Local Box Meal Plan: Nov. 16-20

Happy Thanksgiving! I realize that I’m a week early, but we’re having some friends over for an early Thanksgiving on Sunday. Because it’s not the actual Thanksgiving day, I’m taking some liberties and veering from my family’s traditional Turkey Day menu (and let’s face it, who wants to have the same meal twice in one week?).

This week, we’re getting sweet potatoes, red onion, and collards or mustard greens from Naegelin, Eureka persimmons from Indian Hill (Texas A&M has a good breakdown of persimmon varieties grown in Texas here), Cameo apples from Top of Texas, pie pumpkin, green beans from Animal Farm, hot and sweet peppers from Green Gate Farm, escarole and Louisiana shallot-scallions from Acadian Family Farm, Bibb lettuce from Bella Verdi and herb from Pure Luck.

So I’m making:

Appetizer:

• Persimmon-cranberry chutney with water crackers and brie

Main course:

• Herb-roasted turkey
• Chestnut-apple stuffing (made with a red onion) served inside a roasted pumpkin – this only works if we get a pumpkin, not fennel. Here’s hoping for a pumpkin for the super cool presentatation!
• Roasted sweet potatoes tossed with herbs
• Roasted green beans
• Sauteed greens with garlic
• Louisiana shallot-scallion dinner rolls (based on this sweet dinner rolls recipe)

And because we still have to eat dinner on Saturday:

• Italian wedding soup with escarole
• Green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

I’m also retrying hot pepper jelly with this recipe, since it didn’t work so well last time.

Are you changing up some of your Thanksgiving staples this year, or keeping it traditional?

Local Box Meal Plan: Oct. 3-7

Fall is finally here — apples have started to make an appearance in our Local Boxes. I’m so excited.

This week, we’re getting Gala apples; pears from Lightsey Farms; persimmon; Bibb lettuce from Bella Verdi; cucumbers, Thai eggplant and dragon tongue beans from Animal Farm, yellow onions, red potatoes and either patty pan squash or zucchini from Naegelin; basil from Montesino, grape tomatoes, peppers from Tecalote, and radish.

So I’m making:

Lunch:

• Chicken salad with apples and pecans
• Bibb lettuce salad with cucumber, tomatoes and radish

Appetizer:

• Balsamic-glazed pear and goat cheese crostini

Side Dishes:

• Steamed dragon tongue beans tossed with sauteed garlic and basil
• Herb-roasted potatoes

Dinners:

• Roasted patty pan squash and eggplant with herbed chick peas
• Ale-braised sausage with peppers and onions (for our Oktoberfest party!)

Dessert:

• Persimmon ice cream

I’ve been hearing folks say they’re not sure how else to use persimmons. You can use them in salads, in baking, or as a topping for a savory meat dish. Do you have any persimmon recipes you love?

Local Box Meal Plan: Sept. 7-11

We’re actually going to be in Napa and Sonoma this weekend, so we won’t be getting a Local Box from Greenling this week. But I still have a few ideas for ways to use this week’s box contents, so I thought I would share them anyway.

This week, we’re getting cucumber melon and lettuce from Bluebonnet Hydroponics; eggplant and long beans from Animal Farm; canary melon, edamame and a variety of peppers from Tecalote; Texan pears and black-eyed peas from Lightsey Farms; basil or herbs from Pure Luck; shallots from Lundgren; and okra from Naegelin.

Here’s what I would have made:

Lunch:

• Chicken salad with herbs and lettuce

Side Dish:

• Quinoa salad with edamame and black-eyed peas
• Sauteed okra with pancetta and shallots

Dessert:

• Pear and melon skewers with honey-cinnamon yogurt dip

Dinner:

• Minced pork with eggplant, peppers and long beans

I’m bummed we won’t be getting a box, but I can’t say that we won’t be eating and drinking well!

Local Box Meal Plan: August 3-7

This week we’re getting anaheim and serrano peppers from Lundgren, blueberries from Berry Best, pea shoots, baby leeks from Animal Farm, a peach from Cooper Orchards, eggplant from Tecalote, lettuce from Bluebonnet Hydroponics, watermelon from Acadian, figs from Purple Goose Farm, basil from My Father’s Farm, and squash from Texas Natural.

