More from Sunday, Jan 23.

So, I have continued to cook through the day today.  Since I received some fresh black-pepper pasta in the package yesterday, I decided to make a homemade tomato sauce with the meatballs.  Of course, I wasn't on the CSA plan over the summer, so I had to use store-bought canned tomatoes (no fresh available either), but here is what is in the crockpot right now:

Betsy's Slow-Cooker Italian Meatball Sauce

Makes 12 servings

• 24 Italian sausage Meatballs (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/csa-meatballs.html)
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, crushed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 Tbsp sweet basil, dry
• 1 tsp oregano, dry
• 3 cloves garlic

Place all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover and cook 6-8 hours on LOW.  Serve over 1 cup cooked pasta.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value (1/2 cup sauce with 2 meatballs): 6

While the sauce is cooking, I am also slow-roasting a pork shoulder.  I am cooking it several hours at 250F.  I just peeked at it and it is looking beautiful.  The nice thing about pork shoulders is that they can be pulled and mixed with bbq sauce to make fantastic sandwiches, or cut up and used in stew or soup.  This was a 5 lb shoulder, so I should be able to do quite a bit with it.  Currently, I am trying to decide how to make a homemade bbq sauce.  Since I got a jar of sorghum with the CSA package, I am looking at recipes that would normally have molasses in them.  Once I decide on a recipe, I will post it here.  And I am thinking some cornbread would be nice too (cornmeal and sorghum from the CSA package).

CSA Meatballs!

So, this may be hard to believe, but I have only once in my lifetime made meatballs before.  This is especially surprising if you know that my great grandparents were from Sicily!  :-s  But this week, in our CSA package, we got three packages of ground meat: hamburger, veal and Italian sausage.  Perfect combination for meatballs, don't you think?  We also got a dozen fresh eggs, so I am very flush with eggs.  Thus, this morning, I decided to do my best to make meatballs.

Italian Sausage Meatballs

Makes about 50 meatballs

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 lb Italian sausage (bulk)
• 1 lb veal, ground
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp sweet basil, dried
• 3 garlic cloves

Place all three meats in a large bowl and mix well.  Add breadcrumbs, egg, basil and garlic; mix well (try not to handle meat too much).  Line baking sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Make meatballs by taking a small handful of meat mixture and rolling it into balls (about 1-1 1/2").  Place on baking tray, about 1/2" apart.  Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.  Either freeze for later use or add to homemade sauce.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value (2 meatballs per serving): 4 points

I will make some spaghetti sauce later to put some of them in (the rest will be frozen to take to my husband).  I also recieved some fresh black pepper pasta in the package this week, so I will probably have meatballs over the fresh pasta for dinner tonight.  Yum!  Can't wait!

Pick-up day

So the interesting thing that happens when you no longer have 300 cable channels is that you start watching local stations and this morning, that has been interesting and educational.  So far this morning, I have gotten tips on making a good, moist meatloaf (I will be using these for the ground veal we get today) and watcher Eric Ripert make paella.  Paella has always been a mystery to me.  I have taught myself to make jambalaya, but paella just seemed so much harder.  After watching this segment this morning, I think I might be able to try it out.

It turns out that paella is similar to making risotto, except you don't constantly stir the rice.  You add stock, let the rice "drink" it up (as Eric kept saying), add more until it looks as though it will be done.  Then you add all of your meats and vegetables to cook as the rice finishes "drinking".  He only stirred a couple times to check how cooked the rice was.  Once he added the meats and vegetables, the only thing he did was turn the fish to make sure it cooked properly.  So, when I have the ingredients, I will be embarking on my first attempt at paella. 

For this weekend, however, it will be meatloaf and roasting the pork shoulder for sandwiches and stews.  But in the meantime, it's time to go pick up my package!

CSA Package Wk 7

So, here is today's package list.  I am including Trevor's description of the veal because I think most people (including myself) automatically think of veal raised under cruel conditions in the dark, not allowed to exercise, etc.  Technically, these veal fall under the free-range catagory, despite being bottle-fed.  I am actually a bit excited about this package although I need to get busy cooking meat because I am running out of space.

"This week we are featuring a very special product I have been working on.  The processors practically laughed when I called and told them I had veal calves.  The traditional veal industry has earned a nasty reputation – one for inhumane treatment of animals.   None of my processors had even processed a veal calf.  I started from square one with my producers on this product.  A farmer in the Heritage Grass Co-op in Holmes County wanted to do something different.  He was already raising exceptional dairy cows.  His dairy herd is raised entirely on organic pastures and receives 100% grass based diet.  The swiss cheese they make from the milk is fantastic.  So I asked Eli if he’d be interested in saving some of his bull calves for me and doing a few bottle-fed veal calves.   He said yes and started researching.  The final product is a 12 week veal calve that has only ate two things – grass and it’s mother’s milk, fed to it three times per day through a bottle."

