peacefrog's lilypad

Farm share season has begun! Actually, it began a couple of weeks ago but I've been too excited to get around to posted. Yay veggies!!! So many different sorts of nummy salads have happened and will continue to happen.

There is sauerkraut and kimchi in progress.

Week 1

• 2 heads Red Leaf Lettuce
• 2 head Romaine Lettuce
• 2 bunches Purple Scallions
• 2 heads Napa Cabbage
• 2 bunches Swiss Chard
• 2 bunches Fennel
• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 bunches Beets (with Greens)
  [I removed or trimmed the tops from the carrots, fennel, and scallions before weighing.]
  = 22#

Week 2

• 2 bunches Red Chard
• 2 bunches Pak Choi
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 2 heads Bibb Lettuce
• 2 bunches French Breakfast Radishes
• 2 bunches Chioggia Beets (with Greens)
• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 lbs Sugar Snap Peas
  =23#

• 2 bunches Beets (+greens)
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 2 bunches Mustard Greens
• 2 bunches Celery Root
• 2 bunches Leeks
• 2 Sugar Pumpkins
• 2 Butternut Squash
• 2 bunches Parsnips
  =34#

I could have sworn I posted this last week. I'm a doofus. And it's almost over. :(

I have a new batch of sauerkraut going and the other cabbage will probably make its way into soup because oh man, cabbage soup is awesome. Also made more butternut squash soup, and of course will have to do another celeriac soup because that was so f'in amazing. It's been a crazy week, though, so I haven't actually cooked that much, but most everything here keeps well, so that's okay.

Meanwhile, a picture of the kale chips I made last week: (Curly kale tends to be best for really holding the topping and looking cool, but honestly any kale turns out great. This was the Russian Red from last week's share.)

This month's food swap haul! More or less left to right:

• Cranberry Relish
• Orange Marmalade (more like nummy candied oranges)
• Cranberry Orange Granola
• Pancake Mix and Apple Cider Syrup
• Rosemary Maple Syrup Granola
• Gingered Carrot Chutney
• Pluot Jam
• Thyme Syrup
• "Peaches in the Night"

And as long as I'm posting, here's me at the press:

• 2 bunches Tuscan Kale
• 2 bunches Broccoli
• 2 bunches Parsnips
• 2 bunches Celery Root (with Celery)
• 2 bunches Mizuna
• 2 Sugar Pumpkins
• 2 Butternut Squash
• 10 St Nicks Peppers
• 20 Jalapeño Peppers
  =32#

I had a mizuna breakthrough this week! I decided I would bring it to a gathering last night (along with other stuff) since I figured just because it's not to my taste doesn't mean other people wouldn't enjoy it. So I looked around and found a slightly different preparation than what I'd done before, and the most amazing thing happened: I LIKED IT! So no more mizuna madness for me. Woohoo! My inspiration was this recipe, except I used bottled lemon juice and veggie fish sauce (and much less of it!)

Last week's tomatoes turned into an insanely great roasted tomato sauce (DD said it was probably the best he'd ever tasted), inspiring me to get a case of tomatoes this week to make more. These are all San Marzano whereas last week's were partly those and partly orange ones, so it'll be different, but hey.

It's definitely soup weather (and soup veggies!) so my plan is to start with some celery root soup, since the one we had at True Bistro a few weeks go was so good. Of course I have no idea what was in it, but I'll see what I can do. I'm thinking I'll make a big pot of veggie stock first, though, since the last of my frozen stash just went into a Leek and Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits on Sunday.

( Nummy Food Pic )

• 2 bunches Red Russian Kale
• 2 bunches Radishes
• 2 bunches Arugula
• 2 bunches Yellow Beets (+greens)
• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+greens)
• 2 bunches Leeks
• 10 Hungarian Hot Peppers
• 10 Bell Peppers
• 10 lbs Tomatoes(!!)
  =36.5#

In addition to this, I picked up a friend's share from another farm. All was acquired shortly before the start of Yom Kippur, which meant I actually spent the first part of my fast cooking because that was the only way it was all going to fit into the fridge. I made sauteed turnip greens with garlic and also mashed turnip (which always seems to cook the way you can get two very different veggie "sides" from the one veg :), froze the beet greens for smoothies, and finished freezing the wax beans from last week. (Brought the turnips to the shul's break-fast and they were hovered.)

