CSA living... Week 1

Some time last year or so I had wanted to join a CSA, we had a few local ones that I had heard/read about but I could never pull the trigger. See we live down the street from a farm stand which is great and known for its native sweet corn. My problem is I would go and get the same thing every week, corn, potatoes, zucchini, and maybe some non local fruit. Not much in the unusual department or "new" but if I joined a CSA I'd be forced to experiment and try new vegetables. 

So this year I did my research  and had narrowed it down to two... And then the choice was made easy by my brother in laws girlfriend ( ya get all that ) who works at our local hospital. I conveniently work across the street from said hospital. She received an email from the hospital saying that they were joining forces with one of my top choices of CSA's to be a pick up location. I was sold,we decided to split a full share with my BIL and his GF. 

It works out great every Sunday we receive an email from the farm with the list of goodies for this weeks bounty, great for menu planning. Then on Thursday afternoon between 3-6 the farm sets up shop right on the hospital lawn and we go reusable bags in hand and pick up our bounty. They set up tents and display there goods, so anything extra you need you can pick up right there, and if your going on your 3rd week of turnips in your basket you can trade them in for say some sweet delicious corn easy peasy! 

So this starts my weekly blog round up of our beautiful bounty!! 

 Week ones' bounty included: 

On list....

Chinese cabbage

Kale

Mustard greens

Pea tendrils

Bag of mixed saute greens 

Lettuce

Mint

Strawberries

Surprises...

Green onions

Purple Turnips

Dozen farm fresh eggs

Homemade Blueberry Jam

Baby spinach

Basil 

Wow!!!!!!! So because this was week one we got lots of surprises!! They did say upon sign up that occasionally there would be surprises, and boy oh boy did they ever come thru week one!

 Show offs ;) 

The jam was to die for and with only 4 ingredients!! 

Super yummy green onions and spinach. 

I've been picking off the basil and got some more week 2 

The strawberries were so fresh and juicy we ate them all in one sitting! 

The greens mostly went into salads we were going thru a heat wave!! 

And this is what you do at the end of the week when you need to make room for week two's bounty!! 

Farm Fresh Frittata 

( say that 5 times fast.. Pheeew! ) 

Items needed: 

Heavy duty frying pan able to go in the oven 

Pre heat oven to 350*

• 1cup or 1-2 Handfuls of spinach 
• Leftover roasted potatoes, turnips and onions
•  ( 6 smallish Yukon gold potatoes 1 sml onion, 2 sml turnips )roasted the night before @ 425 for 1hr ish... 
• Cooked bacon, crumbled
• 6 eggs, I used 5 full eggs 2 egg whites
• Cheese, 1/2 c or so we love cheese so we definitely used more. 
• Salt/ pepper to taste
•  

1. Heat heavy duty frying pan with oil and lay sliced potatoes, turnips and onions heat 3-5 minutes
2. Then throw spinach on top, let wilt for about 2-3 minutes 
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper 
4. Add eggs, bacon and cheese and cook until egg almost set 2-3 minutes (no stirring)
5. Place in oven until eggs are set completely and top is browned slightly. 

Eat and Enjoy!!! 

Grilled Veggies

One of my favorite side dishes during the summer is grilled veggies. Me and the hubby love going over to the local farmers market which happens to be right down the street. This time around we picked up some peppers, onions and of course zucchini . These go really well with some grilled chicken or steak or really anything that you throw on the grill. We served this with Grilled Shrimp and it was perfect!!  Here it is.. a super easy way to eat your veggies!!

Grilled Veggies

Items Needed :

Grill

Grill Basket

• Peppers, seeded, sliced in thick strips****
• Red Onions, sliced in quarters 
• Zucchini, sliced lengthwise than in 1 inch pieces 
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• olive oil

•  Heat grill per your grill instructions 
•  Brush sliced veggies with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder
•  Place the veggies in the basket and set on grill shaking every so often so they don't burn but let them get a little char on them. 
• Cook until desired doneness. 

 Eat and Enjoy!!!

 

Dinner with my Hubby

Hubby's getting out of work early so I thought I'd make a nice dinner for him..Then I remembered that the whole family is coming over tomorrow for my brother-in-laws birthday so I needed to make something easy yet delicious.. Here's what I came out with...

STEAK TIPS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS

1 lb steak tips, cubed
1/4 c chili sauce
1/4 c BBQ sauce, your choice I used Sweet Baby Ray's
1/4 soy sauce
1/4 honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 c shallots, sliced
1/2 c vidalia onion,sliced
1/2 c red onion,sliced
1/2 orange bell pepper,sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/2 c Chicken Broth
1/2 c red wine, optional
1 1/2 tbs sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix first six ingredients together and marinate for 1-24 hrs.Set oven to broil, LOW to start then switch to HIGH right before you put the steak in. Arrange steak on a broil pan or shallow baking dish if broil pan not available. Cook for 8 minutes then flip steak and cook another 6-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan heat up some olive oil, and put in shallots, cook for 1-2 minutes then add vidalia and red onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4-6 minutes until translucent. Sprinkle mixture with half of sugar, and cook 1-2 minutes then add chicken broth let some evaporate then add red wine and additional sugar. Simmer until reduced slightly.

Serve steak with onion mixture on top, and a baked potato to finish it off.

Enjoy!!