These are in no particular order, as I'm still trying to catch up with life, but at least I planned ahead this time around. I will consider that alone a win at this point.
Spiced Kuri Squash and Chicken Stew
Cook's notes: Serve over rice (instead of including in soup).
CSA ingredients: red kuri squash, sweet onion
Market ingredients: chicken, garlic, cilantro
Delmonico steak, Celeriac Gratin
Cook's notes: Pan grill and slice steak, serve with pan sauce.
CSA ingredients: celeriac
Rick's Tacos with Garlicky Mexican Greens, beans
Cook's notes: Make homemade queso fresco.
CSA ingredients: swiss chard
Market ingredients: garlic
Garden ingredients: tomatillos (from Paul and Lori's garden)
Blackened Steak Salad, frites
Cook's notes: Don't include potatoes in salad - make frites instead. Use sweet red pepper instead of green bell. Add raw black turnips and winter radish to salad.
CSA ingredients: lettuce, Italian red frying pepper, potatoes (leftover from last CSA), winter radish, black turnips
Garden ingredients: tomatoes
Honey Garlic BBQ Spare Ribs, summer squash, wheat berries
CSA ingredients: summer squashes
Market ingredients: garlic, honey
Beef Stir Fry with Cabbage, rice
Cook's notes: Use cube steak.
CSA ingredients: green cabbage, hakuri turnips
Market ingredients: garlic
That will leave us with some hakuri turnips, winter radishes, and basil, which I am sure we will find a good use for - probably salads for the turnips and radishes (they store well so we can keep them in the fridge a bit), and pesto with the basil. We have a good amount of basil in our garden as well, so it would appear we need to make some pesto for freezing. And to give to Shannon so she can make us her fabulous pesto lasagna (hint, hint).
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Farmer's Markets
Farmer's markets have always been a part of my life. My mom used to take us to the West Allis Farmer's Market. I can remember the bustling aisles, and especially buying bags of apples from Weston's Orchard and frozen cider pops from Nieman Orchards. There is no where like a farmer's market to get excited about vegetables, at least in my family.
When Bryan and I were dating, we began doing the majority of our shopping at the Dekalb Farmer's Market. The YDFM isn't your normal farmer's market, however. It is a vast warehouse filled with every dry good, produce, meat, seafood, dairy, wine, and beer item imaginable, from all over the world. Their produce section alone is bigger than most grocery stores in their entirety. Truly an amazing resource, this was hard to leave behind when moving away from Atlanta.
Once we moved to Milwaukee, we knew we wanted to find local markets to shop at. Of course we began visiting the West Allis market, since we live close, and I spent some mornings at the smaller New Berlin Farmer's Market with Mom. Smaller, with more ready made items, it is a pleasant way to spend the morning. We visited the Dane Country Market, around Capitol Square in Madison. The largest producer-only farmers’ market in the country, it is a sight to behold. However, as large and popular as it is, it is impossible to navigate with a stroller, and no place to let a toddler roam free. I'm not a big fan of crowds, so while a great market and all, not the place for me. The new Tosa Farmer's Market has become one of our favorite places to spend our Saturday mornings. To me, this market has the perfect blend of direct producers, offering a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and finished goods, such as coffee, breads, jams, and soups. The market is new, and small, so it allows us to let Oliver run free without worry.
For me, there is something perfect about wandering along the stalls of a market, inspecting produce, discovering new foods, talking with the smiling vendors. Open air markets have been a part of human history ever since we had food to sell. Continuing this tradition keeps us connected to our food in a way we cannot afford to lose.
One of the greatest draws of farmer's markets for me, other than the obvious bounty of food which appeals to my stomach, is the ability to buy food which is as fresh as you can get, not having grown it yourself. The produce is generally less than 24 hours from the field. Buying something so fresh obviously means it's local, and supporting my local economy, especially my farmers, is something I find extremely important.
Not all produce at a market is Certified Organic. But as certification is an onerous and expensive title to take on, many smaller produces employ organic (or beyond organic) practices. Another great thing about farmer's markets is that you, the consumer, have the ability to interact directly with the producer of your foods. Ask how the food is produced. There may not be a "Certified Organic" sign, but you may find that the food fits your needs just the same.
