a good time

You know what's a good time? When it feels like the week just started, but it's already Wednesday afternoon. Hump day, folks. You know what else is a good time? It's CSA day. You know what else is a good time? I will have a new QAF disc when I get home, and two more tomorrow.

(p.s. I just updated yesterday's posts with photos. pps. yes, Nowlze, MamMaw Gini and Aunt Boots. wanna make something of it? i didn't think so.)

Last evening I started to get hungry and also whiny about what I was going to make. So, I just started grabbing veggies from the fridge and countertops, and adding them into a dish I'm calling "Garden Glop". It was sooooo good! I just had the leftovers for lunch. Yum.

Garden Glop
(vegan, if you leave off the goat cheese; serves two giant servings or four side-ish servings)

3 medium-sized red potatoes, sliced in super-thin rounds
1 small sweet onion, small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 roma and 1 green zebra tomatoes, cut into large chunks (you can use any kind of tomato; that's just what I had on hand)
1 roasted red pepper, cut into medium-sized dice (here's how to roast your peppers. easy, peasy!)
1 c. shittakes, chopped
1 heaping T. dried parsley
1 heaping T chili-garlic paste (find it in asian groceries)
1 handful of fresh basil, chopped
handful of green beans, steamed and cut into small dice on a sharp diagonal
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
some goat cheese, for crumbling on top

So, I sliced the potatoes, and put them in a large skillet with a little evoo and some salt and pepper. I cooked them over med-high heat until they're halfway done, then add in the onion and garlic and lower the heat and cover them loosely (I use a loose piece of foil). Let them cook for about five minutes while you steam your green beans, then shock them in ice water, slice them into small diagonals, and set them aside.

Add the roasted red peppers, chili-garlic paste, tomatoes, mushrooms and parsley to the pan, and cook another five minutes or so. Then add in the basil and green beans, salt and pepper to taste. Dish out, then crumble some goat cheese on top--it'll get all melty and help balance the hot-hot-heat of the chili-garlic paste.

Here's what it looked like mid-way through (isn't it gorgeous?):


And, here it is all ready to be eaten:


Kramer and I had a really fantastic walk this morning. I mean, we walked it out and stuff, but it was amazing how many deer (and deer babies! and, even one young buck) were out. Like, literally, gajillions. Literally. Okay, maybe, like, forty or something. Or, thirty. I don't know. A lot. Especially for being right smack-dab in the middle of the city. And, they're so tame! We brought apples and carrots with us today, and they munched several of Kramer's apples (from our CSA last week)--with a long and wily-looking tongue, and came within about five feet of us. Tomorrow Kramer has to be at work at the ass-crack of dawn, so we have to walk even earlier. I think the only way I'll make it out of bed is to picture adorable deer faces.

And, speaking of Kramer, we had the first weigh-in of the Weight-Off-Off this morning. I lost two pounds! Kramer stayed level (she doesn't want to talk about it), but I think we're both going to do really well. Plus, I actually gained a few extra before we started, so my goal is 22, hers is 18. By December 31st. We are winners*!

[*I'll actually be the winner, but still. She can feel like a winner.]


Have you been hearing all about everyone's CSA subscriptions, but are worried you waited too late? Never fear! I just got this info about a fall share that's just getting started. Check it out:

Greetings!

How does this work? You pay for a weekly delivery of fresh produce, including vegetables and fruit. Your weekly delivery contains whatever is harvested that week. We are working with 2 local farms. There are 6 drop sites including, Mt. Lebanon, McKnight Road, Fox Chapel, East Liberty, Moon Township and Bethel Park. Farm to Table.

Your drop site choice will determine your start date. After you sign up for a 10 week subscription, you will receive a confirmation in 24 hours to notify you of your start date.

Last week's organic share contained Wheat berry bread, Large zucchini, Kale, Green pepper, Cheese, Paddy pan squash, Cherry tomatoes, Potatoes, Watermelon.

The non organic share contained Watermelon, Tomatoes, Green pepper, Apples, Nectarines, Cukes, Eggplant.

Farm subscriptions are available for this fall, starting now! The subscriptions last for 10 weeks. Subscriptions start at $200 and large and small shares are available. You can make 2 payments if you would like.

