I'm slacking on my posts but for anyone who is interested last week we picked up...
1 bunch radishes (with greens)
1 bunch red russian kale
1 bunch swiss chard
2 bunches bok choy (love this stuff!)
1 bunch basil!
2 pounds cherries!
1 quart strawberries
I hate to say it but everything is still in our fridge except for the cherries/strawberries and some of the radishes...we were trying to catch up on the previous week's share...I have plans to make pesto with the basil and stick it in the freezer for later and probably saute/stir fry the bok choy, but I haven't a clue of what I'm doing with the other 3 bunches of greens! On top of that we still have a bunch of Komatsuna greens, some spinach and cilantro from the previous week. Oh boy, we're in for it. And we are always eating greens!
Today we picked up less leafy, cooking greens so that is GREAT!!! Here is what we got...
2 heads lettuce (they are green, not sure what they are called)
1 bunch scallions!!!
1 bunch bok choy
1 pound spinach
1 bunch dill
1 bunch radishes (with greens)
3.5 pounds assorted cherries
This week's share will basically be used for making salads and stir fry, so that will give us a chance to eat up our greens. I have a few recipes and ideas to share so stayed tuned this week!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Macaroni and Peas!
Since we had peas from the share, we made macaroni and peas! My mom used to make it a lot when I was a kid. It's a quick, easy and cheap dinner. It consists basically of canned peas, canned tomatoes and pasta (we like to use Ditalini). But since we had fresh peas, we used those! I have come to find that there are two versions: a red version (what my mom makes) and a white version (what my mom's neighbor makes). I found recipes for both versions on one of my favorite food blogs called My Italian Grandmother.
Red Macaroni and Peas
White Macaroni and Peas
We had the white version last week. It was really tasty. I added some cream to the "sauce" though to make it my own. I recommend trying both versions!
Red Macaroni and Peas
White Macaroni and Peas
We had the white version last week. It was really tasty. I added some cream to the "sauce" though to make it my own. I recommend trying both versions!
Tuscan Chicken Stew
This is one of those McCormick spice packets where they give you the dry spices and the recipe...it was pretty good, except I would make it on my own next time and add my own spices. It was a little too much in the spice department for us. Anyway the idea is good, chicken, spinach, onion, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, olive oil and spices.... Here is the link:
Tuscan Chicken Stew
Tuscan Chicken Stew
Eat Your Greens!
I really need to "catch up" and add some recipes to this blog. It's been so nice out lately that I haven't had a chance to write. But what I've realized is this blog actually helps me organize my ideas and plan my week in relation to what we are eating for dinner and what I am doing with all those greens!! I feel like we are up to our ears in greens!! As summer has officially started, I think we will see a subtle change in what we pick up (less greens/different veggies like tomatoes and zucchini-yum!). I love the greens, but sometimes you can only take so much and you have to hurry up and use them before they go bad.
Here are two ways to eat your greens:
Homemade Garlic Bread (with greens of course!)
It's simple, really. I get some nice french bread and cut it in half the long way. Slather on some butter and garlic (I like to use fresh minced garlic) on both sides of the bread. Add a nice layer of whatever cooked greens you like or want to use up on one side, and a nice layer of mozzarella cheese (you could also use provolone) on the other side. I also like to add some parmesan cheese as well. Put the two halves together, cover in foil and bake it about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. There is also another version on Native Offerings' blog called Baked Italian Sandwich with includes sausage and doesn't use butter so it is more of a sandwich than a garlic bread.
Baked Italian Sandwich
Homemade White Pizza
Take some pizza dough (we make our own dough) and spread it out onto a pan or baking dish. Spread some olive oil over the dough (enough to cover) as well as some minced garlic. Cover with mozzarella cheese, and then some uncooked greens (we've done arugula and radish greens so far), tomato and onion. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cut and serve! Very yummy!
Here are two ways to eat your greens:
Homemade Garlic Bread (with greens of course!)
It's simple, really. I get some nice french bread and cut it in half the long way. Slather on some butter and garlic (I like to use fresh minced garlic) on both sides of the bread. Add a nice layer of whatever cooked greens you like or want to use up on one side, and a nice layer of mozzarella cheese (you could also use provolone) on the other side. I also like to add some parmesan cheese as well. Put the two halves together, cover in foil and bake it about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. There is also another version on Native Offerings' blog called Baked Italian Sandwich with includes sausage and doesn't use butter so it is more of a sandwich than a garlic bread.
