Our Share

Beautiful Veggies

This week's veggie selection includes:

Kale (or Chard)- We like kale a *tiny* bit better than chard, so I went with the kale.
Beans- can't wait for the first fresh beans of the season. I snacked on a few raw as I was putting them away.
Beets (or Turnips)- a tough choice, but Susannah's love of beets won out.
Dill (or Cilantro)- I have cilantro in my garden, so this was an easy choice.
Tomatoes
Extra Tomatoes (or peppers or broccoli)- broccoli was all gone, and we don't care for peppers, so extra tomatoes it was! The tomatoes are so sweet and juicy, I've been eating a lot of them as I walk by.
Onions- had a few of the greens with some tomatoes as I was putting things away.
Scapes (bonus item!)- tried some BBQ's at Kylah's suggestion- delicious! Also used some in the turnip pasta as we didn't have any other forms of garlic in the house. They worked out quite nicely.
Potatoes (or Carrots)- I actually chose the carrots but they were gone. It was a tough choice though, so I'm quite happy with the potatoes- planning to do roasted potatoes with dill.
Zucchini- my fav! Not sure what we'll do with it yet, but it will be delicious!

As you can tell, I must have been hungry as I was putting the veggies away. I had a nice little fresh veggie snack of green beans, tomatoes, dill, and onion greens! I also had the last handful of peas from last week. Despite the drought conditions, the vegetables we're receiving have been outstanding. Kudos to Rainbow Heritage Garden for all of their hard work in continuing to deliver such amazing produce.

Beets!

Tonight we had our lovely beets, and I tried a new recipe. Although I always enjoy beets, this recipe took them to a new level.

This recipe is called "Whole Beet Skillet" from the cookbook "Simply In Season", a cookbook of recipes designed for seasonal eating. I found this recipe in the Winter section, although it sure does not feel wintery right now! (All the beet recipes are in the winter section, probably because beets store well).

Delicious Beets

Whole Beet Skillet

4-6 medium-sized beets, including greens

1-2T lemon juice
1-2t honey

1-2t fresh grated ginger root (or 1/4t ground ginger)

Remove greens, and place beet roots in saucepan of water. Cook until tender (15-30min depending on size). Remove skin, and cut into slices.

Chop stems in 1" pieces. Also chop greens, but keep separate. Saute stems in 1-2T butter until tender. Add greens and saute until tender. Add beets back into pan. 

Stir in lemon juice, honey, and ginger. Serve immediately.

Although we didn't have fresh lemon juice or ginger, the recipe still came out delicious. I like beets, but have never loved the greens. The flavour of the glaze really came through on the greens, and just lightly flavoured the beet slices. I think the greens were my favourite part! These beets disappeared very quickly- we all enjoyed them.

Our Meals This Week

In an effort to keep track of some of the delicious ways I am using our veggies, here is a visual summary of what we've been eating this week.

Fusili Pasta and Turkey Meatballs with
Rainbow Chard, Mushrooms, and Onions in Tomato Sauce.

Susannah trying some Rainbow Chard
so that she can get more noodles.

Delicious lunch that I've had several variations of:
toast with mayo, turkey bacon, and tomato.
Peas and carrots on the side.

Scrambled Egg dish containing arugula, mushrooms, onions, and young garlic. (and eggs and cheese!)

"Turnip Two Ways"
(this picture shows it with parmesan, but this week we used feta)

One lone Zucchini Stick!

Also this week we've cooked out beets (which were beautiful, and I wish I'd taken a picture!), sauteed our kale, and eaten our salad mix. We've done really well, although we still have a few veggies left from last week (beets, turnips, and scapes) and a few peas and one or two tomatoes from this week. But we're making up for lost time, and winning.

Zucchini Season!!

This week we welcomed our first share of zucchini. We LOVE zucchini. It is so versatile, and there are so many ways we enjoy it. In a stir fry, marinated and BBQ'd on a skewer, in a pasta sauce or dish, in veggie lasagna, in a casserole (many different options here!), or as zucchini sticks, zucchini fritters, zucchini muffins, chocolate zucchini loaf... the list of possibilities goes on and on. I am not sure I ever got tired of receiving zucchini in my share last year, although the supply was certainly plentiful. So this week, with our very first share, what were we going to pick? After several discussions about how to prepare our very first zucchini of the season, we agreed on zucchini sticks. They are probably one of our very favourites!

