Adventures with Vegetables: Week 3

We actually missed Week 2's distribution because we were in Boston, and I forgot to have someone else go pick it up. On to Week 3!

Week 3's Share

In this share we got:

• 4 kohlrabi


• 6 turnips


• 1 bunch green onions


• 1 bunch Swiss chard


• 4 heads lettuce


• 1 bunch cilantro

We were supposed to get broccoli as well, but they ran out before we got there, so we got another bunch of green onions instead. Luis loves green onions.

I was actually familiar with a lot of the stuff in our share this week, minus the kohlrabi. I've never heard of kohlrabi before. I'd not had Swiss chard before, but I knew about it after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kohlrabi is related to turnips and have a similar flavor. Some of them are purple and some are white (at least the ones we've gotten). They're quite tasty raw!

Weird purple vegetable, kohlrabi

This week I made Garlic Cheddar chicken with oven fried turnips and kohlrabi, and sauteed Swiss chard with Parmesan cheese. You may be thinking this sounds awfully familiar, but it's not (that's what I thought "hey, I made the same thing as last week, but with chicken instead of fish and Swiss chard instead of braising mix!"). Don't judge.

So tasty!

The garlic cheddar chicken is something I make a lot. It's basically chicken rolled in cheese and bread crumbs and baked. So good and easy! I used the same turnip recipe as the last week, except I used curry powder instead of chili powder. The Swiss chard recipe is here. This meal was delicious and I wish we had gotten more weeks of Swiss chard because it is quite tasty! Luis even liked it, despite it being very green (of course it helps that it was covered in cheese).

Also, as soon as we got the share and I saw cilantro I knew we had to make ceviche!

Just looking at this makes me want more!

I've made ceviche numerous times, although this is the first time I did it without Luis' help. And I thought it was delicious and one of the best I've made! Later, we added lettuce under the ceviche to help catch some of that tasty juice.

Overall, I declare Week 3 to be a success! We ate things I've never had before (kohlrabi and Swiss chard) AND they were both delicious! And we got to eat ceviche.

Up next: Week 4, in which we get lazy.

How giant are these green onions?

plant update

In my last post, I posted a picture of my pepper plants and ginger that I had decided to grow. Now, a few weeks later, they look great!

Cayenne peppers, we've had a couple, they taste wonderful!

Green peppers, hopefully we'll get some more buds on these.

And this is my ginger! I had read online that you could buy ginger at the grocery and plant it and it would keep growing. Then, whenever you wanted to use some, you just dig it up, cut some off and replant it! I was skeptical cause I had planted it for several weeks before it began to grow. And now it's huge! I can't wait to use some!

shopping for fresh food

Lately, Luis and I have been making an effort to eat healthier and spend more time cooking using fresh ingredients and cut down on the amount of processed food we buy. When Jill, Carey and I moved into our first apartment in college, I think we owned two pots and maybe one frying pan. I spent many a night eating from instant pasta and rice packets and rarely buying fresh veggies. It was quick, easy and I was only cooking for myself so I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I wasn't concerned with what was actually in the food I was eating. After college, I started cooking more, but I often found myself resorting to using processed foods a lot. Now that Luis and I are both working and in school and have crazy busy schedules, we end up going back to college and buying pasta packets again. After getting sick of constantly eating pasta and not very tasty frozen stir fries, and watching Jamie Oliver make chicken nuggets -- I'd had enough. Luis and I decided to start cooking more often, invested in some really good cookbooks (that didn't all revolve around pasta) and began buying more fresh ingredients. I've also gotten really into gardening: growing herbs, green peppers and now tomatoes and cayenne peppers (and ginger!).

My peppers and ginger, in their early stages!

Now that we're finally buying fresh ingredients, and cooking delicious meals from scratch, like this Jamie Oliver sweet and sour pork:
I've noticed that our grocery bills are going up like whoa. This really bothers me. I've always said that I have no problem paying MORE money for BETTER quality food; if you can taste/see/smell/feel the difference, then I'm all for it. But I despise the fact that it costs more to eat healthy than to eat junk food. I understand that it costs more to produce fresh foods, but there is a serious problem in this country if going to McDonald's is encouraged, while eating healthy is discouraged. I am ashamed of you United States! I get the Sunday paper every week, and I always go through and look for the coupons. I used to save TONS of money at the store, but now not so much. Why? Because they don't print coupons for fresh vegetables - just for mac 'n cheese and instant stir fries. I hate that we live in a country that does not encourage fresh foods and healthy eating. I hate that you have to have money to buy foods that are good for you. It seems like, as a whole, we are encouraging people to be fat and eat junk. And that is wrong. I'm a lot happier and healthier now that I've stopped buying as much processed food. And I enjoy cooking with fresh, raw ingredients, even if it does take some time. And the end result is always way better than any bagged stir fry could give.

My new favorite cook book. I don't think we've made a recipe in this that we didn't love. I even made cheesecake, from scratch!

hello summer

Summer is here!

I am so excited about summer and all it's glory. It's been super hot here, which is crazy for this time of the year. School ended on Wed. and I'm incredibly happy that terrible semester is over. So far, one grade has come in but I'm still waiting on the other two. To celebrate summer Luis and I went out to lunch and saw Iron Man 2 (which was amazing and I loved it immensely and now want to rewatch Iron Man.) I also celebrated with a trip to the bookstore and purchased several books which I am very much looking forward to reading. I got God of the Hive by Laurie R. King, Lies by Michael Grant, The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, and Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. So excited. Right now, I'm reading a book about the Gardner museum heist which is very interesting and quite enjoyable.

Tomorrow, I will attempt to bake a fruit tart (should be interesting). Then on Monday, I will purchase the rest of my herbs and tomato plants, and plant them. On Tuesday I start my internship at the Lexington Public Library. I think the internship will be good, but I am nervous and not looking forward to getting up early. Then, next weekend Luis and I are going to Columbus for the weekend to see a Crew game and do other fun things! I love summer.

Now I just need the Red Sox to stop sucking and all will be well......Well, that and to not work....

And of course, the terrible election day is coming up!

Also, the best news....I am halfway done with my masters! yay!

hello herbs

hello new blog. hopefully i will be able to update this one more often than the book one.

I love the end of summer, it finally starts to cool off, my birthday is close and we get to enjoy a surplus of our garden! We grew green peppers this year, and that's the first one. It was sweet and delicious. I made some end of summer pesto and am currently drying oregano and thyme to use throughout the year. I'm also getting ready to whip some herb butter using various herbs from our garden. I've decided next year we're going to try for tomatoes and whatever else I can think of between now and then. I can't wait!

Also, speaking of my birthday, this year will be the first time since high school I have had class on it. My first full day of classes is Sept. 1. Crazy.