Name That Produce

I am so stinkin' excited!

Friday was the first pick-up day of this year's CSA box.

WOO HOO!

For those of you who are new to the lingo, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You buy a share of crops from a local farm and all throughout the summer and into the fall you get a giant box of produce every week.  

Price-wise, it's incredibly reasonable. I'm taking part in the CSA from Red Manse Farm this year and I'd highly recommend you check out their web site for info on joining in next year (or join your local CSA, if you're not in the area).

The fun thing about joining a CSA is that you never know exactly what you're going to get. It's exciting to know that you're getting the freshest veggies that are local and in season. You get to experience produce that you definitely will not find in the supermarket (there are no seasons in the grocery store) and it stretches your ability to cook using new ingredients. It also makes you hurry the heck up and use it all (or freeze it) since you know you'll be getting a bunch more in just a week! 

This week's CSA box included something I have never encountered and it had me playing a little game of "Name That Produce:"

A couple of Google searches for things like "long curly green vegetable" later and...

...voila! I discovered that what I had were garlic scapes. 

After several more internet searches I discovered that a LOT of people like to make pesto out of it...apparently I am not the only one with an over abundance of garlic scapes from my local CSA.

So I did what many others did and made a giant batch of Garlic Scape Pesto.

For the pesto, you will need:

2 1/2 cups roughly chopped garlic scapes

1 cup pine nuts, toasted

Zest and juice of one lemon

 1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup vegan Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast until lightly brown and fragrant. Remove from heat and add the pine nuts and all other ingredients to a food processor.

Blend until mostly smooth. This will make a rather thick pesto, so if you want yours a little runnier, experiment by adding a little more liquid.

To see how I used the pesto, visit my friend Abby's blog, where I am the guest post today!

Super Easy Marinara

If you've been following the blog this week you know that this post is the third in a series of four posts
about a fantastic meal my boyfriend and I cooked on Columbus Day.

I originally got this recipe from Fresh365 - one of my favorite online food and recipe sites. Since then I've modified it to include some ingredients from my parent's marinara recipe.  

My mom and dad got their marinara recipe from The European, which was the best Italian restaurant in the North End of Boston. We used to visit it regularly while I was growing up and I think the three of us
mourned the day it closed, as I am sure many others did as well. I am sure that someone out there must
know the history of the restaurant or where I can find some information on the place, so if you do please pass it along!

The Fresh365 recipe is called "Grandma's Gravy" and is as follows:
3 T olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-oz cans Pastene Kitchen-Ready ground peeled tomatoes
1 can water (optional)
1 bunch basil, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium. Add garlic, and sauté 3-4 minutes, until garlic begins to
brown. Add tomatoes, water (if using) and basil. Cover and simmer at least 2 hours. Season, to taste.

The European's marinara called for some additional ingredients:
1 tsp sugar
1 cup each onions and celery, ground and sauteed in butter
about 1 lb carrots, ground and sauteed in butter
Italian spices (basically whatever you want: one or two fresh bay leaves, some oregano, basil...this is
another "how much you like it" instance)
 

As I said, my marinara is a combination of these two recipes. I use:
3 T olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup each onions and celery, ground and sauteed in olive oil
about 1 lb carrots, ground and sauteed in olive oil
2 28-oz cans Pastene Kitchen-Ready ground peeled tomatoes
1 bunch basil, coarsely chopped
Italian spices, salt and pepper, to taste
water as needed  

First, I sauté the onions, celery and carrots in olive oil. When that is mostly soft I add the garlic. You don't want to add the garlic too early or it will burn.
 

Then I add the tomatoes, basil, and whatever spices you're using.
 

I check it about every half hour and stir it so it doesn't stick to the bottom. After about an hour you may
want to add a little water. You could add some red wine if you wanted but it doesn't really need it.  You'll want to let it simmer at least two hours.

Be sure to taste test the sauce whenever you stir it so that you know if it needs anything else. It's easier to adjust as you go than wait until the end.
 

As I said in an earlier post, I added my turkey meatballs to the sauce with about 30 minutes to go. We then served the meatballs and marinara over spaghetti squash. Look for instructions for the squash tomorrow.

Happy eating!