So I’m making:

Lunch:

• Grilled squash and eggplant sandwich with a basil-chevre spread
• BLT on a pizza dough roll

Happy hour:

• Baked brie with figs and blueberries
• Watermelon and feta skewers

Dinner:

• Grilled chicken for Cory/salmon for me marinated in lemongrass and ginger, served with a pea shoot salad dressed in sesame oil, soy sauce, and toasted sesame seeds
• Chile verde (made with peppers and leeks)

Keep in mind that like figs, pea shoots are quite perishable and need to be used ASAP!

Local Box Meal Plan for July 20-24

Sorry for the brief hiatus in weekly Local Box meal plans, folks. Between our vacation last week and it being a lazy summer, we haven’t needed a meal plan for the last few weeks. But I’m back with a few new ideas!

This week, we’re getting figs, red potatoes from Naegelin, jalapenos from Lundgren, blueberries from Berry Best, Middle Eastern cucumbers from Acadian, mixed onions, purple hull peas from Animal Farm, peaches from Cooper Orchards, mixed peppers from Lundgren, tomatoes, basil from My Father’s Farm or Tecalote, and hydroponic lettuce from Bella Verde.

So I’m making:

Breakfast:

• Eggs with garlicky skillet potatoes and onions (my husband’s actually making this one, as he made up this recipe himself!)

Lunch:

• Chopped grilled chicken on a salad of lettuce, chopped basil, cucumber, tomatoes, and peppers

Side Dishes:

• Purple hull peas (made how Branny makes her lentils) with pepper-spiked cornbread
• Stuffed jalapenos (you know, the ones with the cream cheese and bacon? We’ll take these over to a friend’s BBQ this weekend.)

Dessert:

• Fig ice cream
• Grilled peach and blueberry cobbler (yep, a cobbler made in foil right on the grill!)

Figs are a bit hard for me because I don’t care for them too much (blasphemy — I know! It’s the seeds. Too many seeds.), so I have to make them as palatable as possible. I’m thinking ice cream is the best way to do this.

How are you using your Greenling box this week?

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.

Local Box, 08.27.2008

Here’s what showed up on my door step yesterday.  Some new and some familiar…

• I’m psyched to see local edamame!  We’ll steam that up, salt it, and eat it out of the pods as a snack, I’m guessing.
• I’ll roast and freeze the butternut squash, then stash it in the freezer to be retrieved for soup when the weather cools off.
• The red potatoes are going to be great in this gratin I’ve been wanting to make.

But what about all those peppers?  How are you planning to use those?

Report from Fearless Forager, week of 08.11.2008

Here’s the forecast for this week’s Local Box:

• kabocha squash
• Italian cucumbers
• slicing tomatoes
  
• yellow squash
• zucchini
• French sorrel
• okra
  
• herbs
  
• purple hull or black-eyed peas
• crimini mushrooms
  
• eggplant
  
• onions
• peppers
• red potatoes

Some exciting new things this week!  Any great ideas to get us going?

Local Box, 08.06.2008

This week’s Local Box arrived light in heft (no watermelon!) but heavy on inspiring ingredients.  Here’s a snapshot of my plans for the week:

• The Olympics kick off tomorrow night, so we’re planning to stir fry some eggplant, summer squash, peppers, and garlic chives for a China-themed dinner.
• I’m dying to try okra “coo coo” using the recipe Shannon recommended in her comments to this post.
• And I can’t wait to make PDugan’s zucchini Parmigiana, either, which will also require some Local Box parsley!

Do you have any summery great ways with sweet potatoes to recommend this week?

Local Box, 07.30.2008

If my Greenling Local Box ever arrives *without* watermelon and okra, I think I’ll feel really nostalgic.

For dinner tonight, my husband is planning to toss a bunch of veggies with some pasta and cheese, per Suzan’s suggestion on the staples page.  Yellow squash, zucchini, pattypan squash, basil, and pepper will work great that way.

Confession time? I never got around to pickling okra OR making watermelon chutney last week, so those have moved up to this week’s agenda.  Last week’s okra seems to be hanging on to its freshness, but I’ll need to act quick!

I also didn’t use my acorn squash or red potatoes from last week, but I’m glad to be stockpiling those for a bigger dish this week that will yield leftovers.

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