CSA Week 5

Before I write about what I got with last weeks CSA and what I made, I need to interrupt regularly scheduled blogging about food and/or running to congratulate my friend Emily Halnon on her IRONMAN finish.  Yes, you read that correct.  Emily did an IRONMAN on Sunday and knocked it out of the park.  She had major obstacles that she overcame to finish a MOTHER-F'N-IRONMAN.  So please, even if you don't care about running, or biking, or swimming.... read this recap.  It will bring you to tears.  And please join me in congratulating Emily on her IRONMAN finish.  Emily- you are beyond a rockstar, you are my idol!  And I'm proud to call you a friend!!!!! (Who I met through this blog!!!)

Moving on...

CSA WEEK 5!

 I got an insane amount of produce for CSA Week 5.  In the bag:

Butter Lettuce, Summer Squash, Heirloom Tomato, Hot Peppers, Zucchinis, Cucumbers, Peaches, Arugula, Kale, Swiss Chard, Basil, Green Beans and Blueberries.

Carrying the squashes into the kitchen was quite the production!

One of the first things I made with all this produce was a gorgeous salad of heirloom tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, mozzarella cheese, and arugula with a dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper.

This is one of the freshest salads money can buy!  I cannot wait to get more heirloom tomatoes.  They are so perfect this time of year.  And this is coming from a girl who used to run from raw tomatoes.  Not anymore...

Another day I made a beautiful salad using the butter lettuce we got with peas we got from last weeks CSA mixed together with parmesan cheese.  I served the most amazing zucchini cakes on top.

These zucchini cakes alone could have there own blog post.  Now these aren't your typical zucchini cakes.  No... these are THAI inspired adapted from one of my favorite food bloggers- Joanne over at Eats Well with Others.  These fritters have one of my favorite ingredients in the world- RED CURRY PASTE.  Sadly I finished my jar with these cakes, but it was well worth it.

Thai Zucchini Cakes

Ingredients:

2 lb zucchini, grated and squeezed to drain out as much liquid as possible

1/2-1 cup flour

1 egg

2 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbs fish sauce or soy sauce

1 tbsp lime juice

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Instructions:

Mix the zucchini, flour, egg, curry paste, fish/soy sauce, and lime juice in a bowl.  Heat up a skillet with oil so you can fry the cakes. Using your hands, form patties.  Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes per side.  Serve over a bed of lettuce with your choice of toppings!

Joanne served a thai peanut sauce on top but I chose to use my favorite salad dressing instead.  I loved LOVED the subtle heat from the thai curry paste.  This was such a delicious dish : )

With all the swiss chard I got, I made a recipe I saw last month on Love and Olive Oil, but re-found while pinning.  Did you know that search on Pinterest?  Have too much kale?  Search Kale in pinterest and there's a bunch of pictures/recipes at your fingertips!  

How amazing is that?!  So, I decided to make Flatbread Swiss Chard Bianca. Only I used Flatout wraps instead of pizza dough which worked great.  And I made two of these even though my husband wasn't around to eat them.  Oh, and I also ate both- they were that good.  Hey- I'm eating my greens right?  Just so you know, that means I ate the entire bunch of swiss chard in one sitting. Oops?

Flatbread Swiss Chard Bianca
Ingredients:
2 Flat Out Wraps OR pizza dough
1 bunch of swiss chard
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 cup of part-skim mozzarella cheese
4 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions:
Cook chard in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender.  Drain and rinse under cold water and drain again.  Squeeze dry and then chop.  Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and stir.  Add chard and stir.  Season with salt and red pepper flakes, if desired.  Place flatout wraps on a baking sheet and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.  Scatter swiss chard over cheese then crumble the goat cheese on top.  Bake until crispy- 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  

Healthy and delicious right?!

I also made beet chips in the last week or so.  But I still don't like beets so the best thing to come out of these chips was this pretty design the roasted beets left behind.

Beets aren't my thing, but the recipe was fun- I used Naturally Ella's recipe for the chips.  Her blog is beautiful so if you haven't been there before- check it out.

What have you made lately with your farm-fresh produce?  Anything great- link it to me! And how amazing is Emily?!?