New week, new box, stuff from the old box

So I remembered to take a pic of this week's box (week 7) - it was a particularly pretty one:

What all was in here?  Well, if I could find the list from the farm, I'd tell you exactly, but since I can't I have to go from the photo above!

1 bunch onions
2 slicing tomatoes
1.5 lbs summer squash
1 bulb fresh garlic
1 bunch beets
1 lb various cherry tomatoes
1.5 lbs purple carrots
1.5 lbs red, white and blue potatoes
1 bunch rainbow chard

Night before last (CSA pickup day) I chopped the potatoes into roughly 1-0.5 inch cubes (unpeeled) put them in a bowl, tossed them with salt, pepper, 1 tbs olive oil and a good handful of chopped fresh rosemary and roasted them in a single layer at 400 °F for 30 minutes.  They were very tasty with a hamburger topped with some cheese, sliced tomato from this week's basket and some lettuce from last week's CSA.

Did you notice that there was no KALE in this week's box?  Amazing!  Fortunately I still have all the kale from the last two weeks.   I know you're dying to find  out what I did with it, and I'll let you know.  Soon.  Because we have not eaten all it yet. I have, however, washed and dried it, removed the stems and chopped it so it's ready to go into a lot of different things.  For example, some of it has been sauteed and put in a fritata, and I mentioned in an earlier post that some if it had gone into a pasta.  It keeps well in the fridge in a ziploc bag that has a bit of paper towel in the bottom to absorb moisture.  There is probably another kale pizza in our immediate future.

Kale, kale, kale....

So one thing you definitely see in your CSA share every week it seems, is KALE.  Which I like, don't get me wrong, but I am still searching for more KDD's (Kale Delivery Dishes).  Last night I was all set to make this casserole again, but when I turned on the oven to pre-heat I got.... nothing.  We're doing some renovations on our house, and the contractor said that the electricians might not have turned everything back on.  Fortunately I've still got a little Girl Scout in me so I was able to light our gas cooktop with a match and carry on.  And it was a bit of a blessing in disguise, because I found this recipe for Pasta with Sausage and Kale from Fine Cooking that I like even better!  It's not that different from the casserole, but there was a subtle difference and one less dish to clean!  Note to self, next time I make this use a pot instead of the 12" saute pan - getting all that kale in there before it wilted down was a bit of a struggle.

In the pan before serving:

Covered with cheese!

I changed a couple of things about the recipe:

1.  I wanted to feed 2, so I only used 6 oz of dry pasta (still had some left over)
2.  Substituted one of the onions I got in the CSA for the shallot
3.  Only used 1 tbs of olive oil
4.  Used 8 oz of turkey Italian sausage
5.  I deglazed the pan with about 1/2 cup white wine after cooking the onions and sausage.
6.  MOAR KALE was added (Probably about 6-7 ounces of chopped kale- a salad spinner full, which is more than the full recipe called for
7.  Added 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
8.  Probably used more parm than I should have at the end.
9.  Forgot the lemon wedges.
10. 
    

Epic apologetic catch-up post

Well.  Hello world, again.  Been away for a bit - projects at home and at work have caused me to get behind on this whole blogging project.

Just to get you caught up, here's what was in the Week 5 and 6 boxes

Week 5
1 lb carrots
1 head purple cabbage
1 head broccoli
1 lb kale
1 bunch onions
1/2 lb salad mix
1.5 lbs squash and zuchinni
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch mint

Week 6
1 bunch carrots
1 lb squash
1 lb collards
1 bunch beets
1/2 lb broccoli
1 bunch onions
1 lb zucchini
1 lb kale
1 head savoy cabbage
choice of  cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes or snap peas (I chose cherry tomatoes)

So, what's been going on?  Well, the past two weeks I've been working with a group to hire a bunch of new advisors at the college, so that's taken up a bit of time, and means I've been eating out more than usual (ie lunches at work).  I've also been to a couple of high school graduations, and done a barbecue for one of those (and am headed to one I'm not catering tonight!).  We're also doing some renovations at our house so we've been busy getting ready for that. And it was our 22nd wedding anniversary so we had a lovely dinner out at 1618 Seafood Grille which was really awesome, but moved no produce out of our house.  There's only so much salad I can eat for breakfast....

So this post is going to be kind of a catch-all of stuff I've made using things from the boxes over the past few weeks.

Barbecue
For the barbecue, I made collards from the box, as well as two different kinds of slaw using cabbage and squash casserole to use up the various squashes and onions.    The collards I detailed here.

One of the slaws I made was a barbecue slaw, which is something folks usually use as a topping on a barbecue pork sandwich rather than something you'd eat separately.  It's not much of a recipe, just chop cabbage pretty finely (I used a food processor) and mix in some barbecue sauce until it looks right (lightly dressed basically).  I use this barbecue sauce usually, a Lexington style tomato-y vinegar blend.  I used the purple cabbage which is not something I've seen before.  Should have taken a picture!

The other slaw I made is called Sweet and Sour Slaw which is cabbage dressed in a slightly spicy peanut sauce.  I got the  recipe a million years ago from a friend in Oregon (Stacey, if you're reading this I think it was Craig!) and that million is also about equal to the number of times I've been asked for the recipe.  So here you are:
Sweet and Sour Slaw
Dressing:
1/3 cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar (I always have used rice)
1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
3 tbs light brown sugar 
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
Salad:
7-8 cups (about 1.25 lbs) shredded green cabbage (I did use green this time!)
red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I usually manage this by putting them in a plastic bag and bashing with a rolling pin a few times).

