redglass

sorrel (on the left), onions, garlic, tomatoes, okra, spaghetti squash, eggplant, a leek, peppers, and basil. From Potomac Vegetable Farms in Vienna, VA.

**crickets chirping* Where is eveyrbody? Led away by DonRocks? Another awesome week from PVF- tomatoes- red and yellow sorrel (on the left) basil (the bunch on the right) eggplant peppers a leek garlic an onion a spaghetti squash and....OKRA! Can't wait to fry some up and make my Alabama-born mother proud. PVF really has the portions down- sometimes its a tad difficult if I'm making a big batch of something, but most veggies work perfectly for a week for two people. And we usually just eat the veggies with dinner and I take a tomato/mozz/basil sandwich with me to work. I celebrated the bounty with a risotto with the tomatoes, basil, the leek and mascarpone and parmigiano reggiano. Pure summer comfort food.

I was in Norfolk, VA for a funeral, of all things, and we asked the concierge where we could grab some dinner near our hotel (downtown Norfolk). We were recommended a place called Kinkead's (not related to the Wash DC restaurant) and they offered to make a reservation for us. When we got there, the hostess looked at us, and without asking our name, said "From the Sheraton? 8:00?" Even though it appeared that the place was filled with duped out of towners like us, we stayed and ate our overpriced, underwhelming meal. Sigh....

I agree- these meals are not nearly ghetto enough. How about hot dogs on wonder bread (don't forget the ketchup!), 69 cent mac and cheese, instant mashed potatoes (as your main dish)? Of course, I've never actually eaten any of the above.

What is the sauce you served with green beans? They look great. ARg- again no photos this week- now that I'm picking up my share around 7 instead of at 3, by the time I get home, I'm so hungry and the veggies have been sitting out so long that I want to either eat them right away or at least get them washed and stowed for use later on. We got a break from the squash this week- whew! In the bag this week: an eggplant the perfect size for two bell peppers tomatoes- baby romas and "normal"- don't know the variety, but they're good onion garlic a HUGE bunch of basil thyme cucumbers beets The SO won't touch the beets, so I roasted them last night and made this http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108478 for lunch today. I'm using the eggplant and some tomatoes in the Mark Bittman http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/dining/101mrex.html that was in yesterdays NYT. Faboo, are you an okra fan now? PVF included some in their larger shares this week, which gives me hope that I'll get some at some point.

I'll put myself out there and say that I think the stuff is really good. It strikes me as funny that folks talk about its blandness- I guess it's just me, but as a kid, I couldn't stand the stuff. Now I like its creamy/tangy/herby flavor. Not all the time, mind you, but there are times when that homemade vinaigrette (bottled vinaigrette dressing? Talk about gross!) just won't cut it compared to a nice salad with romaine or iceberg and ranch. I have also not been able to shake the habit (acquired from eating some very bad, very late night pizza in college) of eating crappy delivery pizza with ranch as a dipping sauce from time to time...

Yesterday's share was the highlight of what was a long and very frustrating day... a beautiful little eggplant, a white bell pepper (first time I've actually seen one of these in the flesh), an onion, some more squash, mini roma tomatoes, more tomatoes, potatoes, green beans and garlic. And another sugar baby watermelon I've started a new job this week (yay!) which leaves me less time to, uh, egullet at work. I'll try and post a photo tonight. As for recycling, PVF reuses bags and containers- I also save bags, containers and rubber bands and bring them with me to the pick up so they can have them, although they've never asked so I have no idea if I'm being helpful.

From Potomac Vegetable Farms in Vienna, VA: yellow and red cherry tomatoes tomatoes cucumbers yellow squash fresh garlic carrots an onion and a special treat- the CSA doesn't usually include fruits (ahem, I know tomatoes are a fruit, but I digress)- a watermelon

Not such a huge cornucopia this week, but we got a surprise- watermelon!! Also received TONS of tomatoes; about 6 "normal" tomatoes and about 12 ozs. of yellow and red cherry tomatoes. I'm out of town this weekend, so I've already made tomato sauce with all of the tomatoes (using mario batali's recipe- on his website). I added some hot pepper flakes and a bit of tomato paste and a small can of tomaotes in addition to the fresh I got today. Mmm, yummy. I've been reading Diana Abu-Jaber's memoirthe Language of Baklavaand she's inspired me- I'll be doing some sort of middle eastern stuffed squash-thingy now that I officially have more squash I can handle when I combine the squash I have from last week.

