Peppers

Hello, fellow CSA members! This week, we're facing a plethora of peppers! There are green and red bell, yellow Hungarian, jalapeno, ancho, pasilla, and some little green ones I don't have a name for. Peppers are great for desert dwellers. One of the reasons Indian, Thai, and other cuisines from hot humid countries are so fiery hot is that the heat of the pepper makes you sweat, which helps cool your body- peppers actually turn on your "personal swamp cooler"! Peppers can also be eaten cooked or raw, and we've been enjoying them both ways. I put them in salads and sandwiches raw, and like them cooked in sauces, omelets, hash browns, and stir-frys.

This week, I marinated peeled sliced eggplant and half of a big zucchini (sliced lengthways) in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped basil, a little sugar and black pepper for a couple of hours. Then I grilled it till it was crispy on the outside and tender-juicy on the inside. That night we had grilled vegetables with a potato salad made with steamed (chilled) potatoes and green beans, olives, sliced radishes, diced green pepper, scallions, feta and oil and vinegar dressing. The second night I added the leftover diced grilled veggies to a couscous dish containing chickpeas, peppers, onion, green beans and a little broccoli. I used the other half of the zucchini to make zucchini bread.

Tonight we had a peppery potato-tofu scramble, using about four different varieties of pepper. I served this with a green salad featuring Jon's "weeds" (amaranth and purslane), basil, tomatoes, and, of course, peppers!

Until next week, enjoy the vegetables you receive, and cook what you have!

Tomatoes

Last week, members of the River Road Gardens CSA in Tucson, AZ were blessed with onion, basil, melon, eggplant, peppers, garlic, summer squash, potatoes, and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes! I was up to the challenge of using all those yummy tomatoes, but I know they're not supposed to be refrigerated (they lose flavor and nutrients, evidently). So, I sorted them out by ripeness, and immediately made a no-cook tomato-basil sauce with noodles. I prepare this by chopping basil, garlic, and peeled tomatoes. (To peel a tomato, cut out the core where the stem was and submerge it in boiling water for 10-15 seconds- the peel will come right off!) Then I add some salt and hot pepper flakes, a dash of balsamic vinegar, mix it well, and then toss the basil mixture with noodles. Then I add cheese and usually nuts. I used feta and walnuts this time, but asiago (or another sharp Italian cheese) and pinons are good too. Along with this, we had a big tossed salad using the ripest readiest tomatoes I had.

The next night I baked a frozen cheese pizza topped with sauteed summer squash, peppers, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and more peeled tomatoes.

Saturday, I remembered Jon's potatoes! I had some tofu, so I sauteed some of it with peppers, mushrooms, and garlic, added diced potatoes and chopped broccoli, seasoned it with a little soy sauce and let it brown in a skillet. I added peeled chopped tomatoes right before serving.

For Sunday breakfast, I had some leftovers from the sauteed squash pizza topping mixture that I mixed with scrambled eggs. I added a little feta cheese and more peeled tomatoes for a lively breakfast!

The last thing I made this week was traditional pesto sauce with the rest of the basil. I put a clove of garlic in the blender/food processor, and added rinsed basil leaves and some red pepper flakes. Then, I pour a little olove oil in, and turn the blender on, adding olive oil as needed to make the pesto. Then, I add nuts (walnuts or pinons), cheese (any sharp Italian cheese) and a tablespoon of butter, and blend it until it's smooth. It will need a little salt, as well. You can mix this up with noodles or risotto, or serve it on toasted crusty bread with peeled fresh tomato slices and melted cheese, and what you don't use freezes well.

So, this week, I used everything except the eggplant, which I'll cook tonight. I'm thinking of marinating sliced eggplant in olice oil, soy sauce and spices, then grilling it, cubing it and serving it with sauteed peppers, onion, artichoke hearts, olives, and, of course, peeled tomatoes.

Until next week, enjoy the vegetables you receive, and cook what you have!

Hello Everyone!

Here we are, in the middle of the summer session of River Road Gardens CSA, and it's too hot to cook. We are enjoying luscious tomatoes, squash, eggplants, herbs, onions, melon and peppers from the farm distributed each week by Jon and Emily and Carman. Weekly recipes had been part of the routine earlier in the spring, with gentle reminders of volunteer opportunities, but with the advent of the warmer weather and the more familiar vegetables, I let that slide. But I've been thinking about my vegetables, and the way I use them. I'm not a formal cook: most of what I prepare is cobbled together from what I have on hand. I don't read cookbooks and prepare my list from recipes before I go to the store: I cook what I have. So, instead of providing formal recipes to the CSA membership, I decided to start a blog that describes how I used the vegetables I received in the distribution from the previous week. Since the distribution is similar from week to week, you should be able to try some of my ideas if you like them. I'll try to describe my concoctions clearly, but keep in mind that everything I cook, and probably everything you cook, is to taste. You might decide to leave out certain ingredients in favor of others. I hope to provide mealtime ideas as a springboard to using up that extra zucchini. One detail: I'm vegetarian. I use cheese, milk and eggs, but no meat. I don't even know how to cook meat. So, if you use meat, you'll have to know from experience how to work it into the meals you create. Happy cooking, everyone, and see you at the farm!