Shopping directly from farmers benefits both me as the consumer as well as the farmer. Without the "middle man", all profits go directly to the farmer, and there is no additional markup to pay that additional middle man (or two). To make things even better, more and more farmer's markets have vendors who accept food stamps, through the EBT program, and/or WIC, as part of the USDA's Nutrition Assistance Programs. The USDA also offers a program for Seniors.
More personally, we have had the opportunity to become connected to our food by direct work with a farm. As Bryan works from home, and is a social being, he needed an outlet away from home. When JenEhr Family Farms, through whom we've gotten our CSA these past few years, sent out a request asking for help at the markets, we knew this would be a perfect fit for Bryan. Getting outdoors, talking to people, and food - all for the win. Little did we know how we would become so closely connected to the farm, and our food, nor did we understand how this opportunity would provide us the ability to become connected with other farms, expanding our direct connection to more of the foods we eat. Going beyond the produce, chickens, and rabbits we source from JenEhr, we love our mushrooms from River Valley Kitchens, some of the best breads imaginable from Wild Flour Bakery, the irresistible cider and free apples Oliver's cute face manages to elicit from Nieman Orchards, the fantastic cheeses from Saxon Creamery, the tantalizing dry cured meats from Bolzano, the fresh pastas from Mia Famiglia - the list goes on and on. It's more than just vegetables.
You can find nearly everything you need at many markets these days. Going far beyond just fruits and vegetables, most markets now boast vendors carrying meats, eggs, dairy products, breads and other baked goods, mushrooms, handmade pastas, jams, jellies, relishes, pickles, flowers - nearly every essential (and quite a few non-essentials!) you can think of. If visiting a market and seeing all these beautiful things doesn't get you excited about food, I am not sure much will.
And it's more than just the food, too. Learning about these products, sharing tips and tricks, hearing the story of these producers - this is a good thing.
This is why I cannot withstand the allure of a farmer's market. While I menu plan, and do purchase items from the market to fulfill that plan, I also will not hesitate to supplant items on my menu with something that looks better, or to add to my plans when I find something additional to compliment a dish. It took me awhile to feel comfortable in doing so, but now, it is second nature. This is why the Tosa market is becoming our Saturday morning tradition: Grab a cup of coffee from Anodyne or a fruit smoothie from First Fruits (Oliver's preference), and a baked good from any number of vendors, and meander around slowly. Even Oliver seems to understand this concept (it probably helps that he knows exactly where to go to get his smoothie, or find the apple cider). Find something new, pick up some things needed, and generally enjoy family and nature. This, to me, is pretty close to heaven.
When Bryan and I were dating, we began doing the majority of our shopping at the Dekalb Farmer's Market. The YDFM isn't your normal farmer's market, however. It is a vast warehouse filled with every dry good, produce, meat, seafood, dairy, wine, and beer item imaginable, from all over the world. Their produce section alone is bigger than most grocery stores in their entirety. Truly an amazing resource, this was hard to leave behind when moving away from Atlanta.
Once we moved to Milwaukee, we knew we wanted to find local markets to shop at. Of course we began visiting the West Allis market, since we live close, and I spent some mornings at the smaller New Berlin Farmer's Market with Mom. Smaller, with more ready made items, it is a pleasant way to spend the morning. We visited the Dane Country Market, around Capitol Square in Madison. The largest producer-only farmers’ market in the country, it is a sight to behold. However, as large and popular as it is, it is impossible to navigate with a stroller, and no place to let a toddler roam free. I'm not a big fan of crowds, so while a great market and all, not the place for me. The new Tosa Farmer's Market has become one of our favorite places to spend our Saturday mornings. To me, this market has the perfect blend of direct producers, offering a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and finished goods, such as coffee, breads, jams, and soups. The market is new, and small, so it allows us to let Oliver run free without worry.
For me, there is something perfect about wandering along the stalls of a market, inspecting produce, discovering new foods, talking with the smiling vendors. Open air markets have been a part of human history ever since we had food to sell. Continuing this tradition keeps us connected to our food in a way we cannot afford to lose.One of the greatest draws of farmer's markets for me, other than the obvious bounty of food which appeals to my stomach, is the ability to buy food which is as fresh as you can get, not having grown it yourself. The produce is generally less than 24 hours from the field. Buying something so fresh obviously means it's local, and supporting my local economy, especially my farmers, is something I find extremely important.
