Here’s What’s Been Cooking

There has actually been some good cooking going on in this house, thanks to the contents of my weekly CSA basket (and yes, I am going to return my empties this week!). There has been both successes and necessary modifications to recipes in the past couple of weeks – but it has all tasted good!

We started with some delicious bruschetta. which was a quick combination of heirloom tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.  My original plan was to top it with feta but ended up using mozzarella instead! This was delicious and I made some more for lunch he following day!
Also, on the menu, was No Bake Pasta Sauce. I thought I was ahead of the game when I remembered to pick up Ravioli at the store!  As I started to prepare supper, I realized I was missing some other key ingredients for the recipe (pine nuts and spinach) so, I had to find a new No Bake Tomato Sauce Recipe. The new recipe was delicious and went well with the ravioli from the original recipe.  I just modified it to use the ingredients I had on hand!  It is quick and easy to make and tastes great!

We had delicious grilled yellow squash and zucchini tossed with garlic, basil and olive oil.

We also had some grilled eggplant too!

Of course, grilled potatoes tossed with olive oil and fresh rosemary.

I really look forward to the weekly recipe books that come with the CSA basket! I decided to try the Pan Fried Green Beans. I made these on the same night as the bruschetta. Here is the recipe in case anyone needs it:
– fresh beans trimmed and snapped
– fresh chopped garlic
– salt & pepper to taste
– 2 Tbsp of olive oil
In covered pot on med-high heat all ingredients except oil. Cover and cook until beans begin to sweat. Remove lid and stir occasionally until beans are tender. When beans begin to brown turn off the heat, stir in oil, cover and let stand a few minutes. Clearly, I was not capable of prepping the tomatoes for the bruschetta and cooking the beans at the same time… I ended up adding some water to the pot and kind of boiled/simmered them. I then added the rest of the juice from the bruschetta to the beans – they were good and no one asked any questions!

The following night, I decided to stick to what I know, and just boil the beans. I decided to do this inside and BBQ outside at the same time…do you see where this is going?  Of course, I boiled them dry! I did my best not to disturb the bottom of the pot when serving them – again, they still tasted great!

Now, I need to figure out what I am going to do with the Heirlooms this week…  I am thinking toasted BLT since I already have some bacon in the fridge…  So many delicious options!!  I hope you enjoy this week’s basket – Nicole

Heirloom Tomatoes…What To Do?

Sometimes, when something is in season and we are receiving an abundance of it, I get panicky.  Basil for instance in abundance kind of scares me; the same with hot peppers!  However, heirloom tomatoes – bring on the harvest!!!!  (Tip: Just like garlic, keep the tomatoes out of the fridge!)

I enjoy just eating them with a little salt and pepper but I also enjoy cooking with them too.  As we enter tomato season, I thought I would pass along some recipe ideas that I plan to try/have tried.

Pasta Salad

One day last week, I was in a hurry for lunch and had some left over (about to expire) pasta in the fridge.  I combined some cut-up fresh tomatoes and cucumber with the pasta and just drizzled it with balsamic vinaigrette for a super quick salad.

Greek Salad

Last week, FreshCo had little packages of feta, packed in oil with herbs, on sale for $2.00.  I bought some and paired it with tomatoes and cucumber for a greek inspired salad.

Bruschetta

Last night, I decided to make some bruschetta based on the Canadian Living recipe for Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta.  I used some (about to expire) buns I had in the pantry and decided to top it with some mozzarella cheese – I was originally going to use crumbled feta however, it was far too expired!

Here are links to other interesting (and do-able) recipes:

–  Ravioli with No-Cook Heirloom Tomato Sauce

–  Grilled Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Pizza

–  Basic Basil Pesto (for above recipe)

–  Heirloom Tomato BLT (I totally overlooked the BLT!)

