Cabbage, Cabbage, Cabbage!!

This week's farmthisway distribution was bountiful as ever.  We got 10 cucumbers, 2 clam shells of  heirloom tomatoes, 2 bunches of totally organic carrots, several heads of broccoli, a dozen fresh brown eggs, a quart of strawberries (which didn't even make it home), and 5 heads of cabbage.  My frequent question of the day when people were picking up their distributions was "What should I do with all of this cabbage".  I have a few suggestions....

1) Cole Slaw!  Quick and Easy.  Shred up a head of cole slaw and a bunch or two of carrots.  (I use my food processor).  Then, if you want to be really quick, use a jar of cole slaw dressing, my favorite is Marzetti's, or for a bit sweeter of a taste use a poppy seed dressing.  It's a neat switch up.  If you would like to go old school and make your own slaw dressing, you can use 3/4 cup of mayonnaise, 2 TBS of vinegar, and then salt, pepper and sugar to taste. 

2) Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Golabki) - Click here for recipe but in my family instead of beef stock, we cook these with tomato soup over the top.  Yum!  And you can substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef and pork as well.  In a hurry?  You can always make lazy version.  Chop up the cabbage and onions and saute in one pan, saute your meat in another and mix them together with the tomato soup and put it over some rice.  Boil in the bag, easy rice is ready in 10 minutes!

3) COLCANNON!!!   This is one of my family's favorites.  I take a head of cabbage and saute it with some diced up bacon and sometimes onions.  Mix it in with some butter and mashed potatoes and you have a divine dish that my kids eat right up!

There are some relatively easy things to do with your cabbage.  As for some of  the other items, a nice salad is in order, toss your heirlooms and cukes, and carrots with your favorite lettuce and voila! And who doesn't love fresh cut broccoli that just came out of the field?!   Steamed and tossed with pasta and Parmesan Cheese.  YUM!   Enjoy your basket of goodies and let me know your great recipe ideas too!

Our lovely distribution basket for this week.  

What's for dinner?

Last week I chickened out on the Strawberry rhubarb pie.  I had my daughter do it.  She's 13 and excellent in the kitchen.  It was pretty good, though I think I prefer my strawberry pie a little more sweet than tart. 

This week will be the 5th week of our 24 week membership to our CSA with farmthisway .  A little birdie told me that it looks like this week's distribution will include more fresh strawberries, cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes and totally organic carrots and beet greens.  Don't forget the farm fresh brown eggs from those hard working chickens out on the farm. 

Aside from the basic salads (I still have plenty of lettuce in my lettuce bowls!) that can be made from these fine offerings, I always like to think outside the box a little and do something neat with my weekly distribution.  The kids and I think it is fun to play with our food so to speak.  One thing I have never been real sure of what to do with is the abundance of greens.  I am familiar with lettuce, kale, cabbage and spinach, but beyond that, not so much.  Today I searched some things to do with my beet greens, and my favorite thing that I found sounds like what we will have for dinner tomorrow night.  I don't like anything I have to fuss with too much on a Wednesday, because I am at the Farmer's Market on Tuesdays until about 2 and then home to unload and process some of my weekly distribution.  That means dinner has to be quick, easy and not too messy.  And in my world, that does not mean take out...So, instead tomorrow I will make beet greens and bacon tossed with pasta.  I generally tend to avoid all things Martha Stewart, but she has a lovely quick recipe that looks great.  4 slices of bacon chopped (I bought extra slab bacon for Father's Day, so I have this in the fridge), 3 scallions chopped, which I will probably substitute with the Vidalia already in the fridge, greens from 3 beets , coarsely chopped, and salt and pepper to taste. recipe/instructions

It says to serve as a side dish or toss with pasta.  I will be tossing it with pasta, and pairing it with a nice salad made from our lettuce bowl lettuce, fresh organic carrots, cukes, and heirlooms.

Dinner is served.  Is it Wednesday yet?  

If I get creative later in the week, I may also try out a recipe for strawberry soup with cucumber and strawberry salad.   Stay tuned...

Pie time!

I heard that this week's distrubution from farmthisway will include rhubarb and strawberries...This combination leads most people to think of one thing.  PIE.  Now, I bake a lot.  For my own family and friends, and for others as well.  One thing I have never made is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I am not sure why that is.  Mostly I think, I just never really had rhubarb around and never thought, hey, this perfectly good strawberry pie needs some vegetables thrown in it. 

I look forward to trying something new this week though.  So, I will attempt my first ever Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  I will have to follow up with how it turns out.  Usually, if I am unsure of how to make something, I always check with Alton Brown.  Well, with his recipes on foodnetwork.com anyhow, I don't have his direct line, though there are many occasions when that would come in very handy.  But, I searched and didn't come up with a single Alton Brown recipe for the fruit and veggie pie, so i went to my back up.  Emeril.  This is what I found Emeril's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Almond Crumb topping.  I am not going to be scared off by the "Difficult" rating.  And I love pie with a crumb top.  So, stay tuned and I will let you know if I pull it off!