The Ongoing CSA Project

About the potatoes. I have lots. The more I eat them, the more I crave sweets. Last week my stomach demanded that I make these flourless brownies. I replaced half of the sugar with Splenda, but they still weren't exactly healthy, considering all the butter. I like to think of them as sort of balanced with the high-protein, high-fiber secret ingredient, which becomes undetectable after baking. They did hit the spot. I would like to say that the brownies had a fudgy texture, but fudge brings to mind a cloying feeling. The brownies were rich and creamy and only mildly sweet, reminiscent of a chocolate custard.

This week's CSA delivery:

-Potatoes: pounds and pounds of them. Red-skinned, white flesh ones and Yukon golds. Tonight I am making a giant quantity of mashed potatoes. I like to fry leftover mashed potatoes in small patties until they are crispy and golden brown on the outside but remain creamy on the inside.

-Patty pan squashes: huge ones. I have big plans for stuffing these. The stuffing will consist of tomato, onion, mushroom, panko bread crumbs, cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil.

-Tomato: to be used as above.

-Kohlrabi: It's back! I'm glad, because I was moaning about lost opportunities to try this kohlrabi puree recipe.

-Carrots: another huge bag. Carrot muffins this week.

-Green beans: this may be the last of them for the season. They may have to be frozen because I'm just overloaded with food at the moment.

-Garlic: half gone already.

-Broccoli: broccoli cheddar soup has already been made.

-Red bell peppers: Somehow, I always become stumped with what to do with these. I would stuff them, but I've got the squash this week.

-Leek: I got the most beautiful leek ever. Leeks at the grocery store are mostly composed of green tops, which are not edible. The leek I've got is almost entirely of the good white part. I love leek soup with bacon and potatoes, but I may end up sauteeing it since I've already got the broccoli cheddar soup. See photo below. My hand is there to demonstrate perspective.


-Celery: I have nothing against celery, but I'm not one to get excited about it, usually. The CSA celery is something completely different. It actually tastes like celery! It is so strong that it might overpower the flavor of a soup! It is so crunchy that I feel conspicuous bringing it to eat at work! But I did anyway. I have been eating it with peanut butter and upon salads.

-Salad mix: It had returned! To be eaten for lunch.

The last delivery is October 22. I am starting to get a little anxious, because despite all this abundance, I haven't received any winter squash yet.

I Am Outraged

That somebody is altering the flavors and colors of Neccos. Even the chocolate ones. I mean, there are only about five people in the world who like Neccos. Shouldn't we have been consulted?

Three Items

1. Mouse update: The situation isn't fully resolved, but I am much more emotionally stable than before. Last night, I even sat on the floor for a few minutes while watching a movie. Terminix came and went, not much was definitively accomplished, but there is something reassuring about telling a story to a rational, uniformed person. I have come to the conclusion that the mouse is a loner type. No family.

I think that the mouse is gone now, but I haven't discovered a body yet. That bothers me. I might forget, and then the body might turn up unexpectedly one day.

2. I finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the sequel to Hunger Games. I loved it, but I have some mixed feelings. The first 1/3 of the book was headed in a certain direction, which was kind of rambly and wishy-washy, but I didn't care because I was so grateful to be with the characters again. Then I was abruptly thrown into another plot direction, with apparent abandonment of the first. I tried to be annoyed, but this plot was too exciting to think too much about anything. On the last couple of pages, a plot twist happened that managed to tie the two pieces together and leave my mouth hanging open. I was thrilled, but also irritated with myself for not working it out earlier.

There is to be a third book in the series. Maybe more. A series is not good for my health. Too much yearning and mouth-watering and hand-wringing. What am I supposed to do with my free time now? I cannot read any books that are similar to Catching Fire right now. I cannot read any books that are not similar to Catching Fire right now. I'm headed to the library soon; maybe something with grab my attention.

3. CSA delivery was last night. I had to do some creative refrigerator rearranging.

-Potatoes: The farm is having an outstanding potato crop, and everyone is receiving a double-share of them from now on. I got a large bag of blue-skinned, blue-fleshed ones and a large bag of what I think are Yukon golds. I am going to make a huge batch of pesto this weekend, some for freezing and some for topping potatoes.

-Green beans: will be roasted.

- Carrots: purple ones again!

-Tomato: one large green heirloom variety.

-Red sweet peppers: hmm. Plans are underway.

-Summer squash: one yellow and one large patty pan. More bread?

-Broccoli: I have tons now, because I still have the broccoli from last week. I am thinking about another batch of broccoli cheddar soup.

-Collard greens: may be blanched and frozen for a wintry soup.

-Ruby heart radishes: These are huge and look like turnips at first, white with red centers. to be eaten raw.

-Corn: Six giant ears. I have pickled, frozen, and consumed literally gallons of corn this season.