–  Roasted Heirloom Tomato Sauce Over Pasta

Salsa

And below is a basic salsa recipe from the  Chatelaine website:

Ingredients

1 lemon, juiced

1.5 tbsp (22.5 mL) extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh basil

chopped 2 cups (500 mL) heirloom tomatoes

chopped 1 medium green onion

1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) pink rock or grey sea salt

Optional Ingredient:1 tb (15 mL) hot pepper, minced

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl, stirring to coat.

2. Serve at room temperature. Makes two cups (500 mL).

I hope you enjoy your Heirloom tomatoes – tomorrow night we are going to try the No Bake Ravioli Recipe and I think I will pair it with some grilled sausages!

Cheers – Nicole

I’d Like To Introduce You To Maris.

Do you remember what it was like to be young and full of passion for what you believed in…  At this point, I can only vaguely remember that kind of passion.  Last week, I toured A New Leaf Farm, and got to see that passion firsthand.  Maris – Carlos’ son and lead farmer – took me for a tour of the vegetable gardens and fruit trees. 

Maris showed off the gardens like a new parent would show off their newborn.   I can really appreciate the passion.  Passion is great, but it is even better when backed with knowledge and commitment.  Maris is certainly not lacking in either.

At first, Maris thought his passion was to “save the world” and went off to Ottawa to study social work.  While he studied, he also held part-time positions cooking in restaurants – he enjoyed creating food and the cycle from raw ingredient to finished dish.  After some life re-evaluation, he realized social work was not the right path for him.  Maris then started to do some soul searching while continuing to work as a cook.

Meanwhile, back in Hamilton, Cathy and Carlos were also looking at some new paths.  They decided to head down the path that was going to lead them to expanding and reviving the farm.   The farms’ new philosophy would be about adopting new ways of living to become healthier and more self-sustaining with a commitment to growing good food.   They shared their new path with Maris and dropped off a text book about organic farming…

And so it started, one text book turned into two, turned into anything Maris could get his hands on to read about organic farming.  Maris decided to join Cathy and Carlos down the path that has led to A New Leaf Farm.  Last summer, Maris had the opportunity to intern at the Tree & Twig.  Here, he worked alongside his mentor and friend Linda Crago.  He submerged himself in the daily learning of farming life while attempting to read every available book in her extensive library in the evenings.  His passion for farming was full bloom.

Today, there is still lots of reading and learning from other farmer’s – FarmStart Tours have been great learning tools.  After each growing season, there is learning from A New Leaf Farm too.  Learning how the soil, plants, pests, and weather played together that particular year.   Nothing is ever the same as the year before – there are always variables and always learning.

Maris has plans for A New Leaf Farm.  He hopes to see the CSA basket program expand to more members, look for market stand opportunities, and orchard expansion.  In the off season, he is looking for new ways to expand and to keep on farming in the colder months.  I’m sure the greenhouse, that was added to the farm this past spring, will be put to good use.

As we toured the gardens, Maris talked about the different plants and their uses, how the different plants interact with each other, how the plants respond to the weather, and how pests can really bug a farmer!   Did you know, there is a sweet little heirloom tomato that grows in a little sack – it is not much bigger than your small fingernail. 

Some other cool things I learned on my tour:

–        Marigolds are used as a natural pest deterrent for vine plants – and I thought they were just pretty flowers.

–        Plants with strong smells like onions and dills are natural pest deterrents and are therefore planted strategically.

–        Certain plants work together to encourage growing conditions and discourage pests like the three sisters – corn, pole beans, and squash.

–        When you eat the leaf from a Stevia plant it really does taste like a teaspoon of sugar in your mouth.  For me, there was a huge disconnect between the leaf’s appearance and the taste – I never expected a green leaf to taste so sweet.

–        There is a difference between yams and sweet potatoes.

–        Organic farming is about the nutrient dense food you are providing to people.

–        Wasps actually have a positive function on the farm.

–        Taste it – just taste it!

The tour definitely has made me think about produce differently.  It has made me realize the planning, cost, hard work and passion that are needed to get those vegetables to my plate.  It will never just be “only” a tomato again… Thank you Maris for a wonderful tour!   -Nicole

Stop And Smell The Garlic

The first thing I do when my basket arrives is take inventory.  I like to know what is in the basket (and make sure I can actually identify everything in it…).

