CSA week 8

August 21 delivery

• eggplant - 2
• fennel
• honeydew melon
• muskmelon
• peppers - 2 (green, ugh)
• summer squash - 3
• sweet corn - 8
• tomatoes - 4

The day we picked up this delivery, our AC started to fail which coincided with the beginning of a stretch of days in the high 80s. We tried our best to keep the apt cool for the first few days before abandoning all hope and just hanging out in our underwear eating popsicles. So grateful that neither of our kids are embarrassed or uncomfortable around other people's bodies (yet).

Meals (as it were):

• Corn and tomatoes in a giant platter salad from The Modern Cook's Year. I have made variations of this at least 8 times since the AC went out, including 3 times this week. It checks all the boxes: sweet, savory, crunchy, salty, tangy, rich.
• Fennel plus kale from a previous delivery in Moroccan chickpeas and kale
• Eggplant and peppers in a North African stew from Picture Cook
• Melons eaten out of hand

CSA week 9

August 28 delivery:

• fennel
• leek
• bag o' lettuce
• muskmelon
• peppers - 2 (green again)
• summer squash
• sweet corn - 8
• tomatoes - 9

Still no AC. So hot. I took the kids to Rockford for the day just to give us a break.

• Fennel in a weird salad from The Modern Cook's Year with farro and olives. The recipe called for orzo which probably would've been better, but that's not what I had.
• Squash and corn roasted with BBQ tempeh on a rare night when it was cool enough to turn the oven on for half an hour.
• More corn in this tofu and soy-butter corn dish that I really enjoyed.
• More squash in sheet pan gnocchi with squash
• MORE squash in Smitten Kitchen's zucchini bread. I made this with coconut oil since we didn't have any butter. I don't know if it was the coconut oil or the summer squash, but it was pretty wet.

CSA week 10 (halfway!)

September 4 delivery:

• arugula - 1 bag
• eggplant - 2
• honeydew melon
• leek
• sweet corn - 2
• tomatoes - 13
• carrots with greens (instead of corn, wah) - 2

We got a last minute email from the CSA alerting us to a bunch of possible swaps...after I had already planned meals and gone to the market. Oh well. I was relieved to get our melon rather than the delicata squash since those are NOT THE SAME. We also got our Rancho Gordo bean club box, so you get some bean updates as well.

• Carrots and market potatoes in a roasted veg panzanella
• Several tomatoes in Nora Ephron's tomato sauce made early in the morning before I did Bike the Drive. I liked this better in idea than in execution. Maybe I let it sit too long.
• Corn and tomato salad from The Modern Cook's Year (again)
• Eggplant roasted for lackluster sandwiches with pesto. I made extra pesto to freeze for the winter.
• Eggplant fried for sabih from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem. SO EFFING GOOD.
• Black bean and poblano tacos from Cool Beans made with Ayocote Negro beans
• More Ayocote Negro beans in with coconut rice from the Rancho Gordo newsletter
• Alubia Blanca beans in this absolute knockout recipe for roasted sweet potatoes with miso white bean spread and spring onion dressing. Seriously, eat this now, and use a different vegetable if you don't like sweet potatoes.