and FINALLY...

Just because I had nothing else to do, I whipped up some whole wheat banana bread using wheat flour we discovered at a water-mill place out in boondocks Virginia, extremely brown bananas that Matt had failed to eat, and chocolate chips... because everything just tastes better with chocolate chips.

Oh, and Farmer John said that arugula season is pretty much over. I've never been so happy to read those words in my entire life.

Because I can...

And it was my (birthday) party and this is a food blog and this is food so I'm posting them... Here are my birthday cupcakes. Fun, cute, but I'm never decorating this many cupcakes again. Whomever thought wedding cupcakes were adorable obviously never had to decorate them.

Mad props to Matt's mom Kim for decorating the ladybugs... by the time I finished the flowers I wanted to gouge my eyes out and she very kindly took over from there. Bless your heart, Kim! And bless your heart for spending your entire Friday cleaning our house and making our party food!!!!!

I must also thank Matt for taking the time to make the cupcakes of the recipe I gave him... not only were they peanut butter chocolate, they were peanut butter INJECTED peanut butter chocolate cupcakes. Mmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. With peanut butter Oreo on top...

Week 4. I've decided I hate arugula

Snow Peas or Roma Beans

Squash

Lettuce

Arugula

Scallions

Cabbage

Cucumbers

Farmers choice item

You can really only eat so much arugula before you decide that you never need to touch it again. No picture this time (well, it's five days old in my fridge now but I don't think that's very photogenic), but I tried a potato arugula salad for a Southern potluck dinner. Verdict? Not bad. A nice way to use up the arugula. I may have undercooked the potatoes. Maybe.

This past Thursday was my birthday so I asked our good friend to pick up our share for us, in the which it promptly went into our refrigerator and sat until tonight, Wednesday, where I took the night off, refused to go to church to clean out the Primary closet, refused to watch the DVR-ed awesome USA Slovenia World Cup match, and proceeded to cook and cook and cook from approximately 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

First, I took everything out of the fridge:

Then, I panicked. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ALL THIS CRAP????????? I mean, er, GREENS??????????

First, I took the squash, sliced it up, and braised it in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. I had done this last week, not knowing what else to do with it, and it turned out to be SURPRISINGLY delicious. I really think it's only surprisingly delicious with organic fresh squash though, cause I know for a fact I grew up with my mom making it the same way and usually it just turned out slimy, mushy, yucky, and smelly.

However, that only got rid of two small tiny little green things. I still had heads of leafy greens, and this time I really wanted my meat. None of this vegetarian business. So not knowing what exactly I was doing, I made a pot of rice. Always a good bet. Then I pawed through my freezer and examined my various baggies of ice-encrusted animal products. Ground meat... pork? Beef? I had no idea. I figured it would go well with something, so I defrosted it (don't ask me how, I'm pretty sure I cross-contaminated my entire kitchen). I had some random tofu. I had cabbage. I still didn't know where I was going. I pulled out sesame oil, chili bean paste, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hot sauce, hoisin sauce... and suddenly inspiration struck!

Polish stuffed cabbage!!

Okay so it wasn't Asian, and it still only used up one head of cabbage. But it was pretty tasty, I must admit, and given I already had everything out, surprisingly easy and fast to make. I used a can of tomato sauce mixed with some Worchestire (?), lemon juice, and honey.

Finally, I just took everything else, threw it in a stir fry (including the leftover stuffed cabbage filling), and cooked it down. Oh chili bean paste, how you are my savior. I think it was pretty much just my infamous spicy tofu, with some bok choy thrown in, but it got rid of everything else. And it also kind of looked like puke so I didn't take a picture. :)

Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup uncooked white rice
• 8 cabbage leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until softened; drain.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.
4. Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.
5. In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.

Week 3... turnips and arugula

The loot:

Squash

Scallions

Lettuce

Bok Choy / Pak Choy

Arugula

Turnips

Cucumbers / or Snow Peas

Farmers’ choice item

I confess, I was soooo not excited for this week (and sorry, it's been like two and a half since I actually got the crop... I have to catch up with week 4 and an upcoming week 5). I really am not a fan of any kind of 'choy', even with my Asian heritage. In fact, I argue that I am entitled to say I really dislike it because I *have* grown up eating various 'choy's on many occasions... and not one of them tasted good. And turnips????? Hello, do I live in a poor Communist Slavic country? Have you ever heard the words "turnip" and "delicious" in the same sentence? I didn't pay a premium price for food to get the ultimate of all castaway vegetables. I've never eaten turnips before. I had no idea how they would taste. I was very scared.

