CSA - Week 1

This is my second year belonging to a CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) with a local farm.  I prepay to receive a share each week through October.  The farm provides whatever produce is ready that week.  The season starts out light with overflowing portions later on.  I thought it would be fun to record what I receive each week and how I incorporate the produce into meals.

This week's share included spring onions, radishes, popcorn, lettuce, strawberries, garlic scapes, and half dozen eggs (eggs not pictured).  Garlic scapes are the stem part of garlic.  They're firmer than scallions, but similar.  They have a garlic flavor, though it's less potent than garlic bulbs.  

Aren't these strawberries gorgeous?

This is the popcorn.  I put one ear of corn into a paper sack and microwaved it.  This photo shows the result - it really worked!  Well, not all of it popped, but my paper sack was big and didn't rotate in the microwave, which probably prevented even popping.

My uses of the produce weren't too exciting this week.  I did put the garlic scapes in a beef stir-fry.  They remained pretty firm and added nice garlic flavor.  Because they were already very ripe, I pureed the strawberries and dropped them by tablespoon into ice cube trays.  After they froze, I transferred them to a ziploc bag to save for later (cupcakes, gelato, add to smoothies or yogurt).

Savory Sandwich and Baguette

The Savory Sandwich Ring is a classic Pampered Chef recipe my mom (and now me) has been making for years.  When making it for dinner for my husband and me, I halve the recipe and just make the bread into a long, straight sandwich, not a ring.  I am not one to buy pre-made dough, but I admit I always used the refrigerated dough in this recipe, until now!  This time I made my own baguette using the Artisan Bread in Less than Five Minutes a Day recipe/method (see below).  It was really easy.  I recommend tearing out some of the insides of the baguette to make more room for the sandwich stuffing.

Blackberry Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake

Fruit cakes were my experiment this week.  I made a strawberry cake the other day, which was very similar to this cake.  I was pretty disappointed in the strawberry cake - it was pretty boring and the cooked strawberries just weren't very good.  I already had the ingredients for the Blackberry Rhubarb cake so I made it despite my worries it would turn out similar to the strawberry cake.  I was gladly proven wrong!  This cake is super moist, the lemon, blackberry and rhubarb compliment each other so well, and it looked lovely.

UPDATE 5/23/2011: I made this cake again and tried to make it more healthy. I successfully substituted half the flour with white whole wheat flour and only sprinkled one tablespoon of turbinado sugar on top instead of two. Both adjustments went unnoticed, which means success!

Blackberry Rhubarb Buttermilk Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and lemon zest. Mix until well combined.

4. At low speed, mix in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.

5. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter blackberries and rhubarb evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of turbinado sugar.

6. Bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Let the cake cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Serve the cake upside down to show off the pretty berries and rhubarb. Cut into slices.

Serves 8

Arugula Salad with Almonds and Parmesan

Many of the restaurants in Italy have the menu in Italian and English.  On the English part of the menu, I noticed the ingredient "rocket" listed at several restaurants.  Finally I asked a waiter what it was, and he said that it is "salad."  Huh?  Salad on pizza?  It just didn't make sense.  Finally several months after my trip, I found a recipe on a blog that used the term rocket, and I figured out it was arugula, a type of green.  The Italian word is rucula, so I guess rocket sounds close to that.  Anyway, I have had rocket on pizza (even before Italy), and it's fabulous!

I found this salad in Everyday Food magazine in an article which also explained the vegetable's several names, so I was destined to eventually figure it out.  This salad is very simple but a perfect blend of flavors.  Eat it while the almonds are still warm from toasting (toss in an ungreased pan on high heat for several minutes until slightly browned).

Arugula Salad with Almonds and Parmesan
from Everyday Food

1/3 c. toasted raw almonds
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 bunch arugula (1/2 pound), trimmed
1/3 c. shaved Parmesan (1 ounce), plus more for serving

In a large bowl, combine almonds, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar; season with salt and pepper.  Add arugula and Parmesan and toss to coat.  Serve topped with more Parmesan.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

One of my goals is to make all my bread from scratch -- one day when I stay home for a majority of the day. I know I have a lot to learn to be successful at bread making. But I'm a little closer to mastering homemade bread because of a great book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I've made their basic recipe twice, and it was pretty good. Then I made the 100% Whole Wheat Bread - I am sold! I've attempted wheat bread before, but it never has been all whole wheat flour and still always turns out dry, crumbly, and just plain depressing. This whole wheat bread is soft and moist, and remained so over several days. I ate sandwiches on one loaf for five days and it was just as good on day five as day one.  Now I just need to get a wheat grinder and start grinding my own wheat. So much to do, so little time and space.

