redglass

whew...I gotta admit, these autumn vegetables are tough!! I did end up making the panade. I was so excited about it...and I hated it. The recipe calls for carmelizing onions, then creating a sort of "lasagna" of bread, greens, fontina cheese and onions. You add broth to the dish, then bake at a low temp for a few hours. Unfortunately, the onions became so sweet during cooking that is was just too much. I spent all that money on good fontina too, only to not be able to taste it at all. My mother ended up receiving the radishes and "bok choy" and mustard greens as a gift from me. I wish I had taken a picture of the radishes sliced- they were a beautiful white with a pink starburst in the middle! And much milder than the tiny radishes you usually find. Luckily, this week we got some more user-friendly stuff: butternut squash (YUM), some more greens (kale, mizuna and a green called "autumn poem") that I made a galette with (everything tastes better when surrounded by flaky pastry), turnips and celeraic. What didn't you like about the pie- not sweet enough? I've never made a fresh pumpkin pie, but I have some sugar babies left over from halloween...

For the "VA" part of DelMarVa, you've got your Virginia hams. Peanuts are also a historically popular ingredient in the Tidewater area.

It all depends, of course! Monday night: homemade pizza that looked bad, tasted good. Eaten in front of the TV, balancing the plate on knees, with paper towels for napkins. Last night: steak, baked potatoes, green salad. Cloth napkins, eaten at the "dining room" table (well, the only table with chairs in our teeny condo). I'd say we actually sit down and eat 4 out of 7 nights: 1 night we eat out, the other two more informal. When we do eat at home, I use placemats and cloth napkins, light some candles...try to make the food look nice on the plate, but don't get too fancy- no sauce squirted just so around the dish, no vertical stacks of microveggies, etc. We usually plate our food straight from the stove in the kitchen. With just two of us, there's not too much need to serve family style.

I'm sorry you didn't like the beets!! My favorite way to eat them is roasted, served atop a salad with blue cheese dressing (or just gorgonzola crumbles) and toasted walnuts.. In my bag this week, I happily pulled out two palish looking beets....until I realized they were radishes. HUGE radishes. This is one veggie I've tried to like, but I just can't. I've read recipes that call for using them like potatoes- maybe I'll make a "horseradish mashed potatoes" with them, but I"m not optimistic.... This week's share is the most challenging yet: mustard greens collard greens the aforementioned radishes sweet potatoes (the highlight) lettuce mix Que Ming Choi (looks just like baby bok choy, and I intend to treat it as such ) My SO looks scared at the sight of all those greens! I'm going to try to make a panade from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook to see if we can make these greens more palatable. Their recipe calls for chard, but I think I can sneak in these other greens. Wish me luck.

My father makes venison burgers mixing in a little bit of beef fat to help them stay together- I serve these almost exclusively and none of my squeamish "You eat deer meat!? Ewwww! friends can tell the difference. I use ground venison in chili, tacos- pretty much anything that calls for ground beef. I've even made lasagna using ground moose meat, but that didn't come out so well...maybe it would turn out better with elk or antelope. Recipe Source has numerous game recipes- I'm sure you can find some good ideas.

Ok, I'm laughing so hard I'm crying over that pot luck cookbook? Maybe we could send in a recipe for Kitty Litter cake!

This is this Tuesday's share: you can definetely tell that the season is finally changing; with lots of greens and sweet potatoes and no tomatoes (sigh...) From left to right: mizuna, arugula, the chinese cabbage below the bowl, then the sweet potatoes, garlic, peppers, celaraic and sorrel. I went on a research mission at the Arlington County Library and am currently going through Chez Panisse Vegetables, Deborah Madison's new Vegetarian suppers, and her older Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. These books are so inspiring! One of the great things about CSA is that it challenges your ideas of what you like (I can't believe I'm actually CRAVING beets) and how you cook. What am I going to do when I will actually have to go to the store for produce? (I'm not a morning person- as much as I love this stuff, getting up early on a weekend to go to the farmer's market just ain't gonna happen). And- the share from last week.

