We get an assortment of veggies from our CSA (community Supported Agriculture) every week. I pay them to grow stuff for me because no matter how good my intentions are, I kill plants, it is just what happens. I LOVE that we joined a CSA though! It is fabulous. Although I don't know what exactly will be in the coming week's distribution (all depends on mother nature) I have SO much fun experimenting with new ways to use the abundance of veggies that we receive. Usually I end up canning or freezing some to help get us through the winter, and then we eat as much as we can fresh! This week I had two particularly lovely experiences.
The first was with Eggplant. Yep, there is always the old standby Eggplant Parmesan, and I have put it into a tomato based sauce with zucchini, summer squash and other veggies, but this week I went outside the box, and made a variation of a Caprese Salad. I started with a bed of Arugula, sprinkled in some basil, and then of course, the fresh mozzarella. Then I used a BEAUTIFUL large heirloom tomato (called a Mr. Stripy) and threw in some chopped Asian pear for good measure, I love pear in a salad. What about the eggplant you might ask? Well, I took that, and cut it into strips. Dredging the strips first in flour, then egg, then Panko breadcrumbs, and pan frying them in some light olive oil. I let them rest a bit when they were done cooking, on a paper towel covered cooling rack, and then put them on top of my salad, and drizzled the whole thing with a very nice vanilla fig balsamic that I had in my cupboard. There is a great olive oil and vinegar store in the Village of Hamburg where you can get almost any flavor you want! I highly recommend checking them out and playing with flavors! This one paired wonderfully with the salad. It was a delicious take on the typical Caprese salad, which my family needed a break from, and I will certainly make that again!
My second experience came with the Acorn Squash. I love squash. Baked and straight out of the shell, mashed or pureed with honey or brown sugar, you name it, I will eat it if it is squash. However, today, I was in the mood for risotto. So, I incorporated that into my lunch planning. First I grabbed half an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic (also from my CSA) and sauteed them in butter and olive oil. Threw in a handful of mushrooms as well, a few chopped up basil leaves, and about 1/2 cup of white wine with the arborio rice. After the wine evaporated. I added in the first cup of chicken stock, and stirred often, and in between, put a halved and seeded acorn squash face down in some water and microwaved for about 12 minutes. Once the first cup of stock was absorbed, I put another cup in and stirred again until it was gone. 2 cups wasn't quite enough, so I added another 1/2 cup. That gave the rice the right consistency. It was ready for the finishing touches. I scooped out the squash and pureed it in my food processor, then added it to my pot, with a little heavy cream (just a splash I promise!) and about a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese. When I fed it to my kids for lunch, my oldest daughter (12) told me that "this doesn't belong on a lunch plate at our house, it belongs in a 5 star restaurant!" I guess I wasn't the only one who loved the way this turned out!
Well, now that my tummy is full, and my blog post is written, I am off to decorate a cake and head to a birthday party!
Catch you later! Eat well my friends!
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