CSA 2011: Week 18

Today we picked these beautiful flowers at the farm, along with our usual bounty. 

Before I get into this week's pickings, let's talk about what I did with last week's.

• Yellow watermelon mojitos
• Stuffed peppers for which I was able to use up the remainder of last year's pesto
• Cherry tomato bruschetta
• A collard green, shallot, and sausage skillet, which was repurposed into a soup

I haven't been using as much as I could be, but it was a busy first week of school, and we also spent a ton of time last weekend just cleaning our house (which was totally worth it).  We ate some vegetarian chili from the freezer this week... we needed a break to get adjusted to the schedule.  But now I'm really ready for action!  When we got home from the farm, I helped my mom blanch 6 quarts of green beans to freeze.  (I knew if I left them for her she'd never do it.)  Later, at home, I roasted last week's tomatillos (yes, I know I'm behind) for a green and white chili I'll make later this week.  I love how long produce from the farm will last since it's so fresh.  I also love how just the simplest form of cooking something can extend its life.

This week we picked green beans (6 quarts, which we froze), edamame, cherry tomatoes, sauce tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, a handful of flowers, thyme, oregano, mint, parsley, and lemon grass.  Each week we get 16 peppers, and I forget the number when I'm out there and always think it's 14.  That's OK though, I don't use all of them.  I try to freeze what I can before I forget, but you know how life gets.

It looks like my mom forgot to snap the photos of the produce outside the farm stand.  We got 2 pounds of regular tomatoes and 3 pounds of heirloom tomatoes.  Good thing I have a decent memory!

This one is hard to see, but we got 1/2 pound of Swiss chard.

And 1/2 pound of arugula.  This is exciting as it means lettuce should be coming soon too.  I kind of miss salad, although I know I'll be kicking myself later when we're getting 8 heads of lettuce every week...

This week I got 3 traditional eggplant, and I managed to snag the only one of the pretty purple and white stripe kind.

From this choice group, we picked two bunches of scallions.

The garlic is always welcome.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the rainbow of peppers available this week.  I chose some of the yellow ones.

Coconut Oatmeal

I made up this Coconut Oatmeal to use up 1/2 can of coconut milk left over from the curry I made the other day.  (Serves 2-4.)

1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk (sweetened)
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups minus 3 Tbsp oatmeal*
3 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Heat the coconut milk and soymilk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the edges start to rise up and hiss.
2. Add the pinch of salt, then stir in the oatmeal and wheat germ.
3. Toast the shredded coconut, keeping an eye on it.
4. When the oatmeal is cooked to the consistency you like, turn off the heat.  Mix in most of the toasted shredded coconut, reserving a bunch to sprinkle on top.
5. Put the oatmeal into bowls and top with the rest of the toasted shredded coconut.  Enjoy!

*Rather than removing 3 Tbsp of oats, I just put 3 Tbsp of wheat germ into the measuring cup before I fill it with oats.

Weeknight Curry

To use up a glut of string beans from the farm, as well as some eggplants and peppers, I decided to try the Weeknight Curry recipe from Super Natural Every Day.  It's a Thai red curry, which is the best kind.  I used far more curry paste than was called for and a bit more coconut milk as well.  I added red curry powder at the end to kick up the heat.  We sauteed some shrimp separately, seasoning those with the red curry powder as well.  I made some brown basmati rice to go with this.

Heidi's recipes in Super Natural Every Day have really amped up my cooking confidence.  Next time, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to make a good approximation of this dish without looking at the recipe.