8/29/13 CSA SHARE- what we got and what I am going to do with it

POST #967
Without my blog, yesterday seems so long ago! I mean it! I’m so happy to be back on-line!

WHAT WE GOT
Yellow Potatoes – 1 qt
Scallions – 1 bun
Green Bell Peppers – 2 pcs
Garlic – 1 pc
Tomatoes – 6 lbs
Zucchini – 2 pcs

Somehow, I came away with 3 bunches of scallions and 3 pcs of garlic, and a thing of chard (what do you call a “thing of chard”? Thank heavens for the word “thing”)

I chatted with some interesting ladies at the share distribution (one on the volunteer side of the table, and the other right up next to me, bagging her boxed goodies (I gave her one of my Ziploc bags) Promised to send them some fermenting recipes (should I start a mailing list on these things? I’ll have to look into that!) I expect this weekend is going to be about fermenting – I have some cabbage, all those tomatoes, and, I hope some of last week’s cucumbers have survived)

I decided to keep the potatoes. All of the raw food “experts” are now saying that they are actually eating cooked food. I haven’t done that in a long while (I had the power company cut off the gas a good while back, when the last room-mate left, because I haven’t cooked food in 30 years or so). I do have a rice cooker , a coffee-maker, and a microwave, left by a former room-mate, so I am going to experiment with cooking the potatoes and making a real potato salad (with such raw entries as onions and bell pepper). We’ll see how that goes. (We’re talking: I’m dirt poor right now, and I live off what comes in the box, so, at least, this week, I am going to bend and see what all the hoopla of going off 100% raw is about — okay, folks! I’ve been telling you I am 95% raw, even though I have been 100% raw – this is where that comes in! I am finally going to do something you can point at). I’ll let you know how that goes (I’m feeling kind of sheepish. I mean, how do you cook potatoes without boiling or baking them? I guess I can find the info on the Internet somewhere. Somewhere somebody has put information about how to get boiled-like potatoes in a microwave or a rice cooker — if you know, I’d be grateful if you’d tell me – I’m thinking rice cooker)

So, anyway – I’m going to make a fermented salsa with most, if not all, of the tomatoes. Ferments last longer, and I can combine a fermented salsa with all sorts of things. I am probably going to take one tomato and make a fresh “pasta” with one of the zucchini.

An aside – I am kind of bummed that I won’t be able to go to the September meet-up of “NYC Ferments” – they are doing “fermented fruit” this time, and I was planning to take a fermented squash salsa  (check it out on meetup.com), because I have work that night (yea, work! helps pay the rent)

Stay tuned! I’m back! Yea! (thank you WordPress, and thank you, Lord!)

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ZUCCHINI JUICE RECIPES

POST #788
Here are some zucchini juice recipes from 877MyJuicer.com

PINEAPPLE-ZUCCHINI JUICE
If you’re worried that you won’t like the taste of the zucchini, try this flavorful juice. The mild-mannered zucchini is masked by the bright pineapple and vibrant parsley. This is a perfect juice to have in hand while soaking up a few last sunny afternoons.

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 handful spinach or romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 2-4 stalks celery
• 1+ cup pineapple (the more you use, the sweeter the juice will be)

Feed all ingredients through your juicer. Sip and enjoy immediately!

CLASSIC GREEN JUICE WITH  A TWIST
Try adding a zucchini to this standard juice recipe (or try it with your own favorite mix) to use of some of that summer excess!

• 2 cups greens (preferably kale and spinach)
• 2 pears
• 1 cucumber
• 1 zucchini
• 1 inch peeled ginger
• lemon to taste

Juice as usual. Revel in the fact that you have one less zucchini to use. 

6/28/12 CSA SHARE: What they say we will get

POST #757

This is what they say we will get:

Zucchini – several pcs
Cipollini Onions – 1 bun
Fennel -OR- Kohlrabi – 1 bun
Baby Spinach – 1 bag
Radicchio – 1 hd
Swiss Chard – 1 bun
Toscano Kale – 1 bun
Red Boston Lettuce – 1 hd

I’m looking forward to some zucchini pasta and kale chips.

NIBBLES – what I did with the leftovers

Last night, I made spaghetti with zucchini pasta and a tomato/onion/red bell pepper/almond sauce. My sauce came out thick, but I like it that way.

After dinner, I looked at the leftover sauce and just knew I was not oing to eat it this week.  I had a leftover zucchini so I sliced it on the mandonline and then put a spoonful of sauce on each slice and everything in the dehydrator overnight.  This morning, I was amazed at how small the zucchini slices had shrunk, but I was very pleased with the taste of these little bites. My room-mate says they taste like pizza.  Next time, though, I am going to slice the zucchini thicker.

JUICE DAY – cleaning out the refrigerator

My room-mate came back yesterday and announced that I had to clear out the vegetables in the refrigerator.

It was actually easy, because most of what I had left was tomatoes, carrots, and green peppers (I’ve checked with the farmer – these peppers are ripe when they are green and they never turn red)

This morning, I drank 2 quarts of tomato juice made with 3 large tomatoes, 1/4 green pepper, 1/2 small zucchini, one clove of garlic, and a sprinkle of Tabasco.

Around noon, I drank about 1-1/2 quarts of carrot juice– that was about 20 large carrots. (I still have some carrots left)

I cut up the ripe peaches and froze them for peach ice creme.

