Fall Basket - 25 October 2008

Basket items: 4 pommegranites, arugala, white radishes, red radishes, cilantro, 1 head of romaine lettuce, 3 small cucumers, 1 bunch of dark grapes, 2 pears, 1 sweet potato, and 2 yams.

Sunday

For dinner we had romaine and carrot salad in addition to stir fry on top of organic brown rice from Abundant Harvest.

Monday

Armand had a pear in addition to his breakfast waffles and a pear in his lunch.

Tuesday

For dinner we had sautéed green beans with shallots and marinated chicken covered with tarragon and parsley, plus my first time eating arugula.
(Made for delicious lunch leftovers the next day!)

Arugula Salad
I added feta cheese to this recipe and it complimented the bitterness of the arugula quite well.

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups (about 4 ounces) baby arugula
• 1 small red onion, halved and cut into paper-thin half-moons

Put lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; whisk until emulsified. Add arugula and onion; toss.

Wednesday

This was a cookbook that I couldn't resist when going through a spate of homesickness for my childhood hometown, Bamberg. Zwiebelsuppe was one of the first recipes I tried and, being a firm onion fan and ecstatic onion soup fan, fell immediately in love with this recipe.

Zwiebelsuppe

• A generous 1 pound of onions
• 3-1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 apple
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 4 cups hot meat stock
• 1/2 cup lager
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed marjoram
• Bunch of fresh chives, snipped

1. Peel, halve, and slice the onions.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and sauté the onions in it until translucent.
3. Peel, quarter, and core the apple. Slice it thinly. Stir the apple into the sauteed onion, allow to sweat for a few minutes, then sprinkle over flour.
4. Add the stock and beer, season to taste with salt, pepper, and marjoram, and simmer over a medium heat for about 2 minutes.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle the soup with snipped chives and grated Emmenthal, or croutons.
   

Cucumber Salad With Radish and Dill
This was pretty yummy — crisp and fresh and flavorful. It would be a perfect summer salad.

• 1 English cucumber or 3 Kirby cucumbers, halved lenghwise, seeded, thinly sliced
• 4 large radishes (about 6 ounces), thinly sliced
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 6 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, plus more sprigs, torn, for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Put cucumber, radish, and lemon zest in a medium bowl, and add cheese.
2. Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, dill, sugar, and garlic in another medium bowl, whisking until sugar has dissolved; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
3. Add vinaigrette to cucumber mixture; toss well. Garnish with dill. Discard garlic clove before serving. Refrigerate salad in an airtight container up to 1 hour.

Fall Basket - 18 October 2008

Basket items: 1 kohlrabi; 2 pomegranates; 3 small onions; 1 small red onion; 5 roma tomatoes; dill weed; radishes; baby bok choi; 1 melon; 2 pears; 5 carrots; green beans.

Saturday

When we excitedly examined our Abundant Harvest basket, Armand was very excited to get baby bok choy, but decided to eat half of the melon at breakfast instead.

At lunch I was delighted to sprinkle fresh dill over whipped cream cheese on a slice of bread, topped with tomato slices and more dill with some kosher salt and a few twists of pepper. With some leftover wax beans, it was a great lunch.

Sunday

Armand had a pear at breakfast.

For dinner we had salad that included romaine lettuce and red bell peppers from a previous basket, and a carrot, radishes and tomatoes from this week's basket.

We also had green beans from last week's basket cooked like the wax beans, but with shallots added.

Tuesday

Armand had a pear with his organic Abundant Harvest mush for breakfast.

At dinner we had a veggie platter to use up some radishes, carrots and a tomato from this week's basket, a red bell pepper from last week's basket, and store-bought celery.

Wednesday

For lunch I packed some leftover salad.

Thursday

Armand had two plums from last week's basket with his breakfast.

Items I didn't use: 1 kohlrabi; 2 pomegranates; 3 small onions; 1 small red onion; baby bok choy; green beans.

Starting to notice my organic intake

Upside Down Plum Cake

This is a recipe from a Martha Stewart Food magazine (month, year). I enjoyed it the first time I made it and thought it would be a good way to use up some plums. It was also a great dessert to share with my friend Carlos who I hadn't seen in nearly one year.

• 3 medium plums, sliced
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/3 (?) cups flour
• 1/ baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 4 tablespoons butter in pan and place in oven until melted. Pull out of the oven and stir in brown sugar, then layer plums on the mixture.
2. Sift dry ingredients.
3. Cream butter with sugar. Then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture; 1/2 of the milk; 1/3 of the flour; 1/2 of the milk; and final 1/3 of the flour. Pour over plums and bake for 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a plate.

Garlic Sautéd Wax Beans
For the first time in my life I was introduced to these white string beans. They were a bit lemony - a delightful surprise.





• Wax beans
• Butter
• Crushed garlic cloves
• Parsley, minced

1. Steam or boil the beans for 5 minutes, then drain.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the garlic, cooking for a minute. Add in the beans and sauté for a minute before adding the parsley. Cook for a minute more than shift to a serving plate.