Carrot Parsnip Sunchoke Cakes

My CSA is giving me lots of ideas and new ingredients to play with.  The first week I got sunchokes and parsnips.  Here's what I did with them:

Carrot Parsnip Sunchoke Cakes, two ways.

1) Chop and steam veggies

Mash 'em with a fork

Dredge in flour, salt and pepper

Patty

Fry

2) Grate veggies, mix with one egg

One egg to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.

Patty

Dredge

Fry

Side by side taste test.  Both delicious.  I liked the toothiness of the grated one better.

Also good with bacon and eggs.*

*of course.

Ratatouille

Thank you, lovely readers, for your ideas about what to do with my bountiful CSA.  Tonight, I made ratatouille.  And not just any ratatouille, but this ratatouille, which looks just like this one.

  Awesome.  Beautiful.  My new favorite thing.  And the kids loved to help.

CSA Week 2: My Adventures with Rhubarb

Here's what I got in my CSA box in late May (I know, I know, I'm trying to catch up.)

The most interesting thing to me was not the garlic scapes (though, YUM, love those), or the broccoli rabe (make this if you have some).  It was the rhubarb.  Now, people in my neck of the woods (and probably all kinds of other necks of other woods) use rhubarb all the time.  Me?  Never had it before.  Supposed to be pretty bitter, leaves are poisonous, I like strawberries all by themselves just fine, thank you very much.  HOWEVER!  When the CSA hands you rhubarb, you find something to do with it:

All that rhubarb, chopped

One lemon, quartered

Zest of said lemon

Whole bunch of rosemary, chopped

Cover with water, bring to boil, return to simmer, cover 20 minutes.

Set sieve over a bowl, strain out this yucky stuff, pressing to get all the good syrupy stuff.

Good syrupy stuff.

 Add to vodka, gin, or soda water for a delicious drink.

Or better yet, freeze into ice cubes, add to gin and soda with a squeeze of lime, sit on your deck in your bathing suit, and watch the kids play on the slip-n-slide.

So much time and so little to do.

Strike that. Reverse it.

Hi blog. I have been super busy (and just a little lazy) and I'm sorry to have neglected you.  Fortunately for us all, one thing I've been busy with is my CSA.  If you're unfamiliar with Community Supported Agriculture, it's basically supporting a local farm and getting fresh produce from the farm (in my case) every other week.  Our CSA, Harmony Valley Farm, also offers a cheese CSA, a fruit CSA and a coffee CSA.  We participate in the cheese share, and receive three local cheeses every other pickup.  Yeah.  It's really awesome.

We've received three boxes so far this season.  Our CSA runs May through December. We get our vegetables every other week.  Let's play cach-up. 

Here's what we got in our first box:

Ramps, Chives, Spinach

Sunchokes, Sorrel, Nettles

Black Radishes, Parsnips, Watercress

Butler Farm's Sheep Milk Brebis Cheese w garlic, Castle Rock Organic Farm's Sharp Cheddar, Cedar Grove Cheese's Organic Mozzarella

One of the many great things about this farm is that they include information about everything in the box, and recipes to try!  Thank goodness, because, really, what the hell do I do with nettles?  Aren't you supposed to not touch them because they hurt?  Why would I put them in my own mouth, no less serve them to my family?  Right?  Well.....

Apparently, if you swish them around in water,

cook them up with butter, ramps, sorrel, broth and cream,

and whirl them in a blender,

they become delicious soup that doesn't hurt at all when you eat it!

Who knew, right?  

Stay tuned to see the sunchoke and parsnip deliciousness I made from this box, as well as what I've done with the next two boxes.  Also coming up, more cocktails!

Here are some closeups of May 12th's CSA:

Ramps

Chives

Spinach

Sunchokes - loved these!!

Sorrel - yummy!

Nettles

Black Radishes - zippy!

Parsnips

Watercress (if you get some, make this)

Not sure I can bring myself to believe it's Spring.

We've had the longest winter ever here in Minnesota.  I've put away and gotten back out my family's winter coats more times than I can count, and really more times than I'd like to admit.  Because it makes me feel gullible or something.  Once I get passed the outrage that it has snowed twice in in May and we had a lovely March day yesterday for Cinco de Mayo, I feel sad that the sky outside my window can look like this

and I still hold a knot in my stomach, because I don't really believe that Spring is here.  At this rate, it will be Summer before it's Spring.

I will not give up, though!  Today, I'm going to clean my house with music on and the windows open.  And I'm going to grill something delicious for dinner.  And I'm going to make this salad.  Because that's what you do in the Spring.  And if I don't start believing that Spring is here, it's all of a sudden going to be June - and I'll have missed it.

**Side note - FIVE DAYS TILL I PICK UP MY FIRST CSA!!!! If today's plan doesn't work, I'll at least believe in spring when I pick up that box.**