Local Box Meal Plan: Nov. 2-6

I’m beyond belief excited that we’re getting green tomatoes again. When we were planning our trip to wine country, one of my friends passed along a newsletter from the Visitors Bureau that had a few great green tomato recipes. I’ve been saving it until we get green tomatoes again!

This week, we’re getting serrano peppers from Lundgren; herb, arugula or watercress from Pure Luck; yellow beans and Thai eggplant from Animal Farm; Mars oranges from G&S Groves; beet leaves from My Father’s Farm; turnips from Hands of Earth Farm; butternut squash from Massey Farm; green tomatoes from Green Gate Farm; red or green lettuce from Bluebonnet or Bella Verdi; and apples from Top of Texas.

So I’m making:

Snacks:

• Pickled beans
• Oranges
• Tomatillo-serrano salsa (it’s for the PSU/OSU game, so I couldn’t bring a red salsa!)

Side dishes:

• Butternut squash and apple casserole with herbs
• Mashed turnips
• Wilted turnip greens with pecans
• Green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner:

• Pasta with beet greens
• Thai green curry with eggplant

Dessert:

• Green tomato cake with brown butter icing

Local Box Meal Plan: Oct. 12-16

Finally, some squash! I’m so excited. Even though it doesn’t feel like fall yet, I can tell cooler weather is coming.

This week, we’re getting sweet grape tomatoes from Pedernales Valley; red onion, butternut squash, and globe eggplant from Naegelin; microgreens and Bibb lettuce from Bella Verdi; either persimmon or pears; okra from either Bradshaw Creek Farm or Walnut Creek Farm; dragon tongue beans; and apples.

So I’m making:

Sides:

• Butternut squash salad with microgreens and bibb lettuce
• Okra and tomato casserole with onions
• Dragon tongue and green bean salad with sweet grape tomatoes

Dessert:

• Fried wontons with caramel-apple filling and chocolate-persimmon/pear filling

Dinner:

• Eggplant rollatini

I found that dragon tongue beans taste much like wax beans, so I’m excited to use them in a twist on bean salad.

Polenta, Reprise

My favorite polenta trick – and this is big, the kind of thing I hope my as-yet nonexistent kids will one day tell their kids – is to pack leftover polenta into a plastic or glass container and smooth it over before refrigerating. This is the starting point for a brilliant leftover meal: Pan-fried polenta. Last night, the husband stopped off at Mandola’s on his way home from work and picked up some of their house-made, Sicilian-style fennel sausage. (It’s made from pork out of Bryan, so it’s another ultra-local product.) Then he pan-fried some of our leftover polenta – which, if you recall, was studded with Local Box butternut squash – in one pan, and sauteed some Local Box baby bok choy with garlic in another, browning the sausage in another pan at the same time. Dinner came together in minutes and was scrumptious – another warming meal for a surprisingly chilly Texas night!

What did you eat out of your Local Box last night?

Keeping Warm with Polenta

Baby, it’s cold outside! Without any dinner plans last night and the furnace working hard to keep the house at a mere 62 degrees, I improvised from last week’s Local Box. I brought water to a boil and whisked in polenta, then added diced butternut squash I’d roasted last week. In the meantime, I rinsed last week’s mixed greens and sauteed them in a bit of butter and garlic. When the polenta looked done, I grated in some Grana Padano cheese and stirred in a tablespoon of butter. We scooped the polenta into bowls and topped with the greens, then let the warmth flow all the way down to our bellies.

What are you eating from your Local Box to keep warm?

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 11.17.2008

This week, she’s planning to load-up our Local Boxes with all of this:

• bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce, or baby lettuce/arugula bouquets
• avocados
• key limes
• collard greens
• radish
• mustard greens
• Japanese turnips with greens
• assorted herbs
• apples
• Meyer lemons
• butternut squash or sweet potatoes
• red potatoes

Dinner of Many Veggies

Shocked to realize last night that it was already Tuesday – and thus the eve of my new Local Box delivery – I cleared out the fridge last night for dinner. I grilled eggplant slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a stove-top grill pan, roasted green beans and red potatoes with rosemary, and cooked two butternut squashes I’d collected. We mashed the cooked squash with a bit of sour cream and balsamic vinegar, baked a quick batch of corn bread, and dressed some baby lettuce for a simple salad. Then I substituted Key-lime juice for a twist on Meyer Lemon Squares – and a very satisfying end to the meal.

What do you still have left from last week’s Local Box?

Meyer-Lemon Squares

With the mercury dropping last night, we used Local Box butternut squash and onion to make warming polenta from the recipe that came in last week’s Local Box. Then for dessert: Lemon squares made with a Local Box Meyer lemon! Super easy, and quite tasty, too… the crust on these is reminiscent of shortbread.

Meyer Lemon Squares

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons Meyer-lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix flour, butter, and confectioner’s sugar. Press mixture into an ungreased 8-inch square pan, pressing up 1/2 inch on the sides. Bake for 20 minutes.

While crust bakes, beat remaining ingredients until light and fluffy. When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the filling over it. Bake 25 minutes longer or until set. Cool and cut into squares.

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 10.27.2008

Here’s what’s coming in this week’s Local Boxes:

• marigold bouquet
• butternut squash
• apples
• green beans
• bibb lettuce or arugula/baby lettuce bouquets
• eggplant
• assorted herbs
• Meyer lemons
• Key limes
• zucchini
• yellow granix onions
• red burgundy onions
• cherry tomatoes

Local Box, 10.22.2008

Welcome, fall! I unloaded my Local Box today and couldn’t resist biting into an apple… which led to an impromptu apple galette. (More on that later – after it comes out of the oven and has its edibility scrutinized!) I’m happy to continue stocking up on onions and butternut squash and potatoes, though Key limes are beginning to get an okra-like reputation in my home. I’m planning on roasting some zucchini later today. We’ll use that as a side and adornment for pizza or pasta later in the week – if it doesn’t get eaten right off the cooling rack. And with all those bell peppers, I’m looking for a recipe for a raw bell-pepper salad. Has anyone seen or eaten such a thing? Finally, speaking of peppers, the tiny pumpkin-shaped ones (top-right of the left white bowl) are adorable! I can’t wait to see what they taste like.

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 10.20.2008

Here’s what she has in store for this week’s Local Boxes:

• apples
• bibb lettuce
• green bell “wizard” peppers
• butternut squash
• eggplant
• mixed red & orange sweet peppers
• Meyer lemons
• Key limes
• zucchini
• yellow granix onion
• red burgundy onion
• spearmint
• red potatoes
• dill
• cherry tomatoes

Apples are a sure sign it’s really fall!