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In our CSA this week, we got spring onions, red potatoes, parsley, lettuce, and yellow squash.  Thought I’d share dinner tonight, which made use of three of the five.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• Red Potatoes [CSA]
• Garlic (1-2 cloves)
• Butter
• Cream or half and half

Peel and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.  The smaller the pieces, the faster they cook, so you can gauge depending on how much time you have until dinner (or how hungry you are).  Place potatoes in cold water, salt, and boil for 15-20 minutes.  When done, a knife through the potatoes should enter with no force, and the potatoes should not be mushy.  Drain the potatoes, leaving 1/4 cup potato water in the bottom or reserve water, drain, and pour back in.  The goal will be to leave some of the starch in and keep the potatoes moist, which I did so I wouldn’t need as much cream later.  In a small sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and saute chopped garlic for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.  (I prefer only 1 clove of garlic, but some like a more garlicky mash.) Add milk, half and half, or cream (depending on your taste or cholesterol count) to the garlic butter to warm up – doing so will make your mashed potatoes less “gummy”. (Don’t want to put cold milk into warm boiled potatoes.)  Add the mixture to your potatoes, mash to your preferred consistency, and add salt and pepper to taste.  I like a creamier, smooth texture under the scallops.  Cover the mixture, and set aside.

Scallops with Spring Onions and Corn

• Butter
• Scallops (3-4 per serving, depending on size)
• Spring Onions [CSA]
• 1/2 cup Stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• Cream or Half and Half
• Chopped parsley [CSA]

To prep, chop the white head of the spring onion and 1-2 inches of light green.  You can also choose the darker green, if you like.  Choose a flat saute pan, and do not use non-stick. In this case, you WANT the scallops to stick so you can make a sauce.  Melt one tablespoon butter plus a splash of olive oil until hot. This raises the burning temperature of the fat, and reduces the amount of butter you need.  To know when you are ready, wet your hand and drop a drip of water into the butter. If it sizzles and spits, the fat is ready.  Dry scallops with a towel, and salt/pepper. Place scallops in the pan, spread evenly. Wait 2-3 minutes, or until you see the bottoms of the scallops slightly brown and become translucent. Flip scallops, and saute for another 1-2 minutes until entirely white.  You don’t want to over cook them, but browned top and bottoms will taste better and improve the sauce.  When done, remove scallops and place on a dish, preferably covered up to keep warm.  If needed, add some fat (olive oil) and spring onions.  Saute until they begin to take on some color.  You should scrape up any scallop-bits on the bottom of the pan, and you should be able to get the entire bottom clear.  When onions are cooked, add 1/4 cup of stock.  I used vegetable, to keep the dish for a pescatarian (fish eater) but chicken stock would work just as well.  Make sure heat is at medium high, and stock should begin to reduce for 1-2 minutes.  Add frozen corn.  Continue to reduce for 1-2 minutes.  We want to add cream, but if you add it directly to the pan the fat will separate.  Instead, pour half and half into a mug or a small dish, and add one spoonful of onion/corn/stock sauce, and stir. This should raise the temprature of the half and half, and then you can add it to the sauce.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Add scallops, and any scallop juice that collected, back into the main pan to warm back up.  Add chopped parsley.  Stir.

Plating

To plate, spread 3-4 dollops of garlic mashed potato on a plate and smooth out with the back of a spoon.  On top, place 3-4 cooked scallops.  Spoon onion/corn/sauce mixture on top.  For presentation, you can also drop a few dashes of paprika from a few inches above the place which will give the food and the plate a nice look.  A nice fresh salad made from CSA greens goes really well as a starter or on a separate plate, also.

Enjoy, and let me know if you try it!

Today I was excited to pick up my first box of fresh produce delivered right into my local community from a local farm.  At a friend’s recommendation, I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture program (also known as a crop-share) and obtained a full share from Red Earth Farm out of Schuylkill County, PA.  Through the Farm to City program, which helps market and coordinate a variety of Philadelphia-region farms and bring them into various drop-off locations in Philadelphia, I will have 23 weeks of fresh and seasonable vegetables!

CSA Vegetables

This week I picked up: spinach, green lettuce, red lettuce, green onions, baby basil plant, bunch of radishes, swiss chard, kale, and pac choi.

A good summary of what a CSA is can be read in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture:

In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or “share-holders” of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

For me, there are three aspects that I’m looking forward to:

1. Eating with the seasons
   I’m used to buying vegetables from the grocery store based on what I want to eat or what’s in a recipe.  Blueberries? Not a problem.  Asparagus in November?  Yep. If my target produce is not in season locally, my store will have on-hand the produce from areas of the world where it is in season, be it California, Florida, or South America.  Moving food around the world like this uses large amount of energy just so I can have my preferred vegetable side.  I hope that by eating with Red Earth Farm’s crops this year I will become more conginzent of what I’m eating and what the side effects are of my buying and eating habits.
2. New taste treats & mixing up my diet
   I’m also excited about trying new or unusual vegetables I don’t normally eat.  I tend to get into a rut, buying the same vegetables each few weeks.  My regulars include: romaine lettuce, potatoes, onions, red peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, repeat.
3. Happy pets
   Along with my own diet, we have two guinea pigs and they will definitely benefit from the fruit (vegetable?) of our labor by having leftovers or simply new treats they’ve not had before.  Tonight they enjoyed some radish leaves, which they ate but didn’t like as much as their dandelion greens. 

Over the next 23 weeks I hope to document my milage with the program through the blog.  If you have any tips or good recipes, please share them!