Thayer in the Kitchen

We went to the Monona farmers' market this morning and bought milk from Blue Marble Dairy our favorite milk people. We also got some of the last of the corn on the cob. Great breakfast today. I made a Fritatta with onions, peppers, Italian sausage, eggs, etc. Frittata (adapted from a Penzey's catalogue recipe) 1/2 lb. Italian sausage 2 lbs. potatoes 1 red, yellow, and green pepper or whatever you have available 1 onion, diced 2-3 cloves garlic olive oil 6 eggs 3 TB milk 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup grated cheese of your choice (I used some jalapeno cheddar & goat cheese) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch slices--no need to peel if they're organic. Steam or boil for 10 minutes or until tender. Dice the peppers. Brown the sliced sausage pieces and add peppers, onions & garlic. Saute until the onions are slightly brown and start to caramelize. Beat the eggs wi...

Supper last night was supposed to be turkey fruit salad. It didn't quite happen. Instead I made Celeriac Soup with Cilantro. Celeriac Soup adapted from a recipe on Recipezaar 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup) 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (I left in all of the seeds in but you can remove them if you prefer a milder soup) 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon cumin 1 1/2 lbs celeriac, peeled,trimmed and cut into cubes If you don't have enough celeriac substitute some potatoes 4 cups chicken broth 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped or more if you like 1/3 cup milk salt & freshly ground black pepper In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, pepper and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes over a medium high heat. Stir in the cumin and season with salt and pepper. Add the celeriac, along with the chicken broth. Bring up to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and let simmer for 10-1...

This is a picture of what's in the CSA box that we're picking up today. I normally go to the farmers' market first and then go and pick up my box of produce. Today there's a change in plans, Arthur and I are going to volunteer at Bike the Barns, a fund raiser for Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. We're volunteering at Blue Skies Berry Farm in Brooklyn, Wisconsin from 9:00 AM-Noon. We were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day for the event. We helped serve granola bars made by Underground Catering. They tasted great but a lot of them were very crumbly and hard to serve. Arthur was kept busy refilling the water jugs for the bikers. Next we went to Tipi Produce in Evansville for lunch. Lunch was not great. Arthur and I decided sprouted lentils are not our thing. Supper on Saturday was Summer Squash Sloppy Joes. This is a great way to hide a few veggies for non-veggie fans. Summer Squash Sloppy Joes adapt...

Another somewhat late start on supper. Last night I had a Taste of Chocolate Class at our local community college. We made a few chocolate recipes as well as tasted some chocolate. I actually almost OD on chocolate . When I got home I made Broccoli Goat Cheese Soup because I had a large stalk of broccoli from our farm that I needed to use. The soup was excellent and so easy. Broccoli Goat Cheese Soup (based on a recipe from Weight Watcher Turn Around Cookbook) 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion chopped 3 tablespoons flour 4 cups organic chicken broth (I like the Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth in a box) 4 cups fresh broccoli, cut into chunks 1/4 cup fresh goat cheese ( I used some from a local farmer that is very soft, similar to cream cheese in texture) 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional) Saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour. Slowly add chicken broth making sure it combines smoothly with the flour. Add broccoli and simmer covered until tender. I ...

I got home later last night because I went to a jewelry party with my daughter, Victoria. They had a lot of snacks at the party, but I decided I better make some food for Arthur since I didn't cook either Monday or Tuesday nights. I went out to dinner for SLA (Special Libraries Association) functions both evenings. Plus I need to get busy using our veggies. We also belong to a fruit CSA called Future Fruit. We get delicious organic apples, pears and plums from this farm. I had some ripe pears so I decided to make a salad with celeriac, pears and hazelnuts from a recipe in our HVF newsletter. It was good (not fabulous). Celeriac Pear Salad Creamy Dijon Dressing 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon table salt 3 tablespoons canola oil 3 tablespoons sour cream or more if needed In medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, honey, and salt. Whisk inoil in slow, steady stream. Add sour cream; whisk to combine. ...

This blog is mainly to help me remember what I've done with my CSA food in the past and what I plan to do with it in the future. My husband and I belong to a Community Supported Agriculture farm and get fresh organic produce every Saturday from the beginning of May through January. We're trying a new farm this year, Harmony Valley. We also get cheese twice a month and freshly roasted coffee. Since we get a full share every week it means that I have a substantial amount of produce to deal with. There are just the two of us eating the food except for occasional guests but we think it keeps us eating fresher healthier food and we definitely get our quota of veggies. My techniques for "what do with all these vegetables" is the following: 1) Pick them at the pick up site 2) Bring them home and find out what's in the box. HVF sends out an e-mail message describing the produce, including pictures, the day before but you're never sure of the quantity. Such as are you ...