CSA Week 2 - Already Behind With The Greens !

Today's CSA bag contained Green Onions, Broccoli, more Mustard Greens, Leaf Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Mizuna, Beet Greens, and one Ball Zucchini (light green). Still left from last week's delivery was some Mustard Greens, Tatsoi, and Kale. After the salad to be served tonight, plans are to blanch and freeze the Tatsoi and Mizuna together for future Asian dishes or light soup. Mustard Greens are to be sauteed with bacon and onion or blanched and frozen. Kale may be blanched and frozen or cooked as creamed kale.

While tonight's supper didn't really make a dent in the pile of greens, it was very good. Serves two.
1.5 cups Broccoli (all that we got)
Sprinkle garlic salt or seasoned salt
1 TBSP Wine Vinegar
3 TBSP Olive Oil
3 small Beets (all that were suitable to cook)
Assorted greens including:
     Beet Greens
     Mizuna
     Leaf Lettuce
     Tatsoi
     Green Onion
Garlic Salt
Pinch dried Thyme
Double Pinch dried Marjoram
2 - 4 TBSP Wine Vinegar
6 - 8 TSP Olive Oil
Provolone slices or feta cheese
Pepperoni or salami or ham

Wash and cut broccoli into short spears and stem pieces. Microwave in 1/2 cup water for 3 minutes.
Drain, sprinkle with either garlic salt or seasoned salt, add 1 Tablespoon Wine Vinegar and 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, stir and allow to cool.

Trim beet leaves about 1" above bulbs. Reserve leaves. Scrub beets to remove dirt and dead leaf stems. Microwave beets in 1/2 cup water for 4 minutes (test for cake tester). Allow to cool for 5 minutes then remove peel and cub into bowl with broccoli (move into dressing at bottom of bowl).

Rinse well and spin dry the greens.  Divide the greens evenly between two large plates, tearing leaves into small pieces. Slice green onions over piles of greens, then mix with hands. Sprinkle each plate with garlic salt, pinch of Thyme and Marjoram. Divide vinegar and oil between both plates. Slice provolone or crumble feta onto the greens. Do the same for your choice of meat. Serve.

Recipe for CSA Mustard Greens and Pork Pasta

After browsing many of the recipes on the internet, I put together a very satisfying meal using half of the mustard greens from this week's CSA bag of veggies. This recipe made a generous meal for two adults.

MUSTARD GREENS AND PORK PASTA

2 TBSP Olive Oil divided
1 or 2 Shallots or 1 Medium Onion, sliced into small rings or large dice
1/4 tsp Sugar
2 boneless Pork Chops, well trimmed and cut into thin slivers or small pieces
Seasoning Salt/Herb Mix (I used Trader Joe's "Everyday Seasoning Mix)
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 large bunch Mustard Greens, cleaned, trimmed, stems removed, cut into medium slivers (not fine)
4 oz Dreamfield Angle Hair Pasta to keep effective carbs low
Salt to taste
1/2 cup favorite grated cheese
Two Pinches Red Pepper Flakes

Note that the frying pan is not cleaned between cooking the onions, the chops, the greens, or warming the entire meal. The browned bits add to the flavor.

Heat Olive Oil in non stick frying pan on medium. Add onions and saute until beginning to soften.  Sprinkle with sugar and continue to saute.  While onions are cooking, prep pork chops. Sprinkle slivered pork chops with seasoning salt/herb mix and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Mix in with you hands until spices are well disbursed. Meanwhile let onions partially brown slowly adding a tablespoon of water to slow the cooking.  Remove onions to a bowl.  Add 1 TBSP to frying pan and cook pork pieces until partially browned and cooked but not dry. Turn off heat and put browned pork chop pieces in bowl with onions. Bring 1 - 2 quarts water to a boil in a large pot and cook mustard greens for 5 - 6 minutes. Do not cover. They will still be bright green.  Drain cooked greens and add to the frying pan. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently. Meanwhile cook pasta according to directions until al dente. Add onions and pork to greens in frying pan and stir to combine well. Drain pasta and add to pan. Reheat quickly and divide between two dinner plates.  Sprinkle well with grated cheese and red pepper flakes.

Since mustard greens have been one of the more daunting vegetables that we receive, this recipe is a great way to use them. I can partially cook the greens and freeze in packs large enough to make this again and again. Obviously other greens and other meats can be substituted, mix and match. The pasta and cheese brings it all together in a satisfying meal.

CSA Week #1 - A Great Start

Sunday was the first pickup day for Post Apples CSA in my area.  It's always exciting to see what my bag of goodies contains and this week did not disappoint.  We received:
     Asparagus
     Bok Choy (a nice modest sized head)
     Tatsoi (had to look this one up)
     Kale
     Mustard Leaves
     Green Onions.

Lucky me, I'd been defrosting a fully cooked lobster and a steak for the husband.  The asparagus became my vegetable. I made a salad of raw kale and tatsoi, thinly sliced, to go with the steak.  Added some olive oil and massaged it into the greens.  Then added wine vinegar, garlic salt, a sprinkle of dried marjoram, chopped green onion, black pepper, and a spoonful of olive oil to complete the salad.  The flavors had plenty of time to meld while I cooked the steak.  Both of us thought our respective meals were excellent.

For Monday's lunch, I diced green onions and a leaf of the tatsoi into cottage cheese. Served with Wasa Sour Dough wafers, it made a tasty, low carb meal.  For supper  I made an Asian beef and bok choy stir fry and served it on previously cooked and frozen white rice. This meal used up the rest of the green onions and all of the bok choy.

