An Ode to Loose Pig Farm

How we've enjoyed the vegetables

that have adorned our table.

We recognize they are the fruits of your labor.

Our salads have been fine

with your arugula-divine!

The peas, delightfully sweet.

The savory chard can't be beat.

Didn't even know we like cauliflower.

Your plump raspberries, never sour.

Oh thank you, Loose Pig Farm.

In our hearts you hold much charm.

'Eat More Kale' 2009

Learning to Love Kale

I recommend this article, by Molly Wizenberg in this month's issue of Bon Appetit, for those of you who are learning to love kale for yourselves!

The Best Chicken Ever!

Two weeks ago, we helped slaughter and process the meat birds at the farm. Despite our initial trepidations, this turned out to be an amazingly gratifying experience for everyone. I was so impressed with the hard work, humane processing, and contributions by various family members and friends.

Two days later, we cooked up a bird . . . no doubt the freshest bird I ever ate! Delicious!!

Here are some photos . . .

My fear of beets

I admit it...up until recently, I was afraid of beets. Their bold color, their strong smell, how they stain everything they touch. In nice restaurants, I would discreetly sneak--from my plate to Eric's plate-- any beet product that came with my entree when he wasn't looking. And he would do the same to me. We were afraid to get up from the table to use the bathroom for fear that each others beets would infiltrate our plates! Growing up, I was intrigued yet somewhat sickened by the hot pink, milky borscht my grandparents would often make...and seemingly enjoy!! I loved the color once the sour cream was added but that's as far as the appeal would go.

But all of that came to an end last summer when we were fortunate enough to enjoy a week of Cyndi's CSA share while they were away. It was an awkward moment when I showed up to meet Michael and Jean and there, on top of the basket of produce, was what seemed like WAY too many beets. More beets than anyone would EVER want or need! I delicately tried to give some back "Well, we're not big beet eaters, so perhaps you want to take some of these and give them to someone else?" and "I really don't know how to prepare beets..." But Jean and Michael walked me through the basic boil, peel, butter, salt and pepper preparation and told me I'd love them. I was skeptical to say the least but left with my basket of beets promising I'd make some and let them know. I LOVED THEM!!!!

Needless to say, we anxiously awaited the arrival of the beets this summer and have enjoyed every batch we've gotten! I roasted them once but every other time I followed the basic butter, salt and pepper recipe and Eric and I and both our girls fight over every last one!

Thank you Michael and Jean for enlightening me!!

But you'll never get me to eat a mushroom.

Zucchini Recipes to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Are you wondering what to do with those giant zucchinis?? Here are a couple of yummy sweet recipes--hard to pass off as anything but desserts, but hey, they do contain a vegetable! If neither of these ideas suits your fancy, you may want to consult Cyndi or Althea about their zucchini weight-lifting regimen . . . .

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD (makes 2 loaves)

2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 cups oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter 2 (8 x 4 or 9 x 5) loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Stir zucchini mixture into the flour mixture, just until blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cool on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.


FROSTED CINNAMON ZUCCHINI BARS

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

FROSTING:
1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 ½ tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini,and nuts. Spread into a greased 9x13 baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

For frosting, combine confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost bars before cutting.

Image Attribution: Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/3817108671/

Beer-BBQ Chicken

This recipe is from Eating Well Magazine. I've made this twice, both times using Michael's Amazing Chickens....and twice WOWing my guests! The finished chicken really does look like it belongs on the cover of the magazine, with flavor and moistness to match!

