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CSA Week Nine (Bypassing Week Eight)

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I’ve decided I’m taking the Hubby’s advice; not that I’m admitting he was right, mind you. I rarely do that, and when it does actually happen, he makes me put it on the calendar. His goal is to celebrate those milestones on an annual basis. It’s unfortunate for him I copy the calendar over and those little gems about him being right never seem to make it onto the new year. Sucker.

As you know, I’ve been struggling with my CSA posts and working on the recap for week eight was no different. I knew there was a problem when I started editing the photos and felt absolutely nothing; like I was dead inside. It’s possible I’m exaggerating.

Sumer-2013-CSA-Week-Eight

I don’t have it in me to do a play-by-play, but I will say the squash and zucchini got thrown into another quiche, and I promise to reveal this recipe next week, while people are actually still getting squash and zucchini in their gardens and food shares. If I hold off any longer, the recipe won’t be relevant, and there’s nothing worse than not being relevant. Alright, I’m sure there are significantly worse things, like getting covered in honey and then mauled by fire ants. That would be way worse.

Pesto, Summer Squash and Zucchini Quiche

I originally began this post suggesting I take the Hubby’s advice. If you can’t remember, I won’t hold it against you. I’ve done a lot of talking since then. When it comes to my CSA I’ve been stuck, verbally; everything else is working just fine, but thanks for your concern.

My produce, while beautiful, is so three weeks ago and no longer inspires my witty prose. The Hubby very gently (he’s a smart man) suggested I skip a week, and I fought him on it. Not literally because spousal abuse is wrong. Plus he might, just a teeny tiny eensy weensy, littlest of little bits be onto something, because while the photographs of my week eight CSA share did nothing for me, week nine brought a ridiculously big smile to my face. I even exposed my braces; now that’s saying something.

Summer 2013 CSA Week Nine

We got an eggplant, which I don’t like and for some reason this pleased me to no end. Perhaps it was the first smidge of challenge from my summer goodies, to which I say, “Bring it.”

Summer CSA 2013 Week Nine B

I also brought home some tomatoes, big and small, hot banana peppers, a green bell pepper, our first watermelon of the season (squeal), and lettuce, which is not at all surprising. I’m one salad away from turning into a full on rabbit; I could probably propel a small ship based on the amount of greens I eat, assuming of course salad can power ships. Popeye told me it’s true, and I believe him. In any event, I’ll spare you the salad picture…this week.

We also got another bazillion pounds of greens beans, and all I can say is thank god for deep freezers because I’m getting tired of green beans, although the Hubby is snapping them up like a man who hasn’t been fed in weeks. Believe me, it’s not the case, and I would share the photographic evidence with you, except he doesn’t take pictures of his food. Can you imagine? Oh, the horror. I’m thinking of disowning him, but I still kind of like him, so that’s out.

My favorite part of this week though was the peaches. ♫ “I’m movin’ to the country. I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches.” ♫

I went on another fruit bender. This time with these sweet, succulent and juicy balls of joy (insert inappropriate joke of your choice here). I’d do it again in a heartbeat too because fruit benders are my favorite kind. Don’t be surprised if you find me face down in my kitchen sink with sticky fingers and surrounded by peach pits. I don’t think it’d be a bad way to go, so long as the cats don’t start to eat me.

Peach Collage

Speaking of fruit, I plowed through an entire watermelon in two separate sittings, which is pretty impressive. I brought a ginormous pan to work one day and didn’t share. Since watermelon is messy business, I ate it while straddling my office trash can; further proof of my classiness. It’s a wonder I’m still employed.

Watermelon Slices

The tomatoes and a tiny amount of banana peppers went into this Mediterranean Dip, which I stole from Kirsten. She calls it Fattoush Dip; I call it Fabulous, with an extra snap and a twirl, since I’ve made and devoured it four times in the past two weeks. Yeah; it’s that good. It’s a combination of artichokes, banana peppers, cucumbers, feta cheese, kalamata olives and tomatoes, all on a bed of hummus (food bloggers everywhere shout with delight). Since there is no cooking involved, it’s perfect for a hot summer day.

