CSA Box Weeks 17 & 18

I have to admit, I've been busy with work, house stuff and marathon training that blogging has been neglected. But I also have been busy cooking, which is definitely a good thing. Can't let that wonderful food from my box go to waste. Here are pictures of my food friends for the last two weeks of the summer CSA session.

Week 17


Week 18 (Last week of the summer session!)


I didn't get a chance to post individual blogs featuring the dishes I cooked but I have referenced the sites I used to make my dishes -

Miso Glazed Bok Choy (used tat soi)
Sesame Noodles with Radish Salad
Corn and Clam Chowder (potatoes, celery, carrots, onions)
Pad Thai (carrots, broccoli)
Kale Chips
Green Bean Casserole
Basil Eggplant

CSA Box Week 16

This is my first CSA subscription and it's become a way of life for me. I still go to the supermarket at times, but only to supplement items I am in need of such as peanut butter, grains, beans, and the like. Farmers markets here are winding down as well, except for the Ballard and University District markets that are year round. Winter squash and pumpkins are now in season, and corn and tomatoes are near their end of their growing season. I will definitely miss the corn, peas, and tomatoes. Anyway, on a brighter note, I am glad I signed up for the winter CSA session. Though we will see how the winter season goes as meterologists are forecasting a bitter cold winter - a huge winter like that we experienced in 2008 with inches and inches of snow, and one that we haven't experienced in decades.

Here's my food box from this past week -


I am loving these sweet nectarines and pluots. You just can't find these as sweet and nutritious in traditional supermarkets.


Here are the dishes I made:

Corn and Tomato Pizza	Spicy Honey Roasted Potatoes
Baingan Bharta Eggplant Curry	Roasted Cauliflower
Butternut Squash soup	Kale Chips

Zucchini Frittata

I've been behind on my blog posts and have been meaning to post some recipes I cooked up this month. Here's a simple frittata recipe using the seasonal raven squash and fresh farm eggs I cooked up a couple weeks back. I served this along with my favorite homemade garlic bread recipe!

Frittata recipe

Garlic bread

Eggplant and Peppers with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Here's another way to enjoy eggplant. Lightly roast the eggplant and bell peppers in the oven while you prepare the peanut sauce on the side. The rich peanut sauce brings the entire dish together! Yum! Enjoy it with some rice or as a standalone dish.

Eggplant and Peppers with Spicy Peanut Sauce
recipe from Mollie Katzen

CSA Box Week 14...and freezing veggies

I've been on vacation and now back! It's been a while since I posted so here's this week's veggie box. From my last box I received (Week 12), I blanched and froze some of my veggies such as corn, kale, and swiss chard to eat them for later in the winter. I certainly wish I could eat them fresh, but this is the next best option since I couldn't finish them, plus I wanted to enjoy some summer veggies during the winter months. As I was preparing for freezing, I felt like a bear, getting ready for hibernation and storing extra food away. :) Here's a link on freezing vegetables - it has an easy to read table listing the length of time to blanch each type of vegetable. When trying to remove all of that air from the plastic bag, one trick is to seal up the bag except a small area. Insert a small straw there and inhale the air out of the bag.

Here's this week's box of food (1 and a half times my normal food box size):





Here are some of the dishes I made:

sauteed iceberg lettuce	Corn Chowder
eggplant with spicy peanut sauce	Chocolate zucchini bread
Zucchini Frittata	Garlic Bread

Basil Eggplant

I would never eat eggplant growing up. I think it was the mushy ness, which is the same reason why I never liked oatmeal. So after years of not liking eggplant, I decided to venture out of my comfort zone and added 1 eggplant into my CSA box. In fact, this is my first time ever cooking eggplant at home. To get me into eating eggplant, I cooked it as a thai dish, one of my favorite cuisines. I'm sure glad I added this into my foodbox because this dish turned out flavorful! I'm definitely going to add eggplant as a vegetable to eat more frequently! Now...how bout more oatmeal too?

Basil Eggplant Recipe