CSA Diary: Week Ten

What I Got:

• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Jalapeno Pepper
• Swiss Chard
  
• Tomatoes
• Watercress
• Yellow Squash

How I Used It:

• Polenta with Salsa: Topped Cath's super special polenta with tomato salsa from last week and fresh corn*. Yum!
  
• Cucumber: Sliced cucumber. Ate plain. Quite refreshing during these hot hot days.
• Swiss Chard Spaghetti, sans Spaghetti: Finely chopped yellow squash and garlic, sauteed, then added swiss chard until wilted. Added Morningstar Grillers, Newman's Own Marinara Sauce (both found at Target) until warm. Topped with mozzarella cheese.
• Swiss Cheese Sandwiches: White bread, mayo, Swiss cheese slices with sliced tomatoes and watercress.
  

*From the Clintonville Farmer's Market

CSA DIary: Week Nine

What I Got:

• Cucumber
• Green Chile Pepper
• Green Leaf Lettuce
• Green Pepper
  
• Onion
• Tomatillos
  
• Tomatoes
  
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini

What I Made:

• Tomatillo Salsa: Boiled tomatillos until soft. Pureed in food processor. Diced green chile pepper, green pepper and onion. Minced garlic. Mixed together with lemon juice and cilantro. Ate with multigrain scoop tortilla chips.
  
• Tomato Salsa: Diced tomatoes, green chile pepper, green pepper and onion. Minced garlic clove. Mixed together with lemon juice and cilantro.
  
• Polenta with Yellow Squash & Cabbage: Sauteed onion, diced yellow squash and cabbage with two cloves garlic, salt and pepper until tender. Set aside. Sauteed Cath's super special polenta with olive oil until slightly crisp. Plated polenta and topped with yellow squash/cabbage, tomatoes and crumbled Morningstar bacon.
• Cucumber w/Dip: Sliced and ate with blue cheese dressing. Nothing fancy, but extremely refreshing on a 90+ degree day!
• Nuts & Such Salad: Tossed green leaf lettuce with tomatoes, cucumber, sliced almonds and blue cheese dressing.
  

CSA Diary: Week Eight

What I Got:

• Fennel
• Garlic
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini

What I Made:

• Potato & Green Bean Stew: Sauteed onion* and garlic. Boiled sliced Yukon Gold potatoes (with skins) until soft. Drained, then added onion/garlic mix, 2 cups water, 2 Celifibr beef bouillon cubes**, sliced carrots*, diced zucchini and green beans*. Cooked until soft. Added peas*** and basil.
• Fennel Salad: Sliced fennel bulbs thin, then mixed with green grapes, dried figs, lemon juice and olive oil. Topped with Pecorino Romano cheese and slivered almonds.
• Almond & Cranberry Salad: Tossed green leaf lettuce & frisee with slivered almonds, dried cranberries and blue cheese dressing.
• Zucchini Muffins: Um, yeah, there's zucchini in it. Here's the recipe.
• Spaghettti without the Spaghetti: Morningstar Crumbles sauteed with kale and topped with Newman's Own marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

* From Clintonville Farmer's Market
**From Raisin Rack
***From Mandy's CSA, The Wayward Seed

CSA Diary: Week Seven

I got lazy this week and didn't cook very much. I blame the 95 degree weather and no air conditioning!



What I Got:

• Basil
• Cabbage
• Fennel
• Frisee (lettuce)
  
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini

What I Made:

• Italian Sausage Scramble: Sauteed onion*, yellow squash, canned tomatoes, a bit of cabbage, Tofurky's Italian sausage and kale in a skillet. Topped with mozzarella cheese. (It's actually pepperjack in the above picture, which was just a tad too spicy.)
  
• Ramen Noodle Salad: Mixed lots of chopped cabbage with a package of crushed oriental-style ramen noodles. Mixed ramen noodle seasoning packet with olive oil and a bit of soy sauce to drizzle on top. Topped with some mixed nuts lying around the house.
• Frisee, Zucchini, Fennel & Basil: TBD
  

*From Clintonville Farmer's Market

Dishing It Up

I used to be a Cascade girl (pre-green), then switched to Seventh Generation's Automatic Dishwasher Detergent as my first eco-friendly alternative, but was never really happy with the results.

So, before the dish runs away with the spoon, I'll fork over some product advice: Ecover's Dishwasher Tablets rock.

Though I have never used dishwashing detergent in tablet form before, I'm quite pleased with the results! (I picked up my first box at Raisin Rack, but you can find it at Whole Foods as well.)