This week turned out to be somewhat of a failure in terms of actually using everything: still have squash, cukes, and beet greens left with another pick up tomorrow! I was kind of at a loss with what to do with my "spaceship" (so says my SO) squash too- so I just cut it lengthwise into "saucers" with garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted- it wasn't that pretty, so no photos, but it tasted good! PVF doesn't have u-pick as part of the CSA- they don't do corn or fruits (at least for the CSA) either. The veggies have kept our tummies full and so I need to get out there and find some great summer corn and fruits...

We hit the jackpot this week- a very generous (mini!) from PVF. From left to right (my very first picture on egullet!): italian basil, potatoes, garlic, parsley, rainbow chard, patty pan squash, cucumbers and yellow squash and some beets. Ideas thus far: tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella salad, tabbouleh, more garlic mashed potatoes The larger shares got tomatoes and eggplant too- I can't wait. Faboo, how was the okra?

**Dont' throw me out of here for posting this!! The posts thus far are by people far more erudite than I when it comes to German beer** But...I don't know if they have these in Rostock, but when I lived near Augsburg (Bavaria), a Radler was a very refreshing summer drink- it's a mix of beer and lemonade. It might be a good comprimise for what you're looking for. And if all else fails, don't forget that Germany has some wonderful wine! They usually keep the good stuff for themselves and export the rest.

mmm, fresh apricots....I first ate them when I lived in Germany and for whatever reason the ones I've tasted here just haven't been the same. I hope you enjoy yours, Faboo. I got my share this week and was totally uninspired-not b/c of the produce, but I just hit a wall in terms of recipes. We received swiss chard, squash, an onion, some garlic, lime basil, potatoes, and cucumbers. But, things have gotten better and we've eaten everything except the basil and cucumbers. The potatoes were excellent- a gorgeous yellow color and creamy texture. We had just enough for 2 as garlic mashed potatoes and ate the leftovers as "fried" mashed potato cakes the next day (total carb overload, comfort food indulgence). With the squash, chard, onions, and some goat cheese on hand I made a galette, inspired by the recipes from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It was sooo good, if I do say so myself I'm working up to taking a photo of my share- we shall see next Tuesday!

Sylvia's Kidney Beans yum. Muir Glen Fire Roasted canned tomatoes chipotle in adobo chickpeas a can of sauerkraut that has survived through two moves

I have to say that I am no longer anti-beet! They aren't on my favorite food list either, but I would try them again. I felt like writing the farm to thank them for ridding me of one of my food aversions. Their color was beautiful, the texture reminded me of sweet potatoes, and I was surprised by how sweet they were- all I did to prepare them was roast at 400 for about 30 minutes tossed with salt, pepper and olive oil. The dressing, though, was just ok- I thought that there were too many ingredients to make it sing- it turned out kinda gorgonzola-y, kinda-walnutty. Eh. That salad does sound wonderful Chuchelo- what kind of dressing was it? A light vinaigrette?

This week (a mini share from Potomac Vegetable Farms) I got a small head of lettuce, a big bunch of Italian basil, some sorrel, a cucumber, two small zucchinis, a squash, and...some beets with their greens. Faboo, no shame in making soup. I just made the carrot/ginger/sorrel soup from recipe gullet (review: yum!) to use my sorrel from this week, and last week I made chilled zucchini soup with my zucchini. I've also been making alot of pesto- both the traditional with basil and one with dill that I'm hoping to use with some wild salmon when I get around to getting some. I confess to never having tried fresh beets and have only bad memories of trying canned beets as a kid. I'm going to try this roasted beet salad recipe from epicurious and see how it goes.

Since I'm young and poor, I like restaurant week because it lets me multicourse meals eat at places I otherwise wouldn't be able to afford. I had good experiences in years past at Colvin Run, Kinkead's, Vidalia (when we went, the whole menu was not offered, although you could order up for an additional charge) and believe it or not, the Melting Pot. I don't remember why we wanted to go there, but we went to the Occidental during restaurant week two years ago- boo. Stuffy, boring, and a very small menu. My SO booked us for Galileo this time around (ever since Roberto Donna's humiliating defeat on Iron Chef, he's been curious )- do they do a good job with the menu/service? I recall hearing mixed reviews.

