Another season is coming to an end.  I think we are all going to miss our Tuesday bounties.  I know this year, I enjoyed the CSA  more because I got to know so many of you.  Going to pick up is way more fun now that I know you better.  Thanks for sharing so many of your stories, recipes and ideas with us.  It is a beautiful community.

I have a bag of hot peppers in the fridge because I still haven’t gotten around to making that hot pepper jam.  But, at long last, I finally found out what all the fuss about kale chips was about.  They’re actually something 3 generations of my family will eat.

This year, I’m more content to have meals that are strictly vegetarian.  I’m learning to use and plan what to do with my share. Next year, l plan on doing even better with less waste.  And I look forward to getting to know even more of you.

Eat well.

The time has almost come to say goodbye for the winter.  It’s not easy, but the memories can live on throughout the year.  We want to warm you with them as you go into hibernation.  Tell us:

What was your favorite part of your CSA this year?  What was the best thing you made?  What did you really want to make only to find you waited too long and mold had set in?  What do you love about your pickup routine each week?  A word, a paragraph or a picture, send us your musings on this year for our end of the season wrap-up.

Earlier in the season, we got some radishes.  I’m just not that into radishes, but this year I was on a mission to use all that I got to the full potential.  I used them in salads - green, tuna and rice salads.  I kind of started to like them.  My friend in Vermont also got radishes from her CSA and told me about this radish top soup.   I was curious, but it was too late, no more radishes.  Until two weeks ago.  I got a small bunch of radishes, not enough to make the soup, but I didn’t use them and then last week in the free bin SCORE!  Radishes!  Loads of radishes!  I made the soup.  It was on one of the chilly fall nights last week.  I didn’t really know what to expect.  Well . . . it was perfect.  Cozy and comforting and a little bit like baby food.  And it was super simple.  I’m hoping for another score this week in the free bin.  I used the tops of four bunches.  Now I have plenty of radishes left over and a little bird told me I can roast them.  We’ll see.  I am going to make this soup again.  I’m hoping for another score this week in the free bin.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 medium red potatoes, diced
• 4 cups raw radish greens
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup milk
• 5 radishes, sliced

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and saute until tender.
2. Mix in potatoes and radish greens, coating them with butter.
3. Pour in chicken broth.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
5. Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
6. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Mix in the milk.
7. Cook and stir until well blended. Serve with radish slices.

This week check out member, Amy Plattsmier’s recipe that uses potatoes, parsnips and a food mill. Yum!

When my packrat husband, Jason, and I were slogging through the process of signing up for a wedding registry 10+ years ago, I nixed many items he wanted to include, one of them being a Williams Sonoma food mill. Not having any idea what a food mill was, I never gave the omission a second thought, that is, until I had a baby. All of the baby books with sections on making one’s own baby food extolled incessantly the virtues of the food mill, but still I stubbornly chose the back of a fork to mash freshly steamed squash or banana for my toothless child.

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Tonight was one of those nights when I came home from work and realized we have another delivery tomorrow, and I still had a fridge full of stuff from last week. Eek! Plus I also had a leftover container of takeout rice. (Why, you ask, did I order Chinese takeout the other day when I had a ton of CSA veggies sitting around? Because I’m a bad person, and very lazy.) But anyway, never fear, because fried rice came to the rescue! Here’s my recipe:

Heat some peanut or canola oil in a wok or frying pan. Add a clove of chopped garlic, a little grated ginger, and a chopped scallion, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the leftover rice, crumbing it with your fingers if it’s clumpy. Stir frequently for a few minutes, and then add some chopped veggies. I tossed in broccoli, eggplant, tatsoi, green bell pepper, and hot red pepper, but you can really improvise here. Cook until the veggies are tender but still crisp. I also like to add some egg in my fried rice, so I made a little hole in the middle of the rice/veggie mixture, cracked an egg in there, and scrambled it in. Then sprinkle on a splash of soy sauce, mix it all up a little more, and it’s done. You could also add tofu, chicken, or pork for protein instead of the egg. I should have taken a picture of this, but I was so hungry I just dug in and totally forgot. But trust me, it looked delicious (and tasted pretty good too).

