an almost completely csa dinner

something strange is going on here. hubby keeps reminding me that i haven't posted this week's csa. i didn't realize that he was checking in on the blog. sweet boy!! here's something else sorta strange. being winter i fully expected a lot of repeat items in each week's csa loot, and i was cool with that. but, happily, each week has been quite different. yes we're getting a meat, bread, and squash each time, but the variety of each is really awesome. and this weeks loot is proving to be exceptionally tasty. take a look....

week #3 csa

isn't that gorgeous!!!! just gorgeous. so inspiring and yet so delicious and fresh that overworking such ingredients is not necessary. i just kept telling myself, like with anything, "keep it simple stupid." so for two nights we had an almost completely csa dinner.... lamb brats and sauteed onions on rolls with sunflower shoots. easy, easy, easy. first saute half an onion in some butter for a few minutes (the second night i was enjoying a beer while cooking and splashed the onions a couple of times with the beer and oh boy that was really good) then add two lamb brats to the pan and heat till fully cooked. when i cut the brats in half to make them fit on the roll, and to check to see if they were done, some juices ran out into the pan. can't just leave the juices in there. so cut the rolls in half and toasted them in the pan juices, yummy. finally, top the sandwich off with some lightly dressed sunflower shoots (ground mustard, a pinch of S&P, bit of honey, rice vinegar, and olive oil mixed together and you got a serious little dressing). and there you have it, dinner.

heavens, i love my cast iron skillet.

a new obsession: MICROGREENS!!!!!

on night two, i decided to fix us a dessert with apples from the week #2 csa loot. where apple pie can be a bit of a pain to deal with, an apple galette is easy as 1, 2, 3.

apple tart 1, 2, 3. 

(made in a 6 inch cast iron skillet)

1. make the apple filling

peel, core, and slice thin 2 apples (arkansas black)

toss with a small palm full of sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and a pinch nutmeg. 

2. make the dough

cut 3 tbsp. butter into 1/2 cup flour and a pinch of salt. mix in 2 tbsp. chilled water till you can press the dough and it holds together in a ball. roll the dough out on floured surface until the dough circle is a good bit larger than the cast iron skillet.

3. bake the tart

set the dough in the skillet, plop in the apples (i tried to make a nice pretty circular pattern, but, in the end, i just kinda threw them in), fold over the extra dough, brush the dough with some melted butter, dot the apples with a bit more butter, and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.

if only we'd had some ice cream!!!

3G week #5 totals breakdown

maude's market csa: $35.97

(including tax and the dozen eggs)

2 acorn squash

sunflower shoots

6 lamb brats

5 rolls

pint of frozen cherries

bean soup mix

1 dozen large eggs

wholefoods/target: $22.45

org. milk x2

org. sour cream

org. yogurt

jar of org. strained tomatoes

raw pumpkin seeds

raw sunflower seeds

saluda farmers market: $4.50

1 lb. local homemade unsalted butter

total: about $63.00

($3.00 over, project bank now down to $5.00)