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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Preserving

Once again, I spent a Saturday acquiring fruit and tucking it away for winter.

Today I stopped in at the Pembroke Farmer's Market (needed more garlic for making pesto) and happened across someone selling harvest apples! I was so excited, as these are the apples my mom made applesauce with when I was a kid, and I've looked for them unsuccessfully for years. They are small, greenish-yellow in colour, and fairly soft and sweet- perfect for making applesauce. I got an approximate half-bushel, which produced 13 pints of applesauce. (I prefer pint jars)

Also on today's agenda was a trip to Hugli's Blueberry Ranch to do some blueberry picking. This was my first time ever picking blueberries, and I enjoyed it. Several other pickers commented on the lack of berries, but I thought the picking was good. It took a little effort, as many of the berries liked to hide within the branches, but I didn't mind. I was fortunate enough to be serenaded by a wedding happening on the grounds.

With some of the blueberries, I made my favourite kind of jam- Blueberry Lime Ginger jam. The basic recipe comes from the Bernardin home canning cookbook, although I've tweaked it a bit.

5c crushed blueberries

zest and juice of 1 large lime (or 2 small ones)

1T fresh grated ginger

1 pkg regular fruit pectin

5c sugar

Combine berries, lime zest and juice, and ginger in a large pot. Add pectin slowly, stirring to dissolve. Bring fruit to a rolling boil. Add sugar all at once and return to a rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Ladle into jars, and process for 10min in boiling water bath.

This time, it produced 8c of jam.


Our meals have not been too exciting lately. Wednesday we had burgers with broccoli. Thursday we had noodle stir fry with hoisin sauce, using broccoli, peas, onions, and chicken. Friday Susannah and I had grilled cheese with carrots (hers cooked, mine raw). Tonight we had turkey burgers with peas. Nothing real inspired, but all of it tasty. At least we've been managing to get our veggies in at each meal.

New Veggie Day

Wednesday has become my favourite day of the week, because we get to pick up our fresh veggies from the CSA farm.

Part of the enjoyment is meeting other CSA members and/or farmers. Today we met several others picking up their veggies and making their choices, and also had a lovely little visit with Kylah and Dayvah.

Today we had lots of choices to make, but we came home with:
Beets
Broccoli
Red Fingerling Potatoes
Peas
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Green Onions
Basil
Kale
Green and Purple Peppers

this week's veggies- can you find them all?

Some exciting things are in store this week. Broccoli is a favourite veggie, and we are very happy to see it make an appearance in our share. I want to try making kale chips again, and will hopefully not burn them this time. I want to try making tzatziki with the cucumbers. And my parents are coming to visit, so the peppers are for my mom!

the zucchini are so cute, Susannah loved playing with them

I think a stir-fry or two is in order this week. I want to make one again with vermicelli rice noodles and hoisin sauce. I'm thinking broccoli, green onions, some fresh basil, and maybe some peas?  (as I learned to my embarrassment today, the pods are edible... oops!)

Mommy, we can eat these!

And we want to try chicken and veggie skewers again, with the zucchini for sure, and likely some onions and fresh pineapple (from the store... alas, there are no pineapple trees at RHG).

little veggie thief

Tonight we had BBQ turkey burgers with broccoli. Yum! We all loved the broccoli.

Leftovers

Some weeks, it feels like all you're eating is leftovers. This has been one of those weeks for me. Now, don't get me wrong- I am very much enjoying what I'm eating, and I regularly eat a lot of supper leftovers for lunches at work. I guess I just feel like I haven't cooked much. Or maybe it's just that I've been busy. Because looking at the list, we've had mostly "new" meals

This week, we had several amazing meals on our menu:
- Borscht with fresh whole wheat rolls (thanks to my bread machine for a starring role in that meal)
- Grilled (local!) lamb chops with roasted garlic-dill potatoes and fresh beans
- Turnip two ways pasta (using whole spelt linguini, and feta cheese)
- Chicken kabobs (with onion and zucchini) with rice
- Homemade BBQ burgers x2 (once with fresh beans, once with salad)
- Chicken tacos (with lettuce and the beautiful cherry tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, and cheese)
- Chicken quesadillas (with lettuce and cherry tomatoes, etc.)

Also, tomorrow is "New Veggie Day" which means that anything left in my fridge becomes a leftover from the previous week. This week, we have a few carrots left, one green onion, and some chard. Otherwise, we actually ate up all our veggies! (Well, there are 2 containers of borscht in the freezer, and a meal of turnip two ways for my lunch at work, and a few extra potatoes in the fridge too.) I'm not worried about the carrots- I know they'll get eaten up, and the onion will easily get tossed into something. It's the chard that worries me! I can think of several ways I could use it, but because it's not something I'm familiar with, it gets put off in favour of meals that I know I love, and require less thinking to make. What I need is a recipe that gets me excited, that I just HAVE to make it.

Looking ahead to the list for tomorrow, there are lots of choices- some easy, some more difficult. However, I am trying not to focus on the list, as I'm sure there will be some changes by the time pick-up time rolls around. And we all know how I deal with the unexpected! But it looks like a great list- once again, I am excited to collect our veggies and start a new week of our tasty adventure.