I don't know if my adding a post makes me hypocritical, but...I agree with 8 track on this. Yet the combo of wonderful steaks, a sanely priced, good wine list + annoying policies (to me at least, yet I suck it up if I want to eat there)like 90 minute seating and a special phone number (anyone care to deny this?) = very big thread.

I think their entrees go up about $2 for dinner. Either way, it's a bargain. And they deliver.

wine. cheese. crisp, cold water. boyfriend's vote- in this order: pizza red meat pizza

An all time favorite: bacon, thinly sliced apple, sprouts (sorry Jensen! could of course sub some other nice geen veg) and peanut butter. Serve on some nice whole wheat bread. Oh yes. Also in the "oh yes" category, courtesy of The Bread Line here in Washington, DC: on whole grain bread, spread some fig jam, mascarpone, arugula and proscuitto. That sandwich saved some very bad work days for me.

I remember making dinner for my dad on father's day when I must have been 6 or 7: scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon with coffee. Except I made the eggs first (so that they cooled-even then I knew that something about this was wrong) probably undercooked the bacon (this is pre-microwave times) and terribly underbrewed the coffee. Dad was very very gracious though and took a bite of everything and even drank the coffee! I also checked out a "Betty Crocker cookbook for kids" or something like it at the library as a kid (this wasn't long after the cold egg incident) and do remeber this salad that I made for the whole family. I'm surprised it didn't put my parents in fits: It was called Rocket Salad: for Each person: 1/2 banana, peeled, placed, vertically on a salad plate 2 maraschino cherries at the base whipped cream as a border How that made it into a children's cookbook is beyond me. Or am I just of a dirty mind?

I'm a relative youngin' and admit that at times my kitchen prowess is outweighed by my enthusiasm for cooking. But looking back, the things that really helped to move me forward in my cooking were: Finally understanding how to build a basic meal- pretty much what mom has always served: protein, starch, veg. Sometimes I do protein, veg, veg, or starch, veg, veg, but you get my point. Sounds overly simple, but it's the sort of thing that I didn't realize until I was at school, eating potatoes, rice and pizza and feeling horrible. Know what is in season. If you make a tomato dish in february, it won't be at its full potential. Make it in summer, from farmer's market tomatoes, and you almost have to WORK to screw it up. Learning how to do basic dishes with meats: simple pan sauces for chicken breasts, pork, how to do a steak well on the grill on on the stovetop. Sauces can take your meat- even a cheaper cut- up quite a bit, as you all know. Top one thing that has improved my kitchen skills and made me fearless in other aspects of my cooking: baking bread. I'd say this has taught me more than any other of my cooking endeavors about how simple ingredients, well treated and with patience, can create wonderful things. And, once I made a half-decent loaf of bread I was ready to tackle pastry dough and all other sorts of things I'd turned away from before.

Gee, I feel like my share is so tiny in comparison, but I'm a CSA virgin and am so excited about my first pick up today so I had to post... I went with Potomac Veg. Farms b/c they had a pick up location in Arlington, they offered a share the right size for me (a "mini" share- for singles or small households), and the price was right. First bag today had some gorgeous radishes like I've never seen- almost like fingerling potatoes- a small bunch of tatsoi, a head of green leaf lettuce, over 2 cups of fresh basil, some garlic curls, and some great looking sugar snap peas. We're going out of town this weekend, so I've already made some pesto with the basil and garlic curls and used it as a base for homemade pizzas tonight.

My body is in the nasty habit of eating pretty much every 3-4 hours (why can't I be one of those people that just "forgets" to eat?), so not only do I bring my lunch to work but also a mid-afternoon snack...usually a salad with a bit of cheese or a few croutons on top to add some more "meat" to it, or a small container of homemade soup- whatever I have on hand- to tide me over until dinner makin' time. I've also found that hunger can come from simply being thirsty- especially after one of those soup bowls (couldn't read the NI on the label exactly, but most prepackaged soup bowls are very high in sodium). So drink up! (Water, that is).