Cajun Corn Fritters

testing, testing. Is this thing on?

Ferris Bueller was right, you've got to stop and smell the roses before life passes you by. It's been almost a year since I've sat down to write a post- well, since I've hit the 'publish' button. Everything has changed and everything is still the same. My baby is a strong willed toddler, just over a year old. My eating habits are finally settling back into something I'd call normal and modestly health aware. I'm getting outside, getting stronger and teaching full time. I'm almost motivated to cook again, though I miss the days of spending as long as I'd like on a recipe. I gaze longingly at the glossy photos in my magazines and remember the days of glazed short ribs and chocolate ganache covered cakes.

Now, it is all about quick, easy, filling foods. Foods we can all eat. We, that's right, my husband and my baby and myself. We eat the same foods. That's happening. I'm thrilled.

The other night I decided to finally use some of a seasoning blend I'd been tasked with tasting, a Wildtree Cajun blend. I have gone to and hosted a few of the Wildtree workshops (you show up with baggies and produce/meat, and bag up and make 10 meals that you pop into your freezer) and have loved so much of it. Talk about a time saver, holy cow. But, prepping mostly meaty meals on top of trying out a Whole 30 and doing mostly paleo for a while, I was ready for something less carniverous.

Que corn. Mmm. Funny story, as my husband and I embarked on our first Whole 30, he lovingly helped out by making dinner one night. When I got home, with the dog and the baby, dinner was ready and I was thankful. Then I noticed he had made corn on the cob with dinner. I was so hungry, I sat down and ate the meal but didn't touch the corn. I knew it was not allowed in the context of the Whole 30 adventure, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. Corn, it acts like a veggie sometimes! Tricky corn.

Anyway, that corn lingered in my memory. It looked so sweet and juicy. I'd heard someone on the radio talking about corn fritters and decided that was it, corn fritters and cajun seasonings. And so, this happened. Cajun Corn Fritters.

They were simple, quick and easy. I whipped up some goat cheese and dash of sour cream and chives to make a little dipping sauce. I threw some avocado slices into the oven and voila, dinner. Though I wasn't super keen on the avocado fries, the rest of the meal held up to my internal hype. Yum.

Give them a shot, I'd bet they'd be good with a variety of spice blends. Try it out, why not?

Cajun Corn Fritters

makes about 8-10 two inch fritters

For the fritters:

1 1/2 cups of corn (cut off the cob, I used about 3 cobs. Cobs? is that right? you know what I mean)
1/2-1 tsp (adjust to your taste) cajun spice blend
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp flour
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 egg
Butter, for the pan

For the dipping sauce:
2-3 oz goat cheese
2 tbs sour cream
1/2 tbsp chives, chopped

Mix up all the ingredients for the fritters except the egg. Heat your pan up and toss some butter in, about a tablespoon or so. While the butter is warming up, mix the egg in with the fritter mixture. It will look gross and strange and slimy, but also colorful and lumpy and soon to be delicious. Things always looks strange before they become beautiful, like those horrible contour make up tutorials on Pinterest.

When the pan is ready, use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture into small patties on the pan. Cook for about three minutes or until golden brown, then flip and repeat. Let them cool on a plate with a paper towel and eat them up soon. They were delicious right off of the pan.

To make the dipping sauce, simply mix the sour cream and goat cheese in a small bowl with a fork. Goat cheese hates to mix up with anything in my experience so far, so really tell it who's boss. Then toss in the chives and taste. Add salt and pepper to your liking, and feel free to adjust the sour cream/cheese to get the consistency you crave.

Enjoy!
-m

Juice

Love the glass? I got it from this etsy seller!

I have a confession to make. Well, two:

1) I watched this food documentary and loved it, it was amazing and it led me to watching a few more. I started with hungry for change. This was an amazing thing to watch, I wish I could find it online for you to see easier than having to purchase it, but it was worth it. I loved the emphasis on finding balancing and accepting yourself but being aware of the food we eat and what we are told about nutrition. I highly reccomend it.
After watching it, I had to watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead as well, and thought that while it wasn't as good as the previous movie, it was well done and I did do the most rational thing after watching it- I spent days researching juicers and went out and bought one.