I'm pretty sure all the choys rotted in my refrigerator that week.

First up: I attempted to recreate one of my favorite spinach, potato and egg frittata recipes, substituting turnips for potatoes and arugula for spinach. I threw in a few 'real' potatoes just in case the turnips were horrible.The verdict? Weeeelllllllll... turnips make an okay substitution for potatoes. Arugula, sadly, does not make an okay substitution for spinach. I don't know if it's arugula in general or this nice, mature, old (read: very bitter and tough) organic kind that is killing my taste buds. Either way... I choked this down (anything tastes better with tons of cheese, right?) and sallied forward.

Second to bat: Matt's vegetarian friend was coming over for dinner. What better way to use up produce than to force my overabundant verdance on her! I didn't take pictures because by the time I was finished I was exhausted, had used up every single cooking utensil, and the food didn't really look all that appetizing, but I made pan-fried vegetarian dumplings (I figured frying them in oil would mask any potential weird vegetable flavor) and cabbage fried rice. It wasn't too bad. But I really like my meat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound firm tofu
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
• 1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
• 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Bowl of water, plus additional water for steamer
• 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
• Non-stick vegetable spray, for the steamer

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Cut the tofu in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels. Place on a plate, top with another plate, and place a weight on top (a 14-ounce can of vegetables works well). Let stand 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, ginger, cilantro, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, egg, salt, and pepper. Lightly stir to combine.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Using a steaming apparatus of your choice, bring 1/4 to 1/2-inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Spray the steamer's surface lightly with the non-stick vegetable spray to prevent sticking. Place as many dumplings as will fit into a steamer, without touching each other. Cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat. Remove the dumplings from the steamer to a heatproof platter and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all dumplings are cooked.

Week 2 Continued... more and more and more green stuff...

Week 2 haul:

Snow Peas or Broccoli

Scallions - red

Siberian Kale

Lettuce ( 2 )

Chinese Cabbage

Arugula

Herbs - Dill / Basil

We found a random cucumber in our bag this week. That, combined with forty pounds of lettuce, well, we had to cop out. Grilled chicken salad on Thursday:

Managed to pawn my baby-sized cabbage on my old roommate. Score!!

I liked the arugula recipe enough to try it again, plus it used up the basil:

And I had been intrigued by a sesame noodle salad recipe I'd read about a few weeks ago, and with the snow peas and scallions, I had no reason not to give it a shot:

Verdict? Not bad. Very light and cool; cold sesame noodles are very popular in Asia during the summer. Plus, since it *was* so light, we totally felt justified eating ice cream and cereal afterwards. :) Oh... the recipe said to boil three separate ingredients and lay them out to dry. Yeah no... I just boiled the noodles and then threw in the carrots and snow peas with a minute left and drained them all in one go.

Now what to do with the bag of what suspiciously looks like bok choy...?

Directions:

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse well with cold water until thoroughly cooled. Spread the noodles on a rimmed baking sheet or large piece of aluminum foil.

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the snow peas; once the water returns to a boil, cook for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the snow peas to the bowl of ice water. As soon as the snow peas are cool, transfer them to a clean towel to dry them. Cut the snow peas lengthwise into 1/4-inch matchsticks.

When the water returns to a boil, add the carrots; cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the color brightens and the carrots become flexible. Drain and transfer to the ice water to cool, then place the carrots on the towel to dry.

Combine the noodles, snow peas, carrots, scallions, 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Use tongs or your hands to thoroughly combine. Taste and add sesame oil, soy sauce or sesame seeds as needed.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Toss before serving.

NOTE: Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring or shaking them frequently, just until fragrant and lightly browned.

Week 2 - SIBERIAN KALE!

Doesn't that just necessitate being screamed in an impressive voice? I have no idea what makes Siberian kale Siberian, vs. regular old Southern kale, but I've been really excited to try kale and sausage soup after a coworker posted a picture his wife made.

I spliced together two separate recipes; one was an Olive Garden knockoff, the other a Martha Stewart special (can't go wrong with restaurant knockoffs and Martha, right?)... I used the two in an attempt to be healthier by omitting the heavy cream and using pureed potatoes instead. However, substituting four slices of bacon and a pound of sausage (no fat drainage here which turned the soup an alarming shade of bright orange) probably made up for any calories lost.

