Recipe: Kale Pesto

CSA, Recipe No Responses »
Jun 252011
 

In one of my CSAs this week, we received kale.  I polled a few people and decided to make pesto.

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Recipe: Kale Pesto

Summary: As usual, the measurements are approximate. Feel free to adjust to your taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale, chopped with stems removed (I used Red Russian Kale)
  • 3 garlic scapes, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Prep and measure out all of the above ingredients.
  2. Add kale, scapes and green onion to food processor.
  3. Process until a paste starts to form.
  4. Add nuts.
  5. Add olive oil.
  6. Process until smooth and check for desired consistency. Product will thicken a little when the cheese is added. If product is not thin enough, add more oil or some water.
  7. Add cheese.
  8. Process until smooth.
  9. Salt and pepper to taste.

Quick notes

If you are freezing the pesto for later use, wait until you thaw before adding the cheese. Pesto can be made with most greens and nuts. The variations are limitless.  Serve over pasta or as a spread with crackers.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

 

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Food Log for Saturday

Food Log No Responses »
Jun 252011
 

I didn’t do a food log yesterday.  I ate well, but we spent the day at the hospital and sleep was more important last night.  Here’s a short and sweet log for today.

Breakfast
oats with milk, apple, cinnamon, peanut butter
Lunch
taco salad
corn chips
Afternoon Snack
tortilla chips at Mary's shower
Dinner
salad w/ eggs
 Posted by at 8:18 PM

Thankful for the Inventor of the Stent

Uncategorized 1 Response »
Jun 242011
 

Today was a very long day.  My family and I arrived early to a local hospital so my dad could have a heart catheterization.  To make a very long story short, I’m thankful for modern medicine.  I’m thankful for people like Dr. Thomas Fogarty, the inventor of the balloon catheter and Dr. Julio Palmaz, for inventing the stent.

Our day ended with a happy family photo (minus my brother).  Get well soon Dad!

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 Posted by at 10:30 PM

Fresh Fork CSA–week 4

CSA No Responses »
Jun 232011
 

Today was the 4th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA.  We were expecting the following items.

Small CSA:

  • 1 package chicken bratwursts (1.25 lb)
  • 1 bunch garlic scapes
  • Approx 1.5 lb tomatoes
  • 1 quart strawberries
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 2 ct zucchini or yellow squash
  • 4 oz tub fresh chevre goat cheese

Here is what we received.

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So, our cheese was different, but it should be tasty.  And we ended up with one of each for the squash.  I could tell that strawberry season was ending as they aren’t in the best shape.  It’s another yummy week.

Also, we bought 2 bags of the corn chips that were included a couple of weeks ago.  I have taco salad on the menu and these are delicious.  They were $3 each – $6.

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We did pretty good with last week’s items.  I haven’t really thought about the new batch.

Food Log for Thursday

Food Log No Responses »
Jun 232011
 
Breakfast
oats with milk, peaches and cinnamon
Morning Snack
piece of cheese
few strawberries
Lunch
kale pesto
crackers
prosciutto
Dinner
salad
brat
whole wheat bread
few chips
 Posted by at 10:22 PM

U-Pick Tour–Patterson Fruit Farm, Chesterland Ohio

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »
Jun 232011
 

Today, we traveled to Patterson Fruit Farm.  This was our 5th and final farm for strawberry picking this season.  The season was too short to try all of the farms on our list, but hopefully we’ll be trying other farms for different crops throughout the summer.  The season is winding down for all of the farms and we are taking next week off while we wait for the start of blueberries, sour cherries and raspberries.  July will be BUSY!  From our house in Mayfield Heights, the Mulberry Road location for Patterson Fruit Farm is about 20 minutes away.  We saved the closest one for last.  Patterson Fruit Farm also operates a market on Caves Road.

We met some friends at the farm.  They live in South Euclid and if they call when they are leaving, and then we pack up and leave, we get to the farms east about the same time.  Once again today, we parked right next to each other.  That was awesome timing.

The U-Pick operation at Patterson’s is one of the bigger one for strawberries.  I think it’s because they are very popular for apples and they are close to the city population compared to other farms.  There is a whole staff of people working the U-Pick fields.  The picking started at 8 AM, and we arrived about 8:30 AM.  You stop at a little gate house building as you enter and someone gives you your baskets and a white information card.  Then, you follow the arrows to the current picking field.  It was not crowded and we parked very close to picking.

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Here’s Sally and Nick enjoying the field, and the little field house where your strawberries are weighed when you complete your picking.

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The weights of your berries for each container are recorded on your information card and you take it to the gate house near the entrance/exit to pay.  Also, there was a pot-a-jon available near the field.

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Here’s a view of the fields.  They have at least 4 picking fields here.  We ended up with 4.25 pounds of berries for $8.25.  They are $1.60-$1.95 per pound depending on how many pounds you pick.  The lowest price is for 25 pounds or more.

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We left our house at 8:15 AM and we were home by 10 AM.  That included a detour through the North Chagrin Reservation since Wilson Mills was blocked off with a police car on our way home.

Patterson Fruit Farm has a website and a couple of Facebook pages.   They have U-PIck strawberries, apples and a minimal peach operation, so we’ll probably visit them again later in the year.

Strawberry Picking is located at 8765 Mulberry Road Chesterland, Ohio 44026.  Their Farm Market is at 11414 Caves Road, Chesterland, Ohio 44026.

E Spinner and Trainer Workout

Exercise No Responses »
Jun 222011
 

Today, I began my workout with a 30 session on the E Spinner.  I felt great.  It was nice to pedal at 80 RPM, sweat and not have knee pain.  That’s a Win, Win, Win!  Toward the end of my ride, I chatted with Chaya and the last few minutes flew by.

