CSA's, your take?

This summer was the first year John and I have ever tried a CSA. The season is almost over and I feel like we learned a bunch. For starters I tried some new veggies I never had before, kohrabi anyone? And discovered we both loved it! I also learned that this specific CSA needs to cut back on the copious amount of zucchini and squash and up the quantities of other things. Man, I never want to see another zucchini for months!!


Although from what I hear ALL CSA's seem to have a zucchini overload issue! A friend was just telling me about how when she lived in Maine people were always trying to give away their overflow of zucchini and if you weren't carful and left your kitchen window open you'd end up with zucchini in your sink! LOL Hilarious if you ask me! I keep picturing neighbors under the cover of night stuffing zucchini through windows, love it!

Have you tried a CSA? Do you like it? Do you feel like you get the same things almost every week and get sick of it? I never realized how much I enjoyed picking up the veggies I wanted at the local market instead of being told, here's what you get. Don't get me wrong I think the concept of CSA's are amazing, I love supporting local agriculture.. but I have a feeling next year I may just need to make a mandatory stop at the farmers market to pick up what I'm feeling like that week.

In the end the CSA met my goal for this summer: make john and myself eat more veggies. Goal completed! The new goal is to keep eating more veggies, but on our own schedule :)

What are all of your thoughts?

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Flour City Bread Co.

There isn't much better than fresh baked bread if you ask me, but how about fresh baked bread an a cup of joe to go with it? Double bonus! A good friend told me about this place and I'm so happy she did, walking in was a sensory overload of breads and other delicious baked goods. If you live in Rochester make sure to stop at the public market and especially the buildings surrounding it to visit this amazing find. Flour City Bread Company, open Thursdays 7am-1pm, and Saturdays 9am - noon.

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Birds eye Viola

Through the Foodbuzz tastemaker program I got a coupon to try a Birds Eye Viola frozen stirfry for free. After looking at the variety of choices I went with the teriyaki chicken, the calories and fat weren't too bad so I figured I'd give it a go.

Basically it's dinner in 10 minutes, perfect for a busy night like we had last night. Simply open the package, toss into a big pan, cut open the frozen sauce pouch and smoosh out the sauce, 1/4 cup of water and you are good to go. The frozen sauce pack did kinda scare me.. it's that big brown lump in the picture above. But in 10 minutes it looked like this:
The package says 2.5 servings... ummm they must be some pretty small people since John and I shared this and at the end looked at each other and said... soooo what else should we eat :D Based on the fact this came from Birds Eye I was surprised there weren't more veggies in the mix. Lots of rice (white unfortunately) and a LOT of sauce, and shockingly tender chicken. Seriously I am NOT a fan of frozen chicken and these tenders tasted really good!

I really liked the flavor of this one and am excited to try some of the other varieties, I will however, be picking up a bag of frozen veggies to add to it. I think with some more veggies this would be the perfect quick and filling meal.

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Frozen no bake Brownie Balls

Sounds good right? Considering Monday I posted about mashed potatoes and someone equated them to looking like a pile of poo... I figured I might as well post these bad boys. Although amazingly delicious and seriously addicting, John has lovingly nicknamed them poo balls. Yes folks I just went there. I know I should be talking about such things on a food blog... but seriously as pretty as I tried to dress them up...


Yeah they're poo balls.

Don't be discouraged though, these are oh so very very addicting. I found the recipe over at Cooking al(a) Mel and made them within a day. (her's look less poo like... why is that???)

Brownie Dough Bites
recipe from Cooking al(a) Mel

1/2 cup cashews (I nixed the walnuts and used 3/4 cup cashews instead)
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
2 T cocoa
1/2 t vanilla
1 T maple syrup or agave nectar (I've used both)
1/4 t salt (I used a little less)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

In a food processor, grind the cashews and walnuts until they are fine crumbs. Add in the dates and pulse until chunky. Add the cocoa, vanilla, maple syrup, salt and coconut. Pulse until well blended and a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips or pulse them in for finer pieces. Roll into bite sized balls and place in an airtight container in the freezer!

PS> I sent out jam exchange partners last night so if you think you signed up and you didn't get an email from me comment below and then email me at stephchows (at) gmail.com too please!

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A new twist of mashed potatoes

I was very excited when I got the chance to try Sabra Hummus on the house via the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program! The even better part is they asked us to come up with a fun cocktail party use for the hummus. Not one to take the normal route John and I got to brainstorming ideas.

We ping ponged many a recipe back and forth but in the end we decided on this one... Mashed potatoes... steph chows style. Now for a cocktail party a simple scoop in a bowl wouldn't do the trick.. something fancier, and easily portable...

Enter in the vintage cookie press that was my Nana's, a tiny dessert glass and mini spoon, and we were ready for business!

