- Small head red leaf lettuce

1/2 bunch basil
1 apple
1 small tomato

I love that Blogger is offering a chance for bloggers to make money for charities. I chose to support Invisible Children. Take a look at the link on the right side of this page.

From Food & Wine September 2009: Green Goddess Chicken Salad .

I'm assigning it the rating of GOOD. (It was good dish, but wouldn't make it again.) Dear Husband liked it more that that, but since I'm the top chef in this house, it wont be made again.

Left out celery and piquillo peppers, added roasted bell pepper. I don't think that was why I didn't love it...the herbs and dressing was just not that exciting to me.

- and then we ate -

Sweating Onions

Chopped Rainbow Chard

5 tomatoes
5 peaches
2 nectarines
Head of Lettuce
4 apples
1 bunch basil
1 bunch small carrots
1 bunch swiss chard
5 ears corn
10 radishes
4 beets

Carrot Pasta

My rating system for future posts:

Failure: Things went horribly wrong and the recipe should be shredded
Ok: Edible, but nothing special or exciting. Would not make it again.
Good: It was good dish, but wouldn't make it again
Great: Highly Enjoyable, would make it again
Fantastic: Doesn't get any better. Goes in the vault of recipes to keep forever

• 3 apples
• 2 nectarines
• 1/2 head romaine
• 1/2 bunch dill
• 7 aji dulce peppers
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 bunch kale
• 5 carrots
• 15oz plums
• 9 radishes
• 6 beets
• 1 small watermelon
• 8oz cranberry beans
• 8 ears of corn
• 1 peach

Throwing out: 2 yellow plums

To those of you who are still stickin' with me and blog, I'm sorry that things have been so slow. I haven't stopped cooking, but I haven't been able to find the time to properly document everything I've been working on. I have been taking photos and book marking recipes, so not all is lost.

But since I start work next week (yeah for teachers having summer off!) I know the old way of doing things just wont work and I'll get so behind that I just give up. So, rather than letting that happen, I'm simplifying my process...which ultimately means that I'll be saying less about what I'm doing. Haven't quite worked things out yet, but I'm thinking photos, links to the original recipes, a tip or two and rating system.

Stay tuned!

Please?

• 5 ears of corn
• 2lbs tomatoes
• 3lbs potatoes
• 2lbs plums
• 1 bunch carrots
• 2lbs nectarines
• Pint of blackberries
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 bunch of cilantro

No pasta this week...but double next week!

I made this for the previously mentioned Chardonnay dinner. I call it "Arabic-ish" salad because I used a recipe called Arabic Salad and added a bunch of other things...so I'm not sure if its Arabic or not. Click here for the link to the original on epicurious.com or keep reading for my version.

Sous Chefs on Loan: Sister PB, NB and KK

Ingredients for my Version

• 1 lemon
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/4 t black pepper
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 pound diced tomatoes
• 1.5 T chopped white onion
• 1 scallion
• 1 cup coarsely chopped purslane
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 t dried mint (would love to use fresh, but didn't have it)
• 3 T chickpeas
• 1/2 medium radish
• 2 oz crumbled goat cheese

The directions for my version is the same as the epicurious version:

Cut peel, including all white pith, from lemon with a sharp paring knife. Working over a bowl, cut segments from half of lemon free from membranes and transfer segments to a cutting board, then squeeze juice from membranes and remaining 1/2 lemon into bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons juice to a large bowl, then finely chop segments and add to measured juice. Add salt, pepper, and oil, whisking to combine, then stir in remaining ingredients.

The recipe for the fish has to be one of my FAVORITE ways to prepare fish. Its so easy and really delicious. And because you bake it, its also easy to prep ahead, set the timer and forget about it til its ready! Its a simple mix of Japanese bread crumbs (panko), nuts and fresh herbs, plus a little butter and salt. The original recipe uses walnuts, but I prefer to do it with pecans. You can probably sub any nut you want. I also make herb substitutions using the ingredients that I have. Always comes out beautifully! Click here to see the recipe on epicurious.com.

• 4 tomatoes
• 3 potatoes
• 1.5 onions
• 2 apples
• 1 watermelon
• 3 ears of corn
• 2 nectarines
• 2 peaches
• 1.5 eggplant
• 9 aji dulce peppers
• 3/4 bunch dill
• 6 beets
• 2 carrots
• 11 radishes
• 2 jalapenos
• 3.5 bell peppers
• Small bunch of kale
• 1/4 bunch parsley

Would this make you feel overwhelmed? It makes both me and my fridge feel overwhelmed. And word has it that this week's load is going to on the large side!

Yes, I know, buy herbs during CSA season is a huge crime...but I really wanted to do this with sage because I didn't know how any other leaves would or wouldn't crisp up. I made this for dinner when I held a Chardonnay tasting at my house a few weeks ago. Because of the overall richness of this dish, chardonnay was the perfect pairing.

The recipe originally appeared in Bon Appetit in January 2008. It has relatively few ingredients and is pretty simple to make.



