Catching up on the CSA news

Here's what came in my CSA boxes in the last couple weeks:

August 1:

tomatoes: 3 pounds of very good (heirloom and "regular") tomatoes radishes: a middling-sized bunch eggplant: a Japanese eggplant and a "regular" eggplant kohlrabi: 3 of the things. I'm starting to get tired of them. potatoes: a mixed bag of sizes and colors (red, purple, and yellow) arugula: a big bunch cucumbers: 5 "lemon" cucumbers squash: 2 zucchini, 3 zephyr squash carrots: a big bunch of red carrots bell peppers: 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red ambrosia melon: 1 YUMMY cantaloupe-like melon. I really like this. el dorado plums: Very sweet, very juicy, with very dark purple skins and yellow flesh. I got about 2 pounds. flame grapes: 3 big bunches

August 8:

tomatoes, cherry tomatoes: 3 pounds of big heirloom tomatoes, and a pint each of yellow and red cherry tomatoes string beans: about two pounds of green string beans radishes: a big bunch of very crisp flavorful radishes. Both last week and this week, I ended up taking the entire bunch to work and eating them as snacks. potatoes: two pounds of yellow potatoes arugula: a big bunch of the stuff lettuces: one head of green leaf lettuce and one head of red leaf lettuce cucumbers: two regular cucumbers squash: 3 zucchini carrots: a big bunch of red carrots bell peppers: 3 yellow peppers mickey lee watermelon: about the size of a basketball. I haven't tried it yet. el dorado plums: another couple pounds. 3 valencia oranges

I've been making big salads every night. (The hot weather is back, though not as bad as it was: Rather than 110 degrees, we're merely approaching or barely exceeding 100.)

Last week I made stir-fried vegetables (including the Japanese eggplant) with sirloin and sweet Thai chili sauce. I also made a pseudo-Moroccan/Greek thing with couscous, lamb, Greek-flavored salt, olives, squash, tomatoes, and a chopped-up preserved lemon.

This week I've made pastitsio and moussaka. I plan to make individual plum crisps.

I was curious about the red carrots, so I checked my trusty volume of Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini and discovered that the best way to keep the color is to microwave the carrots. Well, I still haven't replaced the microwave that gave up the ghost last October, so THAT won't be happening. But they seem to go just fine in salads.

This morning I made hash browns from four of the yellow potatoes: Hand-grated the potatoes with a couple sweetish onions, cooked them in olive oil over medium heat, showed off by flipping halfway through cooking, topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese in the last few minutes of cooking. Topped with a tangle of toaster-oven-broiled pastrami and a couple poached eggs.

Speaking of salads, I set up my DVR to record Epicurious a few days ago, when they were doing a "Salad for Supper" episode, and ran across this recipe, which I'll definitely be making over the next few days (since I just happen to have lots of arugula, cherry tomatoes, and green beans):

GRILLED STEAK SALAD WITH GREEN BEANS AND BLUE CHEESE When buying green beans, look for the skinniest ones÷they have the best texture. Offer plenty of crusty bread, and open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to go with this hearty main-course salad.

1 pound slender green beans, trimmed 6 cups arugula (about 6 ounces) 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 1 1/4 cups pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, halved 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 8- to 9-ounce New York steaks

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Cook green beans in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water and cool. Drain.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Combine beans, arugula, tomatoes, and olives in large bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup oil and vinegar in small bowl.

Brush steaks with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Cut steaks crosswise into strips.

Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among 6 plates. Top with steak strips. Sprinkle cheese over.

Makes 6 servings. Bon AppŽtit June 2001

NOTES:

1. On the show, they used shell steaks which they cut from a roast. 2. They used Stilton cheese. 3. I like to cook the beans longer than that. 4. They used a grill pan on the show. 5. The steaks were only about 3/8 inch thick, so when they were sliced, the knife was held so the meat was cut at something of a grazing angle. I thought this was rather clever: Not only were they exposing more of the appetizing-looking red-pink interior meat by cutting that way, but they were cutting partially across the grain of the meat so that the slices would be more tender.

Finally, from time to time we mention liquados (also spelled "licuados") here, a refreshing summertime drink made by roughly blending fruit, water, and ice. I've been simplifying even further. I put a little ice in a glbutt, follow with a few cubes of melon, add more ice, then fill with water. After only a few seconds, even with no shaking, stirring, or blending, the melon flavor has spread throughout the water. I drink the water then eat the melon. Simple, but good and very refreshing.

Bob