CSA - Week 4

My CSA share contained garlic, pickling cucumbers, popcorn, zucchini, yellow squash, sugar snap peas, eggs, and red raspberries.

I added the peas to stir-fry, the zucchini and yellow squash to pasta, cucumbers to salad, and garlic to just about every savory dish I prepare.

Now on to the sweet stuff...

A friend who also belongs to the CSA made Caramel Corn with her popcorn. So I copied. She had the brilliant idea of adding pecans instead of peanuts. This recipe makes crunchy popcorn - not sticky at all.

Caramel Corn
from my mother

5 qts. popped popcorn
1 large jar dry-roasted peanuts (opt.)
2 sticks butter
2 c. brown sugar
½ c. light Karo syrup
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

In large pan, melt butter. Add sugar, salt and Karo syrup. Stir constantly until boils. Lower heat and boil 5 minutes. Take off heat and add ½ tsp. baking soda. Add 1 tsp. vanilla, stir. Pour over popcorn and nuts, mix. Put in deep roasting pan and bake for 1 hour at 250˚. Stir every 15 minutes.



After eating some of the delicious red raspberries raw, I had about 3/4 cup left.  I just borrowed The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz from the library, and there were several raspberry recipes to choose from.  I made Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream, which turned out tangy and rich.  I love homemade ice cream just after it's made and not quite frozen, a little soupy, like in this photo.

I made half the recipe and added a few strawberries to fill the required cup of berries.

Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream
from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up). Remove from the heat and add the raspberries. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender. If you wish, press the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.