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.  

  

week 17: spicy sweet dill pickles? of course!

after the track record of devouring lee's jarred produce (pickled squash and salsa), the mention of another offering, the "spicy sweet dill pickles made with lee's cucumbers," it was an easy decision.  that is, other than the pickles being offered in two different boxes.


decided to go sans grapes, however, and chose box "c."

clockwise from top left: squash, poblano peppers, personal watermelon, lee's produce spicy sweet dill pickles, corn, lee's produce fresh salsa (add on), acorn squash, tomatoes

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.

everyone deserves a second chance

one time, a few weeks back, some peaches, some chicken and i got in a little fight.  honestly, it was the grill's fault.  no, wait... actually, i recall something about some gas taking its party elsewhere and ruining everything.


yeah, definitely the gas.


so i needed to make up with the peaches and chicken.  invited some new gas this time, hoping it was better for the dynamic.  this party was definitely rockin'


menu (06aug10):

• chipotle peach chicken
• grilled peaches
• sauteed spinach
• cornbread

chipotle peach chicken, grilled peaches, sauteed spinach and cornbread

week 16: back to the surprises

just. couldn't. resist.


box "c" this week simply because it was a surprise box.  it's just too much fun waiting in anticipation of what's to come.

clockwise from top left: peaches, corn, lee's produce fresh salsa, honey, cantaloupe, sprite melon, squash

i forkin' spoon you! happy birthday, chopsticks!

happy birthday, chopsticks!


her request:  "a picnic meal."  invited a few friends over and spent the day prepping everything.  granted, i did forget the deviled eggs (so i owe her those).  otherwise, it was definitely time to celebrate


menu (31july10):

• bbq chicken
• baked beans
• grilled corn
• apple coleslaw
• potato salad (compliments of fresh market)
• cornbread
• salad
• peach cobbler (compliments of the braxtons)

p.s.  i'll work on getting the recipes up

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

week 12: mmmmm... po-ta-toes....

we're obsessed.  the mention of potatoes in the box pretty much assured that what box we were choosing.  labeled as containing "cucumbers and a canary melon" we chose box "c" this week.


we were also slightly intrigued by the canary melon.  we'll be sure to follow up on that one this week.

clockwise from top left: personal watermelon, cucumbers, canary melon, squash, corn, tomatoes, blueberries, green and red bell pepper, potatoes

(and, yes, a bit behind this week.  we'll do our best to catch up :) )

week 11 comes to a close

somewhere along the way, i blinked, finding myself celebrating the 4th of july and realizing we were half-way through the year.  another blink and i find myself on another wednesday in anticipation of our weekly box (week 12), realizing we fell just short of the "use it all up and let us know what you did with it" challenge that was ahead of us last week.  


the "still to be used" culprits:

• blueberries - which i have a plan for, just didn't get the chance to make it yet
• few ears of corn - which will most definitely be used
• eggplant - ah, thinking you were a sprite melon completely threw me off this week

maybe if i blink again the blueberries will turn into a delicious pie.

fourth of july = grilling

to start out, i made sure we had enough propane to make it through the cooking process. needed to learn something from last week's wonderful mis-adventures.


the menu (04july10):

• turkey burgers
• grilled potato wedges
• grilled corn with ancho chili butter
• bruschetta topped with  tomato and basil (and, yes, the bruschetta was grilled... had to keep the theme going)

bruschetta topped with tomato and basil

so full... must take ojp for walk in an attempt to recover...  "walk dad?! did you say walk?!! ok, ok, i'm ready!"




p.s. happy birthday, owlie

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.

week 10: summer bounty and a sprite melon

the heat is definitely here this week and we've been warned to get the boxes inside (or provide a cooler).  no wonder after having seen the amount of produce in this week's box.


went back to box "c" this week (marked as the "hot pepper" box).  we still can't get over the amount of produce in this one.  beyond that, the sprite melon is the most intriguing this week.  

clockwise from top left: corn, chef bobby's espresso rub (sample), peaches, blueberries, mix of peppers, tomatoes, squash, cherry tomatoes, sprite melon, zucchini

ojp the dancer

"what are we doing with all this corn?" chopsticks says.  "we should definitely grill it."


yeah... but we've already done that...  and we still have plenty of other things around here.  ojp starts dancing.  thanks, ojp!  that's it... salsa.


the menu (21june10):

• grilled corn salsa
• chili lime shrimp tacos:  grilled tortillas and avocado

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

i feel like i'm eating something bad

there's certainly no debate about corn in our house.  as soon as it showed up in the box, we knew we were grilling it.  it's a rite of summer.

ah, but the ever flowing supply of zucchini and squash... begging for something different.   summer....  grill....  burgers and fries!   

chopsticks approved with a "i really feel like i'm eating something fried.  think these are keepers." 

the menu (10june10):

• mexican turkey & black bean burgers (can thank the braxtons for the original base recipe), served with tomato and guacamole
• zucchini fries with cholula lime dipping sauce
• grilled corn on the cob

grilled corn (nice action shot, chopsticks)

zucchini and squash fries, straight from the oven

dinner (think it was mandatory to eat this outside) 

week 8: chopsticks starts singing... american idol next?

"movin' to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
i'm movin' to the country i'm gonna eat me a lot of peaches..."


think we have our next star... comedian, photographer, singer


standard box "a" this week.  but it was well worth it with quite a few good surprises and the first sight of corn.  no doubt one of the best parts of summer.

clockwise from top left: peaches, kirby cucumbers, squash (different varieties), corn, zucchini, ginny o's cheese straws (sample), blueberries, red skinned potatoes, tomatoes