Box # 7

Contents

Parsley

Broccoli or Cauliflower

Cabbage:Green and Red

Green Onions

Peppers:  Italian, Bell

Potatoes:  Red

Tomatoes

Zucchini:  Zephyr

I usually cook with what ever I have at hand. Some times I make a list and go out and buy the ingredients for a specific or new recipe. I like doing that, but it certainly doesn't happen for every meal. I think once you know what it should taste like, you can just make changes to recipes. Either because you want to leave or add thing you hate or love, or because that is what you have in your fridge at the time. 

In this recipe I used turkey monterey Jack sausages, a lot less noodles (leftovers) and a lot more of the veggies I had in the fridge. I added a little bit of white wine to the peppers and onions. I like that flavor it reminds me of a good friend of my family who would always add a little white wine to his dishes (dry not sweet). This is the recipe included in the CSA letter by Terry:

Pasta with Peppers and Sausage

Put a large pot of well-salted water on to boil.

In a 10” skillet, put:    2  Tbsp.  olive oil

                                    1  lb.  brats, cut into 1” pieces

-cook the brat pieces over medium heat until they are well browned.  Leaving the fat and juices in the skillet, transfer the brats into a large pasta serving dish or bowl.  Keep warm.

To the skillet, add:       ½  cup  chopped scallions

                                    2  Italian peppers, chopped

                                    2  garlic cloves, chopped

                                    salt & freshly ground pepper

-sauté until the scallions start to turn brown, stirring frequently.  While the green onions and peppers are cooking, chop up:           

            1  lg.  fresh tomato, or several smaller ones

By now, the pasta water should be boiling.  Cook whatever shape you’ve chosen (1 lb.) until it is al dente—still a little hard to bite thru.  Just before the pasta is done, add to the skillet:           

            2  Tbsp.  butter

            the cooked brat pieces & juices

Turn the heat to low, cover the skillet so the butter melts and the meat warms up.  Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and stir in 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil.  (It’s easier to toss the hot pasta and oil in the pot rather than a serving dish.)  Put the dressed pasta into your serving dish, top with the sauce, then the chopped tomatoes.  Serve with plenty of Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese.  A sprinkling of chopped parsley or basil on each dish would also be lovely.


These German Heirloom Tomatoes are not from the CSA box. I just wanted to include them this week, because I think they are too interesting not to! This quarter sort of shows how big they are! They are mostly meat and have very few seeds. Little overripe and perfect to make some tomato sauce. Made one batch to tweak the recipe and used the sauce right away for lunch. 

 Here is a guideline for the Tomato Sauce:
I used one garlic clove for every Tomato I used (i guess one garlic clove for two smaller tomatoes would be the same). Some carrots and onions, finely chopped (maybe half a carrot and one small onion).
I sauteed the garlic, onion and carrots in olive oil. Add salt to taste until the onions are opaque. Add tomatoes and cook until they sort of get mushy. Add the basil or, in this case, the pesto. I used my immersion blender to blend all the ingredients and let the whole thing simmer for a good hour or longer.
Again not a 'real' recipe, but I don't think it really needs to be.

Here is the end result. Since the tomato meat was more yellow than red it is kind of hard to see the sauce, but it is there. Super fresh taste. I think no store bought sauce will even come close to this. I used some of the pesto I had frozen, instead of the fresh basil. I have to accept that it is almost the end of August and Basil season is about done. They are getting to be a little too bitter. Sad face. 

These awesome cheese curds are from the West Bend Farmers market. Although I am sure that you can buy them just about anywhere. I had never had them before and I think after 10 years of living in Wisconsin it was long over due to give them a try. Of course I had to get the dill garlic curds. Maybe, since I never had any before, I can eat a little more?