Remember early spring, when the CSA only sent six items per week, and I would have it all eaten by Monday night?

The Last Care-Free Moment

This morning, while taking Trixie for a walk, I thought about these six things:

1. I should do laundry soon.
2. (Upon seeing a house for sale on my street) I'm so glad that I have neither the want nor the need to sell my house right now.
3. It's too bad that I have to work this evening. Looks like a nice day.
4. Which leftover should I have for lunch and which one should I pack for dinner?
5. (Upon seeing someone spraying herbicide onto a lawn) I should cancel my Terminix account. They spray my yard for ants, but I've never seen an ant attempt to enter my house. Why do I have to be so antagonistic?
6. The squirrels and chipmunks are particularly active today.

While I opened the door and freed Trixie from her harness, I thought about these six things:

1. I am never doing laundry again.
2. How soon can I sell my home?
3. I shall go to work early and stay late.
4. I'll skip lunch. The hospital cafeteria probably has something nice for dinner.
5. I must call Terminix immediately.
6. What is this? The rodent revolution?

While I was walking in, I saw a flurry of motion in my periphery and felt a chill of horror slide down my back. A mouse. Racing to the safety of the laundry room. I rushed upstairs, called Terminix, made an appointment, and paced with worry.

Sensibility returned. I felt a beige comfort sink squarely onto my shoulders. I wasn't quite sure what I had actually seen. A large bug, maybe. A fluttering brown moth. My eyes had been dazzled by sunlight and I may not have seen anything at all.

I peeked down the bannister to the half-basement. No mistake. I saw it right at the foot of the stairs, contemplating the climb. Mouse.

I had a mouse three years ago, when my relationship, or codependency, with Terminix began. It had gotten in through the dryer hookup. I looked outside and yes, there does seem to be a chunk of insulation missing. I had bought extra blocks of poison at that time for extra security, and I've still got some in the garage. I got them out (shouted and stomped for the mouse to scurry away first) and scattered them around where the mouse had been. There is no expiration date on the box. I hope there's still poison left after three years.

So, now, I am making myself as small as possible on the couch. Terminix is coming early tomorrow morning. I am hoping that I will be so busy at work that I will be too tired tonight for terror. I am hoping to come home to a dead mouse, really.

Even though I loathe my house and its woodsy surroundings right now, I am suddenly grateful for its odd layout. The main entrance is in the half-basement, which is just about as inviting as you think it is. There is a laundry/utility room down there, a closet, and a stairway to the living room. But this means that I can be on the second floor and feel relatively safe. I know that nothing is really a barrier for a rodent. But my theory is that even if it did make it from the basement to the first floor, it would find enough to entertain itself there and would have no need to explore the second floor.

I wonder what to do with Trixie tonight. She would dislike being stuck upstairs. She would be absolutely no help as a hunter. But does the mouse know this?

Beet Experiments

This week I had the following at hand from the CSA: beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and cabbage. So, there was really only one option to bring them all together--make borscht. I am renaming my version as Triple Purple Soup, because my potatoes and carrots were purple to start with. It's too bad that the cabbage was green. It turned out well! I pre-roasted the beets, added fresh thyme sprigs from the garden, and flavored with beef stock, Worchestershire sauce, and red wine vinegar. It paired nicely with crusty whole-grain bread and sharp white cheddar cheese. I just tried to ignore that it was so....unnaturally purple.

CSA delivery from this week:

Watermelon: The greedy part of me was thrilled that the watermelon in my box looked bigger than most of the other ones. But then the lazy part of me was disappointed that I had to carry it out to my car, along with pounds and pounds of other stuff. Now I'm back to being thrilled. I never buy watermelons. I haven't cut into it yet. This one is supposed to have orange flesh.

Potatoes: This kind has purple skin and purple insides. They stay purple after cooking!

Green beans: I had previously found these kind of dull, but that was before I tried roasting them with garlic, onion, and olive oil.

Beets: Lots. Half of them went into the borscht, and the other half are going to be Jewel-Roasted Vegetables. I bought some brussels sprouts at the farmers market for the recipe--I just can't resist the tiny early fall ones.

Summer squash: I am going to make another ratatouille tart.

Tomatoes: One red and one yellow. Both to go in the above tart.

Onions: gone already!

Broccoli: It turns out that broccoli pesto is the perfect topping for potatoes.

Lettuce: my favorite dark-green oak leafy kind.

Chinese cabbage: gone already!

Panic

Corn Relish

Canning Project #2, done.

Unrelated items:

1) The 5K run yesterday went well and was more fun than I thought it would be. My time was 38:41, which is faster than I have finished a 5K distance before.

