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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

16 Sep

It has been a LONG time since I have had rhubarb and I’ve certainly never baked with it.  However, when it came up on the Web Store at Sunizona Family Farms, I knew I needed to get it.  Just raw, this rhubarb was so good and tart.  But, I wanted to make my ever favorite crisp with it, and since I had gotten strawberries from Bountiful Baskets, I knew they would be a good match.  Now, I did put a bit of sugar in this, so if you want to keep more of the tart flavor of the rhubarb, just decrease the amount of sugar.  I had this warm over some vanilla frozen yogurt and was in heaven last night eating it.  I wish rhubarb was more available here in AZ to have this more often!

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

What you need:

4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 lb chopped strawberries
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup sugar, depending on the tart/sweetness you desire
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup oats or quinoa flakes
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a 8×8 baking dish, mix together rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, and sugar.  In a bowl, crumble together butter, oats, and brown sugar.  Spread oat mixture evenly over the top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned.  Let sit for 5 minutes; serve warm.

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FarmBox Fresh: 9/12/2012

13 Sep

This week I went a little smaller with my box, I’ve been a little overwhelmed with fresh produce, so I have been trying to cut back to get a little break from all the food prep.  So, here is what I picked this week:

 

I got a bunch of carrots with greens, a blackberry apple pie, premium Italian basil, micro parsley, 2 lbs apples for juicing, a big ol’ beef tomato, and green beans.

This week, I decided it was time to try the pie.  I’ve heard good things about it from other participants here, and they were right!  It’s very good pie.  It’s not very big, but it’s worth it!  I’m very excited to have green beans again, they are really good, especially cooked with garlic.  I did make some apple pear juice with my juice extractor earlier this week that was a big hit with the kids, so they are excited to have more apples for juice.  I still have leeks, so I will use some parsley for more Potato Leek Soup.  I know I had a plan for the basil, but that’s escaping my mind at the moment, so if nothing else, I will make pesto!

 

Note: I order a custom box and choose what I want in my box from their Web Store.  There may be variances in availability on different pick up days.

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Potato Leek Soup

10 Sep

I have eaten Potato Leek Soup before, but it was a store bought soup mix.  I have never actually cooked with leeks, so I was excited to see them in my Bountiful Baskets this week while most people were turning up their noses at them.  Plus, we also got gold potatoes, so Potato Leek Soup had to be made!  My husband was really excited too, and he really enjoyed the soup.  It also worked out that Saturday was an overcast, rainy, cooler day, great soup weather.  And, it was coupled perfectly with the baguettes I had gotten from my Sunizona Family Farms FarmBox.  Can you tell how excited I am about how well this meal came together?!?!

Potato Leek Soup
Based on recipes here and here

What you need:

1/2 cup butter
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped (There is a great video here on how to clean and chop the leeks, thank you Kelly H. for the link!)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (make sure to use gluten-free broth if you need this gluten-free)
2 1/2 lbs potatoes, preferably Yukon gold, diced
2 cups half and half or whole milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Melt butter in a large stock pot and add chopped leeks, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Cook leeks in the butter until tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Do not let leeks brown, brown will give them a burnt taste.

Next, wisk the cornstarch into the chicken broth, leaving no lumps.  Pour into the stock pot.  Then, add the diced potatoes and half and half.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the parsley and more salt and pepper, if desired.  If you want a smoother soup, remove about half of soup to a blender and puree, then return to the pot.  You can also use an immersion blender or hand potato masher to slightly mash some of the potatoes in the soup.  Serve hot.

Variations:

Potato Leek Soup with Sausage:  While soup is cooking, crumble and brown 1 pound of Italian sausage.  Drain excess fat.  Stir into finished soup.

Potato Leek Soup with Ham: After soup has finished cooking, add in 2 cups of fully cooked ham (such as Zaycon Foods ham)

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Basket Breakdown: 9/8/2012

9 Sep

This week, I contributed for the conventional basket ($15), the Lunch Box fruit pack ($10.50), and the assorted bread pack ($10.00).

