Two Gadgets I can’t do without…..Anymore!

I’ve been involved with Vegetable and or Fruit CSA’s for over 4 years now. With participating in a CSA, there is a little more commitment to preparing food and cooking. For people who are not super experienced cooks or do not have the kitchen gadgets to make life easier, cooking can be a messy time consuming chore. However, this past year my life in the kitchen became a little easier. I acquired 2 new kitchen gadgets that I can’t believe I ever did without. The first gadget that came my way, came as a surprise birthday gift from a friend who is the chef chief and bottle washer to 8 kids. That makes her very experienced in the kitchen. She sent me a emersion blender. My friend knew I was making a lot of soup and knew it would be easier to use an emersion blender than transfer hot soup from pot to blender. Since acquiring an emersion blender I also use it for many other tasks. The blender she sent me can also be used as a simple food processor with a bowl and blade attachment. It also came with a whipping attachment. Haven’t found a way to use that though. The rest of my family has found pleasure using the emersion blender to make milk shakes. The second gadget was a hand me down. My neighbor received a new salad spinner for her birthday and passed on her old one to me. What ever did I do without out a salad spinner in my life. Greens from a CSA and a farmers market are often pretty dirty and sometimes buggy. Rinsing only does not work for greens. Greens have to be dunked. The design of my salad spinner provided a removable colander type bowl that I use to submerge my greens twice before spinning. Prior to this wet counter tops and a roll of paper towels were involved. It is so much easier chopping the greens or making a salad when the greens are dry, the finished product is always better too. During the height of the greens season I get into the habit of taking care of all the greens all at once then storing them in containers in the fridge. My kitchen is pretty basic in terms of gadgets but these are two that I am really happy to have handy. They have made managing my CSA bounty a little easier. What are your favorite kitchen gadgets that have made your CSA life easier?

Teresa

Check out emersion blenders here

Check out Salad Spinners on Amazon

Food parings get me motivated

I need to get working on this blog again.  It’s been over a year since I’ve felt really motivated.  About a year ago I found out that the CSA I was volunteering at was being absorbed by a bigger CSA and after a few weeks I realized there was no place for me in the bigger CSA.  Turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  I ended up purchasing a share in a start up CSA.  It’s been a wonderful experience.  While this time of year my stores are waning (I’m down to a couple of squash, some parsnips and popcorn), I’ve been able to enjoy fresh items purchased at the local winter farmers market.

I’ve been cooking, taking pictures and reading books over the past year.  I have lots of  interesting information to share.  It’s just a matter of sitting down and putting it together.  Writing a blog with decent content is easier said than done.

So what got me motivated this time was a fantastic article I came across.  I needed to find out what spices paired with cherry (I was subbing dried cherries for dried apricots) and came across this great reference article titled,  “Flavor profiles that pair well in recipes” on the Nouveau Raw blog.  Anyway I though the info was good.  I was also thinking I might use it when I go to the oil store to create vinegar/oil pairings for salad dressings.  I’ve learned that the right parings can make all the difference in a salad.  

Not much information but I hope you’ll be hearing from me more often.  

Teresa 

Find a Winter Farmers Market

By January, most CSAs have long since given away their last distribution and the farms are asleep for the winter.  However, with so many types of farming and farmers out there it is still possible to get some limited farm products through out the winter.  Winter farmers markets can help to satisfy your fresh vegetable cravings.

Winter farmers markets are becoming more and more trendy.  I'm lucky enough to live close to Newburyport MA where the town has gone to significant expense to provide unique space for a bi-weekly farmers market throughout the winter.  Newburyport has created a giant tent system that basically uses a moveable metal frame with heavy plastic to covers the market area in winter.  It's quite unique and quite effective.

On my last trip to the Farmers Market I stocked up on carrots, found a beautiful bag of baby kale, picked up a jar of honey, a dozen heirloom eggs and bought some locally grown/processed beef and ham.  Some other products I noticed were a variety of root vegetables, micro-greens, garlic, dried herbs, syrup, soups, wines, jellies, canned pickles/veggies and a few crafters.  I find that even in the middle of winter, locally grown produce is reasonably priced.

CSA the Easy Way would love to hear about your favorite local farmers market.

Newburyport Farmers Market
winter schedule

       My beautiful heirloom eggs

The Wegmans Experience

Since it is the dead of winter here most of us do have to do a good chunk of our shopping at a grocery store.  Well, my husband found a new store on his way home from work called Wegmans and he thought I might like to take a peek.

My first impression is that it is a Whole Foods on steroids with better prices.  First Wegmans is a grocery store with typical name brand products.  I also noted some products that reminded me of Trader Joes, they look interesting but not sure if the quality was there.  Then there was the earthy crunchy and organic products that looked better in quality and came with a price tag.  The typical name brand products prices were actually comparable to what we find in the larger warehouse stores.  The meat, fish and deli displays were clean and well stocked with some pricier items that foodies might want to enjoy.  (One type of steak was $55/pound aged and from some far off land).  The fruits and vegetables looked good.