1 whole Chicken
1 TBL SMOKED paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1/2 onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder
1, 12-oz bottle beer

• Preheat your grill on high (to at least 400)
• Prepare your rub
• Rinse and dry your chicken
• Loosen the skin over the breast and leg meat. Tuck wings under the body and tie the legs with kitchen string.
• Rub the spice mixture under the skin onto the breast and leg meat. Add and remaining rub to the cavity of the bird.
• Turn off the back burner of your grill. Place the bird breast down on the rack over the UNLIT portion of the grill. Pour half of the beer into the cavity. No worries if some spills out.
• Close lid and roast undisturbed for 45 mins (for a 4 lb chicken, 1 hour or 1 hour 15 mins for a 6-7 lb bird)
• Turn chicken breast-side up. Pour the remaining beer into the cavity-unless you have drank it already...in which case you will need to open another.
• Cover and continue roasting about 45mins-1 hr (depending on size). Use a thermometer to check temp at the thickest part of the thigh. Should register to 165.
• When chicken is finished, remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

*I used a short cut and made a rub with smoked paprika, chipotle chile powder, mashed garlic, salt, and dried oregano...turned out fine.

Not-Your-Mudda's Potato Salad

So, we don't 'dig (LOL couldn't resist!) potatoes in our house...so I'm always looking for ways to use them. Visions of potato salads from my youth include lots of Hellman's and hard boiled eggs...I just can't go there. Here's a zippier version...

Potatoes
scallions, sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp dry mustard/or Dijon
2 TBL chopped fresh parsley

*I added a can of artichoke hearts and a can of black olives, in an attempt to clean-out the pantry-but not necessary.

• Boil your potatoes until tender.
• Mix your vinaigrette (all ingredients excepts scallions, fresh parsley, and spuds)
• Toss all ingredients.

Yummy warm and even better the next day.

News from our kitchen

Hi everyone! Another soggy week, right? I'm sure "Farmer" is loving not having to water the gardens but I'd sure like to see a bit more of a balance between all of the rain and some sun/warmth!

This week we've had such a good time trying new and different recipes to use up all of the delicious CSA offerings and I wanted to share what we've been doing at our house.

We had a wonderful Salad Nicoise one night and steamed yellow wax beans (from the grocery store...sorry!) CSA snap peas and baby potatoes...coated tuna steaks with Herbes de Provence with lavender and grilled it up to have on the salad and even the kids ate it!

Last night Eric made a delicious pasta dish with sauteed garlic scapes and the CSA zucchini, yellow squash and parsley and added oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice and a little cream and tossed it in pasta with fresh grated parm.

And finally, the girls and I baked a chocolate coconut zucchini cake last night with the big kahuna zucchini's--boy that's one moist cake!

I'm making Jean's garlic soup tonight to use up our kale (and keep any colds away!).

I'm hoping Cyndi will come back with inspired recipes from Greece and Turkey in a few weeks!

Hope you all are doing well. What's going on in your kitchens?

Salad Dressings

All this great lettuce and other produce needs a worthy topping. Amy and I have not found bottled dressings to our liking and find making our own dressing easy, cheap & fresher tasting. We keep a stock of a few essential ingredients:

First pressed extra virgin olive oil, the fruity and strong flavored variety, sea salt, limes, balsamic vinegar, a pepper mill. Here are a few we have thrown together.

Lime-maple: About 1/3 cup olive oil, pinch of sea salt, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, juice of 1/2 lime, pinch of thyme, freshly milled black pepper. Whisk until emulsified.

Raspberry vinaigrette: About 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 rounded tablespoon seedless raspberry jam, pinch of sea salt, splash of balsamic vinegar, milled pepper, strawberry vinegar if you can find it.

Maple Dijon: About 1/3 cup Olive oil, 1 rounded teaspoon dijon mustard, splash of syrup, fresh garlic squeezed in, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, fresh pepper to taste.

We play around with these a bit and find whatever is in the fridge that makes sense. Have fun and happy eating. Cheers, Eric

off topic

So I added a photo to my profile, and I see it there but not on the blog, so I am just trying to see if it appears now.

Technical difficulties

Well, I have spent many hours trying to post comments on this blog and don't seem to be able to do it. Not sure if it's my Mac browser (although I've tried 3 different browsers) or user error (always a possibility!) but regardless of the issue, I can't post comments. Is anyone else on a Mac and having difficulties?

So answering you here, Jean, about the panini's...I thinly slice, season and roast the veggies before putting them in the sandwich and "grilling" it. When I added the chard the other night, I just layered up some raw chard before adding the cheese and pesto and the heat of grilling it in the panini press seemed to cook it enough for my liking. You could definitely use 2 cast iron skillets to make a panini without a panini grill--you'd just have to flip the sandwich to get it heated and browned on both sides...that is the beauty of the panini grill as both sides get grilled at the same time.

