When I saw how tender and young the bag of spinach was, I knew it was best to enjoy them raw. Strangely, the newsletter suggested that I add a few drops of bleach to the rinse water… I guess to kill the bacteria? I didn’t do it.
This salad was super easy to toss together! I would recommend making the dressing 30 minutes ahead to give the flavors a chance to meld together.
- Baby spinach, ~3 cups, rinsed and dried
- Carrot, julienned or roughly grated
- Asian pear, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1/4 cup of walnuts, lightly toasted
- Dressing: combine 1 tbsp of orange juice, 1 tsp of brown rice miso, a drop of sesame seed oil and 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Mix well
Toss spinach, carrots, and pear slices with dressing. Add toasted walnuts and some crumbled blue cheese on top if you like. That’s it!
February 7, 2008
This is more exciting than Christmas morning because I know I will get what I like when I open the box!
- Broccoli (a rather small crown of it)
- Baby Spinach (a generous bag!)
- Sweet potatoes
- Asian pears (yum!)
- Carrots
- Navel oranges
- Leek
February 7, 2008
Tonight, I used the rest of the chard from my CSA box and threw together a simple pasta dish. The exact quantity for this recipe is not important; just make sure there is not too much pasta for the amount of chard you have. Farfalle, or bow tie pasta, works well because it’s flat like the roughly chopped chard. In Italian cuisine, the pasta shape and sauce type must go together.
- half bunch of chard
- 150g of Farfalle
- a few pieces of sliced garlic
- cayenne pepper (optional)
- pine nuts, toasted
- parmiggiano reggiano, grated
Bring a pot of water to boil. In a pan, lightly sautée the garlic until it releases its aroma. Add in the chard and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Let the chard cook until it starts to wilt. When the water boils, add a large pinch of sea salt. Put in the pasta and cook until al dente, or slightly chewy. Drain the pasta and toss with chard, toasted pine nuts, and grated Parmesan.
I had one of the pink lady apples as a snack - it was so fresh and sweet! I can’t believe I waited this long to join a CSA. I feel more inspired to cook now.
February 1, 2008
My Italian roommate used to make this squash stew all the time in the winter. A perfect one dish meal when it’s chilly - warm, satisfying without heaviness and so easy to make.
- 1 lbs of squash (butternut or acorn), skin removed and chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 1 leek, trimmed and sliced into 1/4″ discs, and then quartered
- 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup of barley or farro , soaked in water for 2-3 hours
- 1 small dried chili pepper (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil
- ground nutmeg, about 1 tsp
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Drizzle some EVOO in a large pot and toss in the leek and chili pepper. Gently sautée the leek until it’s soft, about 5 minutes. Add the squash pieces, nutmeg and stir the mixture around. Pour in the can of peel tomato and turn up the heat. When the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to med and stir the mixture, breaking up the tomatoes. Add in the barley or farro. Let the stew simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check to see if the barley/farro is cooked - should be chewy but not hard in the center. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve: Toast a piece of ciabatta and sprinkle a little bit of fine sea salt on top. Place it on the side of a deep bowl and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top. Ladle in the zuppa, making sure a bit of bread sticks out.
Total cost: about $5.00 for two servings. Since it takes roughly the same amount of energy and time, I recommend making a bigger pot.
Buon appetito!
February 1, 2008
Last week, I joined a local CSA (Community Support Agriculture) in San Francisco called Terra Firma Farms. The concept of CSA is simple: you pay for a share of a local farm’s harvest and each week, you get your share of organic fruits and vegetables. To keep cost down, they don’t deliver; instead there are designated pick up sites scattered around the city. My site was two blocks from my apartment - the same distance as the local organic grocer. I actually prefer picking up my box over waiting at home during the delivery time window.
Each week, the people at the farm pack a box full of riped fruit and freshly harvested vegetables. They come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. My Small box costs $52/month, or $12 a week. The content is always a surprise. Eating with the season is a concept that is foreign to a lot of people. Instead of deciding what to cook and then buying groceries, you see what’s in season (i.e., what’s in the box) and then base your cooking around the content. It’s a great way to discover new varieties and be more creative in the kitchen!
Anyway, this is what’s in my box:
- Satsuma Mandarins (14, ~2.5lbs)
- Pink Lady apples (4)
- Green garlic (first time I’ve seen these outside of Italy!)
- Chard
- Carrots (6)
- Baby bok choy (3 bunches)
- Potatoes (2)
I don’t think the veggies will last me a whole week and I will need to supplement with trips to Rainbow or Bi-rite.
For tonight’s dinner, I made a carrot/potato/squash potage and sauteed half the chard. The secret to simple cooking is fresh quality ingredients.
February 1, 2008
