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