I'm loving seeing the recipes everyone's posting here!! This is a wonderful addition to the CSA!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Yummy Radish Spread

1, 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1-2 TB prepared horseradish
1 TB chopped scallions
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 C finely chopped radishes

• Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours
• Serve with crackers, great bread or use as a spread on one of Amy's delicious paninis!

A quiche by any other name...

Kale Pie

one pie crust, prebaked

4 cups coarsely chopped kale

1/2 bunch scallions, chopped

garlic, minced

2 large eggs

1 cup feta, crumbled

1/2 cup whole milk or half and half

• Preheat oven to 375
• Bring large pot of water to boil. Add kale, cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
• Heat a bit of olive oil in a saute pan, add scallions and garlic for 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Break eggs into a large bowl. Add feta, milk, kale and scallion mixtures. Stir to mix and pour into prebaked crust.
• Bake until cent er is firm, 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Question: "Putting Up" Vegetables

I'd like to pose a quick question that may involve ongoing answers as our farm produce changes with the season . . . Which vegetables have people had success in "putting up" for future eating (be it via freezing or canning) and what techniques for doing so can you share???

The CSA and my panini grill

I got a panini grill a few years ago and along with a rice steamer, it's one of the best kitchen gadgets we've ever owned. Great for quick, last minute dinners and everyone can build their own panini (from basic to complicated) and have at it. The kids typically fill theirs with cheese (fresh mozzarella, cheddar, etc.) and sometimes spread on a little pesto before grilling. I love to fill mine with roasted veggies such as carrots, zucchini, fennel bulb, onion and add some fresh mozzarella. Brush the top and bottom of the bread with seasoned olive oil and grill it up.

Last night I added some rainbow chard to my panini and boy--was that good! I bet kale would also be a wonderful addition, too.

I have yet to try sweeter panini recipes such as fruit and chocolate on a softer, sweeter bread like challah or Portuguese bread lightly spread with butter before grilling rather than olive oil but maybe I'll give that a try soon.

I think CSA's and panini grills are meant to be together!

Strawberry Picking

The girls and I went strawberry picking at Paul Mazza's today.  If you're thinking of going, go soon, as the berries we picked were nearly overly ripe.  As some of you know, I've become obsessed with making popsicles.  I got the idea from the Aug. edition of Eating Well.

 http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cooking_for_kids/easy_freezer_popsicles.html  I ordered the molds on Amazon from a company called Tovolo, but I think Dixie cups would work, too.  The Eating Well has all kinds of recipes, and my girls can tell you which ones are best.  Today I found a new recipe for strawberry popsicles I wanted to share.  Yeah, we don't grow strawberries, but still, maybe it will work for raspberries when they're ready.

2 cups plain yogurt

1 cup cut up berries

2 Tb. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup milk

Put all of this in a blender or food processor and have at it.  Pour into molds and eat several hours later.  I finished off the leftovers like a smoothie.  If you really want to feel like Martha Stewart with very little effort, and wow your kids, this is an easy way to do it.  By the way, welcome Radicchio Renee.  Is that some kind of lettuce?  We should grow it!  

Crispy Kale Recipe

image attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joyosity/3322910677/

I can't remember who first told me about this idea for healthy kale chips, but I simply googled "crispy kale" and found many variations. The basic recipe goes something like this:

Kale
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375. Wash kale, tear into bit-sized pieces, and dry using a salad spinner. Spread pieces out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Bake in the lower third of oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring after every 5 minutes or so, until crispy but not browned. Sprinkle LIGHTLY with salt, if desired.

Variations: Toss with a little vinegar and olive oil before baking or sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or sesame seeds.

Crispy Kale

So I made crispy kale yesterday and brought it to a pot luck, where it was a big hit! In fact, that bowl came home empty!
Thanks Cyndi for the tip!

