Friday, August 13, 2010

Organic Goodness at its peak!

It's been a while since I've posted a picture of the goodness I've brought home in a recent co-op share. We're in the height of the local season here in New Jersey so our box is overflowing with a colorful variety of healthful fruits and vegetables. Just look at the rainbow laid out on my dining room table!


From left to right, starting at the top, we have...
corn and yellow onions
yellow, purple and orange carrots, cucumbers, yellow squash, eggplant, and butterhead lettuce
apples, nectarines and peaches
bananas, green bell peppers, yellow heirloom tomatoes, red tomatoes and collard greens

I have to admit that I sometimes get overwhelmed with all this bounty and can't figure out what to cook first. I got this share on Thursday morning and so far all I've eaten is one peach that was out of this world delicious and half of one of those big red tomatoes. Confession: I made myself a BLT sandwich for lunch today. It was a reduced guilt BLT, though, as I used only one and a half slices of bacon, reduced fat mayonnaise and plenty of thick, juicy slices of tomato. Amazingly, the sandwich came in at only 200 calories! I might just have another one tomorrow. ;)

So I'm looking for some inspiration!

I'd love to hear what favorite dish you'd prepare with one or more of these vegetables.


:)



16 comments:

  1. I have no suggestions about cooking (trust me, that's a good thing) but I just have to say ... that's the first time I've ever seen a purple carrot. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

    Does it have the same flavor?

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  2. Also, I just saw the A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY cover on your sidebar. Oh my god, that is the most amazing/funny cover ever. I love it SO hard.

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  3. I love collard greens. It's probably too hot to eat boiled/steamed greens!

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  4. Hey Meljean! :)
    I was in your neck of the woods on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I waved to you. ;)

    I conducted a carrot taste test just now for you. I was hungry anyway sitting here contemplating what to order from the Thai restaurant that my husband can pick up on his way home... because with the fridge full of all those veggies, I just can't think of what to make for dinner!

    Anyway, the purple carrot has a slightly stronger carrot flavor with a very subtle bite to it almost, and a little less sweetness. The yellow carrot was actually kind of bland all around. I have had yellow carrots before that are brighter in color that tasted better than the one I tasted just now. The orange carrot is my favorite. It definitely tastes the sweetest and was the juiciest, too.

    Isn't that cover AWESOME? The dress, the faded wall, the baseball bat, the black nail polish... it suits the heroine perfectly. The cover art for the first book in this series, A Bad Day for Sorry is also awesome. Similar look, but with the model holding a gun. You can see it here at Sophie Littlefield's Blog. She also has two YA zombie novel's coming out, plus just secured a deal to write two YA paranormals. A new author to watch, I think. ;)


    Linda, I'm not crazy about collard greens and we get them a lot. But I know they are healthy, so I eat them. I usually just cut them in a chiffonade, and then saute with onion (for sweetness) and olive oil. Sometimes I'll add one or two pieces of diced bacon for the smoke and salt flavor. What do you steam/boil them with?

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  5. Christine! Hope all is well. Just stopping by to say hi. I know I've been gone for a while!

    Hugs

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  6. Have you ever fixed your fresh corn on the grill? I soak mine, husk & all, in water for a couple hours and then put them on the grill. Yum!

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  7. I have a tendency to eat corn raw, so not sure how to give you some ideas, though grilling is always yummy. You have a lot of things that were good for stir-fry, bananas are good cooked in a pan with a touch of sugar, or banana pie or banana pudding. I had no idea there was a purple carrot, either. Interesting. *g*

    Enjoy your bounty!

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  8. I love how you said "reduced guilt BLT!" The fruit looks delicious. I often buy the fruit that has already been cut up (yes, I am that lazy in the kitchen) instead of going for fruity (and sugary) drinks. My favorite fruit right now has to be peaches!

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  9. Apologies for being AWOL! My weekends seem out of control ATM!

    I haven't seen yellow or purple carrots either...interesting.

    Hmmm. I say with all that lovely fruit - a pie! An apple and [inset another fruit here] pie *grin*

    Am delurking while my dinner cooks - ravoli with lots of vegetables and an Indian tomato sauce topped with cheese and baked in the oven.

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  10. All those veggies look yummy! I'd make a veggie soup for me and my mom with all those, probably with a chicken broth, maybe even add a little chicken. My husband would never eat it though, too healthy, I guess. They make you feel healthy just looking at them!

    I just picked about a dozed pears from our pear tree last night. I'm waiting for them to soften up some so that I can enjoy them. I had one yesterday off the tree but it was hard, however the flavor was just right.

    I wish I had done tomatoes. I always plant some of those, but this year I just wasn't in the mood. Now I wish I had been :(.

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  11. ((( Hilda )))! Thanks for the visit! Hope you're having fun in Venezuela! : )


    Phyl, I have cooked corn that way on an open fire while camping, but never on my grill. I have a gas grill and there's a leak in the line that needs to get fixed, so I'm not grilling right now. Grrr!! I have to get to that.

    Brandy, great suggestions! The bananas get eaten pretty quickly around here. If I ever have overripe ones, I usually make banana bread as it's everyone's favorite. But I LOVE the sound of cooked bananas with a touch of sugar. My mother-in-law used to do that with plantains. Yum.


    firepages, glad you liked my "reduced guilt BLT" nomenclature. ;)

    Hey, I don't blame you for buying cut up fruit. Any way that makes it easiest to eat the healthy sweets in lieu of the junky sweets, right?

    The peaches and nectarines we have been getting in our shares have been out of this world perfect! OMG so good. As soon as I eat one, I want another one!


    orannia, No apologies for AWOLness! I am very good at AWOLing myself. ^_^

    Great minds, I made an apple pie yesterday. : ) It's my teen's favorite. She's been sick and needed some comfort food.

    Your dinner sounds fantastic! Mmmmm!! I want some!

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  12. Amy, I love homemade soup! But I don't eat hot soup from mid May to mid September. It's a weird hang up, I know.

    You're so lucky to have a pear tree in your yard!

    My neighbors behind me and to the side have a pear tree and I always know when the fruit is ready because the squirrels start picking fruit off their tree and then sitting in MY yard to eat them. LOL!

    I'm regretting not having planted tomatoes, too. And basil. :( The farm down the street has plenty, but I love growing my own... and picking pinches of basil whenever I want some. And bunches when I want to make pesto.

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  13. Oh wow! It looks so colorful and pretty. Definitively good enough to eat LOL.

    Unfortunately, you won't be getting suggestions from me... but share with her the end result! :)

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  14. Wow, look at all that great stuff! I don't know where to start either (in fact, we still haven't put much of a dent in our CSA from last week)!

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  15. we have a co op here at work now and it is the BOMB love it and can't wait to start stealing some of your super neat recipes

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  16. nath: I haven't done anything exceptionally creative with anything so far. The corn was fantastic, though, and the peaches and nectarines have been perfect, too! Mmmm. I did experiment with a yellow squash, yellow tomato saute that I added a splash of orange juice to.

    Tracy: I saw a picture of your share on flickr. We have a lot of the same things! I love that you get a lot of herbs in your share. I didn't grow basil this year and my co-op got some while I was on vacation so I missed it! Grrr! Hopefully we'll get some more soon.

    Sarai: That's great that your work has a co-op! What kinds of goodies have you been getting?

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