a couple of quick notes

• I'll be attending Farpoint this weekend, notable here for the fact that the bar tends to have crazy experimentation with sci-fi inspired beverages. I may have to throw back one or five, and report back.
• Breezy Willow Farm is getting set to start up it's spring CSA season, which I'll be participating in again. Ignoring the fact that my reporting here dropped off the map - I'll get a post-mortem up shortly - it was a very positive experience for us, and something we'll be partaking of on a regular basis.

acorn squash with apples

I've had several successful hard squash experiments since I was ruminating on the subject, and the first came from Natalie, who once again dropped an awesome suggestion for a recipe. I made this without any modifications from the Mayo Clinic formula as breakfast over the weekend:

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 small acorn squash, about 6 inches in diameter
• 2 teaspoons trans-free margarine

In a small bowl, mix together the apple and brown sugar. Set aside.

Pierce the squash several times with a sharp knife to let the steam escape during cooking. Microwave on high until tender, about 5 minutes. Turn the squash after 3 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Place the squash on a cutting board and cut in half. Scrape the seeds out of the center of each half and discard the seeds. Fill the hollowed squash with the apple mixture.

Return the squash to the microwave and cook until the apples are softened, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the squash to a serving dish. Top each half with 1 teaspoon margarine and serve immediately.

This was a great main breakfast course, topped off with toast and cheese that also came to us from Breezy Willow. The sweetness of the apple mixture was a good counterpoint to the nutty acorn squashflesh, and the textures were very complimentary. Should any acorn squash further wander into my possession, I'll be doing this one again.

September 23, 30, and October 7 CSA shares

Yeah, so there's a bit of catching up to do...

Our return from Australia finds us pulling into the final, fall stretch of CSA goodness. That means, among other things, dealing with something I've never ventured to cook with before - hard squash! What exactly, I wondered, does one DO with such firm and intimidating plant material? Beyond carve it into spooky facies, or stare at it and feel vaguely rustic, I mean.

In short, I've found answers, and they are tasty... damn tasty. I will share those with you in the coming days, but for now, the raw materials from the last few weeks:

The September 23rd roll call: apple cider, ambercup squash, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, bread, mushrooms, radishes, peaches, Asian pears, and red apples.

The September 30th roll call: spinach, bread, eggs, green beans, lettuce, acorn squash, pepperjack cheese, Asian pears, apples, and sweet potatoes.

The October 7th roll call: lettuce, eggs, mushrooms, pumpkin, bread, cucumbers, red potatoes, apples, Asian pears, and green beans.

Oh yes, pumpkin... I have plans for you... MWA HA HA HA

August 19 CSA share

This past week's share is going to be our last for the next month, as we'll be on the other side of the planet for Aussiecon 4. Our food will be in good hands, er, stomachs in our absence, however. I'm exceedingly pleased we got to sample a huge watermelon and ridiculous corn in this last batch:

The roll call: watermelon, corn, eggs, tomatoes, nuts, zucchini, bread, potatoes, plums, peaches, and apples.

And by ridiculous corn, I mean WEAPONIZED. As in, cultivated for consumption AND combat:

I give you the Corning Star - a variant of the Morning Star that is lethally delicious.

Brother Ilchester's Summer Highball

Brother Ilchester's Summer Highball, cc by-nc-sa image from John Cmar on Flickr

The past few weeks have seen a robust crop of peaches and nectarines from our CSA shares. In pondering the latest fruits, and what to do with a forlorn bottle of triple sec, I came up with the following refreshing concoction:

• 1 peach or nectarine
• 1 part triple sec
• 1 part gin (I used Citadelle)
• 3 parts tonic water

Pit and slice the fruit. Place slices on a paper towel, and freeze for approximately 60 minutes. Mix triple sec, gin, and tonic water over the frozen fruit instead of ice.

This turned out quite well, and perfect for the ridiculously hot and humid weather of late. Having the cool fruit to munch on toward the end of the drink was wonderful.

August 12 CSA share

We're back in the saddle, baby. (Noone says that in Baltimore... UNTIL NOW.)

The roll call: potatoes, cantaloupe, eggs, corn, tomatoes, peaches, apples, honey wheat bread, eggplant, squash, garlic, and onions.

Mmmm... garlic...

damn you, Otakon... ReConStruction, less so

cc by-nc-nd image by Tasayu Tasnaphun on Flickr

I'm looking forward to our CSA share this week, mainly because we've missed the last two. Last week, we had a planned out-of-town stint for ReConStruction, and so had friends pick up and enjoy our share in our stead.

Two weeks back, however, I missed the pickup by 15 minutes, much to my chagrin. Given work schedules and Baltimore traffic, I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later... but this time, the delay was from an unexpected source. As I attempted a shortcut through downtown (it may sound ridiculous, but it usually works well) two Thursdays back, I found myself mired in traffic, road closures, and costumed people. I had forgotten that Otakon - the annual convention for all things Japanese pop culture, 25-30,000 people strong - had taken over the Inner Harbor.

