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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Green Chile Mac and Cheese

29 Aug

With the guacamole pack I contributed for a couple of weeks ago, there were some green chiles.  I had been craving some macaroni and cheese, and thought it would be great to add green chiles as I had before.   My older daughter loved this, as did my husband and I.  It’s spicy, but not overly spicy.

Green Chile Mac and Cheese
Original recipe here

What you need:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low-fat milk
1 4-oz. cans chopped green chiles, drained OR 1/4 cup fresh, roasted green chiles, peeled, stem and seeds removed, and diced
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips, optional (I omitted)
Salt and pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni until al dente, about 8 minutes, or as the box directs. Drain; rinse under cold water.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Raise heat to medium and slowly bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in green chiles. Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese to skillet, stirring, until all cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Add cooked pasta to the skillet; stir.

Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and pour in pasta mixture.

In a small bowl, combine corn chips with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese; sprinkle over pasta.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until pasta mixture is bubbling and top is golden. Let sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

26 Aug

 

I love zucchini, and I love finding new ways to use it in recipes.  I am a big fan of Zucchini Brownies, but I wanted to try out more of a bread this time.  Since I have trouble getting breads to cook all the way through and it doesn’t seem to get eaten as well in our house, I like to make muffins instead.  So, I looked up a bread recipe and decided to add chocolate chips to still get the chocolate flavor.  And, well, the results are great!  I don’t think these muffins will last long in my house, my kids are all over them.  You can see a little green in these, although it’s hard to really tell in the picture above, but they don’t seem to care.  To them, it’s a muffin, and it’s good!

 

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Adapted from Zucchini Bread recipe here

What you need:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips until well combined.

Line with paper liners or spray a 12 cup muffin pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Repeat for the rest of the batter.  Yields 24 muffins.

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Peach Fruit Leather

24 Aug

 

After making the Cherry Apple Fruit Leather, I wanted to try more with other fruits.  I didn’t have a use yet for about 10 peaches that I had gotten from Bountiful Baskets recently, so I decided to put them to good use for Peach Fruit Leather.  I made it very similar to the Cherry Apple.  The outsides got a little too dry and the inside was a little too sticky, but we’ve been eating it anyway!

 

Peach Fruit Leather

What you need:

4 cups peaches, pits removed and chopped
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar or honey, depending on your desired level of sweetness

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 170 F, or the lowest setting your oven will go.  For me, this was 200 F.

Place peaches in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until fruit starts to break down, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a blender to puree well, then return to the pot.  Or, keep in the pot and use an immersion blender to puree fruit.

Add the sugar or honey, and stir well.  Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens.

Line a jelly roll pan or baking sheet with raised sides with parchment paper, plastic wrap, or a silicone baking mat (I used plastic wrap).  Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to use 2.

Spread the fruit mixture as thinly and evenly as possible.  The thicker it is, the longer it will take to dry out.

Place pan(s) in the preheated oven.  If using 2 pans, be sure to rotate every hour.  Let sit in the low heat oven for 3-6 hours, or until fruit mixture is just slightly tacky.  Remove and allow to cool.

Cut the fruit leather into smaller pieces, as desired.  I used a pizza cutter to make a cut in the middle lengthwise, then cut into 1″ strips.  The pizza cutter cut the plastic wrap as well, so I kept it on to help prevent the roll from sticking to itself.  I used twist ties to hold the rolls together, you could also use string.  Store in an airtight container, and it should be good for a few weeks.

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Cilantro Lime Rice

20 Aug

 

I attempted to make this once before, but it didn’t quite turn out right.  So, with the limes and cilantro I got in this week’s guacamole pack from Bountiful Baskets, I wanted to give it a try again.  This time yielded much better results.  I used my steamer to cook the rice,

 

Cilantro Lime Rice

What you need:

1 cup long grain white rice
Water, amount will vary according to package directions or use of steamer or rice cooker
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Juice f 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cilantro

How to make it:

Prepare the rice according to the package directions or the directions of your steamer/rice cooker, adding the bay leaf in with the rice and water while it cooks.  Fluff rice.  Remove bay leaf.

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lime juice, salt, and cilantro.  Pour over cooked rice and mix in well.  Serve warm.

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Basket Breakdown: 8/18/2012

20 Aug

I finally made it back to my regular A week site.  It’s just been a busy few weeks and since I have to be at my site on B weeks, A weeks are my week to catch up on other things in life.  This week, I contributed for a conventional basket, the guacamole veggie pack, and the assorted bread pack.

Here is how the conventional basket looked:

This week, we got bananas, nectarines, plums, grapes, radishes, Romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tomatoes, and onions.

My husband and kids were very excited about the radishes.  I also brought home a few friends radishes, so we are set on them for the week!  I will make some Radish Dip, and may try roasting them to see how they turn out.  I will be making either salsa or tomato sauce with the tomatoes, just have to decide which.  Not sure on the Brussels sprouts, either shredded or roasted, though.

 

Next, the guacamole veggie pack.

It contained Anaheim green chiles, yellow onions, garlic, green onions, jalapenos, avocados, and limes.  My cilantro didn’t make it in the picture, but that was in here too.  So, of course, I will make Guacamole, but I may make jalapeno poppers, and roast and dice the chiles for later, since I don’t like my guacamole too spicy.

 

Finally, here is the assorted bread pack.

It had 3 loaves of Savory 9 Grain bread (different from the regular 9 grain Bountiful Baskets offers), 1 loaf of English muffin bread, and 1 baguette.  I haven’t tried the baguette yet, but the other 2 breads are very good.  We’ve been toasting the English muffin bread and spreading homemade strawberry jelly on it for breakfast in the morning.

 

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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