At 10:30 AM, I had a trainer appointment with Chelsea.  She was squat happy today!

The workout:

  • Jack-knife: ABS  (this is a floor exercise where one arm is at your side and the other is up above your head on the floor.  You bring up the stretched arm and opposite leg at the same time.  They are hard.)
  • Core Ball hold and crunch (3 ways): ABS
  • Regular Crunch with knees in air: ABS
  • Bicep Curl machine: 20 lbs (3 sets of 12)
  • Tricep Cable: 30 lbs one arm (2 sets of 15)
  • Cable Row in squat position: 40 lbs (2 sets of 15)
  • Push up on smith machine (lower bar this week – 2 sets of 12ish)
  • Mini Squats: Smith machine (didn’t need the Smith machine, but I was happy to have it available)
  • Sit/Stand/Press: 10 lb db one arm (one minute for each arm)

I ended with some stretching.  I feel great.  It’s especially nice because this was a solid hour workout and that’s probably my first one since I injured my knee.

Next up: strawberry picking in the morning if the weather cooperates

 

Food Log for Wednesday

Food Log No Responses »
Jun 222011
 
Breakfast
baked oatmeal
Morning Snack
handful of nuts
Lunch
eggs, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, over a bed of lettuce
Dinner
bean, carrot, pepper salad with honey mustard dressing
Late Snack
slice of toast w/banana, peanut butter, jam
 Posted by at 9:52 PM

U-Pick Tour–Secor Nursery, Perry Ohio

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick 4 Responses »
Jun 212011
 

Today, the kids and I traveled to Secor Nursery in Perry Ohio.  From our house in Mayfield Heights, it was about 40 minutes away.  It took a bit longer due to the construction on route 2.  The upside is that there were lots of diggers and other equipment to entertain Nick and Sally along the way.  It’s about 4 miles further down than West Orchards Farm.

The U-Pick opened at 8 AM and we arrived just after 8 AM.  We parked in front and went into the market to check in and get more information.  We got our basket and directions and drove out to the strawberries.

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It wasn’t a far drive and was well marked (to the field and back).

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Sally was photogenic for a change.  I think she’s really starting to like all of these farms.

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She tried a couple of berries, but surprisingly, she isn’t a big fan of strawberries.  Her brother Nick, on the other hand, loves them and calls this strawberry eating instead of strawberry picking.  The scenery around the fields was breathtakingly beautiful, even with the Perry nuclear power plant in the background.

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With picking this good, it was easy to come home with just over 5 pounds of berries.  Grand total $11.67 which included a bulb of garlic that I picked up at the market for $1 when we checked out.

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Secor Nursery doesn’t seem to have a website, but I recently found their Facebook page.  You can call them for picking updates and they have an email list.  I would not have tried this farm out due to the lack of easy information available, but my local Rite Aid manage suggested it.  He and his wife do much of their picking there.  With that recommendation, we headed out.

I’m so glad that we tried this farm.  I think it is my favorite to date.  The berries were $1.99 a pound and that’s in line with our other picking this season.  The scenery was great, there was a port-a-jon available, and we had the picking to ourselves for the first half hour.  I can’t wait for cherries, black and red raspberries and blueberries.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–week 2

CSA 2 Responses »
Jun 212011
 

Today was the second pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  As usual, we had no idea what we would receive.  A newsletter comes out that gives us an idea of what we may receive, but I usually don’t see it before our pickup.  Today was the second pick up and also the second time the truck was late.  Both times, it arrived before we did, so we haven’t had to wait for them.  I’m not sure what will happen next week since we want to come to the farm visit.  Maybe I’ll enlist some assistance from my husband.  Even with an on-time truck arriving at Whole Foods by 4pm, it will be tough to pick up, store and get to the farm by 6pm.

Here’s what we received:

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Let’s take a closer look.

1 bunch of kale, 2 containers of strawberries

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2 tomatoes, 1 dozen eggs

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garlic scapes, green onions

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pickling cucumbers, lots of lettuce (3 bags with 4 heads total)

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Here’s our plan of attack:

This week, we plan to have several salads with the lettuce.  I’ve been making spelt and quinoa and also using beans in some salads.  I’ll pickle the cucumbers.  I’m glad I stocked up on the spices for them.  I’ll need to double check our vinegar stock.  Some of the onions and garlic scape will be used in a batch of taco filling and the rest will be used in a sauté with mushrooms for the top of burgers or chopped and frozen.  There aren’t too many of them, so that might all got in the taco filling.  The tomatoes will go in the taco filling also.  I’ve been making baked oatmeal, scrambled eggs and hard boiled eggs so the eggs have been easy to use in a timely fashion.  Also, they have a long shelf life.  We just picked some strawberries and made jam today, so these will most likely get eaten.  If we feel like we have too many, we’ll make some strawberry ice cream or freeze them for later.

So, I’m left without a plan for kale.  It’s an item that we only received twice last year, and I don’t have a “go to” dish in mind.  Some quick searching in Google gave me lots of ideas.  Now, I have to think about it.  We have plans to eat dinner away from home Wednesday and Thursday , so kale will have to be lunch for us one day or for dinner on Friday.  I’m leaning toward steaming it with vinegar, garlic scapes and green onion.

Update on last week:

Since the bread was opened for a snack on the way home, Nick, Sally and my husband had no trouble making sure it was eaten.  The bok choy went into an Asian tofu stir fry along with some of the garlic scapes and green onions.  The eggs were used in regular cooking and the cucumber and lettuce were used in salads.  Some of the strawberries were eaten and the rest went with some others we had to make jam.  The rest of the green onions and garlic scapes went into a Mexican filling for salad.

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