A beautiful catch this week, although I have no idea what to do with much of it: Sorrel Mizuna Celeraic Mei Qing Choi Peppers A HUGE head of Garlic tons of great little sweet potatoes I'm looking forward to the challenge, though. There is a great carrot/sorrel soup on reicpe gullet that I may try again... (photos coming soon!)

After seeing the photo the times put of her in the print edition (the entire space above the fold), I feel sorry for her. I'm cringing- because if I were her, I'd be irate over that horrible photo. Yeah, she's kind of perky and happy, but what's wrong with that? I've never cooked any of her recipes, but if she opens people up to getting in the kitchen and trying out new things, then more power to her.

Yes, that was me on Kim's chat...I ended up wimping out, basically. I roasted them with some EVOO, salt and pepper, but then ended up combining them with a sweet potato and serving them all together as "mashed sweet potatoes". I did taste one on its own before combining with the sweet potato- tasted like a really earthy potato. Next time I'll try something more adventurous. That soup looks great- I think I've made this one before too- I remember struggling with the uncooked squash! Looking forward to another pick up tonight....

This is last week's goodness: clockwise, from bottom left: arugula, tomatoes, mustard greens, basil, then tomatoes with the garlic atop them, and the buttercup squash, with the tatsoi above that. I've stayed pretty true to plan- made some fun "orange" tomato sauce using the cherry tomatoes, and used the arugula to go with some chicken schnitzel that the SO made. Still to go (I feel such a sense of accomplishment having eaten all of the share!) mustard greens, tatsoi, and the squash. On the menu tonight: pork tenderloin wih the squash and the greens.

True Confession: I only sharpen my knife when I can tell it's getting dull- I either take them to my mother's, who has an electric sharpener, or I use a steel, although I confess to not really knowing what I'm doing. But then again, the only knife I use is a $15 chef's knife from Bed Bath and Beyond. There are some things that I know I should care about, but until I get my hands on some true knives, I'm not going to worry about it.

This week's cache: mustard greens a BIG bunch of arugula more tomatoes (! can you believe it's October!)- cherry and beautiful reds and yellow larger ones. tatsoi garlic buttercup squash basil We were bad "shareholders" last week and ended up eating out a lot, so I'm dealing with cooking two weeks worth of veggies. Last night we had steak and mashed sweet potatoes/turnips from last week's share. In the works: tomato sauce, TBM sandwiches, arugula salads, perhaps some buttercup squash risotto...I'm still working on finding a way to prepare the greens that don't make it seem like "homework" to eat.

after this week, it's just me...scary! I'll try to post more photos to pick up the slack. So glad that recipe worked for you- I'll have to put that recipe back in my rotation . This week (photo coming, I promise) was: hurakei turnips garlic eggplant hot peppers tomatoes (beautiful cherries and juicy, flavorful "normal" ones) arugula basil and a mystery green- perhaps chard, but I don't know.

