Fall CSA Week 6

More roots, greens and cruciferous this week. Winter decided to make a cameo with some snow and it is chilly here.  The Kingstowne Farmer's market closed up this week.  I asked one of the vendors why it doesn't stay open until Thanksgiving and she said that business really drops off in the fall.  Bummer :( Guess I'll be trekking to Falls Church once my CSA ends next month.


Sweet potatoes, bell peppers, bok choi, salad mix, eggs, cauliflower, potatoes

Plans: stirfry, salad topped with a fried egg, oven fries

Fall CSA Week 4

This week's share seems very manageable (unlike the large shares we get in the summer).

eggs, cabbage, kale, salad mix, arugula, sweet potatoes, garlic

Plans: cortido (spanish style sauerkraut), kale chips, sweet potato waffles

Fall CSA Week 2 + 3

The fall produce is flowing in fast and furious.  Last week were blessed with October tomatoes.  So glad they made one last appearance for the year.  This week it's green city.  A stirfry and more Liberian style greens are in our future.

Week 2

October (surprise) tomatoes, kholrabi, potato greens, dinosaur kale, arugula, radishes, eggs and a bonus smoked turkey leg purchased at the farm stand (they were key in recreated some of the best Liberian greens I've ever made)

Week 3

eggs, mustard greens, a honkin' sweet potato, bok choi, broccoli, potato greens

CSA Summer (Week 16) to Fall (Week 1)

Ah, the seasons are changing.  I'm a summer kind of girl, so the cooling weather is not my cup of tea but the changing produce, now that's something I can get excited about.

Summer share Week 16

eggs, tender collards, salad mix, eggplant, butternut squash, green tomatoes, garlic

How I cooked it:

• Liberian style collard greens fried with chard in bacon drippings
• A salad topped with sauted green tomatoes, onions and garlic (sort of a warm green salsa)
• Kitchen bin salad with carrots, walnuts, sliced garlic, dressed with oil and vin (Oooo I should have topped this salad with an egg)

Fall CSA Fall Week 1

spinach, bell peppers, butternut squash, kale (lacinato mehaps), celery root and collards, eggs (not pictured)

How I plan to cook it:

• Warm spinach bacon salad
• more Liberian greens
• Kale chips
• Celery root and apple salad

CSA 2011 Week 15

No tomatoes this week due to all of the rain.  Summer is truly coming to a close.  In fact, I believe meteorological summer ends today or tomorrow.

In other food news:
I taught a canning class on Saturday.  We made applesauce and pickled vegetables.  The student were very engaged and had lots of questions.  I took a jar of my peach sauce to share and it was a hit.  Sunday I made a fab Mexican inspired dinner for Emily's annual VIP Dinner.  The menu included sweet potato and black bean quesadillas, cilantro lime quinoa and coco-frozen banana ice cream. 


celery root, carrots, eggs, potatoes, pole beans, garlic, purple basil

Now that's a Gumbo

Last summer I had the unfortunate fate of making a big ol' pot of gumbo with fiberous okra.  It was such a sad clown moment.  The saucyness, seasoning and half smoke sausages were spot on.  The okra, however, was one of the few moments when I had farmers market buyer's remorse.

Word to the wise: do not buy gigantic okra.  They will be inedible.

This year I got my perfectly sized okra from PVF in my CSA share and it was like BUTTA.  All of the other veggies and the sausage were local too.  I highly recommend Cibola sausages (and other meats).  Here I used their andouille in Bittman's HTCE recipe.



Finger lickin' good and enough for several meals + a freezer stash.

CSA 2011 Week 14

It so hard to say good bye to summer daaaaaayyyysss, ooooooo.  Second to last week of the summer share.  Yup, I forgot to pick up my eggs this week. Bummer.


Heirloom tomatoes, sweet potato greens, kale, potatoes, chartreuse bell peppers, arugula

2011 CSA Week 13

watermelon, green beans, sorrell, okra, eggs, oregano, sweet potato greens, potatoes, parsley, garlic chives

Man, September done snuck up on me.  But there still about 3 weeks of meteorological summer left, right?  Good.  This morning I'm brainstorming my farmer's market and Trader Joe's lists even as all this produce sits in my fridge.  What a privileged life I lead.

