In our last batch we got some beauties:
Oh-so-sweet corn
Cabbage (little friend no-extra charge)
zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, cucumbers, and broccoli. Since we haven't gotten any tomatoes yet I've been supplimenting with farmers market tomatoes.
It turns out this soup (we recently bought How to Cook Everything at 1/2 priced used books) is REALLY REALLY GOOD. We polished off every last drop. Go make it tomorrow!
Well, this week there were 3 contenders for omnivore of the week:
Last weeks champion, Sam:
(How cute is that tongue? Even if it's blurry. Don't judge me)
Rose stepped up to the plate
but then Sam butted in and scared Rose away (she's a very very strange cat. Not skiddish, but mayyyybe just a little inbred)
If we were similar in size and I saw this guy wanting to munch on my dinner? I guess I'd run away too.
Tallulah thought about it, for approximately 1/100th of a second
but the king reigns supreme:
You can even see Tallulah's tail as she walks away from the King eating his dinner
Next week we'll find out if Sam likes anything besides Kale.
Tomorrow, a really cute inch worm and some pretty soup.
When I bring new things into the house, the cats always have to investigate.
Sam decided he would try out the goods
And apparently he really liked it. 
Too bad I didn't have more time to set up the shot. Hopefully he'll be just as eager about next weeks bounty.
Let me preface this post by saying I know all you fabulous foodies have been blogging about your CSAs for weeks now. Just think of it as "reliving" your first delivery all over again, with the fabulous bounty that mid-summer brings...
Once upon a time Kate and Kyle lived on three different organic farms in Italy. 
Along the way they learned about the language, culture, and cooking associated with living on a working farm. Kyle continued on for another 3 weeks on an organic (and nudist {this was not mentioned in the WWOOF description of the farm}) farm in Wales. It was then that they caught the farming bug. And it's one of those bugs you live with for the rest of your life. Always there being tamed by nothing but"rational" thoughts of friends, families, mortgages and student loan payments...
After much deliberation Kyle and I painfully decided not to join a CSA earlier this year. We wasted so much (well, our compost appreciated it) last year because of our busy lives, and with Kyle in school and my work load getting nothing if not larger, we knew we'd be kidding ourselves trying it again this year. We planted a garden. And then that damn sun just didn't shine. We've harvested a couple of small treats, but only enough to constitute a meal once or twice. And the poor little farmers that live inside of us were sad.
Then, tada! I got a new job. And it just so happens that job thing occurred simultaneously with a Simple Good and Tasty post by Lee about Jackson Hollow expanding their CSA and accepting mid-season shares. Uh... Duh? Where do I sign?
Yesterday was our first pick up and just look at all the beautiful stuff we got!
Oh, and how I love that basket!
We got some gorgeous green beans too, but I didn't realize Kyle had snatched them up for snacking while I was taking these pictures.
On my way home from picking up our share I was inspired to make Broccoli and Gavadeals (Cavatelli for the non New Jersey readers out there) though had a sneaking suspicion the Eastside Co-op didn't carry Cavatelli (named after small hollow sea shells). No matter, I bought chiocciole (named after snail shells). At least I was in the same genus. I also grabbed some Pastures a Plenty Spicy Italian Sausage and went home to whip up our first veggie CSA dinner of 2009.
There is no tried and true Broccoli and Cavatelli recipe I can give you. Kyle's dad makes it the absolute best I have ever had it but if I told you how much fat he adds to it, it would flat line you then and there. Instead, as I love to do, I'll give you approximates. Let it be known I cooked the entirety of the bag of pasta and didn't really need all of it. Fortunately I made pesto earlier in the week, so once we pick out all of the broccoli and sausage, we'll have a whole new meal out of the leftovers.
Ingredients:
Broccoli, cut into slightly larger than bite sized pieces
1 pkg Italian Sausage, sliced on the bias (I prefer spicy, but you can always use sweet)
Cavatelli (substitue any tubular medium sized pasta if you can't find Cavatelli)
Garlic, smashed with a knife, skin removed
Red Pepper for spice
Your favorite italian style grating cheese
Set water to boil in large pot
Saute the sausage in a heavy bottomed until well browned
Remove sausage from pan and set aside leaving browned bits and fat in the pan
Add pasta to pot and cook according to package. Drain, reserving 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooking water
Add broccoli and garlic to sausage pan and cover. Stir every 3-4 minutes until broccoli is tender but not over cooked.
Toss it all together and season according to taste. 
Drizzle with olive oil and cooking water if desired. Sprinkle with cheese. Eat it up!
Tomorrow: My cat eats Kale and I've got pictures to prove it
Hi this is me... well, It's a self portrait after hours of drinking and eating... so yes, This is me!
Today was my first day at my new job.
