Flavored Ice Cubes

One of my favorite things...

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• and the secret ingredient...1 tablespoon of vodka

Mix all ingredients in non-reactive bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pour into ice cube tray and freeze thoroughly.

I add these puppies to tea and lemonade. They're also great smashed into a little frozen ice dessert.

Awesome Cookbook

This weekend we picked up this beast, compiled by the fine folks at America's Test Kitchen.

I really dig this cookbook. It concentrates on practical cooking and has full color illustrations of various techniques. I love how it offers basic recipes, then suggests variations. For example, there is a simple muffin recipe. This is followed by a list of neat options, like orange cranberry, lemon poppyseed, etc.

Another example: a basic pork chop saute, followed by a list of various pan sauces that work well with pork. We tried this last night with great success, making a delicious sage butter sauce.

Flipping through this cookbook is quite inspiring. Everything is laid out neatly, all the recipes focus on simple easy steps, with explanations for ingredients and test results from their kitchen. There are lots of unique ideas and handy tricks. By far the best cookbook I've ever encountered. We're looking forward to using lots of these recipes!

Pickling: Results

Look at that color!

So the beets turned out spicier than anticipated. They're tasty and sharp, definitely good for sandwich fixins or salad. It'll take us some time to get through three whole jars though!

Pickling

There are way too many beets in our CSA box. So today I tried pickling them.

I cut the beets into thick slices and blanched them (let boil in water for 5 minutes, then cool immediately in ice water). Divided the slices into some glass canning jars and added 1/2 teaspoon of pickling spice (store bought in this case).

Then I made a simple brine:
* 3 cups distilled white vinegar
* 3 cups water
* 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons sugar

Bring to boil, stir to dissolve salt & sugar. Remove from heat, let liquid settle, then pour into jars over beets. Close jars, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

I'm pretty sure these will be ready in 24 hours. Only one way to find out, tomorrow evening!

Goat!

Checking "goat" off the list of meats I have tried. This one was done by the geniuses of Stage Left, roasted whole for several hours until the meat fell off the bone. Surprisingly, it tasted like a gamey duck, tender with just a hint of chewy. Of course, it helped that the curry sauce served with it was absolutely delicious - delicate and spicy, a perfect accompaniment.

Potluck Weekend

Two potlucks this weekend! Got rave reviews on our dishes for both:

Spud & Spinach Casserole
5 large potatoes, milk, butter (for mashing)
2~3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
2 large bunches fresh spinach
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 stalks green onion, sliced (green part only)
paprika for seasoning
the basics: olive oil, salt, ground black pepper

(1) Peel and boil potatoes; mash with milk, butter and salt to taste
(2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
(3) In large skillet, heat olive oil medium low. Add garlic and onion, then saute until soft
(4) Add spinach and saute until just wilted
(5) Stir in ground pepper to taste
(6) Now the casserole part: spread mashed potatoes in lightly greased 9x12 inch baking dish
(7) Cover with sauteed spinach mix. Layer cheddar cheese on top, then sprinkle feta and paprika on top
(8) Bake 20-25 minutes until hot and cheeses have melted
(9) Garnish with green onion

Lemon Cheesecake Squares
Crust:
9 whole graham crackers
5 tablespoons butter
Filling:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sour cream
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
berries of your choice for garnish (my personal favorite is raspberries)

Crust:
(1) Prep 8x8x2 baking pan by lining 2 sheets of aluminum foil inside the pan, one lengthwise, the other crosswise. Leave about 1 inch overhang on all four sides.
(2) Once pan is lined with foil, grease foil along bottom and sides.
(3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
(4) Place graham crackers in heavy duty plastic bag. Use rolling pin or mallet (we use a hammer!) to crush crackers finely
(5) Melt butter in skillet over low heat
(6) Remove skillet from heat. Add crumbs and toss to coat
(7) Time to get your hands dirty! Pour buttery crumbs into prepared pan. Press firmly and evenly along bottom to form crust.
(8) Bake crust until golden brown, 12~15 minutes. Cool crust while preparing filling!

