The "In my CSA box this week" thread

[merigayle]

here is the plain zucchini bread one
http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/vegan-zucchini-bread/

i do not see the chocolate one, it may have been from a cookbook, will look, but maybe i made this recipe into a loaf? i have made these
http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/chocolate-zucchini-muffins/


http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2012/04/18/faux-fried-zucchini-fritters/

this is on my to make list http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/vegan-crab-cakes/

on my to bake list http://www.hezzi-dsbooksandcooks.com/2012/08/gooey-chocolatey-zucchini-brownies.html?m=1


check out this
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=10_new_uses_for_zucchini

[Clementine]

i do not see the chocolate one, it may have been from a cookbook, will look, but maybe i made this recipe into a loaf? i have made these
http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/chocolate-zucchini-muffins/

I've made these ones and thought they were awful (bad texture, tasted too much like cocoa powder not enough like chocolate). The muffin recipes I've veganized myself were much, much better.

[merigayle]

huh, i thought those were the ones i made, but maybe not. I do not remember anything tasting like raw cocoa powder or anything. yeah, one of my favorite pumpkin bread recipes is my veganized paula deen version.

[Ice Cream]

Enjoy! Is it a newer one? I have a love/hate relationship with Wegmans. If you will be in Hector, our cousins own an amazing restaurant.

I think it's fairly new.  No, I won't be in Hector, but in Newfield; not that far from Hector.  I did a 50k in Hector years ago; I remember the town to be quite small.

[merigayle]

Very small. Stonefish cafe

[redkitty]

So I made the zucchini gratin that I think I posted.  It was gross. I am not sure what was wrong, but the zucchini tasted BAD.  It was just plain gross.  and I really like zucchini.

[merigayle]

Weird. Was the oil rancid? Maybe just a bad zucchini?

[gebuh]

I'd recommend the fennel bulbs in shrimp risotto -  I got the recipe from MotW and CRB, it doesn't taste like fennel at all.
http://chrunners.net/forum/index.php?topic=54451.msg1117421#msg1117421

[redkitty]

Weird. Was the oil rancid? Maybe just a bad zucchini?

I think the zucchini may have been bad.  It didn't look spoiled or rotten or smell weird.  The oil seemed fine as well.  I am chalking it up to cooking fail.  I will stick with my sauteeing in oil and garlic for tonight's dinner.

[rocketgirl]

I've never done a CSA.  In fact, I don't go to the  Farmer's Market either.  Or sometimes, even the grocery store.  There's no point in me having much produce.  I won't eat it before it goes bad.  But I do like yellow squash.

Not at all healthy, but this is really good for yellow squash:

This one was inspired by a friend's Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

Ideally, you might double all this stuff if you're feeding a lot of people or want leftovers, but I had 4 squash (parts of which were too dry/seedy to use) so I went with what I had.

3 yellow squash (summer, crookneck, whatever)
1/4 - 1/3 of  large yellow or vidalia onion, chopped/diced
salt & pepper
stick of butter
milk (I'd guess somewhere between a cup and a half and 2 cups)
1 TBSP cornstarch (or flour - I went with what I had)
5 oz package finely shredded parmesan cheese blend
Some fresh basil leaves, cut in strips.

 Saute the squash in a large skillet with 1/2 stick of butter and however much olive oil you need.  You can cover for part of the time to "hurry" it along.  Maybe you can skip this; I don't know, so I did it.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a pot. (I used my dutch oven).
Saute the onion in the butter.
Add salt and pepper whenever you want.
Slowly add the milk, stirring near-constantly.
Add the cornstarch to thicken.
(This will look a lot like thick white gravy).

Stir in most of the cheese.
Stir in the squash so it is coated with creamy cheesey goodness.
Stir in the basil.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese and panko bread crumbs on top.

Bake at 450 until bubbly and bread crumbs are browning.  Remove and let stand before serving.

[redkitty]

RG--that recipe looks good. 

