1000 pizza doughs

Late Summer Veggie Bonanza

I got this beautiful CSA share yesterday.

It's week 16 for the Summer Creek CSA, when everything seems to be in season.  After taking a moment to enjoy the rainbow of colors in this week's box, I started to wonder... how am I ever going to cook, much less eat all these vegetables in a week? 

Some of them may keep a bit longer (the potatoes and garlic, for instance).  But the eggplant, raspberries and basil, not so much.  Here's the thought process, roughly:

Wow, look at those amazing vegetables. I can't wait to cook them.  Oh wait, it's a Wednesday night, and I have to um, work the next two days.  So I can afford to keep buying gorgeous organic produce. That I don't have time to cook.

My husband accuses me of making things too complicated, so tonight I decided to prepare several vegetables in the simplest way I could think of.  I boiled some of the lovely Mountain Rose potatoes (they have red swirls inside!), roasted some green and yellow beans and baby carrots tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and made a simple salad of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, red onion, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  And, to appease the carnivorous beast (not naming any names, of course), pan-fried a couple chicken breasts.

The result:

This took about 40 minutes start to finish, including scrubbing the dirt from the potatoes and carrots. Not a super-quick meal, but not bad considering the number of fresh ingredients involved.  It was a really nice meal, and (bonus!) it didn't cause me any stress.

Usually, one of the biggest joys of CSA for me is trying new recipes, cooking techniques and flavor combinations.  With this meal, I did none of that, and it was really tasty.  It's easy to forget that such wonderfully fresh produce doesn't need much help to taste good!  

Farmer Rick is trying a new type of potato: the Mountain Rose (photo of a raw one above). It has a thin skin and a delicate flavor, and keeps its reddish-purple swirls inside even after it is cooked.  These were excellent boiled, served with just a little sea salt.  My husband said they remind him of potatoes from the island off the coast of Norway where he spent summers as a (half Norwegian) child.  And where boiled potatoes are served at practically every meal.  So Farmer Rick, these potatoes get a thumbs up from this house.  When a Norwegian compliments your boiled potatoes, that is saying something!

Corn Chowder - A Joy of Late Summer

Corn chowder is a labor of love.  Especially this one, from Jannequin Bennet's "Very Vegetarian."  (Here's the recipe, courtesy of Google Books.)  Lots of chopping and dish-washing is required, but the result is an awesome soup.  Perfect with some crusty bread, or a nice gooey grilled cheese sandwich (I like a mix of Jarlsberg and Fontina - try it with a little pesto!).

The author notes:

This colorful soup highlights the bounty of late summer, when corn is plentiful, peppers are fully rip, the potato harvest is beginning, and the nights have begun to have a little chill to them.

It is indeed colorful, and a life-saver to those of us struggling to find ways to cook all those CSA vegetables.  I used these vegetables gleaned from CSA and farmer's market:

• Yukon gold potatoes - Recipe calls for red skin potatoes, but either works fine.  Do cook them separately though.
• Garlic
• Onion
• Bell peppers - Generally, I use all green peppers, since the colorful ones are hard to find locally grown
• Fresh white corn, about 4 ears, removed from cob - Fresh corn is a must for this soup. Frozen is OK in the dead of winter, but do not use canned corn for this.
• Tomatoes, diced (optional garnish)

Other items used:

• Carrots
• Celery
• Fresh cilantro
• Oil - recipes calls for vegan margarine, but I am just not a fan of margarine of any type (butter or nothing, baby!)
• Spices: cumin, dark chili powder, cayenne - Tip: use twice the cayenne for a little more heat.  This is a pretty bland soup otherwise.
• Flour
• Vegetable stock - Store-bought is fine, or chicken stock, if you aren't concerned about keeping it vegetarian (vegan, really).
• Salt
• White pepper (or black, if you don't mind the specks)

 

To make life easier, here are a few tips if you try this:

• Use a large pot.  The one above is 8 quarts, I think.
• First, chop the potatoes, and start boiling them separately.
• Then, chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Get those on the heat.
• Next chop the peppers.
• Saute the peppers separately.  This takes about 10 minutes.  If the peppers and potatoes finish before they need to go in the soup, just set them aside. They'll warm up at the end.
• While cooking the peppers, remove corn from the cob and chop the cilantro.
• Stage the spices and flour next to the stove, so you don't forget to add them at the right time (I forgot to add the spices until the end this time, and the soup had less depth of flavor).

This soup freezes beautifully for a taste of summer well into fall.

I imagine every vegetarian has been asked, "What do you eat?  Don't you feel deprived?"  Thanks to meals like this one, nope, not a bit. 

Urbana Farmer's Market - Part 2

Or, if you prefer, Crazy Farmer's Market Lady - Part 2 (see Part 1 here)

First, some eye candy:

I'm not sure when I started considering beans eye candy, but these purple variegated Italian beans (on right above) from Blue Faerie Farm in Middletown, Md. inspired me.  (They were awesome sauteed with some olive oil and shallots from my CSA box.) I also got the peaches for Sunday's peach/blackberry tart from Jan and Ray, pictured below.

Next, I stopped by the Carrollton Manor Farm stand (below), which had some impressively large zucchini.  I bought various peppers and an onion here, for my corn chowder. (No Web site but they are on Facebook under Carrollton Manor Farm, and are located in Buckeystown, Md.)

Next stop: yellow tomatoes! I'm pretty sure these were from House in the Woods Farm in Adamstown, Md. (but I wouldn't swear to it, as I forgot my notebook).  Couldn't resist picking up one of these beauties.

 

I think my favorite stand might be the Caprikorn Farms goat cheese stand.  I tried a sample from these lovely ladies (love the aprons!) but was unable to buy any cheese since I had about a half hour walk home on a sweltering August afternoon.  Happily, they do sell this cheese made in Gapland, Md. at the Common Market; I recommend the jalapeno.

 

And this is the photo that made me into crazy farmer's market lady.  Promised the husband I wouldn't bring home any more squash, but I was really tempted by these pattypans from Legacy Manor Farm in Boonsboro, Md.

 

I also heard from Kelly, owner of Loveydoodle Cookie Emporium.  Her brother Jason is pictured in a previous post.  Kelly tells me she'll have chocolate chip and triple chocolate crinkles this Sunday. (No idea what crinkles are Kelly, but you had me at triple chocolate...)

More information on the Urbana Farmer's Market, including additional vendors, is available on the market's home page.  Market summer Sundays at Landon House (directly across from Cracked Claw at Rt. 355 and Fingerboard Rd./80) from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

I got all of this beautiful local produce, artisan bread, snickerdoodles, and even some flowers for a total of $19.75, and some thorns.