Here’s the longer version of a little guest post I did for the Tucson CSA newsletter for their “A Week At My Table” segment, where CSA members describe how they’ve used their veggies through the week.

From other parts of the country you read phrases like “as the temperature drops”, “packing away my flip-flops” and “now that summer is at an end.” Well, here we’re still in the throes of what most people call Summer and it’ll still be a while before we start indulging in winter squash and (be still my beating heart) mountains of greens. But as we wait for our temperatures to drop, the Tucson sun is giving us lots of seasonal produce to whet our palates now.

Squash – Well, sure of course there’s gonna be squash. But we don’t often get these absolutely adorable baby pattypan squash. They came in a variety pack this time – green globes, grey-green flying saucers, striped ridged tutus. They were almost a shame to eat. Almost. I gazed at them lovingly and then took a knife and carved them into eighths. My favorite thing to do with summer squash is my favorite thing to do with most vegetables: roast them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Since they were so young, they didn’t take too long and their skins were oh-so-brown and carmelized – just delectable with marinated chicken breasts cooked in foil pouches in the same oven.

[Read more…] about a week at my table – pistachios

The Tucson CSA asked me to write an installment of their frequent newsletter section, ‘A Week At My Table’. Here was the harvest in question:

Oops, and a summer CSA harvest picture isn’t complete without this fruit diva popping up!

It’s summertime and the blowsy abundance of winter greens and roots, which usually required me to bring two bags, have given way to the more heat-tolerant vegetables: squash, small onions, potatoes…and some big ol’ watermelons! This week’s harvest also included some newbies to my cooking repertoire: Elote Blanco (white Mexican corn) and White Wonder cucumbers.

Last week’s sweet corn was heavenly and I know very well how I like it (classic: boil in water til tender, then eat off the cob or toss kernels into a potato salad). But this week’s corn is the white variety, ie not sweet but more like hominy grits, starchy and better suited for a savory sauce. Which is what I did using the CSA recipe for Calabacitas. I simmered a few of the Glendale Gold onions with garlic, then diced summer squash, the yellow and cherry tomatoes  from my share, some Serrano chiles from the garden and kernels of the white corn cut from the cob. After cooking, I then tossed in cilantro and feta cheese. I am hooked on calabacitas now – the sweetness of the squash melds well with the spices and the white corn has a plump, toothsome texture.

I was told that the White Wonder cucumbers were a little on the bitter side and that I should peel the skin, scoop and discard the seeds and cook them. The newsletter handily included a recipe for Cucumber Coconut Milk Curry. This is another example of how the CSA is a great partner in not only providing your week’s harvest but helping you figure out how to make the most of it. The recipe, by Tony from the CSA, was actually one of the best curries I’ve made yet – a perfect proportion of those lovely Indian spices coriander, turmeric, chile powder and cumin seeds simmered with more Glendale Gold onions, the cucumbers and coconut milk. Spicy but not too spicy and delicious!

For some weird reason, I’ve never bought watermelon before. But in the last two weeks I’ve gotten to know and love them. These luscious globes do have seeds and after some Googling,  I found that it wasn’t too hard to take off the rind, slice it vertically and then break it into chunks, scooping out seeds into another bowl as you go. This resulted in a HUGE bowl of pink flesh which has since become blended into homemade Aqua Fresca: lots of watermelon, juice from a lime, some honey and ice cubes. Refrescante! Or you could do as my friend Molly does and juice it, seeds and all. Any way you take it, it’s the perfect antidote to these hot, hot days.

Oh, and the Red LaSoda potatoes? I actually didn’t get to them this week but they are keeping just fine in my fridge and will become part of a huge potato salad for 4th of July. Happy summer and happy eating!

Thanks, Philippe for asking me to contribute to your fab newsletter again.

But alas, there’s a meal I forgot to include – a summer sausage fry for when you don’t want to spend much time in that kitchen.

This is where the bulk of my tomatoes went – look at this juicy two-tone rainbow:

It was a simple dish of sauteing sausage, onions and garlic, tipping in the tomatoes to cook until they broke down and cried, then adding a can of cannellini (white northern) beans until warmed through. Throw on some bagged spinach if you got it. Easy peasy and gits yer dinner done fast.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we’re having a BBQ. I may or may not document the festivities for you, depending entirely on my state of mind (and, er, level of sobriety?) but in any case I hope your celebrations are both fun and safe (especially where things are going boom!)

