week 19: way behind here

certainly wasn't the best of weeks for any updates.  that only means that we have some making up to do this week, including some additional updates from last week.

little overdue, but here this week's box.  went with box "c," another farmer's choice box.  certainly got a variety of things, including pink-eyed peas (which we had never heard of before).  we had to add on a few jars of the spicy sweet dill pickles too.  household favorite for sure!

clockwise from top left: personal watermelon, squash, cucumber, lee's produce spicy & sweet dill pickles (add on), tomato, peaches, lee's produce spicy & sweet dill pickles (add on), sweet potatoes, asian pears, scuppernong grapes, pink-eyed peas

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

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

a rat, a dog and a fish...

ratatouille.  


chopsticks looks up, "we've already seen that movie."  


ojp stops, "a friend for me, dad?!" 


no, not the movie.  and, no, ojp, we're not getting a rat for a friend.  i am going to play with the concept of ratatouille, however.   plus, chopsticks is craving fish.   let the experiment begin.


the menu (08july10):

• paprika dusted fish (pan sauted)
• ratatouille croquette
• avocado puree
• siracha oil drizzle
• potato chips (sliced red potatoes, home fried)

the croquette didn't stay together as well as i had hoped (add an egg next time, spoon), but the taste was spot on.  

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 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

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) 

a "promise" update

promises, promises... they're made to be broken, right?!  

• blueberries:  most are still frozen for later use.  chopsticks enjoyed a few in a smoothie, however
• spring onions:  used some for the herbed summer squash and potato torte, but not all of them.  really need to come up with some other uses for these things if they continue to come in our boxes
• strawberry cider:  this keeps.  so we're keeping it
• zucchini:  first attempt at some zucchini fries.  we'll definitely be revisiting these in some fashion.  lots of potential
• squash:  see spring onions
• cucumbers:  still waiting to be used
• tomato:  chopsticks has grabbed the cavender's and devoured another tomato
• potatoes:  more "chips" for chopsticks.  these were a big hit with the neighbors
• beans:  poor beans.  i really thought i was going to saute these up in a bit of butter and just keep them simple to make sure i ate them.  they are still lounging in the fridge and not sure i'm going to get to them this week.  you've beat me again, mr. bean.

must have been the seasoning

spring onions.... squash... potatoes... this stuff just keeps coming in and really needed some inspiration, especially for the squash and onions.  so did a bit googling (yes, i think i can use that) and ran across this recipe for herbed summer squash and potato torte over at smitten kitchen

i added a bit of  cayenne pepper to the suggested seasonings, but could have used more overall seasoning... and a bit more time in the oven to completely settle... valiant first effort though.

week 7: attempting not to let a thing die this week

wait... it's monday already?!!  long weekend threw us off so we forgot to put in our weekly box order.  the saving grace was the auto-order feature the produce box has in place that automatically sends the weekly "box a" box if you forget.  while it marks the end of a surprise box run, at least we know exactly what we are getting this week.


and a promise... so the first few weeks have been a little hit and miss as we've attempted to use everything in the box and come up with some new ideas along the way.  in the process, we (chopsticks is yelling "we?!") have not used a few things and watched a few more die.  this week, we're (yes, chopsticks, we) committed to using everything in the box.

clockwise from top left: pole beans, blueberries, tomato, spring onion, cottle farms strawberry cider, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, red skinned potatoes

pool is open, summer is here

the temperatures have certainly indicated summer for some time, but we'll mark the "official" start to summer with the long awaited opening of our community pool.  chopsticks is already sunscreened up and ready to go... ojp is staring up at me with those puppy dog eyes that just scream "dad, can i go too?!"  

time for some much needed vitamin d with a light meal to follow.

the menu (24may10):

• summer lasagna

week 6: excited about beets

first sign of beets in this week's box and i'm excited.  chopsticks on the other hand?  not so much.  however, she can relish in her new job as household photographer.

another surprise box, you say?  well, i'll be, it is.

clockwise from top left: beets, texas "sweet" onion, zucchini, summer squash, tomato, cucumber, red skinned potatoes, blueberries, snow peas

a ball, annihilation, a racquet.... and a chicken

i sense the start of a really bad joke forming... or just a lot of things to do with squash.  well, minus the chicken, he just made an appearance to bulk up the meal a bit.

the menu (24may10):

• 
  
  pan-seared parmesan chicken
• 
  
  lemon-basil-thyme dressing
• 
  
  sauted spinach topped with parmesan
• 
  
  "italian style" summer squash

week 5: i've been fired

donald trump may have made it famous, but chopsticks can certainly hand over the words with a certain gusto.  turns out, i'm not that good at the photo taking... or at least not up to chopsticks' standards (looks like she's earned herself a new job!)

keeping with the surprise boxes as they are giving us some great variety and introducing us (or challenging us depending on how you look at it) to some new things.

clockwise from top left: snow peas, new potatoes, broccoli, turnips, spring onions, lots of space showing the box, cucumber, blueberries, maple butter (add on), summer squash