So there is confession number 2

2) I bought a juicer and have used it almost everyday and I love to itty bitty pieces. When I nearly broke the darn thing and couldn't use it for a week, I almost lost my mind. I love this thing. I went with the omega 8004 because it can do so much and as mentioned before, I spent days researching things and this one seemed to be a favorite. It is already one of my most favorite things. I brought it with me on vacation! (and then nearly broke the thing, yadda yadda).

There are many people out there now touting the juice thing. They have been for years! and I have been listening! Well, sort of. Want to hear a funny story? Too bad, I'm gonna tell it. It's quick!

I tried a juice 'cleanse' a year ago. It was so easy, I felt great, I didn't know what the hype was about. I drank as much juice as I wanted for 3 days, and I never felt bad. It was at about day three, after 3 cartons of orange juice and 3 jugs of apple juice and one v8 that I realized, as I reread an article on the wonders of juicing, that they meant homemade mostly vegetable juice. Oops! I didn't own a juicer, so I just jumped off that wagon.

Now, back to today. I drink a mean green juice nearly every stinkin' day and I love it. I make a big batch of it every morning and have it with some scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then I take the leftovers with me to have with my lunch. It grosses everyone in the staff room out and I love that. :)

Also, all the leftover pulp is a great addition to my compost bin. Lovely!
  
I do have to chop up the produce to juice it in my particular juicer, but it takes no time at all. I love the flexibility of the juice recipe- just use what you have! Or follow one of the hundreds of recipes online

Want to read more about juicing? Here are some places to start:

hungry for change
runner's world
goop 

Green Juice
makes one big ol' cup and little cup leftover (or three small cups or enough to share if you want) 

ingredients

1 cucumuber
1 small apple
1/4 lemon, peeled
1 cup kale
5 stalks of celery 

Put it all in the juicer! That's it. :)

Enjoy!
-m

Roasted Carrots

These roasted carrots are simply delightful.

Delightful and easy and sensationally tasty. If you'll indulge me, they smell vaguely tropical and have a kick of spice with each bite.

I don't have much of an anecdote to go with this post, other than to show you my new favorite blog/website Nourished Kitchen. 

It fits so well with my latest obsession: unprocessed, whole, natural foods.

Trying to plan before the meal plans

I even signed up (and paid the measly $10 a month) for their weekly meal plans. Seriously, I did that. It's so easy. They email me three great dinner meals (meat + veggies+ a salad usually, or so it seems) and a few other tasty things like baked fruit or soups.

So far we have eaten pot roast, broiled salmon, roasted chicken, pan fried cod and steak (I see that is all the meat, but whoa, it's good meat and easy). I've roasted broccoli, carrots and all manner of veggies. I've made countless (well, 5) salad dressings that were easy and delicious. I feel like I'm being spoiled and I'm the one doing all the cooking.

This is how I used to meal plan for the week. Now, I just open an email and print.

Maybe this seems nutty, paying someone to send you a weeks worth of recipes. I can see that. But, I spend so much time each week planning the next weeks meals and with trying to slowly stop eating processed, foods finding recipes has been more and more challenging. This was such a great, easy, delicious solution.

These roasted carrots are just one of the reasons I feel this website was a great discovery. I've made them three times now, and the first time I made them we ate them all before dinner was even served.

Roasted Carrots
from Nourished Kitchen

ingredients

8 carrots, scraped and sliced
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon honey
zest of 1 orange
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more, if you are crazy like me)

Preheat your oven to 425.

Toss the carrots with the oil, honey, orange zest and red pepper flakes. Spread onto a baking sheet (lined with foil or parchment paper for easy cleaning) and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring once. 

