally found the recipe, and I’ve seen a bunch of variations online, so I’ll include my own adaptation.

Instructions for 1 Delicious Entree: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss 1-2 quarts of cherry tomatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 9X11″ baking dish (pyrex or ceramic preferred). Throw in 6-12 smashed cloves of garlic, healthy dash of kosher salt, few grinds of black pepper, and 2-3 dried hot peppers if you like some heat. Some recipes tell you to halve the tomatoes, but it is not necessary. Putting them in whole saves time, and has no impact on the final product.

Roast in 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. The tomatoes should get wrinkly and start to caramelize. You may need an additional 5-10 minutes depending on your oven. Give the pan a shake 1 or 2 times while baking, but otherwise leave unattended. Remove from oven and let cool. The tomatoes will have released some juices and you should have a beautiful chunky sauce.

Chop up a handful of fresh basil and any other herbs you may have on hand. I used fresh chives. Grate 1/4 cup parmiggiano to mix with pasta and sauce.

Prepare spaghettini as directed on package for 2 – 4 people. Once ready, drain water or scoop out with pasta server and add directly to pan of tomato sauce. Toss in chopped herbs and grated cheese. Transfer to serving bowl or serve directly into bowls. Yum!

You can also use the sauce for a take-off on bruschetta. We had some leftover last night and used it to make mini-pizzas for lunch. Sam loved them.

 The Rest of the Basket:  As I had written on Friday, I really wanted to make vegetable fritters. But, alas the contents of my basket did not comply. No beets, no leaks, no luck. Might try ’em this week with some produce purchased from the green market in town. Back to the basket.

For the salad greens, I have a ritual. I wash, spin and crisp them as soon as I get home. One downside is that it is far more labor intensive than buying a bag of ready washed greens, but hey, where’s the fun in that? We had mixed greens with our pasta last night and have lots more left.

I steamed the broccoli and the haricot verts, and stored them separately. We’ve already eaten some with a mustardy vinaigrette, and the nice thing about having them already cooked is that they are ready to go, as Julia Moskin advised.

So, all that sounds kind of humdrum. I wanted to do something interesting with the eggplant and felt I could let my creative juices flow because I don’t have to cater to hubs’s tastes on this one. He won’t go near eggplant. I felt an itch to attempt an Eggplant with Miso dressing recipe. I loosely followed this recipe, first roasting the sliced eggplant in the oven and then tossing it in the dressing. I admit I did not love the dressing. Perhaps it was the miso. Or perhaps I had no idea what I was doing as it was my first time ever cooking with miso paste. I had a jar of fermented bean miso in the fridge and cracked it open for the first time. I’m willing to try this again as I wasn’t fully satisfied with it – too salty, earthy tasting – but then again, I’m not great with eggplant dishes to begin with.

Anyone else ever try this? Or something similar?