csa week ten.

wow, sorry about the delay internetfriends.  let me tell you about the delicious thangs this week!

4 ears of corn
4 peaches!
4 tomatoes
some cucumbers
some summer squash and zukes
6ish potatoes
a watermelon!
a huge head of lettuce
broccoli!

the melon was a wonderfully fun discovery.  i will describe more later.  right now i just can't even handle the work required to get my camera and cord and upload photos?  i'm feeling especially lazy at the moment.  my apologies for the suspense.

UPDATE:  behold the watermelon!!!

whole melon.

oh hi, melon inside!

romnomnomnomnom.

beautiful beeb.

i just wanted to share this photo of beeb that i accidentally captured.  she is so seductive.

beautiful beeb.

as i'm typing this she is up on that same perch daintily cleaning her toe tufts (my favorite tufts).

zucchini risotto.

this might be one of the best foods i have ever made.  i made it once a while back and decided to make it again this week using wonderful csa zucchini and squash.  it was even better this time!  it is based largely on a recipe from the cookbook easy vegetarian.  oh and i'm pretty sure the reason it is so delicious is that it has 2 CUPS of parmesan.  that and plenty of butter.  oh, and ricotta, which is always a good addition.

its a bit of a time commitment (allow an hour) but is SO worth it.  great to use if you wanna impress some folks.  i SWEAR i bought vegetable broth the second to last time i was at trader joe's, but it really was nowhere to be found once it came time to add it into the mix.  so i had to run to shaw's (the worst place on earth) to buy some.  searching for broth in my pantry was worse than trying to dig an old bike out of the garage from behind other bikes that are all tangled and dirty and stuff is falling all over you and its getting hot and dust is in your eyes and the skis get knocked over and you trip on an old tennis ball.


zucchini risotto.

ingredients
6 T unsalted butter
1 HUGE zucchini and 1 medium summer squash (or some equivalent amount, like 4 small zukes), quartered lengthwise then chopped into small pieces
3/4 t dried mint
a handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 quart vegetable broth (good ole TJ's has a very acceptable one)
8 small shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c risotto rice
1/2 c white wine
1/3 c ricotta
2 c grated parmesan
salt and pepper

directions
1.  melt 3 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet, add the zukes and squash, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  stir in the mint and parsley and set aside.
2.  begin to heat the broth in a saucepan and keep it just barely simmering to keep it warm in anticipation of a later step.
3.  melt the other 3 tablespoons of butter in a deep skillet or large wok.  add the shallots and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes (you want them soft but not brown), then add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so.
4.  add the rice and stir until evenly coated.  add the wine and stir continuously until it is all absorbed.
5.  add the broth, one "ladle" (or 1/2 c measuring cup) at a time, stirring after each one until the liquid is absorbed.  do this until you used up all the broth and the rice is tender but still firm, should take about 20 minutes.
6.  stir in the zuke mixture, ricotta, parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.  remove from heat and let rest for two minutes before serving (longest two minutes of my life).

i can't believe i managed to take a photo before chomping
this into oblivion.

csa week nine.

week NINE!  jeez, when did that happen?  you'd think the novelty would have worn off by now, but no way.  so what do we have this week?

7 potatoes (2 whites and 5 reds)
4 tomatoes
3 peaches
broccoli
4 ears of corn
2 (TWO!) white eggplants
a purple eggplant
arugula
lettuce
4 cucumbers
zucchini squash
2 yellow summer squashes

i can't believe i never thought to take a photo of the whole
thing til just now.  actually, it was probably the fact that
clearing off and cleaning this table took ten minutes.

i am SO excited about the broccoli.  broc is my favorite vegmino i think so it is wonderful that i can get it in here!!!!

