Hi everyone, Jess here to chat about the 12th pickup of the CSA season! I hope everyone had a good first post Labor Day week! Many of us have kids starting up with school and new activities, and as our lives begin their seasonal shift, so too do the goodies in our share boxes! There are some truly lovely colors in this veggie box, and as things morph from bright greens to more of the oranges, reds and yellows, you can tell that fall is fast approaching. 
Besides the start of preschool here in the Anderson household, I was thrown a bit off my game this week with a stomach bug. Unfortunately it thwarted a couple of regularly scheduled meals, but I had received some great recipe ideas from my farm family that kept things from being a total wash. Let’s see how things went!
butter & sugar corn
- Blanched and frozen
- Baked Chile Rellenos with Corn and Crema
- heirloom cherry tomatoes
- Basil and Mozzarella Salad
- Potluck Dinner Salad
- A few into the Vitamix Tomato Sauce
- (Got too many? Try roasting them, you can then enjoy copious amounts!)
- heirloom tomatillos
- pee-wee peaches
- Enjoyed as-is by the 7 year-old in our household
- beefsteak tomatoes
- 1 still on the counter
- Vitamix Tomato Sauce
- Potluck Dinner Salad
- crookneck summer squash
- Simply steamed and served with Amish Roll Butter
- classic eggplant
- bell pepper
- Slivered and dipped into ranch dressing, chopped into salads
- 2 peppers blanched and frozen for future winter stuffing
- Paula Red apples
- Enjoyed as-is by the 5 year-old in our household
- jalapeño peppers
- Peach Tomatillo Salsa with Pan Fried Haddock
- Added to last week’s brine of Pickled Peppers
- poblano peppers
- lettuce
- Potluck dinner salad (first the leaves were removed from the core, washed, patted dry and refrigerated in a crisper bag)
- radish
- Soaked in water and enjoyed throughout the week slivered into salads, a couple still left and in the water in the fridge.
- Enjoyed with Mozzarella House Ricotta– a simple favorite!
- pearl peaches
- Slated for a simple Peach Sorbet
- Quartered and frozen
- Enjoyed with Mozzarella House ricotta for breakfast
- Enjoyed as-is (especially the pee wees, great little snacks that went fast!)
- melon
- Sliced and enjoyed with dinners
- sunflower shoots from Johnny Putt Farm
- Slated to accompany an Ox-tail Broth Pho, but instead enjoyed as-is snipped and served at a potluck dinner
- Slated to accompany an Ox-tail Broth Pho, but instead enjoyed as-is snipped and served at a potluck dinner
- Eggs
- Morning Scrambled Eggs (Did I mention my 7 year-old learned to make scrambled eggs himself? This is a TOTAL game changer.)
- Aunt Mary’s Eggplant Balls
- zinnias
All scraps composted and fed to the chickens unless otherwise noted above.
Let’s take a quick trip through the kitchens, mine and yours!
For Meatless Monday, I had a plan to broil up some eggplant with Mozzarella from none other than Mozzarella House. Instead I decided to try a recipe brought to my attention by Ann B., Aunt Mary’s Eggplant Balls.
Though the kids were not fooled into thinking these were meatballs, but that’s ok, more for me! I found them to be quite delicious with some fresh tomato sauce, and they were great the next day for leftover lunch as well! Note how the yellow tomatoes turned the sauce a bit orange, as opposed to the traditional red. They also made the sauce quite sweet which complimented the eggplant quite nicely.
I recommend storing any leftover ones separate from the sauce so they don’t lose their shape (I never got around to flipping mine during cooking, so they look more like cookies instead of balls, but that still works!)
On Tuesday I enjoyed another recipe brought to my attention by fellow Springdellian Mandy C., Baked Chile Rellenos with Corn and Crema. Mandy had suggested substituting the crema with Greek yogurt, which worked quite nicely! The sweetness of the corn and the subtle spiciness of the poblano created a nice balance. My carnivore was ok without the meat in this one, though some browned ground beef or shredded chicken would have worked in here as well.
Photo by Ann B.
Fellow Springdellian Ann B. also shared a meat version of stuffed poblanos, using 1 pound of cooked sausage, 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded cheddar, 1 deveined and seeded minced jalapeño and 9-10 good-sized poblanos. 375 for about 25 minutes is all it took for a one way trip to deliciousness. Thanks, Ann!
On Wednesday I enjoyed an adaptation of a Paleo recipe from fellow Springdellian Crystal R., Roasted Peach Tomatillo Salsa with Pan Fried Halibut. I opted for haddock from Jordan Brother’s, and took some liberties with the salsa preparation based on what I had on my counter. It was quite tasty! Summer squash made an appearance on the plate as well. 
This is the part where we jump-cut to later in the week, as I was taken out of commission by my turn with a stomach bug. It didn’t last long, just long enough to throw me off my game. Looks like that ox-tail will stay in the freezer a bit longer. In lieu of that postponed recipe test, I decided to share this photo of our 15×15 plot in the Westford Community Garden, where we’ve enjoyed many cukes and tomatoes started from Springdell seedlings. What a wonderful year it’s been there! As I tend to our tiny little piece of land, I am reminded that Farmer Jamie and her crew have a plot thousands of times larger than my little postage stamp, and I’m in awe and most grateful that they tend it so well.
The sunflower shoots slated for my Ox-Tail Pho recipe ended up in a bowl and brought to a potluck dinner, along with a simple garden salad (stacked just under the shoots bowl). The shoots were a very popular item at the potluck and many people asked where to get them!
Photo by Dawn DeMeo
Fellow Sprindellian Dawn DeMeo shared this lovely recipe from Cooks Illustrated for Sautéed Corn with Black Beans and Red Bell Pepper. It’s flexible, colorful, and delicious!
The apples are coming the apples are coming! I’ve been busy updating the varieties on Veggiescope, and hope you’ll find the latest info there to be helpful.
That’s about it from my end this week! I know I’m behind getting a lot of these recipes archived into the Veggiescope, and hopefully you can bear with me as I find my stride. (Or is it bare with me, or bear with me? I’ve never been sure…) Anyhow, thank you so much for reading, for sharing your ideas, asking great questions, and otherwise being a part of my farm family. It’s truly a pleasure to take this culinary journey with you! See you back here tomorrow for the 13th pickup of our 2017 Summer CSA!