Now all I have left are some green peppers, 3 tomatoes, some  zucchini and yellow squash (I’m angling at trying a “raw-violi” recipe I saw at hi-rawkus), 1-1/2 small cabbages, some beets, and some peaches which are not yet ripe.

I think my room-mate is happy now, and I have a more workable idea of what to do with the vegetables in the fridge.  Plus, maybe I lost a pound or two on this juice day.

8/27/08 CSA SHARE: What I Got

I’ve been having an unusual summer, so I haven’t been posting as much as I think I should.

Anyway, here is what I got

RED TOMATOES…………………….4+ lbs! (About 4 tomatoes)
Plus, the woman who was emptying her box next to me just asked me if
I wanted her tomatoes, so that was 4 more, and then I found 3 in
the trade box
CHERRY TOMATOES …………….1 pint
CARROTS……………………………1 bunch
GREEN CRISP LETTUCE………….1 head
BOSTON RED LETTUCE………….1 head
EGGPLANT………………………….2 pieces
LONG GREEN PEPPERS ………….4 pieces
SUNJEWEL MELON – I traded this for a watermelon
BABY WATERMELON…………….1 piece
ZUCCHINI………………………….2 pieces
YELLOW SQUASH………………..2 pieces

Yum! I love tomatoes!!!!!

I should get around to posting some recipes…. I know the lettuce will go into smoothies with the tomatoes.

DEHYDRATING ZUCCHINI – zucchini chips on the way

I have found myself with a lot of leftover zucchini – if my room-mate were around, we would have a lot of pasta, but she’s off in Japan, so I am on my own with all these vegetables.   I’ve decided to make zucchini chips. Now I have five trays of thinly sliced zucchini rounds sprinkled with my chili seasoning dehydrating.  I still have more to go, but I have until tomorrow to figure out what the next seasoning will be.

THIS IS YUM!!!!!! (that’s what I thought when I tasted it!) zucchini idea

Okay. First you need to understand that I grind up all my garlic and put it in olive oil (because my roommate cannot stand the smell of dehydrating garlic)… the good part is I have garlicky olive oil, and my garlic lasts as long as it takes me to use it, if I keep it in the refigerator.

Next, it is a good idea for you to understand that I put a lot of my “dehydrator sun-dried tomatoes’ in olive oil to save them and use them more easily (they stay softer than if they are just dried and stored)

I  got a lot of  zucchini in the last two  shares, and, with my roommate  in  Japan  now,  I am really stretching to get through the share…. There  is a limit to how many times you can eat zucchini pasta in a day…….. let alone in a week.

INGREDIENTS

2 med. zucchini
1 sm. onion
1/4 C sundried tomatoes in olive oil (fork out of the container)
1 fork-worth of ground garlic in olive olive oil (@1 T garlic powder plus 1/8 t oil)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients, and process to a fine paste.

Use as a pate, served on a plate; as a dip for vegetables or crackers; or as you will.

I plan to dehydrate anything I have not used by tomorrow afternoon.  (I will smoothe the leftovers on a teflex sheet and dehydrate them, then use the crumbles in salads or pile them into green smoothies, or add them into sauces.

WHAT TO DO WITH ZUCCHINI

I love zucchini! Don’t get me wrong! There is, however, a limit to how many times I can eat zucchini pasta in a 7 day period, and how many zucchinis I can put in green smoothies. Hence, I felt it necessary to explore new things to do with zucchini.

Here is a recipe for beanless zucchini based on something I found in Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, by Ani Phyo.

BEAN-LESS ZUCCHINI-KALAMATA OLIVE HUMMUS
1/4 C sunflower seeds, soaked 6 hours
1 C zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/8 C olive oil
1/4 C tahini
1/8 C kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
generous sprinkle cayenne pepper

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth hummus consistency.

This turned out pretty good. (I am not crazy about lemon, so I may eliminate it, or else only put a teaspoonful in next time)
It is a good dip for vegetables and it works well on my crackers, also.

I am imagining including red bell pepper the next time I make it.

I am also picturing how to dehydrate this if I  don’t  finish it in 2 or  3 days.

7/17/08 SHARE: Where will it all go???

They said I would get the items listed. The ones I got are colored.

CIPPOLINO ONIONS – 1 bunch
CARROTS | Qty: 1 bunch
apparently, in the end, boxes had either carrots or golden beets.
BEETS | Qty: 1 bunch
I got two bunches of beets: golden and regular, both with nice greens
CABBAGE | Qty: 1 head
this is a cute little head, about 5 inches in diameter.
BASIL | Qty: 1 bunch
GARLIC | Qty: 2 heads
ZUCCHINI — I got about 5 zucchini
CUCUMBERS — I got about 4 small but healthy looking cucumbers

HAPPY NOTE: I found where they were craftily hiding the discard/exchange bin, and, rummaging through it, I scored 2 bunches of carrots, 2 heads of garlic, 1 cabbage, and 1 bunch of basil, a radicchio, and another bunch of onions.

Oh! THE FRUIT SHARE!!!!!

I got a big bag of peaches and a pint of blueberries!

Where is all this going? Duh! the refrigerator!!! Seriously… i have recipes! Do I ever have recipes! I am prepared. Stay tuned for my next post, wherein I will divulge all!!!!