What's in the Box? August 18, 2015

Once again, I am amazed at what arrived in my box this week. My own vegetable garden has completely shut down, except for a few eggplants and a lot of basil. (Yes! We are eating on average 6-8 eggplants per week. Good thing we love 'em.) Meanwhile, Will keeps surprising with perfect tomatoes, a variety of peppers, and even fresh greens. In Mississippi. In August.

My meal plan, however, does not contain any surprises this week. After trying out dozens of ways to eat eggplant, tomato, peppers and basil over the past few months, we have found our family favorites. And this week, we're just going to stick with those.

Below are my family's top recipe picks for the end of the season. What are yours?

In this week's box:

4 eggplants
5 bell peppers
8 banana peppers
10 Shishito peppers
3 heads of garlic
1 medium tomato
1 bunch of basil
1 bag of arugula
17 mini Roma tomatoes
14 Campari tomatoes

This week's meal plan:

Wednesday
Roasted Eggplant Caponata
Arugula and Tomato Salad
Blistered Shishito Peppers

Thursday
Meatless Eggplant Meatballs
Tomato and Mozzarella Salad
Garlic bread with Homemade Pesto

Friday
Spanish Tapas Peppers
Garlic Steak

Saturday
Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa
Hamburgers

Sunday
Friday Night Pizza (on Sunday) with Homemade Pesto

Stuffed & Wrapped Peppers

Although these stuffed banana peppers are more typically served as appetizers, they are so filling they the made a main course at my house. They can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge, then popped in the broiler for 10 minutes before serving. Just be sure to serve them hot— but not too hot!

Stuffed and Wrapped Banana Peppers

6-8 Banana peppers
6-8 slices of bacon
1 cup whipped cream cheese (or regular cream cheese spread)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 small jalapeño pepper (or other spicy pepper), diced
Salt and pepper to taste
toothpicks

Remove the stems, seeds and membranes from the peppers (use caution when handling the jalapeño!). Then slice each banana pepper open to create a little pocket for the stuffing.

To make the cheese stuffing, sauté the diced onion and jalapeño in a little olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the diced tomato and cook for 1 minute more. Combine the sautéed vegetables  in a bowl with the cream cheese, shredded cheddar, salt and pepper, and mix with a fork until well-blended.

Stuff spoonfuls of the cheese stuffing inside each banana pepper, then wrap each pepper with a slice of bacon, securing with a couple of toothpicks. Arrange the stuffed peppers evenly on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.

Set the oven to broil, and cook the peppers for 5 minutes on each side, until the bacon is browned and obviously cooked. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating.

Thanks, Will Reed, for the suggestion!

Blistered Shishito Peppers

This suggestion for Blistered Shishito Peppers came straight from the farmer's mouth, so you know it's good. I've also seen it on the menu at several high-end restaurants, and it would make a crowd-pleasing appetizer at a summer dinner party—especially paired with tangy cocktail.

The Shishito pepper is a mild, Japanese variety of pepper, although supposedly one in every handful will surprise you with a fire-y jolt. None of mine were at all spicy, although the more reddish peppers did have a very pleasant tang. You can use this same technique on the Spanish padron peppers, which we have also received in the CSA this year. Here's hoping we get at least one more bag of either pepper this season, because this is a recipe I look forward to making again.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Heat three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Don't over-do it with the oil or under-do it on the heat or the peppers will get mushy rather than blistered.

When the oil is ready, slide the peppers in, stems and all.

Turn the peppers every minute or two so they blister evenly.

When the skins start to bubble and split and turn a little black, they are ready (about 5 minutes).

Serve immediately with a generous sprinkling of sea salt.

And wish you had about twice as many!

What's in the Box? August 13, 2015

It's that time of year again: the kids are heading back to school—trying new things, learning new skills. I find I'm doing much the same at home in my kitchen, tasting new-to-me varieties, such as this week's bright yellow canary melon and those wrinkly shishito peppers, and experimenting with new-to-me techniques. This week I hope to try my hand at pickling a bunch of those peppers.