I was pleased to see freakish geekery on display. I was not pleased that the traffic snarl made me miss our foodstuffs. That said, it all evens out... and in two days time, more produce will be mine. MWA HA HA H-*cough*

Father Ilchester, on the posts

Thanks to Adam, I'm finally set up to contribute to the Ilchester Road CSA community blog. The Ilchester Road site is where I snag my Breezy Willow share every week, and I think it a neat exercise that our mini-community is sharing recipes and experiences there - especially as we get to see each other every week in person, rather unlike other online groups.

I'll be crossposting the same produce and recipe commentary as I put up in this space, but I encourage you to check out the site - the other contributors have been adding some excellent gustatory content.

July 22 CSA share

Good news, everyone! More foodstuffs:

The roll call: bread, tomatoes, apple butter, bell peppers, methley plums, peaches, nectarines, summer squash, red pontiac potatoes, and variegated corn.

I'll need peruse more of Breezy Willow's recipes, I think... and there may be more bell pepper cocktails in my near future.

July 15 CSA share

Thank you, weather and Comcast, for letting us finally have our bloody-buggering internet back. Ahem.

The roll call: eggs, plums, blueberries, peaches, corn, onions, cucumbers, eggplant, bread, and tomatoes.

And here, I was lamenting the fact that we had yet to receive any corn yet... and we got some in spades, as they say. Or, rather, ears.

This is also the closest I've ever gotten to a non-cooked eggplant. I keep squeezing its spongy, supple flesh... I'll say no more.

the Ultimate (and Epic Ultimate) Bell Pepper Cocktail

As previously noted, Laura detests the bell pepper, and I am both unexcited & not offended by it's inclusion in various foodstuffs. In picking several up with our recent CSA share, I took this as a challenge to do something deliciously different with what I affectionately refer to as Cthulhu's Filler Vegetable. (Seriously, it's in just about every frozen or easily prepared dish that includes some sort of "vegetable mix.") Giving this a bit of thought, I came to an obvious conclusion:

The bell pepper must be taken roughly by alcohol in a shadowy bedroom and spit forth delicious progeny as a result.

I wasn't sure what form this would take. My first inclination was to find precedent for soaking peppers in an alcoholic beverage, as I didn't expect anyone would be mad enough to attempt a mixed drink with this ubiquitous waxen seed-husk... but a bit of interweb sleuthing proved me wrong, oh so wrong. Behold! The Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

My initial version used the following:

• 2 bell pepper rings
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and one bell pepper ring with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with bell pepper ring.

This ended up being far tastier than I expected. The profile of the pepper holds up well with the other flavors, and the result is a sweetly spicy taste of some complexity. Of course, enjoying this requires that one actually likes bell peppers. I offered Laura a sip, and her immediate response was "OMG IT'S HIDEOUS" and to gag and wave her hands in front of her mouth until I brought her a palate-flushing glass of ginger ale.

The original poster noted that serving such a drink out of a bell pepper seemed to be a messy and inconvenient idea... so I clearly had to go there. Behold! The Epic Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

• a whole bell pepper with a relatively balanced bottom
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

Slice the top off of the pepper in one even layer, and gently core the central seed area out with a paring knife. Cut the central stem out from the top and discard. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and the remaining pepper top with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into the body of the bell pepper and serve.

Although admittedly gimmicky, this would be interesting for someone to try who was both "hosting a party" and had a surplus of bell peppers. The added advantage is that cleanup would be both easy and nutritious.

Now, to finish this alcohol-impregnated pepper...

July 8 CSA share

And so it came to pass that there was a CSA share who's contents were not entirely to our liking:

The roll call: plums, blueberries, eggs, bread, tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, bell peppers, red potatoes, and summer squash.

You see, Laura is not a fan of bell peppers.

By "not a fan," I do mean "revolted by their taste and texture in any method of preparation." That noted, when I picked up the share, I chose not to trade them for something else. (This was only partially motivated by the fact that the trade-in bin only contained cabbage, which we still have plenty of.) While not a massive devotee of the bell pepper myself, I was determined to find interesting way to use said vegetable. Experiments in that vein shall be disclosed shortly.

The rest of the share, of course, clearly meets our global approval. In addition to the usual recipes up on Breezy Willow's main site, I've discovered that our specific CSA drop-off community has it's own blog for recipe sharing, which kind of blows my mind in a meta-algorithmic-subdivision way. Ow.

June 24 and July 1 CSA shares

In which I show you our produce pr0n in order to catch up:

The roll call for the June 24 share: summer squash, bread, cherries, blueberries, new white potatoes, lettuce, peach jam, broccoli, mushrooms, and cucumbers.

The roll call for the July 1 share: plums, blueberries, new white potatoes, cabbage, sunflowers, eggs, tomatoes, bread, peaches, green beans, and cucumbers.