Possible dishes to make:
okra, tomato, green bean stew with half smoke sausage
Liberian inspired chard & potato greens with brown rice
oven drying oregano and my garden thyme
end of summer watermelon agua fresca

2011 CSA Week 12

As I type, Irene is making her presence known.  I have whole wheat dough rising on the counter and fingers crossed that the power does not prevent me from baking that dough into a lovely boule.  Only 4 more weeks of the summer share but the CSA train keeps chugging this year...I signed up for a Fall Share for the first time. I'm looking forward to the challenge of cooking with root and greens as the days get shorter.


pole beans, green bell peppers, onions, eggs, chard, purple long beans, cherry tomatoes

CSA 2011 Week 11

You can't tell from the photo but the Tomato Avalanche continues.  By the time I took this pic I had already cooked up a pot of roasted tomato soup. We were permitted to take as many tomatoes as we could eat in a week's time.  I restrained myself and walked away with about 3 pounds.

eggs, brilliantly orange watermelon, garlic, tomatoes of all stripes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant

CSA 2011 Week 10

I dub this week Tomato Bonanza week! I made a delicious roasted tomato soup with the tomatoes, carrots and onions. No recipe is required - preheat oven to 450, chop tomatoes, carrots and onions, put on baking sheet and roast until the toms start to spot brown about 20 minutes.  Throw it all in the blender and add water until you get your desired consistancy.  I plan on making about a gallon of soup for our freezer before tomatoes wave goodbye in October.  Later today is peach and tomato picking at Hollins farm.  Can't.Wait.


corn, purple basil, genovese basil, eggs, tomatoes of all stripes, carrots, squash, onions, cherry toms, blackberries

CSA 2011: Week 8 & 9

I missed posting last week cause we were in Raleigh visiting friends.  A great reason to miss a post.  So this week it's a double.

Week 8 (late)

summer squash, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, garlic, sweet potato greens, mint
Week 9

tomatoes, corn, watermelon, chard, eggs, (cute nameless) melon, potatoes, cherry tomatoes
Possible  uses for Week 9 produce:
roasted tomatoe soup, oven fries, Melon Smoothies...

2011 CSA Week 7

As a Mini-Sharer I got to choose 7 items this week (in addition to my eggs).  Here's what I chose.

cherry tomatoes, cutie watermelon, bell pepper, green beans, garlic, corn and cabbage.  The cucumber was in the surplus box, so I brought him home too.

This morning I was crazy enough go on a baking spree in this 100 degree heat.  I made carrot ginger bread and dried corny cornbread.  Both recipes adapted from my go-to How to Cook Everything (or as we call it Mark Bittman).  On thursday, I used my newly favorite kitchen tool - the pressure cooker - to make a lentil and tomato stew.  I was aiming for more a of a lentil bolognese when I started out but the stew that ensued was quite tasty.

CSA 2011 Week 6 + Farmers Market

Is it weird that produce makes me giddy? My Wednesday CSA share just wasn't enought to satisfy my fresh food needs(read: hoarding). I made a stop and the Kingstowne Friday Market to cap my week off.

First the CSA...

monsterous swiss chard, sorrell, kohlrabi, cabbage, pole beans, potatoes, cucumber

And my market finds

yellow & red roma tomatoes, yellow watermellon, beefsteak tomatoes, corn, pepper, blueberries, plums, peaches

This weekend has meant some productive days in the kitchen. Results: two pint jars of blueberry jam, Mexican squash gratin, freezer cleaned out. Still to come: habenero cornbread with dried corn, potatoe leek soup, cucumber agua fresca.

CSA 2011 Week 5

The summer is flying by and the produce is getting good - at the CSA and at the farmers market. I love all of the fruit that is now in season. I still have canned peaches from last year and fresh peaches are making their summer debut.


Tomatoes, basil, escarole, blackberries, dill, zucchini, cucumber, green beans, eggs

2011 CSA Week 4

One quarter of the way through CSA season. I am loving the market-style set up this year, but it does take me a little longer when I go to the farm to get my share. I actually have to make decisions on what veggies to take with and what to leave behind. Its so hard 'cause it all looks so good.


Cherry tomatoes, green beans, leeks, eggs!, bell pepper, garlic, zucchini, cucumber, gargantuan blackberries

2011 CSA Week 2

Green garlic, zucchini, dill, escarole, salad mix, cabbage, lemon basil