Second Wegmans is a prepared food store.  You could easily stop buy and pick up a family meal or a meal for one on you're way home from work.  I noticed an area for breakfast foods and lattes.  Again some typical prepared foods and some funky stuff.

Third Wegmans has a food court.  There was everything from a salad bar to asian cuisine to homestyle cuisine.  There were many workers keeping the buffet areas neat and well stocked.  We decided to have dinner there and the buffet food was probably the best I ever tasted.  However, it was still buffet food.  We dined in the balcony which overlooked the store.

The balcony area was spacious and clean.  I noticed some people working on their computers there so I assume wi-fi was available.  There appeared to be a small meeting room similar to what I have seen at Panera.

We spent a little more than usual only because we were picking up a lot of items we wanted to try.  Plus my husband and I never go grocery shopping together.  Not to mention we went without a plan.  Doing a little informal comparison shopping we felt the prices were comparable to what we usually pay.

This was a fun shopping experience.  I'm looking forward to going back.  It's a little far from our house but we will make the trip once in awhile and turn it into a Date Night.....dinner and all.

Beets In Winter

     I just had the most delicious beets in the dead of winter right out of my Freezer.  Back in August I roasted 4 small beets and placed them in a vacuum sealed bag.  This week I’m dining on beet salad (very chic in yuppie restaurants) and on a beet onion balsamic sugar side dish.  Both were simple and delish.

     Prior to eating some of my Mother-in-Law’s canned beets in my early 20ies, I had never voluntarily eaten beets.  They were great and my husband commented that I liked them because of the amount of sugar she used.  I had never eaten anything that close to a fresh beet before.  Well, over years of cooking I never bought or cooked beets.  It wasn’t until I had to pick some up in my CSA, that I decided I could prepare my own beets and better yet like them.

     I think it is extremely easy to cook beets and not as messy as you think. 

Roasting Beets

Heat Oven to 350

Oil in a baking dish

I cut the rough stuff off the beets before I roast but I’m not sure most chefs would suggest that  Sometimes I also cut the beets in half if they are large (harder to cut later but evens out cooking time)

Cover dish with foil

Cooking time varies depending on the size of the beet I start with a half hour and go from there.  I just test to see if a knife will go through.

When they are done, let them cool and peel

Peeling Beets

Get out the paper towels.  Yes, I said paper towels.  You might have to get an edge started with a knife but rub the towels against the beet to pull off the skin.  Works like magic and more than half the time.

The Mess

Yes, there might be a little bit of a mess when working with beets.  When cutting raw and roasted  beets there will be beet juice, which is extremely pretty in color no matter what variety of beet.  Beet juice will stain clothes but not dishes or new sinks/countertops.  Your hands will get very pink during the peeling process.  It washes right off.  My expensive french manicure was unaffected. 

My favorite things to do with beets

Roasted beets as part of a salad

Roasted beets, onion, balsamic and sugar side dish (this is exactly what it sounds like.  Just add a little bit of everything to it till you figure out the portions you like)

Beet Green Risotto-One time the greens were on the beets so I looked for a recipe that incorporated both and found this recipe.  It was the prettiest dish I ever made.  Tasted fantastic and froze well.

     It took a little effort but I now like beets every once in a while.  I choose beet salad more often in restaurants.  I’m happy to have one or two packets of beets frozen after summer bounty.  Have I persuaded my family to join the beet movement?  No.  I have one adventurous child who may give them a try depending on his mood but that’s it.  I don't think that t-shirts with “eat more beets” on them would be a profitable venture.

When I write my articles I try to add in something fun when I can.  This is a link from a Portlandia episode on you tube about beets.  Enjoy the video and your beets.

Shopping on Amazon During the Holidays?

With Cyber Monday beginning for some probably today, if you order from Amazon remember to order through your favorite blog (such as my professional blog

The School Speech Therapist). Look for the Amazon link on the site and order from there. Or sign up for Amazon smile and send a few pennies to your favorite charity. It truly is only pennies but every little bit adds up. Since I can't order through my own blog, I support the Trustees of Reservations.

Scoop that Squash

Every year I make it a point to carve a pumpkin for Halloween.  If I have a lot of time I make a fancy one using a pattern and different cutting tools.  This year I ran out of time to do something fancy and ended up with a couple of simple pumpkins.  They were cute but I forgot to take pictures this year.

Over the years I've also use a variety of kitchen tools, spoons and plastic scoopers purchased in kits to try and get the inside of the pumpkin as clean as possible.  Well this year I finally had the perfect tool in my kitchen drawer.

On one of my many trips to Vermont I picked up a Maudie's Super Squash Scooper and some little country store.  This simple looking tool made cleaning out the pumpkins super easy.  So much less stress on my hand, wrist and arm.  Maudie's Super Squash Scooper has also made it easy to prepare the variety of squash received in my CSA share.

Maudie's web site can be found here http://maudies.us.  They list the places you can find their tool.

Teresa