Enjoy!
-m

Leek and Potato Soup

 I plan my meals pretty religiously each week. I buy mostly what we need for each recipe, but sometimes I buy a bag of carrots instead of just the one or two I need. Who doesn't? Seems normal to me. But it means I end up with weird left over things in the fridge and pantry. I almost always have a potato on hand. They have a very distinct odor when they start to go sour, those darn unused potatoes.

That's why, when I decided to make this soup because I had all the necessary goodies on hand, I decided to just use the rest of the stinkin' (well, not literally thank goodness) potatoes. The recipe calls for two, I used three. What's the big deal? It's just one extra potato. Extra heartiness, right?

Then it hits me. I'm thinking of tweaking this recipe, I'm not doing exactly what it says to do. Whoa. That's big for me in the cooking world, or it would have been in 2006.  I'm still such a.. what's the word? I still have a lot to learn. But I'm much more comfortable these days with using what I have to make a meal. That wasn't the case years ago. I would have just let that potato rot.
Because really, what do you do with just one potato?

I like to keep a tidy workspace. Ha! I was planning to freeze the leftovers and had these containers on the counter, it made for easy and clean prepping!

I have noticed the same thing with my running. I have a lot of gadgets and gizmos for running- gps watch, multiple water solutions, a cleverly disguised fanny pack, tons of technical gear. When I first started really running regularly years ago, I thought in order to be a real 'runner person' I would need some serious gear. Stuff. I read the magazines, they said buy the stuff. I read the reviews, I bought some of the stuff.

I love knowing I'm going to puree a soup- pieces cut funky? Who cares!

Now, like with cooking, I'm realizing that you don't need all that extra stuff all the time. I don't have to follow all the directions I hear and read all the time. The recipes. The reviews. The must-haves. The get-nows. I still love my gps watch just like I love my immersion blender, but I'm not taking it on every run.

People cook without recipes, without all this stuff, and they run without all this stuff as well. What exactly have I learned? I'm not really sure. I feel like I need a big moral of the story here, but I'm still figuring it all out. I'm just now noticing the pattern, that I'm relying less on the stuff and more on myself. It's kinda nifty. Sometimes it rocks, and sometimes I use one too many potatoes and make more of a mashed potato and leek thing than a soup. Then I realize I can just add more stock and a bit of milk and voila! Soup once again.

It was about this point, after simmering for 15 minutes, that I realized I'd made a starchy mess. Luckily, it was a delicious starchy mess.

This is one soup I make pretty often, it's pretty classic. I added some mascarpone cheese and whole milk to up the ante a bit and whoa, it didn't go unnoticed. Even with that extra potato heartiness.

Leek and Potato Soup
adapted from one of those cookbooks without an author that I'm unable to find online. What's up with that? 

print this recipe

ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 leeks chopped (whatever you can find or have on hand!)
3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 1/2 - 4 cups of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
1/3 cup milk
salt and pepper
chives or green onions for garnish


Melt the butter in your big ol' soup pot. Add the onions, leeks and potatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes until they cook through a bit.

Pour in the 3 1/2 cups of stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

Take the soup off the heat when the veggies are all soft and fabulous. Puree with your preferred method of doing so- immersion blender, blender, whatever you please, then pour it back into the pot and bring the heat to medium low. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir to combine, not that anyone would complain if they got a little chunk of that cheese on their spoon. Add the milk, salt and pepper to taste- as well as any more stock if you desire a thinner soup. Garnish with chives or green onions.

Enjoy!
-m

Cream of Tomato Soup

October Unprocessed was such a success for me. How do I know? Let me explain.

Last weekend, right before my long run, I woke up with a stomach ache and a sore throat. I managed to finish my long run, but the feeling lingered. On Monday, I came home from work and just wanted comfort food. Someone floated the idea that I just get some takeout. Decide what I want, and just go get it. What an idea. The thought hadn't even occurred to me. I had already decided that I was going to make homemade tomato soup and bread. I knew what I wanted, I wanted homemade goodness and I knew that even though I felt crummy and wanted to rest, my effort would be so worth it. And it was. I passed on the 'easy' route, no take out for me. Tomato soup. Homemade bread. Comfort to the max.


