The “Tell” – Springdell Summer CSA Pickup #9 2

Hi everyone, Jess here ready to recap the 9th pickup of the season. As you may recall, someone accidentally (or perhaps purposefully) took my CSA box at the beginning of the week – a reminder to please check and double check those share box numbers in case you are walking off with the wrong box (and someone else’s dinner). Luckily farmer Jamie and Crew were able to piece together a share for me.  Let’s recap the week and see where things went!

• butter & sugar corn
  • Boiled for a few and rolled in Amish Roll butter (I know, I’m a one trick pony with the corn lately, but it’s just so good this way!)
  • Some off the cob for my Body For Life goop (see below)
• zucchini squash
  • Shredded into Tofu and Shrimp Pad Thai
  • Some shreds frozen for a future zucchini recipe
• crookneck summer squash
  • Simple Sauté and into the goop (see below)
• heirloom tomatillo
  • Peach and Tomatillo Salsa
  • Cherry Tomato Salsa
• super sweet 100s cherry tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomato Salsa
  • Muchos Nachos
  • Chopped into Body For Life goop
• 2 boxes squished peaches
  • Peach and Tomatillo Salsa
  • Some chopped into morning smoothies
  • As-is
• field onions
  • Salsas
  • Muchos Nachos
  • Some stored in the onion bin
  • Tougher outer parts into freezer for veggie broth
• green beans
  • Steamed
• salad cukes
  • Herb Cucumber Soup
  • Veggie Platter
• collard greens
  • Pressure Cooked with Bacon (along with the last batch of collards, as this dish overlapped with last week’s CSA box)
• Genovese basil
  • Basil and Carrot Top Pesto
• kale
  • Kale Caesar Salad
  • Stems in morning power smoothies
• carrot and tops
  • Basil and Carrot Top Pesto
  • Veggie Platter
  • Shredded into Pad Thai

• nectarines
  • Enjoyed as-is
  • Sliced with Mozzarella House ricotta
• early Mac apples
  • Apple Cranberry Hand Pies (using frozen cranberries from the Winter CSA)

• eggs!
  • Pad Thai
  • Scrambled
  • Breakfast Burritos for the Boys (now there’s some alliteration!)
    

• micro radishes
  • Mixed with Mozzarella House ricotta, olive oil, salt and pepper.  
• small popcorn shoots
  • Attempts at a Bourbon Corn Shoot Salted Caramel
  • In lieu of Bean Sprouts in Pad Thai 

Let’s fly through my kitchen to see how things went this week. I must admit, I wasn’t in the kitchen much, I had a martial arts training workshop that had me not home a lot (and after martial arts training for hours on end, standing in the kitchen proved to be difficult.)

“Show” day dinner consisted of (Springdell and Veggie) burgers and corn. 

A simple veggie platter provided another side dish, featuring both Springdell veggies and veggies from the Community garden.

As the tomatoes are beginning to blush (better late than never, and well worth the wait), I returned to the farm stand to grab a head of lettuce and cook up a fresh B-Dell-T.  

It’s a little early for cranberries, isn’t it?  Not if you freeze them!  Before by blogging partner Sarah moved, she gave me some of the cranberries she had frozen from last season’s CSA, and I whipped them into a quick cranberry sauce. Some of this sauce is slated for Apple Cranberry Hand Pies and perhaps an Apple Crisp. Who says you can’t enjoy fall flavors in the summer?   

For those that have been following my zany corn shoot bourbon caramel caper over the past few weeks, I have finally put the brakes on this idea. Above and below are some photos of the attempts.
The caramel itself definitely good, but the shoots needed a little more acid than the caramel could provide. I ate many a corn shoot while sipping the bourbon and making the caramel, and I think that is perhaps the taste sensation I’ll take away from this experience. Perhaps the corn base of the bourbon is why the shoots pair so well? Perhaps it’s because I don’t usually sip bourbon and it’s effects wooed me into thinking this is a great combo. Either way, I stand by this combo.

On Wednesday I swung by the farm one more time to grab some shrimp for my little guy who was craving them. I swiped a couple for a shrimp and tofu pad thai, and the remaining corn shoots were actually a great stand-in for the traditional bean sprouts. This one was loaded with Springdell goodies including eggs, shredded carrots and zucchini, garlic and slivered onion. The sauce I used was based on the one found in this recipe, which I adore. 

Is it blasphemous to cook tofu in rendered bacon fat?  If so, I’m not sure I mind being a bit naughty here.

I went back for an encore of this salad this week. Mozzarella House Ricotta topped with micro radishes, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, and a drizzle of a good olive oil.  So good, and my favorite use of micro radishes so far.  

You can’t go wrong with a Springdell Porterhouse steak fresh off the grill! Separated by the T-bone, it’s like 2 steaks in one, and can feed my whole family. Roasted thyme potatoes and steamed green beans rounded out the dish.  

I spent Friday and Saturday at an incredible all day martial arts training, and whoa am I beat, literally and figuratively! My usual power smoothies kept me going, 1 cup of kefir, a couple of frozen peaches, blueberries and kale, some ice and protein powder.  I also enjoyed an adaptation of this recipe (picked up from a diet my other half tried many years ago), using my remaining ricotta in place of the cottage cheese, corn off the cob, black beans, summer squash and cherry tomatoes. I call this stuff “goop” and it’s been a while since I’ve made it, but I love the flexibility of it. You can have it as-is, pop it on some lettuce, in a burrito with some grilled chicken or tofu, in an omelette, whatever tickles your fancy. I took the goop on the road to the training and it helped me keep up with the many hours of physical activity. 

Saturday night when I came home from my training, my mother (who spent the day watching Nan and the kids) surprised me with a dish I had grown up with, Muchos Nachos (or Much-Nach, as we have shortened the name over the years).  Much-Nach is simply a bed of tortilla chips covered in taco meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream, salsa, and whatever else you want to throw on there.  It was even better with a sweet layer of peach tomatillo salsa.  

Enough from me, it’s time to share some of what you’ve been cooking out there! If you’re still looking for uses for those cucumbers, it’s a great time of the season to make this chilled cucumber herb soup recipe, first brought to my attention by Farmer Elizabeth Almeida from Fat Moon.  Fellow Springdellian Julie Ann was reminiscing about a soup she had at Gibbet Hill Grill recently, and she reminded me that a cool as a cucumber soup is a great summertime option.  She was planning to try this recipe here, which sounds great!

Photo by Alissa W.

Fellow Springdellian Alissa W. had a simple yet brilliant use for her corn shoots this week- on top of Steak and tossed with balsamic vinegar.  Who needs fancy caramel when you can have this?  Thanks for sharing, Alissa!

Have you had any hits in your household this week?  If so, please share with us, as 200 kitchens are much better than one! Snap a photo if you can, doesn’t have to be a pretty one. Thank you so much for reading and joining me on this culinary adventure, and thanks to our farmers for making it all possible!  See you back here in a few hours for the 10th “Show” of this year’s Summer CSA Springdell Show and Tell!