Daisy

The first black-eyed susan has bloomed in my garden. This is from a plant that I bought at the farmers' market last month.

These are the black-eyed susan seedlings that I started from a packet. They're about 2 inches tall now. I'm not sure that they will have a chance to bloom before fall, but we'll see.

One of the basil plants has yielded enough for eating! I plan on making caprese burgers: garlic-studded burgers topped with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil. Also note the thriving thyme plant behind the basil.

Trixie's New Favorite Food

Up until last night, Trixie's favorite food was butternut squash. But then I introduced her to sugar snap peas, and her life will never be the same again.

But these are no ordinary sugar snap peas. These are the crunchiest and sweetest ones I have ever had. I ate about half of the large bag that I got from the CSA, and that's not typical behavior for me. I munched them like potato chips. Trixie was curious, so I handed her half of one. She was wary at first, but then became overjoyed and ravenous. She usually maintains a polite and wistful distance from my food, but she was determined to bury her nose in the bowl of sugar snap peas. She ended up eating about six pods (a lot for someone her size), and she hopped impatiently like popcorn between each offering.

I'm trying to remember what I ate last week to provide a recap of the CSA project, but it's all sort of a blur. I ran out of lettuce by Monday! I didn't make garlic scape pesto after all, but instead I braised them with sauerkraut and bratwurst--very tasty. I ate all of the strawberries with chocolate ganache and whipped cream. I did make the blackened tilapia salad and it was fabulous--so good that I used all the romaine for it and had none left to make caesar salad. I ate all the radishes and their greens raw.

The head of escarole? Disappointment of the week. My crisper was overflowing, so I stowed it on the fridge shelf above. Escarole is a sturdy thing. I have stored other greens there with no problems, except the occasional early wilting. I took it out on Sunday afternoon to saute and discovered, to my horror, that it was frozen. The leaf tips were tinged with black. It was frozen all the way through the core. I tried to salvage it in a cold water bath, but it thawed into slimy seaweed. Bah.

Moving on. Here are the contents and tentative plans for this week's CSA delivery:

Salad mix: A small bag this time, enough for 2-3 entree-sized salads. I have gotten into the habit of serving myself a medium-sized side of it before dinner every day, dressed with tarragon vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, and feta cheese.

Lettuce head: A large one with green oak-leaf style leaves. I will eat this fast, just in case it might find the same fate as the escarole. I may try blackened red snapper or orange roughy piled on top, since I had excellent results with the tilapia.

Pearl Onions with their greens: I had the impression that pearl onions were usually bite-sized, but some of these are as big as a fist. I'm going to saute them in butter and white wine for topping steak.

Garlic scapes: Again! This time, I really will make the garlic scape pesto to use on pizza.

Radishes with their greens: I love these raw, but the time has come to stop wondering about it and make the braised radishes.

Broccoli: Lots of huge stalks! I'm surprised that it's come this early in the season. I think that I'll make broccoli cheddar soup.

Sugar snap peas: As mentioned above. I suspect that these will disappear before the weekend begins. But the good news is, there will be more with next week's delivery.

Strawberries: another large container, but this time, the berries are tiny (see photo below), thus there is little wasted air space in the carton. There are a lot of berries here, folks. I might have to freeze some. I am also thinking of trying my hand at making whole wheat scones, and piling strawberries and whipped cream on top.

Replenished Crisper

It is Thursday again! CSA delivery, #3:

Strawberries- a large carton. I will dip some of them in dark chocolate ganache (melted chocolate mixed with a dash of heavy cream). I will top some of them with whipped cream.

More garlic scapes!-I didn't know that they were in season so long! This batch is going to become garlic scape pesto. I'm thinking that it will make a nice pizza sauce. Pesto, fontina cheese, crimini mushrooms, and proscuitto.

Radishes with their greens- I like the greens raw on salads. I'm tempted to try braising the radishes, but I worry that all the zip will be boiled away, so I will likely eat them raw.

Salad mix- you might think I'd be sick of it by now. But somehow, it has disappeared before the due date every week so far. I still need to make salmon nicoise salad. I'm also planning on topping a salad with blackened tilapia and dressing with lemon vinaigrette.

Escarole- finally, a hefty and sauteeable green! Usually I like to put escarole in soup. It's kinda warm for that right now. I plan to saute this giant head with garlic scapes and green onions and dress with olive oil and lemon juice.

Green onions- will garnish most salads and the escarole saute.

Romaine lettuce head- its destiny will likely be caesar salad. Yes, of course I put anchovies in my caesar dressing!


Last week, Trixie discovered that she loves a little spinach shredded over her kibble.

Spinach Bacon Quiche

I recommend precooked bacon for this, because it renders very little fat and doesn't splatter all over the stove. I see no need for heavy cream, but I am sure that no one would complain about its presence, if it were invited.