Zucchini Sticks (Adapted from www.acozykitchen.com)

Zucchini, cut in strips

beaten egg with a little water added to thin it out (about 1t per egg)

1c panko bread crumbs

1/4-1/2c grated parmesan cheese

1/8t dried oregano

1/4t garlic powder

1/8t sea salt

a pinch of pepper

Dip zucchini strips into egg wash, then into coating mixture. Place on silicone or parchment paper lined tray. Bake at 425*F for 15-20minutes, turning half way through. They are done when the zucchini is soft, and they are starting to turn golden brown. Enjoy!

Notes: This will cover about 3 zucchini of the size you see in the grocery store and makes 2 cookie sheet's worth of sticks. I usually start off with just one egg, and sometimes need to add a second part way through to have enough to dip all the zucchini. As with all breading, try to keep one hand doing the egg dipping and placing into the crumbs, and the other covering in crumbs and placing on the pan. Try not to handle the zucchini any more than necessary especially once dipped in the coating. :)

We love to eat these with some garlic mayo- mix mayo with minced fresh garlic... as much as you dare! And you know they have to be delicious because although I always have great intentions to take a picture, we gobble them all up before I remember!

Arugula

We finally managed to use the arugula from our very first basket of the season (about time, I know) inspired by a helpful blog comment by lindz660. We made an egg dish of some sort with the sauteed arugula along with some onions, mushrooms, and the young garlic. Yes, my husband used the whole head in one dish! It's so mild though that it was not overpowering at all. Plus this family LOVES garlic.

What would you call it? We just called it "supper" :)

We sauteed the arugula stems, onions, and mushrooms in a bit of butter until softened, and added the garlic and arugula leaves. Once wilted, we added in some beaten eggs and covered until the eggs were set. We also melted some cheese on top, because we seem to be incapable of eating eggs without cheese (and ketchup!) It was a delicious meal that we all enjoyed and I can finally say I've found a way to enjoy arugula. Thanks lindz660!

Last Week/This Week

Well, last week was a rather busy week for us, as my parents were visiting, and we transitioned Susannah to her "big girl bed". We ended up eating several meals out, and did a rather poor job of getting through our veggies. (Don't worry, they are keeping well in the fridge!) We did eat up the lettuces and most of the peas, as well as the turnips. I also did not get any blogs posted... sorry! We did the "turnip two ways" again, and had feta this time- yummy!


This week I completely forgot to take a picture of the veggies. In fact, I almost forgot the veggies! I was bringing in a bunch of things from the car and set the veggies down when I opened the door. Apparently I forgot to pick them up again! I did look for them about 10-15 minutes later, and found them outside... oops! Fortunately they escaped unharmed, and I did get them in the fridge right away.

Here is a cute pic of Susannah instead of veggies :)

We had LOTS of choices this time around, and while most were easy, I am never good at quick decisions so I was glad we had warning.

This week our share consisted of:
Peas- yummy! took some in my lunch today and they were so fresh and delicious
Young Garlic- so ready for fresh garlic! the winter is just too long
Zucchini- woohoo! zucchini season is beginning. we love zucchini... it's so versatile
Beets (or spinach)- Susannah LOVES beets so this was an easy one
Turnips (or radishes)- tough choice, but the turnips came with greens, the radishes didn't
Kale (or chard)- still had last week's chard, so went with kale; otherwise a tough choice too
Tomatoes (or peppers)- easy one, we don't care for pepper

This week I am looking forward to the tomatoes on a juicy toasted tomato and bacon sandwich, the zucchini in whatever we decide to cook up, and the peas. Well, I am looking forward to ALL the veggies, but those are what particularly tempt me at the moment.

