First Produce Delivery of the Summer

This summer I'm supporting a local organic farm by purchasing a share in their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  For money up front, I get deliveries every other week of whatever is in season. 

This week's box contained Spinach, Mixed Lettuce, Napa Cabbage, Baby Bokchoy, Daikon Radishes, Garlic Scapes, and Strawberries. 

I had to do some surfing on the internet to find out what some of these things even were, but went to work planning the weekend's menu.  A couple of weeks ago I purchased a leg of lamb from a local farmer, and had that in the crock pot rubbed with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.  I threw in a couple of new potatoes and onions and let it cook on low for 9 hours.  But what to do with this bounty of fresh from the garden produce?

A mixed salad was up first.  I used the lettuce greens, some of the radishes and spinach, and sliced up some red onion, baby cukes, and carrots that I had in the fridge.  For the dressing, I used about a tablespoon of fresh dill from my garden, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, a splash of red wine vinegar, and about 1/2 c. olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.  I threw a package of feta cheese into the dressing, and added to the salad right before serving.

I had never used Bok Choy before, much less the baby version, so I went to the web for some ideas.  I ended up cooking a few slices of bacon, removing them from the pan, adding a bit of olive oil and some chopped onions, and then the bok choy (whole).  I put the lid on the pan and let them cook for about 4 minutes, removed the lid and let them cook a few minutes more.  I added them to a serving platter with the lamb and potatoes. 

We're planning to go on the boat today, so I made a Napa Cabbage Slaw by rolling the cabbage leaves up and thinly slicing them.  To that I added a bunch of chopped green onions and the rest of the radishes (I used a veggie peeler to shred them).  Separately, I melted a stick of butter, 2 T sesame seeds, a package of slivered almonds, and a package of ramen noodles all broken up.  I threw that on a pizza plate and put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, turning often.  When it got nice and brown I took it out, cooled it, and added it to a separate container.

For the slaw dressing, 3/4 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar, 1/2 c. sugar were brought to a boil until the sugar melted.  That was cooled too in a separate container.  When we're ready for lunch I'll add the crunchies and the dressing and toss.  We're also planning on having grilled shrimp (we have a grill on the boat, how cool is that?) and whatever snacks we wrangle up (there's a couple of strawberries left over, and snow peas are always good).

Gotta love the bounty of summer!

A Darn Good Night

Yesterday I awoke with stomach cramps and felt pukey - even had to lay down for an hour.  But I took three Advil and got up and went back to work.  I had put chili in the crockpot, and was planning to make Emeril's cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped hotdogs to with it.  And cornbread muffins.  I invited my friend Jane and her daughter Kirsten to join us for supper - they really wanted to experience a good campground campfire, and it looked like we might have one if the weather held. 

My brother  Bruce had been in Mitchell, South Dakota (home of the famous Corn Palace) most of the week, and wasn't expected home until around 9 pm.  And Emily and Sarah, Bruce's daughters, weren't coming to the lake this weekend for various reasons.  So supper would be just the girls - me, sister-in-law Monica, Jane, and Kirsten. 

And then my niece Maureen called me, and asked if her family could come visit on their way to their cabin on Ottertail Lake. 

"Of course!", I said, mentally tallying what food I had, and if it was enough to feed 2 more adults and 2 children.  "Stay for supper!"

And then Bruce got out of his class early, so he was headed to the lake, and would make supper too.  So at 5 pm I moved all the food to his camper, where he has a spacious deck and large dining set.  I plugged the crockpot in outside, and put the wieners in the fridge, then sat back and waited for everyone to arrive.

Maureen, Jesse, Andy, and Woody were first on the scene.  We hung at my house for awhile so they could admire my garden and try the newest flavor of Diet Snapple.  Then I took them all over to Bruce's camper on his golf cart.  Soon after that Jane and her daughter arrived, and lastly Monica came, straight from work.  Bruce fired up the grill, I cooked the wieners and we all ate until we were stuffed.

Bruce told a story from our childhood.  The first word Bruce and I had ever learned how to spell was Mississippi.  We used to spell it out loud all the time, in a sing-song rhythm.  Now Mom used to wax our wood floors once a week, on Dad's bowling night, which as it happened was also our bath night.  After the floors were waxed and cleaned, Mom would get us ready for our bath by stripping us down to our socks.  Bruce and I would escape and run, sliding down the slick hallway in our socks, spelling M i s s i s s i p p i at the top of our lungs.

That wonderful little game ended when I picked up a sliver in my foot big enough to necessitate a trip to the doctor to have it removed, along with my very first tetanus shot.

A gang of little kids came running down the gravel road - we knew all but one of them.  Soon after, their parents came by on their golf carts and we sat on the deck and visited a little bit.  Maureen and her family had to go, and I got hugs from all.  Then Ryleigh, a little girl from the campground, wanted me to pick her up for a hug too.  She hugged me hard and kissed my cheek. 

Mothers and fathers took their kiddos home to get their pajamas on, and then it was campfire time.  Bruce has a great setup - a big yard ending at the swamp, and woods on one side.  He's parked an old fridge in a shed on the edge of the swamp, where the beer and pop are kept.  The wood for the fire is stacked neatly (sort of) on the edge of the trees, and so everything is easily within reach.

A small winged creature kept buzzing us, which some people saw and others claimed they didn't.  It had to have been a bat or bats, but we hadn't experienced them before, so it was a little creepy.  One of the times when someone shrieked seeing it, I looked up and saw a tall shadow move into the shed, which set off all sorts of ghost stories.  Later on Shane, one of the campers, said he saw the shadow too.

The marshmallows came out for the S'mores, more wood was piled on the fire, and Kirsten got to break in her new Fleet Farm boots by kicking wood back into the fire pit when it escaped.

A little after midnight everyone said their goodnights and see ya tomorrow's and went home.  A very good night indeed.