Here is how the conventional basket looked this week:

 

I got Bartlett pears, bananas, peaches, green plums, leeks, broccoli, strawberries, tomatoes, corn, Romaine lettuce, and gold potatoes. I already used the potatoes and leeks in a delicious Potato Leek Soup (recipe coming soon!).  I’m still working on a dessert to make with the rhubarb I got from my Sunizona FarmBox, so I will probably use the strawberries for that.  I may use the corn and tomatoes to make Roasted Corn Salsa.

Here is the assorted bread pack:

 

This pack had 4 loaves of Savory 9 grain bread, 1 loaf of dill and herb bread, and 1 baguette.  I really like this savory 9 grain bread, I thought it was a little dry at first, but it’s been better and I like it more than the sweet 9 grain bread.  The Dill and Herd bread is interesting, you can really smell the dill, but I’m not sure that it tastes a lot like dill.  To me, it’s almost like a rye bread.  Very tasty!  And, I’ll be making some yummy toasted sandwiches for lunch with the baguette.

Finally, the Lunch Box fruit pack:

 

It included Gala apples, plums, oranges, apple pears, Bosc pears, and bananas.  Yum!  My daughter has loved taking fruit in her lunch each day, and this is perfect for that!

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

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FarmBox Fresh: 9/5/2012

6 Sep

This week, I was excited to have 14 other people get FarmBoxes!  Slowly keeps growing here!

Here is what I chose this week in my custom box:

 

This week, I chose radishes, the big ol’ beef tomato, Bartlett pears, green leaf lettuce, green chile peppers, Gala apples, Khorasan sandwich bread, baguette, and rhubarb.  I’m really looking forward to making something with the rhubarb, pie or a crisp, maybe with strawberries.  My girls are loving the pears and apples, and will devour the radishes.  I used the bread and tomato with some cheese for a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.  The baguette is really good as well, I might spray with olive oil, rub with garlic, and broil it.  Or, just eat it, it’s great like the rest of their bread.

 

Note: I order a custom box and choose what I want in my box from their Web Store.  There may be variances in availability on different pick up days.

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Basket Breakdown: 9/1/2012

4 Sep

This week, I got the conventional basket, and 2 extra buy add-ons, 25 lbs of Hatch green chiles and the fajita veggie pack.

This week’s conventional basket had grapefruit, plums, limes, green leaf lettuce, Hatch green chiles, red potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, sweet corn, black seedless grapes, and Bartlett pears.  Lots of green things this week!

I was so excited that they offered Hatch green chiles as an extra again this year!  The box was about 25 pounds, and cost $18!  What a steal!  I have 2 friends that each took 5 pounds, and may be sharing more, but I’m happy with even just 5 pounds.  They look great and smell wonderful, and are just a bit spicy.  Perfect!

 

The chiles I kept I roasted on the grill, peeled, and then froze, like I did last year.  Only change is that last year I diced them, this year, I left them whole in the freezer bags, just because I didn’t want to take the time with dicing them since I had so many to process.

Finally, the fajita pack.

 

It contained yellow onion, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, garlic, dried chipotle peppers, and dried red chili peppers.  Not sure if I’ll do fajitas or not, but excited about trying something new!

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

 

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Farmer’s Market Finds: 8/30/2012

30 Aug

I haven’t been to the Farmer’s Market in WEEKS, but finally made it out there today.  My 3-year-old was so happy, she loves to go and wander around.  Plus, with her going to school now, she’s starting to get more social, so she interacts with people instead of hiding behind me.  So happy about that!

Anyway, back to the Farmer’s Market!  We didn’t get much, but here is what we did get:

 

Mesquite Jumbles from Big Skye Bakers.  Love these!

Pumpkin from B.A.S.I.C. Farm.  I know the owners, Christie and Clint Hardwick, from Bountiful Baskets, Christie runs the site on the opposite week of the site I help run, and I go out often to help volunteer at her site.  I had previously gotten onions and tomatoes from her, which were very good, and my daughter picked a pumpkin today.  They have a variety of other produce, plus sometimes eggs and goat milk products.  They grow organically.