Turnip Two Ways Returns

Tonight for dinner I prepared one of my favourite (to date) CSA recipe discoveries- Turnip Two Ways. Last year, when we first received hakurei turnips in our basket, Kylah had posted a link to this recipe as one idea for how to use them. Since I'd never seen or even heard of a hakurei turnip, I decided to take a chance on this recipe. And I'm so glad I did! We enjoyed it several times throughout the season last year.

Delicious "Turnip Two Ways" pasta dish.

All winter and spring I have been looking forward to this delicious pasta dish, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I think this was the largest bunch of turnips I've ever prepared this with, and the first time I actually had green garlic on hand at the same time! My only (temporary) disappointment was realizing that I had only one very tiny chunk of feta left in my feta pail. Guess it's time for a new one!

One measly little chunk of feta.

Fortunately I had lots of fresh parmesan to grate in. (I think I may have gone a little overboard, but it was very delicious!) I highly recommend this recipe. Let me know if you try it. :)

Yummy!

Week #2

Week 2, and I'm once again excited at the prospect of new veggies. Our basket from last week is almost gone, and it's time to restock! The only items remaining are the arugula and some of the mint. I also have the hakurei turnips, but those I've been saving for supper tonight! I'm making "turnip two ways" with a bit of feta.

Beets, Hakurei Turnips, Salad Mix, Rainbow Chard, Scapes, Peas, and Romaine Lettuce.

This week there were two choices to make. The first one- chard or arugula, was a no-brainer for me. I'm not overly fond of arugula, and still have last week's left! The second choice was much more difficult- broccoli or beets. Susannah (who is two) LOVES both, but we've had some broccoli from the grocery store, and have not had beets in a long while, so beets it is. I think the item I am most excited about this week are the sugar peas! I remember them from last year, and they are so delicious and fresh! I feel as though I've just picked them out of the garden when I eat them.






When I bring my basket of veggies home, I like to think through and plan what I will do with them throughout the week. It helps me to figure out what sort of recipes I need to be searching for, and what veggies will be my "challenge" for the week. There's usually one or two items that I struggle to use. It also helps me to be more organized with my meal planning so that it's not 5:30pm and I'm hungry and whining that I don't know what to make for supper! We eat much better when I plan ahead.

So here's my summary for this week:
I love chard in pasta sauce, so that's where it will likely end up, probably with some homemade turkey meatballs. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with the beets yet. Maybe roasted, or just boiled, along with some sort of BBQ'd meat. The turnips will likely end up in another recreation of "turnip two ways" which we love. Or maybe I'll branch out and try one of the other delicious-looking turnip recipes- the glazed turnips sounded good to me too. The peas will just be munched on, and the salad mix and lettuce will be quick and easy salads. Scapes can go in any number of dishes, so I'm not too concerned about where I'll use them. And that's the week!

Rediscovering Radishes

Radishes are one veggie I've always thought I should like, but don't. They're so pretty, and crunchy... but often have quite a bite to them. I can handle them in a radish sandwich, and can tolerate them in a salad. But they're one veggie I haven't really enjoyed- until now.

As with other veggies from our CSA basket, I've once again discovered a different way to present something I previously did not enjoy, in a way that I now love. Tonight it was roasted radishes. No longer will I dread getting radishes in my CSA share, not knowing what to do with them but not wanting them to go to waste. I now have an excellent way to eat them- which even includes the greens!

Our delicious dinner.

Our dinner tonight consisted of BBQ chicken breast, sauteed kale, and roasted radishes in browned butter and lemon. The presentation on my plate is not as appealing as it could have been- the greens got fairly wilted as I waited for the chicken to be ready, and the radishes were fairly soft so some of them got squished. However, the flavour was amazing. There was just enough butter on the soft sweet radishes, and the lemon flavour really came through in the greens giving them a nice zing. They were also very pretty- I left a wee bit of the stems on each radish, and the colour was more noticeable once the radishes were roasted. We will definitely be enjoying this side dish again, although I plan to decrease the roasting time by a few minutes.

