What I've made so far, part 1

I used the asparagus RIGHT away.  I initially thought I'd make the shaved asparagus pizza I made a few weeks ago - it was transcendently good, and of course, T wikipedia'd asparagus and read aloud interesting facts about the vegetable while I baked the pizza, and then we felt very Roman eating our asparagus and drinking wine.

That's my pizza - half tomato, half asparagus, ALL good.  But it was WAY too hot to turn on the oven - yes, I do have central AC, but in the interest of saving energy, I try not to turn on the oven if it's not going to be in the 60s at night.  If I'm eating seasonally, I feel like I should prepare seasonally.  So, still wanting something hearty, I made an asparagus hash.  Of course, I didn't have the pancetta the recipe calls for, so I used bacon fat to cook some chopped prosciutto and it was fine.  I am that girl, the one with a container of bacon fat in her fridge.  I can't in good conscience throw it away, and it's great for situations just like this, and also for sauteeing spinach and swiss chard in...mmm, good.  Of course, you could easily make this vegetarian-friendly and use olive oil.

asparagus, ready to be cooked

cast iron is marvelous, truly.

my finished product.

I added an over-easy egg to the top of this pile o' hash to make it a little more decadent.  T was a BIG fan.

With the spinach, I made Spinach Pesto...with pistachios instead of pine nuts because that's what I had and Alton Brown said it was okay.  I trust Alton Brown implicitly.  

spinach, half a garlic clove, lemon juice, pistachios, olive oil, salt and pepper

The pesto was put on pizza as it was cool ONE night last week (and last night, which means I made pizza last night too...Pizza is a dinnertime staple, especially since I've learned to make no-knead pizza dough.  more on that later).

And while I had the oven on, I went ahead and used the rhubarb to make strawberry rhubarb crisp with some strawberries I had cut up and froze a few weeks ago. (they were on sale and I couldn't resist buying at such a good price but I also couldn't eat that many strawberries!).  I use Alton Brown's topping and looked up a strawberry rhubarb pie recipe to find out how much sugar/cornstarch to put it.  That's up for discussion - some people like things on the sweeter side than I, so I usually err on the lighter side when it comes to sugar.

especially delicious with a little vanilla ice cream on the side.

I still have the green garlic and the mint, and some leftover spinach pesto, so I'll be scheming and cooking this weekend with those ingredients!

Adventures in CSA

Why CSA? Why now? Why blog, when my last attempt at blogging lasted all of 2 months, and ended unceremoniously over a year ago?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, which means that a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included, like cheese, eggs, and meats. Interested consumers purchase a share and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.
This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief...

Advantages for farmers:
Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow

Advantages for consumers:
Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking

Why would I undertake this? I admit, I'm very very picky about my produce, and really prefer to pick it out myself. However, my inner locavore/foodie/support-the-small-farmer self prevailed. The pros outweighed the cons. And, in the past year or so, I've really branched out, cooking-wise, trying a new recipe or two every week. So, this is the first year I've felt up to figuring out menus based on what is most in season that week.  And, I felt like giving this whole blogging thing another shot.  What the hell, here goes.

I'm picking up a Simply Wisconsin box every other week. A friend and I are splitting a full share (we crunched the numbers, and it's more economical to split a full share than get 2 half shares.. isn't it always more wallet-friendly to share?). Several days before the delivery, Deb Hansen (of Simply Wisconsin) sends out a newsletter telling you what's in the box, how to store it, and includes recipes for what to do with what you've got. Here's what I picked up last week:

rhubarb and asparagus

that same asparagus, lettuce, green garlic

spinach. 

I also received mint, other spring lettuces, strawberries, and a pound of Gouda cheese.  

Here's the first lesson learned (and why the other lettuces and most of the strawberries aren't pictured).  I picked up my share a day late.  The people hosting the pickup were fine with it.  My produce was NOT.  My cheese was fine, sitting in a cooler for the extra 24 hours.  My strawberries were a mess, and the lettuces were a soggy inedible affair.  Here's what I salvaged of the strawberries:

Were these some of the best strawberries I've had in awhile?  Yes.  

Was I super cranky composting the majority of the strawberries received?  Yes. 

 Will I pick up all future shares as early as possible?  Without question.

Other things I noted this go-round.  The asparagus was PUNGENT.  As in, keep in a plastic bag to keep it from making the rest of the items in the crisper drawer smell like asparagus (yes, Simply Wisconsin advised that, I didn't make it up).  I actually wasn't sure it was good until I read that part of the newsletter.  It turned out to be delicious, but I DID use it IMMEDIATELY, as I was afraid it would cross to the other side in another 24 hours.