Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click here to go to recipe database.

This week, I want to write to you about Playing With Your Recipes. The usual mantra is 'play with your food' - but I think what's really called for here is permission for you to play with the recipes you use to prepare the food from your box each week. Once you start doing this - and the more you do - the more confidence you'll have. This, in turn, will create a positive feedback loop: your eaters (anyone you prepare food for) will be happy because they're not eating the same old thing, and you'll be happy because you're not wasting food because you've come up with innovative new ways to put this veggie into that recipe, and soon you'll find yourself saying things like, "wow, I never thought of that..." and then - voila!! Next thing you know, it'll all be second nature! This, I encourage!

One of the most common, no, I take that back... THE most common reason people will drop out of a CSA (if they're allowed to - some CSAs are a commitment for the season, no buts, ands or ifs) is because they can't use up the food and they hate to waste it.

We have all types of people eating the food from our farm: a full spectrum from foodies and seasoned cooks to newbies who know little about food and cooking but want to learn to eat healthier. Some folks are busier than others. Some choose to dedicate more time to cooking and meal prep than others. So we all have to find our own rhythm and work within it.

Getting your food from a CSA box is the perfect opportunity to really experiment, and innovate... and play. So I'm going to talk about how to go about doing just that!

Your most important 'tool', in my mind, is to not be too married to preconceived notions. Notions as simple (and to some, radical) as 'radishes should only be eaten raw', or 'beets should only be eaten cooked' should be questioned.

Turn other things on their head: who says dishes like pancakes or eggs should only be eaten at breakfast, or greens only with dinner? Who says bread pudding is a dessert? I still remember the amazing 'aha!' moment I had years ago when I saw a recipe for a savory bread pudding - with veggies and herbs in it - what a marvelous idea! Who'd'a thunk it?? Even earlier than that, way back when I was a teenager, I remember my first introduction to a meat recipe... with fruit in it! It was a dried-fruit curry. I had no idea the two would go together so well! Obviously, it has stuck with me since.

Think about textures (crunchy, silky, firm, creamy, crispy, hard) and how they change when cooked; think about flavors (sweet, bitter, delicate, spicy, savory, fruity) and how they interact. And then: think about substituting! Swap this crunchy thing for that crunchy thing (cuz you don't have 'that' this week); or this leafy cooking green for that one, or this fruit for that fruit. I think you get the picture. You will be amazed at how the number of available recipes suddenly multiplies once you begin playing with them...

You can also simply ADD things to recipes. Who says that just because a veggie isn't listed in the ingredients, you can't embellish?

Most importantly: don't be afraid.

Back in 2001 I quoted one of my favorite cooking writers, Edward Espe Brown, and it bears repeating here (click here for original reference):

 "Who says you can't cook? I give you permission. You can look with your eyes and feel with your hands, smell with your nose and taste with your tongue. You can think and create, be inspired, or stumble along. You keep finding your way.

"...You can learn many things about "cooking," about ingredients, cutting, combinations, and procedures, but even more fundamentally you can learn to act on your own experience, outside of recipes, relying on your innate capacity to taste and sense and decide for yourself what you like. By this I do not mean follow your "instincts," which seems to me a rather amorphous concept, but being present, carefully observing the obvious, acquainting your palate with your palette.

" [with regards to 'how' to cook a particular thing] ...clearly there is no definitive answer. You just have to wing it and feel for yourself. You're the expert on whether or not you like something. You have eyes and ears, a nose and a mouth, likes and dislikes (which can be revised sometimes). You can learn to trust your own taste, which will change and develop, get tired or be stimulated, as you go along."

And so, dear readers, I want to encourage you to play this week, if only just a little bit. Let me give you some examples, to get you started. You can use the recipe database if you like, or any recipe source - online or cookbook - it doesn't matter. The recipes gives you a baseline, then you can start playing with them.

Things like mei qing choi and radishes: try dicing or slicing or chopping them up and using them in salads (pasta, tuna, egg) where you usually might put 'crunchy' celery. You could also dice up raw green beans and do the same, or, cook them very slightly, and do the same. Or you could make a chopped salad that has some or all of these things. Or you could cook any of these things in a stir-fry or fried rice!

Have a favorite grated carrot recipe? A carrot salad or carrot cake? Try using grated golden, or even red beets. Or a combination of beets and carrots.

And if you haven't already learned this one, now's the time: so many of your cooking greens can be interchanged in recipes... chard, kale, collards, broccoli (and by extension broccolini). Really. Trust me.

Put mizuna or arugula in your green salad, or put it in your soup or stir-fry. Or fried rice. Or pasta.

Put your Napa cabbage in a slaw, or in a stir-fry.

Use your blackberries in a recipe that calls for blueberries or some other fruit. For sure put 'em in pancakes!

I think you're beginning to get the idea... ;-)


Armenian Cucumbers
The Armenian cucumbers are both beautiful - with dark and light green ridges - and tasty, with delicate edible skin and a crispy/juicy inside. They are also fun, as sometimes they are long and twisty, hence the nickname 'snake cucumbers'. I'm not sure as of this writing if both shares will get them this week; Tom says they are coming in, so we should have them in both shares soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~