69: Ratatoullie

Instead of the one I linked to in my delivery post, I used this recipe from the kitchn. It was a similar idea- cook each ingredient individually to get good browning and flavor development, then mix everything and simmer down so the flavors meld.

My favorite part of making this- knife skills practice! Chop chop chop everything up. I used my Creuset for the first time at the new place, too.

It turned out well- I used the squash and white eggplant from my share. The skin on the zucchini ended up being rubbery. It's a weird texture, one that I haven't experienced before when cooking with zucchini so I'm not sure what caused it.

I used rosemary and a little of my purple basil at the end.

It ended up being a bit brothy but that's not the worst thing- just means I can throw some bread in to soak up all that goodness.

Notes for Improvement:
- Cut the zucchini smaller, may help with skin issues
- Finish with the lid off the pot to reduce it down a bit if there's a lot of liquid
- The recipe mentioned a few variations- like using some smoked paprika. Try that with some of the leftovers. I could use a little spicy.

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.

62: Zucchini Fritters

I might have to start doing this in lieu of bread for breakfast. 

I sleep with the AC on- not blasting, but present and essential. This morning I opened my bedroom door and lo, it was actually comfortable in the living room. I wasn't shellacked in sweat in the time it takes to walk from my bedroom to the bathroom.

So what I do? Make something that requires turning on my oven. Yay! I used and followed this recipe from smitten kitchen. I recommend you do the same.

Didn't change anything, and took her suggestion of over easy eggs to go with it. Cooked those up in some of my basil butter.

Nommy! Runny yolks make everything better.

Notes for Improvement:
- Basil butter was good but I think I had too much on the plate, distracted a bit from the zucchini.
- Work on those over easy egg skills- one was lovely, the second went over. Sadface.

60 & 61: Pickle Party

Had a little pickle party for myself last week. Wanted to let them sit and, well, pickle for aabout a week before trying. The first and third are the same recipe from Etsy, the middle is from Smitten Kitchen.

The results!

I'm not in love with either, honestly. There's something off about the snap peas- I'm not sure what it is- there's a weird flavor memory I can't place. Maybe it's the fact I used regular vinegar. 

The zucchini was a little more successful- but the spices are a little too aggressive.

Notes for Improvement: I'm not sure how to fix these, or what exactly I don't like about them. The best thing I can think of is to try a completely different recipe and see if I like that more. Or just redo the zucchini and tone it down a bit?

Delivery 6

Delivery 6! By far the smallest of the bunch- though I guess the greens the past few weeks added a ton of volume. Super excited for everything I have though! 

Bright Lights Swiss Chard - 1 bunch

Summer Squash - 2 
Marketmore Slicing Cucumbers - 2
Eggplant - 1
Scallions - 1 bunch
Caraflex Cabbage - 1 head **these were crazy tiny so I used the swap table to get another container of currants
Currants - 1 box
Dill - 1 bunch
Boothby Blonde/Poona Kheera Cucumbers - 2

Cucumbers

Debating just eating all of these guys raw, or maybe in a little salad with basil and tomato. There are a few recipes for some of the heirloom pickles- this sandwich with the poona kheera looks lovely. There are (of course) also pickles. I do want to try lacto-fermentation of these days. Bittman has a recipe.

I guess the Marketmores are for salads/slicing/etc, while the poona kheera/boothby (not sure which I got) are more pickle-ready.

Dill

Obviously, pickles come to mind, but if I don't mind turning on the oven, there are biscuits. (It is a heat wave now. I do kind of mind turning on that oven. But, you know, biscuits...). Another zucchini dip, though I still have a bunch of the last one in the fridge. May use the flavors of this recipe with quinoa or barley. Ooh tzatziki  or this (actual) barley salad- also bonus for cucumbers. Also grilled carrots, have a bunch of those in the fridge from other recipes. 

 

Currant

Super excited about having a fruit in this veg share- especially fresh currants. If I want to be all clever and resourceful I could use zucchini too and make mini-breads or muffins. I've made jams and curd in the past if I feel like getting out my canning kit (here's a scalable recipe).

There's also this recipe for a salad that uses green onions, zucchini, currants AND dill. So, kinda tempting. Even if I could really go for some shortbread and curd right about now.

