rainbow chard

Boxing Day, March 9

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It is important that we keep the garden sunchokes separate from the CSA sunchokes. Nevermind that the garden sunchokes were sprouted from last year’s CSA sunchokes.

Dear John,

With the health complications of the fall, we sorta-kinda killed the yogurt starter. I tried starting up again with a sample from a Meditarrian restaurant near my parents, but it hasn’t really taken off. So I bought some packets of starter. And apparently it can take a few activation rounds before it gets good. And the milk that we were using went off quickly.

We have a lot of yogurt that I don’t want to eat but don’t really want to throw out.

So….baking projects it is! Subbing the yogurt for milk in our favorite chocolate muffins (not these, but same person). Maybe we should try her chocolate chip muffins too? Cornbread with a pot of beans and greens? (Looking at you, kale.) Morning glory muffins with shredded carrot and parsnip? Use some in the pancakes this weekend. The lemon-poppyseed scones that I made in college and keep in the freezer even though it is poison to you? I’m trying to think what else will bake and freeze decently well. Maybe it’s just chocolate muffins forever. They are a yummy recipe (she types after licking her fingers from the one nibbled while writing).

Today’s Box

  • Jerusalem Artichokes
  • Purple Carrots
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Red Beets
  • White Scallions
  • Green Kale Hearts
  • Asian Greens Mix

Things in the fridge

  • Cranberries
  • Parsley
  • Half a parsnip
  • Carrots
  • Chioggia Beets
  • Purple Daikon Radishes
  • Robins Koginut Squash
  • Shallots

Open Preserves

For when we’re not baking yogurt

  • Chard and spaghetti from Six Seasons.
  • We need to restock our Asian pantry items. We’re out of the good chili oil and low on dried shiitake. Nevermind the rice flour and rice noodles and kimchi and soon tofu. Which is to say the scallions won’t be topping stirfries until we make it to the specialty grocery. Which means…..scallion-onion-garlic galette time again?
  • Purple beets! (I know they’re red, but, have you seen them? They look purple.) These are getting roasted, pureed, and frozen. To be tossed into hummus and yogurt as we need the flavor/vegetable boosts.
  • Speaking of putting things in the freezer, time to make another batch of sunchoke burgers and stock our freezer.
  • But some of the Jerusalem Artichokes (from the box? from the garden?) should end up in a relish. (Linking to one, but let’s check the church/community cookbooks shelf too.) And of course, save some for pizza. And maybe, if we have enough, fry ’em and smash ’em and put ’em on a salad.

Love you,

Sarah

Boxing Day, September 6

planorcanLeave a comment
The resumption of lettuce salads!

Hi John,

We made a garden trip on Friday. It’s amazing how well our plot is doing, considering how much less attion we’ve been able to give it this summer. Would the beans be doing better if they got regular waterings? Probably. Ditto the tomatillos? Perhaps, but we’ve still made at least four cups of salsa verde. The tomatoes? Almost for sure, but there’s still enough coming in that we’ll make a pasta sauce sometime this week. When I tried pulling up garlic, it wasn’t yet ready for harvest. Now the remaining plants are blooming. Ah, well. It’s a hobby plot not a sustenance plot. The flowers are pretty and make the pollinators happy.

We started our first rows for fall radishes and turnips and lettuce. Planted the last of the stir-fry greens seed pack–the one whose previous planting gave us kale all season long. I forgot to pack cilantro. We need to see if we can pick up heirloom collards at our local store or if we should order. Seasons are changing and still full of the promise.

Today’s Box

  • Bartlett Pears
  • Italian plums
  • Magness Pears
  • Delicata Squash
  • Mixed Cherry Tomatoes
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Red Little Gem Romaine Lettuce

Things I think are in the fridge

  • Peach
  • Cantaloupe
  • Pears
  • Nectarines (farmers market)
  • Blackberries (farmers market)
  • Roma tomatoes
  • Cranberries
  • Celery
  • Spaghetti squash
  • Jerusalem Artichokes

Coming in from the Garden

  • Basil
  • Kale
  • Tomatillos
  • Roma tomatoes
  • Green tomatoes from when I pruned some errant tomato stems
  • Occasional ground cherries
  • More peppers?
  • Dahlias and marigolds
  • Papalo when we want it
  • Rosemary

Open Preserves

Low fat ideas to eat the veggies

  • I’m intrigued by lettuce soup. I don’t think this is quite the time for it, but noting.
  • Salad with slices of roasted squash, crunchy chickpeas, and a yogurt dressing
  • Risotto with swiss chard and the last of the sunchokes
  • More green tomato chutney? We don’t have hot peppers, but maybe play anyway?
  • Chickpea-Tomato Sauce and Pasta inspired by what Dad made from Cool Beans

Love you,

Sarah

Boxing Day, September 30

planorcanLeave a comment
I wasn’t expecting garlic and picked some at the store before I got the CSA. On the one hand, whups. On the other hard, it’s not like we won’t use garlic.

Dear John,

It’s been a busy week of writing for both of us as we usher papers out the door. Reading an evergrowing stack in the search for the right citation. Banging angrily on keyboards. Sighing heavily. Sending off to colleagues when the words are as good as they’re going to get that day. Fitzing with formatting like a student trying to match a teachers’ page requirements. Neither of us are getting graded, but the spirit remains more or less the same.

My paper’s back to the editor’s inbox. You’re about to begin the process for publishing yours. Weekend’s coming early today, and I am so ready.

In This Week’s Box

  • Gala Apples
  • Kiwiberries
  • Carnival Squash
  • French Breakfast Radishes
  • Frisee
  • Green Mustard
  • Mixed Yummy Peppers
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • White Garlic

Garden Potential

  • Starfish pepper
  • Paprika
  • Jalapenos
  • Lombok peppers if we want them
  • Few tomatillos, hopefully
  • Volunbeans
  • Maybe a tomato?
  • Dahlias

Still in the Fridge

  • Apples: Honeycrisp
  • Greens: Arugula
  • Herbs: Cilantro, Fennel tops,
  • Peppers: Yummy, Habanada, Paprika, Red Jalapenos
  • Squash: Delicata, Red Kabocha, Butternut
  • Sweet onions
  • Fingerling Potatoes
  • Celery
  • Sunchokes

Open Preserves

  • Preserved eggplant
  • Pickled cucumber skins
  • Lacto-fermented & Lacto-fermenting green cherry tomatoes
  • Lacto-fermented blueberry jalapeno hot sauce
  • Pickled red onion
  • Pickled banana peppers with oregano, basil, and black pepper
  • Plain pickled banana peppers
  • Radish kimchi
  • Sunchoke relish
  • Green tomato chutney
  • Peach jam
  • Apple butter
  • Apple sauce
  • Quince jelly
  • Strawberry freezer jam from your mom
  • Veggie stock
  • Probably still more uninventoried

Comfort Food for Mindful Meals

  • The writing took up all the time, which meant I never made the mole verde squash last week. Hopefully tonight!
  • So many greens this week! Mustard greens make me hope for palak paneer or saag feta or chana saag. Frisee for salads, with radish to emphasize the kick.
  • We’ll see how the weather plays. But it may be time to start soup season. Squash Apple Ginger soup from Simply in Season, perhaps?
  • Chard garlic spaghetti from Six Seasons until we choose something else to do with it.

And a few more plans

  • I think I want to try drying paprika and grinding it to a powder. Fingers crossed!
  • Let’s roast the jalapenos and combine with the habanadas for a brine mash ferment. It’ll be another experiment.

~s