basil – Chocolate 'N Children

August 13, 2015August 10, 2015

CSA – Week 13

This week there were some veggies that I haven’t had yet. It’s so much fun having all these tasty vegetables to cook with!

Basil, fortunately, I love basil because I’ve had a lot of basil these past few months.

Potatoes, me and the kids love baked potatoes and these are delicious.

Yellow peppers, or “apples” according to my 2yr old. The yellow ones are so sweet.

Cherry tomatoes. Since I’m the only one who likes tomatoes, cherry tomatoes are perfect because I can grab just a few at a time for a salad or dish. My 2yr old thinks they’re awesome “balls” so he’ll actually sample them.

Acorn squash. I don’t cook with this often, but I do love squash.

Okra. I didn’t know okra could be red as well as green. This okra is delicious.

August 6, 2015July 31, 2015

CSA – Week 12

So many delicious vegetables this week!

Basil, it’s a different kind than I’ve gotten in the past. It’s a much stronger basil, I haven’t figured out what I want to make with it yet.

Corn, only 4 ears this week, it’s so delicious!

Cherry tomatoes. These are so good!

Potatoes, these are always easy to eat up. My kids love baked potatoes.

Tomatoes, lots of tomatoes this week!

Red torpedo onions, these are super strong and so tasty once cooked.

More Japanese Eggplant. Not really a winner around here, but I am finding things to make with them.

And, peppers, or “apples” according to my 2yr old. Who also likes to eat them like apples. I guess it’s a good way for him to get his veggies!

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015

CSA – Week 10

This week’s csa box has some super tasty vegetables!

Red onions again. These are so delicious!

Eggplant. I’m not very good at cooking with this vegetable, but I love the color of it.

Carrots. Lots of little carrots, this was probably the last of them for a while.

Basil, I have plenty in my freezer already I’m thinking that I’ll try dehydrating some and see how they turn out.

I’m excited about corn. We love corn and haven’t had it in our box yet.

Cucumbers. I’m thinking I’ll make more pickles!

Cherry tomatoes. They’re so yummy!

July 9, 2015July 8, 2015

CSA – Week 8

Here’s my latest CSA haul.

I’m just loving this squash. It’s one of my favorite vegetables. And this squash is so tasty!

More celery, I still have half a head from last week so I need to find a recipe that uses lots of celery. I’m thinking I might make up a bunch of cream of celery soup and freeze it for later.

Green onions. I think I’ve gotten green onions every week so far. I’ve figured out how to add them to things without my husband and the kids discovering them so I’m always happy for more.

My 6yr old likes my pickled beets. I’m not a fan of beets but they’re ok pickled. So I’ll probably do that with these.

Basil, I’m loving having so much fresh basil. It’s so delicious and goes great in so many things!

Beans. I’m so excited to finally get some beans. I really love fresh beans, and these were delicious!

Greens, they didn’t tell me what kind and I just don’t know the difference between all of my greens. Unfortunately no one wants to eat them (except for me) so I’m going to have to get sneaky about it.

Tomatoes. I’m loving all these fresh tomatoes! So tasty.

July 2, 2015June 30, 2015

CSA – Week 7

This week there was another green of some sort in my CSA. Sometimes they send an email telling what everything is. This week they didn’t. I’m not entirely sure what this is, but it tastes pretty good.

Green onions. I think I’ve had them in every CSA box so far. I am figuring out how to use them up though, so they’re actually nice to have now.

Basil, I’m just loving this sweet basil. It’s great for making spaghetti sauce, or just tossing in dishes that I’m making. It adds a nice flavor to everything.

Squash and a cucumber. These things are very large! One of them can make lunch for me and the kids. Luckily, we love both of them and I’m loving having them for easy lunches.

This is the first time I’ve had cabbage in my CSA. I asked my husband what he wanted me to do with it (he doesn’t really like cabbage) and he said the only way he’ll eat it is as sauerkraut. So, I’m making some of that. It has to ferment for a couple of weeks but I can’t wait to try it when it’s done.

Red lettuce, this is my favorite lettuce type to get in my CSA. It’s actually a tad sweeter than the green lettuce and has a great overall flavor. This week, I rinsed, cut up, and dried the entire head then put it in a tupperware in the fridge. Eating salads is so much more convenient this way, and covered it’ll last almost a week after I prepare it.

Swiss chard, I’m not eating through it fast enough, because no one will eat it plain. I have no problem getting the kids to eat it if I mix it in other dishes though.

June 19, 2015June 16, 2015

Food Fridays – Lots of Basil

I got my second bunch of basil this week, so I figured I should probably do something with it, other than just add it to the jar on my counter with the first batch of basil. Basil lasts a long time if you put it in a jar of water on your counter.