Love and fireworks,
Cristina

The cool (or sometimes irritating) thing about CSAs is when you’re given something that you would normally ignore if you were in a store or farmer’s market. It takes you out of your rut and makes you think and learn (again, this can be cool or irritating depending on what other craziness you have going on that week). But usually I relish the challenge of figuring out a way to prepare something that I don’t think I like and perhaps actually enjoy it. In this case, it was the ubiquitous – in these parts – nopales. Ie, cactus. In particular, the pad of a prickly pear cactus. Yes, the thing that’s normally covered in hellacious spines of impending pain and suffering should you even go near it. (Jump to the recipe)

Before you gasp, let me put your mind at ease: the CSA takes every single itty bit of spine off for you. Which doesn’t stop me from nervously running my finger tips gingerly over the entire surface. Because nothing is more wince-inducing than the mere idea of a cactus spine in your mouth. Shudder. No, these pale green ovals are as smooth as a baby’s behind by the time you get them in your little veggie bag of goodies. So, er, now what?

To start with, nopales have a taste and texture similar to a green bell pepper, but with a citrusy tang to it. So you can chop it up and use it in a stew or even keep it raw for a salad. Sounds nice, right? Except for one other characteristic: an oozing clear slime that exudes from any cut. Seriously, it’s like cactus snot. Shudder violently. Okay, okay, I didn’t mean to completely put you off nopales like that. I may be using a drop more drama than necessary to describe it. Think of it as okra. Tons and tons of people apparently have no problem with okra’s slipperiness – ask thousands of people from Louisiana and others parts of the Deep South. But like sweet iced tea, I just never developed a taste for it.

So when I was presented with these lovely cactus pads, I figured I had some Googling ahead of me. Surely there must be some way to prepare this desert vegetable so I might actually like it. The one thing that is supposed to do the trick, I haven’t tried yet: grilling. Grilling in general is not a casual every day thing at our house: we don’t have a gas grill and charcoal takes a while to set up and I don’t have the patience most weeknights. So the timing just hasn’t worked out yet. If you want to try it, I believe the strategy is to grill them whole over hot coals for just a few minutes on each side (let me know how it goes!)

But I did find something I didn’t expect: recipes for using cactus in smoothies. Now that seemed like an idea. I tried a couple of different recipes with mixed results until I found the One, the only one that truly cut out the slime factor and has actually become my favorite summertime smoothie. And the simple trick is freezing!

First, you julienne the pads (just thinly slice them) and then stick them into a ziploc bag and into the freezer.

Then forget about them like you forget about the majority of the contents of that icy domain. After a couple of weeks, when the weather finally starts getting Tucson hot and you need a lil cooling off, remember about your little green icicles.

The recipe itself, Licuado de Nopal from Muy Bueno Cookbook, is insanely simple – frozen nopales (about half a snack bag’s worth), cucumber, lime juice and water. I adapted it slightly to add some honey and used more cucumber. Also, the cucumber was an Armenian cucumber.

You may not be familiar with these kinds of cukes. They’re a staple of the summer CSA because unlike their English counterparts, they can handle our hot, dry weather. They’re a little crunchier than regular cucumbers and you don’t have to peel them.

Ah, this is the definition of a summer drink. Very fresh, no slipperiness and if you added something sweet and luscious like pineapple or even mango, it could only be amazing. As is, it’s an extremely refreshing and surprisingly healthy way to start the day. According to the post:

This cactus smoothie is choc-full of antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and B, cleanses the liver and colon and provides an uber-rich source of fiber and hydration.

¡Refrescante!

As my stash of green icicles rapidly dwindles, I’m keeping my eye open for more nopales in the market. Heck, I might even get the nerve to try to harvest some from the prickly patch in our front yard. Or not.

As the (locally) famous song goes: Florida’s got beaches, We got cactus

(Jump right to the recipe)

One of the challenges of belonging to a CSA is all the cooking. Lots and lots of cooking. Washing, peeling, chopping, slicing, dicing, stirring and tasting. Which is great (especially, the tasting). Ever since I started cooking more from whole foods and less from mixes, boxes and bags, we feel healthier and have a deeper connection with this everyday experience (if we’re one of the fortunate ones in this world) known as eating.

But.

It can take more time and energy than I’d always like to spend. When the hours of the day fly by and there’s still a rehearsal or a gig in an hour, opening the fridge and seeing all those veggies and then thinking about the myriad steps I’ll need to take before I can fill my belly with them can be exhausting. Even though my schedule is flexible and I tend to be enthusiastic, nay obsessive, about cooking with fresh ingredients, it can still feel like a bum’s rush.

Lately I’ve been inspired by Jules Clancy of thestonesoup.com and her emphasis on recipes that are 5 ingredients or less, yet still using whole foods. I’ve been learning that even though slow cooking is still my favorite path to wonderful, deep layers of flavors, it’s possible to prepare meals quickly with a more minimalist approach to ingredients that still satisfies my taste buds.

I’m mostly in the ‘aspiring’ phase right now – using more ingredients and taking a longer while to finish things up. I’m a dawdler by nature. But on the nights when I don’t have hours at my disposal — or even one — I’m starting to figure out ways to get the most taste I can out of what I have in less time.

