chopsticks guest post: e-i-e-i-o

recently i took a road trip.  what was supposed to be a quick drive to clayton, turned into a very long excursion to dunn.  first i drove to a small produce stand/nursery called "lee's."  guess what?  wrong lee's!  


thankfully, the iphone is here to help...  wait!  this place is where?!  


figured i was already this far east so i might as well keep going.  so, i drove through the north carolina countryside and eventually made it to my destination.  this was no stand.  this lee's, the correct lee's, had about 7 dogs, a very talkative farmer, and his wife.  these super friendly people had the most southern accents and seemed excited that i had driven that far for their jarred goods.


while it was originally a quest to stock up on a few jars of the spicy sweet dill pickles, i left with their salsa, candied jalapenos, pickled okra and, of course, more than a few jars of pickles.  after getting back in the car to make my way back home, i immediately opened the pickled okra (something i hadn't had since i was a kid).  it was delicious!  


although i came to find out that the lee's have a stand at the raleigh farmers market, i would certainly go out there again if i wanted to buy in bulk.  so glad i met them!

fancy schmancy

it was friday with a pile of produce to use.  and, well, chopsticks is deserving.  let's get fancy for a date night.  

the menu (27aug10): 

• pan-seared duck breast with an apple, cherry, red wine reduction
• sweet potato and acorn squash purée
• wilted spinach

week 20 & 21: playing catch-up before the break

i know, i know... it's almost like i've already taken the break here.  so, going to consolidate some things here and post as much as i can before next week's fall break.


maybe i should blame the start of football season....  


week 20 brought box "a" and it was fruit loaded.  this was definitely chopsticks' week to highlight her talents.  that is, unless she happens to eat all the fruit before making something.  she has been loving the peaches.

clockwise from top left: cucumbers, sprite melon, tomatoes, peaches, personal watermelon, apples (gala & macintosh)

then there was labor day weekend.  not sure what it is about holiday weekends and forgetting to order our box on time.  so, default box "a" this week.  

clockwise from top left: cucumbers, raw shelled peanuts, personal watermelon, zucchini, scuppernong grapes, tomatoes

what do two adults and one dog do with a watermelon?

in a busy kitchen, one adult was prepping dinner.  another was so hungry she needed a snack.  and a dog ensured she was constantly in the way, hoping for something, begging, "come on, mom! share!"


after chopsticks enjoyed her snack....


and we laughed hysterically at ojp and her snack....

ojp enjoying her watermelon

i prepared a drink.

watermelon cooler

chopsticks vs. the cilantro

"we need some cilantro.  you get that, i'll get us some basil." 


and so the adventure began.  i walked away to get the basil; chopsticks got the cilantro.  skip ahead to dinner prep.  chop a handful of both basil and cilantro... wait... this isn't right.


um, chopsticks, what were you supposed to pick out?  "cilantro!"  well, this is parsley.  "oh, no fair!  they were right next to each other!" 


good reason to keep dried cilantro in the spice rack i guess.  regardless, dinner turned out good.


menu (19aug10):

• soba noodles with shiitake mushrooms
• pesto & lemon marinated chicken 
• citrus tomato salad (topping for the chicken)

soba noodles with shiitake mushrooms, pesto & lemon marinated chicken topped with a citrus tomato salad

spoon and chopsticks tackle dinner

it started with "you have plans for the corn?"  reluctantly, i answered "no." 

having the two of us in the kitchen attempting to cook a meal usually ends in disaster.  however, we were going to give it a go.  chopsticks was excited about her use for the corn.  i just needed to add something else.

menu (14aug10):

• corn chowder, topped with crab and scallions
• crab imperial
• quinoa stuffed poblanos

corn chowder with crab & scallions

trio: corn chowder with crab & scallions, quinoa stuffed poblano, crab imperial

trio: corn chowder with crab & scallions, quinoa stuffed poblano, crab imperial

tuns out, we could survive cooking together.  

