Thayer in the Kitchen

We picked up our CSA box of vegetables on this lovely Saturday morning.  After our heat last week, it was wonderful to be able to go outside and not feel like you were walking into an oven.  Next we went to the Westside farmers' market in Madison.  Its a great place to be able to fill in some of the gaps in your "box."  I purchased candy onions as well as another interesting variety (forgot the name) from Blue Moon Community Farm. Kristen has an excellent website with some wonderful recipes.  A friend is a member of her CSA and has shared her recipes over the years.  Now Kristen has many of them posted so you can all try and enjoy them.  http://www.bluemooncommunityfarm.com/recipes/ .  We stopped to buy tomatoes from Real Food farms from Athens Wisconsin.  They are a certified organic farm that is able to offer tomatoes earlier than many other farmers because they practice "tunnel farming" or hoop houses.  If you're interested in learning more about it, chec

This is a yummy salad made with sugar snap peas from our farm and some peanut butter from yum butter.  Read more about it below. 6 ounces soba noodles (I guess spaghetti would be OK too) 8 ounces sugar snap peas 1/2 cup halved thinly sliced cucumbers 1/4 cup chopped green onions 1/4 cup Asian Jazz Peanut Butter (see below) * or plain peanut butter 2 tablespoons cold water 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil Cook soba noodles in salted water for about 3 minutes, then add the sugar snap peas and cook for another 3 minutes. Check the noodles to see if they are as cooked as your prefer. Drain and rinse under cold water. Let drain in a colander while making the dressing. Combine the peanut butter, water, vinegar, hoisin sauce, honey and sesame oil and whisk together until smooth.   Place the noodles, peas, cucumbers, and green onions in a

Arthur is not a big fan of cabbage, but we have been getting quite a bit of cabbage in our boxes the last few weeks.  He told me I should post this recipe because "This is cabbage I like."  I liked it because it is very easy which is nice if you're making dinner after working all day. 1 cup thinly sliced onion 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 4 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced--I used 1/2 head of my good sized red cabbage.  I sliced mine using a food processor.  I watched a cooking class on using your CSA vegetables a couple of weeks ago at Willy Street Co-op West.  She used a Mandoline.  This article reviews and rates them http://www.consumersearch.com/mandolines .  The one she used didn't appear to have a safety guard and I thought with my luck I'd slice my fingers instead of the veggies. 1 teaspoon salt or to taste 1 pound (4 pieces) boneless skinless chicken thighs 1/2 cup white wine black pepper Chopped parsley Put the sliced

Anyone who follows my blog, will get the idea that we really like rhubarb.  We do!  I think it is so versatile.  It keeps quite well, it can be frozen, combines well with other fruit, and so on.  This recipe is for an easy quick bread. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (packed) 2/3 cup canola or safflower oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour 1 1/2 cups chopped uncooked rhubarb (if you don't have quite enough rhubarb you could add some strawberries or whatever other fruit you might have available) 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange rind 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 8 1/2 X 4" loaf pans.  Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and beat well.  I blended mixture in my food processor.  Mix the flour with the baking soda and salt.  Add to liquid mixture and blend.  Don't over mix.  Fold in rhubarb

I tried a number of recipes for broccoli soup that I haven't liked very well.  This one is quite good and I guess I'll use it until I find one that I like even better.  2 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, chopped 1 quart chicken broth (1 box, preferably low sodium) 1 bay leaf 1 large potato or a few small ones that weigh 8-12 ounces, peeled if necessary, otherwise just chopped 1/2-1 teaspoon thyme (dried)  fresh is good if you have it available 1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/2 pounds), use the stems; peel the stalks and cut into slices.  Cut off the flowerets and reserve. 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2 (fat free is OK) 2 tablespoons sliced green onions Salt and pepper to taste Hungarian paprika for garnish (optional) Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the onion until translucent.  Add the chicken broth and heat to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook covered for about 10 minutes.  Add the broccoli stalks and stems.  Simmer for about 7 minutes or until they are almost tende

According to the original recipe this is classic salad from Burgundy, France.  It can be served as a lunch dish since it includes eggs.  Its quite different but we liked it and I have made it twice.  These days with all the lettuce and greens from our CSA farm I continue to try recipes that turn them into meals rather than a little side salad.  Garlic Croutons 4 slices bread rubbed with olive oil on both sides.  Sprinkle with garlic salt or granulated garlic (from Penzey's).  Bake 10 minutes at 325 degrees.  Turn the bread over and bake for another 10 minutes.  Cut into squares.  You could also use purchased croutons. The original recipe called for making a mustard vinaigrette dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and parsley.  I didn't do this. I used some balsamic vinaigrette I happened to have in the frig.  You could also use a bottled dressing of your choice. Take several slices of bacon, dice and cook until crispy.  I used about 4 although the ori

This is a quick easy dish to prepare for supper which is quite satisfying.  Adding the cheese and eggs to the polenta supplies more protein and makes for a richer tasting dish.  The chard on top provides a nice contrast as far as flavor and color. 3 cups chicken broth 1 cup dry polenta 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 4 oz. cheese (I used fresh creamy goat cheese with garlic from DreamFarm) 1 bunch Swiss chard 3-4 garlic scapes, or green onions 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (you could substitute 1/2-1 teaspoon dry herbs, basil or oregano) salt and pepper To make the polenta:  Bring the broth to a boil and slowly add the polenta, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until tender.  You can also make this in a microwave to eliminate the chance of the polenta sticking or burning.  Pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch baking pan and bake in a 350 degree oven until puffed and brown on top or for about 20 minutes. Saute garlic scapes for 2