Filling:
(1) Beat cream cheese and sugar in large mixing bowl until smooth.
(2) Beat in egg and sour cream
(3) Beat in lemon juice and vanilla
(4) Spread the batter evenly over crust
(5) Bake cheesecake until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. The toothpick test works well here - if it comes out without any batter sticking, the cake is done.
(6) Let cool in pan. Keep in pan, chill in fridge until cold, at least 2 hours
(7) Then comes the awesome part! Once cold, just lift the entire cheesecake out by using the foil overhang along the edges. Peel foil off bottom, cut cheesecake into squares and serve with berries.

Veggies Weeks #15, 16, 17

Despite the wedding, veggies still came in during Sept! Here's a quick catch-up post. As you can see the bounty was quite good!

The last of the tomatoes, along with plenty of green beans.



We also got more eggplant, and a lovely variety of peppers and squash. The butternut (pale whitish one) makes for a tasty soup. The jalapenos were very flavorful and perfect for nachos and chile.




There was fresh watermelon two weeks in a row!


And the beginning of fall heralded the return of lettuce!

Veggies Week #14

Lots of green beans this week! And also fresh dill, which we used to flavor grilled salmon.


A whole bunch of beets and two lovely eggplants.


Behold, more tomatoes! Cherry and grape, along with three huge heirlooms. The heirloom tomatoes definitely have a more "meaty" texture than supermarket ones. They are actually great by themselves, sliced and brushed with olive oil, then sprinkled with fresh herbs and grilled.


Leeks in the back, along with an assortment of peppers and a fresh garlic bulb.

Veggies Week #13

This was the week for heirloom tomatoes! Because of the late blight, they are harvesting these before ripening, so we can ripen them at home away from spores. They darken to a lovely rust red.

There are also cherry and grape tomatoes, which I've taken to snacking on like candy.


A bundle of pale chard up top, then along the bottom a bonanza of herbs: parsley, basil, and cilantro.


Eggplant! We made eggplant parmigiana, which was far better than any I've had at a restaurant. This variety is just so damn yummy!


Green and jalapeno peppers, along with cabbage and a whole mess of green beans.

Veggies Week #12

There's an outbreak of late blight infecting New Jersey tomatoes this year. Unfortunately, some plantings at the farm got hit, so the tomato yield is decreasing.

Which is too bad, because we were really enjoying them. This week, we did get enough to make plenty of fresh salsa and guacamole. We also got cherry tomatoes and more basil, plus two huge heirloom tomatoes (they will ripen to a lovely red on the counter).



Eggplants! The camera does no justice to the deep aubergine of these beauties. They were absolutely delicious sliced, brushed with olive oil, and grilled. I love eggplant, so this was quite the treat for me!


A fine selection of peppers and squash:


The leafy light green bunch in the back is chard, with fresh cilantro, cabbage, and garlic bulb.


We made an awesome cabbage medley, with chopped tomatoes and squash, stir fried in bacon grease. Mix with polish sausage and top off some rice or noodles, and a tasty meal is served!

I guess the late blight strain isn't the kind that hits potatoes, so we've got more this week! They are going into curry this time around.

Veggies Week #11

This was an awesome week for tomatoes! In addition to our regular box of goodies, there was another shoebox full of these lovely guys:


I'm not sure what's with the saucer shaped squash, or the purple pepper. But they're tasty, so I guess we should just admire how pretty they are. There's also yellow squash, along with some (hot!) jalapeno peppers.


A giant bulb of garlic, surrounded by a ton of shallots. Every meat seems to play well with shallots; so far we've flavored burgers, pork, and even buffalo with them.


More sweet corn and a huge head of cabbage!


And more potatoes! I wish there was a way to preserve these things for long term storage. Guess there will be more mashing, baking, and gratin in our near future!

Veggies Week #10

Tomatoes! From left to right, grape, heirloom, and cherry. Our homemade pizza sauce from these pretties came out quite nicely!