What? I got a new job? Yes it's true and being the busy individual that I am I haven't found the time to blog about it. Last Wednesday was my last day at Trader Joe's.
There, I FINALLY mentioned where I work on my blog.
Aren't you proud? Well if you think I'm going to tell you the company I got a job WITH, you have another thing coming.
For the past three years and four months I worked for what is truly a spectacular little grocery store. I learned a lot about food, was constantly praised for both my knowledge and my skills, was given ridiculous raises and benefits, and built very meaningful relationships with numerous amazing people.
I also learned what I want to do when I grow up, which has lead me to where I am today. I learned at the ripe age of 27, that without a doubt, I will always be working with food. I knew I didn't want to go back into the service industry, and let's be serious: retail is a bitch. Granted, Trader Joe's is probably the only form of retail I could or would ever work, and is GREAT retail overall.
But I also knew that one day I wanted to have a family and that 50 hour work weeks, all or most holidays and lots and lots of weekends was not conducive to being the type of parent, spouse or daughter that I wanted to be.
This led to a job search. I had no idea what I was looking for, and quite honestly I wasn't feeling very optimistic. A lot of what Trader Joe's provided me with was really hard to put on paper.
But I persevered.
I read Craigslist ads with the search term "food". I sent my resume to a friend that works in Career Counseling. And I (wait, don't laugh) had patience.
I would like to encourage you to go search on monster or craigstlist with the search term "food" to see what I was up against.
Food: Yes! Food service: NO!
Shuffling through dozens of daily listings can make you eyes go crossed : Manager, host, food runner, line cook, food service director, merchandise coordinator, serving position. WAIT! Go back to that second to last one. Merchandise coordinator? That was a good title! Tell me more!
Giving little indication as to which company the add was for, the job sounded interesting at least. "Develop relationships, price comparisons, organic foods, yada yada". I closed my eyes, threw together a cover letter, shuffled some things around on my resume and sent the email. I had applied for a new job. I had no idea what to expect
A waited a week or two and heard nothing. I was angry that I didn't get a call back and had no idea what I would do if my well manicured resume couldn't even get me a call back.
I'm not one to dwell, so I moved on, perused craigslist a couple days a week and ACTUALLY moved on. That's when things happen right? When you move on? That's when I got a call. And then an interview, and then another. All of a sudden they wanted to fly me to Chicago. And finally, two and a half weeks ago, an offer.
It sounds like a whirlwind, and in retrospect it was. But at the time the anticipation was killing me. I couldn't talk about it at work. I had to keep a secret. I HATE keeping secrets. The whole process lasted just over two and a half months and friends and family had to listen to my anxiety during the whole thing.
I was terrified of leaving Trader Joe's. Talk about job security in the year 2009? I continuously received fabulous reviews from a company that is growing a million miles a second. That is job security in a nutshell. What did I know about this new company, would Kyle and I be safe financially?
The company well, it's well known, so that's a good start. It's privately owned by people with a very German sounding last name. Well shoot, that sounded a LOT like Trader Joe's. But I did more research. I needed to be sure.
Most of their products are organic and are sourced from within 500 miles of production. They don't allow GMOs in their ingredients. They are ecologically sound. They give back to the community. I even asked about the companies growth over the past few years. The percentages were good... Very good. It was a fit, and when I received the offer there wasn't hesitation. I went without eating for about 20 hours so as not to throw up when giving my notice, and all of a sudden my life totally changed. I had phone calls to make and loose ends to tie up. And now, today I am officially an employee of a new company! So insanely crazy. I can't even begin to explain...
My hopes are that my new position will (with will and organization) help me meet my personal goals. Things I have missed so much during the past 3.4 years. Cook more, be healthier (that's right, no more Maple Leaf cookies on a moments notice), blog more, train for long distance runs, photograph food and spend time with my family... oh and maybe even have a family of my own one day! So wish me luck, and have patience as I learn who I am all over again while you sit here and read about it.
Tomorrow, my first CSA dinner of 2009 and the eat local challenge!
EDIT: Please read this post on my new and improved food blog, Fork, Knife and Spoon!
On Friday as I drove my parents and Kyle farther West into the Minnesota heartland than I had ever been, my mother and I discussed how we had heard about Outstanding in the Field. She was certain that I, being "in-tune" with food culture, had told her about it. I, on the other hand, believed that she told me about it last year when her Houston goat cheese supplier (Blue Heron Farm) had their cajeta featured at the 2008 Outstanding in the Field in Texas.
Regardless of how we had heard about the meal, the four of us we were headed to Riverbend Farm in Delano, MN to experience our 1st farm dinner. The mission of Outstanding in the Field is simple: "To re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it."
