Clean Slate!

Know what this is?

It's our first batch of the Easiest, Best Tomato Sauce Ever! In other words, it's everything we couldn't keep up with last week (while on vacation), roasted and pureed.

I found the recipe in a book called The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren. It's a cool book AND blog about growing enough food on an average residential lot to feed a small family. This is the book I credit with inspiring me to try this:

Yep, those are home-grown carrots! Gerry and I took the plunge and planted our first little raised bed with carrots and parsnips. Farmer Neil didn't sound too optimistic about our chances of growing parsnips, but so far they seem to be doing quite well! We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner!

Anyway, about Spring and The Quarter Acre Farm. What I love about Spring is her matter of fact approach to gardening. If she runs into a problem, she just does a little research and experiments with something new. She takes some wrong turns, but it's all part of the process. I don't think there's another gardening book out there that I, a non-gardener, would have enjoyed as much as hers.

And this recipe--what's not to love about a recipe that frankly addresses a problem common to almost everyone? Sometimes you just can't keep up and find yourself with an odd assortment of produce past its prime. This is a GREAT way to give yourself a clean slate without adding to the compost pile!

The recipe is a snap, but do pay attention to the warning to use at least two-thirds tomatoes in your mix. We went a little light on the tomatoes once, and the sauce was a very unappetizing shade of brown!

The next recipe we're trying from the site is Zucchini Noodles! Don't they look fun?

Vegging Out Again

--tap tap tap--

Anyone home?

HellooooOOOOOooooo in there!

It's awfully quiet.

Yep, it's been VERY quiet over here for quite a while--years! I can't believe how long it's been! Did you miss us? Have you been eating your veggies? Are you a member of a CSA or thinking about joining one? Well, I have news: We're doing it again!

The big change this time is that our farm, Myerov Farm, now offers HALF SHARES! This is much more appropriate for the two of us and was just the nudge we needed to take the plunge. If you remember, we had a bit of a tough time as just two people keeping up with the amount of produce we were given each week.

If you have kids or eat tons of veggies, this wouldn't have been a problem. For two of us? Help. I also have to confess (again) that I've never been much of a vegetable eater. I tried almost every veggie we got, but I never got to the point where I felt like I'd been converted. Oh sure, I loved the corn, potatoes, and all the fruit, and I found out I really don't mind cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots, but I never did develop a taste for, say, kale or beets. Oh, and tomatoes? They're probably a lost cause. However, a lot can happen in three years, so I'm willing to give it another go. The summer of '08 did get me used to trying new things, a skill which came in handy during some of our travels.

Gerry, on the other hand, loves vegetables and will try anything. He ate pretty much anything set in front of him in Morocco, even if he wasn't quite sure what it was.

But you know how it is. You get busy, you get lazy, and you go out to eat more or slap together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner because you're in a rush. We've definitely been slipping lately, so joining the CSA is also a pledge to pay more attention to what we're putting in our bodies.

We had a really good time the first time around, so I hope you'll follow along with us as we VEG OUT again this summer!

2009 News

A few people have emailed and asked what's going on regarding our participation in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) this summer.

We had a great time with the CSA, trying new things, seeing exactly where our food was grown, and enjoying the freshest produce imaginable. Unfortunately, we had to admit that the CSA was not going to work for us this summer. Gerry has taken on some additional duties at work, which resulted in schedule changes and a bit of unpredictability. And if you're familiar with my skill level in the kitchen...well, let's just say Snoopy and I have a lot in common.

That is not to say we are going to pass up the opportunity to enjoy fresh fruits and veg as much as we can. We'll be visiting some very local farms to scout out our favorites. So we'll still be supporting local agriculture--it'll just be a bit more low key. I promise we'll still share any new recipe discoveries...and I'll still take zucchini muffins into work at least a few times this summer!

SMILE!

Every single time we have corn on the cob, Gerry will say to me, "You know what?"