New Season

It's a new season of CSA, and we're once again participating with Rainbow Heritage Garden in their weekly CSA program. Last year we had a wonderful experience, and I am looking forward to it again! It was such a pleasure to go and pick up our first "haul" of the season. After a looooong winter of minimal truly fresh produce, and a long springtime of waiting, we are more than ready to dive into these beautiful fresh local veggies! (we did start going to the farmer's market a few weeks ago, and have had a little fresh produce from there, but getting the basket weekly is even better!!)

Hakurei turnips, easter egg radishes, scapes, arugula, mint, spring salad mix, dinosaur kale, and spinach!

I am very excited about the prospects of what we can make with these veggies! The hakurei turnips will be made into "turnip two ways", and the spinach and some of the scapes will likely turn into spinach and cheese casserole. I want to try either roasting or sauteeing the radishes- something I wanted to try last season but never did. The salad mix has already been enjoyed several times, although there's still a little left! I'm not sure what to do with the arugula. I find it too spicy-strong on its own, although in a salad mix it's ok. Suggestions welcome! :) The kale will probably find its way into a frying pan with a little butter and maybe some cabbage. And the mint will be made into tea and/or muddled with some limeade... refreshing!

We also enjoyed the annual farm potluck last Saturday. (There was also a tour, but our munchkin was napping.) It was lovely to be able to visit the farm, and chat with others who also love and appreciate fresh local produce. And we always love to talk with the people who grow our food. We saw Zach and Kylah (the farm owners) as well as some of their interns for the season. There is so much going on at the farm. In addition to the amazing food, there was a kids craft table that Susannah enjoyed.

Making some veggie prints with mom.

Some of the art supplies- sweet potato, apple, potato, broccoli.
There were also carrots and celery. The celery made pretty roses!

So proud of her veggie print painting!
Also note her appropriate attire- rainbow dress!

This season of CSA seems to be off to a great start! Can't wait to get cooking, and see what else the season brings!

Christmas!

Ok, so it's not quite Christmas yet, but it sure felt like it, opening our boxes of fresh produce on Saturday. After our weekly CSA ended last month, we were really feeling the loss of our fresh local organic veggies. Grocery stores just don't have the same variety of organic produce that we can find locally. (what irony!) We decided to join the Ottawa Valley Food Co-op to continue our consumption of local food, and our investment in our local economy.

beautiful veggie haul

 When placing our first OVFC order, I was very excited to see that RHG, our CSA farm, was offering "baskets" through the co-op (as well as individual items). Since OVFC only comes once a month, we ordered the large basket! We received 2 cardboard boxes and one plastic grocery bag FULL of produce. Opening the boxes was so much fun- finding the bunches of kale and green onions, heads of cabbage, bags of potatoes, red, yellow, and tropea onions, and garlic, fresh spinach, several varieties of squash, and gigantic carrots! I'm very excited to see what we create with this bounty.

Apples! Susannah loves apples, so I also ordered some of those from RHG. Here is Susannah enjoying her apple.

It's Veggie Day! It's Veggie Day!

When I got home from picking up our share, it was dinner time, and I couldn't find the camera. So the veggies got tucked away in the fridge without a photo session.

In our wonderful share this week we received:


green and yellow zucchini (I love the two-tone look!)
broccoli (Susannah was loving on the broccoli as I was picking up the rest of my share- it's her favourite!)
green onions
garlic
red head lettuce
bag of "oriental mix" (mixed greens for salad or saute)
beets
cherry tomatoes (I love these! they are so cute and pretty, they look like jewels, or marbles)
2 (small) yellow watermelons

These watermelons really are amazing, and I think they just keep getting sweeter! I know our 2nd one seemed sweeter than the first. While we were at the farm, Kylah cut up a melon that had split, and it was just as good as the others we've had. Susannah enjoyed several slices, as did I (and everyone else who was picking up their veggies at the time). Kylah commented that the melons are so good they're exploding with flavour and goodness! I think that is true of all the produce we receive from the farm!

