Tomatoes

So tomatoes.  I'm sure even the laziest of chefs can think of a million things to do with tomatoes, they're pretty versatile.  But I wanted to do something with them other than my go-to Caprese salad.  Sure, a nice Caprese photographs well and showing it to y'all would still make me look gourmet and sh*t (even though it takes like literally 2 seconds to make), but I'm supposed to be challenging myself and cooking adventurously!  Caprese salad checks off neither of those boxes, so on to the next one (get the reference? anyone? no? okay...moving on...I'll try again next time).
I found this recipe for stuffed tomatoes and they looked pretty dang delicious.  Not only was the recipe super easy and fast, but it worked perfectly with my tomatoes that were a little on the soft side.  I'll make a confession - jeez, you guys are turning into my weekly 2pm with Father O'Reily - I was a bit too over-excited with getting all these veggies that I just stared at their glory and did nothing with them for 4 or 5 days.  So by Monday I was like, "Oh my jeezus, I'm getting another fridge full of this stuff in 3 days!!!"  I better get cookin'.
So getting back on track, my tomatoes were a little soft, and I also had work in little over a half-hour.  I don't really plan this stuff out very well.  But hooray for this recipe, it took only 30 minutes from start to in my belly, so it's a perfect quickie recipe for when you're in a rush or just want a really awesome side dish.  I made the mistake of thinking I could make this into a meal, but by the fourth or fifth tomato half, I was getting pretty sick of them - the oil and garlic make them really rich - so I'd recommend 3 as the ideal number of consumption.
The result...

See?  They were so good I couldn't even wait to take a picture.  Okay that's a lie, I just forgot, but I was still undecided at this point if I was going to make a blog or not.  After discovering that they were actually insanely delicious and that I wasn't a complete failure in the kitchen, I wanted proof to show people of my cooking achievements.
And there you have it, folks!  If I can do it, so can you.  But seriously, a little dedication is all it takes.  Most of what I make is far from ever appearing in a 5-star restaurant, but that's not the point.  Making edible and fairly delicious food for yourself is a really big accomplishment if you're someone who doesn't cook.
You can find the recipe here.
Overall rating: 91%
Thanks for reading!

Dandelion Greens

This goes without saying, but as an amateur chef, (a quite generous title, btw) I have never once eaten, cooked, or done anything with dandelion greens.  First off, I didn't even know they were edible.  And yep, they're exactly what you think they are - the weed that grows in everybody's yard.  But I guess the leaves are actually safe to eat as long as you're not getting them from an area that's been sprayed, or so I've been told...I didn't die in the process so I guess that's a good sign.
So dandelion greens are bitter.  Like super bitter.  And considering that me and arugula aren't the best of friends, throwing them into a salad as a bitter green element was not an option.  I had to do something with these weeds to transform or at least mask their overpoweringly bitter taste.
Searching for recipes, I was finding too many that used a lot of ingredients that I didn't have, and for me to go out and buy extra ingredients just to make one dish would kind of defeat the whole purpose of a CSA.  Not that you can't supplement, but I was looking at an extra $20 for most of these meals - I told you, I don't cook so my pantry is quite limited.  But even on a limited budget you can make some pretty fantastic meals.  Just wait!
So finally I came across this recipe for dandelion green chips...say whaaaa?  As the world's biggest snack lover, I was intrigued to say the least.  I'd heard about the latest rage for kale chips, so I gave these a try.
The result...

Mine weren't as pretty as the picture in the recipe I found, but I think part of it was that my greens had a lot more red color in them, so when I baked them they turned out pretty dark.   That part was tricky 'cause I didn't have a great idea of what they were supposed to look like when they were done, so I ended up burning the first batch by mistake.
These were definitely an experiment and I don't know if I'd try them again. After I baked them, the greens became really thin and crispy and sort of had a melt-in-your-mouth quality, but they were still quite bitter and eating them felt like eating grass.  I nibbled on a couple and then left the rest out to see if any of my roommates would be adventurous enough to try them, but I'm pretty confident no one touched them.  I gave them another try after letting them sit out for a day, and they were actually a lot better.
For a mindless snacker like me, these are perfect since you can eat a billion of them without feeling guilty, but again, they weren't the greatest tasting.
You can find the recipe here.
Overall rating: 64%

What's in the box? Week 1

So all CSAs are set up a little bit differently, but the basic principles are always the same.  At the core, they're about a community coming together to support a local, small-scale farmer and share the benefits, as well as the risks.  As a member of a CSA, you get a weekly "share" of vegetables that consists of whatever the farmer harvested that week, so not only are you getting ultra-fresh, delicious veggies, but you get to experience what it means to eat seasonally.
Now let's talk distribution.  Some CSAs pre-portion out all the shares and drop off the boxes at a central location where all members come and pick up their box.  Others, like the one I'm interning for at the Prince George, have members portion out their own shares themselves.  And not that it really matters, but I think this way of distribution is particularly cool, it's a little bit more interaction that members get to have with their CSA and other members.  And you're still getting a grocery-store-esque shopping experience.  Win-win.
So here's what I got my first week as CSA intern:

Beautiful, right?  No filter, no editing, taken right off my phone.  And this is just a sampling - most of it didn't fit in the bowl.
Week 1 included:
Swiss Chard
Dandelion Greens
Peppers
Mini Bell Peppers
Radishes
Carrots
Tomatoes
Green Beans
Corn

More to come about what I did with all this stuff!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog!

As you may or may not know, I started an internship with the Prince George CSA program last week, (more about that later) and as their intern, I found out that I get my own share of fresh veggies each week.  CRAZY COOL, RIGHT?!  Ok, so maybe I'm overreacting, but if you've ever worked in non-profits, you'll know that a stipend of any kind is like manna falling from heaven.  Thank the Lawd, I'm saved!  But then reality set in and I got to thinking, what the eff am I going to do with all these vegetables?!  And more importantly, what the eff are half of these?!  Dandelion greens?  Swiss chard?  Come on, are these even edible?  

And this is what can be daunting to a lot of people about joining a CSA for themselves.  We've all grown up knowing what cucumbers and tomatoes are (what I like to call veggies a la supermarket) and knowing a bit about how to eat them or use them in cooking, but the vegetables you get in CSAs are not always the most familiar.  And that's only half the battle - once you figure out what everything is and what to do with it, you've got to figure out how to make all of these veggies into meals.  And I don't know about you,  but I actually really enjoy eating raw veggies, to the point where I've never bothered to try using them in cooking.  This was definitely not an option with my CSA share giving me enough vegetables to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a week and whatnot. 

So here I am, writing this blog to document my cooking adventures with the wonderful fresh veggies I get from my CSA share each week.  Basically, I want to spread the word to my dear friends and family on how great CSAs are, and that you don't have to be a skilled chef in the kitchen to know how to make delicious meals out of them.  And if you are a skilled chef, (cough mom cough) CSAs are a great way to expand your horizons and get creative with your cooking.  

And now to my secret confession: while I was searching the web for what in the world to do with dandelion greens, I came across a fantastic Huff Post series of articles entitled, "WTF, CSA?!"  Sounds familiar right?  Yep, I stole it.  But only because it was such an ingenious idea and I could totally relate to it.  So I've taken their idea, but made it into a blog for y'all to experience all my WTF?! moments right along with me!  Are you ready??!