See what I mean? Two months ago, I may have taken that offer for take out. Now, better habits are taking over. I'm digging it.

looks like a lot, but I doubled it- keep that in mind!

This tomato soup is so easy to make. I'm completely in love with it.

to prevent curdling when adding the milk? Or to reduce the acidity of tomatoes? Not sure. But it works. Do it.

It takes no time at all, and I'm hoping it freezes well because I just made a double batch and froze a bunch so that next time I come home feeling yucky I can just heat up some goodness.

You know what? Two years ago I would have never made tomato soup. I actually don't even really like tomatoes. But thank goodness I'm realizing that tomatoes can be more than just marinara sauce.

Almost done! Just add the milk..mm creamy..

I have made this soup four times, each time I make it the two of us eat it all. It's that good. Not only is it easy but it's good- I'm serious. This is a new staple. I plan to have this on hand, in the freezer, at all times.

Cream of Tomato Soup
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
a pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons flour
2 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes in puree (if you can find it in puree, you can also use one large 28 ounce can)
a pinch of baking soda
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
tomato paste (if needed)

Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the onions, basil and cloves and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir the flour in and then add the tomatoes, baking soda and stock and bring it all to a lovely boil. Bring the heat down and simmer it, slightly covered for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool just slightly before you puree the heck out of it. Add the milk and season with salt and pepper. If you want it thinner, add more milk or stock. If the tomato flavor is a little lack luster, add some tomato paste. Serve it hot! Splash some cream in for a rich flavor.

Enjoy!
-m

Basic Vegetable Stock

I made vegetable stock.

I feel like a super hero. I love that it uses ingredients I almost always have on hand, and it only took about 35-40 minutes to make. Lovely!

With this month of unprocessed foods, I'm finding that so many things I rely on pre-made (stock, applesauce, anything breakfast related) are actually pretty easy to make at home. Somethings I just never thought of making myself and vegetable stock was one of those things.  Lesson learned, I don't have to be beholden to the box anymore- I'll make this instead of using the boxed stuff. It's way too easy and way too good.

You just chop up the veggies, and brown them up in a big ol' pot. The more color they get, the richer the stock will be.

After the veggies brown for a bit (5-10 minutes), put in a bit of salt and eight cups of water (2 quarts). Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Strain it and it will look like this! I was trying to capture the depth of flavor that you can just see in the color there- so fabulous- but I was also making barley soup and desperately waiting to add the stock so this is what you get. A glassy, odd looking photo. I deem it good enough!

So that's that! Vegetable stock! Make some! It's divine.

Basic Vegetable Stock 
from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (my new favorite cookbook)

ingredients

1 onion
2 carrots (large)
2 celery ribs, plus some leaves
1 bunch of scallions
1 tbsp olive oil/vegetable oil
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
6 thyme sprigs or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
salt
8 cups cold water

Scrub your vegetables and chop them up. Warm up your very large pan with the oil. Add the vegetables and herbs and cook over high heat until they get nice and brown (5-10 minutes). Add about 2 teaspoons of salt and 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Strain it and use it in a great soup, sauce or save it for later!

Enjoy!
-m

Constant Vigilance

If you could go back in time just one week and tell yourself one thing- what would you say?




I might say 'don't worry about the crazy lock problem with the car, it will cost you $300 for them to find nothing wrong' OR (and this is the big one!) 'charge your darn camera batteries already!'.



Unfortunately, I don't have a time machine and couldn't warn myself about the car or camera. If I had, then I could have avoided today's 'oh crap!' moment. And saved a good chunk of money earlier in the week.




