Friday, December 16, 2011

CSA week five wrap-up, week six start-up

Now then where were we? Oh yes, last week's share; Did I cook anything interesting with it?

Well, there were the chile rellenos, but I have to admit I made them yesterday. They're actually quite simple, unless you go full-Bayless with them in which case they're extraordinarily complex and take all day. But if you just stuff the peppers with cheese and use enchilada sauce from a can, pretty simple. The one interesting thing is the batter which is made by whipping egg whites then mixing the yolks back in along with some flour. Whipping just two egg whites is difficult so I wasn't able to get quite the loft or stiffness I wanted, but you can see some light blobbiness in the results.

As for the rest, I picked away at the squash and herbs. The best thing I did was roast the squash down along with some onions and peppers and blended it into sandwich spread to use with slow-braised turkey. I probably should have taken a picture of that. I may well make some more and pack it in a jar as it wasn't bad at all. If I do, I'll take a picture.

On to this week, then.

Oh joy. These squash and eggplant are going directly into the freezer in the hope that I'll be happy to dig them out in six months time. Next week's squash and eggplant are going directly into the trash. Scallions are a nice change of pace. I think I'll make a scallion shrimp stir fry with them as that's been successful in the past and makes good use of the copious green bits I've got.

The best bit is the tomatoes, of course (although rumor has it I'll be cursing another batch of them soon enough). Slicing tomatoes plus basil (top right corner) means I'm breaking my mozzarella-making kit. I've used the kit once before and it makes cheese that's not quite as good as store-bought for only a slightly higher cost. I wonder if I can find a gallon of buffalo milk. That might improve it. I should probably hold back some eggplant to go with that too.

Once again, I'll let you know if the muse happens by. In the meantime, you should go back to last week's post to read Meow's comment on how she used last week's share. She wasn't any more inspired than I was, but it's good to get another take on things.

2 comments:

meow said...

Aren't you the ambitious one!! Mozarella cheese making kit. Bravo! Think I'm turning into a squash, but I finally got my eggplant parmesan made last night (no batter, just beaten eggs) with a lettuce/cuke salad on the side. Tried my hand at a salsa with the tomatillos and poblanos. Added frozen white corn and grape tomatoes. Went well with a grilled ribeye steak. I love to grill and do so a minimum of twice a week. Boneless, skinless grilled chicken thights paired nicely with zucchini sauteed with sweet onions and tomatoes served over grits. Plan to make a rustic sauce with my meger share of only 3 slender leeks and some herbs, but will serve it over a nice piece of sockeye salmon. My big tomatoes aren't ripe enough to my liking so they're still on the windowsill. Hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday.

meow said...

P.S. Don't freeze those eggplants! Make a killer Capanata (Sicilian eggplant salad). Can be used as a side dish, served with crackers, breadsticks, or bruschetta, stirred into pasta, or teamed with fontina in a grilled cheese sandwich. I've even topped scrambled eggs with it like a salsa.