Since this recipe makes three loaves and the dough only lasts for five days, I made one loaf, and then the other two on days 4 and 5. The third loaf I put in the freezer since I didn't need it right away.

100% Whole Wheat Bread
from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois

Makes 3 1 ½ pound loaves

1 ½ c. lukewarm water
1 ½ c. lukewarm milk
1 ½ Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
½ c. honey
5 Tbsp. neutral flavored oil, plus more for greasing the pan
6 ½ c. whole wheat flour

1. Mix the yeast, salt, honey, and oil with the milk and water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded food container.

2. Mix in the remaining ingredients without kneading using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor with dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer with dough hook. If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temp until the dough rises and collapses, approx for 2 hours – 3 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded container and use over the next 5 days.

5. On Baking Day lightly grease a 9x4x3 nonstick loaf pan. Using wet hands, scoop out a 1 1/2-pound (cantaloupe-sized) piece. Keeping hands wet, quickly shape it into a ball by stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on four “sides,” rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go, until the bottom is a collection of four bunched ends. Drop the loaf into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half full.

6. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Flour the top of the loaf an slash, using serrated bread knife.

7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on another shelf. If not using stone, preheat can be 5 minutes.

8. Place loaf on a rack near the center of oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 50to 60 minutes, or until deeply browned and very firm to the touch.

9.  Allow to cool on a rack before cutting or eating.

Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

This is one of the best stir-fry recipes I've come across.  My husband loves it.  I think if he finds out it has oyster sauce in it, he might change his mind as he's not a fan of anything even remotely seafood related.  I especially like the red peppers - they add great contrasting color to the dish to make it pretty.

Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
from America's Test Kitchen

1 pound flank steak, sliced across the grain in 1/4” pieces
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. low-sodium chicken broth
5 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. cornstarch
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
3 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
1 ¼ lbs. broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces, stems trimmed,
peeled and cut on the diagonal 1/8 inch thick
1/3 c. water
1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
3 medium scallions, cut on the diagonal ½ inch thick

Combine the beef and soy sauce in a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour, stirring once. Meanwhile, whisk the chicken broth, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a measuring cup. Combine the garlic ginger, and 1 ½ tsp. of the peanut oil in a small bowl.

Drain the beef and discard the liquid. Heat 1 ½ tsp. of the peanut oil in a nonstick 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking. Add half of the beef to the skillet and break up the clumps; cook without stirring, 1 minute, then stir and cook until the beef is browned about the edges, about 30 seconds. Transfer the beef to a medium bowl. Add 1 ½ tsp. of the peanut oil to the skillet, heat until just smoking, and repeat with the remaining beef.

Add 1 Tbsp. of the peanut oil to the now-empty skillet; heat until just smoking. Add the broccoli and cook 30 seconds; add the water, cover the pan, and lower the heat to medium. Steam the broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes; transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Add the remaining 1 ½ tsp. peanut oil to the skillet; increase the heat to high and heat until just smoking. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until spotty brown, about 1 ½ minutes.

Clear the center of the skillet; add the garlic and ginger mixture to the clearing and cook, mashing the mixture with a spoon, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds, then stir the mixture into the peppers. Return the beef and broccoli to the skillet and toss to combine. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add to the skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, abut 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the scallions, and serve.

Classic Lasagne

This is my family's favorite lasagne.  It's definitely for meat lovers, as the main tastiness comes from the sausage.

Lasagne
from my mother

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (1/2 lb. works just fine too)
1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 16-oz. can whole tomatoes
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
½ tsp. salt
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 16-oz. carton ricotta cheese
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. oregano
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook and stir Italian sausage, onion and garlic in 10-inch skillet until sausage is light brown, drain. Add tomatoes (with liquid), tomato sauce, tomato paste, 2 Tbsp. parsley, sugar, basil, and ½ tsp. salt. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until mixture is consistency of thick spaghetti sauce, about 1 hour.

Cook noodles as directed. Reserve ½ c. of the sauce mixture. Mix ricotta cheese, ¼ c. Parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp. parsley, 1 ½ tsp. salt and oregano. Layer 1/3 each of the noodles, remaining sauce mixture, mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese mixture in ungreased oblong pan, 9x13. Repeat 2 times. Spoon reserved sauce mixture onto top; sprinkle with ¼ c. Parmesan cheese. Cook uncovered in 350˚ oven 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.