Delivery 14

Tomatoes - 3
Green Beans - 1 pound

Edamame - 1 bunch

Carrots - 4

Dill - 1 bunch

Broccoli - 2 heads

Red Onions - 2

Cabbage - 1 head

Potatoes - 2 pounds

Peppers - 2

Habanero Peppers - take them if you dare somehow I forgot to grab these somehow

Feeling a little lost with my recipe selection. The "finding as few simple recipes as possible" method is nice, and I am trying new things, but something's missing. I really enjoyed geeking out the other day, and would like to focus more on whys than hows. Someone pointed me in the direction of Cook's Illustrated, and I've checked this book out from the library...not that I have time to read much before it's due back. Thinking about buying it, though, as just skimming through showed me how wonderful of a resource it could be.

Tomatoes

These were not the best and weren't originally on the list from the farm, so they have to be the last of the season. Will be sad to see them go, and will probably just eat them like handfruit.

Edamade

This is kind of awesome, as I'm so used to edamame only being frozen. I had no idea how they grew. Ideally there would be a recipe that called for fresh beans specifically, but I don't see many when I search. Here they are roasted, and a roundup from the kitchn.

Cabbage

There is definite cabbage fatigue at my CSA- the swap table was like 10 of these...and a bunch of dill. I'm not tired of it...yet, but I'm not terribly excited for it, either. Here are roasted wedges, braised, or in a greek pie (bonus for red onion and dill). Here are a few slaws from Cook's Illustrated.

Peppers

Still a little miffed I forgot to grab those habeneros- I was just braindead and exhausted after work. I could roast these with green beans, or a greek pita. They're in a few other dishes I've linked to here as well.

Broccoli

These are a little limp, but still look good. Fritters, as always, are on my mind. But there's a stir fry with tofu, another with peppers and tofu. Super simple with curry powder and couscous, a salad from Macheesmo, or spanakopita.


[no pic]

Potatoes

I KNEW I forgot to take a picture of something (will fix tonight). Just imagine the last batch, though dryer. I still have those chives, so these fritters are still an option. Knishes look funnn, or I've read you can just make perogi in wonton wrappers. Here's a salad with dill, and another.

Dill

Will do my best to integrate into as many dishes as I can- though I'm tempted to get a cucumber and make another batch of tzatziki.

Green Beans

Dilly Beans (yay canning). Here's a recipe from Cook's Illustrated, and another braised dish from them.

Carrots 

I kind of want to make carrot cake. Here's another recipe. I know, I know, trying to be healthy here. But I still may, especially if I can stuff them with the frosting for easy transport. Roasting with dill is an option again, or here's a soup!

133+: Stuffing Vegetables Geek Out

So I decided to do something...geeky. I'm only calling this one dish even though there are like four, or five, if you count the stuffing which is delicious on its own.

I'd been thinking a little about stuffing veggies, how much the vessel imparts flavor, and what the difference in flavor would be using it as the vessel versus just having it in the stuffing. So I decided to try the same recipe (polenta & spinach- recipe at end) stuffed in a tomato and a pepper. I also made batches of the stuffing cooked with some tomato (innards) or pepper mixed in.

My theory was: using the food as the vessel imparts minimal flavor to the stuffing (ie only to the stuffing directly touching the walls). Roasting it in the oven allows the flavor of the vessel to develop more cleanly than it does cooked with the stuffing. Cooking with the stuffing will spread that flavor all around, but it won't be as sweet/roasted as if it had been the vessel.

I put a little pecorino on top of everything before they went in the oven. This is them about 40 minutes later. I'd say my theory was mostly correct. The veggies cooked faster in the polenta then as the vessel, but the flavor was definitely cleaner when it was the vessel.

What surprised me was how I would rank them.

My definite favorite was the pepper in polenta. The flavors worked the best for me- the savory, slightly bitter green pepper cut through the richness of the polenta. The flavor spread a bit, but it was a note that matched well with the rest of the flavors.

Second favorite was stuffed tomato. Liked the contrast of the uber roasted tomato, though roasting the tomato made it rich and sweet, which can get a little cloying.

Cooking the veggies inside the polenta definitely heated them faster (a little more on that on the next pic), so the tomatoes got even more sweet and roasty here. You can see how much more the softer tomato spread (as opposed to the pepper)- the polenta is getting orange in places. I didn't like the mix of those flavors as much. Raw tomatoes I love with polenta (as in this), but this all was a little too heavy for me. I may have liked it more had I removed it from the oven sooner.