Not all produce at a market is Certified Organic. But as certification is an onerous and expensive title to take on, many smaller produces employ organic (or beyond organic) practices. Another great thing about farmer's markets is that you, the consumer, have the ability to interact directly with the producer of your foods. Ask how the food is produced. There may not be a "Certified Organic" sign, but you may find that the food fits your needs just the same.
Shopping directly from farmers benefits both me as the consumer as well as the farmer. Without the "middle man", all profits go directly to the farmer, and there is no additional markup to pay that additional middle man (or two). To make things even better, more and more farmer's markets have vendors who accept food stamps, through the EBT program, and/or WIC, as part of the USDA's Nutrition Assistance Programs. The USDA also offers a program for Seniors.
More personally, we have had the opportunity to become connected to our food by direct work with a farm. As Bryan works from home, and is a social being, he needed an outlet away from home. When JenEhr Family Farms, through whom we've gotten our CSA these past few years, sent out a request asking for help at the markets, we knew this would be a perfect fit for Bryan. Getting outdoors, talking to people, and food - all for the win. Little did we know how we would become so closely connected to the farm, and our food, nor did we understand how this opportunity would provide us the ability to become connected with other farms, expanding our direct connection to more of the foods we eat. Going beyond the produce, chickens, and rabbits we source from JenEhr, we love our mushrooms from River Valley Kitchens, some of the best breads imaginable from Wild Flour Bakery, the irresistible cider and free apples Oliver's cute face manages to elicit from Nieman Orchards, the fantastic cheeses from Saxon Creamery, the tantalizing dry cured meats from Bolzano, the fresh pastas from Mia Famiglia - the list goes on and on. It's more than just vegetables.
You can find nearly everything you need at many markets these days. Going far beyond just fruits and vegetables, most markets now boast vendors carrying meats, eggs, dairy products, breads and other baked goods, mushrooms, handmade pastas, jams, jellies, relishes, pickles, flowers - nearly every essential (and quite a few non-essentials!) you can think of. If visiting a market and seeing all these beautiful things doesn't get you excited about food, I am not sure much will.And it's more than just the food, too. Learning about these products, sharing tips and tricks, hearing the story of these producers - this is a good thing.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
How to CSA: 9/23/10
Yes, I slacked and missed an installment of How to CSA and Menu planning. Really, I haven't been slacking, but rather trying to prepare for the baby, and control my near 3 year old. We have indeed been eating, though have kept it pretty low key: chili (though it was some pretty awesome chili, with gorgeous tomatoes from our garden, carrots, onions, garlic, Italian red frying peppers, ground beef, and kidney beans, and topped with sour cream, jalapenos, Japanese onions, and your choice of cheese: cheddar, muenster, and/or buffalo jack), spaghetti (made with lots of roma tomatoes and garlic from the CSA), a fennel and potato soup (that we also added leeks to) with yeast rolls, asian short ribs, and paprika chicken (which we served over home fries rather than the recommended dumplings). The next week's meal plan include cube steaks parmesan (we had an inordinate number of cube steaks from last year's cow), carbonara, and breakfast for dinner.
Our goodies this week include:
and roma tomatoes (which were used in the aforementioned paprika chicken)
Stay tuned for the meal plan!
Our goodies this week include:
summer squashes
lettuce
swiss chard
celeriac
hakuri turnips
black turnips
red kuri squash
Italian red frying peppers (2 of which were used in the paprika chicken)
winter radishes
sweet onion
basil
green cabbage
jalapenos (of which we received extras in order to make some candied jalapenos for our dear Miss Kay and family)
and roma tomatoes (which were used in the aforementioned paprika chicken)
Stay tuned for the meal plan!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Diabetes
Bryan's first physical in years has brought to our attention that he has diabetes. Luckily, the doctor thinks we caught it very early, as Bryan doesn't exhibit any symptoms. Also, the doctor is happy that we already have a good diet, so making changes there will be relatively simply. He thinks that through diet and exercise alone, the diabetes will be totally manageable.
