Blogging for our CSA's website

With a crazy, busy week ahead of us we picked up our CSA share on Monday night and immediately got down to procrastinating about what we were going to make this week.  Our time was going to be pretty limited, so we decided to try to combine as many ingredients as we could into two large meals, which would provide us with ample leftovers for the week.  Here is what we got this week:

 
1 dozen eggs
4 lbs peaches
4 ears of corn
1 bunch of purslane
1 bunch of chard
3 green peppers
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes
1/2 lb tomatillos
3 cucumbers
2 onions
1 lb purple potatoes
1/2 lb serrano peppers

So on to the first meal!

We have really been craving cheese burgers so we decided to grab some ground beef from Simply Grazin' Farm in NJ and indulge ourselves with some epicness on a bun.  So we made a chili and tomatillo sauce to top them with.

We took half an onion, some chopped garlic, six serranos and the tomatillos and cooked them in a little oil on low for about 30 minutes.  We added about a cup of stock and some honey, blended it with an immersion blender (leaving some chunks) and let it cook until the sauce tightened up a bit.

The burgers were cooked in a cast iron skillet for a good crust without overcooking.  After the burgers were a tasty medium rare and the cheese was melted we set them to rest and used the skillet to quick-caramelize some red onion to battle the Veganaise on the bottom of the bun. 

One cannot live on cheeseburgers alone (although it would be a deliciously short existence) so we made a really delicious cold summer salad with the green peppers, raw corn, cucumbers, chick peas, Divina Roasted Tomatoes (Seriously, if you have never eaten these- you are missing out big time!) and a basic balsamic vinaigrette.  The best part about this salad is that in the days ahead, it only gets better!

And now, number two!

We got some super fresh chicken breast from Lancaster, PA (my hometown!), and decided to give them an epic ride in a peach BBQ sauce and serve it with an ultimate Summer pasta salad.  Oh, and then there was dessert (OMG!).

For the peach BBQ sauce we sauteed 8 serranos and 2 jalapenos (from our garden) with half an onion, two peaches and 3 big cloves of garlic.  We sprinkled in a little bit of ketchup, brown sugar, and white vinegar to get the perfect flavor and let it concentrate and thicken for about 30 minutes.

While that was going on we made the pasta, dressing and blanched the corn and greens.  We used whole wheat penne, blanched and shocked the remaining two ears of corn as well as the chard and purslane.  We strained these and dried them in a salad spinner.

For the dressing we blended 2/3 cup of olive oil with 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar and 7 oz. of Divina Roasted Tomatoes (just go get them, you won't be sorry).  Season it with salt and pepper.  It is thicker than a lot of other dressings you might make, but remember it's for pasta, so a lot of it will get absorbed into the noodles.

We tossed all of the greens, noodles, corn, and dressing into a container and mixed it well.  When we were ready to serve it we halved the cherry tomatoes and threw them into a blazing hot skillet coated with olive oil.  We let them cook for 5 minutes, turning constantly until they started to caramelize and then deglazed the pan with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and let it concentrate for 2 minutes.

We put the whole dish together and topped it with fresh micro-basil from our garden and grated Parmesan.

Once the sauce was finished we seared and cooked the chicken.  We started it on high and seasoned and seared both sides in an oiled non-stick pan before applying the peach BBQ sauce and a lid and allowing it to simmer with a cover, turning every 5 minutes for 20 minutes.

Once the chicken was cooked through we took it out of the pan and let it rest, adding 1 Tbsp. of butter to the sauce in the pan to finish and thicken it.  And then we ate...

But wait- there is more!

We made dessert!

We took 2 Tbsp. of butter and heated it in a skillet on medium high.  We cut peaches into 6th's (less than that will fall apart) and caramelized them in the pan.  We ate this over shortcake and topped it with Brooklyn's own Steve's Salted Caramel Ice Cream.  If you haven't eaten this dudes ice cream, you are doing you soul a disservice.  Just go do it.  It's enlightening.

That's our week!  See you next year for a week South Side CSA!