Verdict? Well, um... there was a *lot* of kale. I mean I guess that's what happens when you make a recipe based on having to use up eighty pounds of produce in one go... And it doesn't look nearly as appetizing as it should have, but it sure tasted good. I'd say this is a repeat.

Martha Stewart:

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 5 waxy potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch kale (12 ounces), stemmed and shredded
• 12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons

Directions

1. In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook unti fragrant, 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add kale and sausage. Simmer until kale is wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Olive Garden Toscana Soup:

Recipe

• 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage – crumbled
• 1/2 lb. smoked bacon – chopped
• 1 qt. water
• (2) 14.5 oz. cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth
• 2 lg. russet potatoes – scrubbed clean, cubed
• 2 garlic cloves – peeled, crushed
• 1 med. onion – peeled, chopped
• 2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• salt and pepper – to taste

Directions

1. Brown sausage in a pan over medium to medium-high heat, breaking up into small pieces as it cooks.
2. Drain sausage and set to the side.
3. Brown bacan in a pan over medium-high heat. Be careful not to cook crispy.
4. Drain bacon and set to the side.
5. Place broth, water, garlic, potatoes, and onion in a pot.
6. Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.
7. Add sausage and bacon to the soup.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add kale and cream to pot.
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Heat thoroughly.

Scallion Pancakes!!!

My second thought was... what on EARTH do you do with a million scallions? I use a few on occasion, sprinkle them in stir frys, garnish soups, but two huge bunches? What food prominently features scallions???

Why, scallion pancakes of course. And THESE, my friends, are four thumbs way, way, way up. They were by far the best scallion pancakes I've ever had and were pretty easy to make, once I got past the initial panic of not putting in enough flour and dumping an amoeba-like viscous substance out on my countertop. I made a mess, but the mess was SO well worth it.

Chinese Scallion Pancake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour also works, but lacks elasticity) 1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water + 1 teaspoon sugar to activate yeast 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup finely chopped scallions 1 teaspoon salt

Sift flour into 2 equal portions into separate bowls. In the first bowl, slowly add the yeast-water, mixing with a spatula, until a dough forms.

In the second bowl, sprinkle the salt into the flour. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the boiling hot water while vigorously stirring (this "cooks" the dough.) Add more water and keep stirring until a rough dough forms. (If you accidentally add too much water and the dough is too soft, add a little more flour.) Mix in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Roll the doughs out on a lightly floured surface and knead them together. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes.

On the same floured surface, roll out the risen dough. Form into a 1-inch thick log, and slice into Ping Pong-ball sized segments. With a rolling pin, roll each segment out to 4" or 5" circles.

Lightly brush the top of each circle with vegetable oil. Sprinkle over with chopped scallions.

Roll up the circle, semi-tightly, making sure the scallions stay in place.

Now, roll it again lengthwise until it forms a coiled ball.

Turn the spiral side face-up, then flatten again into a circle with the rolling pin. Place on a plate and repeat with the remaining dough until you have a stack of scallion-studded spiral patties. (Whatever you don't cook immediately can be frozen for future use.)

Heat a flat-bottom skillet on medium high heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Working in batches, pan-fry the pancakes until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Serve warm.

Week 1

Our first week's haul consisted of:

arugula
mustard greens
chinese cabbage
a bunch of really wilted radishes
two enormous bunches of scallions
lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce

I think that's it. My first recipe was one that I'd seen on Giada ages ago and had been dying to try ever since. I bought the herbs de provence in like January (btw, World Market sells an amazing assortment of herbs for less than $3... scored myself some vanilla beans the other day for like $2.99) but never got around to obtaining the arugula. UNTIL NOW!

So I'm thinking I'm going to grade my recipes, like unto the Iron Chef, of how well the food reflects the true nature of the 'secret ingredient'. For example, if the recipe was truly reflective of everything the produce is, brings out the flavor, enhances your taste buds, brings you to nirvana, that gets the highest rating. The actual measure of rating is still being determined... but you get the point.

This one? Not bad. I mean, the highlight of the dish was definitely the beef... but oh well, I finally got a chance to try it out. ;)

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) New York strip steak
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for steak and pasta water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for steak
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 cups chopped arugula

Directions

Season the steak with salt and freshly ground black pepper, herbs de Provence, and minced garlic. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook steak about 7 minutes per side. Remove the meat from pan and let it rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, fresh herbs, and 3/4 cup olive oil. In a large bowl toss the pasta with half of the salad dressing and the reserved pasta water. Add the arugula and steak, more dressing, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Toss, pack for the picnic, or serve.