I think I can!

I finally embarked on the big project of canning tomatoes to save for the winter. It was so exciting, if not a little intimidating. I signed up for the 2o lb tomato share from our CSA, and chatted with a lot folks about just how to go about preparing these beauties to save a little summer for later.
After a lot of chatting and a little bit of reading, I decided to "hot pack" them for processing. This involved a great deal of peeling, and I would like to thank Diane for kindly helping. We used serrated peelers that I think was a great way to go, and a lot more appealing than blanching on this last warm summer day. It was great to sit at the table and chat and peel away - Diane pointed out that it was almost meditative in way, and I totally agree. She had to leave shortly after the peeling was done, so I set out to prep them the rest of the way on my own. I pureed a few of the peeled tomatoes with water to fill up the pot and keep the acid up and set out to boil the tomatoes. Luckily, Maggie called right around this point and stopped by to help me with the rest. It only took about five minutes of gently boiling to get them ready to can. I had already prepped the jars and lids, so Maggie set about helping me add the lemon juice (to add a bit more acid since the cans will be packed with the tomato water) and filling the jars. We used a chopstick to remove any air bubbles that might get stuck inside the jar and topped them off with the lids, giving a gentle, yet firm squeeze to tighten. We processed the jars in a water bath canner for 40 minutes or so. We pulled them out and waited for that wonderful "pop" that lets us know the seal is good. It was so exciting and I am really looking forward to my summer tomatoes come January!
Thanks for all of the help!

Oh the abadoned eggplant....

So last week it was abundantly clear that those beautiful globe eggplants were the CSA rejected veggie of the week, leaving an overflowing box full of them at the end of the evening of deliveries. I can definitely relate to the intimidating feeling one my get looking at these large beauties, but I don't quite get the objections to things like their flavor or texture... I think if you do it right, which can include not doing much at all but simply grill them and give a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, they're pretty delicious! But if you need further convincing to keep the eggplant from your share this week (if you are receiving them) here is an interesting article in the New York Times, that also espouses the health benefits of this mysterious and lovely veggie.

CSA - Gearing up for the end of August

The summer is just slipping away...away from lazy days too hot to do much but eat salad and delight in juicy ripe peaches; away from free time and that endless feeling that mid-summer has. Now I feel like summer is just racing to a close. The weather is starting to cool off; school starts next week (yikes!), and perhaps best of all, the harvest is really starting to hit its stride. I spoke with our farmer, Matt, today and he mentioned that the boxes are really going to grow and that we will have a consistently large share for a while now. Its so exciting! I had to thank him profusely for a number of reasons. Mainly, of course, because he grows the wonderful food that my husband and I eat, and also because some complaints have surfaced around "light" boxes and leaner share weeks. There are a lot of issues I feel like addressing here, and I won't go on and on (or at least I will try not to), but I would like to at least address some of them a bit. First of all, summer is not the height of harvest, fall is. Yes, it is exciting to see all of the green around you like the earth has woken from a long winter slumber, but food takes time to grow and ripen. We are now about to partake in this part of the process, but I hope that folks start becoming more mindful of what is in season, rather than what they think should be. The other main issue I would like to point out is that we are part of a Community Supported Agriculture. This means, at the very least, that we take part in the risks associated with farming and should also be, at least a little, involved with understanding the basic processes involved in the food that is grown for our consumption. This week's share is large and beautiful, and I am grateful. But I am also grateful just to be part of this more intimate way of being involved in the food system that makes my environment, my community and my kitchen a better place.

OK; now this is me getting off of my soap box :)


I have some assorted beets still hanging about and I have been thinking about other options to try along with the yummy simple salads we have been making. The other day, we had a barbecue and someone suggested wrapping the beets in foil and nestling them amongst the coals to roast. This was so simple and delicious! They cooked in no time and the skins easily slipped off to reveal yummy and slightly smoking tasting beets that we just drizzled with a bit of evoo and salted to taste. Sadly, I do not have a picture of that creation, but it was lovely and as easy to make as it sounds. Give it a try if you bbq anytime soon!

I also recently decided to play with my mandoline and make some beet chips which are shown here in their raw form. This was just an experiment so I only used one large and one small beet, but it came out great and I am definitely going to do it again! I sliced the beets very thin and placed them on parchment paper on a baking sheet. I set them to dry in a low oven, at 250 degrees for about an hour to an hour and half. When they were done they curled up a bit and were crisp and got crunchier as they cooled. I hit them with a little bit of fleur de sel to taste and delighted in this simple salty and barely sweet snack - yum!

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 seven - summer fruit and more zucchini

Another week at the CSA and we see the fruit to start really rolling in - the excitement is beyond words. It is so fun to see peoples faces as the see the big bag of peaches that await them and a little bit sad for those folks regretting not signing up for the fruit share...you know who you are and you will next year! This week's share brings more veggie goodies as well, but I am little pensive thinking of the farmer mentioning how dry the season is. That is why we are here though - both to share the bounty as we have thus far this season, and to share the risk. I know lots of folks have CSA share and are really looking forward to big boxes of veg every week, and I don't doubt that it will keep coming. But I want to pause and remember that CSA's are really here to keep these local farmers afloat when the weather, or anything else for that matter goes awry. I am still enjoying the amazing organic produce from our farm, but I want folks to be aware of the anxieties the farmer faces and to be patient and supportive no matter what. So given all of that - take a look at those peaches!