Baked Italian Sandwich
Homemade White Pizza
Take some pizza dough (we make our own dough) and spread it out onto a pan or baking dish. Spread some olive oil over the dough (enough to cover) as well as some minced garlic. Cover with mozzarella cheese, and then some uncooked greens (we've done arugula and radish greens so far), tomato and onion. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cut and serve! Very yummy!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Italian Dishes and Such!
So you may have noticed (for all my avid readers out there lol) that I changed the name of the blog. Fresh from the Farm seemed well...fresh :) Let me know what you think of it!
In other news, some highlights this week were homemade white pizza, creamy tortellini with tomatoes, onions and greens, garlic bread with greens, Tuscan Chicken Stew and Strawberry Honey Butter-from Native Offerings'blog:
http://nativeofferings.com/recipes/?p=6253
I guess we like Italian dishes in this house! That seems to be what we do with greens a lot I guess since we can't just eat them cooked-straight up! I'll explain more about these recipes later!
Yesterday we picked up our share for the week:
1.5 pounds spinach
1 bunch radishes with their greens
1 bunch komatsuna
2 heads lettuce (one green leaf, one romaine)
1 pound peas!
3 quarts strawberries
Although I think I, I mean we, are doing a pretty good job keeping up each week, we still have some stuff left from last week as well: Rapini, some spinach, radish greens, tat soi and cilantro. But really there were only two days out of the week that we didn't eat from the share. They were of course Saturday and Sunday when we were busy with family and friends!
Plans for this week include stir fry, strawberry sorbet, salsa, Italian pasta salad, stromboli and salads of course! Oh and Spring Tartines-something I found in a magazine! Details to come later when I actually make it!
For those of you in a CSA-what are you doing?
In other news, some highlights this week were homemade white pizza, creamy tortellini with tomatoes, onions and greens, garlic bread with greens, Tuscan Chicken Stew and Strawberry Honey Butter-from Native Offerings'blog:
http://nativeofferings.com/recipes/?p=6253
I guess we like Italian dishes in this house! That seems to be what we do with greens a lot I guess since we can't just eat them cooked-straight up! I'll explain more about these recipes later!
Yesterday we picked up our share for the week:
1.5 pounds spinach
1 bunch radishes with their greens
1 bunch komatsuna
2 heads lettuce (one green leaf, one romaine)
1 pound peas!
3 quarts strawberries
Although I think I, I mean we, are doing a pretty good job keeping up each week, we still have some stuff left from last week as well: Rapini, some spinach, radish greens, tat soi and cilantro. But really there were only two days out of the week that we didn't eat from the share. They were of course Saturday and Sunday when we were busy with family and friends!
Plans for this week include stir fry, strawberry sorbet, salsa, Italian pasta salad, stromboli and salads of course! Oh and Spring Tartines-something I found in a magazine! Details to come later when I actually make it!
For those of you in a CSA-what are you doing?
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Share Pickup
We just LOVE picking up our share. It's actually a big family event for us (I know, I know!). We look forward to seeing what we will get and sometimes even make a stop at our local Tim Hortons to feed my Iced Capp addition! It's also nice to see the volunteers whom we have gotten to know so well! And it's fun having Logan try to "help" this year, now that he is able. Today he was picking out spinach for us to take home :) We are excited to have Logan grow up eating this way!
Today we picked up-
2 heads lettuce (one red leaf, one bibb)
1 bunch rapini
1 bunch tat soi
1 bunch radishes with their greens (love these summer radishes!)
1 bunch cilantro
1 pound spinach
3 quarts strawberries (yum!)
We still have some greens to use from last week as well...those greens are pesky, but we'll take 'em! This week they offered a substitution, so we subbed the bunch of cilantro for 1 bunch of greens...Like I said, we need to catch up on eating ours greens! Maybe some homemade salsa?
Today we picked up-
2 heads lettuce (one red leaf, one bibb)
1 bunch rapini
1 bunch tat soi
1 bunch radishes with their greens (love these summer radishes!)