I like setting aside time on Friday evening to prepare a meal based around the basket.  And since the garlic was making my kitchen smell fantastic – I was already inspired.  I knew garlic was on the list.  But thought I might need some things to go with it…  I posted a recipe last week for Garlic & Rosemary Salmon – I decided that was going to be the star of the show.   Here, is where, this week’s learning comes in – cooking with FRESH herbs.  I cook with herbs all the time but I have only ever used the dried kind you buy in the spice section of the grocery store.  They last much longer than fresh herbs which mean they don’t require me to have my act/menu together ahead of time. This is the first time I have cooked with fresh rosemary.  I am used to dried rosemary (it is kind of like eating little bits of toothpicks that could accidentally go through the roof of your mouth at any time).  The fresh rosemary was flavorful and remained soft, even after cooking, so the threat of injury was no longer there.  The garlic, olive oil and rosemary were mixed together and spread onto the salmon.

As always, the new potatoes were calling my name.  I chopped those up with some olive oil and italiano spice and got those ready to go on the grill too.  Lastly, I had  some vegetables in the crisper that would BBQ nicely with the zucchini.  Again, a little olive oil and some spices and they are ready to go.  It was a delicious supper. I highly recommend you try the salmon recipe.  I am pretty sure I will never use dried rosemary again – fresh is definitely best.

The other thing I really enjoyed was the tomatoes.  A really good snack (or meal) is a toasted bagel with some cream cheese topped with tomato slices.  Just add a little salt and pepper.   Ummmm, tomatoes.  You really don’t need to add the bagel and cream cheese because they are also delicious on their own too.

It was another great basket that was appreciated.  Just a reminder, to return the empty baskets back to the farm – I was stock piling them and finally returned them all, sorry!  Nicole

Basil, Yes Please

At first, I was a little intimidated/overwhelmed by all this basil…  So, I googled it, and now I have some great recipes to try and I know how to store my basil for when I want to use it!  The best thing about basil – besides the taste – it is extremely high in vitamin A and is a source of Vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, and vitamin B-6!

To store your basil, wrap it in a dampen paper towel and store it in the crisper.   You can also store it in water in a bowl and cover it with plastic in the fridge.  My favourite available option is to freeze it in an airtight container/freezer bag.  It can be frozen whole or chopped.  This way, it will be available for when I need it, for one of these recipes from Canadian Living:

–        Basil Salmon

–        Basil Pesto

–        Heirloom Tomatoes with Basil

I am actually going to chop up my basil right now and get it in the freezer for later!

Thanks for reading – Nicole

Sometimes, It Just Is What It Is!

My basket was delivered last Thursday.  The vegetables in the basket quickly went from basket to pot.  It was very simple and delicious.  The corn was boiled up.  The new potatoes were boiled up with the baby turnips together in the same pot – thank you Week #2 Recipe booklet.  (I had two other baby turnips waiting patiently in my Fridgesmart container.)   Salad, foraged and micro greens were added together and topped with a steamed chicken breast to finish off the meal. 

My husband’s response “that grass stuff was actually good!”.  Simple and a success – sometimes, it just is what it is!

The berries were kept simple and just put on top of toasted bagels with cream cheese for a delicious breakfast.

Way better than jam!

I chopped up the basil and put that in the freezer for later use – check back tomorrow for a post about basil.  The mustard greens and kale were sautéed together for a side dish.  And the radish seed pods were added to lunchtime salads.

These are just cute! They are great added to salad – they have a radish taste.

I have salad and foraged greens left over still – I will be using them up for lunches with quinoa salad added on top.  If you are wondering what to do with the rosemary, Cathy posted some great tips on A New Leaf Farm’s facebook page – check it out.  And, I found these three rosemary recipes that sound delicious from Canadian Living:

–  Rosemary Roasted Beets

–  Garlic Rosemary Salmon

–  Grilled Chicken with Rosemary

Friday night’s crazy storm had me wondering how the plants survived at the farm.  Funny, before the CSA basket I would never have even considered how a storm would affect local farmers.  Hope everyone had a great week – Nicole.