Love,
The FunCore's

zucchini blossoms and beet salad

So this week in our share we got two giant beets with greens, two big spring onions, one bunch each of kale and parsley, eight zucchini blossoms, four Delecata squash, one head of broccoli, two leeks, and our bi-weekly dozen of eggs.  We are going to a wedding this weekend and so we only had 3 days to eat all of the veggies!  On Monday night we made a Latin inspired veggie stew with all of the greens, one of the onions, all of the squash, some tomatoes, and some beans.  We ate it with rice.  We didn't take any pictures, but I am sure you can imagine what it looked like.  Today we had some more time on our hands, and wanted to make sure we did the zucchini flowers justice by making something awesome.  We did something similar last year so I won't bother going step by step through the process. 

Katie made an awesome filling out of goat chevre, the greens of the spring onions, and parsley.  We then fried them up and devoured them.  There was some leftover filling so we added a little olive oil to it so that we could use it as a dressing for our beet salad.  Since we already had hot oil on the stove I drained a can of chick peas and tossed them in.  I let them get crispy for about 5 or 6 minutes, and then strained them and seasoned them with smoked paprika and sea salt.  We proceeded to snack on them while finishing the salad.

I peeled and chopped our beets and boiled them in salt water until fork tender.  While they were boiling I tossed in 2 eggs and let them cook with the beets for about 10 minutes (multitasking!) because I really love hard boiled eggs.  When the beets were finished we cooled them in the fridge, and then mixed them and a few handfuls of chopped parsley with the goat cheese dressing.  We served them with the crispy smokey chickpeas for a salad of amazing flavors and textures.

per se!

Cornet of Salmon Tartare / Cornet of Fava Bean

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TASTING OF VEGETABLES

 

"TEMPURA" OF GARDEN STATE GREEN ASPARAGUS

French Breakfast Radishes, Arrowleaf Spinach, Scallion Salad and Yuzu Aïoli
 

GREEN TOMATO SHERBET

Pumpernickel "Tea Sandwich," Compressed Persian Cucumber, Basil and Buttermilk

 

HEIRLOOM TURNIP SALAD

Pickled Strawberries, Whole Grain Mustard and Nasturtium Leaves

 

MILK POACHED WHITE ASPARAGUS "GRENOBLOISE"

Hen Egg Yolk, Ramp Top "Subric," Haricots Verts, Arugula and Brown Butter "Gastrique"

 

"ENDIVE EN FEUILLE DE POMMES DE TERRE"

"Ragoût" of Fava Beans, "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and Parsley Coulis

 

BROCCOLI AND SEMOLINA "AGNOLOTTI"

Young Onions, Broccolini, Navel Orange Confit and Black Winter Truffle "Mornay"

 

"PYRÉNÉES BREBIS"

"Prosciutto Biellese," Apricot "Membrillo," Marinated Jingle Bell Peppers and "Romesco"

 

CARAMELIZED BANANA SORBET

Banana Bread, Compressed Golden Pineapple and Black Sesame Buttercream

 

"FLOATING ISLAND"

Coconut Tapioca "Crème Anglaise," Champagne Mango and Coriander Ice Cream

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CHEF'S TASTING

"OYSTERS AND PEARLS"

"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar

HEIRLOOM CARROT SALAD

English Pea Fritters, Meyer Lemon Yogurt, Hadley Orchards’ Medjool Dates and Cilantro Shoots

 

SAUTÉED FILLET OF ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS

Marinated Sungold Tomato, Pickled Green Tomato, Grilled "Pain de Campagne," Parsley Shoots and Chorizo Emulsion

 

"BEETS AND LEEKS"

Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster French Leeks, Yukon Gold Potato Confit, Heirloom Beets and Squid Ink Vinaigrette

 

FOUR STORY HILL FARM’S POULARDE

Braised Pine Nuts, Sweet Peppers, Picholine Olives, Broccoli Purée and Caper Jus

 

CHARCOAL-GRILLED SNAKE RIVER FARMS’ "CALOTTE DE BOEUF"

