Farm Fresh

escarole, gourmet greens, jalapenos, kohlrabi, onions, parsley, potatoes, sweet peppers

What’s for Dinner?

Well, for starters giant kohlrabi and escarole. Hard to miss those. This is what’s delightful about joining a CSA. Would I ever actually buy a kohlrabi or head of escarole in the grocery store? No way. (Well, maybe escarole, if a specific recipe called it out.) What comes in my box is what our farmers and our climate created, and is right for the season and the land where we live. I’ll give anything a whirl, and hope for the best. All successes? No way. But what I learn along the way, what my family learns while sitting around that humble table, are things all the more valuable and memorable when we fail. And a fail, in my book, is just an opportunity to try it next time another way. I’m poised and hoping for the best with these two mammoth kohlrabis, a veggie I truly couldn’t envision before two weeks ago. Now, I’m excited to make it in a traditional Hungarian way, learned from my Hungarian friend. And I’m excited about my monster heads of escarole…I’ve learned that it’s wonderful both raw, in a very hearty, flavorful salad, and cooked, like in the soup highlighted this week from the archives of Marcella Hazan, who passed away this week. And I can do this experimenting and learning amidst the amazing northwest fruit bounty that surrounds us…apples and pears, betwixt and between, all of this veggie mayem!

Friday – TV trays, movie, & pizza

pizza with red and yellow peppers (Deb Perleman, The Smitten Kitchen)

Saturday – apple fest

breakfast:
homemade applesauce (Serious Eats)

dinner:
escarole salad with apples (Martha Stewart)
apple, potato, & onion gratin (Bon Appetit)
grilled chicken-apple sausages

apple bread pudding (Food and Wine)

Sunday  – remembering marcella

escarole and rice soup (Marcella Hazan, The Classic Italian Cookbook)

lemon roasted chicken with carrots & potatoes (Marcella Hazen, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking)
green salad with oil & vinegar (Marcella Hazan, The Classic Italian Cookbook)

marcella’s pear cake (Marcella Hazan, The Classic Italian Cookbook)

Monday – hungarian comfort

creamy kohlrabi soup (about.com)
gourmet greens with red wine vinaigrette (Martha Stewart)
crusty bread

Tuesday – beans & greens

barley risotto with beans & greens (Deb Perlman, Smitten Kitchen)

Wednesday –  kicked up eggs

shakshuka (eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce) (Saveur)
warm pitas

Thursday –  toasted cheese

toasted turkey, brie & apple sandwiches (Sunset)
apple-kohlrabi-jalapeno slaw (Grant Butler, The Oregonian FoodDay)

More Menu Musings…