Another Gorgeous Basket Gets Delivered!

My basket arrived looking lush and gorgeous and all nicely arranged to show off the produce.  Thank you!!

I must say, I love the wild flowers added to the basket each week.  In my mind, it is actually from a secret admirer (yes, I know – only in MY mind!).

My basket had much the same as last week.  This weeks’ new additions were the berries and the foraged greens.  At first glance, I thought it was very odd that there were commercially farmed berries added to my basket…?  I quickly figured out it was just a convenient container for delicious little berries from the farm – Black Caps and Mulberries.  I decided that the little stems were edible too and enjoyed these on my weekend oatmeal (5 grains cooked in water with cinnamon until water is absorbed then add honey and berries).  I must admit, I didn’t share these with my kids…

I still had some Kale leftover from last weeks’ basket and wanted to use it up so I made Kale chips.  The entire internet is raving about these chips…being a chip lover – I just had to try them!  I followed the recipe in our Week #2 Recipe booklet (thank you Krista!).  I decided to use PAM (I know not the best choice) and sea salt.  I found the sea salt was not distributed evenly so next time I would use regular table salt instead. 

I just sprayed the baking tray and laid the leaves out (I cut the stems out first) with little overlap and popped them in a 350 degree oven. They baked for about 15 minutes – watching the outer edges so they didn’t burn.  I broke them into smaller pieces and they were really good.  I would definitely make them again – I really liked how easy they were to make.

The snow peas were used up in a stir fry (broccoli, onion, yellow pepper, and bok choy) for supper – I love the look the purple ones add to a dish.

The salad and foraged greens, radishes, and tat soi were the base for a salad brought to my parents’ house for dinner.  I didn’t add romaine to the greens this time… just some cucumber and tomato I had in the fridge – it tasted great!

This week, I found out that radishes are rich in folic acid and potassium.  They are also a good source of vitamin B6, magnesium, riboflavin and calcium.  I have a bunch of radishes left in the fridge and found these recipes that I thought I would share:

–         Red Potato and Radish Salad

–         Quick Radish Pickles

–        Carrot, Radish, & Celery Slaw

If I hadn’t of ate all the berries, I was going to make a berry vinaigrette to go with the greens – here is the link to that recipe:

–         Berry Vinaigrette

So far, I am enjoying this weeks’ basket and all the recipes and tips I am figuring out as I go along.  The highlight of my week was going on a tour of the farm with Maris.  If you have some time and were thinking of visiting the farm – I highly recommend having Maris take you around.  We toured all four gardens and I was amazed not just by the knowledge but the passion that he has for farming.  I definitely looked at my basket differently this week after the tour.  Although, it was never discussed, it really made me understand why people shop organic – this coming from a flyer matching, Freshco shopper.  Check back later this week for more on Maris.  And yes, he does prefer bare feet to boots!

Enjoy this weeks’ basket and please share any tips or recipes you have found! Nicole

How Did I Do This Week?

Here is what I found in my basket this week:

–  Salad Greens (approx. 2 servings)

–  Variety of Radishes (approx. 2 servings)

–  4 Types of Kale (approx. 2 servings)

–  2 Types of Mustard Greens

–  Amish Snap Peas (approx. 2 servings)

– Variety of Snow Peas (enough for 2 stir fries)

–  Basil

-Garlic Scapes (2 servings)

Many of these vegetables are new to me… here is what I did with them…

Salad Greens

I washed these and dried them and stored them neatly in the fridge in the baggie they came in – I just made sure I left the baggie open.  I mixed these with some romaine I had already and added some veggies and grilled steak.  Topped it with Kraft salad dressing I had in the fridge.  I was able to make 2 lunches with the greens.  The salads were delicious.  Salad greens – successful!