Yesterday I made bruschetta for lunch then last night an awesome salad with lettuce (other share), sweet pepper, some of the earlier bruschetta+liquid, raisins, and sesame seeds. I have been rocking the impromptu salad this season. The big change has been mixing it all in a giant bowl with room for tossing rather just making a bowl for myself. I also made arugula pesto, which made me feel very bad about how much of the previous arugula we've gotten ended up rotting before we could finish it. The pesto is so easy and so delicious.

I'm thinking potato (other share) leek soup is in order, and I need to freeze most of the peppers for later use. Last week's tomatoes turned into roasted tomato sauce which was used in eggplant pram (more of an eggplant lasagna, really, and so amazingly good!)

Occasionally I wonder if it might be a good idea to ditch the share and just go the farmers market route so as to not be quite as overwhelmed with all the veggies on one day, but I eat so much better during share season, I know giving it up would be a bad idea. And only a few more weeks left... Not looking forward to winter.

Oops, forgot to post this last week.

• 12 ears Corn
• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+greens)
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 2 lbs Zucchini
• 2 bunches Mizuna
• 6 Bell Peppers
• 2 Eggplant
• 6 lbs Tomatoes
  =38#

I also picked up a friend's share from a different farm, traded some of what I got with someone else from a third farm, and between everything was a bit overwhelmed. But the total variety was amazing and I cooked a ton of Indian food this week (thank you Manjula!) including one night of chola (chana masala) with spinach, aloo masala with cabbage, green beans and peas (subji), and baingan bharta. Then the next night there were leftovers of the latter two along with new batches of the first two (except with chard), as well as rava dosa. Nom nom nom.

The weekend before that was (among other things) the Jimmy Fund Walk (which was great and perhaps next year I'll be more on the ball about making a team ) and another food swap. This time I brought corn salsa and cranberry sauce as well as more strawberry balsamic jam. I came home with (picture behind the cut) chocolate cherry peanut butter, peach crystalized ginger jam, pumpkin butter, boba's granola (and more of it behind), green tomato and husk cherry chutney, preserved lemons, whole grain mustard, and raspberry jam.

( A fuzzy picture of jars )

• 24 ears Corn
• 2 bunches Radishes
• 2 heads Broccoli
• 6 small Zucchini
• 2 bunches Mustard Greens
• 2 bunches Arugula
• 6 lbs Tomatoes
• 2 bags Baby Salad Greens
  =42#

This week I had to pick up by car because that's just too much to lug. Worked out, though, since a neighbor wanted me to pick up a box of tomatoes and kept Tadpole company while I did that. Yay for serendipity!

Last night, I canned ten jars of corn salsa. Good stuff, and I have the ingredients for another batch. Well, almost -- I need to get more apple cider vinegar and I think jars. Every year, I have fewer jars because of all the gifting and swapping, but I forget that I need to buy more because when there are empties around it always *seems* like so many.

And I am a mere $47.50 from my fundraising minimum. Want me to stop mentioning it? Donate Here! :)

In the interest of full disclosure, I feel I should mention that due to foot issues (plantar fasciitis that I'm trying to reign in), there is no way I can safely do the full Walk. They offer alternate starting points, so I have decided to do the five-mile route, which also means Tadpole and DD may be able to join me, which is awesome. I still feel strongly about doing it, and Zoe's dad is sending me a Team Zoe t-shirt for me to wear that day. It also happens that it will be the day before Zoe's "tipping point". Do not follow that link unless you're in a place where it's okay to tear up.

• 12 ears Corn
• 10 Hungarian Hot Peppers
• 4 Eggplants
• 2 lbs Zucchini
• 2 lbs Potatoes
• 4 lbs Peaches
• 6 lbs Tomatoes
• 10 St Nick Peppers
  =36#

I made another big batch of roasted eggplant & tomato sauce (which, btw, was AMAZING on pizza). Last week I also did some canning: summer squash relish and ginger bourbon peaches. The syrup from the peaches has been making amazing sodas since then. Nomnomnom. The blueberry shrub I made (using the whole berry, no straining, yay!) is also f'in yum.

In other food news, I also made chocolate syrup (as well as cookie-pi) for Pi-Con. As you may know, making chocolate syrup is absurdly simple and the result is so good. Give it a try.

And since I've been so slackful about posting and haven't mentioned the food swap, I'll mention it here. I went to a fabulous food swap! I traded away assorted homemade goodies of mine for those made by others.

More or less left-to-right, I got sourdough starter, sourdough bread, red currant shrub, fennel & onion jam, sweet pickles cherries, tamarind balls, ginger tamarind balls, "creamsicle" (aka orange-vanilla) syrup, bagels, and blueberry hot sauce. Everything I brought was over-subscribed, which was also a nice feeling. I can't wait to do this again. Meanwhile, if anyone who does their own food things (doesn't have to be canned -- fresh, frozen, whatever is fine, too) wants to do any private swaps, let me know.