To get the subscription form, or for questions, contact Erin Hagan:
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I can be reached at (412)563-7807 or
ehagan@american-healthcare.net.

fitness by force

Yeah, that's how I roll. Not like forcing peeps into fitness, but requiring force for myself. Why can't you get healthy by hanging out eating crullers and smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee and getting your sporting in with a hotly contested game of Scrabble? Whyyyyyy?

Okay. I did this before. I was on a roll. Maybe even On Fire. I can do it again. Right? Right!

Kramer has bullied me into starting up morning walks again. We used to do them last winter/spring every weekday morning through Allegheny Cemetery. We started again this morning, but it was a short one--largely because I forgot to set my alarm an hour earlier. But, it wasn't horrible. I mean, I was sorta cursing her name while we did it, but then it was fine. We just did a mile this morning, but I think we used to do three. She read on the internets that we should walk for an hour five days a week. And, she made me plan a biking outing for next weekend, too. (don't point out to her that she's just helping me Kick Her Ass at the weight-off off).

But, as much as I want to raise my tiny fists to heaven and bellow out: I HATE YOU, JEN KRAMER!, I realize that this is the kick in the pants that I really needed. It's tough stuff. So, thanks, Kramer. How have you all dealt with set-backs and forcing yourselves back on track?

In other news, I attended the Classic Book Club meeting last night, and a good time was had by all! Have I mentioned how much I love book clubs? They are the apex of hanging, reading, talking, snacking, drinking and nerding out that I aspire to every day. We'd read a rather silly, much-too-young-for-us book, and so there wasn't a whole lot of discussion about it, but I think that the next book sounds pretty interesting: The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D. Judging by the impassioned and lengthy comment reviews by amazon customers I imagine it's going to be great fodder for discussion. Right on.

Apart from the reading, we got down to some eating. I made a salad with the white beans I cooked yesterday and a bunch of veggies from this week's CSA. It was pretty. See?

But, I over-mixed it, aesthetically speaking. I kept thinking to myself, "If Heidi made this, she would've mixed in the dressing with the beans first, and then just gently folded in everything else so it was beautiful and lightly flecked with purple, orange and green. But, I sir, am no Heidi Swanson. WWHSD? Ah well. Next time I'll try to keep the pretty in mind. I mean, it was still pretty 'cause of the colors, but still.

Here's what I did:

CSA Salad

white beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
green beans
tomatoes (I used red, yellow, red cherry and green zebra), cut into chunks
purple cabbage (I grated half of a small head)
carrot (I grated one large-ish carrot)
green onion (the ones I got were HUGE, so I just used one, but probably could have used another), thinly sliced--white and greens
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
some grated and/or shaved parmesan for topping (I used both)
several basil leaves torn into small pieces or julienned for topping

pesto:
big bunch of basil
pine nuts (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
garlic (used 1 clove)
olive oil (about 1/2 c)
parmesan (grated, about 1/4 cup)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

I didn't really measure anything. Just kinda tossed it together until it looked like enough of each thing.

I soaked the white beans overnight, and then cooked them for about 40-ish minutes with a piece of kombu (helps make the beans more digestible). While the beans were cooking, I cleaned the green beans and steamed them in a mesh colander in the pot where the white beans were cooking (one less dirty dish!) for a couple minutes, then shocked them in some ice water so they'd retain their bright green loveliness.
Made up the pesto in my handy dandy chef's chopper (mini food processor), and left it kinda chunky.
Then just mixed everything together (see my note about WWHSD? above). Don't go crazy with too much pesto. It's better to let the vegetables' flavors come through. Freshness personified. Dig it. It was super-easy, and it was fun to just reach into my bag o' CSA goodness, pull something out, and use it right then and there.

Oh. You know what else I'm reading right now? (Well, some of you do since you're now my goodreads friends. Holla!) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (written with her husband and daughters). I just started it, but it's good. Like, good-good. I just read this utterly fascinating passage about asparagus. Check it out, folks.

And, I've said it before, and (I'm sure) I'll say it again: if you haven't yet read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, what're you waiting for? It's fan-effing-tastic, is right up your alley (I think; if you're reading this blog), and completely blow-you-away fascinatingly amazing. Classic book club read it month before last, and we talked a little again about it last night. The part about the mushrooms? Woah. (what? you don't know the part about the mushrooms? yeah? well, read it! it's even out in paperback now! do it! it feels good!)