So lately, we have been making some really amazing things with our CSA veggies, and mostly vegetarian dishes that can be served as main courses. With our CSA share, we have made fried red potatoes, a zucchini/pepper/eggplant “tart,” a tomato salad, and a tomato and eggplant pasta sauce made from scratch.

First, my husband, Chris, made this zucchini “tart” from the latest issue of Gourmet. In addition to the recipe which consists of sauteed zucchini, roasted onion and peppers (also from our CSA) layered with parmesan cheese, he threw in some sauteed eggplant (CSA) as well. It was wonderful over the course of several days as a side to various dishes we made. We ate it with fried red potatoes and a delicious tomato salad. The zucchini tart was also eaten for breakfast with toast and for another meal with some pate. Read the rest of this entry »

So I made some delicious BLTs this week with the lettuce and tomatoes we got.  I really enjoyed them, but now I wish I tried this Bacon, Lettuce and Plum recipe that appeared in the NY Times on Wednesday.  Maybe this week . . .

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This week, feel the love with our first featured COUPLE, Darren and Dara.

Who are you?
I am Darren, who are you? I am Dara (yes, we have similar names).

What do you do?
Darren: I’m still clinging to ‘recent graduate’ as a title; I got my BA in Metropolitan Studies at NYU.  I’ve got a job in the city, but my life in Brooklyn is what matters; I’m the Outreach Coordinator on the PLGCSA Board.  I also serve on the Board of Directors for PLG Neighborhood Association (PLGNA).  Recently, I started tutoring Hasidic people in Williamsburg as a freelance gig.
Dara: I’m about to begin work on my PhD in Sociology of the Body at the University of Kent in England. Until then, I will continue working at NYU School of Law, helping law students get jobs.

Where do you live?
We live on Sterling Street between Bedford and Washington in a beautiful apartment owned by members Carlos and Clare.

Where did you grow up?
Darren: I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, yes in the actual shrinking city.
Dara: I grew up in South Florida with strong ties to Philadelphia.

How long have you been a member?
Since the beginning!  Darren moved to PLG the year it started and it just sort of happened.  We were students at NYU and we got subsidized because we were legitimately broke; it was amazing to be able to benefit in that way, which is a big reason Darren is happy to serve on the Board and give back.

When you do your pickup where are you coming from?
Darren: Actually, Dara has done 99% of the picking up this year; she comes from work in the city.  But she is moving to England in September, so I’ll have to pull it together! Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it’s been a gluttonous couple of weeks.  After vacation, I am trying to eat healthier and spend less. It’s time to stat making more meals at home.  Luckily I have a full pantry and lots of good produce from the CSA every week.  I was really happy about the fruit share this week.   I live for those donut peaches.  But they didn’t last long.  My kids and I basically sat at the dining room table eating donut peaches and apricots.  I was thrilled that they loved the fruit so much.  My husband is lucky that I managed to save a couple for him.  It wasn’t easy.   For dinner we made veggie kebobs on the grill.  I put  potato, zucchini, garlic, pepper and red onion (not CSA) on  a wooden skewer brushed with some oil and I also mixed some eggplant with oil and salt and pepper and parsley and grilled it.  It was a super satisfying cheap healthy meal.  The next night I decided to tackle the beans.  I’m not that into beans.  I think I may have been forced to eat them as a child.  When I saw them at pick-up, I wasn’t too happy, but I am trying to use everything so I found this recipe which used the beans and the parsley (see below).  Very quick and easy.  I served that over a Trader Joe’s grains mix and added lots of salt and pepper.  It was really good. I may be changing my tune about beans. Read the rest of this entry »

We did some cookin’ last week. Grillin’, choppin’, bakin’.

Both my neighbor, Angela (who splits a share with us) and I made strawberry shortcake. It is true—the strawberries we got were so sweet I did not add any sugar to the strawberry topping. There is nothing more simple than a biscuit that is made of flour, baking powder, milk, butter and sugar. Read the rest of this entry »