Summer 2014 CSA: Week 1

Good morning! Let’s talk vegetables in honor of National Eat Your Veggies Day yesterday.

Last week was the first week of the community supported agriculture program that Tim and I signed up with through the wellness program at work. Aside from the farm fresh eggs, our first delivery on Tuesday included sweet potatoes, asparagus, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, an awesomely huge tomato, red mustard greens, radishes, oregano, broccoli raab, and scallions.

Here are some of the meals we made with our goodies!

First we made a chicken and gnocchi skillet with the dandelion greens, radishes, and oregano for dinner on Wednesday and Thursday night.

I don’t think I’ve ever had dandelion greens before, but I liked them cooked down in this dish. Our lesson learned was to cut the stems out because the stems were definitely more bitter than the rest of the leaf. I also liked preparing the radishes in a different way besides just slicing raw in a salad!

Friday nights are often pizza nights in our home, and we were psyched to try our hand at a homemade asparagus pizza.

We topped a multigrain crust with the sliced asparagus spears, sliced mushrooms, sliced yellow onion, ricotta, some shredded mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, and some spices. For the win!

Our weekend was full of non-homemade meals, so we didn’t bust into the veggies again until we made lunch for the beginning of the week and dinner on Monday night. For lunch, we went with a tried and true favorite, this grilled sweet potato salad recipe. This used up the sweet potatoes and most of the scallions.

Finally, Monday was a throw together kind of night, so we used up the head of lettuce and topped it with grilled shrimp and leftover ingredients from our pizza toppings.

We also cut up that huge tomato for the salad, and it was delicious. We had some left over, so I sliced it and packed it for a snack at work. Drizzled in a little balsamic with some s&p, it really hit the spot.

I think we did pretty good for week 1! The only two things that didn’t get used were the broccoli raab and the mustard greens. I’m chalking that up to not having any meals at home on Saturday and Sunday at all.

Yesterday we picked up delivery #2. Is it normal to feel this much excitement about vegetables?

AND fruit!? These strawberries don’t stand a chance at lasting beyond today.

Possible meals on deck for the next week:

• Spiced collard greens and ground beef
• Balsamic chickpea and kale salad
• Chicken kabobs with a side of farro, bok choy, and radish
• Beet salad
• Avocado egg salad to use all those eggs!

–Let’s chat–
Tell me about the eats from your week last week. What was the best meal you made? If you are participating in a summer CSA program, how did you get creative with your produce? What fruits and vegetables are you loving lately? Did you celebrate Eat Your Vegetables Day?

Have a good one!

Catching Up On Eats

If I had to describe how I’ve eaten and/or felt about food for the past month, some words that come to mind include:

• Bottomless pit
• Nom, nom, nom
• Ravenous
• Can’t stop, won’t stop

Ever since I went to Chicago in April, I just cannot stop eating ALL THE FOOD. Maybe that bike tour expanded my stomach? With so much going out to eat and social events lately, it’s just been really hard to “be good.” I am still food prepping and eating healthy during the work day, but my snacking at night and splurging on the weekends has gotten a little out of control lately. I’m trying really hard to reign it back in, but it’s been tough!

That said, the food picture roundup below doesn’t really include all my bottomless pit type noshing. Who would really want to see pictures of random slices of cheese, crackers, chocolate chips, and spoonfuls of peanut butter? Instead, here’s a recap of some of the meals I’ve had over the past couple of months. Enjoy!

Breakfasts and Baked Goods

Blueberry pancakes… perfect for a Sunday morning

Strawberry ones too

Blueberry pumpkin muffin bars, recipe via PaleOMG

Energy balls

 

Lunch and Dinners

Lemon quinoa with chicken and artichokes

Apple and almond quinoa

Bulgur salad with edamame and carrots

Caprese chicken  with garlic spinach

Goat cheese gnocchi

Chicken and black bean casserole, recipe via Six Sisters’ Stuff <—this one has been on repeat in our weekly rotations!

Spaghetti squash and turkey meatballs

Slow cooker chicken, turnip, and squash over barley

Sweet potato, farro, and veggie casserole

Hummus crusted chicken with Brussels Sprouts

Homemade chickpea crust pizza

Snacks

Kiwi berries – so weird!

Homemade pretzels with honey mustard <—thanks, boyfriend!

Restaurants

A little impromptu breakfast date at Cafenation with Miss Ashley

A cup of chili and a salad with shrimp for Papou’s birthday at The Airport Grille

Another chili and salad meal, this time from The Local in Newton

A salad and fish tacos at the Boathouse in Harvard Square

A giant burrito bowl from Chipotle <— this sucker lasted two meals

A little Caprese salad and pizza action at Charcoal Guido’s in Waltham

And to finish, Tim’s birthday dinner of Asian style small plates at The Blue Dragon. Highly recommend for the food, cocktails, service, and vibe! Great night all around.

–Let’s chat–
Do you go through phases where you just can’t stop snacking? How do you overcome it to get back on track? What’s a delicious meal you’ve eaten lately? Any fun recipes to share? Any recipe post requests?

Catching Up On Eats

Morning!

Just wanted to pop in and share some of my eats lately. Basically what I’m saying is that I just want to delete all these pictures off my phone. Enjoy! 🙂

Some baked goods:

Grain free zucchini muffins (via MeaninGFul Eats)

Protein cookies

Flourless chocolate chip blondie bars

Some meals:

Veggie burgers on homemade whole wheat rolls

Portobello pizzas

Turkey and kale quinoa bowl

Healthy tuna “melts” (via I Train Therefore I Eat)

Mediterranean eggplant salad

Roasted chicken with Brussels sprouts

Apple and almond quinoa salad

Maple mustard chicken with roasted asparagus

Butternut squash and kale lasagna

Toasted coconut cod with pomegranate salsa (via How Sweet Eats)

Roasted yam salad

Winter turkey, barley, and veggie chili

Kale and shaved Brussels sprouts salad topped with shredded chicken, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and Gorgonzola

Tim’s first attempt at homemade pasta – success! Spinach and mushroom ravioli

Some snacks and meals out:

A yummy treat from Whole Foods: Gorgonzola stuffed dates

Turkey tip salad from Beat Da Wrap

Yummy meal at The Independent: oyster sampler to start, garlic shrimp, and a roasted beet salad

Pork carnitas and maji maji tacos from The Painted Burro. Unpictured = the spicy poblano appetizer I was actually able to eat!

Pizza night from Stonehearth

A meal out at Back Deck: smoky creamy eggplant spread on toasted pitas, with four matching salmon Cobb salads

Grazing kind of night at The Garden at the Cellar: bacon wrapped dates, pork belly sliders, shrimp tacos, seared scallops, and wild mushroom crostini.

Now I’m hungry. I know I still owe you guys some from last month, but let me know if you guys have any recipe requests! I do my best to post all the requests that come in.

–Let’s chat–What kind of foods have you been eating lately? Have you been going out to eat or cooking at home more? What’s your go to website or magazine for recipe ideas?