Spinach Bacon Quiche

Ingredients:
1 teaspoonful extra-virgin olive oil
8 slices of precooked packaged bacon (such as Ready Crisp brand)
1 white onion, chopped
1 bunch or bag of greens, chopped (spinach, chard, turnip, or dandelion)
Salt and pepper
Approximately 1/8 tsp of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
4-6 eggs, depending on size of eggs, quantity of filling, size of pie crust
1/2 to 3/4 cup whole milk, depending on how many eggs used
1 to 1.5 cups of shredded gruyere cheese (or any favorite cheese)
Frozen deep-dish pie crust, or make your own

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until a little fat is rendered, then add onions and cook until they begin to tenderize. Season with salt and pepper. Add greens and wilt down. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Allow any liquid from the greens to cook away, then remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the pie crust upon a baking sheet. Spoon the cooled greens mixture into the pie crust. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the veggies. Use a fork to arrange the cheese evenly over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is puffy and browned, like the picture below. Allow to cool five minutes before cutting.

Scones

I get a cranberry oatmeal scone every time I go to the farmers' market. I was craving them so much last night that I went to bed early and arrived to the market at 6:00 a.m. I stalked my favorite bakery stand until they opened at 6:20.

Today there were rhubarb oatmeal scones, made from locally grown rhubarb. Obviously I had to get one. I decided to get a second scone for later in the week, to keep my cravings in check. I temporarily abandoned the cranberry and chose a whole-wheat dark chocolate chunk scone.

The man behind me in line asked if they ever sell scones in grocery stores. The answer was no. The scones do not have the shelf-life necessary for that endeavor.

I ate the rhubarb oatmeal scone while shopping (it was incredible). I couldn't stop thinking about the shelf-life statement. How much time would the dark chocolate scone have before disintegration? A day? An hour? I ate it as soon as I got home, just to be safe.

I finally found some black-eyed susan perennials at the farmers market and bought two. They aren't blooming yet, but one has a bud.

In other news, my CSA delivery was on Thursday:

Lettuce head: This one has dark red, sturdy, oak-looking leaves. Mighty tasty. So far I have made a "fish fry salad" of my own invention--greens, feta cheese, tarragon vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil, and beer-battered cod (prepared by local grocery deli) baked until crispy. I would use malt vinegar if I had it. The feta cheese may seem out of place, but seemed to bind it all together.

Salad mix: another big bag! I have eaten about 1/3 of it already, with just two giant salads involving canned red salmon and chopped veggies.

Spinach: This time I am making the spinach quiche with bacon, onion, and gruyere cheese. It will be a Sunday afternoon project.

Green onions: will go into black bean and pepper-jack enchiladas.

More teeny white turnips and their greens: I like to eat these raw. Maybe some of the greens will go into the quiche.

More garlic scapes!: Today I am making garlic scape and white bean hummus for lunch. Served with whole wheat pita triangles and a large side salad, of course.

Inventory

The next CSA delivery is this Thursday. It is now Tuesday morning. Here is my progress.

Mixed Salad Greens: enough left for two moderate-sized salads. Most of it was used to make the chicken and parsley-feta pesto salad. Some of it was used for a marinated flat iron steak, cucumber, and balsamic vinegar salad. I have all of the ingredients for a soy-ginger-lime vinaigrette and salmon salad, but I may run out of greens for it!

Whenever I make a big salad for dinner, I make two at the same time. I arrange the greens, veggies, and meat into a travel container for work the next day. Then all I have to do in the morning is apply olive oil and vinegar/lemon juice, and it stays crisp for lunch. Otherwise, I would never have time to build a salad in the mornings, and I would never get through these greens.

Butter Crunch Lettuce: gone! Most of it was consumed with my tuna and cannelini bean salad: white albacore tuna, cannelini beans, green olives, green onion, celery, turnips, shredded carrot, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Spinach: I had a craving for spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, red onion, mushrooms, and hard-boiled eggs, the kind where the spinach wilts a little bit. But I was obliged to cook the spinach. Kevin suggested a spinach quiche, and I started plotting a quiche with spinach, bacon, onion, and gruyere cheese. Leftover quiche is perfect for fast breakfasts or toting along to work. But you know, I did just emerge from a quiche obsession a couple of months ago (I made 4 quiches in 4 weeks). I'm trying to stay on the wagon, at least until swiss chard season.

I thought about spinach lasagna but could not work up a big excitement about it for some reason. I thought that I might just cook and freeze it for later. But then inspiration hit me! I made florentine macaroni and cheese: a homemade sauce made with sharp white cheddar and generously fortified with spinach, mixed with whole-grain rotini. I pre-blanched and cold-shocked the spinach before adding it to the cheese sauce at the last minute. It held its bright green color surprisingly well. Very tasty.

Teeny white salad turnips with greens: only one little turnip left. The rest went into the tuna salad. The greens are still here; I will probably saute some and scatter the rest raw across a salad.

Garlic scapes: I sauteed a few for an omelet (also included mushrooms and pepper jack cheese). I chopped some raw for salads. I still have about half the bunch left, but they look sturdy enough to last a while.

Chives: I snipped a little bit onto some scrambled eggs. The rest I stored in a plastic bag and froze. I like chives, but usually I favor a stronger onion family representative.