1 bunch cilantro
1 pound spinach
3 quarts strawberries (yum!)
We still have some greens to use from last week as well...those greens are pesky, but we'll take 'em! This week they offered a substitution, so we subbed the bunch of cilantro for 1 bunch of greens...Like I said, we need to catch up on eating ours greens! Maybe some homemade salsa?
Japanese Turnips
Ahhh...Turnips! This was a new vegetable introduced to us last year through the CSA. We really like a recipe from The Pioneer Woman : Turnips Au Gratin. It's actually really yummy! The turnips just melt in your mouth! I highly recommend you try this recipe!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/turnip-gratin/
The recipe was even featured in Ladies Home Journal:
http://www.lhj.com/recipes/the-dish/the-pioneer-womans-turnip-gratin/
A Couple of Notes about Turnips...
One thing we realized about turnips is that while we really like the young Japanese Turnips that you get during the spring and summer, we are NOT fond of the turnips that we get during the fall/winter. I actually tried making Turnips Au Gratin for Thanksgiving (thinking everyone would LOVE them), but they weren't a hit, since they weren't the right kind. Also, I wouldn't skip on the butter... I learned that the hard way during that same Thanksgiving dish debut... Believe me, the butter is really necessary in creating a creamy base for this dish!
Anyone have any great recipes for turnips?
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/turnip-gratin/
The recipe was even featured in Ladies Home Journal:
http://www.lhj.com/recipes/the-dish/the-pioneer-womans-turnip-gratin/
A Couple of Notes about Turnips...
One thing we realized about turnips is that while we really like the young Japanese Turnips that you get during the spring and summer, we are NOT fond of the turnips that we get during the fall/winter. I actually tried making Turnips Au Gratin for Thanksgiving (thinking everyone would LOVE them), but they weren't a hit, since they weren't the right kind. Also, I wouldn't skip on the butter... I learned that the hard way during that same Thanksgiving dish debut... Believe me, the butter is really necessary in creating a creamy base for this dish!
Anyone have any great recipes for turnips?
Friday, June 1, 2012
First Share and Stir Fry!!!!
We picked up our first share of the season yesterday! According to the farm, it was a modest share. We thought it was a pretty good amount! But I guess last year was a bad year for crops, so if this is a good year, we are going to get a lot!!! Here is what we picked up:
1 pound asparagus
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch Japanese turnips with greens
1 bunch red komatsuna greens
1 bunch green komatuna greens
3 quarts strawberries! (so yummy btw!)
Yes, spring brings lots of greens! Out of all the veggies we get from the share, the greens are the most difficult for us to use. We don't like just eating them by themselves (unless they are salad greens), so we try to incorporate them in a variety of dishes. We have found that the best way for us to store them is by putting them in a plastic grocery bag with a wet paper towel. This method seems to keep them fresh and crisp for a while.
So last night we made a tasty stir fry. We love stir fry. Chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions and green Komatsuna greens of course! I cook the chicken and the other veggies first and then add in the greens at the end and cook them until wilted. It's amazing how you grow to love those greens! I use just a little vegetable oil and soy sauce to cook and serve it over brown rice!
Now we must get creative and think of what to do with the rest of the greens! We're thinking of doing a white pizza this week and adding some greens..maybe arugula or turnip greens?
1 pound asparagus
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch Japanese turnips with greens
1 bunch red komatsuna greens
1 bunch green komatuna greens
3 quarts strawberries! (so yummy btw!)
Yes, spring brings lots of greens! Out of all the veggies we get from the share, the greens are the most difficult for us to use. We don't like just eating them by themselves (unless they are salad greens), so we try to incorporate them in a variety of dishes. We have found that the best way for us to store them is by putting them in a plastic grocery bag with a wet paper towel. This method seems to keep them fresh and crisp for a while.
So last night we made a tasty stir fry. We love stir fry. Chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions and green Komatsuna greens of course! I cook the chicken and the other veggies first and then add in the greens at the end and cook them until wilted. It's amazing how you grow to love those greens! I use just a little vegetable oil and soy sauce to cook and serve it over brown rice!
Now we must get creative and think of what to do with the rest of the greens! We're thinking of doing a white pizza this week and adding some greens..maybe arugula or turnip greens?
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