The ingredients are:

1 8.8-ounce package dried egg fettuccine (such as De Cecco)
4 1/2 tablespoons butter
20 fresh sage leaves, stemmed
4 1/2 tablespoons frozen veal stock, thawed, or 2 tablespoons beef broth and 2 1/2 tablespoons low-salt chicken broth
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

I used Demi Glace, which is a duck and veal stock. Also used my fresh CSA pasta. Otherwise, I followed ingredients and directions as written. My guests Sister PB, KK and NB, along with Dear Husband and I, loved it. I would make it again...actually, I did make it again a week later, because I still had sage left over. Yum! This one is a keeper.

I remember being irk'd in the beginning of CSA season about getting so many radishes. I would never choose to eat them. But since I had to use them, I sliced them thinly and threw them in salads. But then, KK, her SO, Dear Husband, and I were at a restaurant who was offering a daily special off buttered radish toast. We decided to give it a try so we could discover what, if anything, was so great about radishes. And that's when the obsession began!

The appetizer was so simple: crusty, grilled bread, a thick slab of butter, thin radishes slices and salt. KK and I were hooked and began making our own versions, with different breads, different butters and the addition of herbs. I did one on Trader Joe's Frozen Naan Bread and it was magical. I even packed radishes in my suitcase so that we could make radish toast on vacation. Also did a little research and found that this is a classic French preparation...butter/toast/radishes.

The one pictured below was on a multigrain peasant bread with a sea salt and herb blend from O&Co.

It was very good, but I'd recommend doing a bread that is less complex...the grains were a little more prominent that previous renditions. Still delicious.

So thank you CSA, once again for opening my eyes. I feel like I was totally missing out and now have years of radish toast to catch up on.

I used virtually the same recipe as I did when I made squash soup a few weeks ago. This time though, I didn’t have as much squash, so I increased the amount of carrot. I also decided to make the pistou. The original recipe called for mint and parsley but I subbed cilantro for the mint. Yes, different flavor but both have a refreshing quality to them.

This time, I used my immersion blender. I had never used it before…mostly because I didn’t have a reason to use it, but also because I really wasn’t sure how well those tiny little blades would work. I was amazed at how easy it was and how well it pureed the veggies. It was smoother than the previous batch, which I transferred in small portions to a food processor. It was also much cleaner and safer…no transferring hot liquids!

Anyway, because it had more carrot in it, it was a bit sweeter than last time. Still delicious. Notice though, that I tried to do something fancy with the pistou and it turned out looking like some kind of crazy starfish. Next time, I'd either try to thin it out or just make droplets all over the bowl.

This week brought some really fun and exciting stuff. Aside from the green peppers, this should be an easy week!

• 6oz watermelon
• 2.75lbs eggplant (2)
• 3 ears of corn
• 3 bell peppers
• 2lbs roma tomatoes (7)
• 10 aji dulce peppers
• 5 nectarines
• 4 peaches
• 3 apples
• 2 containers of pasta

Click here to see the recipe on epicurious.com and get full preparation directions

Ingredients before combining

The final product

The recipe says to let the salsa sit for awhile to let the flavors meld together. I let it sit covered at room temperature for about 2 hours. It was perfect!

Also, I was at a foodie event and saw Kimchi Salsa. It was delicious and I tried to buy some, but the vendor put the wrong thing in my bag, so I never got a full container of it. I took a portion of this salsa out of the bowl and chopped up some traditional cabbage kimchi and mixed them together. It doesn't change things too much but adds a little spice and a little sourness. I thought it was good. Kimchi lovin' Dear Husband thought it was better than kimchi-less version.

- and then we ate -

Going on vacation set me back a bit...lots of cooking to do this week! Here's what I have left in my fridge this week:

• 5 donut peaches
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch basil
• 1/4 head lettuce
• Swiss chard
• 2 carrots
• Bunch of kale
• 2 jalapenos
• 3 green peppers
• 14 radishes
• 6 beets
• 2 yellow plums
• 2 onions
• 3 potatoes
• 2 apples
• Bunch of dill
• Bunch of basil
• Fettuccine

Just want to inform my dear readers that I haven't abandoned my blog. I've been virtually unable to get online due to Time Warner issues. I've also been going over the final details of the annual Women and Wine trip. 4 days of wine tasting and dining in California Wine Country!

Thanks to Virgin America and its on-board wireless, I'm updating from exactly 36,140 feet above the ground. Anything I don't finish today will be completed by Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week.

Also, I have radishes, beets, a green bell pepper and some 'Hog Wash' Mignonette that Sister PB and I made last night for a coastal picnic later today, packed in my suitcase.

Here's what we got this week:

• 4 large beets
• Bunch of HUGH Swiss Chard
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 bunch basil
• 1 small bunch kale
• 6 radishes
• 4 medium carrots
• 2 ears of corn

• 2lbs apricots
• 2lbs apples
• 2 pounds donut peaches

• Regular fettuccine

Best fruit of the summer so far...apricot and donut peaches

Everything looks really good this week..especially the perfectly colored and shaped apricots and peaches. Unfortunately, I have dinner plans on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, so I won't be doing that much cooking. I'll also be leaving Friday morning for a long weekend vacation. Hope everything keeps in the fridge over the weekend. Thank goodness for Debbie Meyer's Green Bags!