I love recipes that pair two or more ingredients that are perfectly in season at the same time—and come in the box. There are several in my meal plan this week, including this recipe for Canary Melon and Pepper Salsa, which use canary melon, bell pepper, banana peppers, garlic, and some red onions I have left over from last week's box. Or how about using the canary melon, arugula, and basil for the Summer Greens and Melon Salad?

I've also received some wonderful recipe suggestions from members, below. Keep them coming!

Here's what was in the box this week:

1 canary melon
1 bunch basil
1 bag arugula
4 eggplants
3 heads of garlic
4 bell peppers
7 banana peppers
shishito peppers
1 bag mini Roma tomatoes
1 bag Campari tomatoes


Here's are a few things I'm thinking of trying this week:

Cocktails from the Box
Ina Garten's Jalapeño Margaritas (Thanks, Jana Eakes!)
Canary Melon Margarita 

Things to Make with Canary Melon
Canary Melon and Pepper Salsa
Canary Melon and Jicama Salsa
Melon with Orange Ginger Syrup
Summer Greens and Melon Salad
Melon Sorbet

Things to Make with Peppers
Blistered Shishito Peppers (Thanks, Will Reed!)
Cream Cheese-Stuffed Banana Peppers Wrapped with Bacon (Thanks again, Will Reed!)
Quick Pickled Peppers
Ina Garten's Make-Ahead Spanish Tapas Peppers (Thanks again, Jana Eakes!)

New Things to Make with Eggplant
Aunt Mary's Eggplant Balls (Thanks, Allison Doyle!)
Ina Garten's Roasted Eggplant Caponata (Thanks times three, Jana Eakes!)

What new recipe are you trying this week?

Pasta Sauce from the Box

I avoided making my own pasta sauce for years thinking, how could it possibly be worth so much trouble? But it really is so much better, and it really isn't all that much trouble. Here's a quick tutorial for how to make it yourself in less than hour using only ingredients from your box.

You will need:

A quantity of ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Italian seasoning (fresh basil, dried marjoram, dried oregano)

Salt

Olive oil, about 1/4 cup

1 bell pepper or chili pepper (if desired), seeded and diced

6 oz. can tomato paste (if desired)

1. Start with the freshest ingredients

You'll need a large bowl of fresh tomatoes. Any kind will do: big or small, red or yellow. Even the over-ripe ones will do just fine. I don't even bother to wash or stem them first. 

2. Boil the tomatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Quickly, but gently (so you don't splash yourself with boiling water) slide all of the tomatoes into the water and boil for exactly 30 seconds. Thirty seconds is the perfect amount of time: any less and the skins don't slip off as easily; any more and the tomatoes start to turn to mush.

3. Dunk the tomatoes in an ice bath
Drain the pot of boiling tomatoes in a colander and transfer the tomatoes into a large bowl of ice water to stop the tomatoes from cooking further.

4. Peel and dice the tomatoes
This is the part that always turned me off, but in fact skinning a tomato is pretty effortless. If you've followed the steps above to the letter, the skins will practically slip right off. For a more liquid, "garden-style" sauce, just dice the tomatoes into large chunks and reserve them, seeds and juice and all, for the sauce pot. For a thicker, more even-textured sauce, discard the seeds and excess juice, reserving only the diced tomatoes.

5. Fill your pot
Start by sautéing the diced onion in the olive oil until translucent (on medium heat for about 5 minutes). Add the minced garlic and sauté about 1 more minute. Add the diced tomatoes, salt, and herbs, and cook until well-incorporated.

6. Simmer to taste

Simmer the sauce on low heat for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally—and tasting rather more frequently—until the sauce has reached the flavor and consistency you desire. Season until you get it right. To rescue a watery sauce or to make a thicker sauce suitable for a lasagna or eggplant parmesan, add a tablespoon or more of tomato paste.

Meanwhile, here's the moment when you start boiling the pasta water in another pot. My brother-in-law, who is a proud Italian chef, taught me this handy tip for boiling pasta: "Keep adding salt to the water until it tastes like the Mediterranean!" And his secret to making good pasta sauce: "Taste, taste and taste again!"

