it’s hard to believe that i only get one more box from Olden Produce for the year.
the fall has been busy, but has given me some of my favorite foods in our CSA share. in the last 8 weeks, i’ve gotten: boxes of cherry tomatoes, none of which lasted more than 48 hours; tomatoes; more zucchini; more peppers; beets, my favorite; watermelons; cauliflower; cabbage; squash; onions; potatoes; and more.
some of this is new to me. i’d never tried to cook with a banana pepper before. i’ve never tried spaghetti or acorn squash. but it’s been good. i’ve made so many delicious dishes lately. half of my freezer is full of veggies and soups. it’s going to be a good winter!
a few delicious treats of note.
tomatillos. what does one do with this bizarre small, green, sticky, bitter vegetable? make Pan-Fried Tilapia with Tomatillo Red Pepper Sauce. yes, it’s as tasty as it sounds.
kale. when sick of making kale chips, whip up some Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup. it’s similar to Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup -but better.
i made my own tomato sauce. it was amazing. i wish i’d had more time that week to make pots and pots of it. and that i had a real canning system so i could store it all winter.
cabbage. i couldn’t make more coleslaw – there was too much for one person to eat, and it doesn’t last long. a friend suggested cabbage rolls, but i have hardly had time to make dinner most nights lately – a 2-3 hour dinner sounded fun but impractical. another friend posted a recipe for a cabbage roll soup with meatballs. again, it sounded delicious, but involved. then i found this simple Soup-Bowl Cabbage Rolls recipe, and i’m a believer. i have four quarts of this in the freezer for a rainy snowy day.
pretty? maybe not. yummy? heck yes!
cauliflower. The Husband won’t eat this. at all. i happened to get a head of it the week he was out of town. one night, i boiled it and mashed it with heavy cream, Parmesan, and sea salt. i ate this for three days without getting sick of it. i can’t wait to make it again this week.
nom. nom. nom.
squash. i remember my mom making squash once or twice. she baked it, drowned it with butter, and served it. little did i know that it gets much better than that. an acorn squash, baked and dusted with brown sugar, has been dinner. and lunch. i baked a spaghetti squash, and served it with spaghetti sauce (made with CSA tomatoes, onions, and green peppers), and venison meatballs. then i ate the rest of the squash the next day for lunch with butter and herbs. i have another one stashed away for another weekend. can’t wait. my favorite squash recipe, though, is Pork with Squash and Apples, from my Food Network cookbook. it’s all my favorite fall flavors in a beautiful dinner.
i didn’t have to share.
what’s left? i have kale, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, onions, and squash, and one more box coming this week. i’m making a lot of soups and freezing the extra right now. i might even buy a late share if i can.
