“Hello there,” she says suggestively. “C’mon in. Don’t by shy,” because we’re about to do another link up party, and this one’s all about my CSA. As much as I’d love to dive head first into all the food (literally), let’s meet our hosts. We have two fabulous ladies who couldn’t be more different in their writing styles and sassy speak, but when it comes to the food, these gals can agree: local produce is where it’s at. Say hello to:
and
Kristy at Gastronomical Sovereignty
Let me introduce you to week five of my Winter CSA. Say hello to my little friends.
I’m going be honest, I took these pictures last Thursday night, a little after 8 p.m., because that’s when I finally dragged my sorry ass home from work, which was pretty typical of every night last week. The lighting was bad, my camera took a dive (yes, exactly that same night), and I was told washing your produce ahead of time, even for their photo op, can be detrimental to their longevity. As much as I’d like to dismiss Kirsten’s advice (not to be confused with Kristy), I lost a baby Acorn squash a few weeks ago, so there might be something to it. That being said, my produce is, in the words of Christina Aguilar, “Dirrty.”
♫ “Too dirrty to clean my act up.
If you ain’t dirrty
You ain’t here to party (woo!)” ♫
By the way, this is a great song for a spinning class. I know because I’ve been filling in for the actual teacher the past couple of weeks. My god, what an adrenaline rush. Ya know what else is a crazy adrenaline rush? CSA veggies. Look how dirrty, abnormal and funktified they are; I love it.
In this week, my half-share included an Acorn Squash, a perfectly coiffed cauliflower, a half bunch of kale, some carrots, a bundle of radishes and another bulb of garlic. I’m still rolling in the garlic over here, but that’s all good with me. It takes forever to expire, and I’m getting ready to roast and freeze a batch so I say, “Bring on the garlic; it’s about to get dirrty up in here.”
I’ve revealed my naughty goods, but I bet you’re expecting to see what I’ve done with it. I certainly wouldn’t want to disappoint so onto the nitty-gritty.
This should come as no surprise to my regulars, but I’ve been drinking my greens. The Kale has made a lovely addition to my morning smoothies, and it’s safe to say I’m hooked, although my Da says, “I can’t believe you drink that stuff.” Da, in case you were wondering, is my lovely father who goes by just Da now because he is too cool for the last “d.” Before that, he went by Babydoll or sometimes just P. You see, my Da is like Diddy and changes his name every few years. Try to keep up, will ya?
I like to slurp my smoothies from old mason jars because it’s a cool vessel, but mainly because it says “Ball” on the outside of the jar. It makes me giggle every time I take a sip because I’m very mature (snort) and not shockingly, I couldn’t sit through a high school health class with a straight face. What can I say? I grew up with brothers, and I still have the mentality of a teenage boy; sex jokes and potty humor are my thing. They both make me laugh, and with all the hours I’ve been working lately, I sure could use a good laugh, so let me drink my ball (just one for me and Lance) in peace.
I threw my cauliflower into a bowl of “delicious ugly,” and I am officially coining this phrase. Feel free to use it, but send all proceeds to my attention. Some food bloggers create recipes; me I go for dirty words. Also in this bowl of “delicious ugly,” because it really is hard to tell, is some whole grain pasta, a rich and creamy cheese sauce, and fresh chives, which are still hanging on, in my outdoor herb garden.
Moving on to some pretty pasta, my garlic (part of it, anyway) got tossed into some heated olive oil, cooked for a minute and then drizzled over whole wheat spaghetti, Kalmata olives, fresh parsley (again from my herb garden), feta and tomatoes. I could, and pretty much do, eat this every week. In fact, this picture is from “one of those other times,” she says while waving hand flippantly in the air. It gets around.
The carrots and radishes have been an integral part of the Hubby’s lunch time wraps, along with some bell peppers, cucumbers, feta, hummus, onions and spinach (alpha order makes me glow).
Since I don’t think I’ve talked about balls enough already, let’s move onto my Huevos. I hope you realize whenever I say Huevos I do so with a heavy Spanish accent and really enunciate the oooossss. I also picture myself with a thick pornstache and a stogie. I’m not sure why, it might be because November was Mustache Month or all the Sons of Anarchy I’ve been watching lately, but whatever the reason, it’s Huevooooooossss time. A corn tortilla, some scrambled eggs (yolks and all) topped with black beans, sautéed onions and peppers, cheddar cheese and radishes. It was lick my lips and pornstache good.