I am not sure what all I'll come up with for meals this week. Tonight we had Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili which was very tasty. It didn't have many of our CSA veggies in it (just onion and garlic), but the black beans were from a previous CSA we were part of. The only changes I made to the recipe were I omitted the peppers, and added a bit of chipotle powder, and a bit of honey (I always do when I'm cooking with tomatoes- it takes some of the acidity away). I suppose I also used dried beans (not canned) but I soaked and cooked them before adding, so they were in pretty much the same state. It cooked up real nice in the crockpot, and was ready when we arrived home from our farm adventure. We had it with bread and garlic butter (made with fresh CSA garlic!) and it was a wonderful, hearty meal.

Another project of mine today was a "thank you" gift for our sitter. I used the chocolate zucchini loaf recipe, except made cupcakes out of it. I also made them just plain chocolate, rather than adding other flavourings (mostly cuz I didn't have any on hand!) They turned out very nicely- one recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

One thing I particularly enjoy when cooking is to take an "old standby" meal, and veggie-fy it. Tonight, we had spaghetti and meatballs, but not just regular old pasta and meat.

delicious leftovers for lunch another day

I make up turkey meatballs and freeze them (cooked), so that they are available when we need a quick meal. We use whole grain pastas, and store-bought sauce (gasp!) so it really is a fast meal to throw together. Tonight I added a bunch of rainbow chard to the pasta water just before the pasta was cooked. Then I added "Florentine Spinach and Cheese" pasta sauce (although any kind would do), and some fresh garlic. I also made roasted baby eggplants.

For the eggplant, I started off with this recipe, but only did the roasting part. We just scraped them out of their shells (with a grapefruit spoon) and ate them with our pasta. Because I did not really follow the recipe, below is what I did.

Roasted Baby Eggplants

Cut in half, brush with garlic olive oil (a clove of garlic crushed into maybe 1-2T of oil). Bake at 375*F for 15min. Remove from oven, brush with garlic olive oil again, and return to oven. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until they "look done". They should puff in the middle, and start to get caramelized areas. Sprinkle with salt, and serve. They were delicious- so creamy and smooth. 

Next time, I will salt them earlier, I think, but otherwise they were wonderful.

I greatly enjoyed this meal, and am very excited that I have leftovers for two more lunches.

Zucchini Fries

With all the zucchini we've been getting from our CSA share, we've had to get creative to keep from getting tired of it. I was just thinking today that zucchini is one of my favourite veggies, perhaps because it is SO versatile! It's great roasted, in a stir-fry, grilled on the BBQ, in a pasta sauce, made into fritters, in an omelet, and even baked in muffins and desserts. And I've heard it's good stuffed, but haven't tried that yet.

Tonight for dinner we tried zucchini fries, and they are a new favourite! The coating was perfectly crispy, while the insides were deliciously juicy. And I made some garlic mayo to go with them, which was the perfect creamy accompaniment.

Susannah enjoying her zucchini fries

I used panko breadcrumbs, which I think helped to make them even crispier. I also went very easy on the red pepper flakes, as Susannah and I don't like a lot of heat. Next time, I would add some garlic powder to the breadcrumb mixture, and maybe a little more oregano. Or something. They seemed like they could use a little more flavour, although with the mayo it wasn't noticeable.

all that was left when I remembered to take a picture

I meant to take a picture of them, but we inhaled the first tray, and the second tray disappeared almost as fast. Susannah absolutely loved them- I think she ate at least 10 "fries" which is almost one (small) zucchini's worth! It was hard to know which she loved more though, the fries or the garlic mayo.

playing around

Suggested with the zucchini fries recipe is a roasted garlic aioli, and while I do love garlic, I'm not crazy about it roasted. Plus, I did not have time to roast a head of garlic today. But I did want a dipping sauce for the fries (who doesn't!) so I threw together the easiest dip ever. Garlic mayo. Not that it really needs a recipe, but I know there are some people out there (my mom) who prefer to use a recipe for everything. And I mean everything.

Garlic Mayo
1c mayo
4 cloves garlic 

a sprinkle of pepper 

Press garlic through garlic press. Mix with mayo. Sprinkle with pepper and mix again. Serve.

wow it's been a long time...

