The Suburban Herbivore

Full share from August 26, 2009

It was a big week! We received four pounds of tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of onions, a quarter-pound of basil, one pound of Japanese eggplant, one pound of red and yellow bell peppers, and one butternut squash.

Full share from August 27, 2008

I’m particularly happy about the squash, since I’m going to test out making my own baby food with it. Depending on how that goes, I may do a separate post on it. I’m also pleased about getting the eggplant. Getting a bunch of eggplant every week is not so good (for me), but having it come in every couple of weeks is perfect. The tomatoes should be winding down pretty soon, so I will have to think of something particularly good to do with these.

Last year, we got three pounds of Big Beef, Cherokee Purple, and Orange Blossom tomatoes, 2.5 pounds of potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, two large spaghetti squash, and one pound of yellow squash.

Since I’m writing this a number of days late, I can include a mention of what I made with some of this week’s share. The potatoes went into a delicious Peanut-Potato Curry. I used some of the tomatoes, plus bell peppers and red onion from the previous week, in making Friday Night Pizza. I need to whip up a batch of pesto – I’ve certainly got enough basil from the CSA for that.

Full share from August 19, 2009

For this week, we received two pounds of yellow squash, three pounds of white-flesh potatoes, five pounds of Big Beef tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, and one large bunch ( 1/4 pound) of basil. Last week at this time we were at the beach, so we canceled our share.

When I came across the recipe for Potato-Peanut Curry on The Simple Dollar, I knew I had to give it a try. Potatoes. And peanut butter. How could you go wrong?

I had a semantic problem with the title of the recipe, though, as there were no ingredients that actually made it a curry, other than a tiny bit of tumeric. So I made a few alterations. I had some chickpeas in the refrigerator and thought those would be a great addition. I added red curry paste instead of tahini, and increased the peanut butter. Finally, I added cilantro instead of parsley.

Potato-Peanut Curry

Ingredients:

1  pound potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes or two large tomatoes, chopped
2 15 oz cans chickpeas
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste
3 tablespoons peanut butter
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Bring the potatoes, tomatoes, water, and salt to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add the chickpeas.

In a separate pot, mix together the vegetable oil, red curry paste, peanut butter, and garlic, and heat on medium. Once this is warmed through, add it to the potatoes and tomatoes.

Continue to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened and the potatoes have cooked all the way through. Stir in the cilantro and serve with basmati rice.

Full share from August 12, 2009

I’ve realized that I’m spending all of my blogging time posting the CSA share descriptions and very little else. So what am I doing with all this produce? Well, I’ve simply been incorporating a lot of it into dishes that I make frequently. Sad to say, I haven’t really been trying anything new. But I figure I get a little bit of leeway now that we have a baby. I do have plans for posting some recipes in the near future. Here’s a taste: Black Beans and Rice, Hummus, Habanero Salsa, Caprese Salad, and Vegetable Lasagna. Mmmmmm….

This week, we got one large bunch of basil, one pound of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, three pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of yellow squash, and one pound of red and white onions.

Full share from August 13, 2008.

Sorry for the crazy photo of last year’s share! We were on the road and had to snap the picture of the produce laid out in the back of Jason’s car. What we got: three pounds of potatoes, one cantaloupe, three pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, and one pint of Sungold tomatoes.

Full share from August 5, 2009

In the past, I’ve found basil to be about one of the easiest things to grow. But this year my plant is shrimpy and non-productive. I’ve gotten a few handfuls of leaves from it, and that’s it. My current theory is that the tomato plants are casting too much shade on the basil for it to thrive. I’m thinking that next year I’ll see if it does better in a container on the deck. Fortunately, there is no lack of basil from the CSA!

Full share from August 6, 2008

In this week’s share, we received one large bunch of basil, one pound of red and orange bell peppers (plus a jalapeno), two pounds of potatoes, one pound of Big Beef tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of yellow squash, and one pound of white and red onions.

Last year: five pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, one large butternut squash, and two white onions.

