Local Box, 11.19.2008

I’m tempted to decorate with the undulating sea of greens that arrived in my Local Box yesterday. But they’re too rich and flavorful – I’d rather eat them instead. I’ve got out-of-state guests coming for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I’m psyched to see avocadoes again — guacamole is a quick-and-easy hors d’oeuvre with real regional flair, especially when made with local onion and Key lime juice. I think I’ll plan to turn some of those Meyer lemons into sauce for gingerbread pancakes, too. And I’m hoping to find time to turn some of the Meyer lemons I’ve collected into marmalade for a cranberry sauce recipe I’m excited to try. I’ll horde this week’s sweet potatoes for next week’s big meal, and maybe fry some green tomatoes, too.

What have you got planned for your Local Box this week?

Holy Guacamole!

Something about pounding green flesh in the lava-rock molcajete always seems sacrificial. Perhaps appropriately, then, the guacamole we made from our Local Box avocadoes Sunday evening seemed fit for the gods! The fruits were so ripe and flavorful that we added only a bit of finely-chopped Local Box red onion, a squeeze from half a Key lime, and a generous sprinkling of salt. Olé!

How did you eat your Local Box avocado?

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

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 11.10.2008

Here’s what she’s got planned for this week’s Local Boxes:

• bibb lettuce or baby lettuce/arugula bouquets
• avocado
• key limes
• collard greens
• radish
• mustard/turnip greens
• red onion
• yellow onion
• assorted herbs
• apples
• Meyer lemons
• zucchini
• 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?

Local Box, 10.29.2008

The joy of opening my Local Box today reminded me of my first time. That first Local Box inspired me so! I documented all of its contents in a notebook and took pictures, too. I’ve come to expect the weekly bounty, now, and while I’m always glad to see it, it doesn’t often take my breath away anymore. But today: Flowers! Vibrant, fragrant, lush marigolds. Too many to fill just one vase! I arranged them into two – one for my desk and one for another room in the house.

It’s good to see the food too, of course. More fresh dill means I’ll preserve last week’s remaining dill in butter – more on that later. I’m also thinking of making some Meyer lemon sauce to freeze this week, and substituting Key limes for Meyer lemons in a batch of lemon squares.

What have you got planned for your Local Box this week?

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!

Lotsa Key Lime Juice

My citrus got out of control. My excuse? Our refrigerator went out a couple of weeks ago. It took a week to get it repaired, so we took our perhishables to my in-laws’. I’d forgotten I had at least two weeks’ worth of Local Box Key limes and Meyer lemons there… until I brought them back Sunday. So this morning I juiced all of the Key limes I’d had before yesterday. (The one that came in this week’s Local Box are still in the now-functional fridge!) Taking a page from a comment from Hillary a couple of days ago, I decided to freeze the juice for use all year. What a treat it will be to have Key lime pie in the middle of winter!