Sorry for the long hiatus! It's been some busy times around here and I've forgotten to blog. But I'm back now, hopefully with some regularity.

This week, our beautiful share included:
- potatoes
- carrots (2 bunches!)
- zucchini
- tomatoes
- head of lettuce
- rainbow chard
- onions
- garlic
- apples
- watermelon

beautiful fruits and veggies

I have to say, we still have a lot of last week's veggies sitting around. We had a busy week, and neither of us felt much like cooking. I am hoping we get back in our cooking groove soon!

We did do some zucchini and onion on skewers (with chicken too), and I made tzatziki again. I made the chocolate zucchini loaf, and this time used orange zest and flavouring, which turned out very well (although I do really like the cardamom and coffee, too). And we had lots of the cherry tomatoes and carrots just raw as snacks. We used some of the chard for a salad, combined with some extra lettuce a friend dropped off. And the amazing watermelon- so delicious! I think I've discovered my new favourite fruit, and I'm so glad we got another one this week. Susannah has been enjoying the watermelon too. I meant to get a picture of her, but one of her favourite things to do is to feed me watermelon, which results in both of us being a sticky mess, and is not very conducive to picture taking. But she is certainly enjoying it.




How quickly the times change
At work yesterday, a co-worker looked at my yellow watermelon cubes, and said with a confused look on her face "what's that, pineapple?" "Watermelon" I replied. She asked, "what are those?" directing her gaze to the pile of seeds I had. "Seeds" I replied, thinking it was rather obvious. "What kind?" she asked, even more confused. "From the watermelon" I said, and it finally seemed to click for her. (And this is not someone who is too young to know a seeded watermelon!) I am always surprised when people are "shocked" at the appearance of my purple carrots, yellow seeded watermelon, purple tomatoes. Was it really so long ago that these fruits and vegetables were considered usual or normal? I am so glad I am able to introduce Susannah to the beauty of different varieties of foods. I'm excited to teach her that a purple carrot is just as good as an orange one, or that a yellow watermelon can be even sweeter than a pink one.


Tonight for supper we had turkey tacos, and used some lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Yum.

Half Way

I can't hardly believe we are half way through our beautiful veggie shares. Half way! We have been thoroughly enjoying our veggies, and it has become so much a part of our lifestyle to get our produce from the farm on Wednesdays.

But there are still half the veggies left- we still have half of the veggies to come. Thinking back on how many veggies we have enjoyed already, I know there are still lots more to come. And some of my favourite veggies are fall veggies- squashes and pumpkins and sweet potatoes... roasting them in the oven, making soups, just baking them. Plus all of the new veggie varieties I'm sure we'll discover.

This week, our share consisted of:
Yellow Carrots
Broccoli
Red Potatoes
Yellow and Orange Tomatoes
Red Onions
Purple Garlic
LOTS of Green and Yellow Zucchini
LOTS of Cucumbers
Parsley

This Week's Veggie Haul

So while nothing jumps out as a defined meal, these veggies are all very versatile and can be incorporated into many "regular" meals.

I do want to repeat some recipes from previous weeks, including the chocolate zucchini loaf (going to try with orange instead of coffee), tzatziki with the cucumbers and garlic (to serve with chicken souvlaki), and bacon and tomato sandwiches.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ok. You NEED to try this! This is one of the best recipes I have come across in a long time- it is fabulous!

A beautiful moist loaf of the tastiest, chocolatey-ist, most delicious dessert ever. It is equally good eaten by itself, or with some vanilla ice cream.

If you are not drooling yet.... here is a picture.

It is similar to a giant brownie!

I used the recipe found here, and followed it pretty much exactly, but omitted the nuts and used instant coffee instead of instant espresso, since that's what I had. I made a double batch, and even so I had 2c of shredded zucchini I put in the freezer. And that's just from ONE of the "medium-sized" zucchini!

The changes I would make next time include:
- lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (the loaf stuck a bit to the bottom and had some "craters")
- use half applesauce instead of "all that oil"
- leave out the coffee and cardamom, and try some orange zest (my husband is not a coffee fan)

I think a good quality cocoa powder is essential to the success of this recipe. I highly recommend the "ruddy red" cocoa powder (from the bulk barn). I have used it many times, and find it superior in taste and quality.