Full share from July 29, 2009

Things are definitely in a predictable pattern right now. I’m a little surprised, though, at the lack of squash and eggplant, as those are usually in abundance at this point. However, I’ve got no problem with having lots of tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes on hand! We got one large bunch of basil, one pound of red and yellow bell peppers, three pounds of white and yellow potatoes, three pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, and one pint of mixed cherry tomatoes.

Last year at this time, we received two pounds of red and yellow bell peppers and serrano peppers, three pounds of Rose Gold potatoes, two acorn squash, three pounds of tomatoes, and one pint of Sungold tomatoes. Rose Golds are yellow-fleshed and pink-skinned, unlike Yukon Golds, which are yellow-fleshed and brown-skinned. But both are equally delicious!

Full share from July 22, 2009

Our CSA newsletter over the last few weeks hints that some people are getting Cherokee Purple and Striped German tomatoes. I’m sad that I’m not one of them. Hopefully my Cherokee Purples will begin to be ready fairly soon. I’m not familiar with Striped Germans, though I did try growing German Johnson tomatoes one year. It was pretty much a failure. The plant grew wonderfully, and I think I got all of one tomato from it.

Full share from July 23, 2008.

This week, we received five pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pint of assorted cherry tomatoes, one cantaloupe, and three pounds Kennebec potatoes. I have to rave about the cherry tomatoes again. They are gorgeous and delicious! Kennebecs are a white-fleshed potato, and while to my mind, you can’t really go wrong with a potato, I do love the Yukon Golds.

Last year, we got: three pounds of tomatoes, two spaghetti squashes, two onions, one pound of bell peppers, one pound of Japanese eggplant, five assorted hot peppers (serranos), and two pints of Sungold tomatoes.

Full share from July 8, 2009.

So, this is the point last year where I quit, though I didn’t know it for a while. I continued to take photos of our share each week and I saved the newsletters. And after a while of being out of the habit, it was too overwhelming to try to catch up. Fortunately, I have most of the photos, so what I’ve decided to do is present this week’s share in conjunction with the corresponding week’s share from 2008.

Full share from July 9, 2008.

This year, we got: four pounds of Big Beef tomatoes, three pounds of potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of cucumbers, four green bell peppers, one jalapeno pepper, and three onions: two white (Candy) and one red (Candy Apple). Last year, we got: four pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, three pounds of Rose Gold potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, two pounds of Japanese eggplant, four yellow squash, two zucchini, and one cantaloupe. The differences are pretty apparent, but it will be more interesting to see what trends develop.

Whoops. Just as I was getting back in the blogging groove, work intervened, and I spent three weeks doing practically nothing but. Working, that is. Hopefully things will slow down long enough for me to catch up a bit on what I’d wanted to post several weeks ago.

Full share from July 1, 2009

Anyway, here is what we received on July 1. Since we took the entire share last week, our friends got the full box this week, so I’m not on the hook for dealing with the first of the eggplant. Though I’m sure there will be plenty more later on… We (i.e. they) got: 1.5 pounds of Big Beef tomatoes, 3 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 pint of Sungold tomatoes, 1 pound of Japanese eggplant, 1 cantaloupe, 1 pound of green beans, and 1 pound of lemon cucumbers. I was sad to miss out on the sweet, sweet Sungolds this time. I grew Sungolds a few years ago, and I absolutely loved having them on-hand all summer.

Tomatoes are here! We received two varieties this week: Big Beef and Early Girl. Growing up, I’d always heard that it’s unusual to have tomatoes before the 4th of July, so I remain impressed when they show up before that. Certainly, the ones I’m growing won’t be ready for quite a while. A few years ago, I grew Sungolds, which are little, orange, sweet, and delicious. Since our CSA supplies those, I’m devoting my tomato space to ones that can be used for sauce and/or slicing. I haven’t written about my garden yet… I’ll do that soon.

Full share from June 24, 2009.

This week, we received two pounds of tomatoes, three pounds of Red Pontiac potatoes, one yellow squash, one zucchini, one bunch of basil, three onions (two yellow, one red), two cabbages (one green, one red), and three cucumbers (two green, one lemon). Since our friends are out of town this week, we are keeping the entire share for ourselves. Time for another cooking challenge!