Where Our Food Comes From . . .

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We piled in the car with Stephen's parents yesterday and trekked to our CSA farm (Hemlock Creek) for a visit and garden tour. It was so cool to see exactly where our food comes from, to meet animals, to chat with our awesome farmers, and to meet other members.

And talk about a perfect day to go there. The leaves are just starting to turn and the temps were perfect for snugly baby-wearing. I love fall.

I cannot get enough of these cow photos.


Have a happy Sunday!

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Works Every Time

Now that we're getting awesome produce from our CSA share every week, I've stopped shopping so predictably at the grocery store. In the winter months, I had stuck to a list that didn't change much from week to week. But with so many new veggies coming into the house, I don't always know what to do with them all.

Here are a few recipe-free ways I use up random things to make delicious and healthy dinners. General grow-pleasing meals that work like a charm every time we make them!

RAW

There's no easier way to use veggies than simply chopping, tossing, and topping. Salads, warm or cold, make great starters or full meals. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or get more creative). Top with shredded cheeses, avocado, sunflower seeds, beans, add herbs -- really, the list is endless.

Some more specific recipes:

• Miso-Ginger Dressing
• Warm Apple-Fennel Salad
• Crispy Kale Salad
• More . . .

Works particularly well with lettuces, other greens (spinach, Swiss chard, kale, etc.), carrots, radishes, onions, scallions, garlic scapes, peppers cucumbers, and tomatoes.

ROASTED


This method works with most all vegetables. Simply preheat your oven to around 400 degrees F. Chop veggies into chunks. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss in salt and pepper. Then all you need to do is place them in the oven for 15 minutes, stir, and then continue this process until they are golden brown all over.

Some more specific recipes:

• Ratatouille for Two
• Roasted Veggies on Pizza
• Roasted Sweet Potato Stew

Works particularly well with onions, peppers, eggplant, garlic, squash, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mushrooms, and potatoes.

STIR-FRIED


We most often find ourselves tossing together a variety of veggies with tofu -- or not -- and sauce. In fact, I'd say we eat a stir-fry at least twice a week. Sometimes with a simple soy sauce and other times with more elaborate flavorings. Just chop veggies, heat olive oil on the stove, cook, add sauce, and toss.

Some more specific recipes:

• Lazy Woman's Stir-Fry
• Coconut Red Curry Stir-Fry
• Sweet and Sour Tofu Stir-Fry
• More . . .

Works particularly well with baby bok choy, squash, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, garlic, napa cabbage, peppers, asparagus,

What's your fail-proof way to use up odds and ends? We'd love to hear your suggestions. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


And on Writing Chapter Three, you can read Ada's 7-month update and how to choose the right caregiver for a med-free hospital birth.

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CSA Sandwich Greens

This weekend we picked up the first installment of our CSA farm share for the season. We've been looking forward to it for so long, we almost missed the pickup! It's 12:45 Saturday afternoon. Ada had just gone down for a nap. We tend to completely unplug on weekends, but Stephen had to check his email.

Thank goodness he did -- there was a reminder from the farm to bring baskets to fill full of their fresh produce. (Sort of like: Oh, YEAH. That's right! THE CSA! And the farmers' market closes at 1 . . .)

Obviously the crisis was averted. Stephen booked it to the market and got our stuff as they were closing.

Here's what's inside this week's basket:


So many fresh, organic greens. We had to put them to use ASAP. I think you may have noticed that we like to eat big sandwiches on weekends. Actually, it's sort of a dream of ours to own a sandwich shop. Not one that I think we'll ever indulge. But we enjoy coming up with new creations and combining new flavors. The eating part is the best.

This is by far one of the best ones we've ever made.


Mozzarella cheese marinated in balsamic vinegar.
Just cut a few thick slices, drizzle the vinegar, and coat. Let sit in the fridge for an hour.


Homemade seitan, thinly sliced and pan-cooked to brown with horseradish-mayo.
Well, we splurged on some Vegenaise. It's one of our shared food quirks. We don't like real mayo. 3 tablespoons mayo to 1 tablespoon horseradish. Or to taste.


Avocado slices and a thick layer of CSA greens.
I drizzled the leftover balsamic on this layer. Delicious.


All of this in between two substantial (and toasted) slices of rosemary salt bread from Wegmans.
We made our own loaves once, but didn't think ahead of time for this sandwich.


As Stephen put it, it was the "perfect combination of hot/cold, crispy/crunchy, and buttery/creamy" that he's ever had. Seriously. He would not shut up about this sandwich. We made it again with the leftover bread the next day. We didn't have seitan left, so we each replaced it with a fried egg.

Overall, a great start to our relationship with the CSA. I wonder what next week's haul will be! If you have any great sandwich combinations you'd like to share with us -- please do. We're always looking for something new to try!

OTHER SANDWICH FAVORITES:

Vegetarian Juicy Lucy
Open-Faced Asparagus & Tofu Sandwich
Vegetarian Reuben
Veggie Behemoth: The LOVER

And today on Writing Chapter Three, I answer some more personal questions about my new job as a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM). And I invite you all to ask anything you're curious about as well!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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