Mediterreanean-Dip

Since we’re on the topic of Kirsten, I borrowed her recipe for eggplant chips. While I know these aren’t the prettiest of things (her photos came out way better), they are the first and only time I’ve ever really enjoyed eggplant. We get it every year in the share, and despite my attempts to ♫ “smack it up, flip it, rub it down….oh no,” my eggplant never really pans out, until now that is.

These chips are finger-licking (or booty smacking) good. I coated mine in basil aioli, although the recommended pesto would have been equally delicious, and tossed them in some bread crumbs and Parmesan before baking them and subsequently eating them, all before dinner was even served. Oops.

Eggplant Chips Collage

My hot peppers, the sauciest of the bunch, got stuffed with beans, cheese, cilantro, onions and more peppers since they are cannibals; those naughty peppers. With just a touch of hot sauce and a whole lot of attitude, these will make your taste buds sing, preferably a little BBD so you can get trapped in the nineties with me, or maybe even some Presidents of The United States of America. With all that peach business, these guys should have been food bloggers.

Stuffed Peppers

As exciting as everything has been thus far, it’s time to move onto the main course.

We’re going back to the peaches because they are my crack; this week anyway.

I decided to mix them with this bright and colorful pasta, also know as Mother In Law’s Tongue (dun, dun, dun). It was a gift to the Hubby from, yep you guessed it, the Mother In Law (dun, dun, dun). She has good taste.

Pasta and Peaches

As soon as I saw this pasta, I knew I needed to do something special with it, and my  addled brain immediately thought of peaches. So for months now, I’ve been biding my time, waiting for peaches to come into season. Hallelujah, hallelujah; they are finally here (see note about crack above)!

For those of you interested in the minute details, I finely diced and sautéed one peach in olive oil along with some sweet red onions. I grilled a couple of other peaches and added both to my bowl of freshly cooked pasta, along with some Asiago cheese and fresh cilantro.

Peach Pasta

The nutty and salty Asiago paired perfectly with the sweet peaches and zesty herb.

Peach Pasta 2

Yep, it’s official. ♫ “I’m movin’ to the country. I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches.” ♫

This post is linked up or soon will be with Laura’s Strange But Good, Kristy’s Fresh Food Wednesdays, Jessie Bear’s Together Tuesday and Heather’s What’s In The Box all for obvious reasons. Remember to head over to their sites and see what everybody else got into. You don’t want to miss it.

Are peaches in season in your neck of the woods? Can you believe I just said “neck of the woods?” What’s your food crack right now?

Comments

    • Oh please don’t let the fresh peaches go bad. That would be a travesty, and it’d break my heart just a little.

      Reply

  2. This peach pasta creation looks so good I may have dropped an F bomb out loud to myself..and to my cat, because of course he is sitting next to me! WOW! And those peppers..perfect classic way to eat them stuffed!! I am proud of you for giving in and skipping the post that gave you no inner fire!

    I love eggplant, but a lot of the recipes I have attempted with them were just sub par. THIS recipe for the chips look perfect. ABSOLUTELY perfect! No soggy eggplant with this! Happy Friday my friend, great post as always and gorgeous photos!

    Reply

    • You should try the eggplant chips. They were crispy crunch on the outside and soft on the inside….but not soggy. It makes me happy to know I can make you drop F bombs. One of these days, I’ll take a photo pre-cheese just for you.

      Reply

  4. I love reading your posts! That pasta with peaches looks and sounds amazing! I love when I see foods I would never think go together paired up. This is definitely a must-try!!!

    Reply

    • Aw thanks Mary. I love hearing that, and I really appreciate it. I hope you try the peach pasta; it was wonderful and perfect for summertime.

      Reply

  7. I have that feeling a lot when editing photos too. Like I just can’t go on anymore. It’s usually caused by two things: My photos really suck (case in point- today’s which I took at night and I knew would turn out horrible 🙁 ) or I have too many photos and I try to tackle editing them all. Both are no good. No good whatsoever.

    Okay, the “getting covered in honey” part actually sounded intriguing. Delicious, good for your skin… Then you had to bring the fire ants. Scratch that idea.

