Family & Home

Your CSA Box: Curing End-of-Season Fatigue

When I opened my most recent CSA (community supported agriculture) box, an adapted version of the old Sesame Street song went through my head:

Each of these things is not like the others
Each of these things just doesn't belong...

Here's what I got: turnips, radishes (both with their greens), spinach, broccoli, garlic, squash, lettuce mix, a few raggedy tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, potatoes (just a few this week, not like last time), and onions.

As I stared at my vegetables, and they stared back at me, I felt dread creeping in. Would I have to make separate dishes for all these ingredients? Calm down, I told myself. Take a few deep breaths. Walk away.

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Vote for Your Favorite Good Food Resolution and Help Someone Win a Year of Free Organic Milk

Last week, I published a post about our new school lunch contest, asking parents and other concerned adults to make a school year resolution on behalf of their children and families. If we're serious about making change in our lives, I reasoned, we should be willing to share our thoughts broadly, to make public commitments, and to reach high. In less than a week, nearly 50 of you did.

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Farm to School: A Maryland Perspective

A couple of weeks ago, when my kids brought home their school cafeteria’s lunch menu, I noticed a couple of interesting items. First, the menu now noted the number of calories in every item served, from pizza to carrot sticks. My eight-year-old twin daughter and son and my seven-year old daughter are a bit young to appreciate the idea of measuring the amount of energy food provides; but it’s important to know, and I’m glad the school has introduced the concept.

Even more interesting to me was a short blurb on the menu’s inner page: “Fresh from the farm! Locally grown fruits and vegetables will be featured on the menu from September 13-17, 2010, to promote Maryland Home Grown School Lunch Week. Melons, cherry tomatoes, red and green peppers, lettuce and cucumbers are some of the Maryland agricultural products that will be served in the cafeteria.”

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Your CSA Box: Local Potatoes, Global Flavors

There were other things in last week's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm-share box: basil, green beans, turnips, chard, tomatoes, onions. But the giant pile of potatoes kind of eclipsed everything else. The suddenly cooler weather plus those potatoes seemed to cry out for something warm and comforting. I glanced at my cookbook shelves, in search of recipes that would honor these humble midwestern spuds. Eureka, I thought, stew! Or, as it transpired, stews! Bland? Mushy? No way. These stews were going to be stars.

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Squirrel Away Tomatoes for the Winter by Roasting Them Slow and Low

I just realized that the last two articles I have written for Simple Good and Tasty have been about tomatoes. No one would blame you for thinking I was a tad preoccupied, maybe even obsessed with that sweet, juicy, toothsome, perfect, smart, funny, talented, handsome (ahem, excuse me) fruit. I certainly wouldn’t. In fact, I’m going to complete the trifecta of tomato obsession today with this post. Once you have had your fill of Spicy Moroccan-Inspired Gazpacho and Tomato Panzanella, you will need to turn your attention to the upcoming months and think about what you’re going to do about getting your tomato fix once the snow flies.

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Taste a Little More Summer with an End-of-Summer Panzanella Salad

I don’t even want to say it out loud, for fear it will come true, but does any one else feel like summer is... gulp... over? These dreary days, these gusty winds, these cool temperatures speak of change, of autumn, of... double gulp... winter. Mother Nature has decided that this year, she’s going with the rip-off-the-band-aid approach to seasonal change and she’s not messing around.

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Your CSA Box: Delectable Dips

I opened my latest CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box to find tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, onions, jalapeno...

You can see where this is going, right? Sometimes what to make with the ingredients inside that weekly (or bi-weekly) box is pretty obvious, and this box was shouting SALSA! I bought some Whole Grain Milling Company corn chips in preparation. Then I went to work.

Easy Tomato Salsa
(adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

(makes about one cup)

1/2 small jalapeño. Remove ribs to reduce heat. Wear gloves to cut by hand.

1/4 small onion, peeled, root removed

1 small garlic clove, minced

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Best Fair Food: Peaches and Cream!

At Simple Good and Tasty this week, we're focusing on the 2010 Minnesota State Fair. So instead of recipes for your CSA box, I wanted to showcase one of the best new foods at the fair, the Peaches and Cream parfait from Salty Tart at the Produce Exchange booth, located across from the International Bazaar.

I first heard about it in July in this post by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl on the Dara & Co. blog at Minnesota Monthly's website: 

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A No-Hype Guide to What's Ripe

Can you pick up a tomato and sniff it to know that it’s ripe? What about a sweet pepper? Or a cucumber? In reality, there is no such thing as a “ripe” scent. Truth be told, you need more of a knack than your nose to know what’s ripe and when to buy it, so you won’t be throwing it away tomorrow.

As I’ve written before, I used to work as a farm hand for an organic vegetable farm. So I have a pretty good idea when a vegetable is ripe and ready to bring home to your kitchen.

Summer Squash

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The Fresh Produce In Your August CSA Box: It's All Good!

Before I moved to Northeast Minneapolis, The Wedge was my co-op. Every Saturday, I'd walk into produce area and ask the staff what they recommended. One memorable August day, in response to my question, one employee threw up his hands and exclaimed, "It's all good this week!" Since then, I've believed there's a brief moment in August when all local produce is at its peak. Judging by last week's CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farmshare box, that moment is now.

This past week, my vegetable bin contained leeks, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, corn, cucumber, green and yellow summer squash, purple kale, and garlic. I flirted with the idea of creating a kitchen-sink soup, but I decided to highlight each item's individual strengths instead. I also wanted to play fast and loose with recipes and not fret too much about amounts.

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