Eggplant

Skinny japanese eggplant. May do another Moroccan stew- with more zucchini this time- with amped up spices. I think I still have a jar of tomatoes. Or just roasted with some kind of dip/sauce. I'm feeling simple cooking this week.

Chard

Chard + Dill: crepes or frittata. Or just sauteed. I don't have a lot of greens this week so will try and stretch these.

Dish 48: Zucchini Dip

This dip/spread/whatever is good for a hot day, wish I'd had CSA mint though.

Followed this recipe from The Kitchn, processing it in a blender, as I'm getting the hang of it and it's much less noisy than the food processor. I used mint from the grocery store which had an unpleasant bitterness. I added a few more leaves to amp the flavor...which helped a little, but honestly, I'm a little sad.

Still, the dip is cool and refreshing.

Oh! And I ended up adding that optional tahini- just a tablespoon or so. Not to make it thicker, but to make it a little more savory. Without it the lemon and yogurt felt too dessert-y for me to really get into it.

Notes for Improvement:

- Pay the extra dollar and pick up herbs at a greenmarket next time

- Try roasting the zucchini a little more to help with the desserty problem

- It'd be nice to know what "large zucchini" actually meant, as well as how thick to cut those half moons. Maybe a little more brown caramelization would've helped as well

UPDATE: Definitely not a fan of these dressing leftovers- so don't let it sit around too long.

Delivery 5

A delivery without lettuce. Wow. I'm not sure I'll exactly miss it, though I was just getting the hang of salads ...we'll just pretend that's true. 

Escarole - 1 head

Napa Cabbage - 1 head

Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage - 1 head

Summer Spinach - 1 bunch

Sugar Snap Peas - 1 pound

Summer Squash - 2 pounds

Scallions - 1 bunch

Cinnamon Basil - 1 bunch

Going through all of these guys here -

Napa Cabbage is back. And it looks more like napa this time. I won't make Kimchi again. It's just not for me- I've decided to tweak Attempt 2 a little, grated up half an apple and added a bit more water. I may do a refrigerator pickle! Or a legit puttin up pickle (tho cook for 2 hrs? what? maybe I can do that in my crock pot). Here's another if I feel like getting out my canning kit.

Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage: Heirloom variety of cabbage that gets those big outer leaves like cartoon cabbage. There's the obvious coleslaw. Or 17 recipes where it is not. Curry - not sure I want to go hunting for asafoetida, but apparently you can replace it with garlic or onions. I have been looking for an excuse to try Indian. Here's a simple and tasty looking tuna salad, too.

Squash: 2 lbs of squash is a lot. I'm repeating myself. Someone left their portion on the trade table. I almost went for it, but I have a feeling squash may be the new lettuce, but one I'll never get sick of. Maybe I'll try pickles this week? Or zucchini butter (keeps for a month ftw). Or a yogurt dip (and an excuse to buy more mint!). Most likely the first than my choice of the latter two.

Escarole: More harissa? Tempting, but will probably try something else with this guy. Looking back at last week's ideas, I have everything needed for this simple braise, so that seems to be a winner. For now.

Cinnamon Basil: Always excited for fresh herbs. This one is also known as Vietnamese Basil and is often served with Pho. I did look up recipes but don't want to go down that rabbit hole. 

So where does that leave us? Cinnamon basil chocolate mousse. I love mixing savory ingredients with sweet dishes and vice versa, but jeez, I really can't make 4 cups of mousse without someone to eat it for me. Here are a few more. Though I'm probably going to pretend it's just regular basil. Or add some to a new green sauce, as I have some cilantro to play around with, too.

Sugar Snap Peas: This is a decent amount of peas, fyi. I looove these, though honestly I just want to eat them as is. I've already sneaked a few. Or just continue with a week of pickles. There's a nice barley salad- I've been looking for an excuse to use barley, also more excuses to buy mint. Or just a simple toast with sesame.

Scallions will naturally find their way into a lot of dishes, I just have to remember to use them. Anything that requires an onion or garlic this week will probably have a little help. Also scrambled eggs. And maybe scallion pancakes.

