Yeah....it's hot....

It's really really hot here in the Northeast.  Summer is definitely here, as indicated by my hair and the arrival of our first CSA share yesterday!  Our first box contained the following: spinach, romaine, cilantro, baby turnips, zucchini, summer squash, scallions and garlic scapes. Not a bad share for the first week. 

The box felt pretty light, mostly because of all the greens, but as we head into July and August the shares get very heavy with tomatoes, cukes, carrots, eggplants, and corn.

Because the temps were approaching 100 degrees yesterday, I had very little motivation to turn on my stove.  So when I first arrived home, I just washed the greens and split items so that when Casey came to pick up her half it would be all set to go.  I then attempted to install my AC for the second time (nothing like waiting until you are desperate).  The first try was a massive fail, resulting in water pouring into my bedroom from the unit.  I pulled the AC out completely after that, and luckily the evenings have been fairly cool and sleeping wasn't a problem, but I just couldn't deal anymore.  I'm happy to report, the second try was a success! The whole ordeal would have been easier if I asked for help from some burly man, but what can I say, I'm stubborn.

I then made my way back to the kitchen to make garlic scape pesto. Now...what is a scape you ask????  A scape is the shoot that grows out of the ground from the garlic bulb early in the season.  They are very green, very long and very pliable...actually quite beautiful.  If the scape is not trimmed from the garlic bulb it will curtail the growth of the garlic.

First, I started by taking out my food processor, which hasn't seen much action as of late. I firmly believe that my food processor is the BEST utility purchase I have ever made.  It has opened my eyes to how easy it is to make pesto, hummus and pie crusts.  The only kitchen items I continue to lust for are a KitchenAid stand mixer and a Le Cruset Dutch Oven. (my birthday is quickly approaching..hint hint)

I then washed and chopped the scapes into large pieces.  I added about a 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, and about a 1/2 cup of olive oil (if you haven't noticed already, I don't do exact measurements very often when cooking). 

This pesto is beautiful but VERY VERY garlicky...you will not be making out with ANYONE after eating this.  The intense flavor could be mitigated by adding in pine nuts or walnuts, which I unfortunately didn't have, but the substantial amount of oil and parm in this batch did cut the raw bite quite a bit.

After splitting the pesto into two containers and cleaning up, I headed outside with Maggie and a beer.  I just recently discovered Wacko by Magic Hat, and it is so yummy.  This will definitely be my go to summer beer.  The Magic Hat website describes it as "A beer with beet juice color.  Wacko is the liquid song of summer. Crisp like the morning, cool like the evening and quenching all day long.  Pop the top and set your summer loose.  Wacko is a delicious summer beer with a big malty aroma, a subdued hop bite and clean, slightly sweet finish."  What's not to like!

Hey Mags....

As often happens on these hot summery days, the thunderclouds started to roll in and the temps dropped  significantly and we headed indoors to await Casey's arrival and start making something for dinner.  I didn't have a whole lot in my cabinets and in an effort to use multiple veggies from the CSA and finish up some things that were going to turn in my fridge, I went to my old stand by..the summer salad!

I had two almost empty boxes of Israeli couscous and a bit of orzo that I decided to use as my "grain."  I have really have fallen in love with Israeli couscous.  I think it's the texture and the beauty of those perfectly round pearls of semolina.  Following the directions on the box, I brought to a boil  1 1/2 cups of water, poured the couscous and orzo in, put the cover on and turned the heat down.

Image from gourmetsleuth.com

I then got to chopping up my veggies.  I used one zucchini, one summer squash, two scallions, and 1/4 of an English cucumber and 10 grape tomatoes that were left in my fridge.  I tore some of the spinach into bite size pieces and added that to the bowl, thinking that the warm couscous/orzo mixture would wilt it slightly. 

After about ten minutes the couscous/orzo had absorbed all the water.  I turned off the heat and added it right to the bowl of veggies.  I mixed in about a 1/4 cup of the garlic scape pesto, some lemon juice, a bit more parm and salt and pepper to taste.

 I ate two serving of this "salad" while it was still slightly warm.  Casey arrived shortly after and helped herself to a couple of servings as well.  Lucky girl spent the afternoon out on the links, while I slaved over a hot stove ;-)

I was able to use most of the ingredients in this week's share in this one recipe.  Last year, I attempted to use at least a few veggies in every meal that I made, but sometimes that just gets difficult.  Now I need to figure out what to do with the baby turnips...any suggestions? I'm toying with just roasting them, but on a hot day, that's not too appealing.  I will definitely saute up the greens with some garlic and olive oil but I must say...I just don't LOVE turnips and am constantly flummoxed by what to create from these little gems.

The Joy of Asparagus

Three words...I love asparagus. 

I love it roasted, grilled, blanched, raw or gasp! even out of a jar or can, which is how my dear grandmother used to serve it.

So, when I saw these beauts at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday, I had to purchase. 

Please disregard the mess in the background...

Last Saturday, Casey and I bought some asparagus but those were of a much more "slender" variety; the ones available on Wednesday were simply monstrous.  As I picked out my asparagus, (while Maggie, in a moment of amazing behavior, simply sat and waited patiently) a woman approached me and asked if these particular asparagus would be tough because they are so big.  I said I wasn't actually sure...and then I remembered a conversation I had with my family about Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and her discussion of asparagus. She says that size, in fact, doesn't affect the tenderness of the asparagus, but one must only be mindful of size, as it will have an impact on cooking time.  Another common misconception is that the smaller spears come from early harvests.  The truth is some plants (often depending on health and available nutrients) simply produce larger spears.  Interesting stuff, right?

Anyways, I purchased about a pound of this lovely veggie along with some spring garlic and a bag of arugula and headed on my way.  This afternoon, as the sun started to peak through the clouds and the temperature creeped up, I was craving a light and refreshing salad and decided to create a simple dish out of the ingredients I had purchased.

I first washed and spun out the arugula and placed it in a bowl.  I then washed the asparagus and trimmed the tough ends, cutting just about a 1/4-1/2 an inch off the bottom.  I took three of the stalks and using a veggie peeler, created ribbons of asparagus, which I placed on top of the bed of arugula.  To this, I added shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. 

This salad was so yummy! The peppery arugula, tender and slightly sweet asparagus, salty parm and tangy lemon. Just perfect! I plated myself a dish, but then just decided to eat this salad out of the bowl.  I will also admit, I slipped Maggie a piece of cheese...what can I say, I'm a sucker.

What are your favorite spring time veggies?