66: Fennel Pecorino Dip

I tried a piece of raw fennel, just to see what it was like. Not going to lie, I almost threw up. Such a strong anise flavor- it's the veggie NyQuil.

Still I forged ahead with this recipe from Martha. Scaled to use just the one fennel bulb. Also subbed pecorino for parm. My fennel bulb was on the small side- ultimately leading to a more garlic/pecorino dip with a mild fennel background. I didn't mind, though to be fair the anise-ness mellowed out considerably in the oven, so I could've done more.

Bread is more SCRATCH sourdough remnants, and a little Black Rooster Rye.

Next time I get fennel it's going on the swap table- or to one of my roommates if they're fans. Happy I tried it but definitely not for me. 

Notes for Improvement:

- If I'd wanted to make this closer to the recipe I'd say more fennel- my yield was a little low even when I'd scaled down to the number of bulbs I had. 

- This was my first baked dip- I'd be interested to try the the idea again with another recipe. Especially now that I have ramekins!

Delivery 7

I continue to feel like I'm getting the hang of this CSA thing. I've planned out about 80-90% of the things I want to do this week, and went on a little grocery trip already to pick up the extra ingredients. It's nice that things are coming together well.

Summer Spinach - 1 bunch

Summer Squash - 2 pcs

Heirloom Cucumbers (Boothby and Poona Kheera) - 6 pcs

Marketmore Cucumbers - 3 pcs

White Clara Eggplant - 1 pc
Scallions - 1 bunch

Fennel - 1

Amethyst Basil - 1 bunch

Leeks - 1 bunch

Oriental Eggplant - 2 pcs

Cucumbers!

Such a bounty. The CSA email said they thought last week would be the week for cucumbers, so yay? there were a ton on the swap table- understandable- but it's much better than lettuces. If only because I can eat them straight up (confession: I had half a marketmore left over from last week's. Just at it like a handfruit when I gote home). I'd still like to do something interesting with them though. No tzatziki this week- OD'd a little on it- but there are a surprising number of recipes for this. For example: limeade, cucumber avocado salad, bread salad (looks great but too many extra ingredients), easy sesame salad, or soup. 

Amethyst Basil

Not finding too much easily about this kind of basil- other than it's the standard "genovese" style, but just happens to be purple. It's really gorgeous- almost black. The CSA email said it was good to flavor vinegar with- which I could see as it would also dye it nicely- but can be used in lieu of standard basil.

I found a few recipes that call it out specifically: tomato/brie/balsamic sandwiches or biscuits (I keep finding biscuit recipes so it's going to happen one day). But there are a few standards I could do- like cucumber/tomato/basil/feta salad. Or just make crazy-colored pesto.

Eggplant 

White Clara and Oriental varities. The white one has wicked spines on the stem, and I've read it's apparently sweeter than the standard. I'm not finding a ton of recipes for it specifically though, so I'll most likely use it as a standard eggplant.

This veggie was never something I felt super strongly about, but I do rather like it now. Somehow I'd forgotten my favorite Indian dish was an eggplant dish, so I may have to attempt that this week. Baba is also super tasty- but not sure I want to use the food pro more than is absolutely necessary. 

A few other options: eggplant and pickled beet sammies or ratatouille (bonus for squash! and I also love that movie...).

Leeks

I love leeks. True story. I'd always heard they were fussy- required a decent amount of cleaning- so I hadn't tried them until about a year ago. Then, one day, stumbled on them frozen at Trader Joe's. Does any other store have these on a regular basis? They were my go to in scrambled eggs before I started this CSA project. Apparently you can grow them from scraps in a container of water- I may try that.

I want to take advantage of their melty-oniony-garlicky-ness (yep). Example recipes: easy/uses spinach and extra garlicy.
 

Fennel 

I'm not the hugest fan of fennel seeds- or anise flavor. I've grown used to it in certain circumstances (and small amounts), but I'm a little nervous about using it. The recipes I see for it are so varied, though. It seems to go well with the standard savory onion/garlic profile, but there are a ton of recipes with blood orange in particular. A few that stand out for me (mostly for lack of extra ingredients): tarts, dip, simple salad, and nommy caramelized.