Sunday, July 17, 2011

CSA Week 5: Jap Chae, Galettes

CSA Week 5-Fruit Share

So, how is your weekend? My Sunday is winding down (waaaaaaah) and it is H-O-T out there! So I'm hiding in my air conditioned apartment, eating watermelon, drinking iced green tea, and generally trying to stretch out my last few hours before the week starts again. This week was apparently the week of abundant fruit at the CSA; a whole load of peaches, plums, and apples (Macintosh, I think). I'm not even kidding, the fruit weighed a whole lot more than the veggies this week, and the peaches and plums have almost displaced watermelon on my "most eaten" list. ALMOST.

CSA Week 5

And here are the veggies: beets, zucchini, yellow squash, collard greens, carrots, cucumber, radishes, turnips, basil, a huge bunch of parsley, and lettuce mix. I roasted the beets and have been eating them tossed with olive oil, a bit of lemon juice, and some goat cheese--delicious! And I used up the beet greens, too, in a big batch of jap chae.

Jap Chae

Jap chae is a Korean dish of sweet potato noodles mixed with veggies and beef and flavored with sesame oil. I dispensed with the beef and used a mix of beet greens, carrots, zucchini, and yellow squash (and a few slices of fish cake). Quick, easy, tasty, and it used up a whole lot of veggies (yay!).

Peaches and plums

I turned one of the peaches and a couple of the plums into some galettes (or tarts, or whatever you want to call them). And actually it turned out to be two peaches that got used in the end, because I must admit, I couldn't resist, er, snacking as I was slicing.

Plum Tarts

I wanted to see how a cornmeal crust would go with the fruits, and while they are not the prettiest looking things ever, I think they match quite well. The plums are especially juicy! Next time, I've got to tweak the filling a bit, and add some flavoring (maybe nutmeg? A little bit of almond? Hm.).

So I've still got collard greens and a huge bunch of parsley. I think I may make chimichurri with the parsley (and freeze it), but I'm really not sure what to do with the collard greens....and egads, it's almost pick-up day again! Better get a move on!

P.S. Bonus picture from a dinner I had with my brother and a friend earlier this week at The Spotted Pig, super yummy ricotta gnudi.

sheep's milk ricotta gnudi @ the spotted pig

6 comments:

Megg said...

Wow! That's so much food but you are doing such a good job at using it all!
Stay cool over there (I am also hiding in my air-conditioned home.. it's also an "air quality advisory" day so double reason to stay indoors.. eek!)

tofugirl said...

I know you guys have really awful summers too! so I hope you are staying cool as well (iced green tea is SO GOOD in this weather...) I have to say, having all these vegetables means that I'm eating pretty healthy these days, with the exception of the occasional fruit dessert ;)

Laura said...

It's so hot in Minnesota too! Today it is around 100 degrees! I have been craving to do some baking, but it's just so hot out that I don't want to heat up our house.

Oh, and I know I've asked you before, but what kind of camera do you use? I've been looking into purchasing a Nikon DSLR recently, and I was just wondering what kind you used because I LOVE how all your pictures turn out! If you have any advice or recommendations too, they are certainly welcome! : )

Since I'm only a beginner, I've been interested in the Nikon D3000, D5000 and D3100, but my budget is pretty small! : (

tofugirl said...

Laura, I just heard on the radio that the real-feel temperature in Minnesota was 134!!! That's insane. I hope you are staying as cool as you can!

As for the photos, I use a Nikon D60 (one of the "entry level" dslrs--I think they've changed the numbering convention now). I actually think that the most important thing is going to be the type of lens you use (the kit lens that comes with the Nikon cameras is okay, but nothing great). Personally my favorite is a 60mm f/2.8 lens which I use for pretty much everything (food, flower macros, and portraits), but there is also a good 50mm f/1.8 that a lot of food bloggers swear by!

Laura said...

I know! I tried to read outside yesterday, and I was only out there for 15 minutes when my face started to sweat! I know, not such a lovely picture, but it was crazy! I felt bad for my dog; she wanted to go outside so bad, but as soon as she stepped out, she would turn around and whine to come back in. She can't stand the heat!

And thanks for the great camera advice! I've heard before that it's the lens that does more work than the camera. I've looked into cameras so much that I've completely forgotten about researching the lenses! Hehe! Anyway, I just love how your pictures turn out! Thanks so much again! And I hope you aren't burning up too bad from the heat over in NY!

Amanda said...

looks delicious!

Amanda