Another thing I love about Jules’ recipes is that she constantly shows you how easily recipes can be tweaked by switching out individual ingredients to suit your dietary restrictions/preferences. It’s helped me think outside the recipe box and to see almost any recipe as a mere list of suggestions that I can play around with as I please.

The following is based on her Quick Sausages and Lentils. All I did was substitute dill for parsley and added chopped Swiss chard to lighten up the density of the sausage and lentils. The big revelation here was the combination of sherry vinegar and soy sauce to add that kind of intense flavor that Jamie and I both love. Yes, please. And super easy to put together. The sausage and lentils make this dish hearty enough for the end of a long work day. The seasonings make it mouth-watering and the greens balance everything out.

I served this up with roasted roots and garlic cloves and it was the perfect weeknight stress-free meal.

Ahhh, roasted roots. The weather’s starting to heat up here and soon I’ll practically abandon the oven until fall. In the meantime, I’m making the most of these underground jewels. Check out the Chioggia beets. These are heirloom beets from Italy and are the most beautiful beets you can get in my humble opinion. For heaven’s sake, they’re peppermint striped!

This pan included beets, rutabaga and some giant carrots – all slathered in olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and dried rosemary.

I highly encourage you to try simplifying your meals. It’s so easy to drive ourselves crazy trying to put a good meal on the table. The thought is beautiful and important – expressing love and care through food. But the act should still be fun and leave you with a smile on your lips instead of a harried look in your eye. Happy eating!

(Jump right to the recipes)

Here comes the humble belated blogger, crawling back to her neglected WordPress site looking at the long backlog of writing she’s been meaning to do. This spring has been a whirlwind of family visits, gardening, general home spring-fevery, more family visits and getting ready for The Modeens’ release of our first full length album in a few years – accompanied by the most gorgeous weather we’ve experienced in Tucson yet. All great things for the soul, but ultimately bad for this blog.

Well, I got so behind that I threw up my hands trying to catch up on weeks 9 and 10 at the CSA. Though I will throw in a photo of some lovely beans I got along the way:

These weren’t labeled, but best I can tell, they look like “Frijol en Seco” a type of pinto bean from New Mexico. I love the patterns. They were delicious and tender, too!

But enough looking back, let’s move on to a relatively recent, and quite interesting, CSA harvest!

I got some excellent veggies here including a fresh cabbage that became a nice vinegar-y slaw for some fish tacos. But I’m sure your eye has drifted to the odd tangle of what look like dwarf green beans on twigs.

These are “podding radishes”. They have a taste much like the regular root radish but in oh-so-adorable pod form. And we liked them! Originally from Asia, the plants are well-suited to our desert clime as they resist heat very well, unlike their burrowing cousins who are now bolting to seed as fast as possible. You can cook with them in sautes, soup and stews, but I liked them raw and when we had a couple of friends over I decided to try them as a crudite.

In other words, I was (ahem) too lazy to do anything other than rinse them well and pat dry. I thought it would be fun if we just picked a pod, snapped the pointy end off and dipped. The dip itself was very helpful in my ploy. Meet chipotle cream.

(Excuse the lighting, but it was night and these days we dine al fresco!) Chipotle cream is a new member of the household and we love him, her, uh – it very much. I mixed some mayo, greek yogurt and some minced chipotle in adobo sauce (with scoops of the sauce itself) and whisked it all up. That adobo sauce is SPICY so taste as you add or it just might melt through your bowl. But damn was that good. I’d come across the idea before here and there but was particularly inspired by this great article about how to marry chipotle cream and live with it happily forever after (or something like that).

The podding-radish-as-crudite idea is still catching on – though a fair amount was ingested that night – so in the future, it might be better if I at least take the pods off the stems. I’m sure that de-twigging could be a very meditative activity.

Something else I experimented with was a potato-leek-lentil soup with kale chips. Kale chips are extremely trendy right now but don’t ignore the hype. The stuff is awesome. I haven’t liked any of the bagged stuff from the store, though. Homemade, fresh from the oven is instantly addictive. And too easy not to do yourself. The internet is flooded with this recipe but it’s my blog so I’ll just add to the noise here:

This may not look like much, but once you pop a chip in your mouth, your eyes will light up and you will never have the same lust for potato chips again.

As for the soup, I hadn’t intended on making potato-leek-lentil soup. I was going to make vegetable lentil soup until I remembered I had a bag of frozen leeks from Trader Joe’s and some heavy dairy product (in this case, half-and-half) and decided to go for it.

You may have noticed the artichokes in the harvest picture. I haven’t mentioned them yet because I was leery of dealing with this edible thistle. That part with the choke is weird! For a while they lived in the corner of my eye, constant reminders that I would fail as a cook and a person if I let them just go to waste. But I finally managed to cook them and soon I’ll reveal a super simple and incredibly tasty recipe that’s having me on the hunt for more artichokes. But not now. Can’t type, gotta run!

Ciao for now!