FAboo, I have to ask: how many people are you feeding? GCF looks like they provide so much food! This recipe from the Post a few years ago (August 15, 2001) is awesome. I've used good parm in place of the pecorino to good effect as well: Frank Ruta's Roasted Acorn Squash With Sage, Egg and Shaved Pecorino Cheese (4 light main-course servings) Frank Ruta, chef at Palena in Cleveland Park, has always had a vegetable garden. When he developed this recipe for his family, he also had 4 Araucana hens in his backyard. "We didn't go shopping," he says. "We had these chickens, we were harvesting eggs, and we already had sage and the hot peppers, the olive oil and an aged Pecorino cheese." Chef's tip: Choose the right size squash. A 2-pound one is too large -- 1 1/2-pounds or a little less is better. It's also helpful to break the egg over a cup first and then pour it into the squash hole rather than trying to break it over the hot squash. Ruta likes the yolk "runnier than most. . . . When it mixes with the oil, butter, cheese and seasonings, it makes a great sauce for the squash," he says. 2 medium acorn squash Extra-virgin olive oil to taste, plus additional for the pan Salt to taste About 1 tablespoon butter 16 small sage leaves, shredded if desired 1 Thai or serrano chili pepper, very thinly sliced 4 large or extra-large eggs About 2 ounces aged Pecorino cheese Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Cut each squash in half lengthwise; scoop out and discard the seeds. There should be enough space in the cavity to accommodate an egg; if necessary, using a spoon, scoop out a little of the squash to enlarge the cavity. Turn the squash halves over and, using a sharp knife, cut a thin slice from the rounded "bottom" of each squash half so each half will rest on a flat surface. Turn the squash halves over again and brush the squash cavity generously with oil and season with salt to taste. Place the squash, cut side down, in the prepared pan. and place in the oven. Bake the squash until tender and slightly caramelized around the edges, about 40 minutes. Remove the squash from the oven and flip it over. Using the tip of a sharp knife, make several shallow slashes in the cavity of each. Cut the butter into 4 portions; rub 1 portion over the cavity of each squash half, leaving any unmelted butter in the cavity. Place 2 sage leaves and 1 slice chili pepper in each cavity, drizzle with oil and season with salt to taste. Return to the oven and bake until the butter melts and the oil begins to sizzle. Remove the squash from the oven and break 1 egg into each cavity. Drizzle each with a little oil, sprinkle with 2 sage leaves and chili pepper and season with salt to taste. Return to the oven and bake until the egg is the desired consistency, about 10 minutes for a still runny yolk. Remove from the oven. Transfer the squash to individual plates and garnish each with a generous shaving of cheese. Serve immediately. Per serving: 249 calories, 10 gm protein, 25 gm carbohydrates, 13 gm fat, 228 mg cholesterol, 5 gm saturated fat, 234 mg sodium, 4 gm dietary fiber

I was told that they include Tabasco b/c if a Soldier thinks it tastes bad, at least they can add some hot sauce to make it more palatable. The object with all the little condiment packages is to make sure the MRE gets eaten, not just the brownie! Another fun fact: a MRE will set you back about 3,000 calories! That rice, etc is not normal rice- it's calorie packed super rice designed to fuel fightin' machines! If anyone really wants to get technical, the Natick Soldier Systems Center are the "Government Scientists" who bring you the taste sensations known as MREs. Making sure that these suckers are tasty is their JOB, and they take it very seriously! They are doing some really amazing stuff up there. Mayhaw, thanks for your post- eagerly awaiting the next installment!

This week's loot This week, roughly from left to right: basil, celery, peppers, eggplant, the CUTEST little grape tomatoes, and some "regular" tomatoes. I put the okra in the trade basket, and we ate the green beans we received with tonight's dinner. And...I just realized that we got butternut squash too, but I forgot to include it in the photo! Plans- eat the tomatoes like candy, roast and puree the squash to serve as a side with pork tenderloin tomorrow. I'm thinking about some sort of celery soup to take advantage of their greens, but I'm not quite there yet. Faboo, in your soup making experience, anything that utilizes celery tops? I renewed for the fall- PVF told me their fall mini shares aren't as "voluptuous" as their summer shares, but that they hope I'll be pleased nonetheless. So I've got until almost Thanksgiving until I actually have to *sniff* buy vegetables again!

Faboo, those tomatoes look gorgeous!! I've been away due to a hard drive replacement on my computer and my new job that doesn't leave me much time to just surf the web, thinking about food It's starting to turn back to crops that we got early in the season: this week we got some chard again after a long break, and no zucchini or squash. The bounty this week: fennel (x2- someone left it in the share basket- their trash, my treasure!), onions, garlic, cherry and regular tomatoes (didn't look as nice as Faboo's- in fact, one was split and the other badly bruised), and some green beans. The fennel had fronds that were almost a yard long- they looked so pretty! Tonight, I roasted the fennel bulbs, onions, and some cherry tomatoes with just salt, pepper, and olive oil to go with Sauteed Cod with Lentils from Epicurious- which was very good, btw. I've only two more weeks left in the summer share- I've attempted to contact PVF about getting the fall share, but we haven't connected yet. Faboo, how much longer do you have to go?