1. In a large bowl (big enough to hold all the cabbage, whisk together the dressing ingredients until they are well mixed (you can also do this in a blender but then it's another thing to wash!)
2.  About 1 hour before serving, add the cabbage, about 2 cups at a time to the dressing, tossing after each addition.  Once all the cabbage has been added and tossed, stir in the pepper flakes (I usually use about 1/4 tsp).  Cover the bowl and chill the salad for about an hour, tossing every now and then.
3.  At serving time, add the peanuts and toss.  Serve!
4.  Accept compliments and hand out recipe generously. 

Other new stuff I've made over the last week or so
5 Ingredient Italian Sausage and Kale Baked Ziti 
Man, that website is annoying, but this was a pretty good recipe.  Some changes I made- I used turkey italian sausage and penne instead of ziti.  Here's my ingredient lineup:

 Brown the sausage:

 Add some chopped garlic

 Add the kale and cooked pasta:

 let the kale wilt down a bit:

 Assemble the casserole:

 Everything's better topped with cheese:

 Bake and eat!

Verdict?  A little dry but not bad.  Probably should cook the pasta a little longer since there's not much moisture in the casserole for it to absorb (unlike a tomato sauce based casserole).

Breakfast tacos with beet greens

One other green I had was some beet greens that I'd chopped off of the beets I got last week (and the week before, and the week before - but those had not quite survived).  They were pretty wilted, but a soak in water for about an hour and them putting them in a glass overnight perked them up.  At any rate, I cut the stems off, and got them chopped up:

Then I sauteed them for about 7-8 minutes in some fat from about 1/2 ounce of chopped pancetta I'd rendered down using the same technique I described here. 

Once the greens were tender enough, I added the pancetta back in, and added a beaten egg, and stirred everything together on low until the egg was cooked.  Heated a couple of corn tortillas, added a bit of mexican blend cheese to both (about 1/2 oz or 2 tbs), and then put the greens/egg mixture on top:

Not shown, the tablespoon of salsa and sliver of avocado I put on each taco.  Should've taken a pic with that! 

Getting to the greens...

Yesterday I wanted to tackle some of the greens I'd been collecting the past two weeks.  I had collard greens (2 weeks' worth) as well as kale, mustard greens and some beet greens I'd let get pretty wilted. First I gave them a nice soak and a couple of rinses in the sink:

After rinsing, I took out the big step from the collards, rolled and chopped them fine.  I had almost 2 lbs when I was done.  I also added the mustard greens to the mix.

I put these in a 8 qt pot that I'd filled about 1/2 of the way with water that I'd previously simmered a smoked turkey wing in for about 30-40 minutes.  I also added some salt  and a tsp of red chili flakes to the broth.  I brought the greens up to a boil, and let them simmer for about 45 minutes.

Wow, that is a really bad picture.  But you can see the turkey wing, and that the greens had cooked down a lot!  Afterward, I sauteed about 1-1.5 cups of onion and 2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic in olive oil until tender (5-7 minutes), and then added the strained collards to that and let them simmer together for a few minutes. Then I put them in the fridge (I may freeze them today) until I'm ready to eat them!

Here's the overall recipe (this one calls for a hamhock, as I mentioned, I substituted a smoked turkey wing I'd made and frozen a few weeks ago).
Collard Greens
(this is really by feel...I got a two sentence recipe from a lady at the farmer's market and have adapted it)

• 1-2 bunches collard greens (they're better after the first frost)
• 1/2 to 1 onion, chopped (could be more than one!)
• some garlic cloves (1-2 chopped...depends on how much you like)
• 1 ham hock (or side meat, or slice of country ham with bone...you can find all this stuff in the grocery store or at the farmer's market...it's usually not refrigerated. Look for a ham hock with some meat on it!)

Directions:
Put some water in a pot (if you use a 5 qt dutch oven fill it about 3/4 of the way up)
put the ham hock in, bring to a boil,lower heat and simmer for at least an hour or longer (you're making a stock here!).
At this point, I'll take out the hamhock (save it!), chill the stock overnight and take the fat off.  That's pretty "New Age" southern cooking wise!). Take the fat and skin off the hamhock, chop the meat and add back in if you like. Some folks find it wonderful, some find it too salty! I'm in the wonderful camp, but I grew up on this stuff.

Cleaning the greens:
Pull apart the leaves of the collards and WASH THEM WELL! I usually fill the sink with water, and swish the leaves around, changing the water once or twice. The collards you get from the grocery store are pretty clean, but sometimes the ones from the farmer's market, while tasty, can be a bit gritty and buggy.

Chop the greens.
To do this I will cut out the stem (you can cut out all of it if you're just going to cook the greens a short time, but I usually leave a little in and take out the bottom thickest part). Roll together several leaves (as though you were going to chiffonade basil) and slice across the leaves into thin strips (I might cut them in half too depending on how wide the leaves are.

Cooking the greens
Place in pot, cover with ham stock and simmer until tender  (30-45 minutes or so Some folks cook them for hours, some a few minutes...I tend to do longer but I like my greens tender). Drain (you can save the "pot likker" some folks really like this...I hate throwing it away...it would probably make good soup).

You can use olive oil or render out a few slices of side meat or bacon for this next part. You just need a little fat to saute the onion and garlic in until it's tender. Then add the drained cooked greens and saute them a bit as well. Add in some of the meat from the ham hock if you like and you're done!

Salt (probably won't need much with the ham hock) and pepper to taste. Some folks like to season collards with cider (or hot pepper) vinegar and/or tobasco.