Back to the basics

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

Garden

Last week began gardening season at the Sommers household. We had picked up our "cool weather" plants from the Eastside Coop the week prior and hadn't really had a chance to get them in the ground until last Tuesday. Much of this had to do with work, but also the dread of dealing with the grass that keeps popping up in our garden bed.



If you look in the top left corner of the bed, that's all grass weeds. For some reason there are some tulips in the bottom right corner, that we're letting bloom at the moment. We'll move them somewhere after the blooms die.

I started "tilling" the land and ended up being outside for about 2.5 hours

Mostly tilled


The greenery in the right corner is catnip and chives. I've moved the catnip OUT of the bed and into a corner of the garden, since it act like a weed and I don't want it steal nutrition from my onions. I also repositioned the chives into the corner, since they come back every year and it's an easy place to remember.




We planted a TON of onions (50-60) leeks, broccoli, purple broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, strawberries, kale, asparagus (we wont be able to harvest this until next year or the following) and a bunch of favas I started from seed. I've not been successful in my seed starting in years past, so I'm not overly optimistic about the favas.



We also have other plants popping up in our much neglected yard.



When we bought our house I saw this guy at its earliest stages and was shocked that we had succulents that were winter hardy in MN and I had never heard of sedum before. Fortunately I have "know it all" friends (shocking that I surround myself by like individuals, no?) that identified this for me. It is also gets huge and I didn't split it last year, so if you want some sedum at the end of the season, bring your shovel.