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!