Roasted Green Beans with Garlic Scape Pesto; Cherry Tomato Salad

The surplus of scapes from the CSA has meant a heavy load of pesto... I tossed some pick-your-own beans with a scape pesto for a simple side dish. Plenty of lettuces continue to come in... hence this simple salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes... only thing not from the farm is the red onion.

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese on Braised Beet Greens; Roasted Snap Peas with Shallots and Thyme

A quick vegetarian dinner; enough said.

Pizza Napoletana; Insalata with Marinated Zucchini and Roasted Red Peppers

It has arrived. The to-be-expected surplus of summer squash has hit the CSA and looks to continue its invasion for the weeks (and months) ahead. I had better start thinking of how to deal with it. I took these week's haul and sauteed it with garlic and CSA oregano for about 10 minutes, enough that it still had some bite, and then combined it with some roasted red peppers and marinated them both with balsamic vinegar and EV olive oil. Good quality oil and vinegar is a must for this preparation.

With some leftover tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in the fridge, I decided to made another attempt at homemade pizza using Jim Lahey crust recipe and pan technique in his great book, My Bread. Half with basil and half with anchovy. As evidenced by the photo, I'm still having trouble getting the middle cooked through without burning the edges.

Good thing we are in Tomato Pie country.

Udon Noodle Soup with Bok Choy

I'm not embarrassed to admit that when it comes to Asian fare, I am well outside of my comfort zone. I guess I need to add Ming Tsai's books to my library. Anyway, I had some CSA bok choy and put together this udon noodle soup. In sesame oil, I sauteed garlic, ginger, and some (oh yes) garlic scapes and then stir-fried the bok choy; added some red onions and straw mushrooms and the udon noodles; then poured hot stock on top to serve. Flavor was pretty bland, so I needed soy sauce and hot sauce to bring it back.

Smoked Salmon and Garlic Scape Crostini; Lentil Soup with Collard Greens

When talking smoked salmon, a little goes a long way. I used the remaining salmon to put together some crostini topped with salmon, thinly sliced red onion, capers, and garlic scapes. A thin layer of plain Greek yogurt on the bread held it all together. CSA collard greens went into a quick lentil soup based around a simple mirepoux... with extra garlic, of course. Only downside was that the stock of handmade chicken stock was on empty... so had to make do with water.

Garlic Scape and Goat Cheese Omelet; Oven-Roasted Green Beans

I'm watching my egg intake ever since a long weekend at my brother's saw some serious overindulgence... but a dearth of garlic scapes from the CSA needed to be addressed. I simply split them lengthwise and finely diced them for a quick sautee. Combined with goat cheese, they made a nice omelet stuffer. CSA green beans, roasted in a 425 degree F oven for 10  minutes, made a nice side dish. Leftover scape pesto for the crostini appetizer.

Deconstructed Bagel Lox Salad; Orecchiette with Broccoli

K had a nifty idea about taking a classic Long Island breakfast bagel combination and putting it into a salad using some nice lettuces from the CSA. Smoked salmon, capers, and sliced red onion went in, but since it's not yet tomato season I used some diced roasted red peppers instead. Added a little crumbled goat cheese on top, and a lemon vinaigrette dressing to finish it off. Bagel croutons would have rounded out the theme, but none were to be had.

Orecchiette with broccoli and anchovy is one of my age-old stalwarts... so I was happy to see the CSA came through with some nice broccoli.

Baked Zucchini Parmigiano; Sauteed Snap Peas

I found that an earlier recipe for eggplant parmigiano worked equally well, perhaps better, for the three CSA zucchini from this week's haul. Dredging in egg and panko and baking keeps them less oily than the more-traditional frying technique. Then layer like a lasagna with a quick tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. Leftover scape pesto on the side.

Rigatoni with Pancetta, Radicchio, and Caprino; Crostini with Garlic Scape and Pine Nut Pesto

Garlic scape are one of those CSA items that tends to arouse the ire of customers... what do you do with them anyway? I used a healthy number in place of regular garlic to make a pine nut, olive oil, and parmigiano reggiano pesto. The CSA radicchio went into a simple pasta dish using up the last of a hunk of pancetta and caprino (or chevre) - goat cheese.

Italian Sausauge with White Beans; Sauteed Greens with Garlic, Lemon, and Capers

Simple weeknight meal. I've pretty much given up on all canned beans... It takes a little more planning, but the dried ones always taste much better. CSA contributed a couple garlic scapes for the beans and all of the greens - bok choy and a couple types of lettuces.

Risotto Redux; Oak Leaf Lettuce and Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Spinach Herb Dressing; Sauteed Arugula with Lemon

The leftover seafood risotto - warmed on the stove top not the microwave to prevent the delicate scallops from going tough - was a nice accompaniment to some vegetables from the CSA. The leftover salmon sauce from a few nights ago served as a nice dressing for the salad.

Risotto Frutti di Mare; Ceasar Salad; Stawberries with Balsamic-Brown Sugar Glaze

With a nice CSA head of romaine, I decided to make a homemade Ceasar salad as an accompaniment to a scallop and shrimp seafood risotto using up some frozen fish stock - made from a failed fish dish. I used mayonnaise instead of raw egg for the dressing. K came up with an awesome dessert. Yep... CSA pick your own strawberries.

Oven-Baked Sockeye Salmon with Spinach-Herb Sauce; Steamed Asparagus with Mustard Vinaigrette; Kale Chips

CSA spinach and assorted herbs (oregano, chives, sage) were perfect for this recipe by my man JP (Jacques Pepin) found in his latest book, Essential Pepin.

Risi e Bisi; Sauteed Bok Choy with Garlic, Ginger, and Sesame Oil; Insalata Mista

We didn't get many, but the pick your own shell peas and sugar snap peas led to risi e bisi, a soupy risotto popular in Italy in the Spring. I went Asian with the CSA's bok choy for a little East meets West action.

Spaghetti with Arugula, Pine Nuts, Olives, Capers, Golden Raisins, and Breadcrumbs

 

Some nice arugula from the CSA inspired me to try to recreate this dish that used to be on the menu at one of our favorite Squirrel Hill eateries, La Cucina Flegrea. 

Pasta Con Lattuga, Kale Chips, Strawberries

I really don't have time for blogging. This summer, I've got a major exhibition opening at the end of August, research to do for a second exhibit that opens mid-2014, two publications to finish, a book project to start, and a page-long reading list waiting in the wings.

I guess I now get the value of Twitter.

For the weeks to come, I think I'll just do a day-by-day photo journal of the dishes that I've made instead of waste my time yammering on about each one and writing out the recipes... I have most of them in my cookbook library anyway.

My first entry... pasta with lettuce.

We've just joined a local CSA - Honey Brook Farm - and, as expected, the first crops of the season involved a dearth of lettuce. I used it to make a simple pasta dish with onion, garlic, lettuce, and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Let's see how many dishes come together with good organic stuff from down on the farm...