Garlicky Kale Quesadillas

hi everyone! I second what has been said before, and I think this is a great idea. Thank you Cyndi for getting this going!

So here is a new recipe we tried recently, originally from the Penny Cluse Cafe. This recipe is for two, I would double it for a family.

1 large bunch of kale, destemmed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup green onions, minced
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt to taste
6 corn tortillas
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Bring a large pot of slated water to boil. Drop kale leaves in water and blanch for about 5 minutes or until just tender. Run cold water over kale and squeeze out.
Chop kale up into small pieces.
In a saute pan, saute olive oil, garlic, green onions, cayenne pepper, and salt. Let cool and add kale. Mix together.
Place a flat pan or grill over mediu heat with a small amount of olive oil. Place a corn tortilla directly on the pan. Spread 1/4 kale mixture and 1/4 feta cheese. Place second tortilla on top of mixture and repeat. Top with a third corn tortilla. Warm the quesadilla on each side for about 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Remove and cut into quarters to serve. Repeat.

Enjoy, Louise

Thanks Cyndi and Welcome!

Thanks so much for doing this, Cyndi.  As many of you know, Michael and I are total Luddites, but this is going to be alot of fun.  I'll start off by sharing the soup recipe many of you may have smelled in my house at pickup last night.  It is a Simple Garlic Broth from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.  

8 cups vegetable stock (I use veg. bouillon)

3 Tb. minced garlic (one entire head)

2 Tb. oil

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 sprig fresh sage

1 sprig fresh thyme

several sprigs fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups undrained canned diced tomatoes

1 lb. frozen cheese-filled tortellini

1/2 lb. or more shredded beet greens (or chard or kale)

Bring stock to boil.  In separate, large soup pot gently saute' garlic in olive oil, careful not to brown.  Add boiling stock to garlic, stir in paprika.  Tie herbs in a little bundle and simmer the "bouquet" in the broth for 30 minutes.  Remove the bouquet and season with salt and pepper.  Add the canned tomatoes in the juice, the tortellini and beet greens and simmer longer ( as long as you want, reallly).  I like to serve with grated parmesan.  Enjoy!  More recipes to follow.

Thanks to Cyndi!

Can I just say "ditto" to everything Cyndi just wrote? I know that would be lame but I agree with everything she said! This is our first experience with a CSA and if it weren't for the fact that Cyndi offered us one of their shares one week last summer when they were on vacation...we'd still be in the dark! I am thrilled to be part of the Loose Pig Farm CSA Family and thank Cyndi for setting up this blog!

Quick Help Links

If you need help posting, blogger can offer plenty of assistance. The general help page is found here. Information on how to post is located here. You can also find details on adding links or videos, and even directions on how to post a video from YouTube.

Notice that there is a search engine included at the bottom of the blog screen to help you find something specific that has already been published. This feature is new to me; it appears that there may be a time delay before it actually works on new posts.

Also, a good way to manage the blog is through the use of the "labels" feature. Think of the labels like keywords, and include them with your posts to make certain topics easier to find. (The box to add labels appears on the lower right as you draft your post.) For example, if you post your favorite Kale Enchilada recipe (Louise??), you might want to label your post with the words: kale, recipes.

Welcome to the Loose Pig CSA Blog!

The 2009 season is off to a bountiful start, and I know everyone is enjoying eating so much fresh, local, organic food. Thank you, Michael, for all your farming talent and hard work!

For many of us, being part of a CSA requires a slight lifestyle shift as we become better connected to the food we eat and where it comes from. Having a personal relationship with our farmer also creates a more personal relationship with our food. For me, summer eating is about building meals around what is currently in season, trying vegetables that are different from what I might normally buy, and cooking in new ways. Sometimes, we have such an abundance of good eats that using them all is actually a challenge. (I admit that I had one extra head of unused lettuce at the end of last week. We don't have pigs, but we do have a groundhog named Phil who frequents our yard, so rest assured that the lettuce did not go totally to waste!) Anyhow, this blog is a place where we can ask questions, share stories, swap recipes, build community, and reap even more rewards of healthy localvore eating.