This box was a doozy!  There was a huuuuuuuge watermelon hiding in the bottom.  Of course, it was filled with all types of delici-osity (Is that a realword?  It is now!).  If you missed our past pickups, you can read about them HERE.  This week we received:

• Peaches Sustainable
• Plums Sustainable
• Donut Peaches Sustainable
• Watermelon Sustainable
• Swiss Chard Sustainable
• Cubanelle and Bell Peppers Sustainable
• Summer Squash Sustainable
• Cucumbers Sustainable
• Beefsteak and Plum Tomatoes Sustainable
• Apples (Sansa/Red Free) Sustainable
• Beets Certified Organic
• Red Onions Sustainable
• Leeks Sustainable
• Kohlrabi Sustainable
• Beans Sustainable
• Sweet Corn Sustainable

I promised to share more of our easy veggie bowls... so here's another!

Oh how I love cooked onions.  I like them fried.  I like them caramelized.  I like them sauteed.  Oh, the sweet sweet yum!

Ahem... so I put them into a veggie bowl...

Am I the only one who gets all misty-eyed over veggies?  And not just because I was cutting onions?
Anyway.  Back to the bowl.  We had to blanch a few bags of green beans so as the onions cooked, Jemma and I snipped the ends (her term for cutting off the stems).

I really think she helps me cook just so she can sneak in extra tastes.

Once the were clean and snipped, I plunged them into boiling water until they were bright green, then put them in cold water.
I wanted to include a protein, so I grabbed a bag of beans I had pre-cooked and frozen from the freezer.  To defrost them, I just poured the boiling green bean water over the beans in the strainer.  Just as easy as canned, but cooked in bone broth!

I don't even know what greens we used.  Sorry.  But, I mixed them with the beans.

A week or so ago I posted about my love of bowls.  No, not the dish, the meal.  Although I do like a pretty bowl to eat a tasty bowl out of.

Anyway, this week I am sharing some bowls made recently.  The first is root-veggie heavy, as I was trying to use up the late spring veggies before the summer veggies started rolling in.

I really just make the veggie bowls to use up whatever I have lying around.  On this day, it was red onions, kohlrabi, and parsnips.
 I tossed them with olive oil and salt, then roasted them.
While they were roasting, I cleaned and cut up some collard greens.  I also cooked a few cups of pearl couscous in chicken broth to have for the week.  At the same time, this was going on behind me.

Yeah... I caught you!

Once I was done admiring the cuteness, I mixed the collards with the hot roasted veggies and hot couscous.  They wilted the collards nicely without rendering them mushy.
Tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette (I promise to share the recipe soon... I call it magic sauce because Jemma and Juliet (and John!) gobble up anything I put it on!), it was perfect.

See?  Easy.
John added in some leftover pork because he felt like having a heartier dish.  It was great both ways!

What do you like to include in your bowls?

I decided to make pork chops the other day.  We had some carrots to use up, so I thought a carrot mash and a cabbage slaw would go well with it.

Well.  It was delicious.

And it was the least attractive thing I have ever made.

But, since I value yum over pretty, I am going to share it anyway.  It was super simple.

First, chop and boil carrots
Then, make some magic.  Saute lots of onions.  That's the secret, I think.

MMmmmmmmmmmm......................

Throw it all together in the carrot pot and cross your fingers.  Sprinkle it with salt for good luck.
I blended it with the immersion blender to make it easier.  Here's where it starts to look funky but taste... wow.  In a good way.
Plating it with some chopped up carrot greens helps.

Anyway, the pork was fantastic.  I used this recipe from The Kitchn.  It is fantastic, and the only way I make them.  The carrot mash?  It was as delicious as it was ugly.  And I'm okay with that.

I may have mentioned in the past that I am NOT a chef.  I have not trained in any way shape or form, aside from watching other home cooks and reading.  There are many many many things I have yet to learn, but there is one upside to my lack of training.  I don't get caught up in any "rules" or feel like I need to make something in a "traditional" way to be correct.

Case in point?  Green Bean Carbonar-ish.  It's a knock-off, makeshift carbonara and it is scrumptious.

I stumbled across this recipe while searching for a way to use up the green beans from our CSA.  Without bacon, and with a surplus of random leafy greens, I had to improvise.

First, I sauteed the onions in bacon grease.  How did I get bacon grease without bacon?  Easy.  It was in the jar in the fridge!  Whenever I make bacon, I save the leftover grease and refrigerate it.  That way it is always on hand to add a little bacon-y heaven.
While the onions and leafy greens were cooking, I boiled the water.  The rotini went in for a few minutes, and then I blanched the green beans at the same time.  While they were cooking, I prepped the "sauce."
2 eggs, a cup of shredded Parmesan, salt and pepper all beaten together.  That's it!  For the record, I was testing to see if Juliet and I could start having dairy without her being miserable for a few days.  We can't. Anyway, once the pasta and green beans were done, I mixed them together with the greens and onions.
Immediately, I poured the sauce on top and stirred it furiously.  The goal is to lightly cook the eggs in the residual heat without scrambling them.  The result?  Pure yum!
It was perfect.  Light, yet filling.  Just writing about it makes me want to make it again!

John picked up another CSA box this week.  The girls and I were in Rhode Island, so there are no pictures of our haul.  We're just grateful he braved the traffic to pick it up after work for us!  If you missed the past pickups, you can read about them HERE.  This week we received:

• Plums Sustainable
• Blueberries Sustainable
• Peaches Sustainable
• Apricots Sustainable
• Scallions Sustainable
• Basil Sustainable
• Broccoli Sustainable
• Cauliflower Sustainable
• Collards Sustainable
• Carrots Sustainable
• Radishes Certified Organic
• Arugula Certified Organic
• Beans Sustainable
• Bell Peppers Sustainable
• Cucumbers Sustainable
• Tomatoes Sustainable
• Cabbage Sustainable
• Eggplants Sustainable
• Onions Sustainable 
• Garlic Sustainable

Well, we picked up another CSA box this week.  If you missed the past pickups, you can read about them HERE.  This week we received:

• Blueberries – Sustainable*
• Broccoli – Sustainable
• Lettuce – Sustainable
• Garlic – Sustainable
• Sweet Corn– Sustainable
• Lodi Apples– Sustainable
• Beets with Greens– Sustainable
• Raspberries – Sustainable
• Kale – Sustainable
• Collards – Sustainable
• Cucumbers– Sustainable
• Basil– Sustainable
• Green Beans – Sustainable
• Onions – Sustainable
• Yellow Squash – Sustainable

Well, we picked up another CSA box this week.  If you missed last week's pickup, you can read it HERE.  This week we received:

• Blueberries – Sustainable*
• Broccoli – Sustainable
• Lettuce – Sustainable
• Radishes – Sustainable
• Kohlrabi – Sustainable
• Turnips – Sustainable
• Currants – Sustainable
• Raspberries – Sustainable
• Kale – Sustainable
• Collards – Sustainable
• Cherries – Sustainable
• Cauliflower – Sustainable
• Green Beans – Sustainable
• Onions – Sustainable
• Yellow Squash – Sustainable
• Cabbage – Sustainable