Final CSA delivery

 

Today I picked up my last CSA share from Kirsop Farms.

It was loaded with goodies:

 

Onions, carrots, bell peppers, beets

cauliflower, celeriac, lettuce, squash, parsnips, scallions

 

And it was a most beautiful day! The lighting was JUST RIGHT.

 

Wyatt and I strolled the market and Percival landing and the gardens.

 

The market wasn't very busy, you can see things are slowing down.

 

From now on I believe the market is only open on the weekends.

 

It is a bittersweet moment. 

The end of my boxes of vegetables to create yummy dishes

and try new things, but also a little relief at going back to the ordinary stuff:

carrots, potatoes, peas, broccoli, salads.

 

a peek-a-boo at the marina.

 

 

I have no idea what this marvelous plant is

but it looks like something out of Willy Wonka!

 

 

My buddy and partner in crime for the day.

Red things at the farmer's market...

Thursday I went to the Farmer's Market to pick up my CSA Box.  I had my buddy Wyatt with me, but Vicki couldn't meet us for lunch this time.  So, I took photos of RED things.

 

peppers

 

the hot peppers "wagon"

beautiful red pears

 

tomatoes, of course!

oops, how did these get in here, they're not red! I brought Wyatt a pinwheel cookie, which he kindly shared with me.

Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the market

Little buddy fell asleep on the way to the farmer's market.

He slept all the way through lunch. 

We parked him under the picnic table while we ate.

 

The market still has plenty to offer.  In my CSA box I get carrots and garlic and onions every week. Now I'm also getting squash (delicata), cauliflower, and rainbow chard.

 

Other farmers are offering corn, apples, plums, pears.

  Everything is so beautiful.

 

 He finally woke up and got to enjoy all the sights, sounds, and smells.

 

Farmer's Market

Steamed carrots

with a little butter and garlic

Rainbow Chard Fritatta

Roasted beets

Beet Greens steamed

and stirred into yukon gold mashed potatoes

Looking forward to a colorful week

Pretty food

A week of good eating

Confetti Collards

Phil was skeptical of this dish until I told him I got the recipe from the cookbook he gave me on our anniversary.

It was good!

carrot and potato fries

The fries were roasted the usual way (olive oil, salt seasonings) with a Tablespoon of corn meal thrown in and tossed around.  These were a big hit.  The corn meal gave those softer vegetables a yummy texture.

I also made a nice pasta dish with snow peas, rainbow kale, garlic, pecans, tomatoes and lots of Parmesan cheese. We ate that tonight and OOPS all gone and I forgot to take a picture. It was very pretty.

I wonder what will be in tomorrow's box of vegetables.

Have you cooked an unusual vegetable lately?

Last week's vegetables...

Last week I received many yummy vegetables and I made lots of good things. 

apricots at the Farmer's market

I am very happy with what I started last year...my vegetable cookbook with all the things that we liked or looked good and should have tried last year.  So, now I have lots of ideas when I receive something like Hakurei Turnips, Lacinto Kale, Scapes, Cilantro, Asian greens...

herbs at the farmer's market

This week these are some of the things I cooked up for dinner:

Steamed broccoli with chicken and rice;
Pasta with Cilantro lime chicken, snow peas, spinach and more;
Fried rice with snow peas, garlic scapes, kale, carrots, radishes;
Angel hair pasta with Kale, bacon, tomatoes, cheese (BLT?)
Roasted Root vegetable salad: turnips, sweet potato and carrots on green salad with chicken tenders;

I also bought some more Spooners strawberries - I made Betty Crocker's Hot Milk Sponge Cake (thanks for the tip, Kay!)   to put the berries and cream on.  Recipe below:

Vintage Hot Milk Sponge Cake

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup boiling milk with 1T butter in it

Beat eggs.
Add sugar gradually and beat until creamy.
Fold in flour and baking powder.
add milk/butter.
Put in greased 9 x 12 or two round pans.  Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes until cake springs back when lightly pressed with fingers.

It make a superb base for strawberry shortcake.  My grandchildren liked it plain! (NO frosting!)

I will definitely keep this recipe.

I don't know why I can't remember to take photos of some of these dishes.  Maybe because we are fork-ready when they are done and we dive in!  Later I think...rats, why didn't I take a picture...

Pink and Purple

A few things that brightened up my day...

Foxgloves blooming everywhere! Pink and White,

on the sides of the highways and in the ditches.

Lavender blooming at Percival Landing,

down near the Farmer's Market.

my week in green

Our tastiest week yet...

