I did fantastic keeping up with my veggies this week! I even froze some yellow beans that I blanched first, something that I will enjoy once this nice weather has passed. Making the ratatouille was an excellent way to use up a lot of veggies and it came out so good! I washed and separated the greens from the vegetables, making it last longer and making it easier to use since I can just grab it from the refrigerator and go. I wish I had been doing this from the beginning! As usual, my share contents from week eleven follows.
6 ears of corn
1 eggplant
1 bunch of radishes
1 bunch of beets
1 bag of yellow beans
5 slicing tomatoes
3 plum tomatoes
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
1 cubanelle pepper
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Week 10, Meal 3
Ratatouille. Something that for awhile I had no idea how to make. The name of a kids movie. Also, the delicious dinner I just made.
Ratatouille
1 eggplant, peeled and cut in to thick slices
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 2 small fresh onions or 1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium to large green pepper chopped to bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic
5 tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded, chopped up
3 T. tomato paste
1 small can of whole tomatoes
1 large handful fresh basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper
1 T. nutritional yeast
1-2 t. dried thyme
Start by brushing your eggplant with olive oil and grilling it on both sides. Do the same for the zucchini. Next, saute the onions and garlic. Once softened, add the green peppers. Cut the eggplant and zucchini in to bite size pieces and add it to the pot along with the fresh and canned tomatoes, nutritional yeast, thyme and tomato paste. Season well. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Your vegetables should be mostly cooked from the grilling it. Add the basil and serve! I enjoyed that all the food was fresh (save the canned tomatoes and paste) and that all the veggies still had a little bit of bite. I served it with bread to mop up all the delicious sauce.
I had looked for a recipe and instead decided to do what I usually do and make one up. I also learned how to peel tomatoes and found it surprisingly easy. I boiled water and salted it. I prepped my tomatoes by cutting out the stem and slicing and X on the other side. I placed them in to the water for 20 seconds and then in to ice water for 1 minute. After that, the skins should easily come off and you can take the seeds out by squeezing the tomatoes.
Ratatouille
1 eggplant, peeled and cut in to thick slices
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1 2 small fresh onions or 1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium to large green pepper chopped to bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic
5 tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded, chopped up
3 T. tomato paste
1 small can of whole tomatoes
1 large handful fresh basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper
1 T. nutritional yeast
1-2 t. dried thyme
Start by brushing your eggplant with olive oil and grilling it on both sides. Do the same for the zucchini. Next, saute the onions and garlic. Once softened, add the green peppers. Cut the eggplant and zucchini in to bite size pieces and add it to the pot along with the fresh and canned tomatoes, nutritional yeast, thyme and tomato paste. Season well. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Your vegetables should be mostly cooked from the grilling it. Add the basil and serve! I enjoyed that all the food was fresh (save the canned tomatoes and paste) and that all the veggies still had a little bit of bite. I served it with bread to mop up all the delicious sauce.
I had looked for a recipe and instead decided to do what I usually do and make one up. I also learned how to peel tomatoes and found it surprisingly easy. I boiled water and salted it. I prepped my tomatoes by cutting out the stem and slicing and X on the other side. I placed them in to the water for 20 seconds and then in to ice water for 1 minute. After that, the skins should easily come off and you can take the seeds out by squeezing the tomatoes.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Week 10, meal 2
A cold, rainy day was all the excuse I needed to take the chili that I made out of the freezer and heat it up. It was looking a little sad so the first addition was a can of diced tomatoes. Next came sauteed green and red peppers along with some soy meat crumbles. It was served alongside homemade biscuits with vegan butter and sliced avocado, tomatoes, and soy sour cream. Came out even better than the first time!
Week 10, meal 1
When I woke up last Friday morning, I decided that I needed to make myself some treats to take to work. First, I used some lettuce and tomato in a sandwich with Nayonaise and "Turkey" slices. Then, while I ate breakfast I tried to think what I could do with all of my cherry tomatoes. What I made was east and delicious!
Pasta with a Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce
8-10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 large (or 2 small) cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tiny onion, finely minced (a 1/4 or a regular onion would suffice)
Handful of fresh basil, torn
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Nutritional yeast
2 servings of pasta, cooked
Saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil till the onions are translucent. Add in the cherry tomatoes and cook until they are very soft and will easily pop if you push on them with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper, add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast and add a little more olive oil. Throw in pasta and basil. Toss and serve.
This came out so good! It was nice to eat a cooked tomato since I have been snacking on so many raw ones.
Pasta with a Quick Cherry Tomato Sauce
8-10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 large (or 2 small) cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tiny onion, finely minced (a 1/4 or a regular onion would suffice)
Handful of fresh basil, torn
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Nutritional yeast
2 servings of pasta, cooked
Saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil till the onions are translucent. Add in the cherry tomatoes and cook until they are very soft and will easily pop if you push on them with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper, add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast and add a little more olive oil. Throw in pasta and basil. Toss and serve.
This came out so good! It was nice to eat a cooked tomato since I have been snacking on so many raw ones.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Week Ten
I'm at the halfway point and already thinking about next season. I am on the fence as to whether I should be doing a CSA or just to my local farmer's market. I love what I get from Farmer Dave's and love that I am supporting a local farm, I'm just not sure if I can justify buying a small share just for myself. I will be thinking about this until the last pick-up and would love to know other peoples thoughts.
I did something new this week, something I should have been doing from week one. I purchased some of the Debbie Myer Green Bags a few weeks ago and have been using them inconsistently with mixed results. I have used them in the past and they worked great. They key to them is washing and drying the produce prior to putting the vegetables in to them. I washed and dried everything except for the lettuce and am crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. The line up in my refrigerator is pretty fantastic right now!
1 head of green leaf lettuce
5 ears of corn
4 garden tomatoes
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 pint of ground husk cherry tomatoes
1 heirloom tomato
1 bag of yellow beans
2 small onions
2 chili peppers
1 bunch of Basil
2 green peppers
1 misshapen eggplant
I am starting to think that I should be making sauce and canning some of these tomatoes, but the last few weeks I have just been enjoying them sliced with salt and pepper. My other idea is slow roasting them using this recipe , it looks and sounds amazing. I will keep you posted on what I make!
I did something new this week, something I should have been doing from week one. I purchased some of the Debbie Myer Green Bags a few weeks ago and have been using them inconsistently with mixed results. I have used them in the past and they worked great. They key to them is washing and drying the produce prior to putting the vegetables in to them. I washed and dried everything except for the lettuce and am crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. The line up in my refrigerator is pretty fantastic right now!
1 head of green leaf lettuce
5 ears of corn
4 garden tomatoes
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 pint of ground husk cherry tomatoes
1 heirloom tomato
1 bag of yellow beans
2 small onions
2 chili peppers
1 bunch of Basil
2 green peppers
1 misshapen eggplant
I am starting to think that I should be making sauce and canning some of these tomatoes, but the last few weeks I have just been enjoying them sliced with salt and pepper. My other idea is slow roasting them using this recipe , it looks and sounds amazing. I will keep you posted on what I make!
Weeks Eight and Nine
Weeks 8 & 9 were filled with meals not prepared by me because my hand was a mess, but I am back (for the most part) and ready to start afresh on week 10. Thinking back to what I ate the past 3 weeks, pasta salad, tomatoes and corn come to mind. I haven't wasted much and I even ended up giving a share away when I went to Martha's Vineyard for 5 days. It must have been a funny sight to see a Farmer Dave's box attached to a backpack, upside down with tomatoes squirting out (only one didn't fare well). I'm off now to do week 10.
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