Revived

Whelp, back at it.  My short lived attempt at maintaining a blog ended after 3 posts.  Not that I have lack of topics to write about, but the lame excuse of lack of time.  However, I have a hankering for blogging.  Crossing my fingers for no more lame excuses.

I’d have to say the most life changing foodie thing that’s happened to me in the past year is enrolling in a CSA.  CSA = Community Supported Agriculture = Members of the community make an upfront financial commitment to a local farm and basically become shareholders of the farm.  In return, the member receives seasonal food from the farm each week.  Mine happens to be certified organic; however there is no reason to be uneasy about the farms that aren’t ‘certified.’  This certification is uber expensive, and many local farms still practice organic farming without it.

 Getting my CSA box every week is pretty much like Christmas morning for me every Wednesday.  I even get a little sneak peek every Tuesday, when Farmer Vicki sends me an ‘update from the farm’ and a list of what to expect in my box.  With every bit of excitement this adventure has created in my household, it has created a bit of challenge.  I consistently attempt to keep weeknight dinners unique.  I have learned to prepare more NEW vegetables & fruit in the past 6 months, than I ever imagined.  At the same time, we get seasonal crops.  So, sometimes, we get bundles of the same veggie for 4 weeks in a row.  And I have to think of new ways to incorporate into our meals, without feeling a bit of wear out.

 This week…beets. 

 I love roasted beets.   Topped with julienned basil, crumbled goat cheese, and balsamic.  I really thought I would never get sick of that exact combination.  But, my crisper has been stock piling beets, and I realized it is because we have eaten the same beet recipe like 7 times in the past 2 months. 

 So, I have been experimenting with different ways to integrate.  I found a few good combinations that I’ll try again.

*Combine the following – 1 julienned beet, 2 thinly sliced apples, minced shallot, ½ thinly sliced celery root (a few celery stalks would work too), juice of 1 lemon, olive oil, S&P

*Roasted dinner – add in beets with other root veggies like potatoes and carrots, and roast with a favorite roasting meat, like pork tenderloin

*and just to pass along my favorite way to roast beets, I tightly wrap multiple beets in a giant piece of aluminum foil.  Add in an obscene amount of good olive oil inside.  Roast on 400 until you can easily piece with a fork.  Save the beet infused oil and use to drizzle on peppery greens.