Here is the recipe that is included in this week's box.  (btw lots of crap I won't eat this week...mustard and collard greens ) but we get potatoes and tomatoes this week as well.

Squash and Tomato Tart
Make
S
8
S
erving
S
2 large potatoes (about 12 oz), peeled
1 zucchini (about 8 oz)
1 yellow squash (about 8 oz)
2 large ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb)
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup Fair Oaks Sweet Swiss, shredded (about 8 oz), divided
1 tsp DLM Italian seasoning
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 large Morning Sun Farm Organic Eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or a shallow 7x11-inch casserole. Cut potatoes, zucchini, and squash in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise (about 2mm thick). Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potato slices and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander (when ready to use, pat dry with a paper towel if still wet). Remove stem ends from tomatoes; cut in half through stem ends; thinly slice crosswise. Line casserole with 1/2 of the potato slices. In a large bowl combine remaining potato, zucchini, squash, onion, basil, garlic, 1 cup of the cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and eggs until well mixed. Arrange half of the tomato slices on top of the potatoes in the casserole. Evenly spoon the vegetable mixture over tomatoes, pressing slightly to flatten. Arrange remaining tomato slices on top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender and cheese is golden brown. Allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before
serving.

[radial]

<squash recipe that Paula Dean would surely endorse>

I bet a few bites of that would taste mighty fine.  But holy moly, I felt my arteries clogging just reading about it.  You must have one hella fat burning metabolism.  Lucky girl.   

[rocketgirl]

I bet a few bites of that would taste mighty fine.  But holy moly, I felt my arteries clogging just reading about it.  You must have one hella fat burning metabolism.  Lucky girl.   

Well, I brought it to a cookout.  So just a few bites is all anybody had of it. 

I bet a few bites of that would taste mighty fine.  But holy moly, I felt my arteries clogging just reading about it.  You must have one hella fat burning metabolism.  Lucky girl.   

If you thought that was bad, you should see that macaroni and cheese recipe that I used as inspiration...

[redkitty]

You can often cut the amount of butter by ALOT without sacrificing taste.  For instance, I am betting your mac and cheese recipe calls for a stick or so of butter (I have seen homemade recipes that call for a lb.)  I make a very tasty homemade mac and cheese and I use 4 tablespoons (half a stick I guess, I actually use Country Crock) and it tastes damn good. Last time I made mac and cheese I, for some reason, thought the recipe only called for 2 tablespoons, so that is all I used.  Better with 4, but still good with 2.  I just use that part to make the roux anyway.

So I got my CSA box.  I got 6 giant tomatoes.  I get a small box.  How many effing tomatoes would I get if I had ordered the large? Holy moly.  But then I only got one cucumber.  Weird.

[diablita]

I picked up mine yesterday and had to unpack and bag it late last night, so I don't remember all of its contents.  But I do remember:

2 purple kohlrabis (stunning and delicious sliced raw. already gone)
green onions
kale
Russian kale
zucchini (have to remember to eat these tomorrow)
small cabbage
sugar beets

[rocketgirl]

Meh.  I love butter.  And compared to 2.5 pounds of cheese in my Mac and cheese recipe, saving a half stick of butter seems irrelevant.

These are pretty much specialty foods I bring to cookouts anyway.

Not that I don't love to cook my spinach in butter too though...and that's frequent. 

[redkitty]

Meh.  I love butter.  And compared to 2.5 pounds of cheese in my Mac and cheese recipe, saving a half stick of butter seems irrelevant.

These are pretty much specialty foods I bring to cookouts anyway.

Not that I don't love to cook my spinach in butter too though...and that's frequent. 

I am not a huge fan of butter. I mean I like butter, but "too much" butter for me seems to be a pretty low threshold.  But you need fat when you eat veggies anyway bcz the nutrients are absorbed better.  and butter does make a lot of things taste better. I tend to use a lot of oil bcz it pours and therefore, in my mind, is easier/more convenient to use.