Jersey sweet corn! We got four tasty ears. They don't even need butter, just grill in the husk and eat right off the cob!


Cabbage, fresh garlic, a whole mess of basil, and red onion.


We made an awesome cabbage stew that lasted the whole week! It was very simple: sliced cabbage, carrots, celery, potato, onions, garlic, dill, and two cans of beef broth. Boil with water for a few hours, and yum! The stew worked great on rice, poured over kielbasa, and with hearty chunks of bread.

Even more potatoes! These are kind of weird looking. Not quite for salad, but definitely for baking, with dill, shallots, and butter!


Speaking of shallots, we got a bunch of those, and also some lovely zucchini.


The summer harvest is great, even with rains ruining several crops and delaying others. The farm cultivates a wide range of plants (I guess to be organic, you have to, otherwise you can't compensate for losses) and I've been pretty happy. I'm eating more variety, consuming less processed foods, and enjoying the better flavors. So far, this has been a great investment!

Veggies Week #9

Finally all caught up!

This week's farm delivery had a pleasant surprise - fresh flowers! A colorful little splash of summer! I like the variety; arrangements with all the same flowers can be a bit dull sometimes.


Lettuce has taken a hiatus until fall. Now we have green onions in the back, along with squash and cucumbers.


Some beautiful red onions, garlic bulb, tomatoes, and parsley.


The garlic has been excellent. These fresh ones have a stronger flavor than store-bought, with just the right hint of sweet, and a velvety texture. It's been a joy adding them to burgers, pasta sauces, and mashed potatoes.

Speaking of potatoes, we also got more of those, ripe for mashing!


At some point, we also want to try our hand at potato salad. We'll probably wait until another batch of the reddish ones.

Veggies Week #8

It was very colorful this week!

Tomatoes are in! There's also red leaf lettuce in the back, yellow squash, and a really cool round squash.


Big bag of fresh basil, plus cucumbers and scallions:


Lots of potatoes, a huge cabbage, and fresh garlic.


The basil, tomatoes, and garlic, along with last week's parsley and onions, went into a pretty awesome sauce. Potatoes were roasted with thyme, basil, and savory herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum!

Veggies Week #7

Almost caught up!

Two heads of lettuce in the back there, along with onions and beets.


A lovely selection of squash and two large cucumbers (men, start feeling inadequate....oh, about now!)


Dandelion greens, fresh parsley, and kale.


Like the rest of the herbs we've been getting, the parsley will be dried for future use.

The dandelion greens are way bitter, though! So far, I've only used them sparingly in salad. Not sure what else can be done with them, the bitterness is far stronger than collards or kale, so I don't think they're even suitable for pesto. Maybe in a soup later?

Potatoes! Boil them, mash them, stick 'em in a stew...

Veggies Week #6

I'm playing catch-up on the veggie tracking. Weddings and work keep getting in the way! But there was definitely some cool stuff this particular week.

More zucchini! The little red bulbs are salad onions (which were excellent raw), and fresh garlic in the front.


Giant fennel bulb! I'm not a huge fan of fennel. I've tried it raw in salad, sauteed with olive oil, and the flavor just doesn't agree with me. We did make a potato gratin last Thanksgiving with fennel, but it was more of an enhancement ingredient. I think we'll stick to using it that way. And of course, more lettuce there as well!


Kale and another radicchio, this one not quite as scary as last week's!

Veggies Week #5

The insanely wet weather has messed with the harvest quite a bit. There were actually some crop failures (spinach and arugula died), but the haul has still been pretty good!

Broccoli:


And beautiful summer squash! Perfect sliced and grilled:


Lots more kale! We are going to make a pesto this time around:


More garlic scapes. We are chopping and freezing these, for soups and such later on.


A huge and kinda creepy looking radicchio:
(feed me, seymour...feed me!)


Box o'goodies, with lots of lettuce and a chinese (napa) cabbage in the upper right corner. That's one of my favorites veggies ever. They're naturally sweet and so tasty fried with shitake mushrooms and little shrimps.