Variations:

• For a spicier sauce, add one of this week's chili peppers to the pot. Serve with penne noodles for the classic Penne all'Arrabbiata
• For more tang but without the spice, season with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, adding more to taste. 
• If your are used to a sweeter pasta sauce, go ahead and add a teaspoon of sugar, adding more to taste.

Cantaloupe Granita

We love cantaloupe at our house. But with these incredible basketball ball-sized melons we've been getting in our box lately, even we have had a hard time eating it all down before the next one comes in.

Fortunately, I discovered this recipe for Cantaloupe and Mint Granita from Giada De Laurentiis. Basically, it's a cantaloupe snowcone, and it's the perfect antidote to the dog days of summer. Not only will this recipe make quick use your cantaloupe (especially if you've let it get a little overripe), there should be plenty of minted simple syrup left over to make a couple of Mint Juleps!

Cantaloupe and Mint Granita

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups fresh mint leaves, packed and divided
4 cups peeled, seeded cantaloupe melon
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice (about 2 whole limes)

In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and 1 cup mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the head and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.

In a blender, puree the cooled syrup, cantaloupe, and lime juice until smooth. Taste, and adjust the sweetness by blending in 1 extra tablespoon of sugar at a time. Add the remaining mint leaves and blend until finely chopped. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish and freeze until firm, about 8 hours.

Use the tines of a fork to scrap the granita into chilled bowls and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

What's in the Box? August 4, 2015

Oh, August! The heat continues. My patience starts to run thin. And I'm short on ideas in the kitchen...

Here's the moment when you, Dear Reader, swoop in with your ideas and recipes and save the day. Especially your ideas for all those peppers—please send them in!

Here's what was in the box this week:
2 eggplants
1 quart tomatoes
1 quart other tomatoes
2 heirloom tomatoes
2 purple peppers
5 banana peppers
1 quart chili peppers
4 red onions
1 cantaloupe
1 bunch basil
1 pint micro greens

This time of year the heat makes me reluctant to commit to anything, especially if it involves turning on my stove. So rather than my usual meal plan, here are some sketches of what I think I might be cooking this week.

Basil
Nearly every week I make a small batch of pesto as soon as I get my box. It only takes five minutes to make, and I then I have the most unbelievable fragrant pesto to add to pasta, pizza, and bruschetta for the rest of the week.

Microgreens
These will be a delightful addition to my lunch this week, probably on an Avocado Turkey Melt.

Eggplant
Honestly, I could just make the Eggplant, Tomato, and Feta Salad every week (and I do, because I also have eggplant growing in my garden right now). But this week, I'm looking forward to branching out and making Martha Stewart's version of Baba Ghanoush, which is a simplified version of more traditional methods and makes do with the ingredients we all have in our fridges.

Cantaloupe
I tend to eat cantaloupe plain or with prosciutto, but this week I want to try this Cantaloupe Yogurt Smoothie. I think even my kids will like it. Or how about this Cantaloupe Ginger Lassi for a change? It sounds really different...

Tomatoes
I've been making a lot of my own tomato sauce lately using Ina Garten's recipe for marinara, but substituting the canned tomatoes for my own homemade stewed tomatoes. This sounds super-involved, but honestly the whole process takes an hour, and at the end I have the most decadent tomato sauce, which I add to everything I eat for the next three days.

Peppers
A little pepper goes a long way, so I will be using up my peppers bit by bit in just about every dish I make. I'll add several to my Friday Night Pizza. I'll throw a few into the tomato sauce to make Penne All'Arrabbiata. I'll probably make a Sunday morning quiche or frittata that includes a few. Then, if at the end of the week I still have a cache of peppers, I'll clean out my fridge by making my Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Salsa, because that's exactly what this recipe is good for.

Finally, if I can jolt myself out of my late-summer indolence this week, I'll hope try one of these:

Red Pepper Relish
Hot Pepper Jelly
Stuffed Poblanos