Posts Tagged ‘Bell Peppers’

CSA2 Week #20

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 by virginia

Josh is in town this week (finally!) so he picked up our CSA share on his way home from work. It was a fairly light week, which is good because we will be away for the next two weeks and I’m worried about things spoiling. The leafy vegetables are already being prepared for dinner as I write! This week our share contents included:

Sweet Potatoes – 1.5 lbs
Greens – 0.75 lbs
Turnips – 5 each
Bok Choy – 1 large
Butternut Squash – 2 small
Carrots – 1.5 lbs
Green Tomatoes – 1 lb
Green Peppers – 2 each

Bok choy, green peppers, kale, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, green tomatoes, turnips, mizuna

I was surprised to see green tomatoes on the list, as I thought tomato season was long over. I’m hoping that since these are fairly firm, they’ll last until we get back. Maybe I can turn them into some sort of fried green tomatoes.

For our greens, Josh picked a mix of kale and mizuna, a slightly bitter salad green that is similar to arugula, though not as peppery. The kale has already been turned into the kale chips, and the bok choy has been roasted as well. I plan on using the mizuna to top some prosciutto and mozzarella pizzas that I’ll be making tomorrow (we went to DiPalo’s this weekend).

The turnips, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and green peppers will just have to wait until we get back. They’re pretty hearty though so I’m not worried about spoilage. Although we’ll be missing the next two weeks of our CSA, I’m sure our vegetables will be going to good use, and I’m super excited about our upcoming trip – more details to come!

CSA2 Week #19

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 by virginia

Josh was supposed to pick up our CSA share this week but wasn’t able to get back in time so I stopped off on my way home from work. There were a few new items this week and items that we haven’t seen in a while, which always gets me excited. This week our share contents included:

Garlic – 1 each
Onions – 3/4 lbs
Popcorn – 4 each
Bok Choy – 1 each
Greens – 1/2 lb
Carrots – 1 lb
Turnips – 4 each
Mini Bell Peppers – 6 each
Acorn Squash – 1 each

Kale, mini bell peppers, carrots, onion, acorn squash, garlic, popcorn, turnips, bok choy

We got popcorn this week! How awesome is that? Looks like the “popcorn” is actually dried corn on the cob. According to the instructions we received, we’re supposed to place the popcorn in a brown paper bag and microwave on high until we hear gaps of silence in between popping that lasts for approximately 2 seconds. Josh and I don’t have a microwave that really works, so we’ll have to try this the next time we’re in NJ.

Other new items this week were acorn squash and garlic. We got spring garlic earlier in the season, but this is the garlic with the dried white skins that we’re used to.

We also got kale again! After all the swiss chard this season, I was happy to see kale. Unfortunately, the kale leaves are sort of small, which will make it hard for me to make kale chips. Nevertheless, I’m excited to make them again.

We didn’t get radishes this week but we did get some baby turnips, which I plan on eating raw like radishes. Hopefully they won’t be too bitter.

We also got more peppers, carrots, and boy choy. I wonder what new items we’ll get next week? (I’m hoping for brussels sprouts)

CSA2 Week #15 & 16

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 by virginia

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week. Things have been a bit hectic for us recently and I haven’t found time to sit down at the computer and write anything substantial. We did get our CSA share last week but didn’t take any pictures of it because we were in NJ for Rosh Hashanah. Josh was able to volunteer at the distribution site and pick up our share earlier in the day before we headed to NJ. Last week our share contents included:

Squash – 1 lb
Butternut Squash – 1 each
Bok Choy – 1 each
Carrots – 1 lb
Mini Bells Peppers – 7 each or 0.33 lbs
Tomatoes – 0.75 lbs
Sweet Potatoes – 1 lb
Greens – 0.5 lbs
Radishes – 0.33 lbs

This week Josh is away on business so it was my turn to pick up the share. Fortunately it was a relatively light week, and I’m hoping that will give us a chance to catch up and clear out our fridge a bit. Between the holidays and various other commitments, we haven’t been doing much cooking lately, unfortunately. I’m hoping that we’ll have a chance to get everything organized this weekend. This week our share contents included:

Celery – 1 each
Carrots – 1 lb
Squash – 1 lb
Bok Choy – 1 each
Mini Bell Peppers – 0.3 lbs or 7 each
Radishes – 6 each
Greens – 0.5 lbs
Beans – 0.75 lbs
Fennel – 1 big or 2 small

Fennel, bok choy, carrots, squash, greens, peppers, string beans, radishes, celery

I guess tomato season is over since this was the first week in a long time that we didn’t get any tomatoes. I was happy to see fennel though, since we got it once earlier in the season and it’s one of Josh’s favorites. The last time we got one, he made a great salad with thinly sliced fennel, tomatoes, and chunks of watermelon. It was refreshing and pretty delicious.

Celery is a new item for us this season, though we did get some last year. Celery is definitely one of the items that you can taste the difference between farm fresh and supermarket varieties. The celery we get from the CSA is thinner, a bit tougher, and packs a huge amount of flavor. The celery leaves are slightly bitter but intense. This celery is nothing like the fat, watery sticks we pick up at the supermarket.

Radishes are definitely one of our favorite CSA items, and we’ve discovered a new way to eat them. Instead of using butter on slices of baguette, we used fresh ricotta cheese. The creaminess of the ricotta and the crunch of the radish was just heavenly, and the combination really can’t be beat. It might have also helped that we got the ricotta from Di Palo’s, where they have really excellent cheese.

I’m not sure what kind of greens we got this week. They kind of look like dandelion greens though, and I think they’ll need to be sauteed before they can be eaten since they’re a bit tough. As for the bok choy, I can’t wait to roast another batch. If you haven’t tried roasted bok choy yet, please do so – it’s pretty awesome.

CSA2 Week #13

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011 by virginia

We had an alternate location for our CSA share pickup this week but Josh got out of work early enough that he was able to meet up with me. It’s always much faster when there are two of us waiting in line to weigh out our produce each week. We did get a report from our farm that our shares might be smaller for the remaining weeks but we’re still just grateful that we haven’t experienced too much of an impact from the hurricane. This week our share contents included:

Greens – 0.75 lbs
Mini Bell Peppers – 0.45 lbs
Squash – 1.8 lbs
Tomatoes – 1 lb
Radishes – 5 each
Lettuce – 1 each
Corn – 2 each
Heirloom Tomatoes – 1.5 lbs
Pole beans – 0.3 lbs

Chard, heirloom tomato, lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, pole beans, bell peppers, squash, corn

I was surprised to see radishes this week, since they’re usually a staple during the early season. Nevertheless, Josh loves radishes with butter and salt on slices of baguette, so we’re pretty excited to have that again.

For greens we got more chard, which we’ll cook with more bacon I’m sure. As for the pole beans, another early season item that we’re seeing again, a quick saute with garlic usually does the trick. As for the corn, a simple steaming is all we need for some sweet corny goodness.

We did get an heirloom tomato this week, though it was slim pickings on that front. Most of the tomatoes in the bin were split and starting to mold. I don’t know if that’s a result of the hurricane or if they just ripened too fast due to the warm weather we’ve been having. I’m pushing Josh to make more gazpacho since it’s a delicious way to use up a lot of the tomatoes and peppers we have.

We got more squash of course, and I’m starting to fight a losing battle with all of the squash we have. I make zucchini pancakes and squash soup, but does anyone have more suggestions on squash recipes?