As usual, Breezy Willow has been posting some excellent recipe suggestions. Instead of briefly mentioning some of what we've been trying in this post, I'm going to explode several of the recipes out to their own individual posts... selfishly, because that will help me keep track of things better, and look them up easier for the future. And, of course, for your own personal culinary edification.

I've noted a couple of interesting things as we enter the second month of this grand experiment. The first is that there has been very little wastage thus far. Apart from a head of lettuce and a few squash early on that succumbed to wilt and mold, we been doing a surprisingly (to me) good job of keeping up with the produce and using it in a timely fashion. I'm also pleased to see that we're still excited to try new and creative things with what we get, as opposed to "I'm tired it's late here's a whole cucumber *crunch*" This bodes well for the sustainability of us actually, you know, cooking on a more regular basis.

Also, if our kitchen knives were sapient, they'd report feeling as though they were transferred from a nunnery to a brothel for all the use they have been getting since June started.

It's... best I don't extend that analogy. In any way.

June 10 CSA share

And so it came to pass that real life did throw a flaming, tar-coated curveball my way, and I was forced to take the time to catch it with appropriate fire precautions. As such, while we got our second CSA share on time, we were forced to be out of town on family business for the third. All that noted, it is time for life, and food, to get back on track. Our second share:

The roll call: radishes, strawberries, spring onions, eggs, bread, white potatoes, peas, zucchini, and swiss chard.

The June 17 share, which a friend of ours picked up on our behalf, consisted of: cherries, lettuce, spring onions, white potatoes, squash, cucumbers, peas, bread, and eggs. We ended up with the lettuce, onions, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and peas on our return from travel.

Given family issues, time was more limited than usual, resulting in us using the above in very basic ways. We didn't get a chance to try the week two or week three recipe suggestions, although there are some excellent ideas therein. Also appreciated were their produce storage suggestions. A few experiments:

• baked beets - based on the week one recipe, I used beets, squash, onion and garlic. I haved the onions and cut the squash into rounds, which worked well for both. The beets I left whole, which was an issue - although they turned out acceptably well, they were large enough that halving them would have improved their "doneness" significantly. Although a time investment, this is an incredibly easy veggie dish, and I look forward to revisiting it in the future.

• chard and onion mix - sauteing chopped chard with diced onions and butter over several minutes of medium heat was a quick and extremely flavorful vegetable option.

• squash zucchini soup - I adapted Paul's recipe, opting not to skin the veggies first, adding a copious amount of parsley and cilantro for the herbs, and flavoring with sea salt. The result was refreshingly different and damn good. Just... don't start prep at 8:30pm if you want any sort of "reasonable" dinnertime.

Tomorrow comes share four, and we will be ready. Oh, yes.

June 3 CSA share

Inspired by the experiences of friends I trust in the culinary arts, and the fact that Breezy Willow Farm came recruiting at Sinai, we have joined a community supported agriculture program. Behold, our first share:

The roll call: beets, radishes, strawberries, eggs, bread, squash, spinach, and two kinds of lettuce.

The grander experiment here is in the forced cooking that will result from the influx of fresh foodstuffs each week. While I enjoy cooking, busy schedules and low energy levels lead to me normally relying on quick meal plans that involve, as Thom likes to point out, more "heating" than actually "cooking." One of my intentions behind posting my CSA experiences here will be to see exactly how I end up using the produce we get. It may not be amazing or epic in terms of dishes and recipes, but it will be interesting to see play out. Breezy Willow is being extraordinarily helpful in this regard, as they are posting recipes each week that match up with the contents of that week's share.

Which is good, because beets and I have had a Mutual Avoidance Agreement for some time... and now, I have a bunch.

Since getting the above share on Thursday, the following experiments have occurred:

• strawberry radish salad - chopped strawberries, radishes, and lettuce tossed with a lime juice/olive oil emulsion. Basic, easy, and damn good. The addition of nuts and a crumbled cheese, such as blue or feta, would make this better.

• radish green pasta - sauteed radish greens in a dash of olive oil and butter, mixed with cooked fusilli pasta, dried garlic powder, chunks of breaded chicken, and shredded mozzarella cheese. The flavor profile was fair, but this ended up being far too dry, namely due to lack of having any mayo or adequate dressing on-hand to use as a base.

• Irish cheese, apple, and lettuce sandwiches - also basic, easy, and damn good.

• scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach, onions, bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese - continuing the basic, easy, and damn good trend.

• grated beets with onion - I used Madhur Jaffrey's Grated Beets with Shallots recipe as a base, substituting a medium yellow onion for the shallots (being shallot-less), a 4 ounce can of minced green chilis for the hot chili pepper, and sea salt instead of table salt. The result was surprisingly subtle and flavorful, and I expect to return to this again if beets continue to show up in future shares.

Looking ahead, I seeing squash soup and baked beets attempts in my near future. And then, the next share will be upon us... Until then, I'll point out that not only is Ryn discussing her CSA shares and freezer cooking plans, but Dree is also documenting her own foray into a CSA program, currently in her third week.