Monday, June 11, 2012

This is some of the beautiful fruit and vegetables we got in our first share of the CSA.  There was a dozen eggs (from organically raised, free range chickens), a bunch of scallions, a bunch of swiss chard, a quart of beautiful strawberries, some peas, some radishes, a bunch of carrots, a bunh of fresh thyme and a large, heavy head of cabbage. Oh, and some garlic scapes.

So far, we've had swiss chard for dinner (wilted with some olive oil and the garlic scapes), the strawberries became filling for crepes at Sunday breakfast and then frozen daquiris at dinner, the eggs were eaten at breakfast and the cabbage and carrots became cole slaw.

The only thing we'd never had before was the swiss chard.  It had a very intense, spinachy flavor but was good with the garlic scapes.  Who knew you could eat that part of the garlic?  We've grown garlic before but never harvested the scapes.  Pk decided he should have a taste while we were still in my office (he walked down to meet me to help me carry it home) and after a handful of Altoid mints, you could still smell the garlic.  Fortunately, they lost some potency after being sauteed with the swiss chard.  The eggs didn't seem all that different than what we normally buy and I wouldn't buy an entire head of cabbage since cole slaw is the only way we like it (but it was so fresh and beautifully crisp) but after week one, we like this.  It's like getting a present.

Kate got a helping of most everything in the share.  She loves fresh peas and I doubt her share even made it into a pot to be warmed up.  The cool thing?  Kate was a child who only really ate three things, spaghetti, chicken nuggets and pizza.  Now she's willing to try swiss chard, a green vegetable.  And she's already discussing what we'll get this week in our share.  The fun thing is the not knowing and the fact that it forces us to be creative.   

Friday night Pk and I saw Snow White and the Huntsman.  It was a very dark movie but an interesting retelling of the story.  Disney it is definitely not.  I liked seeing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as a less godlike being.  It was a bit slow in parts but overall, a good movie.

Saturday, we got up to check out a yard sale in a nearby town which ended up having nothing and then to take the car through inspection.  We were in and out in record time with our brandy new inspection sticker.

Then it was off to McDonald's for breakfast (I love their pancakes.  I know.  It's a failing of mine and a guilty secret).  While we were sitting and eating, Pk mentioned he wanted to go to Holmes to check out some tools at a garage sale but wasn't sure it was worth it.  I encouraged him to go and so we were off on an adventure. 

90 minutes later, we were pulling up in a gravel driveway.  I waited in the car and he went in to check out the tools.  He did well.  We came home with a new cabinet for the workshop, a label making toy, I mean machine, and some other tools.  While he was bargaining(and talking about hobbies), the woman mentioned there was a yarn shop not too far so after he was finished loading his booty in the car, we set off in the direction of the wool.

It was a small shop (A Stitch in Time) with a small, limited selection.  It was bright and looked new.    I bought a skein of sock yarn to make another sweater (those fertile coworkers!) and a skein of sock yarn that Pk admired.

This will become socks for him.  I like the bright blue and charcoal combination.I also bought a pair of dpns in size 3.75 to see if they would be better for my sweater.  The jury is still out on that one. Pk helped the shop owner fix her umbrella swift while we were there.  The knob stopped doing its job and he gave her some suggestions on how to make it work again.

We headed home and I wanted to stop at the Scenic Overlook on the side of Rte 295.  I wanted to see what was so scenic about the Delaware River at this particular spot. 

Nothing really. Pk insisted on taking a photo of me "for the blog".  So, here I am at the Scenic Overlook.  I have very red hair in the sun!  Those are last year's glasses.  When I got new ones, I had those tinted to make sunglasses.  Only 18 dollars and now I have rx sunglasses.  And that is my Dark Side shirt that my niece gave me.  It glows in the dark.  (it says 'come to the dark side.  we have cookies')

I'm almost finished plying my "training yarn" and will be spinning this beautiful roving for my tdf challenge.  It's called Fallen and if I do a good enough job and get enough yardage, I can see it becoming a Forest Canopy shawl.  The colors are so reminiscent of falling leaves that I think it would be gorgeous.  It's more orange than the photo.  Don't you want to just touch it?  It really is as soft as it looks.  My training yarn was not quite as thin as I'd like it to be so I'll be working on that. 


I got a pedicure yesterday so my toes are ready for all this warm sandal wearing weather.  I love the way my feet look but I truly do not like people touching my feet.  They are so ticklish.  The nail technicians think it's funny and they laugh along with me.  They probably talk about me when I leave. 

It's dinner time and I'm hungry so this is goodbye.  I'm off to scramble some eggs and make some toast and maybe some homefries.  I'm feeling like breakfast for dinner.  Mmmm. Pk doesn't like this so he'll "fend" by looking for some leftovers.  He'll eat dinner for breakfast but not the other way around.  He's weird.  (but he's cute so I'll keep him).

9 comments:

Kaye said...

I love cabbage...mmmm! I could probably eat a whole head on my own. I want to dabble in making my own kimchi this year.
(And I'm jealous the scallions you got are so big! Mine aren't that big yet!)

Olivia said...

Breakfast is good any time of day! The vegies look great, hope you enjoy having the variety. I love and crave my vegies but I do tend to get stuck in a rut and buy the same things.

Oh and that is very red hair, you look funky (in a good way).

Galad said...

What a beautiful lot of fruit and veggies. It is kind of fun to experiment with new veggies.

roxie said...

Oh you spicy tomato, you! That's RED hair! Loveit.

Yarn on a tool-buying expedition?Way to work the system, dear!

And I adore your roving colors. That will be SUCH a perfect Forest Canopy shawl! Bon Chance on your Tour de Fleece!

amy said...

Mmmm, garlic scapes. When we were in a CSA (back before they moved to a different farm and kids weren't allowed and I couldn't work off part of the share), part of my work was to compile some recipes each week to go with the veggies, especially the ones people might not be familiar with. That was kind of fun, doing that. But oh, we none of us liked the spring greens in our family! You might look up recipes for green smoothies. I think those use lots of green leafy vegetables and are supposedly good for you, if you don't overdo them.

Rose Red said...

I love the idea of a CSA (and the produce looks fantastic!) but am scared a bit by unfamiliar fruit and veg - cooking is not my strong suit, I much prefer baking! (not quite as healthy, sadly!)

Yay for unexpected yarn purchases!

Anonymous said...

My Italian friend makes "Italian cabbage" . You saute garlic powder in oil then add chopped up cabbage and canned tomatoes. It is delicious. My Mom and I also make Huluski (that's probably not spelled correctly). Cut up cabbage and an onion. cook down in a frying pan (we like it browned). When the cabbage is soft toss with cooked egg noodles and a little butter. Serve with chicken or fish.

Bells said...

Oh yes, swiss chard is so great. I'm growing it again this year - it's so prolific.

Love the red hair!!

Watson said...

My Italian friend makes "Italian cabbage" . You saute garlic powder in oil then add chopped up cabbage and canned tomatoes. It is delicious. My Mom and I also make Huluski (that's probably not spelled correctly). Cut up cabbage and an onion. cook down in a frying pan (we like it browned). When the cabbage is soft toss with cooked egg noodles and a little butter. Serve with chicken or fish.

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...