Rats!!

What are these delicious looking tidbits, you ask?

Why -- they're rattail radishes, of course!
And they're quite a bit tastier than their name implies!

We had them for the first time this summer when they arrived as part of our CSA share. These edible seed pods have the crunch of a green bean, but the spicy bite of a radish. Edible-pod radishes are members of the brassica family, along with broccoli, kale, cabbage, mustard, and radishes. They are often called aerial radishes, or Java radishes after their place of origin. Grown primarily in India and Southeast Asia, these delicacies are less common in the states. But, they seem to be making appearances here and there (and the smart people at LotFotL are one of the farms growing them and selling them at farmer's markets around Milwaukee).

In addition to eating them right out of hand, they're great in salads or sauteed just until crisp. When cooked, they do lose a bit of their bite -- so when cooked, they appeal to even non-radish fans.

Got any great recipes for rat tails? We'd love to hear about them!!



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Boy Meets Mad Fuschia Salad... and falls in love.

I know that some people aren't terribly fond of beets. But, it's difficult for me to imagine.

For two weeks in a row now, we've gotten the most fabulous beets with our CSA share. The first week, they were golden beets. The second week,they were crimson. Each batch came with a nice tuft of greens, which we ate right away. But, despite my love for the veggies, the beets eluded me.

Finally, last night, after weeding the vegetable garden (and noticing that the dill had started to flower) I had a breakthrough. Why not a Swedish-style roasted beet and potato salad?

We had all the right ingredients -- beets, dill weed, and new red potatoes.
I roasted the beets and potatoes, chopped the dill, and put it together on a plate with a dollop of Mediterranean yogurt. This isn't how the dish would stay, but I knew that if I mixed it together before taking a photo, you'd barely be able to decipher each componant beneath the mad fuschia haze. See what I mean? Not even Peef was dissuaded by the bright pink color. He finished off every last bite of the salad, and even asked for seconds.

Roasted Beet and Potato Salad



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Red Curry with Napa Cabbage & Carrots

Thai red curry. It's one of my favorite dishes. And not just because it's delicious. It's also extraordinarily versatile.

This week, we happened to get a head of lovely Napa cabbage with our CSA share, and I couldn't resist. We had everything we needed on hand (including fresh Thai basil from the herb garden), and I had a real hankering for some noodles slathered in spicy coconut love.

Look at how nicely those ingredients lined up for the photo!

Red Curry with Napa Cabbage & Carrots



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Simplicity Rules: Kickin' Greens and Garlic Pasta

We have a few staples at our house. Two of them are garlic and greens. I'm always amazed at how many dishes I can create with (almost) only these two ingredients.

This week, we happened to have Swiss chard (locally grown from our co-op) and mustard greens (from our CSA) on hand. And last night was a particularly uninspired cooking night. Dinner time was approaching (OK, it was WELL BEYOND dinner time), and I was getting a bit frazzled.

So, I let simplicity take over. I brought a pot of whole wheat pasta to the boil. And I started to throw ingredients into a skillet -- a dash of olive oil, a few cloves of crushed chopped garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a splash of white wine, and about a pound and a half of greens.

Less than twenty minutes and a few shavings of good parmesan cheese later, we were satiating ourselves with big bowls of pasta & greens.

Slowly, but surely, I am learning that it does not take a slew of ingredients to create a flavorful, fulfilling meal.



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July CSA Dinner

So, Saturday night we celebrated the BEAUTY and bliss of fresh produce.
How so? you might ask.
By having a CSA dinner with our friends S & N, of course.

This tradition began two springs ago when we took a first big step toward "locavorishness" by subscribing to our local CSA. Rather than tackling an entire box of veggies on our own (which leaves us room in the fridge for gardening and farmers' marketing and such), we decided to split our share with Steph & Nate.

When Steph suggested that we consider hosting celebratory meals with our bounty, we all thought it was a brilliant plan. After all, what could be better than feasting on farm-fresh produce (some of which is literally HOURS from its harvest) with good friends? We couldn't think of much. And so, the CSA dinner was born.

Our first dinner this CSA season consisted of a great salad, fantastic fresh mozzarella skewers with rosemary, beet raita with pita chips, and a fantastic rhubarb crisp for dessert.

Saturday's feast was a bit less "on" insofar as sticking to our CSA box, but it was still pretty decent:

• Grilled catfish tacos
• Guacamole
• Pineapple salsa
• Chipotle coleslaw (for the fish tacos) -- made with crisp red cabbage
• Chile-lime marinated yellow squash
• Grilled corn on the cob
• Cuban Sidecars (for refreshment)
• Dessert: Bayless' chocolate pecan pie bars

OK -- so the corn idea might have been a bit premature. And pineapple and avocadoes are pretty far from being "local" fare. But, really, everything was pretty fresh. And really quite fabulous. Despite the (somewhat oppressive heat), we sat outside in the yard, basking in the evening breeze and just enjoying our time together.

And isn't that what it's all about anyhow?

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