2) The double broccoli quinoa (mentioned previously) came together beautifully. I thought that the broccoli pesto by itself tasted kind of bland. But when combined with everything, something magical happened. The pesto and quinoa were both slightly chewy, the feta and avocado were creamy, the garlic spiced it up, the toasted almonds provided crunch, and the lemon freshened it all. I added some leftover salmon to the top. I was too lazy to make the hot pepper oil, but I think that it would have been a nice addition.
Finally, the freezer and crisper are empty of CSA broccoli.

Apple Frangipane Tart

I don't fully buy into the idea of carb-loading before a race, but I figured that the night prior to a 5K run is an excellent excuse to make an apple frangipane tart.

Quoting from my Cooking Light cookbook, frangipane is "an almond-flavored filling made from eggs, butter, sugar, and ground almonds. When baked, the frangipane puffs up and sets around the apples."

I used the filling recipe from Cooking Light, which replaced the butter with low-fat cream cheese. (If you want the recipe, I see that someone has copied it here.) But I made my own crust, a shortbread kind, rather than the phyllo crust that the recipe called for. I find phyllo to be a hassle to work with, and I would probably end up wasting the phyllo sheets that were left over.

The tart turned out beautifully! The frangipane looked skimpy to start with, but puffed up high just as it should. The apples are tender but still tart. The almond and vanilla flavors are ultra-concentrated. The ground almonds add a rich texture and pair well with the shortbread crust. Next time I make this, I will try using pears.

Running Mix

Here is my iPod playlist for the 5K that I am running tomorrow. I had to set aside my preferred variety of "sad bastard" music and scrounge for peppy items. Regretfully, Don't Stop Believin' didn't make the cut, although at one time I was determined to make it the finish-line anthem.

1. Life in Technicolor II- Coldplay
2. Dashboard- Modest Mouse
3. Too Little Too Late- BNL
4. E-Pro- Beck
5. Falling For the First Time- BNL
6. Radio Nowhere- Bruce Springsteen
7. Viva la Vida- Coldplay
8. Somebody Told Me- The Killers
9. Gone Daddy Gone- Gnarls Barkley
10. Invisible Touch- Genesis *
11. Amsterdam- Guster
12. Mr. Brightside- The Killers
13. Girl- Beck
14. Don't You Evah- Spoon
15. Heavy Metal Drummer- Wilco
16. Just Like Heaven- The Cure

It's more music than I need, but I couldn't bear to part with some of these. Maybe I should run longer distances.

*There should be no need to explain or apologize for music, but I'd like to state for the record that this is the ONLY Phil Collins song that I like.

Low-Carbery On Hiatus

It is hard to maintain a low-carb philosophy when the house is always full of potatoes, carrots, and corn. But I am trying my best to reserve white flour and white sugar for special occasions. Maybe this winter I will reform.

Today's CSA delivery:

Corn: Seven ears! I am thinking more seriously about canning some corn relish. I have gone so far as to draft a shopping list for the project.

Carrots: a giant bag.

Green beans: a small bag. I may try roasting them.

Summer squash: One yellow squash and one huge patty pan--cream-colored with neatly scalloped edges. More muffins, I think. Or maybe a ribbon salad.

Onions

Garlic

Potatoes: not russets, but similar in appearance.

Edamame in their fuzzy pods: I was so pleased! I like to make 3-bean salad with these. If I can't finish them this week, I will blanch and freeze them.

Tomato: One giant heirloom variety.

Sweet red pepper: will go into the corn relish.

Broccoli: I haven't forgotten that I had previously declared a plan for making broccoli pesto. I got some prompting from this recipe for double broccoli quinoa, conveniently appearing in my Google Reader this week. I already know that it will be fabulous, because it will be topped with avocado and feta cheese.

The Book Thief

I have just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

• I chose it because it had been recommended to me many, many times, by people whose opinions are generally trustworthy.
• At several points during the reading of The Book Thief I thought to myself, why does everyone love this book? I do not love it. I tried to put it down a few times. But I always came back.
• I did not love it until around the last 100 pages. Then everything fell into place and I embraced the current section and all the words that came before it.
• The thing that kept me coming back to it was not the plot. It wasn't the wondering about what's going to happen. It wasn't the predicting of the final secrets. For the most part, there were no secrets. I knew what was going to happen, but I was intensely interested in the steps by which the characters got there. I wanted to hang on to these people as long as I could.
• The setting is World War II. I wince a little to note that, because I am not a fan of war stories in general and WWII in particular, even though I've made my way through a stack of them over the years. But it's a different side of the story than most, and the narrator is certainly unique.
• I had so much dread within me that my jaw ached from clenching it while reading.
• The Book Thief reinforced my gratefulness to be living in the time and place that I do.
• The Book Thief forced me to visit a local farmers market (the Wednesday Hilldale one) on an emergency mission to buy apples.