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The Farm Report, With Occasional Swearing

Thu, 07/15/2010 - 18:51 — Bryan Lambert

It's Thursday evening, which means it's time for the farm box update.

WASTE DUE TO WANTING NOT:

The lettuce from last week once again did not survive. This is my fault, because I didn't recognize how much water was in last week's lettuce, and didn't prep it accordingly. I also tossed about... 1/3 of the basil, again due to not monitoring moisture. Finally, the last of the Week 2 radishes finally met their trashy fate. Still not awful.

NEEDING TO BE USED:

The snap and snow peas from last week need to be used, but since tonight's dinner is a Thai-flavored fried rice with beef and... pea pods, most of that will be taken care of. We still have all of last week's red cabbage, a bit of Week 4's Savoy, and small amount of cilantro. Cathy's snack needs have done wonders for our carrot backlog. Oh, and there's one cucumber left I'm not sure will make it.

THIS WEEK'S HAUL:

  • Another week of Bonus Basil, some of which is already prepped for the fried rice.
  • One fist-sized fresh yellow onion
  • One hearty bunch of garlic chives, the top four or five inches of which I've decided to appropriate for the fried rice as well.
  • Another bunch of cilantro, this one very stalky, which I am going to try to keep in water due to its stalkiness.
  • FOUR GIANT FUCKING CUCUMBERS FUCK FUCK FUCK.
  • One porn-star zucchini
  • An amount of carrots that would make Bugs Bunny wince
  • A very small bag of snap peas
  • Three or so pounds of baby red potatoes which I bounced all over the kitchen floor
  • 1 large head of fresh garlic
  • 1 large head of lettuce they claim is iceberg, but looks like no iceberg lettuce I've ever seen
  • 1 large bunch of rainbow chard
  • One palm-sized pattypan squash - borderline decorative in that quantity.
  • 1 bunch of red mustard, which looks neither red nor like mustard, but it's the only thing left in the box and on the list.

The chard and the mustard will be a challenge - the chard because I'm still a little burned out on chard from last year, and the mustard because it's entirely new and makes me wonder what the fuck. Research or suggestions will be required.

 

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Chard and cucumber

Thu, 07/15/2010 - 21:59 — AmyK (not verified)

Long time reader, first time poster.

My favorite use for chard is in stir fry - for real! The patty pans would work great in stir fry, too, and the mustard would probably work in stir fry as well, most cruciferous works awesome.

For the cukes - slice very thin, soak in salt water for 10-15 minutes, squeeze to remove moisture. Garnish w/whatever sushi'ish things you can find - kaiware, avocado, gobo (sliced thin), etc. Add sushi grade fishies, sashimi style - looove salmon for this work up, but tuna and shrimp are excellent additions. Then top with Ponzu (muy importante), fish sauce, and sesame seed! Super light, super yummy, and you can blast through those cukes in no time flat - especially if you have a few friends over! And, Thursdays are 20% off salmon at Coastal Seafoods!

Happy fooding!

Cucumber future reference

Fri, 07/16/2010 - 09:28 — Liz minus password at work (not verified)

Were I not going to be in Cleveland, I'd take some cucumbers off your hands, but that will have to wait for a different week. I'm very fond of cucumber as a fresh vegetable snack, and unlike carrots, it's unlikely to break any of my fragile, fragile teeth.

Primavera

Fri, 07/16/2010 - 14:53 — Nicole

Your rainbow chard, along with green garlic/scapes, peas/snap peas, carrots, basil, and whatever else seems appropriate, would make a lovely pasta primavera. Chop everything up, lightly sweat all the veggies in olive oil/butter in order of slowest to quickest cookers, toss 'em with the basil and a whack of parmesan cheese, and serve with your favorite pasta (and chevre if you're so inclined). I particularly like this dish with butternut squash ravioli, but any chunky/bulky pasta (or even a rugged fettuccine) will hold up well.

Mmmmmm, that sounds really

Sat, 07/17/2010 - 09:56 — LordTracy

GOOD. Gonna have to try that. My exposure to primavera has always been some kind of cream sauce, your way sounds light and tasty. I'll bet the flavors of the veggies really shine when done like that. I'm particularly eager to try it with some of the fresh basil coming out of my wife's garden right now. Thanks.

Agreed

Sat, 07/17/2010 - 10:57 — Bryan Lambert

That may have to happen on Sunday, after I have a chance to actually buy some pasta.

LordTracy, those are my thoughts exactly

Sun, 08/01/2010 - 18:02 — Nicole

about the primavera. I can't even imagine using a cream-base, it would drown out all the vegetables (and add a bunch of really unnecessary calories in the process). And yes, the more basil the better with this recipe.

I also find the goat cheese/chevre adds a component of creamy/tangy that balances out the bitterness of the chard and other greens, but not everyone is a fan of goat cheese.

Hmm, if I got a load of cukes

Sun, 07/18/2010 - 09:02 — vortech

Hmm, if I got a load of cukes in summer I'd be making various cold soups with it. But perhaps you don't like the flavor.

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