Spinach: Last but not least. Honestly happy to have at least some kind of leafy green. I've also grown quite fond of eating the stems like celery (this time, in harissa. Is it bad that while dipping spinach into a sauce made with spinach I thought, "this is almost cannibalism." ...yep, need more sleep. Didn't say it though). Mark Bittman has a bunch of cooked spinach recipes. The Indian one looks lovely, especially if I opt into buying cocoanut milk for the cabbage curry. Crazy reach recipe: saag paneer!

Dish 39: Moroccan Inspired Eggplant Stew

Blurry goodness. Ate it too fast to take the usual amazing composed photos, ha!

After my Green Harissa experiment I was in the mood to try out more Moroccan cuisine. I looked it up in The Flavor Bible (which is due back at the library this week, boo. I'll just buy it soon) and jotted a few spice notes: cinnamon, cumin, paprika, coriander. Saw they listed stews and tomatoes. And then there was eggplant on sale at the grocery store, so it all came together nicely.

The flavors are more Moroccan-lite. Next time I'll be more aggressive with the seasoning, though maybe like a good chili this one will be better the next day. And I actually took some notes, so you (may) have enough to go on if you'd like to recreate.

Ingredients:

- 1 large eggplant

- 2 small/medium zucchini or summer squash (approx as they were leftovers)

- 1 vidalia onion

- 4 cloves of garlic

- 1 pint of canned tomatoes - mine were in pieces (home canned), though I think anything from dice to whole will work- it cooks a while and they'll have time to break down

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 tsp tomato paste

- 3/4 tsp cumin

- 3/4 tsp paprika

- 1/4 tsp coriander

- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

- a few dashes of turmeric and clove

- olive oil, salt and pepper as needed

Chop up your eggplant and squash, toss with olive oil salt and pepper. Roast under the broiler until soft and getting a little brown goodness. You can do that the day before if you want to. I took care of it in the morning before it got too hot to turn on the oven then finished everything for dinner.

Chop up your onion into petals. Chop your garlic reasonably fine but don't stress. Sweat/saute over medium heat until they get soft- try not to brown them too quickly. Add your tomatoes and your spices and tomato paste. Let those mingle a bit then add the squash and additional water (I used 1-2 cups) until everything's almost covered. Bring to a simmer, tasting and adjusting spices as needed (odd measurements and dashes are a result of me finagling around a bit towards the end).

Once everything's nice and thick it's ready to eat. Serve with couscous (in this case the crappy 5 minute kind, next time I'll do better), and all the green harissa you can handle.

I wish delicious things didn't get that sheen on them in pictures.

Notes for Improvement:

- Use more spices- maybe look up a similar recipe to get the balance right? The cinnamon came through a lot in leftovers but the other spices weren't as intense as I worried they would be.

- Get better grain.

- It seems Moroccan cuisine uses fruit in savory dishes, which could be nice. Dried apricots or figs next time. Or preserved lemon- I've never had that and now I want it.

Dish 36: Tuna Mini Open Faced Sandwiches

I would call this crostini but I didn't toast the bread. If I'd had a larger loaf this would've been a sandwich anyway.

Here's the whole spread. Pretty.

A can of chunk lite tuna in water, drained, with a little olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, feta, and mint.

The front two fellas there are zucchini and summer squash- leftovers from the great tart debacle reheated in a little butter. And some swiss chard pickles.

The bread is Walnut Levain from Runner and Stone. A good bread, but not amazing. I want to toast it next time to get more walnut flavor. It just seemed a little bland.

The basic spread was just the tuna. The feta wasn't especially present- probably not even needed. The mint was a pleasant note, but I felt something was missing.

The pickles were it. The sweetness of the pickles went amazingly well with the mint. And I'm a fan of a vinegary tuna salad. So total winner here.

The zucchini was delicious on its own but didn't do much with the other two components. After the failed attempt above (you can see it on the bottom right a bit) I just ate them separately. No complaints.

Notes for Improvement:
- Toast your bread
- Maybe integrate the pickles into the tuna salad?
- Maybe make a mint pickle?

Dish 35: Zucchini Lettuce Tart Fail

 

Something went terribly terribly wrong.

