Quick waste update: We can't be trusted

I could probably spell "shame" with the veggies we've neglected lately.



It was with great dismay that I discovered these two formerly crisp and nutritious little carrots, flaccid and defeated in the crisper. And here's a week-old picture of some lettuce from two weeks ago.



What sad excuses for stewards of the earth we've turned out to be. We do much, much worse things than waste a couple ounces of veggies. But we don't feel that bad about the driving we do each week. We don't feel that bad if we're too lazy to rinse gross empty cat-food cans for recycling. Wasting CSA veggies really gets to us. And in that way it's probably making us better people. That or whiny pseudo-ascetic progressives.

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Chard!

Ah, chard. Having shamefully never tasted of the the chard before, I was not really sure how to use it. A safe bet seemed to be a Saturday morning scramble, always a favorite around these parts. I had read that the stems can be bitter if not cooked, so I sauteed them with olive oil, some of the CSA fresh garlic, and a few dried chili peppers.



After the stems looked sufficiently tender, I added the chopped leaves sauteed them for a few minutes. Finishing it off with four organic eggs from the Wedge coop, scrambled all together, looking and smelling pretty darn good. Ah, chard.

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Faith in our farmers

"Eating is an agricultural act."
—Wendell Berry

Almost everyone relies on some sort of farmer for almost all of their food. But the degree to which eaters trust farmers varies. Making a grocery list without regard to region or season and fulfilling it at a grocery store requires faith only that farmers grew, packed and shipped something edible. As we've seen recently, even that amount of trust can be misplaced.

When we committed to a CSA, Jamie, Marcos, Patrick and I put a little more on the line, not the least of which was our investment of $500 for a full share to split between our two households. We trusted the folks at Driftless to use it well. So far, I think they have.

Next came the leap of faith that Driftless would stock our crispers with something useful each week. Satisfied with that, this week Pat and I decided to stretch our faith to the next level: We'd let them determine how we prepared the food.

We're pretty picky about recipes, usually working from just a few tried and true cookbooks or putting the onus on ourselves to invent something that will honor its ingredients. Saturday, we tried a recipe for fish tacos that Farmer Mike included in our CSA newsletter.



We set aside all the required veggies. We bought the tortillas, limes, yogurt and jalapeno. We bought the fish—we though a pound would be too much for us, so we used .6 pounds. That was plenty. The tortillas we like are small, so a pound would have overwhelmed us.



Pat loves his multi-pot deep fryer thing. He gets all professional and sets up little stations.

This was a spectacular dinner that could have served four. We wrapped the leftovers in tin foil and they were gone the next day. We still have a little sauce left over, the best part. We're going to try it on portobello sandwiches.

Fish Tacos With Arugula and Carrots (from Driftless Organics' July 24 newsletter)
1 lb. white, flaky fish like cod, mahi mahi, walleye or tilapia, cut into long strips [we used .6 lbs.]
Corn tortillas [we used 12]
2 carrots, grated
2 cups arugula, washed, dried and shredded [we laid the pile on the cutting board and sliced it with a chef's knife]
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced [yum.]
Lime wedges for garnish

Sauce:
2/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream [we used Cultural Revolution yogurt, which is quite tart]
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
Juice of one lime
1 jalapeno pepper, minced or 1 Tbsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. chipotle powder (optional)
3 Tbsp. cilantro (optional)

For fish:
Lime juice and salt [because of a typo in the recipe here, we only bought 2 limes and therefore had no garnish]

Squeeze lime juice over fish and salt it.

Whisk sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Either grill or bread and deep fry fish. (Mix 1 cup flour, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and quickly mix in an egg beaten with some light beer. Roll each piece of fish in flour then dip in breading and slide into a couple inches of 375-degree oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towel)

Warm each tortilla on a hot pan and serve topped with fish, veggies, sauce and lime wedges.

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Box #7: Where basil is red, green beans are purple and onions are sweet

OK, we got a little ahead of ourselves. Here's the box we got Thursday that contained the mind-expanding iceberg lettuce (center, prettier than Cub Foods iceberg). We also have arugula, chard, fennel, raspberries, purple and green beans, red opal basil, fresh garlic, broccoli, sweet onion and green-top carrots.

I was starving and in no mood to cook when I finally got home Thursday night. The first thing I did was inhale a carrot. What a gift fresh vegetables are at the end of a long day! That fortified me long enough to take advantage of the cooked lentils and wheat berries we had in the fridge. I'm so proud of this improvised recipe—it tasted great:

Pesto Lentil Salad
2 cups cooked, chilled lentils, drained and rinsed (I used French green)
1 cup cooked, chilled wheat berries
1/2 cup pine nuts
A handfulla basil
2 cloves fresh garlic
A drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper

Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat, shaking often, until light brown and fragrant. Chop the basil and garlic. Throw all ingredients into a bowl, drizzle with oil, liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss and eat.

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The polyester of greens

So John Waters is on record as calling iceberg lettuce "the polyester of greens," and I have to admit that I myself am something of a broken record when it comes to expounding on the iceberg hate. So it is with this most extreme prejudice that I approached the iceberg lettuce in this weeks CSA, and I have to say that I must relent from my hard line. While not as flavorful as some greens, it was light and crisp, meshing well with some of the arugula and raw broccoli we received. I drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar, added some salt and pepper, and it was perfect for a hot summer evening. I don't think I will be buying any iceberg from the co-op in the near future (I am still with my lingering doubts), but I think if done right, iceberg can be a fine thing.

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New tricks for an old dog

Last Tuesday Jamie and I found ourselves with a happy problem, after a busy weekend we had too much produce left! Neither of us could come up with an idea of what to do with our remaining and diverse group of veggies, until Jamie found this fantastic recipe on epicurious.com, our favorite online recipe index. We both approached it with some trepidation, it seemed an odd combination to us, but it was a recipe that used exactly what we had on hand on how can one ignore an opportunity like that. It turned out to taste great and was a reminder that when eating seasonaly and localy, not only can there be an introduction to new foods, there is also an exploration of new ways to put familiar foods together.

Lesson learned: Cook veggies in butter, add fresh herbs and vinegar, it's probably going to taste really good.

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Roasted roots

Once again, I was solo for the weekend but had no problems devouring most of the veggies. Sunday's dinner was perhaps the healthiest meal I've ever eaten: beets, carrots and fresh garlic roasted in olive oil with rosemary, and a red-leaf lettuce salad with cold lentils, wheat berries and sesame dressing.



I did my best to record the color of the beets—they were even richer purple-red than this:



One of then had dramatic stripes:



Let me tell you how I feel about peeling carrots: I'm against it! It means more work for less food, so I don't do it. Here's how the roasted roots turned out after about 40 minutes at 350:



I didn't mince the garlic, just cut each clove in half lengthwise and ate them like veggies. I learned that roasted fresh garlic is mild and sweet with a creamy texture.

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