  

vegetarian fed

we've been called vegetarians by more people than i can count because we watch what we eat.  but, we certainly eat our fair share of meat.  but, with eating a little healthier and loving food, i am constantly researching anything food related.  recently i ran across the growing trend of "meatless monday."  chopsticks and i had discussed it a few times, trying to incorporate more vegetarian type meals in the house, maybe even once a week.

so, it wasn't monday.  and, while i'm aware that the eggs were not necessarily vegetarian (they were vegetarian fed, free range though!), i did owe chopsticks them from her birthday.  

menu (13aug10):

• grilled portabello, topped with tomatoes, spinach and provolone
• used my bruschetta topping as a base
• deviled eggs
• grilled summer squash

deviled eggs, grilled mushroom with tomatoes, spinach and provolone, grilled squash

chopsticks' cheesy corn bake

chopsticks had continually told me about this "cheesy corn bake from kansas city" which we had to make at some point in time.  this weekend happened to be that time.

menu (06aug10):

• turkey burgers
• pesto
• cheesy corn bake

i'll blame chopsticks for no pictures.

chopsticks guest post: i'm no peter piper

i'm no peter piper.....

so today i decided that it was time to do something with those jalapenos.  i know that poppers are the easy thing to do (and by easy i mean the simplest idea).  although they weren't difficult to make, they were time consuming as all heck and a ton of steps.  

i got a little adventurous and made two different kinds - a creme cheese/sharp cheddar mixture and a creme cheese/ monterey jack mixture.  i preferred the cheddar.  spoon preferred the jack.  go figure.  

week 15: chopsticks is all alone

i was out of town this week, so chopsticks was in charge of the house and the box.  rather quiet week because of me traveling...


went with box "b" this week.  

clockwise from top left: cabbage, red & green pepper, corn, personal watermelon, peaches, roma tomatoes, jalapenos

doubters

i said "squash pizza."  everyone balked.  no, really, i think i can pull this off...  meanwhile, chopsticks was preparing to eat a sandwich and the friends had the "how did that turn out" text messages ready

butternut squash pizza with ricotta mixture and spinach

the verdict:  a resounding thumbs up.  the text message back "so good i had 3 pieces"

09aug update:  squash pizza recipe

you say tomato, i say tomato

a good tomato can do a lot for a sandwich.  and, it being summer, it was time to celebrate the great tomatoes we have... and, of course, we had to invite the avocado to the celebration.  chopsticks chimes in, "you can have your blt, i want my tomato and avocado sandwich."


and, what chopsticks says....


the menu (22july10):

• tomato & avocado sandwiches (yellow & heirloom tomatoes, avocado & mayonnaise)

chopsticks the baker vs. spoon

this isn't really a fair fight here.  chopsticks is, hands down, the baker in the house.  


meanwhile, we have a wealth of blueberries waiting to be used. chopsticks is going for the blueberry pie.  i'm attempting an olive oil cake with blueberries (ojp stops, "dad, you're going to cook with me?!"  no, ojp... olive oil, not olive) with a blueberry topping.

 chopsticks' blueberry pie

 olive oil cake with blueberry topping

the winner, in a close decision..... chopsticks.  i want to think i put up a fair fight on this one, but have to hand it to chopsticks, she can definitely bake.  

chopsticks gets creative

you can't just open the watermelon and eat it!  well, i guess you could, but chopsticks had way more fun this way.

making up for last week... i blame the contest

or maybe i should be thanking the contest as it has forced me to plan out a few things.  and, as i'm home alone tonight (let me tell you the house is ultra quiet without ojp and chopsticks around), i can take some time to think up a few things.


since it's just me, i wanted something a little lighter.  and, well, that eggplant is staring at me.


the menu (01july10):

• egg white frittata with summer vegetables
• roasted red pepper tomato sauce

egg white frittata with roasted red pepper tomato sauce

this was good enough to make another one the next morning for breakfast.

week 11: what chopsticks wants.... and a contest to boot

it was a tough choice on the boxes this week, but chopsticks saw the personal watermelon included in one of the choices this week and suggested we should get that one.  who am i to argue.


so, box "c" this week (labeled as the "hot peppers" box).

clockwise from top left: eggplant (asian variety), white eggplant (edit), corn, blueberries, personal watermelon, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos

this week also came with a challenge:  the third annual (first for us) "what i did with my box this week."   as stated, "with all the veggies and fruit coming hard and fast off the fields, it may be a challenge [to say the least] using up the entire contents of the boxes each week."  premise is to help everyone out by submitting a brief summary of how you used up your whole box this week.  top three will be picked. 