"What?" I unwittingly answer, every single time.

"I need floss," he says, while making a weird face.

Oh, well. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Weak Week

This has been a terrible week for us. Because of work schedules, we haven't had a chance to sit down to eat together at all, and I am pretty grumpy about it. So, instead of showing pictures of what we've cooked, I'm posting pictures of some of the things we've gotten in our shares over the past couple of weeks and trying to look on the bright side.

Isn't it great knowing exactly where this stuff came from? Nothing had to be driven from California or Mexico or who knows where. It's from PERKASIE! It was grown by a guy whose name I know and who I've actually talked to! And even though we haven't yet had a chance to eat much from this week's share, it's all still lovely and fresh, because it didn't sit spend that time on a truck or sitting in a warehouse.

That's pretty cool. And I feel better now. :-)

Crash Hot Potatoes

I asked Gerry if he'd blog about this new potato recipe someone suggested to us. They found it on the Pioneer Woman blog, but it was originally put forth by an Australian food writer named Jill Dupleix. Pioneer Woman has beautiful pictures to accompany the recipe, but give Jill's a read just to savor the Australian jargon.

Now I'm going to hand things over to a guest blogger: My husband, Gerry! [With a few comments from me.]

So the other night we decided to try the "crashed" potato recipe...we used our blue and red potatoes from Week 4 and a couple Adirondack reds we had left from Week 3. One of our challenges was that the potatoes were not all the same size, so that made it a little tricky to get them to "almost done" in the boiling stage. I pulled the smaller ones out early. I considered cutting the larger ones in half [because I told him he should.] but I didn't know how they would hold up in the "crashing" segment of the recipe. If you have a choice, try to use all the same size! [Or try cutting them in half!]

I then dried them and put them on a well-oiled baking sheet. I used olive oil because I like it, and then "crashed" them down with my trusty potato masher. Apparently there is a standard for how the "crashed" potatoes should look of which I was not aware. I thought once you "crashed" something it would look, well, crashed! But apparently some crashing is more attractive than other crashing...suffice it to say that it would seem that my "crashing" technique needs some work to be more consistent...I'm just sayin'. [Yeah, I hear ya.] I brushed the tops with olive oil and then seasoned them with salt, pepper and some rosemary and dill (herbs from the farm share). I then baked them in a hot (450 degree) oven for 25 minutes. The tops will start to brown a little. This is good. In fact, it is very good. It gives them a little crunch when you bite them.

Overall, I thought they were delicious. I was happy with my "crashing"...and I think that as I crash more, I'll get better at it! The fresh herbs were really nice in combination with the extra virgin olive oil. [And all three colors were scrumptious.]

We used the recipe again tonight and I am happy to report that my technique did improve! [It didn't hurt that we went through the entire bin of potatoes at the store and picked out six that were very close in size.] We had just white flesh red potatoes this time and they had a really creamy texture that was nice with the crunchy, browned parts. I will definitely do this again! [I sure hope so!]

Thanks for blogging, Gerry! And thanks for putting up with me as I hover over you and take pictures. You're the best.

Coming Clean

I need to do one thing before I go any further with this blog: I have to explain about myself and vegetables. I've been struggling with how to explain this, so bear with me. Basically, I don't eat vegetables. Well, I eat potatoes and corn on the cob, and every so often I'll eat a few carrots, but if it's green? You get the picture. Part of the reason my husband and I joined a CSA is so I'll learn to eat more vegetables. The combination of the stuff being really fresh, straight from the farm, prepaid, and pretty much handed to us every week seems like it might do the trick. In any event, I'm willing to try. So when you see me talking about trying things, understand that it sort of goes beyond picky. I've been this way for forty years! What I've vowed is to try EVERYTHING. Some things aren't too intimidating, but there are some things I'm dreading (like beets). There is going to be some easing into things. I don't promise that everything I eat will be healthy. But this is my first step.