Take the good (veggies) with the bad (veggies)
You know how I was talking about ordering that CSA basket from Plumgood Food? Well, it showed up Thursday and it was a bounty of vegetables. Something like 20-25 tomatoes, 20-25 okra, 8 ears of corn, 3 cucumbers, 3 leeks, 1 zucchini, 1 crookneck squash, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 head of cabbage, 1 eggplant, and 1 cantaloupe. It barely fit into the fridge. And then I got overwhelmed by the idea of how to cook it all up and not waste any, so over the weekend we only ended up using, like, 2 ears of corn, 2 tomatoes, and the cantaloupe. I planned to make a big pot of ratatouille but it was always too much to think about.
Well, I'm home sick today but I had a little energy, so while I was taking a break from writing use cases, I started chopping some vegetables. And once I had the eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and okra chopped, I didn't feel like going any farther. So I tossed them gradually into my big frying pan and sauteed them. The outcome is this:
I don't think the picture does it justice. I tasted it a few times as I was finishing it up, and it's amazing. I hardly added anything to it -- just a healthy dollop of safflower oil at the beginning to get the juices goin'. It's all veggie-flavor-power from there, baby.
And the bad news? After that little victory, I started to attack the tomatoes and found out they're nearly all bad. Well, all the ones that the cats hadn't already eaten since Thursday, that is.
Oh well. I have delicious eggplant stir-fry to enjoy for lunch for the next several days, and I'm happy.
Well, I'm home sick today but I had a little energy, so while I was taking a break from writing use cases, I started chopping some vegetables. And once I had the eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and okra chopped, I didn't feel like going any farther. So I tossed them gradually into my big frying pan and sauteed them. The outcome is this:
I don't think the picture does it justice. I tasted it a few times as I was finishing it up, and it's amazing. I hardly added anything to it -- just a healthy dollop of safflower oil at the beginning to get the juices goin'. It's all veggie-flavor-power from there, baby.
And the bad news? After that little victory, I started to attack the tomatoes and found out they're nearly all bad. Well, all the ones that the cats hadn't already eaten since Thursday, that is.
Oh well. I have delicious eggplant stir-fry to enjoy for lunch for the next several days, and I'm happy.
Do you pick up your order? You should say hi next time - ask for Daniel.
These tomatoes were just stomach-churningly putrid, though. Yuck.
Anyway, no, I didn't pick the order up last time because I had a promotion for a free delivery, but if I decide to do the CSA thing again, I may pick up the order just to save the delivery charge. And, of course, to ask for Daniel. :-)
One thing I've noticed with organic produce delivery (I've been doing it for five years now) is that stuff tends to show up much riper and ready to go than we are often accustomed to from grocery stores. Not that that excuses rotten tomatoes showing up at your house, but they will do bad much more quickly than you may be used to.
(Anonymous)
nashveggie
http://www.nashveggie.com
I can't help but contrast this with the treatment I got from Amazon last week when I complained about some shampoo that arrived leaking. They re-shipped the whole order (no return of the original product needed) AND refunded it. I didn't ask for a replacement, but was delighted to get it, and I only asked for a partial refund to cover the product that was lost in transit. I was tickled pink at how they handled it.
Looks like Plumgood should be studying the big dogs for successful customer satisfaction models.
I forgot to start okra this year, so I'm bound to the farmer's market for my clemson spineless needs. I adore bhindi masala. Yum.
I still have crookneck squash, leeks, and cucumbers left over. Suggestions?
For the squash, slice it thinly, toss with olive oil, and roast. It'll be done in 15-20 minutes.
If it's just one squash, dice it. Slice the leek. Saute in olive oil. Lots of olive oil and garlic and fresh herbs. Got mushrooms? Add those. Toss with white beans and pasta.
And that last idea for the squash and leeks sounds great. I'll probably give that a try for dinner.
Thanks!
The pickle recipe is easy. Refrigerator pickles don't require canning time/effort. ;) It's something I could generally do on my housebound days when the CFIDS was pretty bad. I often took breaks from the slicing, but it all got done eventually. Don't breathe in the vinegar fumes, of course. Don't be surprised if the garlic turns blue after a week in the fridge. It does that when pickled with an acid. Leeks sometimes do, too. Pickled leeks are yummy.
For summertime we've really enjoyed the cukes in plain yogurt with a little garlic, olive oil, dill, salt, and mint.
keep us updated on what you try!
-J
(I steamed a big batch of brown rice and I'm freezing most of the stir-fry along with the rice in small portions that will be just perfect for workday lunches. Topped with some hot garlic pepper sauce. Yum.)