We’ve gotten a slew of peaches from the CSA share in recent weeks – more peaches than we can eat.
Or really, more peaches than I am currently in the mood to eat.
Don’t get me wrong – summer peaches are fabulous. But frankly, I am peached out. I’ve thrown enough Peach Pits into our compost pile this month to change my zip code to 90210.
(it’s possible I had a poster of Luke Perry hanging on my bedroom wall from approximately 1992 until 1994…)
Whenever I get carrots like this:
I feel really cool.
Like – That’s right! My carrots are so crunchy granola they still have their crazy green tentacles attached, yo!
These greens are like mace for hippies. They protect me as I walk back to my car from CSA pick up. They totally say “Don’t mess with my home girl or I’ll latch on to your face and suck the soul straight from your celery stalkin’ body.”
Wow. But hey, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. My carrots love me. That’s the real reason I support local farms you know.
Got a lot of zucchini right now?
Did you know you can use zucchini in place of pasta in lasagna?
It’s true. I proved it tonight.
To start, you’ll need two large zucchinis – slice length wise into 1/4 inch strips. (Think thin!) Place into a colander and salt each slice to start removing some of their water.
Preheat oven to 350 and set your zucchini aside for about 20 minutes to sweat it out over the sink.
Meanwhile, get to work on your sauce and cheese layers.
The coffee maker is cranky.
Coffee Maker cannot figure out why all these baking supplies are out at such an ungodly hour of the morning.
Coffee Maker is cranky and hot and does not like to be crowded.
But you see Coffee Maker, it’s all because of the zucchini from yesterday’s CSA pick up.
This zucchini is practically begging to made into Chocolate Zucchini Bread.
But zucchini bread means the oven has to be turned on.
Welcome to CSA Jeopardy! The answer-and-question game where you choose a prize value from one category and Alex Trebek gives you an answer. You know, the one where your response has to come in the form of a question?
Yeah, you know it. And you’re totally gonna play.
Or should I say “What is, You’re Totally Gonna Play?”
Today we’re playing the CSA version because that’s where some of the ingredients in this recipe for Asian Coleslaw came from. And because CSA seems to be my favorite overused acronym lately.
Enough with the chit chat, let’s get started.
I’ve decided that CSA‘s are like vegetable boot camp.
Except instead of screaming “Drop and give me 20!!” they throw vegetables at you and scream “Figure out what to do with this!!”
ok, OK, I’m figuring, I’M FIGURING!
(everything I know about boot camp I learned from Full Metal Jacket, FYI)
Beets are yet another vegetable I use to just throw in the juicer because I didn’t know what else to do with them. Fortunately, I am now in the know.
Last week marked the start of our summer CSA distribution. Among the loot in our weekly vegetable pick up was two heads of bok choy.
Until last year, bok choy was one of those vegetables that I didn’t have the first clue what to do with. Thank goodness for the Breville, that’s all I can say. Bok Choy Lemonade anyone? No? Just me?
It was right about the time that I started to love this member of the cabbage family that I heard about an 88 year old woman who nearly died from eating too much bok choy.
Our latest homeschooling adventure was one called Pick Your Own – and no, I’m not talking “noses” here. No lessons needed with that one I’m afraid. We’re already pros.
Yes, we went berry picking. Another day, another field trip – this time for more local, fresh strawberries. Our third trip in the span of a week for these red bundles of joy got me thinking: I haven’t always gotten so nerdily excited when it comes to eating foods in season.
CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. (Not “Can’t Stand Alison”, thankyouverymuch.)
If this acronym is new to you, in short – a CSA is an opportunity for you, the consumer, to get your produce direct from a local farmer. Find a farm that offers CSA memberships and you can buy a share of their crops for what will hopefully be a bounty of locally grown fruit and/or vegetables from late spring until mid fall – or whatever the growing season is where you live.
Whenever I say “Ratatouille”, I always want to say it twice and then the chorus Rock Me Amadeus starts to play in my head.
What? Is that just me? Probably.
So… Ratatouille. Yeah. I’m fairly sure “Ratatouille” is French for “what the hell am I going to do with all these summer vegetables?”
My mom has been making Ratatouille and raving to me about it during recent phone conversations. When she described what went into it, I realized that I had every single one of the ingredients in my overstocked-with-produce fridge. That’s what I call vegetable fate.
More Mama’s Weeds
