CSA - Week 6

So it's a week after I received this share of corn, yellow beans, zucchini, yellow squash, onion, red potatoes, blackberries, sugar peas, eggs, and a cucumber.  I want to try and use it all up before I post, but I guess that's not an option now.  Otherwise I'll get behind.

Here are some of the highlights from this week:

Chile Rubbed Steak Tacos - I love spicy meat paired with fresh, crunchy vegetables.  I used the cucumber in the salsa for these tacos.

Pickled Sweet Wax Beans - Since I'm on a pickle craze, and I knew I'd never eat all the wax beans fast enough, I preserved some in a pickled state.  These weren't as good (and by good, I mean sweet) as the bread and butter pickles, but still are a good snack.

Peach cobbler with blackberries - I modified my mom's peach cobbler recipe by making individual cobblers in ramekins.  I threw in a few blackberries along with fresh peaches.  Blueberries would also be good with peaches.

Ricotta and Zucchini Galette - This dish was heavenly.  Not surprisingly, anything wrapped in buttery pie crust tastes heavenly.  Follow this link for more on the galette.

Chili Rubbed Steak Tacos
From Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/4 pound top sirloin steaks cut 1-inch thick
12 small corn tortillas (5 to 6 inches in diameter)
3 cups shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
Cucumber-Avocado Salsa (recipe below)

1. In a small bowl stir together chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Rub spice mixture on both sides of steaks.

2. Grill or broil steaks for 5 to 6 minutes on each side for medium rare, turning once. Remove from grill and let meat sit for 10 minutes. Carve into thin slices.

3. Warm tortillas by placing them on the grill, for about 30 seconds, turning once. Or place 6 tortillas at a time between 2 moist paper towels and microwave for 45 seconds. Wrap in cloth napkin or place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm.

4. Place the carved steak, warm tortillas, cabbage, cilantro, lime and Cucumber-Avocado Salsa in serving dishes and let diners make their own tacos at the table.

Cucumber-Avocado Salsa
1 medium English cucumber, seeded and diced
2 medium firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
salt to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently to combine. Serve within an hour or preparing.


Sweet Pickled Wax Beans
from Everyday Food

1 pound wax beans, trimmed
4 sprigs thyme
4 cups white-wine vinegar
2 cups sugar
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

In two quart-size glass jars, arrange beans upright and place 2 sprigs thyme in each. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, garlic, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Pour cooled brine over beans, leaving 1/2-inch space at top of each jar; seal and refrigerate at least 3 days before serving. Pickled beans keep, refrigerated, up to 2 months.

Fresh Corn Salad with Black Beans
from onionsandchocolate.wordpress.com

6 ears fresh corn shucked
1 small red onion, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Fresh cilantro or basil
3 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 a lime – squeezed
salt and pepper
1 tomato, diced

Place shucked corn ears into salted boiling water for 3 minutes…just to cook out the starch a bit.

Remove from boiling water and place in an ice bath to stop the cooking, when cool, remove and pat dry. Cut kernels off of the cob, holding the ear vertical, and cutting as close to the cob as you can without getting too much of the pith.

Throw corn, diced onions and black beans in a bowl and mix. Add in vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Make sure to taste along the way to get the seasoning right. If you will be serving it cold (from the refrigerator) season a little more heavily.

Right before serving, chiffonade the basil (or rough chop the cilantro), and toss in. Add tomatoes and toss.

This photo is a cobbler of all blueberries and blackberries.  I made one this way and three with peaches and blackberries.  Because this one bubbled over, it won the prize for best photo.


Mom’s Peach Cobbler

1 stick butter, melted
3 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 large can peaches (29 oz.)

Pour melted butter into 9x13 pan. Mix baking powder, milk, sugar, flour and salt. Pour over butter, but don’t mix butter and batter. Pour undrained can of peaches over batter and butter, and don’t mix.

Bake in oven at 425˚ for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or milk.