And lasty was the stuffed pepper- though that was mostly due to how much longer it takes for a pepper to roast. In the polenta the pepper was perfectly delicious and soft- and with this the part towards the bottom that actually made contact with the pan was lovely- but it needed more time that I didn't have to cook. The more you know!

And if you can't tell, all that baked polenta was undercooked and a little gritty- you can still see that the little pearls of cornmeal haven't popped. I started the polenta by itself, and used about half of it for stuffing, the rest stayed on the stovetop to finish up. I was hoping the time in the oven would finish those off but no dice.

Even the stuff on the stovetop- seen here before putting it in the fridge- is still not quite there. It's 90%, I just ran out of cooking time. Undercooked polenta, like undercooked grits, makes me a little sad. They're still tasty, but when they're done well... it's just, you need to try it.

Onto that stuffing:

Polenta:
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup milk (what I had)
- 3 cups water (plus an additional cup when I noticed it getting a little thick during the cooking process)
- 1 teaspoon of salt (may want a little less, this was a little salty)
- 2 tablespoons of butter

Heat everything but the polenta until it's basically boiling, then rain in the grain while whisking. Keep whisking until it gets thick, then turn down the heat and cook on low until it's no longer gritty.

Spinach Stuffing:
- 1.5 cups polenta
~ 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
~ oil

Heat the onions in oil until translucent, add the garlic, mix briefly until fragrant, then add the spinach. Cook until wilted, then mix with polenta.

130: Spinach & Red Onion Scrambled Eggs

Dramatic breakfast lighting. Scramble was simple spinach and red onion (which was still good in the fridge from the other week). In lieu of bread I used the rest of Martha's provincial potatoes. Still not as big a fan. I tried to reheat them and crisp them up a bit in a pan on the stove top but it wasn't happening this morning.

105: Balsamic Green Beans

It's only lately that I've gotten into Balsamic Vinegar. For ages I found it to be too strong and sweet, but with a few recipes this season it's grown on me a bit. I thought I could handle it as a glaze here (as I could with the carrots the other week). But...I didn't really like this. Which is always a bit of a shame, considering how delicious the raw beans were.

I followed this Simply Recipes recipe, though forgot to add the walnuts. Don't think it really mattered. The concept is sound- roast the beans and onions, mix your dressing, after a bit of time in the oven, coat the beans with the dressing and continue roasting until it's a nice glaze and the beans are all roasty and delicious.

The problem is the honey. It just pushes the sweetness a little too over the top for my tastes. My impromptu solution (as it often is) is sriracha. It works...well enough. Next time I'd either leave the honey out, and/or add a little red pepper flake to the dressing.

Delivery 11

My birthday is Sunday, some people are coming over this weekend to hang out and see my new place. I don't usually do anything too special for my birthday, so I'm freaking out a little. While I should probably make meals for myself with these veggies, I'm keeping an eye out for party food.

Green Beans - 1 pound

Red Onions - 2

Peppers: 1 Bell, 1 Lipstick

Bright Lights Swiss Chard - 1 bunch

Eggplant - 1

Basil - 1 bunch

Tomatoes - 2 slicers and 4 plum tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 basket

Serrano Hot Peppers - 4 if you like

My favorite part of this is the "if you like" for the hot peppers. There is a swap table, people.

Chard 

I'm feeling something warm and savory. Here are few gratins that look tasty. Though here are some dips that use chard: healthy and not so much. I could probably use chard in spinach dips as well.

Eggplant

Do you need to ask? Baignan Bharta! I wish these had been purple, the white ones are so sweet.

Tomatoes

I said I'd make more candied tomatoes for a party and I probably will, though I'll most likely need to buy more to get a reasonable amount for people. Bruchetta topping would work well again as finger foods...or maybe I can make a salsa? Here are some a few sources: Alton Brown, Martha, Macheesmo, The Kitchn (cooked), The Kitchn (pico).

Green Beans

I've never made a green bean caserole, is it bad that I really want to? Beyond that the trend seems to be to roast them: honey mustard glaze, balsamic glaze, lebanese, with parmesan, with onions and nuts, oh hey- a slaw!

My habit is to eat them raw, maybe with a little hummus. It's tempting to just use them in a crudite platter.




Red Onions

A few recipes I have so far use red onions. I'm generally not a fan, as they have such a strong flavor, but I think cooking the hell out of them helps. We'll see.

Peppers 

I still have a pepper left from last week- gonna make that jam, I promise. Also still haven't used up those hot peppers from last week, so anything not put in a salsa will most likely be sprinkled throughout recipes for heat.

Basil

I say this every week, but pesto. Promise. I'm storing it better, so hopefully it'll last longer, too.