Salad greens mixed with romaine lettuce and topped with veggies and grilled leftover steak.

Radishes

I put these in a Tupperware Fridgesmart container and then left the container on the counter.  I’m not even sure why I didn’t put it in the fridge but the radishes did not respond well to being left on the counter.  I lost half of them.

Remember to put the radishes in the fridge.

I had a small white radish and a large red oblong shaped radish that were still hard-ish.  I decided these were okay still to eat.

It was a large fancy radish. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to look this way but it tasted good.

They were sliced up and tossed with garlic and added to the grill basket.  However, I had no idea if the oblong one was supposed to be solid on the inside or hallow like this.  I decide to eat it any way out of guilt for withering their cousins on the counter.  Radishes – not successful due to poor storage.  Lesson learned!

Kale

I really like spinach.  Plain steamed spinach with a little salt and pepper.  I found out that I also really love kale!  The kale was sautéed and served over brown rice and was delicious.

Sautéed kale with garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt & pepper served over brown rice.

What I thought was an awful lot of kale in the basket turned out to be 2 servings.  Kale really does shrink down once cooked.

They ended up getting mixed together when sautéed.

And I did not massage the kale first.  Kale – huge success!!  Click here for the recipe.

Amish Snap Peas

These totally brought me back to my childhood and eating peas straight out of my Dad’s garden.  While watching the Karate Kid with my kids, I snacked on these straight out of the bag.  One child was brave enough to try them but did not embrace the taste as I would have liked.  Snap Peas – success and delicious raw.

Garlic Scapes

I thought these looked really cool and I felt very fancy having them on my counter.  Now what the heck do I do with these…

They just look really neat.

I tossed these with olive oil and they went into the grill basket.  Once on the grill, I decided they needed some grill marks so, I transferred them straight to the grill for a little sizzle.  These were served alongside grilled asparagus and tasted wonderful.  I would cut the scapes in half next time before I grill them.  Garlic Scapes – huge success.

Garlic scapes and radishes tossed with olive oil and salt & pepper and ready for the grill.

Mustard Green

I tried a little of this leaf raw.  I can’t say as I was a fan.  However, tomorrow for lunch will now involve mustard greens… I will let you know how that turns out!  Since, I now understand all the work that goes into those mustard greens, I can’t just let them rot – whether I like them or not!!!

Basil

This is still in the fridge from last week.  I need to look into storage options and will post them once I find them.

So far, I am really enjoying this journey.  I was definitely in a cooking rut and the basket showing up on my door step forces me to get back into cooking and having fun with it.  And I even remembered to return last weeks basket!!  I hope you enjoyed your basket as much as I did!  I am looking forward to this week’s basket, as I hear a knock on my door…

Nicole

My First Basket

Well, Thursday’s have kicked up a notch in our house – not only do we get our flyers delivered but now we also get a basket of vegetables (yes, it does get delivered to your house)!! I was incredibly lucky this week because my friend Krista delivered my basket to me and came inside and helped me prep the vegetables (normally, I just throw produce in the crisper with the hopes it will still be fresh when I want to use it…). It is recommended that you wash the vegetables in your basket before you eat them!
The first thing we (I was actually taking notes while Krista did the processing) did was refresh the greens in cold water. It didn’t take long for them to become crisper and refreshed – you can actually feel the difference in the leaves. We gently took them out of the water so that the dirt on the bottom of the bucket didn’t get stirred up. The greens were then set out to dry on a dishtowel – a salad spinner would work great too. After they dried, they were sorted to type and each type was wrapped in paper towel and put into a Tupperware Fridgesmart container (I used this instead of a Ziploc bag). If I was doing this by myself, I probably wouldn’t have realized there were different types of kale and different types of mustard greens in the basket. Clearly, I need to pay closer attention because every variation tastes different. Here is a kale tip – it shrinks like spinach when cooked.
I really appreciated the little recipe book that came with my basket. I am going to follow this for ideas. I am going to need to put pears on my grocery list to try the dressing – it sounds delicious. For lunch I am planning on using the salad greens mixed with romaine (only because I find the greens a little bitter) with some left over steak cut in strips and veggies. I have plans to tackle the garlic scapes tonight and mix them in with some asparagus I already had in the fridge. I might also add kale to this menu… I will report back on how things went! I hope everyone has a great long weekend and has a chance to enjoy their baskets!!
PS/ I have to remember to return this basket when I receive my next one…

It is harvest time!

