Wednesday, July 27, 2011

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?!?

18 comments:

  1. Please come cook for me. Live with me, and cook for me. Your stuff looks delicious.

    And YAY EMILY!

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  2. awww Lizzy, thank you! I cannot even begin to tell you how much meeting you and all the other amazing blogger girls helped me through my journey to the IM! You guys are SO supportive, SO understanding and SO much fun. Please can you all move to DC?!

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  3. I love anything with the word Bianca on it haha. Great recipe, I'm kinda wishing I have a CSA too!

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  4. Love the idea of putting red curry in those zucchini cakes!! I just made a big zuch pancake myself and totally should have done that!

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  5. Once again, gorgeous CSA photos! I am missing mine. I'm going to have to try those Thai zucchini cakes. YUM.

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  6. Have you ever heard of the Moosewood restaurant cookbook? I got it for my birthday and just started using it this week. It has a lot of awesome recipes that seem up your alley.

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  7. You always have such yummy food on here! Those zucchini cakes look amazing. Sadly, the best thing I make with stuff from the farmers' market is corn on the cob in the microwave. I know, the horror!

    And yes, Emily is totally amazing! I just finished reading her recap, and it was seriously goosebump inducing.

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  8. beet chips?! how cool! i laughed out loud at the pic of you carrying all that squash. cute!

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  9. The food looks amazing! I wish I was in one place long enough to join a CSA, but life has me moving around too much right now. Someday...

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  10. Absolutely everything here looks amazing, Lizzy! You are definitely getting your dose of veggies this summer! All of the greens look so fresh and delicious. Heirloom tomatoes are like no other, and with fresh basil even better. I'm going to need to find a sneaky way to invite myself over for dinner someday :)

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  11. What a great haul! I made some blueberry cupcakes tonight, which I hope to post soon!

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  12. Whoa your CSA haul is SERIOUSLY hefty! Way heftier than mine is! Looks awesome.

    I'm so glad you liked those fritters! they are one of my new favorite summer recipes.

    and that flatbread...want.

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  13. I think you saw me tweet this, but I made a thin crust pizza the other night - garlic oil, tons of kale (that I blanched then dried), sliced tomatoes, chicken, and mozerella. Divine!!!

    And I'm with you on beers. Just can't get a taste for them.

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  14. I keep missing my invitation for dinner. Damn, US Postal Service. No, but seriously, you are such a chef! I can barely bust out one solid dinner these days and I'm not working much. I'm always impressed, Lizzy!

    And GO EMILY!

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  15. Those zucchini cakes look delicious! And I really need to check out pineterest. I've been meaning to do so since you recommended it a few weeks ago.

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  16. I love the zucchini cakes! I need to get these going tonight! We love to grill all of our veggies, after a little bath in olive oil, tequila (yes, tequila), and lime juice! So yummy!

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  17. That's it! I'm inviting myself over for dinner. I need you to cook for me.

    I signed up for a semi-CSA type of program at work the other day and we get our first veggie boxes next week. I'm so excited!! And you better believe I'll be back at your blog, searching for ideas for how to use all my veggies.

    Also, I need to get more into Pinterest. I love the idea behind it, I just never spend any time on it...

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