Week 8 (and a little 6 and 7)

We went out of town and missed parts of two weeks of our CSA--my parents got the bounty of those two weeks but there were a few carryovers.

First off, here's a photo of Week 6 that I took before we went out of town:

two bunches of baby beets w/greens some green and yellow zucchini, small broccoli head, bulb of green (uncured) garlic two heads of lettuce, scallions and a bag of snap peas. I sautéed up some of the zucchini, broccoli and peas and dumped them over a bowl of pasta the night before we left, but the rest went to my parents' fridge (except the garlic which I popped into ours to wait for our return.)


Then when we got home my parents left us some of the Week 7 haul: two zucchini, some spring onions (bigger bulb than scallions), parsley and a pint of red new potatoes waiting in the fridge for us. We sautéed up the zucchini, onions and parsley which tasted great after a lack of green veg while traveling. And the potatoes are bing folded into this week's plan:

Here's what I picked up for Week 8:

small head of lettuce, yellow and green zucchini, cabbage, bag of snap peas, bag of green kidney beans and a bunch of beets (a few large, the rest baby) with their greens.

• The zucchini and last week's potatoes will be combined into one of my favorite summer dishes: a goat cheese basil potato squash gratin (recipe below).
• The lettuce will be mixed with some of the shelled peas, sliced cucumber, mint leaves and sliced radishes and served with feta dressing. If I can track down some ground lamb then I'll serve lamb burgers stuffed into pita with this salad.
• I've never had green kidney beans, but according to the letter that came w/this week's share I should just cook them like regular green beans. They look a bit sturdier, so I might try a slow braise like Greek-style green beans stewed with tomato, onion and a little cinnamon.
• I'm looking for a good beet-green recipe. I'm hoping I can find something more interesting than the standard sautéed w/garlic. Thus far my history with beet greens has been tolerance rather than celebration as they rank as my least favorite green (despite my ardent love of beetroot.) Maybe that'll change if I find the right recipe.
• I'm thinking some kind of slaw with the cabbage. It's a small head so might require buying another cabbage to supplement it, but I'm thinking maybe this sweet and sour coconut coleslaw with mint and dates?

Zucchini potato goat cheese gratin

adapted from this recipe

about 3 medium or 4 small zucchini or summer squash (or a mix)

about 1 lb new red potatoes (not the teeny ones because they'll be a pain to slice)

4 oz goat cheese

1/4 c slivered basil

1/3 C whole milk

1/3 C grated parmesan

glug of olive oil

salt and pepper

• Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a 2 quart casserole dish w/non stick spray
• Get out your mandoline (and kevlar glove) or your sharp knife and slice all those potatoes and zucchini thin. Chuck them in a bowl and toss with a glug of olive oil, and some salt and pepper.
• Put half the potato zucchini mixture in the casserole dish, sprinkle with 1/2 the basil, dot with half the goat chese and add a little more salt and pepper. Add the rest of the potato zucchini mixture, top with basil, goat cheese and parmesan. Pour milk over the top and top the dish with aluminum foil (if your casserole dish is shallow, then spray some non-stick spray on the foil or else the cheese will stick when you remove it and you don't want to lose your crusty delicious cheese). 
• Pop it in the oven for half an hour then remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the top starts to brown (and if it resist browning, feel free to run it under the broiler for a minute.)
• Top it with some more fresh slivered basil, if you have any on hand.