So, this week I tried out two recipes with basil. I have lots of tomatoes on hand too, so I decided to use lots of veggies and I made spaghetti sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce

4 Large Tomatoes
3 Green Onions
1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves
3 Cloves garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes in rough slices, slice the green onions, and place all ingredients in a pan. Simmer over medium/low heat until tomatoes are cooked down. I cooked mine for about 1.5 hrs but you could do it faster (I was trying to cook off some of the excess water from the tomatoes). After veggies are done, place in a food processor and pulse until all chunks are gone.

Serve over pasta and topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Basil Berry Sparkling Ice

I found this recipe here on Kroger’s website. But the measurements were confusing for me, so I didn’t really do exactly what they said.

8 Large Blackberries
6 Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Cups Blackberry Sparkling ICE (it’s a brand Kroger sells but any blackberry sparkling beverage will do)
2 Cups Sparkling Lemonade
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

Put the blackberries, basil leaves, and lemon juice in a pitcher. Mix up and let set for a few minutes, or until ready to serve drinks. Right before serving, pour the blackberry sparkling ICE and sparkling lemonade into the pitcher.

I refrigerated my drinks before opening them but if you don’t refrigerate first, you will want to serve this over ice.

June 18, 2015June 16, 2015

CSA – Week 5

My girls are so excited about these carrots. They love carrots, and had carrots a few weeks ago so this week they were asking for them again. They’re so happy to have more carrots.

I can’t say I’m happy to see more beets. I’ve already pickled two bunches. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do with this bunch.

Swiss chard. I remember my mom making this accidentally once when I was a kid thinking it was kale. It’s not kale, and it didn’t taste good. So I’m a little afraid of it, but I’m sure I’ll find something I can make with it.

Basil, luckily I have ideas for using this since I’m just now finishing off my last batch. In fact, tomorrow I’ll have two recipes for you with basil.

More tomatoes. These are so yummy! And I’m eating through them so quickly, I’m always happy to have more tomatoes.

And lettuce, we love salads at my house, so that’s what this gets used for. There’s also a lovely red pepper I forgot to take a picture of – and since I ate it before I realized that I didn’t have a picture, there’s no picture. It was very tasty.

June 5, 2015June 2, 2015

Food Friday – Beets and Tomatoes

I had 5 giant tomatoes in my CSA box. 5. I love tomatoes. But they’re giant. No one else likes tomatoes, so when I cut one up I have to eat it all somehow. They’re delicious tomatoes and I’ve enjoyed them.

Tomato Basil Salad

1 medium size tomato or 1/2 a large tomato
1/4 cup cubed cheese – I used baby swiss
4 sweet basil leaves – broken in pieces

Slice tomato in squares, toss tomato, cheese, and basil together. Add a little salt, oil, or vinegar if desired. Enjoy.

And I just had to show off a sliced tomato. Isn’t it delicious looking!

Beets was a real stumper. I haven’t made beets since, well, ever. I’m not really fond of the taste ether so I haven’t eaten them since I can’t remember when. But, they came in my CSA box and part of the reason for getting a CSA is to try new things. I only had enough beets for 1 jar so I didn’t want to bother with canning just one jar. I decided to go with the refrigerator version.

Refrigerator Pickled Beets

3 medium sized beets
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic – peeled and sliced
Beet juice as needed

Wash beets well and remove tops and stems. Place in a pan of water and boil until fork tender (about 25 minutes) Remove from water, peel, and slice into rounds. Place in Mason Jar.

While beets are cooking, heat sugar vinegar, water, and garlic on the stove. Simmer 5 minutes then set aside to cool.

Pour sauce over beets in mason jar. Top off with beet juice (leftover in pan from boiling the beets) as needed to fill the jar.

Put lid on the jar and refrigerate. The beets will be ready to eat in 1 week. They will keep in the fridge for 1 month or so.

May 28, 2015May 21, 2015

CSA Week 2

Here’s what came in my second CSA box. Recipes for some of these items will be on the blog tomorrow!

Basil – I’m seeing lots of italian foods in my future! Did you know, basil is a spice that does better on the counter instead of the fridge. Just put it in a jar of water kind of like you would a flower, cover it lightly, and leave it out. It’ll keep longer. Not the most beautiful flower but it really does smell so good!

Kale, I really love kale. It’s one of my favorite greens. Plus I have a great recipe! (once again, come back tomorrow!)

Lettuce, luckily we love salads around here. This is such a big head! We’ve had a great spring for lettuce growing and it really shows.

More green onions, we got green onions last week as well. Apparently, it’s been a great spring for them. We don’t eat a lot of green onions so I’m struggling with what to do with them. I don’t mind them as toppings for salads, soups, tacos, etc. But no one else likes them, so I have to find a way to hide them when I cook with them. Check back tomorrow and see what I came up with.

More strawberries, they didn’t last long. We ate them up within hours of getting them home. They’re so sweet and juicy!

One green pepper. It’s pretty large, and looks delicious!

Carrots, my 6yr old has been begging to make some carrot soup. So we did, come back tomorrow and see how it turned out!