They say that this Winter is looking like it's going to be a rough one.  So, while we're still here in Indian Summer, I thought I'd share some shots of the PLETHORA of sun-loving tomatoes that have graced our tabletop (and dehydrator, and blender, and sandwiches, and sauces aaand... you get the picture). This has definitely been our bumper crop this season!












The kids are finally both back in school.  That gives me a little more time to play.
Here's a recipe for a new pickle that I tried out.  It's a new personal favorite, combining the sweetness of grape tomatoes with a sparkling, crunchy explosion of flavor.  Oh, and it's probiotic!

Ok.  I've been slacking in writing about this stuff.  We've also been traveling a bit and it's been fantastic.

Full CSA Share Week 8

Full CSA Share Week 9

The last 2 weeks have been populated by peaches, plums, apples, melon, and blueberries.  All of which we ate raw and at once.   I actually supplemented our fruit supply with storebought fruit as well.   Just leave it on the table and it disappears.


We made raw salads out of the lettuce, and cucumbers and green beans during week 8.

The leeks (3) and red potatoes and onion were used in a version of Manhattan Clam Chowder.
I modified the recipe to contain Leeks, canned clams and juice (I KNOW!   it was a weeknight!) and 3 or 4 HUGE heirloom tomatoes (more about those in a moment).
 

I also made another batch of Borscht out of the beets and grilled up the japanese eggplants and broccoli.

So guys.  Here's the thing:  I'm finding that I'm happiest when I supplement my CSA share!  "Using it up" as a family of 4 has never once proven to be the challenge that I was hoping for.   Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE the idea behind a CSA membership and being surprised each week with a variety of produce, but it just isn't enough to keep me inspired.   I'll keep updating with photos of the CSA hauls for the rest of the season, but I'm thinking most of my inspiration will be coming from elsewhere...


And with that:  I was feeling uninspired.  Didn't want to cook the same old stuff.  Didn't want to write about it. 

Then Mom went on vacation and let me loose in her garden...  I came home with this:


HEIRLOOM TOMATO GLUT!!  And fresh herbs and carrots and onions and cucumbers and flowers.

THIS is what I'm talking about.

I immediately responded with a tomato/basil/cucumber salad with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.  It was amazing in a way that only fresh heirloom tomatoes can be:

 To go along with the clam chowder (or so I told myself, Actually this could be a meal unto itself) I made a Crostata out of heirloom tomatoes, fresh sage, parsley and basil, and fresh picked caramalized onions.

These ingredients were actually enough for 2 Crostata!

This week we got 2 pints of blueberries, 2 quarts of plums (purple and yellow), 1 quart of peaches, 3 cucumbers, 1 small head of lettuce, 1 bunch of beets, 1 large basil plant, and 1 bunch of radishes. 

We also got about 3 quarts of green beans and 3 LARGE cucumbers from our neighbor!  And even more cukes from my Mom's garden.

I'll start by saying that ALL of these cukes  have disappeared. Mark eats them whole as snacks and the kids like them sliced up. 

I also made a shredded radish/cucumber salad  (sub 2 cukes for 1 bunch radishes) with cucumber and the bunch of radishes.

The blueberries and ALL of the fruit were just set out on the table and have since disappeared.  The lettuce was quickly eaten as dinner salads.

The green beans were eaten raw (by the kids), and a bunch were stirfried with Tamari, Garlic, and a little sesame oil and served with baked tofu and brown rice.

The beet greens were made into a delicious Greens and Beans with Smoked Pork.  

I will be making the beet roots into this AMAZING recipe for pickled beets.  Alton Brown is one of my favorites and always knows what he's talking about!!

And the basil I pinched back some leaves and planted the rest of the plant in the garden next to our renegade tomatoes.  With any luck, by the time the tomatoes ripen, we'll have some extra basil to go with them. 

This week we actually went on a short (MUCH NEEDED) trip out of town.  We still didn't have any problem finishing up all of our fruit/veggie share for the week.  We'll be leaving for a long weekend at Grandma's house again in a couple of days, but I feel confident that next week will be equally easy for us to keep up with. 

So!   I was presented with this lovely head of Nappa cabbage.  The only answer I could think of was Kimchi.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't help myself.  This particular cabbage was SCREAMING Kimchi!

I've made Kimchi in the past.  Both Classic Kimchi and Baek (White, or Vegan) Kimchi.   I personally LOVED the Vegan Kimchi.  It has a great light pickle flavor, and was super-fast to make.  I wasn't such a big fan of how the Classic Kimchi practically burned my face off when I tried it!  My husband, however, loved it.  Especially on hotdogs!

This time around I'm going for less heat, but the added classic flavors of chili, garlic, and fish sauce... along with the probiotic "pickle" tang that I love so much.

I also went ahead and substituted in easily-found (read, in my cupboard) ingredients along the way.  

This week is highlighted with the appearance of a HUGE nappa cabbage.  Perfect, I'll be making kimchi!  I plan to tweak the recipe I used last time so as to make it spicy, but not SUPER spicy like it was last time.

We pitted and froze the sour cherries, and the apricots and blueberries were eaten within the first day.