Winter CSA Wk 7 Selection
     -  1 lb ground veal
     -  1 lb ground Berkshire pork
     -  1 lb ground Italian Sausage
     -  5 lbs red norland potatoes
     -  ½ lb young green onions
     -  1 lb black pepper basil pasta
     -  1 pint sweet sorghum (natural sweetener similar to molasses)
     -  2 lbs organic cornmeal
     -  1 dozen eggs
     -  1 package honey puffed spelt cereal
     -  1 sleeve organic leaf lettuce
     -  4 oz goat feta cheese

The ironic thing is that I never know when eggs will be included in the package, so I had just purchased 1 1/2 dozen eggs this weekend and I am trying to finish up some feta cheese that I've had for a while.  On the plus side, I will appreciate both of those items so much more because the ones I have now are definitely commercial brands.  Fresh is always better!  As I said, it is time for me to get really busy cooking the meat items that I have already received because I have so much less freezer space.  So, look for some good recipes coming up!

CSA Sunday night dinner

The day ran long today and we both fell asleep watching an old episode of Dr. Who (think Tom Baker).   Thankfully, I had already decided we wouldn't make it to Melting Pot and cancelled the reservation.  We are thinking we will do that for lunch tomorrow.

This morning I had put some beef ribs in the crockpot, so we had dinner already cooking.  I was just sitting here thinking about it and realized that something from my CSA packages was in each part of dinner tonight, so here is what we had:

Kapusta Soup (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/kapusta-soup.html)

Stuffed Acorn Squash (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-to-do-with-squash.html)

Southwestern Beef Short Ribs

Makes 2 servings

• 2 English-cut beef short ribs (abt 2 lbs)
• Chili seasonings/Beef Rub (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2010/12/idea-for-slow-cooker-pot-roast.html)
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Chiles
• 1 cup Salsa (I used the salsa I received a few weeks back in my CSA pkg)
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Rub the short ribs with the seasonings.  Place in a prepared crock.  Cook on LOW for 4 hours.  Mix the tomatoes, salsa and vinegar in a small bowl.  Pour over ribs (after the 4 hours) and turn cooker to HIGH.  Cook for 1 hour.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 8 pts

Spelt Granola Apple Crisp w/ Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (http://csafoodie.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-crisp.html)

In all, I used cabbage, butter, acorn squash, salsa, spelt granola and apples in tonight's dinner.  So, I guess you could say that it was a CSA dinner all around!  I realize that the rib recipe is the same as the roast recipe that is on one of the pages I referenced here.  I actually developed this recipe for the ribs and then adjusted it to roasts.  Either way, it is a tasty way to eat beef!

I am grateful that tomorrow is MLK day.  I don't have to go into work, but I will be working.  We have to have the proposal as close to being done as possible when we submit it to the grant office Tuesday.  We will have another week to tweak it before I submit, but their new policy is that you have to turn in something close to complete 5 working days before the deadline.  So, I have 2 more pages to get rid of before I can submit it.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  And Mark and Michelle Bone, I hope that your grand opening went well!!!!!

Sunday morning breakfast

Okay, I know this is not a CSA recipe because I haven't gotten eggs since the first package, but it could be.  This morning's breakfast was so tasty, I have to post the recipe.  I would post a picture, but I have been told that sometimes the pictures don't do the recipe justice and looking at my plate right now, I think this is probably another that wouldn't.  So, here's the recipe, and you can judge the taste yourself!

Greek Scrambled Eggs

Makes 2 servings

• 2 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 8 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 10 olives, quartered (I used black, but would be so good with kalamata!)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried sweet basil

Prepare the artichokes and olives.  In a medium bowl, scramble together eggs, egg whites, garlic and spices.  Heat medium saute pan prepared with cooking spray over medium heat.  Add artichokes and olives to pan and mix well.  Pour egg mixture over artichoke mix and sprinkle with feta cheese.  Heat until eggs are cooked on bottom.  Slowly mix eggs until just barely wet (do not overcook).  Makes 2 servings

Weight Waters PointsPlus value: 7



So, this was a recipe using up things that I have in my refrigerator, but I could see changing it up to use fresh ingredients.  I would have added spinach if I had some and using fresh herbs would make it taste fresher.  Although I have to admit, this was the first time I ever made scrambled eggs with oregano and that flavor was wonderful!  We are headed to BJ's and Costco today, so I will pick up some spinach, etc.  Will be nice to have some groceries.  I have been very lax lately.

The items my husband enjoys

In every package I received, there are items that I give to my husband to enjoy with his lunches.  Often times, it is apples because there are more than I can or will eat in a couple weeks.  Last week, we received sweet potatoes.  Now, don't get me wrong, I do like sweet potatoes, but with all of the squashes that we have received, I didn't know if I would find time to use them.  I also know that he likes to eat them as a recovery snack after his runs. 

This morning he told me that the sweet potatoes I gave him last week were some of the best he's had in a long time.  He has one more really large one left and has been asking about how to cook it in the oven since he thinks it won't work well enough in the microwave.  Generally, what he does with them is wash them, poke them with a fork and then cook them at 70% power in the microwave based on how big they are.  When they are done cooking, he wraps them in foil and allows the steam to finish cooking them for 5 more minutes.  I have had them cooked this way and they are almost perfect.  However, I can see his point about really large ones.  Microwave cooking is good for some things, but I am guessing that he wouldn't be able to evenly cook the really large one.

This weeks goal is to get the pork shoulder out and thaw it so that I can slow roast it and make some sandwiches and stews with it.  I haven't decided on the mix of seasonings that I am going to use yet, but I will make a dry rub for roasting.  I have seen some Cuban and 5-Spice mixes that are intriguing.  I am looking forward to some fresh pulled pork sandwiches!