 I think the fact that I didn't get many photos proves that

everything was delicious and we couldn't wait to dig in.

I can't wait to see what I get this week.

Some of the things I made this week:

Yukon gold mashed potatoes with beet greens

Smoothie with strawberries and greens

Rice with almonds, tomatoes, cilantro, green garlic

Pasta with spinach, garlic, almonds, tomatoes

Fritatta with Yakina Savoy, mushrooms, garlic

Cilantro-lime pesto (in freezer to go with chicken soon)

Radish dip

Zero to Ten in 8 hours...

GOT BOOKS?

I did not anticipate this. When I started out today, I was reading my last book, and wondering what to read next. I went to work for a couple of hours, then I had to stop at the library to pick up some paperwork for my position as membership chairman of Friends of the Tumwater Library...I found three interesting library books there...then to the Labor & Industries building to check out their charity book sale. I met Claudia there, and bought 5 books (.50 each!)...when I got home - two books arrived from Amazon. From zero to ten in less than 8 hours!

I also went to the Farmer's Market for my very last CSA box of vegetables today. I got some kale, potatoes, squash, two bunches of carrots, garlic, leeks. I have really enjoyed this growing season, thanks to Kirsop Farms and my lovely box of fresh organic vegetables every week. Vicki and I shared a 20 lb box of apples and pears today too.

The highlight of my day though may have been when Alan asked if I could pick little Wyatt up at daycare for him. When I got there, I found him dressed in a pumpkin outfit! I'm sorry I didn't get a photo - but imagine a bright orange sleeper with feet - a happy jack-o-lantern face on his chest, and an orange hood with a green stem on top! Oh and Wyatt's smiley face. Too cute!

10-22-09 Thursday

Here is our dinner guest, I mention her later in my blog. The ceramic device in which she sits was a birthday gift to Phil from somone who loves it when he cooks!

I love to be served a cup of coffee! ahhh - Trader Joes! Phil makes the coffee every time these days. His coffee is very good too!

I had a great telephone visit with Walker this morning too. After school today he was off to two after-hours lectures and a haircut by a girl from another dorm.

Have you ever cooked a Jerusalem artichoke? I bought these at the Farmer's Market today. I got a recipe too that contains butter and heavy cream - to make a product like mashed potatoes. I'm going to try it, but maybe not so much heavy cream. The people I bought it from also had "burdock" which I thought was an herb, but it looked more like a tuber. She claimed it was very tasty and earthy. Vicki did buy a little piece of it ($1 worth).

Here is my coffee maker. Doesn't he look all retired and relaxed? This was taken on the Sunday hike around the lake.

Today I went to Greek class with AJ and we learned to sing the Greek National Anthem. We also got to hear original Aesops Fables type stories by the other students. AJ and I wrote one but we were too shy to read it out loud. It was the best story through.

Phil is cooking a whole chicken on the grill tonight. I'll try to get a shot of it. It gets grilled upright in a special ceramic device.

September 24, 2009

Walker's Artwork! finally
framed and hung in our home gallery

A thrift store "rescue". It's fabric stars, then crocheted around the stars and linked together. Its about 8 inches x 12 inches. Very sweet!

Aren't these beautiful? Vicki bought an apple as large as cantelope! And an Asian pear and red cherry peppers. They were beautiful too! We meet for lunch every Thursday. I had a spinach fritatta and Vicki had a Tuscan Panini that looked delicious!

This is my box for my acrylic stamps. It isn't finished yet - I plan to glue on postage stamps and some other paper ephemera. I have to wait for the ink to dry though!

I had a really great and fun day today. After going to Greek class with A.J., I went to visit my sister Jonny - we had a great visit and talked for almost two hours! Then, back to town for a couple of hours at my office. Next to the Farmer's Market to meet Vicki for lunch. But first, I bought basil for Pesto (one of my favorites!), two chocolate dipped macaroons for our dessert tonight, and a couple of red bartlett pears and three "President" plums that look like Italian Plums on steriods! Afterwards I made a quick trip into my favorite thrift store and found this very cute doily type thing ($1.00). I just couldn't resist it; it begged to be rescued and loved. I also bought two rolls of ribbon - very different with a colored ribbon and jute. I don't know what I'll do with it yet, but it will be perfect for something!

Last night I tried to organize a craft corner, and got distracted decorating this wooden box to hold my acrylic stamps. That was very distracting and I had a lot of fun playing with it. But, the ink is taking forever to dry! See how my right brain (artistic) hijacks my left brain (organized) and keeps me from my goals!