The swiss chard was combined with the beet greens from last week.  It was chopped, and sauted with bacon, onion, salt and pepper and made a great light dinner along with a crusty loaf a bread.

The we got 2 small zucchini and put them together with a couple more we had laying around and made a batch of Ur Oma's Zucchini Soup! 

The green beans were used in a 3 bean salad and the head of leaf lettuce was made into side salads during the week.

So radishes.  I received 2 more bunches of globe radishes and I already have a quart jar of pickled radishes going. If you remember from a few weeks ago, nobody in our house likes radishes.  I personally don't like the bite they impart.  Their texture is just fine and holds up well to grating, so I got an idea:  How about a marinated radish relish? I thought about how marinating raw onion takes the bite out of them... so why wouldn't it work for a radish??   Oh, It does!!!  Does it ever!

This is a really simple recipe for marinated, not spicey, globe radish relish that is refreshing, crunchy, and delicious by itself, on a salad or even on a burger or cold cut sandwich.

These were sitting in my crisper...

This week's CSA haul consisted of:

1 quart sweet cherries
1 quart sour cherries
2 pints blueberries (1 pint disappeared in the car on the way home)
1 head red romaine letuce
1 bunch cilantro
2 heads broccoli
1 large bunch beets
3 medium cucumbers
3 small zucchini
1 small bunch kale
Well, the sweet cherries and blueberries were put out on the table and eaten as they were.  We had green salad all week that was a mix of the last of the Romaine hearts from last week, this week's red romaine, and kale. I kept it chopped in a plastic bag for easy use. The cucumbers were eaten on salads and the kids ate one of them cut up themselves.

I still don't have a plan for the broccoli (I'm working on it!).
The Zucchini will be turned into  Ur Oma's Zucchini soup for dinner tonight.

The Sour cherries were pitted and made into really gorgeous scones by my husband. He substituted 1 1/2c fresh cherries for the usual 1 c of dried.  We brought them to a Summertime Wine Party (you CAN dip them in wine if you have a big enough glass!).



The beets were made into Borscht which we had for Sunday dinner, along with ham sandwiches on marble rye and a green salad.

And that leaves the cilantro.  Guys, I hate to admit it,  but nobody in our house likes cilantro.  I think it tastes like soap... I've read that this is an inherited taste preference.   Soap scent, however, makes great SOAP!   So, I'm making a Cilantro Vinegar surface cleaner out of it, once I collect enough.

Enjoy!!

So, this was a lost week.  Well, maybe not entirely lost, but entirely not planned.  I DID end up making Vegan broccoli and cheese bake, which I will share my recipe for because it came out wonderfully. 

Here's the photo from Week #3 CSA share:

Our second CSA box arrived with a heavy dose of fruit, which was much appreciated! 



What you see here is 1 quart of cherries, 1 quart of strawberries, 1 pint of raspberries, 2 pints of peas, and 1 quart of blackcaps (the blackcaps were from our garden).  This side of the box disappeared within 2 days, and without any prepwork needed!   uuhh... sorry there's no recipe ideas other than set the boxes out on the table and let the family have at it.

Now, since I'm on the topic, lets talk briefly about blackcaps.  I have a huge patch in the backyard that grows wild.  The berries are smaller than blackberries and have no pit, much like raspberries.  They make amaaaazing wine, and jam, if they don't disappear immediately upon being picked.

These little berries ripen every year on the 4th of July and keep producing LIKE CRAZY until the end of the month.  For the next couple of weeks, I'm expecting to pick about a quart PER DAY.   I freeze a good number of them and they work just fine for cooking and fermentation projects. 

She took a break from bike riding to help (EAT) pick blackcaps

There was actually 2 of these containers full today that I picked, and probably at least 1 more out there on the bush.  It'll have to wait until tomorrow!

Now that we've discussed fruit, how about the rest of the bin?

We  got 1 head of red romaine lettuce, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, 1 small bunch of kale, 2 crowns of broccoli, and 2 small zucchini.  The heads of lettuce and the kale quickly became  a raw green salad for a family get-together on Sunday night (with some leftover for lunches during the week... I just keep it sealed up in the fridge, ready to go).  The zucchini was sliced and grilled up with some of the leftover garlic scapes and some asparagus I got from the store.

That leaves the broccoli.  I'm going to be making a broccoli/cauliflower (non-dairy) cheese bake later this week which I will share the recipe and photos for in my next blog post.

** One note from this week:  I wasn't all that impressed with the volume or variety of veggies in our CSA share this week and I actually ended up buying stuff in the produce section at the grocery store to supplement!  We also ended up going to a local orchard and picking up an extra quart of cherries and a pint of raspberries...aaaand a half dozen friedcakes for the girls and hubby.

The first week of our full share from the CSA included a lot of greens.  I described the contents in detail in my last post. 

Here are the recipes and photos from my two featured recipes this week. 

We had the Buttercrunch Steak Wraps on Sunday (along with a vegan pesto over whole wheat bowtie pasta). 

Radish pickles with garlic scapes, caraway sauerkraut in back, and kale ribs pickling on the right.