( Picture behind the cut )

This is last week's, as I just realized I never posted it.

• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+greens)
• 2 bunches Red Onions
• 2 bunches Basil
• 2 bunches Raab
• 2 bunches Beets (+green)
• 2 lbs Zucchini
• 2 lbs Potatoes
• 4 lbs Peaches
  =23#

• 2 bunches Basil
• 6 Cucumbers (of unusual size)
• 2 bunches Beets (+greens)
• 2 bunches Red Spring Onions
• 2 heads Cabbage
• 2 bunches Mizuna
• 2 lbs New Red Potatoes
• 2 lbs Summer Squash
  =26#

For the record, this is what my farmer calls a disappointing share. No, I don't know, either. But he says he'll make it up to us with peaches next week, so I'm not gonna argue. I think he feels guilty that tomatoes aren't in yet.

Yesterday's mini flurry of prep included kale spa day (aka massaged kale salad *eyeroll*) which included last week's kale and some of this week's red onions, vindaloo curry, which included last week's cauliflower and this week's potatoes, and washed&froze beet greens for breakfast smoothies.

An appealing (to me) preparation of mizuna continues to elude me, however, and rather than experiment with these lovely bunches, I would be happy to trade them for something else. Anyone interested? It's pretty and a delicacy, but apparently not to my tastes just yet.

Monday night, I made the traditional night-before-farmshare OMG-use-up-last-week's-share meal: braised purple cauliflower and carrots with fava beans, beet greens, and caramelized fennel. (Served over brown rice.) It was so good! Especially so given that I went into it with no plan other than to use up the veggies in question. And I came up with a fennel preparation I really like, so extra win.

More yummies this week:

• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 lbs Fava Beans
• 2 bunches Beets (+greens)
• 2 bunches Cipollini Spring Onions
• 2 bunches Broccoli
• 2 bunches Basil
• 2 lbs Green Beans
• 2 bunches Bok Choy
  =22#

Must make some of Manjula's string beans!

• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+Greens)
• 2 bunches Yellow Carrots
• 2 bunches Yellow Chard
• 1 lb Sugar Snap Peas
• 2 bunches Collards
• 2 bunches Kohlrabi (+Greens)
• 2 bunches Broccoli
• 2 bunches Beets (+Greens)
  =23#

Eagle-eyed readers will observe that up there are 10 sets of greens. Phew! Last night I used the chard in a slightly modified recipe from preraphaelite which was yummy. Planning on beet/carrot/kohlrabi shredded salad (as described here. Yay veggies!

• 2 bunches Cilantro
• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (with hefty greens)
• 2 bunches Baby Carrots
• 2 bunches Baby Bok Choy (8 heads total)
• 2 heads Red Leaf Lettuce
• 2 bunches Pea Tendrils
• 2 bunches Chard
• 2 bunches Arugula
  =??#

D'oh, forgot to weigh it! Ah well. It's a lot, anyway! Last night, I made awesome mashed turnips and a very nice carrot-bokchoy slaw (also used stuff from ceelove's garden). Tonight will also be salad (of course) and I plan to grill the remaining bok choy as well as some asparagus we have from a few days ago. As always, feel free to make an offer if you see something you'd prefer to something you got in your own share. (I may not accept, but I'm open to being asked.) And on that note, does anyone want cilantro?

Zoe's funeral is Saturday but unfortunately we can't make it there. There will be balloon launches there as well as various other places in her memory. We will be doing one at noon at Lexington Park. Everyone is welcome to join us. Arrive a little bit before then, since we plan to launch at exactly noon.

If you want to participate, attach a note (in a zip-top baggie) to your balloon that includes the URL of Zoe's web site ( http://www.teamzoecancersucks.com ).

With obligatory cuteness...



See ya on the flip side! Have a great night and weekend and further. :)

Winter is coming.

Ah, the late-season veggies. And second-to-last week. Blah. The farmers market will continue for another month, anyway, and then there will be the winter market, but still, winter.

Last week I made mashed turnips as well as sauteed turnip greens, which worked rather nicely on a plate together with some quick gravy. There will more of the former soon, but alas, no greens this week. Still have some leftover marinated kale anyway, and I hope to get more to do at the FM today.

Now might be a good time to make some pot pies to freeze. And the squash situation is like whoa. There should be soup asap.

• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 lbs Turnips
• 2 lbs Beans
• 4 lbs Potatoes
• 2 Butternut Squash
• 2 Buttercup Squash
• 8 lbs Golden Delicious Apples
  =~37#

Again, I thought I posted this the day after I posted 16, but clearly I didn't, and this explains why nobody responded to the veggie offer. (Now removed since they've been eaten.)

Turnip greens sautéed with garlic, more bruschetta with the remaining non-cherry tomatoes. I really need to work on apples. Big bag of dried apples! (Though actually I still have plenty more to work on.)

• 8 ears Corn
• 2 pints Cherry Tomatoes
• 2 bunches Raab
• 2 bunches Turnips (+greens)
• 2 bunches Cilantro
• 2 Sugar Pumpkins
• 2 lbs Green Tomatoes
• 8 lbs Apples
  =~35#

And so there was more pot pie and more bruschetta and of course straight-up amazingly delicious corn. Also mashed turnips with carrots. No soup yet, but soon. Most of us are sick right now which sucks big time, and today's big project is trying to deal with a flat tire.

• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+greens)
• 8 ears Corn
• 2 pints Cherry Tomatoes
• 4 lbs (Red) Tomatoes
• 2 lbs Potatoes
• 2 bunches Parsnips
• 2 bunches Celery Root (+tops (i.e., "celery"))
  =30.2#

That's actually *this week*. Woo!

• 4 lbs Tomatoes
• 2 lbs Potatoes
• 2 bunch Bok Choy
• 2 bunches Japanese Turnips (+greens)
• 4 Cousa Squash
• 6 Poblano peppers
• 2 bunches Carrots
• 2 Eggplant
  =24.4#

All the book choy plus some of the turnips and carrots are currently fermenting into kimchi. Got some pears from a friend's tree frozen.

Need to get more olives to make a ton of caponata. Also gotta get more stuff into the dehydrator and probably freeze most of the poblanos, but it's so hard to get things done. If anyone wants to come over sometime today, lemme know.

(Anyone need boxes, btw? We have a ton.)

I had a few minutes of time to kill on Highland and Central and was a little hungry so popped into Roast Beef and Pizza King (it was right there) to get some fries. They turned out to be the type that are all coated with crap to make them stay crunchy even when cold, but these were bad even given that. I ate a few, tried adding salt, ate a few more, and decided it just wasn't worth it.

If you know my relationship with french fries, you know that's really saying a lot.

But they were weird and greasy and gross and didn't even taste like potato. There were cups stacked by the silverware so I took one to get some water, but realized there was no water out, so I asked for a fill at the counter. The guy told me he couldn't give me water. I told him I just needed a couple of sips because I didn't like the fries and couldn't eat them, pointing to the mostly-full plate at the table. He said he couldn't give me water but offered to pack the remaining fries so I could take them home. I figured I must have been too subtle, so I said I didn't want to take them home, that I was going to throw them away because they were disgusting and I just wanted some water to wash away the taste. He said he couldn't give me water.

I shrugged, bussed my tray, threw away the food and left. Went about my business and two hours later, after a glass of water and two other drinks, I still have that nasty-ass taste in my mouth. Yuck.

(They did have bottled water for sale, but given that I only needed it because the food was so gross, I wasn't about to give them more money.)

I'm almost tempted to finally create a Yelp account just to post a negative review.

And once again, I'm way behind. :( This is last week.

• 4 lbs Tomatoes (yay!)
• 2 pints Cherry Tomatoes (once again I took 1 red, 1 sungold)
• 2 bunches Radishes (beowabbit?)
• 8 Poblano Peppers
• 6 Japanese Eggplant
• 6 Cousa Squash
• 6 Cucumbers
• 2 bunches Beets (+greens)
  =26.2#

Drying has finally begun in earnest! Did some of C's tomatoes and mm.. they're like candy. Right now a batch of cousa chip is finishing and I suspect they will be gone in short order. Must make more. More beet burgers happened too (with yet more to come), baingan bharta, and I also made some nummy Japanese-style cucumbers (of which there also needs to be more).

Yesterday we had a little jaunt to a friend's place to pick peaches, so that's going to have to be a project sometime this week. Oh, and I also did a batch of basil pesto this week of which some was eaten and the rest frozen.

And there has been lots and lots of fresh bruschetta:
1. Chop tomatoes, mince garlic
2. Mix with some salt and let sit a few minutes
3. Pour on a bunch of olive oil
4. Stir in chopped fresh basil
5. Serve on toasted baguette slices
*nomnomnom*