Fork Crushed Artichokes, French Breakfast Radishes, Green Garlic and "Sauce Dijonnaise"

 

"LEONORA"

Sour Cherry "Pudding," White Asparagus, Maple Syrup, Black Winter Truffle and Upland Cress

 

"RASPBERRY AND OATS"

"Granité de Crème de Cassis," Toasted Oat Crumble, Raspberry Soda and Greek Yogurt "Panna Cotta"

 

"POPCORN-COLA"

Macerated Sundried Raisins, Cola Syrup, Chocolate "Biscuit" and Buttered Popcorn Sherbet

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Chocolate Cake

 

"Coffee & Donuts"

pizza!

Last night we made pizza with multigrain dough, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and ramps.

AND another one with asparagus, roasted peppers, pesto and eggs!

kale, raddichio, white bean and halloumi salad

There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette. Wait, check that. There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette TOPPED WITH FRIED CHEESE. We combined some bitter greens that we love and usually keep around the house with a dressing made from some of our favorite fresh herbs, and tossed on some seared Halloumi just to knock it out of the park. This salad is hearty enough to have as a meal, but such a great palate cleanser that it could be used as a side as well. Since the greens are so hearty this salad can last dressed for a day or two in the fridge. We had the leftovers with some poached eggs and toast the next morning. OMG!!!

Ingredients:
Lemon, Parsley and Chive Vinagrette
Juice of 2 Lemons
Parsley, 1/2 bunch
6 Chives
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 head radicchio, roughly torn
1 head dinosaur kale, roughly torn
1 can Artichoke Hearts, drained and quartered
1 can white beans, drained
1 package Halloumi, sliced into 1/2" slices, pan fried then cut into bite sized pieces

This one is fast! In your blender/food processor/magic bullet/ninja machine/whatever, combine all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Wash and dry all of the greens and combine with the artichoke in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Top with beans and Halloumi and wait for it... wait for it... EAT!

Spring Minestrone with Parmesan and Chive Meatballs

It's Spring! Well, almost. While it is sunnier and the days are longer, it's just not warm enough to give up soup yet. So we took some inspiration from a recipe from Bon Appetit and tweaked it a little to fit what we had in our pantry, and increased some measurements to get about 6 servings. The leftovers are AWESOME!!!

Ingredients:
12 oz. Grass Fed Beef
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs, maybe a little more
6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan (3 for meatballs, 3 for garnish)
1 Egg, beaten
Olive Oil, for sautéing
2 Qt. Veggie Stock, we used home made
3 Carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
1 Bunch Lacinato Kale- You know, the dinosaur kind. Chopped pretty finely. No giant pieces.
2 Large Shallots, finely diced
4 Cloves Garlic, finely diced
1 Cup Ditalini Pasta, cooked al dente (measurement is precooked)
6-8 Leaves of Basil, chiffonade for garnish
6 Chives, finely chopped (half for garnish, half for meatballs)
salt and pepper to taste

Let's-a make-a meatballs! Combine beef (you could totally substitute chicken or turkey), egg, breadcrumbs, 3 Tbsp. of Parmesan, half of the chives, and some salt and pepper and mix well. You can add more breadcrumbs if you need to get them to form. In a non-stick pot (we used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat saute the meatballs until browned on all sides. Don't have a non-stick pot? You might need a little oil then. Don't worry about cooking them through, that will be the soups job. Go ahead and take them out and set them aside, but don't get rid of that pot yet!

While you are cooking the meatballs, its a great idea to cook and drain the pasta. You can also set that aside as well.

Now in that meatball pot, add in about 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil and toss in the garlic, shallots, and carrots. Saute' these until the shallots and garlic start to turn translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the veggie stock, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots begin to get cooked through. At this point, you can toss in the meatballs, pasta, and kale. Cover again and simmer for another 10 minutes and then season to taste.

Grab some bowls, garnish with basil, chives, and Parmesan and get your slurp on! We served this with some pesto toast, but you could use crackers, other crusty bread, or whatever your heart desires. Enjoy!