YES.

breadcrumbs and herb omelette.

i was never really into eggs for most of my life.  they kinda creeped me out actually.  but after living in ecuador i have come to love them.  being a vegetarian in ecuador basically means that you are going to get a fried egg in place of meat so i had to adapt to them pretty quickly.  pretty darn quickly.  anyways, the creepy thing?  yeah i'm over it.

eggs are pretty cheap and fast to cook, so i have been trying to keep them on hand (more for dinner meals and baking than breakfast).  this was actually the first time i've ever made an omelette.  i'm sure you could just scramble this too and it be fine.  oh and i made this with the same herb combo as the herb-crusted tofu because i really loved it and thought the flavors and texture of the breadcrumbs would be nice.  this makes two omelettes.

oh and i straight up forgot the parmesan cheese that i meant to put in.  it was still totally delicious but feel free to add cheese if you want (always good advice).


breadcrumbs and herb omelette.


ingredients

3 eggs and 3 egg whites (or whole eggs if you're feelin' it)

a splash of milk
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
1/2 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t dried thyme
1/4 t ground savory
1/4 c grated parmesan (optional)
a bit of butter

directions
1.  lightly beat together the eggs and milk in a bowl.
2.  mix together the breadcrumbs, herbs and cheese.  then mix everything into the eggs.
3.  heat some butter in a frying pan on medium-ish heat.  the bottom should have butter on all parts of it.  pour half of the egg mixture into the pan, let it set, then give the pan a shake.  cook for a few minutes until the bottom is browned the the top is set.  fold onto a pan.  re-butter and repeat with the other half of the egg mixture.

herb-crusted tofu.

i wanted to make a real nice homecookin' meal using my csa goodies.  i decided to go with the classic corn on the cob, no frills, just a little butter and salt (i wish i had popcorn salt!).  we also had some lovely red potatoes so i decided to make my absolute favorite form of potatoes.  mashed potatoes.  just like my mama makes em.  again, no frills, just some milk, butter, and salt.  (okay i know, this is a salty buttery meal, but i WANTED it.  i mean, it wasn't excessive...).  so what could i make that would go along with this meal?  i'm picturing shake and bake for some reason.  which is NOT what i'm going to use, but it did remind me of a delicious looking recipe for herb-crusted tofu in one of deborah madison's cookbooks.  which IS what i used and oh boy, the flavor was delicious (and no salt or butter in the tofu recipe!).  i did switch up the recipe a little to bake instead of fry them.

herb-crusted tofu.

ingredients

1 16 oz package of extra firm tofu

1 c panko breadcrumbs

1/2 c grated parmesan

1 t dried parsley

1 t dried basil (or marjoram if you have that)

1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 t dried savory

1 egg

2 T milk

directions

1.  preheat the oven to 350.  slice the tofu into slabs about 1/3 inch thick.  blot or drain them on towels (paper or cloth) while you mix the other ingredients.

2.  mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, and herbs in a flat-ish bowl.  beat the egg and milk in another bowl.

3.  yay for assembly lines!  dip each tofu in the eggs, then the herby mixture, then place on a cookie sheet.

4.  bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, turning halfway if you remember.  just go to whatever crispness/brownness level you like!

whole meal on a plate!  sorry about the awful quality... i
had to take this with photobooth at the last minute because
of a dead camera battery situation.

a salad i thought i'd share with the world.

so my improvised vinaigrette and salad for the week is a new favorite.  here you go internetfriends.


morgan's new go-to salad.


ingredients for the dressing
1 small shallot, very finely chopped
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T orange muscat champagne vinegar (impulse buy at TJ's)
6 T olive oil
1 t dijon mustard
a drop of honey
salt and peppa

ingredients for the salad
boston lettuce, torn into pieces that aren't an annoying size to have on a fork (very important...)
cucumbers, halfway peeled and chopped
radishes, thinly sliced
crumbled feta
pine nuts or pepitas (or both!)

directions
1.  mix all the dressing ingredients together (let the shallot sit in the lemon juice and vinegars for 15-20 minutes of you have time).
2.  put the salad ingredients into individual sized bowls.  pour the dressing on and eat right now go!

oh and this week was my first time using radishes, so i thought i'd keep it real simple by just slicing em and putting them in my salad.  they were really really delicious; just the right amount of weird radish spicy (what is that?).  perhaps next time i'll get more adventurous, but this was so good there might not be a need for that.