The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 13!

Week 13 came with the first tomatoes of the season! I received tomatoes from both CSAs - Romas from the East Farms and slicing tomatoes from the Borski. They were orangey, mottled, and showed slight signs of scuff and/or bug damage. They were definitely not the gems I get from my father's plants, but I know this season has not been a good one for tomatoes so I can be forgiving.

The rest is all produce I've seen before over the last few weeks. Here's the scoop:

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.12 lb Green Pepper (1)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$0.24
0.32 lb Jalapeno Peppers						1.99/lb	$0.64
4.03 lb Green Cabbage		1.49/lb				0.69/lb	$6.00
1.45 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$2.89
0.68 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.59/lb	$1.35
3.90 lb Cantaloupe		2.99 ea				0.89/lb	$2.99
0.92 lb Roma Tomatoes		1.99/lb				1.99/lb	$1.83

The cabbage is going in potstickers I am making for an upcoming china-themed party for the volunteers I went to China with through International Language Programs. Of course, I had to do a couple test runs to make sure I was doing it right. Below is my recipe for simple vegetarian potstickers.

The peppers and eggplant were stashed in the refrigerator, and the cantaloupe eaten (sooo good). The onion went, like all the other onions, into my pantry. I'm collecting quite a stash of them, which is great. Hopefully they will last until I eat them well into the winter. This particular onion was quite a monster - at 1.45 lb it was just shy of an oz. lighter than the biggest one I received this year during week 10. But since I neglected to record the larger one, here's a picture of the new one on a small plate next to one of my peaches. I hope it conveys just how massive these onions are.

Speaking of peaches, when I stopped by my mother's house this week I thought I'd go check out the forbidden tree. I know my mother has been busy, and I wanted to see if she'd gotten around to her own peaches. What did I behold but a slew of peaches on the ground! This poor tree never had the peach crop culled, so the branches are loaded with heavy fruit and as a result are bent ~ 6" from the ground, which is mulched quite heavily with soft bark. The weight, combined with the ripeness meant that at every gust of wind, a few would fall gently down onto the bed of mulch. Well, I thought. . . I'm forbidden to pick the peaches, but surely she didn't mean I should let good fruit spoil! I hauled home 2.5 dozen perfect peaches, and I didn't pick a one. I did later tell her though that she needed to be sure not to let any drop. She quickly ensured that her spoils were well protected (i.e. she had my father bring the remaining peaches inside in a box) for canning that week, and I suppose that's the end of the peach train for me. At least I can still count on the Borski share to supply a few!

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
1.15 lb Tomatoes (Slicing)						1.99/lb	$2.29
1.25 lb Peaches						1.99/lb	$2.49
1.39 lb Zucchini (2)		2.99/lb				1.29/lb	$4.16
0.54 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$1.07
0.45 lb Red Onions (2)		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$0.90
1.97 lb Blue Potatoes		1.99/lb (Red)				0.69/lb (Red)	$3.92

This share came with a variety of potatoes I've heard about, but never seen before - blue potatoes! They are actually more purple potatoes than blue, but both names are correct. And yes, the color goes all the way through. It's the same beneficial compound (antioxidant) that colors blueberries as well.

In addition to the blue potatoes, I received a newsletter from the farm with a recipe for a potato casserole. I made it (with golden potatoes - haven't yet decided how to best cook the blue ones), and have included the recipe here. Craig specifically asked if I could send him leftovers the next day for lunch, so I know he liked it!

The newsletter also promised a lot of winter squash coming in, starting next week. Hurray for squash!

Recipes for Week 13:

-----Borski CSA Casserole-----

1 large onion, sliced
2-3 potatoes, cut into 1/4" slices
2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. italian bread crumbs
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese (opt.)

In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with the sliced onions. Then layer on potatoes, chicken, and tomatoes in that order. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake at 325 F for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.

-----Simple Vegetarian Potstickers-----

1 1/2 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. minced scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. ginger
1 T. soy sauce
1 pkg potsticker rounds
cold water

To make filling, combine in a bowl the cabbage, carrots, scallions, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, and mix thoroughly. Place ~ 1 Tbsp filling in the middle of a potsticker wrap, then dip your finger into the cold water and spread it around the edges. Fold both sides together to create a half-circle, then press the edges together to seal.*

To cook, heat 2 T. oil in a non-stick skillet, then add just as many potstickers as can cover the bottom of the pan (they will stick together if you layer them on top of one another.) Cook 2-3 minutes until the undersides are lightly brown. Add 1/2 cup water, then cover and let cook until all the water is absorbed. Remove when potstickers are again crispy and golden brown on the bottom.

*To make a more attractive (read: complicated) seal, you can accordion fold one side before you fold them together. Alternatively, for these potstickers I folded the pastry in half, pressed and sealed together the middle, then pushed in the edges to make a triangle and folded them up, making a three-way fold. Then I folded the extra flap down onto the body of the pastry.