Erica

End-of-Season CSA Thoughts

October 15, 2013 by Erica

End-of-Season CSA Thoughts

As I sit at my computer right now, I am staring at this enormous butternut squash.

For some perspective:

End-of-Season CSA Thoughts

It’s big. Really big. I would guess 4 pounds? Yowza.

I’m telling you this not just because it means more butternut recipes in your future (though of course it does – hooray!) but because I just picked it up as part of my last CSA box of the season. The harvest is winding down, and I’m going to have so start frequenting the grocery store again – crazy! (Not for squash, though. It looks like I’m set for the near future!) In any case, my first season as a CSA member was quite an experience, and I thought I’d share my thoughts in case you are considering joining a CSA next season. If you’re interested, pour yourself a cup of tea, and then let me know what your CSA experience has been!

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Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

October 14, 2013 by Erica

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

Hello, and happy Monday to you!

Some recipes I have a lot to say about; others, not so much. This is one of the latter. The big story about this recipe is that a version of it has been on my idea list for quite some time – about a year – and when I got a massive amount of green peppers in my CSA box, I decided to finally try it out. It would have been almost irresponsible not to, you know? So… I made it.

The end?

Green Curry Stuffed Peppers

No, of course that’s not the end. That would leave you with far too many pictures of peppers and far too little of my sass for one day.

Although maybe it’s the peppers, not the sass, that you’re after.

Lucky for you, I’m not sure I have anything too sassy to say today. More pictures of peppers it is!

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Cranberry Pumpkin Smoothie

October 11, 2013 by Erica

Cranberry Pumpkin Smoothie

I conceded early defeat in my annual battle against the utility bill when I turned on our heat this past weekend. Usually, I like to play a game called “how long can we go without turning the heat on,” and last year I made it to November. October just seems like a ridiculous time to need a heater – yes there is snow in the mountains, but we were running the A/C less than a month ago! But I realized last year when November’s gas bill totaled all of $10.75 that I needn’t have held out so long. Pretty sure I would have payed $10.75 to not be so cold when getting out of the shower any morning last October!

So why an October smoothie? Well, to be frank, although I crave a hot breakfast in the cooler months, a meal of hot coffee + hot granola makes me break out in a sweat, heat or no heat. The only solution is to take off my fuzzy bathrobe and eat breakfast in my undies, which can get awkward now that our kitchen table is RIGHT ACROSS from our neighbors’ window. I think we’ll be sticking to smoothies for a while so I can enjoy my breakfast without flashing the nice couple next door.

Cranberry Pumpkin Smoothie

I also happen to have about two dozen frozen bananas in a Ziploc in my freezer. I’ve mentioned Nate’s banana preferences before – no green, no go – and sometimes I just can’t manage to consume all the remaining bananas in the bunch that have dared to develop a single brown spot. Into the freezer they go. I always mean to whip up some banana bread, but in terms of gradually chipping away at the ever-icier frozen banana supply, smoothies are the way to go.

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Mashed Butternut Squash

October 9, 2013 by Erica

Mashed squash may not be the most romantic-sounding dish. This I know. But trust me, it is up there with the tastiest!

Each week for my CSA, I get an email containing a few recipes for this week’s ingredients. This was one such recipe, and I knew immediately I had to try it. It sounded quite similar to the spiced butternut squash soup I made last winter – one of my favorites. Butternut squash, onions, apples and spices in yet another spoonable form? Yes please!

These are the squashy version of mashed potatoes. And if you like mashed potatoes, let me tell you how you will feel about mashed squash: you will FREAK OUT. Unlike potatoes, with butternut squash there’s no need to add cream (just a little bit of butter!), because it already has plenty of moisture. Instead, the focus is on flavor. Apples and onions and maple syrup, oh my! Plus a hint of warm spices to round out the dish and make it absolutely heavenly. Seriously. I swoon every time I reheat a serving of these. They are just THAT good.

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Mexican Zucchini Soup

October 7, 2013 by Erica

Mexican Zucchini Soup

In her Good Food Book, Jane Brody files this soup under the section “Recipes I Have Known and Loved.” If I had a section like that on this blog, this soup would most definitely live in it. But it would be something more like “Recipes I Love Because My Mom Cooked Them.”

OK, false. That is a horrible name for a blog category. But you get the idea… this is a meal I love because my mom used to cook it for us.

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