eG Foodblog: munchymom - Livin' La Vida Locavore

[munchymom]

Good morning and hello from sunny South Florida! Later this morning, I'm going to pick up my weekly CSA box, and then we'll know what I'm going to be eating this week. Until then...

This is a Cara Cara orange, a navel orange with red flesh. It has very low acid and is sweeter than most oranges. I bought some this morning from Whole Foods; they were grown in Winter Garden, FL.

A little juice for breakfast:

See you after I'm back from the farm!

[Shelby]

Can't wait to spend the week with you, MM!

[weinoo]

Do you shop at the Boca Whole Foods?

[Smithy]

I'm looking forward to this! You're in Boca Raton?

[munchymom]

I'm in Wellington, which is just west of West Palm Beach. The farm I get my veggies from is in Boynton Beach. With luck we'll get to some waterfront destinations this week.

[Smithy]

One of my favorite uncles used to live in Delray Beach, and he wrote interesting and educational letters about the agricultural productivity of Palm Beach County. You're in a good place for CSA and locavore eating.

[annabelle]

Delray Beach is quite a long way north from WPB, but I get what you're saying.

Never mind. I was thinking Daytona, not Delray.

Edited November 18, 2013 by annabelle (log)

[munchymom]

The week's haul:

A bag of salad greens, five ears of corn, four slicing tomatoes, a bag of cherry tomatoes, two red bell peppers, and a small head of broccoli. I also have a watermelon left over from last week and some acorn squash from two weeks ago. Should be eating pretty well this week...

[Pam R]

Can you tell us a little bit about how your CSA works? Do you have any choice in what you get or do you just take whatever they give you? I've never been involved with one, but it's always intrigued me.

[Tri2Cook]

A bag of salad greens, five ears of corn, four slicing tomatoes, a bag of cherry tomatoes, two red bell peppers, and a small head of broccoli.

Sounds like a Christmas carol... a very tasty Christmas carol.

[munchymom]

Tonight's dinner:

Roast beef tenderloin:

with horseradish sauce

Creamed corn:

and a salad of cherry tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, basil, and fresh mozzarella

On the plate:

The corn, tomatoes, and peppers are from the farm; the basil and mozzarella are also local products:

[munchymom]

Breakfast time!

Brie on cranberry-nut bread, and some orange segments:

Pretty much anything tastes better when eaten poolside.

[munchymom]

Re: the CSA. The one I belong to has a few options - you can get a large or small box, and weekly or biweekly. I get a small box weekly. They will bill monthly, but they give you a discount if you pay for the season in advance, so that's how I did it. You get what they give you, although you can specify likes and dislikes - my only "dislike" is green bell peppers, so when they have those they substitute something from my "like" list in my box. Also, you can order extras from a list they post every week - these are things that they grow or get from other nearby farms but don't have enough to put in every box.

[rotuts]

we in the wintery North thanks you for not posting the Am Temp by the pool.

hopeful still on those little umbrellas.

excellent thinking on your part:

" green bell peppers "

pure poison.

Edited November 19, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Smithy]

I'm with you on the green bell peppers, although I've found a (very) few cases where they really are better than the ripe ones.

Breakfast alfresco...how lovely! And that meal last night!! That looked wonderful. Did you make the horseradish sauce?

[Pam R]

I agree with the green bell peppers! That's exactly the thing I was curious about -- if you could ask not to have something and it's nice that the sub something you do like. I'll have to look into it a little more closely in my area. Thanks.

[munchymom]

I decided to have Indian food for lunch.

(Sorry about the picture quality, the restaurant had these weird LED lights.)

Pappadam, spinach pakora, and vegetable samosa:

Tandoori chicken and naan:

Four vegetable dishes:

Kheer and gulab jamun:

[Smithy]

I love Indian food. Do you find yourself relying on nearby restaurants for certain cuisines (like Indian), or do you make your own sometimes? I'm guessing that you have a broad selection of restaurants close by where you live.

[munchymom]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, after eating four big servings of food at the Indian restaurant I felt no need for dinner. I'll be back soon with breakfast.

[munchymom]

Good morning! Today's breakfast used up a little more of the CSA box:

Two-egg frittata with broccoli, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and fresh chevre.

If anyone's keeping score at home, I still have a few cherry tomatoes, three slicing tomatoes, half a watermelon, three ears of corn, and a bell pepper to eat up before the week's out.

[munchymom]

Answering some questions...

re: horseradish sauce - It is half mayonnaise, half fat-free yogurt, and a couple tablespoons of prepared horseradish.

re: Indian food - Yes, I do like to make it myself - I cheat using spice packets like these instead of buying, grinding, preparing, measuring from scratch. My favorite things to make are dal makhani and saag paneer. But I'm a sucker for a good buffet lunch now and then.

re: local restaurants - I relocated here in June so am still finding restaurants - haven't really become a regular anywhere yet.

[rotuts]

your spice pack ref is interesting. have you ever found Patak or similar jared ( not canned ) spice mixes?

these they call 'pastes'

http://www.pataksusa.com/productsearch?type=cat&cat=6

keep your eye peeled for them!

[scubadoo97]

Very nice Munchymom. Nice bounty of fresh vegetables. Food looks delicious.

Love the pool side al fresco dinning. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming to move further north than Tampa Bay. When it gets below 50f here my wife and I talk about moving south. The diving is also much better down your way. Did some drift diving off of WPB a few years ago. Nice to pop up from 90ft and still be able to see people on the beach. If I'm diving to 90ft around here, it was a long time since I saw land.

[munchymom]

An afternoon drink:

I apologize to all who wanted cocktail umbrellas; I looked today but neither the liquor store nor the grocery store had any in stock. At least I mixed a drink in which such an item would not be out of place.

I would have taken it out by the pool but the clouds are looking a bit threatening, and while I do like pina coladas, I don't especially care for getting caught in the rain.

[Smithy]

Answering some questions...

re: horseradish sauce - It is half mayonnaise, half fat-free yogurt, and a couple tablespoons of prepared horseradish.

re: Indian food - Yes, I do like to make it myself - I cheat using spice packets like these instead of buying, grinding, preparing, measuring from scratch. My favorite things to make are dal makhani and saag paneer. But I'm a sucker for a good buffet lunch now and then.

re: local restaurants - I relocated here in June so am still finding restaurants - haven't really become a regular anywhere yet.

Thanks for that information about the spice packets. Those are new to me.

your spice pack ref is interesting. have you ever found Patak or similar jared ( not canned ) spice mixes?

these they call 'pastes'

http://www.pataksusa.com/productsearch?type=cat&cat=6

keep your eye peeled for them!

Funny you should mention those, rotuts; tonight's dinner was based on Patak's Mild Curry sauce! I bought it on a whim some time ago. We both liked it a lot...enough to figure we'll keep it on hand routinely, and enough that I, the cook, have been declared A Genius.

OK, back to the blog. Munchymom, if it isn't too personal: are you cooking for yourself only, these days? And what led you to your current location? (If you'd rather not answer, a Lofty Silence is just fine.)