    I love your use of the word “bazillion.” I use gazillion all of the time. Sometimes just around friends and family. Once or twice in a professional setting where at least one person became confused at what exactly a “gazillion” was supposed to represent.

    I almost said on your Facebook page the other day that you should just become an advertiser soley for Kirsten. Her recipes must be seriously brilliant (and from your pictures they most certainly are!!) because you pull awesome sounding food ideas from her blog all of the time.

    Darn peaches. I completely forgot about making something with ours!! Drat. And I’ve already made two (no, three) recipes today.

    Reply

    • I think we should both start saying a hundred bazillion, gazillion; it sounds even better and more massive.
      I really do love Kirsten’s recipes. I have learned so much about freezing and “putting up” CSA produce, it’s ridiculous. It doesn’t hurt she’s in Ohio and gets the same fruits and veggies as me around the same time.
      Three recipes in one day is a lot of recipes. Good for you.

      Reply

  8. Peach pasta? Sweet mother… I would have never even thought of that, but don’t be surprised if I follow your lead and try something similar. I’ve been obsessed with peaches lately, and a new way of enjoying them is always welcome. Maybe I’ll even toss some basil in 😉

    That being said, I’ve been going on my own fruit benders lately. Frozen bananas have been ridiculously exciting, as have the aforementioned peaches, blueberries, strawberries, and oranges. Don’t ask about the oranges… I have no idea.

    Reply

    • Actually the basil would work really well here. I think you should do it, with a balsamic glaze or whatever else your heart desires. Speaking of influencing, I busted out a puzzle because of your influence. I think it’s time to start puzzling again.

      Reply

    • I saw someone else do the Peach Caprese, and I’ve been meaning to try it. I’ll have to pick up some more peaches tomorrow. 🙂

      Reply

  11. I Love the idea of stuffing the hot peppers. So many ways you can go with that. Think I need to steal the idea! Thanks for finally posting a photo of the fancy pants pasta all cooked up…I was waiting and wondering! Have a great Sunday, Meghan!

    Reply

    • I’m glad you still remembered the pasta. It seems so long ago since I teased you all about it. Have a great day Fran.

      Reply

  12. The next time someone announces a distaste towards veggies, I’m sending them your way! These gorgeous pictures alone are enough to sway anyone, methinks :)! As much as I love adding fruits like berries & pomegranate to savory dishes, I never would have thought to use peaches…that too in a pasta dish! Genius much! Especially with summer slowly on its way out, I need to recreate this stat, at least for the sake of letting summer flavors linger on for as long as possible!!

    Reply

    • Thank you. This made my day because it is exactly what I wish to convey. Veggies can be dead sexy dammit, and I’m tired of them getting a bad wrap. Send them here; I will feed them, or at least teach them, how to make delicious and filling vegetarian food.

      Reply

  13. I. AM. DYING! This looks so freaking delicious and I am literally holding myself back from licking the computer screen. Not only am I jealous that you got a butt-load of peaches in your box this week but this pasta is bonkers! I love that rainbow pasta. I used the bow-tie version in Harper’s rainbow pasta salad for her first rainbow star birthday party. And I love that your mother in law gave it to you.

    Thanks for sharing and linking up!

    Reply

  14. Hahaha! I love that you ate the watermelon at work over a trashcan! No shame in summer {fruit} love! Although, I’m a total diva when it comes to watermelon…I have NO patience for the seedy ones! That Greek dip does indeed sound and LOOK fabulous…as I read the description, my eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. Once I got to the part where it was all on top of hummus, my right one actually popped out! No worries, I’m a medical professional…just give me a minute! 😉

    OMG, that pastaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Good idea saving it for the peaches and HELLUVA good idea to pair it with herbs and cheese! Mmmmm! I’ve got to say, I’ve been loving me some peaches lately too, but right now, my crack is most definitely raspberries! I’ve been polishing off a basket of those babies every week for the last month!

    Reply

    • Raspberries are actually my absolute favorite and I haven’t had any for some time now. I need to get on that, stat.

      Oh, you might want to get that eye looked at; could be a problem.

      Reply

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