Well, for those of you a little at a loss for what to do with this week's zucchini, let me suggest these yummy, easy and fun zucchini fries. I pulled these together since we were having turkey burgers and thought they would be a nice substitute for a regular potato french fry. These are super simple: just take a couple of zucchini and cut them into thick sticks. Salt lightly and let drain for about a half hour (this is pretty key or you will get really mushy fries). Dry them off a bit and toss with a couple of tablespoons of flour and fry in enough fat to just cover them (I used bacon fat for the flavor, but feel free to make a healthier choice and go for some canola or sunflower oil). Let drain on a couple of layers of paper towels and salt lightly. Enjoy!

Action Alert - Growth Hormone Labling in NY

I just found out from a friend that Monsanto is trying to push through a ban on labeling dairy products rbGH and rbST free in New York State.

You can find out more and take action here.

CSA week six...trying to keep up with the share

Another week has passed and that means more veggies to play with...but what about last week's share you might ask. Yes, it is tricky sometimes keeping up with this bounty, especially when there is a bit of over lap from week to week, but sometimes it gives you opportunities to make different recipes that you need a lot of one ingredient for.

This week we received more beets, and I hadn't used the bunch from last week yet. What was particularly exciting to me was the abundance of beet greens this provided. A few weeks ago I made a lasagna using beet greens, but it really was just enough for a taste since. When you have one bunch, it seems like a lot at the beginning, but once you cook them down, they really reduce. So when you have a couple of bunches of greens to work with you can really feature them as the main ingredient.

This is exactly what I did with this frittata. I love making frittatas because they are great warm, as I have served it here for breakfast along with some scrumptious bacon from Violet Hill Farm, along with a slice of freshly baked zucchini bread. Its also great chilled or at room temperature served along with a salad for lunch. They are also super easy to make and easy to change up depending on what you have on hand. Really the only essential ingredient in the frittata is the egg (about five of them in this case). For this frittata I caramelized a couple of onions that I scored from a farmer at the Green Market (its so nice working there!) and then added the rinsed (with a little water still clinging) and sliced beet greens from the two bunches of beets. I stirred the greens occasionally to let the steam themselves but not letting the onions burn. To the hot (12 inch cast iron) pan I added the beaten eggs seasoned with a little salt and pepper and stirred a bit to distribute all of the ingredients evenly. As the egg starts to cook I sprinkled on about a third of a cup of crumbled sharp cheddar cheese (also locally sourced right from the farmer I work for) and then a minute or two later I put it into a hot oven (about 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and baked it for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and a little golden. I finished the dish with a handful of chopped fresh parsley (also from this week's share).

NYT article: what about prevention???

this article, which was also covered on NPR today,describes the current debate over the long-term prescription of statins in children as young as eight years old. i guess its the public health professional in me, but yikes! what about prevention? the article does cover what appears to be a lively debate, with many pediatrician's coming out against this course of action based on sound medical reasoning. for me, though, the main issue is how we have gotten so far from knowing what and how to eat that we are willing to commit children to a life long course of medication rather than questioning our food system and culture. it really frightens me...

CSA week five - its July already!

Well, another week and another share box. This week also brought the beginning of fruit shares that inspired envy in many who did not sign up for this extra treat. The raspberries and blueberries are so amazing on their own, I'm not sure I am going to do anything more with them than just snack on them or put them in my yogurt.

An interesting thing I started paying attention to this week is the swap box. I'm not sure if all CSA's do this, but we open up a complete share box for folks to swap out or just leave unwanted veg. I think by far this week beets and lettuce (of all things!) were the most rejected veggies, and the box literally overflowed with them. The lettuce really surprised me since I cannot get enough salad right now, but I was also surprised at the love/hate relationship folks seemed to have with the beets. I think I mentioned before that I am co-site coordinator, and this week I sat by the box for the entire pick up time, just because it was a convenient place to sit and ask folks to sign up for volunteer shifts. I happened to start noticing what people were getting rid of and looking for to trade. Carrots seemed to be the most sought after, which makes sense since Golden Earthworm has a reputation for some amazingly sweet and delicious carrots. It was just interesting to notice, though, how people interacted with the beets - some people (a small handful, really) were super excited and traded anything for an extra bunch of these versatile veggies, but in the end there was still an awful lot of them left abandoned to the box. Most folks seemed to just not like them...for whatever reason, and others just didn't know what to do with them, which is understandable, but I'm pretty sure there is an ocean of recipes available out on the web to help one figure this out.

Well, in the spirit of experimenting with the beet (that I neither love, nor hate, but am growing increasingly fond of) I made these beet latkes.
These are really simple to make and you can basically follow a standard potato latke recipe, substituting the beets.

Beet Latkes:
1 bunch of beets, tops removed (save them for later), peeled and grated
5T a-p flour
1/2 t baking powder
1t salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
oil for frying

Dry the grated beets a little with a paper towel (if you use regular ol' white paper towels you can put them in the compost!). In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients.
You can also add any other spices of your choice (I used cumin in these) at this time.
Mix in the beets and then the eggs.
Heat enough oil to generously cover the pan at medium heat.
When oil is hot, but not smoking, place 1/4 cup scoops of the mixture into the pan and gently flatten out a little.
Fry for about 4 or 5 minutes on each side.
Let drain on a paper towel and season with salt if desired.
I served these with a little plain yogurt (from the farmer's market).