Gastography

January 29, 2012

January 29, 2012Picture of the DayLeave a Comment

Remasterd Beatles boxed set.

January 28, 2012

January 28, 2012January 28, 2012Picture of the DayLeave a Comment

Tomato varietals grown by my CSA. Apparently, I have my own tomato. And it’s awesome.

CSA Box 9

January 28, 2012CSA SharesLeave a Comment

Week 9 share from the Little River Market Garden CSA

CSA Share 9

1 bunch hon tsai tai
1 head heirloom cabbage
1 bunch rainbow carrots with greens
2 avocados
1 pint heirloom tomatoes
1 black sapote
1 bunch dill
What I Made With My Share

I made a decent pasta salad with a little dill, the tomatoes, aged balsamic and parmesan. I threw in half an avocado with some of the leftovers, and the dish was even better.

I made a carrot green pesto, which I served with carrot risotto, which was pretty great.

I sautéed the cabbage in a little butter with caraway seeds, home made bacon and egg noodles. This dish was bland but palatable.

I made an asian-inspired concoction of avocado, hon tsai tai, pomegranate molasses, sesame, fish sauce, chili oil, walnut oil, soy and lime served over soba.

I ate the sapote out of hand with a little honey.

The Best Thing I Made This Week

Carrot Pesto Risotto

Or possibly this asian-inspired concoction. I should have written a recipe, but I forgot.

Up Next Week

I have a handful of the dill leftover, so I will have to work to incorporate that with the veggies we get next week.

New To Me Veggies

Heirloom Cabbage – Wtf is an heirloom cabbage? Is it just pretentious hipster cabbage? The Sustainable Seed Co. sells a variety of heirloom cabbage seeds, but doesn’t really go into what makes them ‘heirloom’. From what I can tell, heirloom cabbages like rich heavy loam soil, but will do well in heavy clay. They also need even more moisture (than other cabbage?) to produce well. From the pictures on that site, it looks like my cone head cabbage is called Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, a varietal released in 1868. This cabbage was popular in 19th century markets and needs little room to grow. According to Sustainable’s sources, this varietal is the first early cabbage variety and is recognized as the best as well. Well, then. I maybe should have taken more care with my seasonings. I wasn’t aware I had special cabbage. 🙂

Carrot Pesto Risotto

January 28, 2012October 11, 2013CSA Shares, RecipesLeave a Comment

I got carrots with their tops in this week’s CSA and needed something to do with the greens other than halfheartedly toss a handful in a dish for garnish. Enter pesto. Pesto is one of those great little things to have in your bag of tricks to pull out on a rainy day, or a great way to use up an ingredient you have zero idea what to do with. This pesto doesn’t give you the flavor wallop a traditional basil pesto does, but it’s not half bad. And it’s frugal. Frugal, I tell you. Next time I might add some garlic to the mix to liven things up a bit. I tried a bit of cheese, but it really didn’t make any difference.

Carrot Pesto Risotto

For the pesto

1 bunch carrot greens, hacked into manageable chunks
2 tsp. lime juice + more to taste
1-2 dried chills, sliced or torn into pieces
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Blanch the carrot greens in a big pot of salted water for about a minute, or until they are bright green and kind of wilty. Drain and add to the bowl of a large food processor.

With the motor on, add 2 tsp. lime juice, 2 huge pinches salt, chilis and olive oil. Taste. If it needs more brightness, add some more lime juice. If it’s a little dry, add a couple Tablespoons of water.

For the carrot risotto

1 bunch carrots (about 2 1/2 cups), roughly chopped into 3/4 inch segments
Olive oil
1 c. arborio rice
1/2 c. white wine
4 c. stock (I used 2 c. vegetable and 2 c. lobster stock made with my best friend Better Than Bouillon – use all vegetable if making vegetarian or vegan)

Toss the carrots with a glug of olive oil and a generous pinch salt and spread on a baking sheet. Roast in a 450 degree oven about 35 minutes or until browned at the edges and soft.

While you’re waiting for the carrots to brown, make the risotto.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, sautee the rice 2 mins. in 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Add the white wine, reduce heat to medium and cook 1-2 mins. or until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Add stock by the half cup, stir, and simmer until the rice is al dente and won’t take more liquid.

Serves 2 for dinner.