In terms of diet, the biggest changes Bryan will have to make are to cut out soda, and ice cream. He's switching to sparkling water, and I am going to find and perfect a sugar free/substitute ice cream (somehow, Bryan is getting homemade ice cream out of this!). Carbs and white flour are the next demons we'll have to battle. And we do love our carbs. Luckily, whole grains are OK, and something Bryan generally prefers. We usually buy whole or sprouted grain bread, so that's not a problem. And I've finally found a reason to lug out the bread machine - and it turns out I love to use it. Bryan prefers whole wheat pastas, so we'll have to make the switch there. Same for things like tortillas. He'll have to watch his fruit intake as well. And the doctor said that the less refined the sugar the better - so he can continue to use sucanat for his coffee, and I can continue to buy the more unrefined bulk sugars from the Outpost for general use (while continuing to look for a good source of raw(er) sugar), while also trying out some sugar substitutes like stevia, Truvia, and xylitol.
So we have a few changes to make, but I think we can take them all in stride. It will be interesting to see how it affects our menu planning. So far, it's prompted me to think about more varied grains, and more beans, which is something I want to do but am usually too lazy to. So from that perspective, it's been a good thing.
I did attempt a sugar substitute ice cream, using Truvia. Based on a Gale Gand recipe, my goal was to attempt to substitute the Truvia in place of the sugar. Since Truvia is stevia based, and stevia is sweeter than sugar, I used less Truvia than I would have sugar (3/4 tsp Truvia to 2 tsps sugar).
Everything else was about the same...
Mix Truvia and egg yolks:
Cook your creams with vanilla bean seeds (insanely plump vanilla beans courtesy of the Spice House):
Temper your eggs and sugar into your creams and return to heat:
And process in your ice cream maker:
The ice cream did not set in the ice cream maker - normally, ice cream will set pretty well within 30 minutes in my maker, but this ran for nearly and hour and was still soup. I stuck it in the freezer, where thankfully it did set into normal ice cream consistency.
The ice cream itself did have a bit of a nutrasweet type flavor (more so in smaller licks rather than big bites, though), and a sort of odd aftertaste, but Bryan doesn't mind. And I figure a little homemade strawberry preserves on top help matters some.
I did some research and there are better recipes out there - next time I'll try Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Ice Cream.
In terms of diet, the biggest changes Bryan will have to make are to cut out soda, and ice cream. He's switching to sparkling water, and I am going to find and perfect a sugar free/substitute ice cream (somehow, Bryan is getting homemade ice cream out of this!). Carbs and white flour are the next demons we'll have to battle. And we do love our carbs. Luckily, whole grains are OK, and something Bryan generally prefers. We usually buy whole or sprouted grain bread, so that's not a problem. And I've finally found a reason to lug out the bread machine - and it turns out I love to use it. Bryan prefers whole wheat pastas, so we'll have to make the switch there. Same for things like tortillas. He'll have to watch his fruit intake as well. And the doctor said that the less refined the sugar the better - so he can continue to use sucanat for his coffee, and I can continue to buy the more unrefined bulk sugars from the Outpost for general use (while continuing to look for a good source of raw(er) sugar), while also trying out some sugar substitutes like stevia, Truvia, and xylitol.
So we have a few changes to make, but I think we can take them all in stride. It will be interesting to see how it affects our menu planning. So far, it's prompted me to think about more varied grains, and more beans, which is something I want to do but am usually too lazy to. So from that perspective, it's been a good thing.
I did attempt a sugar substitute ice cream, using Truvia. Based on a Gale Gand recipe, my goal was to attempt to substitute the Truvia in place of the sugar. Since Truvia is stevia based, and stevia is sweeter than sugar, I used less Truvia than I would have sugar (3/4 tsp Truvia to 2 tsps sugar).
Everything else was about the same...
Mix Truvia and egg yolks:
Cook your creams with vanilla bean seeds (insanely plump vanilla beans courtesy of the Spice House):
Temper your eggs and sugar into your creams and return to heat:
And process in your ice cream maker:
The ice cream did not set in the ice cream maker - normally, ice cream will set pretty well within 30 minutes in my maker, but this ran for nearly and hour and was still soup. I stuck it in the freezer, where thankfully it did set into normal ice cream consistency.
The ice cream itself did have a bit of a nutrasweet type flavor (more so in smaller licks rather than big bites, though), and a sort of odd aftertaste, but Bryan doesn't mind. And I figure a little homemade strawberry preserves on top help matters some.
I did some research and there are better recipes out there - next time I'll try Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Ice Cream.
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