Hot Spearmint Summer Treats

Last week's CSA came with some spearmint, and I thought perhaps I would try a sorbet. It's a traditional Mexican summer treat and palate cleanser, so recipes are readily available on the internet. That said, I don't use recipes all the time, so I simply measured out my spearmint leaves, which were drying a bit by now, and added three times the water. I brought the mixture to a boil to let the spearmint leaves steep.

Steeping spearmint leaves.

After boiling for about five minutes, I took the mixture off the heat and added some sugar, about half as much as the water, and stirred vigorously to dissolve. At this point, the mixture was infusing the kitchen with the refreshing smell of spearmint. I sat the pan aside to let it cool.

Adding the sugar.

Once cool, I whizzed the mixture with my immersion blender to further break up the spearmint leaves and release those flavorful oils into the syrup. I poured a bit of the mixture, with the spearmint leaves, into the freezing canister of my ice cream maker, and then strained the rest of the spearmint leaves. I wanted a few green flecks for color and contrast, but not all the leaves.

After running through my ice cream maker for about 20 minutes, the sorbet was light and creamy. I quickly scooped myself a serving, and put the rest into a container for another night. I can't wait to have more on a hot, humid night - a perfect treat for a summer night!

The cool, refreshing sorbet - it's beautiful, and it's amazingly refreshing!

Second Haul

It's week two of my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with Bull Run Mountain Vegetable Farm, and I was excited to pick up more herbs and veggies! I was proud that I ate all my veggies last week, having only a couple eggs, which I planned for tonight's dinner, and some oregano, which I can dry and use in the future. With this first week successfully, behind me, I looked forward to more this week. Below, see my new CSA haul. There are some repeat appearances, too, so I look forward to trying them in new ways!

This week's haul of herbs - chives, basil and thyme.

More scapes!

More, younger, pac choi.

More greens, eggs (but not green eggs).

Hot Friday Night Dinner

It's getting warmer here on the eastern seaboard, so I wanted to cook as little as possible. I had a plan for this evening, and fortunately it involved some quick sautés, which meant the kitchen did not get as hot as it might!

My CSA haul on Wednesday night included garlic scapes, these lovely green curlicue stems of garlicky goodness. I sliced them up on a diagonal, rather thin.

Then I washed my CSA pac choi (commonly known as bok choy) in the sink - it did require a couple rinses, as all farm fresh veggies likely will - and sorted the leaves by size, with the smallest on the bottom of the bowl. Then I decided to utilize some dried mushrooms I've had in the cabinet for some time, so I reconstituted them in hot water, with a splash of wine; after 35 minutes, I sliced them.

I pulled out some butter, some sesame oil (mine is toasted sesame), some fish sauce and some rice vinegar. Now my mise en place (to put in place) was complete (the French way of saying I had prepped all my ingredients and had them ready to cook), so I hauled out my big saute pan. I do not own a wok, but use this curved saute pan in the same manner, even flipping veggies in it.

I started with some butter, which I let melt, and then added the scapes. After a few minutes, I could smell the lovely garlic aroma wafting through the house, and turned the heat from low to medium to give them a little more caramelization. After I was satisfied with their doneness, I took them out, leaving behind as much of the garlicky butter as possible.

I added the biggest pac choi leaves. I added a dollop of sesame oil, and swirled them. After about 45 seconds, I added the next smaller size of pac choi leaves, and about another 45 seconds later, added the last of the small pac choi leaves. They quickly saute and wilt, looking beautiful. I couldn't help but eat one then! I removed them to the same bowl as the scapes.

I added a bit more sesame oil, a bit of the mushroom soaking liquid, and the sliced mushrooms. After some of the liquid began to evaporate, I added some shrimp. I shamelessly purchase frozen peeled, deveined shrimp in the bags in my grocery store frozen seafood section whenever they are on sale - they are great for such meals! I sauteed carefully, stirring to ensure the mushrooms and shrimp got even heat. When most of the liquid had evaporated, I added a splash of fish sauce, a splash of rice vinegar and turned the heat up.

I know it takes longer to cook all the veggies separately, but I like doing it because it allows me to control the doneness of every ingredient. When there was very little liquid left after those additions, I added the pac choi and scapes back to the pan, swirling all of the food together. I also added some chives and basil, but that's just me.

I tasted, added some sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and when I was satisfied with the flavors, I simply dumped the pan of food onto a plate. Gorgeous! I really hope to keep up this type of cooking with the CSA - it is nourishing in so many ways!

Mmm...Dinner!

For my first CSA dinner last night, I took stock of my haul and decided that the fresh, tender salad greens were likely to expire first, so I decided I would make myself a salad. Of course, I do not buy salad dressing, so I made my own herb vinaigrette. I hard boiled one of the fresh farm eggs, and quartered it over the salad, which was finished with a perfect chive blossom. It was so lovely, I even opened a bottle of chardonnay to complement it. It was a nice treat to make such a pretty dinner for myself!

The vinaigrette.

juice of one lemon

one teaspoon dijon mustard

one teaspoon honey

approximately 1/3 cup oil (more or less to taste)

chopped herbs to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Mix lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl with a whisk or fork. Slowly add in oil in a slow pour or in small amounts, stirring vigorously after each addition to create an emulsion. Add oil to taste; I use a little less because I like tart dressings; some people will prefer more oil. Stir in the honey. Use a piece of the salad greens to taste it, so you have the flavor as you'll eat it! Once you're satisfied with the tart flavor, stir in the chopped herbs (I used finely chopped chives and oregano chiffonade (which means I rolled the leaves and cut it into thin slices, which make thin strips)). Add some fresh pepper and salt and taste it again. Adjust as necessary.

The greens.

The perfect egg.

The complete salad.

Community Supported Agriculture

It's been a while, and a lot has changed. Over the last few months, I've seen my dining partner off to Iraq, and it's drastically changed my cooking and eating habits. There's less pleasure for me in cooking for one. I'm hoping that is about to change, however, because I joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) effort this summer. This is a neat concept in my mind - people buy into the crops in shares, and then reap the rewards in fresh produce.

Tonight was the first pick-up. I got some herbs, both freshly picked and potted. I also got some lovely veggies, and my favorite...I am getting a half-dozen eggs every week for the next few months!

Here's a look at my first haul, and stay tuned...I'm hoping this inspires me to feed myself well...