Still to be consumed or frozen are the mustard leaves, most of the kale and most of the tatsoi. With pork chops and chicken breasts in the freezer, I have a good chance of finishing them up by Wednesday.

With the start of CSA season comes the clean out the fridge season. Those nutritious greens take up a lot of room so it's time to pitch the old and languishing items.

Double Down Borscht for my new friends

Had a great after dinner chat with lovely new friends at the Blue Heron Inn tonight. Cooking came up in the conversation so here is my recipe for Borscht. It's based on the "Continental Borscht" recipe from the 1970 edition of "America's Best Vegetable Recipes" (Farm Journal).

Double Down Borscht (Purchase beets with fresh tops to make this recipe)

2 - 3 cups coarse grated fresh beets (washed and peeled)
1 medium onion chopped
1 - 2 carrots peeled and sliced thinly or grated
3 cups water
2 cups beef broth
All the beet stems, washed and cut into 1/2 " to 1" pieces
All the beet greens, washed
1 TBSP lemon juice
Sour Cream (optional)

For quick prep, use your food processor - chop onion well, add carrots and chop medium, leaving veggies in bowl of processor, swap out cutter for grater and grate beets (or grate both carrots and beets). Every thing is in the processor and can be dumped into a large soup pot.
Add the water, bring to boil, cover and simmer 20 - 30 minutes
Add the beef broth and the beet stem pieces and continue to simmer 15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, take 4 - 5 leaves at a time. Stack them and cut lengthwise into roughly 4 strips (depends on how big leaves are). Cut strips crosswise into 1/4" slivers.
Add to soup and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Take off of heat and add lemon juice.

Soup is ready to serve hot or can be chilled. Traditionally a dollop of sour cream is added to the soup bowl after dishing up the soup.

B & B Free Vets Night Stay

What a nice way to say "Thank You" to past and current American Veterans! The Blue Heron Inn in Findley Lake is participating in B & B Free Vets Night. Only one room still available (as of 9pm on 10/18/10). The free night is on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. If you are local, this could be a nice stay-cation. If you live further away, maybe you can add on a few more days and enjoy the peace and quiet of our small town. Plenty of scenic drives, local wineries, Peek 'n Peak, and just plain laid back time to relax.

Here's the link: http://www.theblueheroninn.com/special-events.html

Don't wait too long to check availability and book your stay.

Cheaters Piss On The Rural Community

I've thought about this all day today. Cheating, cheap community members can't find their way clear to pony up $5 to participate in the Community Yard Sale that was held today. It's the same every year. One year it was a Town Board member. For several years it's been a judicial clerk. Every year it's been people who like to benefit from the community organizing that is done to promote the event but can't pay a lousy $5 to help defray the advertising costs and be put on the map. I've got news for you low life's - everybody who joins or has a map knows who you are. You are talked about all over town. Yes, we are nice to your face but behind your back, we know that you cheated. Part of the "rural characteristic of the community" is that we care about our neighbors. Here's a suggestion. Next year care enough to sign up, pay your extremely modest $5 and get on the map. Quit being a deadbeat neighbor.

Xenophobia?? In Findley Lake??

In my opinion (hereafter IMO), restricting voting membership to only Town of Mina residents is patently wrong on several levels. The easiest way to understand the issue is to look at a situation. The boundaries for Town of Mina stretch about 2 miles towards Erie, 3 miles towards North East, 5 miles towards French Creek, and maybe 6 miles towards Sherman. You can live about three miles from Findley Lake, within the Mina boundaries, pay your "membership" dues to the Watershed Foundation, and have a vote at the annual meeting. You can live 2 miles from Findley Lake, just over the border in PA, give all the money in the world to the Watershed Foundation, and have no vote because technically you can't be a "member".

You may be seriously in love with Findley Lake (the Lake that is). You may have interests and abilities that would benefit and augment the organization. However, if you don't live in Mina, you not only can't be a voting member, your desire to be a voting member is construed to mean you want to take over the board ... and do what????

Do we hear the words xenophobia and good old boys club yet? Time to grow up and grow a set. The Foundation needs it's membership to grow. Most people join organizations to support them. Most people don't want to be on the board (which meets monthly by the way). Most people don't want to have to attend a hot, long annual meeting and go through the dog and pony acts of presentations and reports. However, most people don't want to be second class citizens. If I live in Mina, donate to a non-profit, and get to vote, then someone who lives 2 miles away in PA, donates to the same non-profit, should have the right to vote. In fact, they may be more passionate about the lake than I am.

Time to realize that it's not a private lake any more. Time to realize that accepting Town, County, and State funds means access for all. Blather that allowing condo owners to become real honest to god okie dokie members would cause an influx in people wanting boats allowed through the gate on weekends shows just how "old boy" this network is. You say no member is allowed to get the gate unlocked while another guy is bewailing how much time it took over the holiday weekend to let boats through the gate. In other words, you do it for the current member but you don't want to do it for non-Mina members (should we ever have any). Look at your own rules and ask why you go against them. Its the way you've always done it!! Wake up, move on, get out of your rut.

As a non-profit, you should be open to anyone willing to pay the "membership". Every paid membership should have a vote at the annual meeting. And by the way, every board member should have paid their dues before the first January meeting or withheld their voting on the board until such time as they do pay them, since membership is determined by PAID DUES, not just because you fill a board slot.

Of course, the above is only my opinion. I'll keep paying my dues until they really piss me off with the good old boys, outsiders need not apply attitudes. Then I'll gladly keep my money at home.