Another fun CSA box!
Parsley, red pepper, three tomatoes, and again: The Mystery Herb (you guys identified that as lovage, right?)
Broccoli and lettuce
Shard and a leek!
Two more bunches of broccoli
Guess what was in the bag?
Potatoes!
Three more tomatoes, an onion, and two pumpkins
Wow, pumpkins! It feels too early for them. Looking around online I think these are pie pumpkins? Help me out if you know. We put them in the garage to chill for a bit. Now what?
I went ahead and roasted the tomatoes to make my own sauce. I loosely followed Alton Brown’s tomato sauce recipe.
I chopped them with a cheap steak knife. Sue me.
I sprinkled garlic and basil over them. This is what they looked like after they baked for 2 hours.
I didn’t roast all the tomatoes because I wasn’t sure they were going to turn out ok. So I used the mini-Cuisinart to blend fresh tomatoes with slow-cooked ones and chopped onions. And I think I added some more olive oil.
Then I put them in a slow cooker and cooked them for a few hours. The photo doesn’t do it justice. It was really good sauce. I only know that because my husband told me. I’m not sharing a recipe because I would like to do something more than once before I say you should try something. Since the school year has started up, I don’t know when I’m going to have a chance to do this again. It was worth it though!
Next up? Potato leek soup!
These boxes are always so interesting. How much does one box cost, if you don’t mind my asking?
I think the mystery herb that you have is sage and yes the pumpkins are pie pumpkins.
If you do not mind me asking how much does these boxes cost you?
Yeah, your “mystery herb” looks like the sage I have growing out my front door.
Also, pumpkins sliced into chunks and baked or steamed, eat the skin or don’t, is FANTASTIC. One of my favourite fruits. With just a little butter and salt it,s pretty good. Of course, different pumpkins have different flavours.
Pie pumpkins are awesome! I try to buy and process 10 or so this time of year.
Bake it whole in the oven until soft, remove and let cool. Scoop at the inside gunk and discard (or save seeds). Take the pulp part and puree it. Drain (I use coffee filters). Then, use as you would pumpkin. I freeze it mostly for pumpkin pancakes.
I was going to say sage as well for the mystery herb. I grew that last summer and it looked exactly like that. So fun to get that variety of produce in the CSA. I love leeks. I grew them a few years ago and I keep forgetting about them when I plan my garden. Next year! That tomato sauce looks awesome! I’m going to have to try that. I love the idea of roasting the tomatoes first.
I agree this herb doesn’t look the same as the lovage you had before. It looks like sage.
Oh and for the pumpkin. I like to cut them in half then scoop out the seeds, Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch wedges, drizzle with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes and then roast until caramilized. It’s great served on top of polenta.
Then I separate the pumpkin seeds from all that fiberous stuff and roast them in the oven at about 200 degrees until they are lightly goldedn. Let them cool down then grind them shell and all into flour. I add this to my gluten free bread. It gives delicious flavor and also a nice dose of fiber.
For you guys who asked about the price:
You don’t buy the boxes, what happens is you pay a flat fee to sponsor a local farm and you get a box from that farm every week for a specific number of weeks. Some farms offer dairy boxes in addition to produce. Go to http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ for more information.
Just FYI – chard. With a c. You can get the same flavor (but less pretty) by buying beets with their tops still on, because chard mostly is (very simplified) beets grown for the leaves instead of the roots.
That “red pepper” looks like a paper lantern habanero. I just used two in some black bean and rice filling for stuffing into roasted peppers. I took out all of the seeds and chopped them finely. They weren’t too hot cooked and mixed with a lot (probably 4 cups) of rice and beans.