Red Wagon Farm

Dinner and Potluck Ideas Using CSA Vegetables

Posted on August 19, 2019 by mo

I love preparing and eating summer vegetables. I don’t have any recipes in this post, just a few pictures of food I made and some I didn’t make, to hopefully inspire you to think outside the box using your shares.

Remember the tomatillo salsa and herb dressing from earlier this season? Having staples like those ready in your refrigerator makes pulling together dinner really easy. I made a bean and rice bowl that would have been pretty boring if I didn’t have those sauces. I quickly pan roasted some corn and shishitos and chopped up some onions and tomatoes and topped it with the salsa and herb dressing-yum, dinner was ready in just a few minutes. I made plenty for lunches too. Fast and easy if you have some sauces pre-made.

I was at a dinner at a friends house this weekend. Three of us are CSA members and brought food made from our CSA shares.

I brought a focaccia. I used tomatoes, basil and corn. I wish I used onions now looking at it.

Toti, who has a CSA with us made this beautiful salad using braising mix, potatoes, dragon tongue beans, tomatoes, onions. Great job using so many different components of the share this week!

Joan is a CSA member at Isabelle farm. She made this deliciously beautiful no-noodle zucchini lasagna. I think there were at least 4 layers of zucchini, sauce and cheese. It was so good. It kind of melted together.

Last night I made some zucchini and corn quesadillas to go with chili. I grated up zucchini and added some corn off the cob and mixed it all with a little cheese. Again, I made plenty for lunches for today.

I love hearing what you make with your shares, I hope you liked seeing some improvised uses of our wonderful local food I made and/or ate.

Have a great week, see you at pick up.

Posted in 2019, Recipes, Storage and Preparation | 1 Comment

Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles

Posted on August 11, 2019 by mo

If you like bread and butter pickles you will love these. The texture of the zucchini is really satisfying for some reason. These are great on sandwiches and burgers. We had hummus and salad and pita for dinner the other night and served these on the side, they were delicious. Friends were over and several people commented how much they liked them.

I barely adapted the recipe from several sites all over the internet.

Makes 1 quart

1 pound zucchini-I had 2 medium zucchini
1 small yellow onion
2 tablespoons salt, a little more if using kosher
2 cups cider vinegar-it sounds like a lot but you will need it all
1/2 to 1 cup sugar- I use a little more than 1/2 a cup
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed yellow and/or brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Wash and trim the zucchini, then slice them lengthwise into 1/16-inch-thick slices on a mandoline. You could slice them crosswise, too, but Zuni’s are lengthwise, I think part of the texture appeal is from cutting them lengthwise. Slice the onion very thinly as well. Combine the zucchini and onions in a large bowl, add the salt, and toss to distribute. Add a few ice cubes and cold water to cover, then stir to dissolve the salt.
After about 1 hour, taste and feel a piece of zucchini—it should be slightly softened. Drain and pat dry. The second picture is after the vegetables were brining for an hour.

3. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, mustard seeds, and turmeric in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside until just warm to the touch. If the brine is too hot, it will cook the vegetables and make the pickles soft instead of crisp.

4. Transfer the zucchini and onion pieces to a quart jar (or the equivalent) and pour over the cooled brine. Seal tightly and refrigerate for at least a day before serving to allow the flavors to mellow and permeate the zucchini. They’ll last for at least a few week in the refrigerator.

I made these Friday and they are almost gone. I have been putting them on almost everything. I had them on leftover pizza for breakfast.

What’s up with that tomatillo salsa? Need a recipe for that?

Have a great week.

Posted in 2019, Recipes, Zucchini | 1 Comment

Let’s talk about Tomatillos and make some salsa.

Posted on August 11, 2019 by mo

I have several people at pick-up ask me what to do with tomatillos. I tell them, anything you can do with a tomato you can do with a tomatillo. Preparing them is a little different than a tomato (tomatillos have a papery covering) and the taste is different, tart and tangy and a little citrusy if you eat it raw. If you haven’t eaten them raw, rinse one off and take a bite. Cooking-usually by roasting or grilling, tames the tartness.

Let’s take a look. In the front row from left to right is a tomatillo in it’s paper, next one I started to peel it, next one has the paper off. When you are ready to use your tomatillos remove the paper and wash them. They are sticky for some reason.

If you want to make salsa you can gather your ingredients just like you would if you were making salsa with tomatoes.

You’ll need;

1 1/2 to 2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed & washed
2-4 jalapeños
2-4 garlic cloves
1 medium-large onion
fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
optional ingredients lime, cumin, olive oil, sour cream, or avocado

If you want raw salsa, just chop up everything to the texture you like, or throw everything a a food processor and process it to an even texture, taste it and adjust the seasonings. If I make raw tomatillo salsa I think it needs some fat from either olive oil, sour cream or avocados because it is really tart and the fat calms that down, so does serving it with something cheesy like nachos or a quesadilla.

Here is how I made the cooked version;

1. Chop the onion in half, crush the garlic, and leave the jalapeños and tomatillos
whole. Roast or broil on a baking sheet in a 450-degrees F oven for about 15 minutes,
turning all halfway over through roasting time.