I was extremely bummed about the cameras- I had been very excited make a risotto for the first time. I knew the colors would be gorgeous to photograph! My only solution, don't laugh, was to take photos with my iphone. It was much lighter and easier to hold, but man I missed my camera. I had already started making the risotto when I realized the error of my non-charging ways, otherwise I would have gone so far as to wait until the batteries were charged- that's how excited I was. Am I rambling on and on? Did I mention I was bummed?



Lucky for me, this risotto totally rocked. I'm so impressed. It's packed with veggies and extremely creamy. It's an Ina Garten recipe, but I had to do a few substitutions- and I was excited that it held up to it all.



As a note, no one is lying when they say that risotto is time consuming. It's an investment. Make it. Risotto requires constant vigilance, you must remain on top of it the whole time. Kind of like the way Shelby remains constantly vigilant about the helping me clean the kitchen.


Isn't she helpful?


I paired it with a seared steak and that just made the meal over the top delicious. Hello wonderful!


Funny shaped steak? I had to share..


Vegetable Risotto
adapted from Ina Garten's Spring Risotto

ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chopped leeks (white and green parts of about 2 leeks)
1 cup chopped zucchini (three small or two large)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock
1 pound tasparagus
10 ounces frozen peas
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives or green onions, plus extra for serving

Pour chicken stock in small pot and bring it to a simmer.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a good sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and zucchini and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for just a minute to coat. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring the whole time and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take a while, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool, if you are that ahead of the game. If not, drain and toss in after the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, as stated below.

When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring, until the rice is
al dente.
Mix the lemon juice and mascarpone together. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture (mmm) plus the parmesan cheese and chives. Serve immediately, or eat it all right out of the saucepan. Whatever floats your boat.


Enjoy!
-m

Vegetable Gratin

Do you watch America's Test Kitchen? I just started watching it and recieving the 'Cooks Illustrated' magazine in the mail. I love them both, but their methods really crack me up. They are so methodical and precise and kinda kooky. I dig it.


not so kooky but man, did these onions smells great

I also love that they are problem solvers. This is a big thing to me, in the classroom and at home, I'm all about problem solvers- people who see a problem and have the desire and motivation to fix it in creative ways. I harp on and on about it, hyping up people who do this well. You could say I'm a bit obsessive.

I feel like so many people complain and become negative when they see an obstacle of any kind; a slow driver on the road, trash where it shouldn't be, relationship issues, etc. The complaining is like white noise, who even really hears it all? That's why I love this show. No one is whining 'my vegetable gratin is just sooo waatteerryy..' They say, it's watery and how do we remedy that? and then, they do it. They test and test and try and try and don't give up until they get it. Or at least they don't show us the ones they give up on. And I appreciate that.



That being said, some of their techniques crack me up. Take the photo above, with tomatoes sliced, sprinkled with salt and laid to dry on a towel. Soon after this shot I put another towel on top and smushed them a bit to dry them out. Crazy?! But so fun. My attempts to follow all the directions here did not work as well as I'd hoped. I think I sliced my squash and zuchinni all wrong! But with an end result like this, who the heck cares. I made them long when I think they were just supposed to be sliced. Live and learn.



I loved this dish. It was even better the second day, I'm keeping this on rotation for sure.




Summer Vegetable Gratin

from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

6 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound yellow squash, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3-4 large), sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice good-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters or 1 cup bread crumbs
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots, minced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13” baking dish and put it out of sight, but not out of mind.

Gently toss the zucchini and squash slices with 1 teaspoon of salt in a large colander, and allow to drain about 45 minutes, or until they release 3 tablespoons of liquid (I only got about 1 tablespoon out of mine, and I think my slicing was the issue). Arrange slices on a triple layer of paper towels or a dish towel, cover with a clean dish towel, and press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible.

As the squash and zucchini drain, line another dish towel with the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow to stand 30 minutes, then using a clean dish towel or paper towels, press firmly to dry the tomatoes. This is kinda fun, get the family involved. When do you get to sort of squash tomatoes?