Chevre in olive oil and herbs from Tweenstone Farm.  It says “Not” on the sticker because he has a hot and not hot version of this, and I got the not hot.  It’s very good, and I’m deciding what to do with it, possibly Bacon Wrapped Chicken.  Or, I will mix it with some chicken and pasta, making it like a creamy pasta sauce.

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FarmBox Fresh: 8/22 and 8/29

30 Aug

I realized I never did post last week, so, I waited until I got yesterday’s box so I could just post them together.

Here is what I got last week:

Watermelon, red potatoes, Gala apples, a lemon cucumber, green leaf lettuce, zucchini, green beans, 1 pound vine ripened tomatoes, and coconut macaroons.  All of this was $28.75.  Coconut macaroons are one of my favorites, and these 3 got eaten in no time!  I made garlic green beans with the green beans, my daughter took sliced lemon cucumber to lunch one day.  The tomatoes I used to make a  tomato mushroom pasta sauce, and the zucchini made Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins.  The head of lettuce made a couple of great lunch salads for me.

Here is what I got this week:

 

I got 2 head of lettuce (yes, I love to make salads!), green beans, big ol’ beef tomato (GREAT addition to grilled cheese or perfect for BLTs), 1 pound red vine ripened tomatoes, white potatoes, dinner rolls, Gala apples, and Barlett pears (apples and pears are from Briggs and Eggers orchard, which is also organic).   One daughter had a pear, the other an apple in their lunches today.  I put the dinner rolls in the freezer, we’ll have those soon, but I didn’t want them to get moldy.  Excited to make green beans again, and the white potatoes are great boiled in salt as a side with dinner.

 

Note: I order a custom box and choose what I want in my box from their Web Store.  There may be variances in availability on different pick up days.

 

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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

29 Aug

 

I’m not going to lie – I’m bad at breading and frying things.  I’ve tried it on a few different occasions, and I did okay, but not great.  Plus, I don’t like dealing with all the oil after frying.  So, I searched for alternative ways to make jalapeno poppers with all the jalapenos I had .  And, that search let me to Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers.  You just can’t go wrong with bacon.  These are really pretty easy to put together, too, the worst part is scooping out the seeds and insides of the peppers.  I used turkey bacon because it’s really about the only kind of bacon we eat in my house these days, but these would be great with pork bacon too.  I preferred the turkey bacon also because there is usually less grease, making less chance of grease dripping in my oven.  You can also see in my picture above that I have a tray on my baking sheet.  That is actually a grill cooking tray, but it was perfect to sit on my baking sheet to allow any bacon grease to drip through.  An alternative to this would be to put a baking rack on the baking sheet, or line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Also, make sure the baking sheet has sides to catch the grease.  Grease fires are no good!

 

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Based on recipe here

What you need:

Jalapeno peppers, about a dozen
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 pound bacon, pork or turkey
Toothpicks

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

If you have them, put on gloves while handling the jalapeno peppers.  Slice each pepper in half lengthwise, and scoop out the insides and seeds.  Scoop cream cheese into each pepper half.  Wrap each pepper in a half or whole piece of bacon, depending on the size of your peppers and bacon.  Use a toothpick to help hold the bacon in place around the pepper.  Place on a baking sheet with sides that has a baking rack, foil, or parchment paper inside to absorb the grease.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is crispy.

Note: Instead of the oven, you could also grill these.

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Basket Breakdown: 8/25/2012

29 Aug

I just realized I never got this post done!  This week, I got the organic basket, a change up from the conventional.  The conventional this week looked great too, it had cauliflower, Hatch green chiles, tomatoes, onions, Brussels sprouts, Romaine lettuce, apple pears, nectarines, cherries, champagne grapes, and grapefruit.

And, here is the week’s organic basket:

 

Rainbow chard, green onions, broccolette, curly endive (frisee), apples, carrots, iceberg lettuce, peaches, white peaches, cauliflower, and watermelon.  Great quality and quantity!

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

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