Summer Eating...Farm Style

Community Supported Agriculture Anxiety Disorder

Welp, its that time of year again. The potential for CSAAD to creep in grows by the minute!

We signed up for a half share again this year and hopefully we are better prepared.  We, unfortunately, wasted quite a bit of what we got last round but this year at least we know what to expect.  The early part of the summer is quite a bit of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, peas and beans which are easy so this go around we are doing much better. 

I honestly never knew how good a radish sandwich was! I was watching some travel show and of course can't remember where they were or what they were sightseeing but I remembered what was on their plates! Ha! They were in a little cafe and were eating simple open faced sandwiches that consisted of nothing but bread, butter (and I mean real butter, not the imitation crap), radish slices and a sprinkle of salt.  I recreated them once I got my next pick-up and now have a new summer staple/favorite.  Seriously if you like a nice peppery crunch this is where its at!

Also, as I had this leafy bad boy hanging out in my garden...

...and since we got strawberries in one of our first baskets, I got to make one of my favorite desserts!

Strawberries, Rhubarb, Sugar, Vanilla and a little flour.

I cheated a little and used store bought crust...

Mmmm all gooey and yummy!

Strawberry Rhubarb pie!  

First of the season :)

As always thanks for stopping by, and happy baking!

~Leah 

Summer Dinner In a Snap

I have always considered myself more of a baker than a cook but my summer CSA adventure has forced me to be a little more of a cook than a baker.  Zucchini has been one of the most abundant staples of the weekly baskets I pick up from the CSA and its something that I don't normally eat.  Every now and again I will toss some in some jarred spaghetti sauce but other than that I never really know what to do with it.  My  mom and I were trying to come up with an easy, mess free recipe to use some up and last week in the basket we received small red onions, bulbs of garlic, tomatoes, zucchini and some yellow squash.  We decided to just throw it all in a pan and see what happened.

What we ended up with was super light and really tasty.  We have made it twice since our first experiment and I have a feeling that this one will hang around for a while.  

We call it the Back Garden Pasta.

Here's what we used...
1 Large Zucchini
1 Large Summer (yellow) Squash
1 Small Red Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
5 Tomatoes (we prefer Roma or any of the Heirloom varieties)
Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
Olive Oil

It couldn't be easier.  Cut the tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash into bite sized pieces, leaving the juice of the tomato intact. Mince the garlic and onion.  Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet, once hot toss in the onions.  Let them sweat out until softened and somewhat translucent.  Add in the garlic, cook just until fragrant.  Dump in the zucchini and summer squash and toss to combine.  Let that mix go for about 5 minutes, letting the zucchini and squash start to soften.  Once that is well on its way add the tomatoes.  The goal is to let the zucchini and squash to soften but not completely go to mush while allowing enough time for the tomatoes to break down and make a little sauce.  While all that is happening cook the angel hair according to the box.

Here is your pan once everything is in.

To serve simply top your pasta with lots of sauce and veggies and you have a super easy, quick dinner. Its also good with a handful of shrimp thrown in but I prefer the vegetarian option topped with a little fresh shaved Parmesan cheese.

Finished product :)

Sorry for the rough photos but my camera is down for the count and my iphone is on its last legs!

I hope you enjoy your summer feast!
~Leah