After setting the tomatoes and salt on the towel, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until onions are softened, heavenly smelling and dark golden brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside and try not to stare at how much they shrunk, I think they’re sensitive about that.

Combine the garlic, 3 tablespoons of oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme in a small bowl. Marvel at the glorious combination. In a large bowl, mix the squash and zucchini with half the garlic-oil mixture. Place in the baking dish and then top with an even layer of the gorgeous onions. Slightly overlap the tomato slices in one layer on top of the onions, and drizzle with the remaining oil mixture on the tomatoes. Bake until the vegetables are softened and tomatoes are starting to brown around the edges, 40-45 minutes.

As the vegetables cook, pulse the bread in a food processor until finely ground (You should have about 1 cup of crumbs). Or be a cheater like me and just use 1 cup of store bought breadcrumbs because someone has to use them. Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, 1 tablespoon oil, and shallots in a medium bowl.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and raise the temperature to 450. Spread the bread crumb mixture over the vegetables, and bake gratin until bubbling and lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving it up.

Enjoy!
-m

Fresh Food Friday

Every other Friday there is something waiting for me on my doorstep. I look forward to it like a kid at Christmas. It's my box of fresh food from an organic farm not too far away. Just look at it! I even love the stinkin' box. There are just two of us in this little house and only one of us (eh, me) actually gets giddy about fresh fruit and veggies.

So far, I love everything about being a part of this community supported agriculture (CSA). I'm so glad we signed up. We get some funky things, like beets-gosh have we got beets, but it forces me to step outside my little cozy box of known food stuffs and try something new. Also, you can tell them if you'd rather not get something if it really bugs you. So far I'm trying it all with my little mixed goods box.

I love that they send me some of my favorite things like fresh strawberries and basil as well as the new and interesting stuff. They are always amazingly fresh and just gorgeous. Can fresh food be gorgeous? It's down right sexy at times. Take a look..




Holy fabulousness batman. How bad do you want me to make a salad right now? I'm a lettuce lover, my sister and I used to grab pieces of iceberg lettuce and snack on it like potato chips. I still love my salads with dressing on the side and often with none at all. Lettuce is a beauty and I just adore the fresh, crispness of it. Yes, I've often been asked if I'm a rabbit when I order salads at restaurants.




They pack the boxes in two layers of food stuffs. If my CSA box were a two story building, the top floor would be the lettuces, the herbs, and this time- the corn..oh the corn. But this stuff would be the first floor of the building. I've been a member of the CSA for a few months now, and I can usually expect to get lettuce, an herb, and another fab green on top. It's what's under that is like candy to me. Look at this stuff! I have such plans for it all. I could eat it all raw, like right this second, but my mandolin slicer is calling my name.




For as much as I love lettuce and all things leafy, you'd think I'd just gobble down any old grape. But I'm grape snob. I want them crunchy and juicy and room temperature. Is that so much to ask? These grapes are going to be gone by this evening. My husband loves grapes of all kinds, and if I'm not careful I might have to ..share. Which I'm good at, but how often do grapes like this come around? And for my discriminating palete... are you falling for it? Can I just eat them all guilt free? Probably not. I'll share, but he better have a look of pure ecstasy on his face while he eats them up.




Another thing I love- the portions of the goodies I get. I got two of these red plums. Two. That might seem like a little, but I do subscribe to the smallest box you can get and I'm the only one who will eat the plums. Two is perfect. I will not take these plums for granted, because they are like a near extinct animal. I will revel in their brilliance and savor every last detail of their scrumdiddlyumptiousness. (that's totally a word. look it up if you don't believe me. oh my. I sound like my students. or Bradley Chalkers.)

You can get bigger boxes for a bigger brood, or fruit only or veggie only. I can't figure out why you wouldn't want to do this? and why it took me so long to get on this train. It's like the farmers market came right to your door! I just had to share, because my joy every other Friday is hard to contain.

Enjoy!
-m