I used this recipe I'd found online- I copied the filling below. It's sourced as being from a good baker and chef, so I gave it a decent bit leeway. Too much. Especially going through a third party.

Anyway, my crust started out alright. The blog said it would be pale even when cooked. My oven is smaller than I thought it would be, my large baking sheets fit perfectly...on the rack grooves. So while it was in there longer than it the recipe specifies, I don't think it cooked enough. Regardless- beyond being a little wetter than I think a pie-type crust is supposed to be, I'm happy with this.

The filling on the other hand- again, filling recipe copied from A Mingling of Tastes- my comments in red, her words are in blue. I didn't include most of the crust part.

For the tart:
2 large zucchini, or 3 small, sliced lengthwise, about 1/4-inch thick
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 heads butter lettuce (or substitute 1 head romaine) - I used 1 head of Romaine and 1 head of Encino.
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
4 oz. tapenade
Thinly shaved Pecorino-Romano cheese - Did not use this


Set the broiler to high. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and arrange the zucchini on top. Spray the zucchini and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until soft and beginning to brown, then flip and cook on the opposite side, about 10-12 minutes total. (Mine were probably too thin, but I was working with less zucchini. I'm still not sure you can really get to the buttery, falling apart texture that this recipe would require)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for one to two minutes. Add the lettuce and stir to combine. (There is no specification or picture as to how she cut the lettuce- I did a rough chop. It needs to be very very fine, and probably de-ribbed). Add 1/4 cup chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add more if necessary to keep a thin layer of liquid on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook two to three minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread the tapenade over the bottom of the pastry shell. (I did not have tapenade- I take full responsibility for how terrible the replacement I came up with was- it had olives and capers and rosemary...but was no good).

Layer half the zucchini, all the braised lettuce and the remaining zucchini. Place tart pan on a baking sheet, return to oven and bake for five minutes. (This confused me- I'm not sure how five minutes in the oven would do anything. I left mine in for 15 and it hadn't really melded at all. Is the lettuce supposed to be still hot from being cooked above? Was I missing an egg or something?) Cool for 10 minutes, top with thinly shaved Pecorino-Romano cheese and serve either warm or at room temperature.

I'm just baffled.

Here's my finished tart. Obviously that crust is still very undercooked.

Here is the "finished" cross-section. Again...baffled. She does not show a cut tart- so unfortunately I can't tell what she did differently.

I saved what I could- took off the zucchini and lettuce. Tossed the crust. Thankfully both of the former ingredients are still edible. I can easily throw either into a few different dishes. And hey...I used up two heads of lettuce!

Part of me really wants to find this book and make this recipe right. But it's not available at my library and I don't think I'll buy it. I guess there's a reason I can only find this recipe on that one blog though. Next time I want to make a lettuce tart I'll try this Pea and Lettuce one. There are a few more on there that look lovely as well.

Dishes 31 & 32: Zucchini Noodle Salad & Garlic Scape Dip take 2

Went to an awesome potluck 4th of July BBQ with some cool people. Was thinking I'd use up a ton of my share- but I wasn't about to make a normal salad, as I have so many issues with those, so it was mostly a bit of spinach and a ton of zucchini- or two large zucchini and a large summer squash. And a few of those scapes. Still! I need to do more potlucks.

Deconstructed Salad:

Constructed Salad:

Followed this recipe. Not sure how much olive oil I added to the pesto- but most likely in the 1/2 cup range. Came together similarly to the Sorrel Pesto. Used walnuts instead of the pine nuts in the recipe. Kept everything separate until I got to the park, then mixed right before we ate. Or started to eat. I had three burgers + all the things. Ugh. In case you're wondering what I did with those seedy zucchini parts and the stems from the spinach used in the pesto, well, you should already know.

And the garlic scape dip came together as before. I ended up using a can of beans instead of my own, and fun fact: a 15 oz can of beans only contains about 10 oz of actual beans. So my using the full 15 oz of my own in another reason my dip was so darn thick. The more you know.

Found carrots and celery cheap at the grocery store so I chopped those up for dippage. Being healthy here folks, watch out. Yay I need to do more potlucks!

**Update: Sauce 2: Spinach Pesto