Potted basil plant: still alive and waiting to be planted outside in the full sun. Not enough leaves for pesto yet, but possibly sufficient for a marinara sauce.

Bring it on, Thursday.

A nice side effect of the bountiful produce: I am officially back on the low-carb lifestyle. Well, until potato season.

First CSA Delivery

I purchased a share in a CSA (community-supported agriculture). The farm's website is here; I have a standard vegetable share that will be from now until October 22. The first week's allotment came in last night, conveniently delivered to the hospital. My heart was pounding with excitement as I walked over to greet it!

I pre-paid for this a long time ago, and so it felt FREE to take my veggies, refrain from hugging the dietician student manning the table, and leave.

Here are the contents and my tentative plans:

Mixed Salad Greens: enormous bag of red and green lettuces. I will open my low-carb cookbook soon to see what salads I have forgotten, but for now I am looking forward to grilled portobello and chicken salad with soy-ginger-lime vinaigrette, salmon nicoise, and marinated chicken with parsley-feta pesto.

Butter Crunch Lettuce: large head. The same salad ideas may apply. Also, the outer leaves are large enough for Asian chicken lettuce wraps or no-carb tacos.

Spinach: large bag. Since I already have tons of greens that aren't cookable, I think I am obliged to cook this spinach. No definite ideas yet.

Teeny white salad turnips with attached greens: I am really happy about these spicy little turnips. I rarely buy turnips, and when I do, I get the standard large kind and put them in a wintry stew. These little ones I will eat raw. The greens, I will saute with garlic and bacon or simmer in a pot of lentils.

Garlic scapes: I love these, and they are hard to find at grocery stores. Scapes are the green stem-like seedpods from garlic. One of my friends likes to buy a bunch of them at the farmers market and eat them all raw while walking around the square. They have a mild garlic flavor and squeak in your teeth. I will use mine on salads and scrambled eggs.

Chives: a flowering bunch. I will probably use them in a salad dressing or on eggs. I learned in the CSA newsletter that chives can be frozen for future use. I may try that.

Potted basil plant: My basil never thrives because I confine it to the shady front patio. I am going to plant this one in full sun outside.

Sleepy

Garden

To celebrate my third year living in this house, I finally planted flowers in the yard. It has been two weeks post-planting, and they are all still alive. I can't wait for them to spread out a bit and get to know each other. Click on the pictures to view larger versions. My initial plan was to grow poppies and purple cone flowers (echinacea) as a subtle nod to my profession. But purple cone flowers are a wimpy shade of purple and look sort of weedy sometimes. And poppies seem to be solitary souls, when what I want is a jungle of dense color. So I just picked out random flowers that I like.

The small, green, flowerless patches above are red compact mother-of-thyme. It is groundcover that is supposed to produce a blanket of teeny red flowers that will fill in the empty spaces. I had planned to use white alyssum (sp?) for groundcover, but I missed my chance to buy it. The green seems to be doing fine, but I see no flower buds yet despite judicious fertilizing. I am moderately concerned.

These are purple dianthas. Perennials!! My grand plan was to mix yellow/orange, purple/blue, and white flowers, but I couldn't resist the magenta.

Blue floss flowers. Unfortunately an annual, but hardy and will last through the fall. I like the fuzzy flowers.

My plan was for a riot of black-eyed susans. But I couldn't find any except for seed packets (see below). I usually scorn marigolds, but I liked these tricolor ones in orange, red, and yellow.

I desperately want black-eyed susan daisies. I want tall cheery yellow flowers to stand proudly behind the blue/purple/magenta ones. I couldn't find any plants around, so I bought a seed packet. The sprouts are pictured above, on my front patio. I am thrilled that I got this far with seeds. I am hoping that they haven't been started too late for blooming. When I bought the seed packet, I accidentally bought the annual black-eyed susans instead of the perennial kind. I am a little disappointed about that. My plan was to get a larger and larger crop of them every year and to encourage them to insidiously take over the neighborhood. There would be little cause for unhappiness around here if we were all surrounded by daisies.

Rhubarb Dilemma Resolved

I made rhubarb chutney! I had high hopes. It exceeded my expectations. I picked this Martha Stewart version instead of the link I posted before. It took about 10 minutes to make and I served it with pork tenderloin medallions. OK, well, I ate most of it by itself with a spoon. The chutney would also be fabulous with chicken.

Of course, I had to mess with the recipe. I doubled the ginger, and grated instead of mincing it. I decreased the sugar in half and did not find it to be tart at all. I used golden raisins instead of the dark kind. I didn't have cinnamon sticks, so I used a scattering of powdered cinnamon.

While making the chutney, I nibbled on a raw rhubarb stalk and grieved that I had not bought more of it at the farmers market. I love the way that it makes my teeth squeaky.

So, this morning I bought two more pounds of rhubarb at the grocery store. It's more expensive than the farmers market and is not the bright red heirloom variety that I had for the chutney, but it will have to do. I am plotting a semi-low carb rhubarb-almond crisp for one pound of it. I may freeze the rest for a rainy day, if I can hold myself back.

I wonder if it would be difficult to grow rhubarb in my yard?