CSA Share Week 7

The weather in southern Wisconsin has not been kind this year.  No rain for six plus weeks and temperatures soaring over 100.  We appreciate even more all the hard work that our farmers go through to bring delicious fresh vegetables to our home.  

It has been an interesting week with lots of activities.  We went camping over the weekend, so a number of our dishes have been frozen for use later.  One particular favorite that we first made last year is Healing Cabbage Soup.  I altered the original recipe, adding quinoa and spices.  Last year we froze a lot of this soup.  Every time someone in the family is feeling under the weather we pull this out and it really does work like magic.  This was the first time that I made my own stewed tomatoes.  It was a great recipe - I would love to make more to freeze.

Our only holdovers are summer squash and zucchini that we intend to grill in the next few days.

Week 7 Bounty:

Photo courtesy of Scotch Hill Farm, Broadhead, WI

Cabbage
Beets
Summer squash
Zucchini
Basil
Long Cucumber
Short cucumber
Onions
Green bell peppers
Hot pepper
Tomatoes (Jet Star, Juliet, Sun Gold)
Broccoli









Meal #1: broccoli, carrots
Blueberry and Mushroom Risotto
We cheated - this was a pre-packaged risotto that we bought on our recent trip to Italy.  We love trying new things and odd combinations, so we picked this up to try it before making it from scratch.  It actually was very good, but the overwhelming flavors were the mushrooms.  

Venison Tenderloin Bites
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Italian dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound venison tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
salt and pepper to taste
5 cups arugula
1 lemon, cut into quarters
Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Warm the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes to infuse the flavor of the garlic into the olive oil. Place the bread crumbs into a mixing bowl, and pour the oil mixture overtop. Stir the parsley, and Parmesan cheese into the bread crumb mixture until evenly blended. Press the venison cubes into the bread crumb mixture to coat, and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the venison pieces are not touching. Broil in the oven until the bread crumbs are golden, and the venison has turned from red to pink in the center, or to your desired degree of doneness, about 6 minutes. Turn the cubes occasionally as they cook. Divide the arugula onto 4 dinner plates, and top with the broiled venison. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon over each plate to serve.* Recipe from reneebiscoe at allrecipes.com

Broccoli and Carrots
Diced broccoli and carrots with olive oil and soy sauce tossed in a frying pan until cooked through.   It was good, but not very complimentary with our other dishes.

Meal #2: tomatoes, celery, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, cabbage
Stewed Tomatoes
6 to 8 ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons margarine
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons sugar (more or less)
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Core tomatoes; place in boiling water for about 15 to 20 seconds, then into ice water to cool quickly; peel. Cut tomatoes in wedges. In Crock Pot, combine all ingredients. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours. Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle top with parsley, if desired. Serve as a side dish or freeze in portions for soups or other recipes. *Recipe from Diana Rattray at About.com

Healing Cabbage Soup
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 quarts water
8 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 head cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
2 cup Italian-style stewed tomatoes, drained and diced
2 cups quinoa
In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in cabbage. Simmer until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and quinoa. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer 15 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Done when quinoa is tender but still chewy and white spiral-like threads appear around each grain.  Serves 16.  *Recipe adapted from JGCase at allrecipes.com

Other Uses: basil, beets, hot pepper, cucumber
Basil Walnut Pesto - frozen into cubes

2 cups packed basil leaves 
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
Place basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt (if using) in food processor.  Blend until thoroughly combined. Add Parmesan and butter (if using) and blend 5-10 seconds more. Just before serving, add 2 Tbsp of hot pasta water from cooked pasta. Serve over pasta with bread and salad.* Recipe by dahlia at Food.com.

Roasted Beet Puree  - frozen into cubes 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in middle of oven.Wash and scrub the whole beets to clean off any dirt. Leave the beet whole unless you have some extra large ones (if extra large, cut in half). Trim off the stems (leafy tops) and ends of the beets. Reserve beet leaves for a recipe using them.On a large baking sheet, cover with aluminum foil. Place prepared beets, in a single layer, on top. Toss lightly with some olive oil to coat the beets. Place another large sheet of aluminum foil on top of the beets and crunch up the sides of the aluminum foil together to seal.Place in oven and roast approximately 1 to 2 hours (depending on the size of your beets) or until tender and easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Remove from oven and take off the top foil. Set aside to cool enough to handle. When cool enough to handle, peel the skin off. They should peel easily by hand, but you can use a paring knife if you want.

Steamed Beet Greens Puree - frozen into cubes

Hot Pepper - diced and frozen

Cucumber - sliced and enjoyed with our lunches