In honor of CSA weeks gone by, and since I knew last night was going to be another late one at the office, for dinner I defrosted the last of my Apple Butternut Squash soup and devoured a nice warm bowl alongside some baked Sweet Potato Fries. It was the perfect comfort food after a long day.
All in all, I think I did a damn fine job (two snaps and an exploding glitter ball) of working through my recent batch of CSA goodies and even delving into the ghost of weeks past. The only thing I haven’t touched is my baby Acorn Squash, and have no fears; I don’t plan on losing another one.
What have you been doing with your CSA goodies? Can you talk about balls with a straight face (I’d be super impressed)? Do you sometimes find yourself speaking with an accent, or is it just me?
Greg White says
Very delicious and so healthy!
Eating 4 Balance says
I love your weekly round-ups and getting to see everything that you made from your CSA Batches. I hate bloggers who buy a crap ton of fresh produce at the beginning of the week and “claim” to use all of it. Especially for those who post everything they eat, I’m pretty sure you did *not* eat all of that spinach, celery, etc. because for every meal you ate sweet potatoes! Haha. So glad to see that you actually used it 🙂
P.S. I nominated you for an award on my blog. Check it out if you haven’t already received it…. I’d love to see what you put for some of your random answers.
Meghan says
Yeah! Thank you so much; that’s so very sweet of you. I will definitely check it out.
As far as the CSA goes, I like to show how it gets used. It’s one thing to see what people got in their box, but I think it’s more fun to see what people do with it. You’ll notice produce from week’s past popping up in my meals because I’m not always able to use everything in a single week, although I readily acknowledge it. Later on down the line, I end up doing a post all about my abundance of peppers, garlic, lettuce etc. I’m usually swimming in something; right now it’s garlic. 🙂
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
What can I say? I eat dirty. More fun than clean.
I need to warn your spouse, though. I was doing my thang at the Foodbank today, and discovered that what I really really wanted was for all the boys from the base to just unpack and sort the donated food, assemble and then seal the boxes, and leave me the hell alone so I could pack each box properly. Because them boys were forgetting the PB, or putting all green beans and no corn, or giving someone pasta w/o a thing of sauce. It just wasn’t right. Each box should have breakfast, lunch, dinner items, an assortment of veg, a few fruits, and a treat of some type. Period. And if it were left up to me, they would have! And it would have all come out even like in Bread and Jam for Frances.
So, apparently, the OCD-ness can rub off on the non-OCD spouse.
Just warn him for me, please.
Meghan says
Oh you poor thing. I’m so sorry. You’ve just discovered your own layer of osmosis OCD. I feel for you and will definitely warn the Hubby. As an fyi, I wasn’t fully OCD (at least not about clutter, counters, and things being just “so”) until I met my college roommate, so I understand suddenly realizing you developed this affliction. The only cure is one of your Friday night pizzas and a glass of wine. Or a bubble bath and a good night’s sleep. Good luck.
By the way, your box packing method was spot on. Too bad those boys didn’t know it.
Liz says
I made butternut apple soup last week too! I threw a pear in because I was short on apples. Turned out well 🙂 Also made a sweet potato/peanut butter soup. It was AWESOME and hearty!!
I like to say huevos rancheros as if I had castanets in hand. I think that is universal.
Love your dirty nasty produce. Soon this site will have a “must be 18 to enter” warning. Not that I know anything about thoooooose sites….
Meghan says
Very smart thinking. A pear would be delicious too. And peanut butter…alright, you’ve taken it to a whole ‘nother level. I’m impressed. Glad to hear I’m not the only saying Huevos with an accent and props.
Alaine @ My GF & DF Living says
I love these weekly roundups. The pasta dishes look great. I am such a big pasta person!
Liz @ iheartvegetables says
hahaha your mason jar thing cracked me up. Sometimes I have the humor of a 14 year old boy as well. haha 😉
Heather @ In Her Chucks says
That smoothie looks killer. Would probably give me the pick up I need right about now…
Thanks for sharing and linking up 🙂
Meghan says
I’m sorry you need pick up, and hopefully you’ve made yourself a smoothie and obtained it by now.
kristy @ Gastronomical Sovereignty says
haha “balls”…. there is a street we pass on the streetcar into town called “Coxville”.. say that out loud without giggling! “next stop – coxville” HAHA! John doesn’t think it’s funny but i think it’s HIL-A-REE-US! …roll your “r” when you say that. it’s my go-to accent.
Meghan says
Imagine if you lived on Coxville! Now that could be fun.