Well folks, the CSA was kind to me today. For those of you who don't know, CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. At the beginning of the growing season, members pay a flat fee to local farmers to receive "shares" each week during the CSA period. This allows community members to become "shareholders", receiving crops in exchange for giving farmers capital to fuel their farming endeavours. The shares are delivered to neighborhood coordinators, where shareholders pick them up. I pick mine up from an adorable house in South Arlington with a wraparound porch.
My CSA is an organic farm in Maryland, called 'Evenstar Farms. It is now Week 3 and I'm getting more and more excited for the day when I receive 4 lbs of heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers...the deal with CSA's is that you get shares of whatever they plant. I happen to know that 'Evenstar has a lotttt of heirloom tomato crops, which is why I chose them. Mmmmm 'maters!!
Today I received some interesting fare. Some French heirloom Chantenay carrots, arugula, new potatoes, incredible looking blackberries, cherry tomatoes, a Cherokee purple heirloom tomato, some tomatillos, yellow squash and an herb mix for some salad dressing included in the CSA's cookbook (they give all their members their own cookbook with recipes specific to their crops).
These carrots looked good enough for Bugs Bunny.
So for dinner, I had to use some of these incredible items. The most beautiful, the blackberries, are awaiting breakfast, but I did manage to use arugula, carrots, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil from my balcony garden. Oh, and some frozen chicken from Trader Joe's...
Here is what I made:
Parmesan Carrots
Grated Parmean
Chantenay Carrots
Olive Oil
Fresh Thyme
French Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the tops off the carrots and scrub them clean. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan and fresh thyme. Roast on a shallow pan (like a cookie sheet) until they are tender inside and crispish outside. This should be about 20 or so minutes, depending on the size of your carrots.
Roasted Potatoes
On the same cookie sheet, I roasted 'taters. I very thinly sliced (about 1/5 inch) about four new potatoes, tossed with oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and spread them in a single layer. After the first 15 minutes i used tongs to flip them over, so they became crispy and browned.
Arugula Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette
Red Wine Basil Vinaigrette
This is adapted from The New Basics Cookbook, one of my faves.
2 tblsp dijon mustard
2 cloves crushed garlic
freshly ground black pepper
5 tblsp red wine vinegar
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil, slivered
In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, garlic, pepper and vinegar. Slowly whisk in olive oil. When emulsified, fold in Basil.This recipe is one spicy meatball, all told.
Add this to a bowl full of halved cherry tomatoes and fresh washed arugula. Toss.
Additionally, I chopped up oregano and thyme to season the chicken, with olive oil, french sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and then grilled it.
When everything was ready, I poured some red wine. And then, I ate everything in front of me. If you can swing it, I hope you'll do the same!
