23 | March | 2012 | AnnieRie Unplugged

Winter CSA Week Thirteen, and Dinner from the Box

Posted on March 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

Over nine pounds of veggies. Six items. $18/week which includes home delivery. This week was one of the heaviest hauls of veggies in the CSA for the winter. Zahradka Farm is a vendor at the Glenwood Farmer’s Market so everyone can partake of their fresh veggies for at least six months a year. Joining their CSA allowed us to experience home delivery for the rest of the year.

The six items are a half share. A full share would have been ten. We choose from an on line ordering form. Over the weekend they put up a list with what is ready to pick. This is what I ordered and received, with weight in ounces after item received:

collard greens (12 oz)
carrots (34 oz)
onions (24 oz)
beets (26 oz)
radishes (14 oz)
new potatoes (40 oz)

We also received skirt steak from JW Treuth butchers, as our weekly meat selection, and this is the week for my biweekly dozen eggs, all colors and sizes.

Some of the eggs are a deep brown, although the pictures don’t do them justice.

I already put one of the carrots in the leftover cabbage from St. Paddy’s Day, with last week’s white potatoes. Topped it with a fresh kielbasa from TLV Tree Farm. They are just down the road from us. We go out to the farm on Saturdays when they are open from 10-2. Last week we picked up this fresh kielbasa. Just like the kielbasa made in my husband’s home town in PA.

I opened a bottle of wine from one of the closest wineries to Howard County, Black Ankle. Interesting that this 2006 Syrah had a musty nose, which disappeared after a while, but I wonder how the other couple of bottles in the cellar are doing. Tasted great, though. I wanted a bigger but not huge wine to stand up to the kielbo and the mustard.

This dinner came from less than 25 miles away, if you discount the ramp mustard, which is from Spring Valley Farm and Orchard, in Augusta WV. I did buy it at Dupont Circle Market, which is 25 miles south of us.

A really tasty dinner, right from our proverbial back yard.

hocofood@@@

Keeping It Mostly Local – Pizza

Posted on March 23, 2012 by AnnieRie

Last night we felt like having pizza. But, I refuse to be influenced by TV commercials enticing me to just pick up a frozen pie or calling for delivery pizza. Making it myself is really not that difficult, as long as I buy dough, or find a flatbread that works in the oven or on the grill.

I picked this one up from Roots the other day.

It is a thick crusty base that will hold up to lots of oil and sauce and cheese without getting soggy. Making my own toppings is what I like about pizza. Dig around in the fridge and see what looks good.

I made a sauce using local Maitake mushrooms bought at MOM’s, Hummingbird Farms cherry tomatoes bought at Roots, garlic and onion from my CSA, a bit of sauce from Quaker Valley in PA, bought at the Silver Spring Farmer’s Market, and some organic tomato paste, bought at the Common Market a while back. Sweated the onions and mushrooms. Added the rest and left it on low to simmer while I got the cheeses on the crust.

Used up some Firefly Farms chevre, and some tomato basil spread from Bowling Green Farms. Put the sauce on top of the cheeses. Ready for the oven.

Baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes to make it crispy.

Served with a 2002 Linden Cabernet Franc, the last of this year and varietal in the cellar. As usual, the wine did not disappoint, nor did the pizza. The wine did not exhibit that bell pepper taste the francs from VA usually do. It was well balanced and still had quite a bit of fruit for a ten year old VA wine. If I recall, this was an OK year after a really good one in 2001. This wine proved that even in a less than optimum year, Linden made wines with longevity.

What made this dinner even more fun were the brownies. Made with a mix and black beans and water. That’s all. No eggs, or oil. I did jazz them up a bit with peanut butter and peanuts, but you can make them just with the mix and beans. Look it up on line. Simple brownies, dark, dense and chewy. Great to finish the wine with them while watching the basketball games.

This was a mostly locally sourced meal, and yet simple to do. In just a few weeks the farmer’s markets will open across Howard County, and it will be really easy to pick up cheeses and mushrooms to make your own pizza. We will have to wait a while though to get good tomatoes, but until then, Roots has Hummingbird Farms hydroponically grown tomatoes, including the heirlooms.

hocofood@@@

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