Welcome to A New Leaf Farm’s blog! I’m Nicole, a friend of Cathy and Carlos, and this summer, I’m going to be taking you on a journey through A New Leaf Farm’s vegetable garden. My goal is to provide tips, recipes, and information about the food found inside your weekly basket. Hopefully, if you have anything you want to share, you’ll feel comfortable enough to leave posts that could help others enjoy their baskets too.

After signing up to share in A New Leaf Farm’s garden for the summer, I began to dig a little deeper. I thought I was just joining up for a weekly basket of vegetables. I now realize it is so very much more.

Firstly, CSA (which being the “cidiot” I am, I keep on saying CAS…) stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Think about that for a moment. Before, I knew what CSA stood for, I just thought it was a fancy farming term for vegetables in a basket… What CSA really means is that you become a member… a member of something awesome. I am a contributing member of something I could never achieve on my own. It is a farming partnership. Remember, I am a “cidiot” – that is why this is so awesome to me. As a member, you pay up front to help cover the startup costs (seeds, transplants and everything else needed) to get the garden started. And in return you get a share of the bounty. Each week your basket will have a variety of sustainably grown vegetables from now until the end of September. And each week is different – I like this because it gets me out of the same old vegetable choice rut I tend to be stuck in.

All this farming talk got me excited so, I decided to take it a baby step further and plant a few tomatoes and peppers with the kids in our own backyard. Normally, this is the kind of thing that usually goes on the to-do list but eventually gets forgotten instead of crossed off. This idea actually came to reality when Cathy sent out a note that ANLF had plants for sale. Now, I was motivated, so off to the farm we went. We went for a tour of the farm, got to meet the animals, and pick up our plants. This is when I gained a new appreciation of that basket of vegetables.
At the time of my visit the soil was still in the process of being weeded and prepared for planting. Again, being a “cidiot”, I had envisioned a tractor or rototiller or a something mechanical to make lighter work of preparing a large overgrown patch of earth for planting. As it turns out, the weeding is done by hand. Not the gardening glove and kneeling pad kind of weeding I am used to at home. This was foot to shovel to ground to back breaking bending over digging through the earth to untangle weeds that do not want to be disturbed. WOW! And here I complain about my ongoing losing fight with trying to wrestle dandelions out of my lawn…
All I had to do for my garden at home was throw some organic soil into some planters and add the already established plants (and remember not to Miracle Grow this garden – cidiot). And I thought this was hard work – clearly, no comparison!

This week at the farm it’s time for the first harvest… which means more than I will ever know sitting behind the laptop clicking on the keyboard….it means we are getting our first baskets. What we won’t see in the basket is the team of people that planned, studied, seeded, transplanted, weeded, watered, harvested, and cleaned all the vegetables. It is truly a labour of love that has been worked on for months before it even hits our tables. I think it is cool that this “cidiot” is a part of that – even in my small way.

If you are reading this blog chances are you too are a contributing partner of the farm where all this awesome happens. Carlos, Cathy, and Maris invite you to stop by the farm anytime – they love guests and love to share the true meaning of CSA!
PS/ Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time, efforts, expertise, and support that have helped to get that basket of love to my table!
Oh, by the way, in your basket this week you’ll find salad mix, mustard greens, purple orach (an old variety of spinach), basil, a taste of swiss chard, 3 or 4 different kinds of kale, garlic scapes (immature garlic flowers), peas, basil, and a variety of radishes.
Nicole:
http://garlicfarmct.com/recipes.htm#ScapeStorage