If that doesn't line up with my philosophy I don't know what does. The chefs, Scott Pampuch (owner and Executive Chef at The Corner Table) and Mike Phillips (Executive Chef at Craftsman Restaurant) teamed up with Greg Reynolds and his wife, the proprietors of Riverbend Farm. Both Pampuch and Phillips are well known in the Twin Cities for their commitment to fresh, local and organic ingredients, and Riverbend Farms are one of their go-to suppliers. In addition to supplying restaurants, Riverbend products can be found at local Twin Cities co-ops and they offer a CSA to a lucky 80 participants that signed up in March of this year.
But enough with the small talk, onto the food!
When we arrived at the farm there were two options of beverages being served: 45h Parallel Spirits and Il Follo Prosecco.
The lemonade vodka's being served by distiller Scott Davis were refreshing and smooth, but the prosecco was the best accompaniment for the Charcuterie being served up: headcheese (which is really becoming one of my favorite parts of charcuterie) coppa salame, MN cured prosciutto, Pork Rillette with spicy mustard and rhubarb compote, and house made mortadella. I've been a sucker for mortadella since I lived in Italy, and this provided me with a good fix.
After we socialized a bit in the field, we heard from Jim Denevan, the founder of the nationwide dinners and Katy Oursler, Events Director. They gave us a brief background of how Outstanding in the Field was formed, their mission, and their travels. You can read more about much of what we learned here. 
From there we split into two groups and toured the farm. My group toured alongside Greg Reynolds, as he explained to us the theory behind his crop rotation while we got to enjoy the gorgeous July air.
Finally it was time for dinner. Just the anticipation of walking up to the gorgeous table set for 150 people made the price tag alone worth every dime. I immediately headed to the cooking tent where dinners were encouraged to watch the makings of the upcoming feast.
Our 1st course was a Farmer's Salad, composed of carrots, beets, potatoes, sheep's milk ricotta, pheasant eggs, salad greens, and a fresh shallot vinaigrette. There was a delicious blue cheese included too, but sadly it wasn't listed on our menu. The entire dinner was paired with Miner Family Vineyards Wines, which was a great flashback to California Wine Country. With the salad we were served a perfectly balanced Napa Valley Chardonnay. We got to hear from Pat Ebnet from Wild Acres talk about his poultry production as well as from Joe and Lou Jones from Idle Hands Farms, potato growers extraordinaire.
It was around this time that Kyle noticed darkening clouds in the distance. I was skeptical they would ever reach us (have we had ANY rain in Minnesota this year, after all?) but it definitely made us wonder where 150 people would eat if a storm came our way.
Up next was cured Star Prairie Trout with cucumber, breakfast radish and cabbage coleslaw.
The fish was incredibly tender and mild, while the slaw provided a nice refreshing and light course, well paired with the Miner Viognier: clean, bright and citrus-y.
My wonderful parents who get to enjoy Outstanding in the Field in Houston this September
On to true Minnesota Fare (and who in Minnesota doesn't love sausage?). Next was Fischer Farm Fennel Sausage, served with a kohlrabi puree and braised greens tied together with a Honey Gastrique. Given the opportunity, I could eat this for dinner on a daily basis. The sausage was a coarsely ground pork and the fennel was brightened by the licorice flavor from the fennel. The kohlrabi was as smooth as the best mashed potatoes with a slight sweetness brought by the gastrique to tie it all together. The Miner Merlot was oaky, dry and full bodied with blackberry undertones.
It was around this time we realized those ominous clouds were definitely coming towards us.
Never you mind, the next course was served without any hesitation. Large portions of Mark Simon veal served with a Riverbend swiss chard and a cornmeal "tamale" served on a bed of sweet corn, black turtle bean, succotash, veal demiglaze and herb butter. The tamale was a beautiful and delicious creation, with fresh sweet and creamy Minnesota corn. The veal was beautifully smokey, though I have to admit it was pretty hard to cut with my butter knife. Being the driver of the evening I only had a drop of the sangiovese, but recall a dark, earthy and dry wine. A clear cousin of a good Tuscan sangiovese, with the twist of American terroir.
At this point the storm was upon us. The wind picked up and it was announced that dessert would be served in the greenhouses. The whole lot of us made the trek with the lightning flashing behind us. Many of us lingered outside of the greenhouses until the 1st drops of rain started to fall. The food, wine and weather combined made some of us a little loopy.
The storm approaching
Getting my toes dirty
All messed up on good food and great company
Encountering friends
Lighting strikes in the distance
Dessert was the most unique of all courses: Riverbend cornmeal and Start Thrower farm sheep's milk cheesecake with sour cherry sauce, raspberries, black cap berry sauce, ricotta and honey ice cream. I didn't taste the ice cream, but at that point I was too infatuated with the storm to care.
A patron silhouetted by the outside barn light with rain battering the outside of the greenhouse
The Greenhouse, lit only by lightning
A man lit just by the light of his cell phone
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