Mashed yams with hummus anyone? With all of the flavors of hummus Sabra offers it would be easy to customize this to anyone's tastes. For us we went with the roasted red pepper variety. The recipe couldn't be simpler, and the creamy delicious texture is the perfect bowl of home style comfort.

Mashed Potatoes steph chows style
recipe by John aka steph chows husband
serves 2
2 yellow yams, you can use orange ones too
1/2 c - 3/4 cup roasted red pepper Sabra hummus

Boil yams for 10 minutes. Remove from water and mash with a potato masher (or use a food processor) add in hummus and mash some more. Serve warm... seriously that's it... and you are going to LOVE it!! LOVE IT!

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Blackberry Loaf

I went blackberry picking in a local park last week, once I outran the cops I was home free to bake up these delicious loafs :D I actually use these loafs to bribe John's friends into helping fix things around the house. Lucky for me said friend has a sweet tooth for things like blackberry loaf. Score!
How do you bribe people to help you fix things around the house?

Blackberry Almond Streusel Quick Bread
recipe redo by steph chows
Makes 1 9x5” loaf

Streusel:
1 cup lightly toasted almonds, finely chopped
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbs firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons agave nectar

Bread:
2 cups blackberries
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
dash fine grain sea salt
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup granulated splenda or white sugar
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup fat free sour cream

Make the Streusel: Toss the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Add agave and stir until combined. Divide mixture in half into two bowls; set aside.

Make the Quick Bread: Arrange oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9”x5” loaf pan with nonstick spray.

Toss blackberries with half of the reserved streusel; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to aerate and combine; set aside.

Beat together apple sauce and sugars. Beat in vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry mixture in three additions, alternately with the sour cream. Begin and end with the dry mixture and beat briefly until just smooth.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. Top with streusel/blackberry mixture, forming an even layer. Scrape remaining batter on top, spreading carefully to cover center streusel layer. Top with remaining streusel and place remaining blackberries evenly over top, pressing gently to help adhere.

Bake for about 55 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center shows a few moist crumbs when removed. Cool pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then unmold directly onto rack, right side up, to cool completely. I actually made this in 4 mini loaf pans so they only took 30 minutes to cook!

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Birthday Cake

First things first, although this was my birthday cake, today is my Aunt Sandy's birthday!! Happy birthday Aunt Sandy!!! We love you!!!



Sometimes a girl just needs a nice big slice of cake.

And sometimes her husband doesn't need to know said cake has beets hidden in it :) You can read about his original reaction when I first made this last year here. You'll also find the recipe there. As for the frosting I did 1/2 batch of a simple cocoa butter frosting, super fast, and so very creamy and spreadable.

While eating this for dinner the other night (yes you read that right) John kept saying... "this cake has beets in it... and I really REALLY like it... but I really hate beets..." Poor man didn't know what to do with himself :)

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Spicy Green Beans

In another attempt to use up the copious amounts of veggies we get every week in our CSA John made some delicious spicy cashew green beans... when asked how exactly he made them... he simple gave me a shoulder shrug. HA so... no recipe... but MAN they were good!

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Few Words Friday

Birthday present... love the husband

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Blueberry Cinnamon Jam

If you haven't already, tomorrow (Thursday Aug 11th) is the last day to sign up for the jam exchange!! We're just a few people away from 100! Lets get it to over 100 people! :)

Now for one of John's favorite jams. Blueberry cinnamon! Made with fresh picked (by me) blueberries from a local pick your own farm. LOVE.

This is super simple to make, and lasts a year.

Blueberry Jam with Cinnamon (a low sugar recipe) Makes about 9 cups
10 cups fresh blueberries (washed and any stems removed)
2 cups raw cane sugar
2 cups splenda (if you don't want to use splenda use 4 cups raw cane sugar)
1 packet sure gel low sugar jam
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice

Rinse blueberries and place into a heavy bottom pot (I used a 5 qt pot) and add in 1/4 cup of white sugar mixed with the package of pectin and lemon juice. Slowly bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Once boiling add in splenda and remaining sugar and cinnamon all at once. Keep stirring constantly and bring back to a rolling boil. Boil for one minute and then remove from heat and place into sanitized mason jars (fill up to a 1/2 inch from the top of the jar - this is where a jar funnel comes in super handy) . Carefully wipe off any spills and place lids and rings on the jars. Use your tongs and place filled jars back into the large pot of hot water, bring to a boil and let boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars with the tongs and let dry on a cooling rack undisturbed overnight. Label your jars and give them to all those people you love :)

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Summer in a Box Giveaway

Giveaway now closed: the winner is Bets!

How was everyone's weekends? Do anything fun? Perhaps something totally summerish? I totally admit I spent a good portion of it reading a book in a hammock :) Good news, the people at Stonyfield Farms sent me this fabulous Summer in a Box giftbox and they are letting me pick a reader to send one to as well!