so, we'll see how well we do this week.

a week of misses

let's be honest, i took a few days off and settled into the concept of relaxing.  all the grand intentions of playing mad scientist with the bounty of produce from the last week were replaced with the sound of vuvuzela's and some time in the sun.


our story begins last friday.  the super hot days had sparked a want for spicy food.  sure, we had plenty of peppers to use, but i was thinking chipotle... and peaches (small aside, grilled fruit is definitely high on my list of ways to eat fruit).  


the thought:

• chipotle and peach marinated chicken
• grilled peaches
• grilled corn with ancho chili butter 

started mixing, marinating and ready to grill.  i was so ready to come back to the lightly charred chicken (used some honey and peach preserves in the marinade to balance the spiciness of the chipotle) only to find the gas had gone out on the grill.  so frustrating and had to finish off the chicken and the corn indoors.  the finished results showed promise, but really needed a bit of work before we were comfortable posting the "chopsticks approved" recipes.

failed meal attempt

leaving us still hungry, we chopped up the squash and made some more baked squash fries.

fast forward to sunday.  after a fun visit to the farmer's market the previous morning, it was time to attempt some gazpacho.  had some great looking tomatoes and the jalapenos (2 small ones) and had picked up some herbs, cucumber and other fine fixin's.  chopped, blended and let it sit overnight for lunch.


remind me next time to cut down on the jalapeno... wow.


wait... a success story?!  after having picked up some mahi mahi at the farmers market, we thought:

• mahi mahi tacos, topped with 
• sliced avacado and
• smoky poblano and strawberry salad

surprisingly, something we did actually turned out this week.  too bad we started eating before taking the time to snap a picture for you.... i blame chopsticks.


for desert we sliced open the sprite melon.  having never heard of one, let along having tried one before, both chopsticks and i were rather intrigued by this thing.  turns out, it's pretty darn good.  mild, but perfect for summer.

sprite melon

that wraps up this addition of "a week of misses."  hope to see you next week for a better go of it.

eggplant two ways

this is, honestly, the first time i've had an eggplant in the house...  let alone more than one.  and since chopsticks has never had it, i wanted to make sure this was one of the first things we attempted this week.  so was trying to think of some of the more well-known "standards" that are out there to highlight it a bit.  as the rule in the house goes, "you have to at least try a bite or two before you can pass judgement.  if you don't like it, we don't make it again. but you have to try it."


first up.  a play on baba ghannouj.  chopsticks calls out, "baba who?!" not, "who," hon, it's a what.  a small snack for us.


the menu (19june10):

• eggplant and white bean hummus:  used the white beans to "cut" the eggplant a bit.  chopsticks approved.

eggplant and white bean hummus

next was a play on eggplant parmesan because "everyone says that's what you have to do with eggplant."  fearing someone may not like this entirely (ojp look up, "me, dad?!  i'll eat it!  is it time to eat?!"), it was paired with some marinated grilled chicken.


the menu (20june10):

• grilled eggplant stacks:  grilled eggplant topped with melted cheese, homemade spicy tomato sauce and wilted spinach
• marinated chicken

1. grilled eggplant stack with marinate chicken

2.  just another view

week 9: this may be the week

we were oh-so-close to using everything from last week!!!  alas, foiled by the lack of pickling salt at the local grocery...


this week is looking promising, however.  we chose the standard box "a" this week (marked as the "traditional summer box").  chopsticks is excited to try to the eggplant.  we're also hoping for no critters in the peaches this week.    

clockwise from top left: corn, peaches, big daddy's marinade (sample), tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant

all by myself

ojp looks up, "dad?!  i'm here!  is it time to eat?!" so, not completely by myself.

chopsticks is working tonight and the storms are rolling in.  no grilling here.  and, after having lost 15 minutes to one of those "i had no idea i was tired" naps, i'm in the mood for something a little lighter.  

the menu (15june10):

• pesto tuna salad, served open-faced on spelt bread with tomato, cucumber and mixed greens

open-faced pesto tuna on spelt