The season is winding down...sadly

Now that our first frost is long past and we've had two snowstorms, our weekly produce keeps coming, amazingly. But I'm wistfully thinking about all those wonderful tomatoes and zucchini we recently enjoyed, and wishing I had appreciated them more while we had them. In case you are wondering about the taste of the tomatoes, the ones we received in our CSA share tasted every bit as delicious and flavorful as the ones I grew in the back yard! Except this year my backyard tomato plant had too much shade, so it didn't produce very well. I was thankful to be getting them in my weekly box from Grant Farms.

I have made a few batches of some wonderful vegetable soup with the cabbage and winter vegetables that is very low in calories, and so flavorful! And Carolyn passed along a recipe for pumpkin soup that she made from the fresh pumpkin that came with our order. (see recipes below) I have enjoyed the orange beets that we've gotten recently, which are a little sweeter than the traditional purple ones, and I love the purple carrots, which are still orange inside, with a little yellow ring in the center. They are sweeter than regular carrots as well.

It feels so good to be eating organic, local produce. This is a lifestyle change that I know I'll be sticking with!

Pumpkin Soup

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lg. yellow bell peppers, chopped
2 med. chopped carrots
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 cups vegetable broth
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 small pumpkin
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. unsalted pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Peel and chop the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. Place in large dutch oven, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until tender. Place half in food processor or blender, using some of the water and process until smooth. Place into bowl and repeat with other half of cooked pumpkin. Reserve any remaining liquid in separate container as part of the 5 cups vegetable broth.

2. Heat oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Add bell pepper, carrot and onion, cooking 10 min. or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add paprika and garlic and saute 1 min. Add 3 cups of the broth and black pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 min. or until vegetables are tender.

3. Place 1/3 of the veggie mixture into the food processor or blender and process until smooth. Pour into the bowl with the pureed pumpkin. Repeat procedure with remaining veggies.

4. Return the pureed vegetable mixture and the pumpkin to the dutch overn and stir int he remaining 2 cups of broth. Cook over low heat for 10 min. or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with pumpkin seeds and parsley. Serve immediately.

Note you may use a 15 ounce can of salt free pumpkin puree to save time or if fresh pumpkins aren't in season.

Garden Vegetable Soup

1 1/3 cups sliced carrot
1 cup diced onion
2 tsp. olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves
6 cups fat free chicken broth
3 cups diced green cabbage
1 cup green beans
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup diced zucchini

Saute the carrot, onion and garlic in olive oil over low heat until softened, about 5 min. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, and spices, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered about 15 min. or until beans are tender. Stir in the zucchini and heat for 3-4 min. Serve hot. This recipe serves 8.

Note: You can use whatever veggies you have on hand for this soup, with the basic recipe. I've tried it with cauliflower instead of green beans, and also added mushrooms, kale, collard greens, squash, and quinoa, all with great results.

I was lamenting to my friend Carrie over lunch the other day that I didn't know what to do with all the eggplant I have accumulated. I kept thinking about making the old standard Eggplant Parmesan but I wasn't getting inspired to do so. Eggplant just isn't my favorite vegetable. Carrie perked right up when I told her my problem. This is one of her favorite recipes, and she was happy to share it:

Eggplant Polenta Casserole

1 cup dry polenta
3 cups water
salt to taste
3/4 cup smoked gouda or similar cheese
2 large eggplants, cut into 1 inch squares
olive oil
Italian spices
3/4 cup red onion
3-4 cloves garlic
red wine
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, or fresh
salt
pepper
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Whisk polenta and salt to taste into boiling water. Use a thick bottom pot and cook for 15 minutes, lowering heat to simmer. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of smoked cheese, shredded. Pour polenta onto wax paper and let it cool. Cut into squares.

Peel and cut 2 large eggplants into 1 inch square chunks. Toss in a plastic bag with olive oil, italian spices, salt and pepper. Lay out on a foil lined cookie sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes. Turn over halfway. While eggplant is roasting, prepare the sauce.

For the sauce, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are clear. Add italian spices to taste, salt and pepper, a splash of red wine, and two 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes (or equivalent fresh). Simmer.

Layer sauce, polenta, eggplant and mozzarella cheese and repeat until you are out of ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

I've just most of the last couple of weeks in the mountains on vacation. Even though I made a special trip home on pickup day to get my produce and take it back to the mountains, I haven't made much of a dent in my lettuce, cabbage, or beets lately. Vacations tend to bring out the worst of my eating behaviors...and I've been indulging in ice cream, lots of meat on the grill, and even chips and dip.
Well, now it's time to change that! I am wondering how to use up some of the lovely stuff that's overflowing in my vegetable bin, and in the recesses of my brain I remember an old favorite vegetarian recipe that uses a lot of the stuff I have on hand. Bingo! This'll work!

Colorado Sunset Burritos

8 large whole wheat flour tortillas (or your favorite kind)
16 oz. can vegetarian refried beans
1/2 cup taco sauce
2 cups grated cabbage, red or green
2 cups peeled and grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Spread 3 tbsp. beans and 1 tbsp. taco sauce on each tortilla. Add lines of vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese. Microwave open faced until hot. Roll and serve.