(image provided)

Here's what's in the box:

Two coupons for Stonyfield Frozen Yogurt Bars in two delicious flavors: Gotta Have Vanilla, and After Dark Chocolate. These bars, made with organic milk, are dipped in rich dark chocolate, and contain four live and active cultures, keeping you healthy while enjoying a sweet treat. Because they’re certified organic, they’re produced without toxic pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics or anything else that’s harmful to you or the environment. Each bar only has 170 calories —about 30% less than the leading ice cream bars!

Badger After-Sun Balm: A certified organic treat for sun-parched skin. Made with moisturizing plant butters and infused with soothing Blue Tansy and Lavender to make your skin feel smooth and leave you feeling calm.

Dr. Hauschka Melissa Day Cream: This new 100% natural moisturizer is perfect for combination skin. Formulated with extracts of melissa (lemon balm), it smells like fresh squeezed lemonade. Additionally, extracts of anthyllis, carrot, witch hazel and English daisy soothe, soften and even the complexion so shine is controlled and skin is moisturized.

Tom’s of Maine: Simply White, the first and only clinically proven natural whitening toothpaste to earn an ADA seal, helps bring back the natural beauty of your smile. The Daily Moisture Body Bar has an ultra-rich bar soap formula that contains premium moisturizing olive oil, natural vitamin E and leaves your skin clean and fresh. Beautiful Earth Deodorant works to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria and its natural, refreshing fragrance helps mask odor.

Uncle Matt’s Organic Lemonade and Juices: By buying Uncle Matt’s fresh fruit and juice you’re helping more than 20 small growers that make up their family of farms. That's one of the reasons they’re proud to be family owned and organically grown. Use this free coupon to pick up your choice of organic juice or lemonade and quench your thirst for summer!

Seriously check out all that free swag! The only bummer is the chocolate covered yogurt bars haven't reached my area stores yet :( so I didn't get to try them *yet* but seriously just reading the description has left me drooling! They should be up here by the end of August so stay tuned for what I think about them!

My favorite product in the bag is a tie between the day cream and the toothpaste. The day cream has the most wonderful refreshing scent, it pretty much makes you straight up in the morning. I was also a fan since it didn't irritate my super sensitive skin. I've never tried an all natural toothpaste and was really surprised at how clean this left my teeth feeling, I truthfully don't think I'll be going back to my old standby toothpaste!

Want a summer in a box for yourself? Here's how to enter:
(sorry my international peeps this is for US only)
1. Comment and tell me which product you think you would enjoy the most
2. FB or tweet about the contest (then leave a comment here to tell me you did)
Example: Check out the summer in a box giveaway @steph_chows thanks to @stonyfield stephchows.blogspot.com

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Giveaway

Did I get your attention?? Everyone loves a good giveaway, and this one is fabulous! Remember that company Foodiacs I was helping start last fall?? Well we are doing one last giveaway before we officially launch within the next month. You only have a few days left to enter so head on over to win this set of amazing cookbooks! (there is also a twitter contest to win.. keep reading to find out how to enter)

Like the photo? I set it up :D woohoo! (I also designed the site, so go check it out! and sign up!)

Here's the list of freaking awesome cookbooks we are giving away:

Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson

Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Momofuku by David Chang & Peter Meehan

The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser

Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson

Winners also receive a subscription to Lucky Peach (and copy of the sold-out first edition), Chef David Chang’s new quarterly food journal.

So, how do you get this fabulous collection? Well, the great news is that we’re actually giving away THREE sets! Here are the two ways to enter:

1) First, for the sweepstakes portion of the giveaway, enter over here on the Foodiacs website by giving us your email address, and first name. As with previous giveaways, you’ll receive a unique referral link to share with friends and family. If someone enters and wins using your unique link, you win the collection too!

2) Second, for the contest portion, go to Twitter and use the hashtag #iamafoodiac along with our Twitter name @Foodiacs and tell us how you know you’re a foodiac. Our favorite tweet wins a set of cookbooks.

Both the sweepstakes and the contest run until August 9, 2011. We can’t wait to hear from you, foodiacs. Good luck!

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Fire toasted grilled pizza

I've made grilled pizza in my back yard before... but what about grilling pizza at your camp site over an open flame? Game ON.

I cheated and packed a pan.. and wegmans whole wheat dough. A little sauce some cheese and yellow peppers later we were ready to go.


Don't you think pizza taste better when you have a nice backdrop like this?

We used a tin foil tent to help the top cook. We got the crispest best crust I've ever had. AMAZING. Although next time I'd grill the dough on one side, take it off the fire, flip it over, then put all the sauce and toppings on. There's always next year :)


*drool* Ever made pizza on a camp fire before??

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