I thought it might be a good idea to share about some of the other things that have been cooking during the Winter Share Box 5 window.
In the off chance you have any sprouts left and were in need of another idea, I wanted to toss up a picture of my Deconstructed Asian-Style Lettuce Cups. I made these a few weeks ago with the lettuce and sprouts from Winter Share Box #4. The meat involved was a Springdell eye round steak that I quickly pressure cooked with soy, ginger, Springdell beef broth, Springdell garlic and scallions. I served it with the sprouts, some cashews, coconut chips, peanut-hoisin sauce and of course, scrumptious Springdell lettuce leaves. The “deconstructed lettuce cup” is an idea that you’ll definitely see again up here, with other variations. The key is the crisp delicious fresh veggies, and the “build your own” theme. This is but one way to entice little ones to embrace the CSA lifestyle, my boys have a lot of fun with these.
This week, I had a bad cold. I am almost over it, but I had been stuck with a lingering cough for about a week. I had dreams of a a warm wintery elixir that would chase the last of loitering germs out of my lungs. It has long been said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and this off-the-grid mulled cider proved that to be true. There are many delicious mulled cider recipes out there, and when starting with a cider as rich and fruity as that which Box Mill Farms provides, you can’t really go wrong. I took a cup of my homemade whole cranberry sauce and mixed it with about a quart of the cider and a little cinnamon. I gently warmed it in a saucepan, and when the flavors were sufficiently melded (5-10 minutes) I ran the mixture through a fine sieve. The result was a beverage with a very nice mix of flavors. Between the spice of the cinnamon, and the tart of the cranberries the sugar of the cranberry sauce (I usually don’t use too much sugar in my sauce) there was a bonus layer of flavor added to an already great beverage. Best of all, the cranberries from the sauce were left with a yummy apple flavor. My four year-old actually asked if he could have the cranberry sauce with his dinner, and we all enjoyed the warm cider together. This was a fun and flavorful experiment for sure. Though this was a very simple mulled cider, you can, of course, expound on the flavors as you see fit. There is a never-ending combination of spices, rums, citrus and other fruits which you could try in your own mulled cider.
My toasted squash seeds shelled themselves this week! I was toasting them after dinner and quite near tub time for the boys, so I left them on a cookie sheet in the oven with the heat turned off. When I checked on them, there were seeds and shells all over cookie sheet, and some on the floor of my oven. I picked them all up and my two-year old made short work of them just after this photo was taken.
The hot Italian sausage was cooked up with some Springdell onions and scrumptious Springdell peppers frozen from the Summer 2014 Share. Lovely and green, you’d never know these peppers were preserved.
I baked up some sub rolls, put the sausages and veggies in, and they were gone in no time.
One of my cabbages is destined for sauerkraut, this is at the very beginning of the fermentation process.
This goat cheese quiche with potato crust was quite the hit. Some greens would have been a welcome addition, if we didn’t devour them already!
This roasted beet salad with goat cheese and balsamic glaze was a great way to enjoy several share box ingredients. I had left my goat cheese on the counter and it reached room temperature before I tried to unwrap it from the package. I gave up and poked a hole in this package and squeezed the cheese onto the salad, hence the toothpaste-like appearance… I make this salad quite a bit when the beets come in, and will hopefully have a chance to redeem myself with a less cheez-whizzy photo at some point.
My mom borrowed some apples to make this French toast and apple-raisin bake for Sunday breakfast. It was very tasty, especially with some of Ben’s maple syrup!
Apple peel chips are a great way to enjoy leftovers from any peeled apple. They are both nutritious and delicious!
The purple kale mixed with frozen blueberries and other yummy ingredients made for a colorful drink referred to lovingly around these parts as, “The Purple People Eater Smoothie”.
Tomorrow is our first official “Tell” of the Springdell Show and Tell! We look forward to sharing more ideas, showing more specifically how each item in our share box was used or preserved, and hopefully hearing your “Tell” as well. Until tomorrow, sweet and savory dreams!