In other news... for dinner tonight we are having chicken skewers. The chicken has been marinating in a teriyaki marinade, and we will add zucchini, onions, and mushrooms to those, and serve with rice.

We've been eating the peas fresh, and also in stirfries, and have enjoyed the cherry tomatoes fresh, and also cut up in sandwiches with turkey bacon. Mmm... yummy.

slow week

It's been a rather slow week on the cooking front! We've been busy and away from home a few evenings, so cooking has not been happening.

Hopefully this weekend we'll get a few veggie-rific meals in. We've been using small portions of our veggies though- some peas and cherry tomatoes for lunches, some fresh herbs in omelets, green onion in chicken salad (and actually the tzatziki I made went in there too- delicious!), roasted potatoes and fresh purple, green and yellow beans with BBQ chicken.

I'm thinking a zucchini and broccoli stir fry, maybe with some kale too. And chocolate zucchini loaf- can't wait to make that.

Today though, is applesauce again. I found another 1/2 bushel of harvest apples at the Pembroke Farmer's Market today... they just can't wait to turn into applesauce.

more veggies!

Today our share included:

LOTS of zucchini
a large head of broccoli
red potatoes
purple, red, and yellow cherry tomatoes
a bunch of dill
red and white onions
dinosaur kale
purple, yellow, and green beans
sugar peas

A delicious-sounding list- we seemed to have a red/purple theme going.

It's been a busy week, and I've not put much thought into potential menu items. I know I do want to try the chocolate zucchini loaf, and tomorrow we're having friends for dinner and will be having BBQ chicken breasts, and doing dilly-garlic potatoes in the oven, and serving fresh beans with it. (And there will be apple crisp for dessert- yum!)

Some of the zucchini will likely end up on skewers on the BBQ, and the cherry tomatoes will likely get eaten as snacks. The rest... I am not sure yet.

tzatziki

When I saw we were getting cucumbers in our share this week, I knew exactly what i wanted to do with them- make tzatziki. I've wanted to try making it, cuz it's such a healthy dip and seemed like it should be easy to make. And it's delicious.

I started off with this tzatziki recipe and made my own variations based on what I had on hand. Most recipes call for mint and dill, but I only had dill on hand, so I omitted the mint. (I have seen some recipes that don't include mint too).

Tzatziki

I used 2c of "Astro Balkan-style" plain yogurt, since that is the yogurt we buy most of the time. I also did not drain it overnight, since it is a thicker yogurt to begin with, and I didn't have that much time! Since it's best to allow the tzatziki to sit overnight so the flavours combine, and I wanted to serve it the next day, I let the yogurt drip a couple hours.

While I let my yogurt drain (in a jelly bag!) I peeled and grated my 4 little cucumbers, then put them in another jelly bag and wrung out as much juice as I could. I was surprised at the amount that came out. Then I minced up 3 large cloves of garlic, and a good handful of dill which I did not measure. I also added the juice of half a lemon, which I did not measure either. I don't often measure when I cook.

Smells like tzatziki

While I waited for my yogurt to drip, I combined the rest of the ingredients, and as it sat on my counter, the smell was amazing. It smelled just like tzatziki, and made me very excited to try it.

All mixed up

When I mixed it all up, it looked a lot more green than most tzatzikis I've seen, but that's alright with me. The initial taste test told me that letting it sit overnight was indeed the best choice, as the flavours need a chance to mingle. But it also told me my recipe was a success. (Next-morning taste test says: delicious, but if you are not a huge garlic fan, you may want to use less... a lot less!)

My plan for the tzatziki is to serve it with BBQ'd chicken skewers marinated in the PC Souvlaki marinade. There will also be zucchini, pepper, and onion skewers, to go along with the chicken. And it will be served with whole wheat Greek-style pitas.

I don't often plan a meal to this level of detail so far in advance, but this one has fallen together so well, and we have my parents visiting and having a set plan in advance means anyone can get started when they have a few minutes.