red, white and berries

By Sunday, July 05, 2009 , , , , , ,

Happy 4th of July. Pickle has been sicker than a dog (such a strange expression; what does that mean, exactly?) and this weekend has been all about taking care of him and his poor, afflicted GI track until today: today he is finally feeling better and acting a little bit more like himself. Hurrah! That means he's taking a good nap and I am cooking up a storm. But first, here's what was in our CSA box this time:

In our CSA box:
all-red potatoes – red on the outside and pink on the inside (how cool!)
broccoli
chard
cilantro
flat-leaf parsley
garlic scapes
romaine lettuce
snow peas
strawberries
sugar-snap peas
yellow summer squash
zucchini

Menu: week of 4 July 2009
Saturday: 7-hour roasted pulled pork sandwiches with creamy cole slaw and corn bread
Sunday: burgers on the grill with quick zucchini pickles and roasted all-red potatoes
Monday: shredded pork tacos with avocado and green salsa with a cumin black-bean salad
Tuesday: beef and snow peas with steamed rice
Wednesday: roasted veggie pasta with cilantro-pumpkin seed pesto
Thursday: sesame soba noodles with steamed broccoli
Friday: day of rest

So, here's what I've been cooking this morning (when you're up at 5 a.m. you can get a lot done by 9:30):

Cream crackers with garlic and parsley – I really loathe giving Pickle things chocked full of preservatives, especially when I can make them at home. Store-bought crackers are culprits of the high-fructose corn syrup, calcium propionate, disodium EDTA preservative craze. I know that preservatives keep things fresh and I know that I've eaten my fair share of preservatives, but when you can easily avoid them, why not?

Chris was craving a donut this morning (I made him get some yesterday when he ran out for coffee filters; I know, bad), but instead of running out for more, I opted to make some buttermilk biscuits with fresh ricotta and a quick strawberry "jam." How good does that sound? Better than a donut!

The buttermilk biscuits are from Marc Bittman's How to Cook Everything, the ricotta is Grande Ricotta Del Pastaio (Wisconsin-made) and the jam is something I made up.

The jam utilizes some gnarly strawberries that we got in our CSA box last week. While they taste good, they weren't so pretty so I blitzed them in the mini food processor and cooked them down until they were thick and shiny.

Quick Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
1 cup stemmed and halved strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
a pinch of salt

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, place berries and sugar. Pulse until nice and chunky (about 5, 1-second pulses). Scrape contents into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced and thick and glossy.
Cool slightly. Spoon onto biscuits, ice cream, pound cake, yogurt ... yum.

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About the Author

Author, cook, entertainer and world-class eater of delicious food, Sarah Klein began The Hungry Bambino as a way to capture her evolution as a mother and cook. Sarah's greatest passion is to cook for those she loves; so if you're invited to dinner, you know you're special. When Sarah's not cooking up a storm, she's managing a successful career, playing with her due bambini, rearranging the furniture in her house, or tackling a challenging trail run. She does this all with her partner in crime and best friend and favorite person to cook for: her husband, Chris, or Mr. Klein, as referred to on this blog.

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2 comments

  1. Art Wall Katie06 July, 2009 19:00

    Your biscuit and jam delight looks loads better to me than a donut. Although, I do indulge in the glazed version on special occasions.

    I hope the kiddo feels all better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah07 July, 2009 09:51

    Thanks KT. He's doing better!

    ReplyDelete