2. In a food processor, add all roasted ingredients (peel the garlic!), plus cilantro and salt and pulse until all ingredients are chopped. Taste, taste, taste and adjust the tartness with lime, salt, olive oil. One of my favorite things I like to do with this salsa is blend an avocado in the food processor with everything, it makes it luscious and creamy and very green. It doesn’t keep in the refrigerator very long if you make it with avocado; only two or three days with an avocado, without it will keep at least 10 days. You can always add the avocado right before serving it too.

Dig in!

Have a great week. See you at pickup.

Posted in 2019, Recipes, Tomatoes-Tomatillos | Comments Off

Super Green Pasta

Posted on August 6, 2019 by mo

Last week I said I had a new favorite vegetable preparation. I think I spoke too soon. This Super Green Pasta is my new favorite.

It has only 6 ingredients, takes about 15 minutes to make, and is silky delicious and really really filling. You could have a salad or some chicken or fish or just eat it as is.

I slightly adapted a Jamie Oliver recipe. This makes enough for two for dinner with a little leftover. We couldn’t eat it all, we were stuffed. You’ll need;

1/2 a pound of dried pasta. I used whole wheat linguine, use any kind you like
4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of greens- kale, chard, spinach or beet greens. I used chard and beet greens
1 ounce Parmesan cheese
1 ounce ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (I forgot to put the oil in the picture)

Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, peel the garlic. Tear or cut the stems out of the greens you are using and give the stems to the chickens, add the leaves and the garlic to the pasta pan and boil them for 5 minutes. Pour 1½ tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a blender and add the Parmesan. Use tongs to carefully transfer the greens and garlic straight into the blender and blitz for a few minutes until super-smooth. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

2. Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of cooking water (I didn’t do this). Return the pasta to the pan and toss with the vibrant green sauce, loosening with a splash of reserved cooking water, if needed, then divide between your plates. Dot over the ricotta, drizzle with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, and tuck right in.

Gosh this is so good I hope you make it. I know I will make it again and again.

Have a great week and see you at pickup.

Posted in 2019, Chard, Kale, Mo's Favorites, Recipes | 1 Comment

Shaved Raw Zucchini and Fennel

Posted on July 29, 2019 by mo

Every summer I have a favorite new vegetable or preparation. One year it was shishito peppers. another year it was grilling fava beans .

This year my favorite thing I am eating again and again is shaved zucchini salads. I have made this 3 times in the last 10 days. Last night we had a gathering of about 12 people and everyone commented on how good it was, ‘you really upped your game’ was said about this salad by two different guests!

High accolades for something so basic and easy to put together. It’s utterly summery deliciousness.

You really don’t even need to measure anything. I am writing down roughly the amounts I used. Use what you like and what you have on hand.

1 ¼ pounds zucchini
1/2 cup torn soft herbs like mint leaves, basil, dill, fennel fronds or cilantro
1/2 to 1 cup hard cheese like Parmesan or Romano or feta
Fennel, as much or as little as you like, cored and thinly shaved-optional but delicious
Juice of 1 lemon or lime, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
Salt and pepper,

I added a handful of sliced almonds this time, any nut will do. I highly recommend you do too. The added texture with the crunch of the fennel and the firm raw texture of the zucchini and the nuts and hard cheese are magic. Use what you have but don’t leave any of the main elements out.

Use a vegetable peeler or mandolin ( I used a vegetable peeler like this ) to thinly shave the zucchini lengthwise. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the zucchini, herb, hard cheese, fennel (if using), lemon juice and olive oil and nuts. Season with salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice or olive oil to taste.

You’ll have the core leftover after shaving the zucchini. It’s mostly water and seeds, don’t use the core, just give that to the chickens :-)

Now dump the well mixed and seasoned ingredients in the mixing bowl into your serving bowl, pile it high in a serving bowl.

All the good stuff falls to the bottom while you are mixing so inverting it from one vesicle to another is imperative with salads IMO. Get all the good stuff back to the top and enjoy.

I’m making this again tonight I think.

I hope you try this. Have a great week, see you at pickup.

Posted in 2019, Fennel, Recipes, Zucchini | 1 Comment

Storing Zucchini and Summer Squash

Posted on July 22, 2019 by mo

This time of year every CSA share in the country will probably have some zucchini or summer squash included in their share, ours does! You’ll want to store it properly to keep it fresh until you are ready to use it, here’s how.

Keep the squash whole, dry and unwashed in a plastic bag and put them in the crisper drawer in the refrigerator. They’ll keep there for at least 1 to 2 weeks, though you’ll probably see the skin start to shrivel a little.

These zucchini were kept that way and are 2 weeks old.

They are just a little wrinkly, but totally fine to use raw or cooked.

Some people like to blanch and store zucchini in the freezer. I haven’t tried blanching it and freezing it but I have shredded it and frozen it and used it in baked goods like muffins, cakes and bread. If I’m honest like using summer squash in the summer and winter squash in the winter and not messing with freezing it.

Check out some of these recipes for ideas on using your zucchini.

Have a great week.

Posted in 2019, Recipes, Storage and Preparation, Zucchini | Comments Off

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