I'm glad about what's in my fridge

I just watched the movie "Food, Inc." a documentary that exposes the underbelly of the food industry in our country and gives us many very sound reasons for eating organic and buying locally. I highly recommend this film. Interestingly, a representative from Grant Farms was at the theatre passing out a free half dozen organic pasture raised eggs at the end of the movie. Good marketing!

Before going to the movie theatre this evening, I unpacked my CSA vegetables that had been kindly left for me by Carolyn in her cooler on my front porch. We've developed a nice routine of picking them up from the stand at alternating times, dividing them in half, and getting them to each other. My half share this week was very generous, and it looks like we are getting warmed up! Our season is late to mature because of all the rainy cold weather we had early in the season, but things are looking good now!

Today I unpacked some lovely large beets, corn on the cob, parsley, cilantro, eggplant, cabbage, peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, and a large purple kohlrabi! There were also some carrots, long radishes, onions, and of course, eggs. I remembered what worked so well for me last week: slicing up radishes ahead of time and washing the lettuce meant that at dinnertime I could just reach in the fridge and in two seconds I had a nice salad. I took that big purple kohlrabi and chopped it into small squares, and I also sliced more radishes and carrots to toss with lettuce. I'm getting good! Salads are becoming a real staple...I'm eating them twice as much as I did before CSA came along!

Plentiful Zucchini

I wanted to come up with a recipe that incorporated several of the vegetables I had on hand, and I believe I came up with a good one. I did my usual recipe search on the internet and found Drop Dead Delicious Stuffed Zucchini on recipezaar.com. I modified it a bit and came up with this one that used the zucchini, eggplant, egg, and onion that I had on hand from my CSA food.

Stuffed Zucchini
4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 medium onion, diced
1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1/3 cup eggplant, diced
2 large cloves garlic
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper
3/4 lb. ground beef (or whatever substitute you like)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
shredded cheese for topping (I used pepper jack)

1. Wash zucchini, halve and put in a pot of cold water. Do not remove ends.
2. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 min.
3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet.
4. Sautee garlic first, then add onions, eggplant and spices
5. When eggplant and onions have softened, add ground meat, season with salt and pepper, and brown through.
6. Drain off grease.
7. Set aside to cool slightly.
8. Remove cooked zucchini from water, allow to cool. Then scoop out center, leaving a little flesh to form a boat.
9. Mix ground meat mixture with the red peppers, and the scooped out zucchini (chopped) and the egg.
10. Full the zucchini boats with the mixture, and top with grated cheese.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
12. Serve hot.

Somehow weeks 6, 7 and 8 have flown by, and I'm in week 9, as I've been informed by Grant Farm's e-newsletter. We are about one-third into the 26-week season, and I am still firm in my commitment to support local agriculture and organic farming, rather than giving my dollars to huge mega-farms from far away who use genetically modified seeds that have bred Roundup into the food.

I am still trying to think of new ways to use up all the kale. I was told that one way to use it up is to steam it, roll it into balls, and freeze it, using it in the winter months for soups and stews. That seems like a good way to spread it out, so I steamed some this week and stored it in a ziploc bag in the freezer.

As the season rolls along, we are finally getting into zucchini, summer squash, and green beans. Also this week for the first time there was eggplant, artichokes, and corn on the cob. These are vegetables that I find easier to use up. I've been eating the zucchini raw in salads or dipped in hummus, and squash and green beans I've steamed and mixed with other veggies. We've also had fresh basil leaves the last two weeks, which inspired me to make a new type of salad--Caprese-style. Since we aren't quite into tomatoes yet, I bought some organic heirloom tomatoes at the supermarket and sliced them over a lettuce bed of baby greens (this time soaked in water and cleaned more thoroughly, inspecting carefully for worms). On top of the tomato slices, I put a slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella and sprinkled it all with fresh-ground pepper. Over the top, I drizzled some balsamic vinegar dressing. It was sooooo good.

Is the novelty wearing off?

Even though the Thursday pickup is on my calendar and I get a pop-up reminder telling me to go get the veggies between 4 and 7 p.m., I forgot to go this week. I was attending a free summer concert just a few blocks away from my pickup location, and it dawned on me at about 8 p.m. that I hadn't picked up the vegetables. I made a quick decision to scoot on over there, even though the 7 p.m. cutoff time had passed and I was on my bike with no way to get them home.

I know I'm not the only CSA customer who has forgotten their pickup. Maggie, who runs one of the farm's pickup locations, tells me that every week there are about 7 or 8 customers who neglect to pick up their veggies, and when she doesn't hear from them the next day, she simply donates them to the food bank.

I pulled up at the lean-to just as it was getting dark, and was relieved to see the colorful bins still waiting. I took out my cell phone and dialed my husband who said he would meet me with the car and the bags if they were still there. I quickly discovered that mosquitos were thick in the air, and I sat next to the bins slapping my arms and legs while I waited. In the gathering dark, Scott pulled up with the car and we quickly loaded the forgotten vegetables with relief.