Farm Fresh

Hi Again! 

Everyone else is in bed, so I actually have a quiet minute AND it's not 1:00 o'clock in the morning...sweet! 

Today was Aidyn's last day of swim lessons.  It's a program where you only have to sign up for 4 lessons at a time.  We'll probably do some more lessons later in the summer, but I need a little breather from activities and we need to regroup.  She is considered a Level 1 right now, and all she really needs to do to move to a Level 2 is to go under water for 4 seconds....which she refuses to do on her own.  We'll work on that together and then try lessons again.

So, the other day I mentioned that I was part of a community farm program this summer.  Well, tonight we picked up our third bag and it's a pretty good one!  I find myself excited to see what veggies come each week.  Today we got potatoes, leeks, shallots, beets, basil, and kale.  I'm excited to get started with some new recipes.  We've been so busy over the last few weeks that I struggled with my first two deliveries and didn't have very interesting things to do with my veggies.  I'm hoping to step up my cooking game this week.  I'm thinking of trying my hand at some pesto with my big bag of basil. 

I did manage to find two recipes that I'll share with you.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures but will try and get some up soon.  This first one is for snap peas.  Really, you need to try it.  It was fast, easy and tasted really good!

Quick Stir-Fried Snap Peas
2 TBS peanut, canola or other oil (I probably wouldn't use olive oil)
About 1 1/2 pounds snap peas, washed and trimmed
2 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)

Place oil in a large deep skillet or wok and turn the heat to high. When the oil begins to smoke, toss in the peas and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they are glossy, bright green and begin to show a few brown spots, about 5 min. Turn off the heat and remove to a platter. Drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil and serve.

I made this next recipe last weekend for a Father's Day BBQ - Baked Beans with Swiss Chard.  It came in my new Food Network Magazine just in time.  It's healthy, pretty easy to make and a lot of the ingredients can come from the farmer's market.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out or be received by the family, but I thought it tasted good and the family ate most of it up, so I'll take it as a positive review. 

Tonight I tried braising cabbage which I got in my 1st veggie delivery three weeks ago, and it's still hanging in there.  There is a lot to say about local produce that didn't have to travel a long way to get to my house.  After this summer, locality will definitely play a larger role in my food making decisions.  Anyway, braising...uh, well, I need a little practice.  Maybe Chef Joshy can give me a little lesson next time I come visit.  The cabbage tasted pretty good, but my cooking technique was probably not so good.  Oh well, at least I tried something different right? 

Ok, off to bed.  Ahhhh, and it's finally Friday.  As long as the weather holds out, I'm taking Aidyn and her friend Arlo to the swimming pool after work tomorrow.  I'm happy to report that that is my only plan for the weekend so far. 

Happy Friday to all of you!

Oh yeah, one last thing.  If anyone is trying to post comments and still can't - it's being suggested to "uncheck" the keep me signed in box at the login page.  If you are always logged in to Blogger, try logging out and unchecking that box.  That and going in to clear out your cookies under Internet Options.  See if that makes a difference.  I guess it's worked for some people.