This Week's Menu

An "interesting" week here in Sweet Bean's blogland. With our CSA produce, sometimes I have to plan bizarre meals in order to use up our bounty! Garlic mashed potatoes and salad, anyone? Oh, well...it works for me!

P.S. I made the summer squash gratin last week, as well. It was so delicious, I would eat it every day. Try it!

P.P.S. Salsa recipe from here.

CSA Share: Week 4

Yum! Minnesota's late spring is a thing of the past, and we are in the full throes of summer...at last. This week, we got a pretty full box (the poor farms are struggling to grow anything!) with: strawberries, cauliflower, cabbage (isn't that the cutest cabbage?),

fennel (love fennel), parsley, kale (lurking over on the left),


and some gorgeous ruby-red chard.

Here's a GREAT recipe featuring chard from Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures:

Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard

1 T olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
8-10 cups chopped Swiss chard, stems and leaves kept separate

The Polenta
Butter for greasing dish, plus 1 T
2 cups low-fat milk
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
3 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup sour cream

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over med. heat. add the garlic and cook 30 sec, then stir in the Swiss chard stems. Pour in a few T of water and cover the pan. Cook the stems 2 minutes. Remove the cover, then mix in the Swiss chard leaves. Cover the pan again and cook until the leaves wilt, about 3 minutes. Toss occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool, uncovered.
2. To make the polenta, preheat the oven to 400F.
3. Butter a 2-to 2.5-quart shallow baking dish and set it nearby. Combine the milk, water, and salt in a med saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to med-low and slowly drizzle in the cornmeal, whisking all the while with a wire whisk. Continue to cook and whisk the polenta until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes and tears away from the sides of the pan (5 min.). Whisk in 2 T of the Parmesan, the 1 T butter, and the mozzarella.
4. Spread half of the polenta in the baking dish. Spoon on the Swiss chard and distribute it evenly. Drop on small spoonfuls of the sour cream and spread it with the back of a spoon. Spoon on the remaining polenta and spread it out. Sprinkle on the remaining T of Parmesan.
5. Bake the polenta 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top and sizzling. Do not overcook it because you want to retain its creamy interior.

It's SO good.

CSA Share: Week 3

In the box this week:

1. Cabbage (going to make a totally delicious Pain au chou)
   
2. garlic scapes
3. green onions
4. mixed leaf lettuce
5. broccoli
6. snow peas

Pain au chou aka, cabbage loaf (from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison)

Butter and freshly grated Parmesan for the dish
1.5 lbs green or Savoy cabbage, sliced in 2-inch squares
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup creme fraiche or cream
2 T tomato paste
3 eggs
3 T finely chopped parsley or dill
Salt and freshly milled pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a gratin dish and coat the sides with the cheese. Boil the cabbage, uncovered, in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Rinse, then press out as much water as possible. Whisk the remaining ingredients until smooth, add the cabbage, and pour the miture into the dish. Bake until firm and lightly browned, about 50 minutes.

It sounds strange, but it's delicious!

CSA Share: Week 2

Week two is here!

WEI is a new CSA farm for us this year. We/I missed the order deadline for our old farm...oops. Anyway, they have a pretty big operation, and deliver to many sites throughout the Twin Cities. The best part, our drop site is really close to us, AND nearby a different "fun park" where we can explore. It makes our Sunday mornings a special treat. Sunday AM has always been my favorite time of the week.

In the box this week (clockwise from top center):

1. Kohlrabi. I've been putting matchstick slices into our salads. Kinda tastes like broccoli.
2. Garlic scapes!!!!!! These are the top of the garlic plant that is removed in order to direct more nutrients/energy into the bulb. Use it just like garlic...it's flavor is really mild and delicious.
3. Lettuce.
   
4. Green and red onions.
5. Strawberries!!!!!
6. Kale. I love to serve this sauteed with garlic as a side dish with black beans (good idea from my Brasil-travelling brother).
7. A basil plant. Our entire garden consists of this lonely basil plant.

We are "splitting" our share with my folks, which means, basically, that we get almost everything because my mom and dad are very nice to us. Thanks Mom and Dad!

CSA Share: Week 1

We just picked up our first box of the season of our CSA share. It's been a cold spring here in MN, so this first box was a bit light. We received (clockwise from upper left):

1. Kale
2. Rhubarb
3. Riot Pepper Plant
4. Red Lettuce
5. Kohlrabi
6. French Breakfast Radishes (my favorite)
   
7. Arugula (not pictured...I already ate it!).

What should we do with the Kohlrabi?

Budgeting: Food Shopping

I am not a coupon-clipper. First of all, I don't subscribe to a newspaper, and second, I often feel like coupons are for things that I wouldn't buy anyway. I know that's not always the case, but I usually can't be bothered to use them.

However, here are some tricks I have been trying to save some money on the grocery bill:

1. Make my own bread. With my new cookbook, this has been pretty simple, and has saved $1.50/loaf (at least). I just bake it, slice it, and freeze it.
2. Buy in-season produce as much as possible.
   
3. I've started buying dried beans instead of canned (when practical). It's a 50% savings.
   
4. Shop at Trader Joe's. You can find some really awesome deals at TJ's. I think the tofu is like $1.50 cheaper than what I get at Target.
   
5. I always make a list.
6. Buy store-brand when possible.
   
7. Don't buy processed food (I still need Morningstar Farms sausages, though!).
8. Join a CSA farm.
   
9. Tony and I eat less. Really.
   

I tried shopping at Aldi once, which is REALLY cheap (22% cheaper than Wal-Mart), but the experience was pretty tragic, and I can't bring myself to go back. If things get worse, however, I might just suck it up.

Another Good Idea

Martha's February issue reminded me of a really good idea: joining a CSA farm. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture, and joining your local CSA farm is a great way to feed your family locally-grown farm-fresh vegetables.

A CSA farm works much like a food cooperative. You purchase a share (or a half-share in some cases) for the season, and receive an abundance of fresh food every week! My parents and my own family split a share from our local CSA, August Earth, last summer. It was one of the best food experiences of my life! There is nothing like fresh-out-of-the-ground produce. Peter and Katy run a great farm, and include a newsletter with each week's pick-up, featuring member events, recipe ideas, farm news, and a list of the next week's produce.

Find your local CSA farm here. You'll be glad you did!