Week nine and getting wild!

The bounty of a summer garden is impressive enough, but this past share brought with it a bonus of a wild green edible that you probably pass all the time (invading your garden, growing in the cracks of sidewalks...). In this week's share we were gifted with a big bunch of purslane (blending it with all of the other green in this photo). It is often considered a weed, and I see a lot of people pulling it out of their gardens and discarding it like any other agricultural nuisance. However, I also see this green for sale at the Union Square Green Market and it tends to go pretty quickly. Purslane is a super healthy, dark leafy green, with small thick leaves that spread out flat covering the ground. It also is an amazing source of Omega-3 fatty acids, and is tasty to boot.
I decided to put some of my purslane to use in this potato salad. I'm not exactly sure what kind of potatoes we received this week, but they were a nice waxy red skinned variety. I cut them in half and boiled them up until they were soft. After draining them, I tossed with extra virgin olive oil, the purslane leaves, some chopped chives and a little lemon juice. I seasoned with salt and pepper, and it was ready to go.

Vacation and cool as a cucumber

The famous Round Barn at Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts


Last week we were on vacation in the Berkshires and consequently were not around to pick up week eight of our share (two months have gone by already!). Fortunately, dear friends and fellow local food lovers were kind enough to pick up our share and tuck it away in our over crowded fridge for us (thanks M & T!). While we were enjoying our time in the country, along with some yummy local food we picked up at the Berkshire Food Co-op in Great Barrington, we were glad to have our veggies waiting for us safely at home. This is also the reason that there is no share picture this week - I couldn't bare to drag out all that food that had been carefully tucked away... instead I have posted an image of the famous Round Barn the Shakers built in the City of Peace (the name of the community they settled on the outskirts of Pittsfield, MA) in the 1780's. The Shakers, along with being a religious group, are known for being highly regarded for their craftsmanship, industry and farming practices. They are often considered a model of sustainable living, and I found so much inspiration while we visited. This barn, for instance, was brilliantly designed with an earthen slope connecting to the upper level, acting as a natural driveway so the farmers could draw in the hay in their carriages and ride seamlessly around the center and out the exit, quickly facilitating the entire process. The hay fell down the center section to the lower level, where the livestock have spaces around the exterior section of the of the barn. Not only is the design ingenious and innovative, it is simple and beautiful like much of their handy work. I highly recommend anyone passing through the area to make your way over for a visit and to learn more about this amazing group.



Upon our return home to our veggies, along with the heat and humidity, I was glad to see yet more cucumbers as I find them amazingly refreshing in this humid northeastern summer weather. I made this creamy cucumber salad as a variation of the one from Alice Water's, "The Art of Simple Food" which I have borrowed from my library and now feel I must purchase (I know, I'm really trying to stop...this will be the last one for a while!). This book is a great overall "how to" on cooking along with a nice inventory of simple and easy, yet elegant recipes. This salad calls for 2 cucumbers (I seed mine) peeled and sliced and tossed with salt (I used pink salt here). The dressing consists of about a quarter cup of cream, a few tablespoons of really good olive oil, juice of half a lemon and some fresh ground black pepper whisked together. After I dressed the salad I tossed in some fresh chopped parsley and a little fleur de sel to taste. I chilled a bit longer before serving and its perfect for a steamy new york city evening.

CSA week 3...oh the bounty!

Well, another week has gone by and I find myself once again like a kid a x-mas, eager to dig in and see what is in this week's share box. I was so excited to see that it was even bigger than the first two weeks! Matt, our CSA farmer at Golden Earthworm, reported that this will be the usual size of the share from here on in - oh the bounty of the season...but what will we do with all this food? Dinner parties it is :) Nothing inspires me to cook for friends more than this overflow of fresh, local, beautiful food and that's just what we found we've been doing.

Really, what better way to use this bounty than to share it with people you love? We have a tiny kitchen, and a pretty small city apartment for that matter, but we manage to have a couple people over at a time, which has been such fun this past week. After all, the "c" in csa does stand for community, so go ahead, invite some people in and cook for them, or better yet - cook together.

And what a great weekly share to entertain with this mix of sweet and savory!


The garlic scapes were a big favorite this week. I made a quick pesto with them by adding a bit of sea salt, olive oil and raw almonds to the roughly chopped scapes. I just put everything into the food processor and adjusted for taste and texture as I went along. I tossed the pesto with chick peas and pasta with a little bit crushed red pepper, and served it along with a salad made from the beautiful head of crisp-green lettuce, for a tasty and filling vegetarian meal that left the two athletes I was feeding completely sated.

For dessert I just had to do something with the strawberries and rhubarb...

This strawberry rhubarb crumble is one of my favorite recipes. I have it written in an old notebook, so I'm not quite sure where the recipe originated, but it is a simple and delicious way to prepare this natural combination of summer fruit (although rhubarb is actually a veggie).

For the topping:
1/2 c oats
1/2 c unbleached flour
1/2 c of raw sugar
1/3 c of sliced almonds
1/4 t of nutmeg
pinch of salt
6T butter (cut into small cubes)

For the filling:
5 c rhubarb (sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 c strawberries (hulled and halved)
3/4 c raw sugar
1/3 c lemon juice
2 T flour
zest of one lemon
1/2 t cardamom
1/4 t nutmeg

Heat oven to 375F, and butter a pie plate or 8x8 baking dish.
For the topping, mix together all of the dry ingredients and then rub in the butter with your fingers until it is evenly dispersed.
For the filling, combine all ingredients and let stand about 15 minutes to let the flavors develop and the juices to run. Put filling in the baking dish and sprinkle the topping on evenly. Bake until bubbly (about 25 minutes).
This is great served warm with a scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!