CSA Roundup and how tapioca kicked my butt
My desktop is cluttered with photos from food that I haven’t written about yet, so here we go…. The pasta in the top left corner had smoked pork jowl lardons, broccoli, fava beans, green onions, and basil. It was tossed with an egg and a generous slosh of pasta water and was so utterly fresh, sweet, and fragrant that I actually hummed with glee as I ate it.
The ice cream is the vanilla recipe from David Lebovitz’s book The Perfect Scoop. It was rich and satisfying and I’m looking forward to making the anise flavored version this weekend.
The blueberry galette was made with berries from our first fruit share. I froze the other 8 pints so that we can have galette all year. You can find my crust recipe here and the filling is just a pint of berries and 1/3 cup of sugar.
Lastly is a zesty escarole and sausage ragout that is laden with garlic chunks, cremini mushrooms, red pepper chunks and onion. It was all given a fast spin around a hot pan and served up with some freshly grated parmesan reggiano and a side of zucchini that I passed through the mandolin so it would look like linguine. I tossed it in a hot pan with some olive oil, sea salt, and pepper and topped it with the parm too. These types of meals are common summer fare around here and are so well suited to CSA shares that even though their flavor and freshness are exceptional we tend to take them for granted…until around the end of October when we would love to have a huge head of sweet, sweet escarole. Such is life…
Our CSA share today included swiss chard and a russian kale. Anyone that gets a CSA share knows that storage of the produce can sometimes be an issue…refrigerators are only so big and other items must be accommodated too. I take the time to storage the produce in a way that makes my prep work simpler and also takes up less space. In this case I cut out the center quills, which also cuts the leaf in half. I cut the leaves in half again and gently pack them and the quills into a ziploc lined with paper towel (to absorb any excess water). This way they take up less room and are just a quick chop away from being ready to cook. As I was working through the chard I noticed it smelled just like beets. I just looked it up on Wikipedia and they belong to the same species…beets are grown for their roots and chard for their leaves. Who knew?
I promised Dexter I would make him bubble tea and then after reading this article in the NYT’s Sunday Magazine I thought…how hard can it be? I had the tapioca pearls in the pantry so I got busy one afternoon. Let me tell you, that tapioca kicked my ass! I stirred those [multiple expletives deleted] pearls for so long I thought I was going to keel over. When they were done, or more truthfully…when I gave up, they sucked. My mom said I should have used instant but I don’t use instant anything…I’ll never make tapioca again! Has anyone else made anything with large pearl tapioca? What is up with this stuff…or is it just me?
I have triumphed in growing a few California Poppies in my lush Wisconsin Flower garden. Sure it’s taken several years and hundreds, if not thousands of seeds…but HA HA…I did it. Now, if I could just get my Acanthus Mollis to flourish.
The Burpinator says,
The Silver Palate Cookbook has long been one of my favorites. It was given to me by Deb, GH’s sister, at an impromptu wedding shower in 1987 and it is by far my most used cookbook. So many of my family’s favorite dishes are adaptations from this book.
The Big Bread Sandwich on pages 324-325 is our standard feast for our annual beach day. I do the prep work the day before so that I can easily assemble the sandwich after my coffee. Years ago I stuck to the diagram and recipe given in the book, but too many fillings made for a really slippery sandwich so over the years I’ve adapted this Big Sandwich into the family favorite called the Burpinator…as dubbed by Dexter several years ago and for obvious reasons…it must be pronounced with an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent to be truly authentic.
I start with a sturdy batard, sliced into 3 sections. The bottom section has a dijon mustard, roasted bell peppers, and Willow Creek Farm Kielbasa that I cook the day before, strip off its casing, chill, and then slice. An Italian sausage would be good here too…but the mellow flavor of the kielbasa played well with the peppers and mustard, and it’s what I had on hand. Add some sundried tomato/basil cheddar, and parsley. Brush the next layer with an olive oil/red wine vinaigrette and then pile on the grilled garlic/lemon chicken paillards, more cheese, parsley and then brush the top-inside with vinaigrette too. All of this is wrapped as tight as possible in saran and chills for at least 3 hours so the flavors can come together. It is easiest to slice right through the saran…no slippage.
The sky was blue (see above), the beach was hot, and the water was freezing! Honestly, we sat there baking, sunscreen on, umbrellas offering meager shade, and then just when we couldn’t take it anymore we waded in…the water was so cold that my legs felt like brain-freeze. But once we waded out a bit onto a sand bar we found it to be a bit warmer and we had a good time…in and out of the water all day long. Eat a bite here, drink a bit there…four hours later we packed up and headed home.
On the way home we stopped at Kopps Frozen Custard in Glendale, Wisconsin. They make their own frozen custard and it is incredibly good. So cold, fresh, and creamy…I had the flavor of the day, strawberry, and the berries were fresh and sweet…it was a delight…so much so that I couldn’t take a picture of it. Does anyone know the story behind the cows? They line the back of the parking lot and we don’t understand why there is only one black cow.
I almost forgot to mention that I am the featured blogger this week over at Family Oven. Many thanks to Isaac for thinking of me. Head on over and add it to your recipe resources.
Quinoa salad…the new tabbouleh
Grain salads are so versatile and accommodating. I absolutely adore tabbouleh…but it must be made with tomatoes so fresh they scream when you slice them…and it’s just not tomato season yet. So instead I fashioned a new tabbouleh using quinoa, mint, zucchini, green onions, dried cranberries, and pistachios. I tossed it all with an over-the-top, orange-ginger vinaigrette and let it sit for a few hours in the refrigerator before I served it up. I’ve made salads similar to this before but every time I make a new one I’m impressed by the way the flavors, textures, and lightness just shine right through.
I also have to sing the praises of quinoa’s nutrition…check out the fiber, protein, and iron in a one cup serving… it’s a powerhouse and I think that makes it a good option for a workday brown-bag. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Orange Ginger Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained
2 cups water
salt
1 medium zucchini, julienned
6 scallions, sliced
A large handful of mint leaves, chiffonaded
3 handfuls of dried cranberries
2 handfuls of pistachios
2 oranges, zest and juice
generous dash of cardamom
1 teaspoon ginger juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
olive oil
salt
pepper
Put the water into a pan and bring it to a boil, add the quinoa, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the water is absorbed and the spiral germ is apparent. Remove from heat and put into a large bowl and toss to cool.
Once the quinoa is cool add the mint, cranberries, pistachios, zucchini, and scallions. Whisk together the orange juice, zest, cardamom, ginger juice, lime juice, olive oil to form the vinaigrette. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette, chill and serve.
