Week 38 in Review

The Score
Eaters - 8.5      Compost 2.5     Carry Over - 0
We did some fun things in the kitchen during the first week of our holiday break (kids and mom included), and put a lot of the box to good use.  Who knew that beets could make delicious muffins, or that spaghetti squash could be enjoyed two ways in one day - savory, and in bread?  I neglected to get a soup made (so the swiss chard and dill hit the compost), but we made the most of everything else in the week's box.


The Best

• The strawberry beans were gorgeous both unshelled and shelled!  It's too bad that most of the beauty got cooked away, but they were delicious in the pasta recipe that was passed along by our CSA.  If you ever see these at a farmer's market, grab them quickly.

The Good

• These whole wheat blueberry beet muffins really surprised me.  The dough was beautiful and - though most of the red cooked away - the end result was moist and tasty.  You could definitely taste the beets, but the flavor didn't overpower the entire muffin. 

• This week, we received a GIANT spaghetti squash.  It think it was almost five pounds.  After baking it and getting out the good stuff, it was clear that we'd have enough for two recipes.  I did a little poking around and found a recipe for a spaghetti squash and carrot bread.  The kids kept calling it banana bread, which signals to me that they thought it was really good.

 

• We made the eggplant beef lasagna and gave it away to a family member who had just had a baby.  We didn't taste it (and I forgot to take a photo), but we hear that it was really good.
• The carrot spinach strawberry banana smoothie was about as expected.  The color looked like mud (i.e. quite unappetizing).  It was sweet, but not overly so.  I think I prefer juicing carrots and spinach to making a smoothie out of them, but it'd be ok for an occasional breakfast.

The Rest

• I didn't think it was too bad (nor did I think it was amazing), but the boys were not fans of the lemon sage spaghetti squash recipe.  I think I used garlic that was very strong, as they kept complaining that it was too spicy in addition to being pretty mushy.

Week 36 in Review

The Score
Eaters - 8     Compost - 1.5     Carry Over - 0.5

My ambitious plan for week 36 turned out to be a bit too ambitious.  I never got around to the butternut squash soup (after roasting what I had from the previous week's carry over, there wasn't enough squash for both the muffins and the soup), and the Moroccan carrot and spinach salad didn't get made either (but I did enjoy a lovely juice featuring both ingredients).  The lettuce only got partially consumed and hit the compost with some of the cilantro that I couldn't use up before another big batch arrived in the next week's box.  At this time of year with so many events competing for my cooking time, though, I'm fine with the week's results.  Still wondering if we'll ever get to 10(+), 0, 0 for our score, but plenty of weeks left this year to get there. 

The Best

• The butternut squash muffins were moist, delicious and very well received.  The frosting/glaze really puts them over the edge (and would be delicious on any vegetable-based muffin or bread)... don't skip the vanilla bean!

The Good

• The grilled pork noodle salad with cilantro, carrots, basil and mint was delicious.  The recipe features a marinade for the pork; next time, I'd plan on making extra to use on the noodles.

• This is the way that I remember eating winter (acorn) squash as a kid, and it definitely brought back memories.  Unfortunately, my own kids weren't convinced.

The Rest

• I am the only non-lover of beets in my entire family.  So, while they are never a hard sell for everyone else, I'm still looking for the recipe that helps me fall in love.  The recipe for roasted beets with balsamic glaze wasn't it for me (and I didn't get a photo of the finished product) but I'll keep looking.



• I didn't get a photo of this latest batch of persimmons jam, but happily used up the last (I'm guessing) of this season's persimmons in a preserve that we will continue to enjoy for weeks and months to come!

Week 11 in Review

The Score

Eaters - 10.5    Compost - 0     Carry Over - 0.5

The produce bins in the fridge are almost completely empty. That hasn't happened in a long while. It's a sign that a) we ate up most of what was in last week's box, as well as the heads of lettuce from the previous week, and b) we are really getting to the point where meal planning is resulting in consumption that matches what we're buying. Don't get me wrong: this whole project has taken up quite a bit of time and really required us to plan ahead and shop with purpose. That said, we have wasted less food over the past few months than I can ever remember, and I'm glad for that. Our freezer and pantry isn't bursting at the seams, since we're trying to use up ingredients that have been sitting around for a long time and we buy what we need. That is freeing up space that I hope we'll be able to better utilize with the produce coming from the box, and sooner or later the garden. The more that we embrace this whole experiment, the more we learn that there are so many ways to can and freeze the good stuff so it can be available later! 

The Winner

• The only unfortunate thing about this week's winner is that the bacon wasn't the stuff that my husband is currently working on (curing a piece of pork belly from our meat CSA).  Who knew a BLC (bacon, Lettuce, Cucumber) was so fantastic?  The spiced, minted mayo (with Green Garlic) put it over the top, and was a huge hit with the entire family.

The Good

• The Lemon Basil chicken salad made for some delicious holiday weekend sandwiches, accompanied by some warm homemade baguettes

• The strawberry jam was simple, but has been quite a treat.  As I was making it, I kept thinking that we'd have a year's worth (a baker's dozen half-pints), but at the rate we're going through it, I'm not so sure.

 

• The Orange and Beet salad was both beautiful (using the dark red leaf Lettuce) and tasty.  Next time I'd add a little blue cheese for both color and flavor.

• Forgot to take photos of the Lemonade and the hot Spinach artichoke dip, but both we're huge hits with dinner guests over the holiday weekend (and the latter was so tasty using fresh, vs. frozen, spinach).

The Rest

• This spaghetti recipe got a big thumbs down from both of the boys.  It got a 'Mom - I really like kale, but the Swiss Chard just makes everything taste weird in this.'  Unfortunately, I sort of agreed with his review.