Wow, everyone is cooking such great stuff, I feel so...inadequate. But I'll steel up my courage and post as a dinner "underachiever": last night: sauteed chicken breasts with bacon, artichoke hearts, capers and lemon butter (a riff off a *gasp* macaroni grill dish) baked potatoes fresh green beans

I can't believe you roasted a melon! That's great! From the photo, it looked like spaghetti squash to me too! The produce from GCF looks great- esp. those little yellow tomatoes and the blackberries. Last Tuesday's delivery from PVF: cherry tomatoes, an eggplant, spaghetti squash, bell pepper, garlic, and edamame, still on the vine. I've never seen edamame in their natural state before- I just threw the pods in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes and added them to a pasta dish I was making. They were great- it was hard not to just eat them as I shelled them from the pod. last night was "eat all the veggies before we get more on Tuesday" night. I improvised a n Italian casserole-type dish: roasted the spaghetti squash, then tossed the strands with ricotta and parmesan cheese; layered some tomato sauce I had made over top, then eggplant slices, more sauce, and some more cheese. It was a very homey dish that accomplished its goal, especially with the pound of cheese I added!

Squids- I'm DC-burbs born and raised and have lived in one part of NoVa or another for my entire life, save college and some short stints in Germany. So, yes, I'm enjoying the August "vacation" from overfilled metro cars, etc. Does the city seem more empty this year, or is it just me? Anyway, back to OT. I made some pretty good Baba Ghanouj from my eggplant this week, and threw in some basil instead of the parsley the recipe called for for a bit of a twist. I've been eating tomatoes in sandwiches, plain with salt, pretty much anyway I can- they are SOOO good! I'm going to go through withdrawl when the season is over. Grocery store tomatoes (even whole foods) will never look the same to me again. What I mistakenly identified as sorrel is actually celery leaves- no stalk, just the leaves. Anyone out there have the faintest idea how to use this? It has a quite bracing, lemony flavor- kind of reminds me of lovage, if that helps. I keep meaning to make stuffed peppers with those we receive- not a big pepper fan, but if PVF can make me like beets, then anything is possible!!

I'm not accomplished in the kitchen- that was the first risotto I made. I'm sure real risotto experts would tell you it was horrible (rice probably not the right texture, etc), but to me it tasted good!! There's also a great recipe from Bon Appetit that uses essentially the same ingredients (sub basil for chives if you have it, I usually use penne, too) that's alot easier but has many of the same flavors. Accompanying my risotto success, however, was a dismal failure- the fried okra. I coated in cornmeal and seasonings, and fried in hot canola oil, but the breading just slid right off as soon as it hit the oil . It tasted allright but it wasn't anything like fried okra I remember. Did you have good results from the NYT recipe a while back? Everyhing looks fabulous from GCF- I'm missing out on alot of those great summer fruits and corn (PVF doesn't do either, and I've got enough veggies that I don't need any more produce!) Do they grow everything on site? I didn't realize that VA was peach country.

Oh, wow even after a cursory search, this topic is just ripe for the picking: a chocolate melter electric crepe griddle ($149! Do you really NEED this?) electric ice cream scoop

I'll throw out a few ideas: endive "boats" with fillings- just get some belgian endives, separate the leaves, and fill- Jaleo here in Wash. DC does it with goat cheese, almonds and apricots. I also love them filled with a gorgonzola dip (sorry for not being specific, but recipes should be out there) how about a meat/cheese plate? you know, little toothpicks of good sausage with some good cheeses to go with it. A simple bruschetta, or bread with a selection of dips- gourmet had some great ones in their August (?) issue, on the back page (the issue with the blueberry dessert on the front). I can personally vouch for the Sardine tonnato spread and the pesto/sundried tomato spread.

I think that the article painted Joe as someone whose passions for food and fine dining ultimately was his downfall and soured the relationships (if you can call it that) with the readership on the boards- kind of sad that he's a man without a country (well maybe- let's see how long Don Rockwell's board lasts).