Here is our Share!Week 7

Starting at the top from left to right: yellow carrots, "superstar" spring onions, beets, cauliflower, cilantro, basil, cucumbers.

This summer is flying by. We were so excited for more basil that we whipped up a batch of pesto to freeze for later use. The yellow carrots were an awesome snack for the work week as well as the sauteed beets for use in salads. The cilantro was excellent in some homemade guacamole.

We've roasted our cauliflower with lemon, fresh balcony grown dill, garlic and olive oil. The oven was set to 450 and let it go for about an hour. The cauliflower came out nice and crispy. It had a deep nutty roasted flavor but the lemon and dill kept it fresh which was a nice offset.






15 minute pickles!

We have adapted this recipe from The Salted Cod's favorite cookbook How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

We sliced one cuke into chips, which were then put in a strainer and heavily salted. Toss them around to make sure each chip gets salted.

After 10 minutes the chips should have released most of their water content. Go ahead and wash the chips under running water, you want to remove all of the extra salt. In a small bowl big enough to hold your chips pour 1/4 cup of white vinegar over the cuke chips. Mix in 1 tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of dried dill. Eat them quickly because they actually don't last all that long. They have been a favorite treat of many of The Salted Cod's companions this summer including confirmed pickle haters. It's a nice salty/acidic balance. Good stuff.

Here is our Share!Week 6

Starting at the top from left to right: beets, cauliflower, cucumber, swiss chard, "superstar" spring onions, cilantro, lemon basil, arugula.

The Salted Cod was surprised to see so many herbs in this weeks delivery and quickly put them to work. This basil smelled a bit more fragrant than our own growing on the balcony because it was actually lemon basil. The Salted Cod was especially excited since we've never had it before.

After work we stopped by Dave's fresh pasta to get a pound of fresh cut tomato fettuccine for our lemon basil pesto which we are making tonight.

We used a basic pesto recipe which called for olive oil, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and the whole bunch of lemon basil. It's pretty basic, just keep adding the oil until you get a consistency that you like. We like it "sticky." Not too thick, not too runny. Enough to stick to the pasta (think of the three bears and their porridge). This pesto is in the middle and just right. We threw a little left over steamed cauliflower on there too for good measure. Between the lemony basil and tomato fettuccine this was a killer pasta. Steve promised more lemon basil is to come and we can't wait.

Ratatouille.

Generally, the Salted Cod prefers to post strictly about food but how could we not mention our love for the most accurate representation of a cook's life to date, Ratatouille? If you don't believe us, check out this great blog post from Michael Ruhlman and Anthony Bourdain. It appears that some of the accuracy in this film might be due to Bourdain's inside info given to the screenwriters, who receives a "thank you" in the end credits.

fresh berries.

While driving on route 9 in Hadley, the Salted Cod picked up a quart of the sweetest (and freshest) strawberries we've ever tasted. Not only were these berries incredibly delicious, they were quite tiny, reminiscent of the Woodland Strawberry. After arriving home, we created a quick and basic shortcake topped with our "just barely" crushed berries and a generous amount of whipped cream. We found that the shortcakes definitely taste best right out of the oven, so be sure to have the toppings ready for consumption.

Here is our Share!Week 5

Starting at the top from left to right: carrots, broccoli, mustard greens, spring onions, romaine, arugula, baby bok choy , boston lettuce.

Steve was kind enough to take time out of his 4th of July holiday to do the Wednesday drop. Much appreciated. This weeks fresh greens arrived just in time for a last minute independence day bbq . We made a HUGE salad with the boston, romaine and arugula then mixed with some homemade lemon vinaigrette and spring onion greens.

The Salted Cod loved the chicken & broccoli so much we've made it again this week with more of our sauteed spring onion greens. Man, those were sweet and tender. We're hoping for more next week.

Carrots carrots carrots...mmm bugs would kill for these. We brought them camping and had a few each day. Excellent.

Sorry for the lack of pictures this week. Our camera is making us sad.

Here is our Share!Week 4

Starting at the top from left to right: Beets, Red Chard, Red Russian Kale, Fennel, Lettuce, Broccoli, Baby Bok Choy.

Week Four is here!

Ziti, chicken and broccoli pasta












This is roasted fennel potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette base. The Salted Cod thinks the fresh fennel frawns on top is a nice touch.

This is the Salted Cod's first attempt at a quiche. Red chard with some other kitchen veggies.

The Salted Cod thanks the Parker Farm CSA Members

Live Jornal community for some great ideas this week.

A hearty Maine feast

The Salted Cod went north and found some fresh haddock for about $5.00 a pound at the lobster co-op in Pine Point, Maine. Luckily, we had an excess of PBR from the night before which made for a sweet beer batter. Homemade chips accompanied this fish. The evening progressed with excellent company and a new found love for Bert and I, and a few more PBR's. This is Maine at it's best.

Photo courtesy of SGE

Balcony Garden

Just wanted to share a picture of my balcony garden progress. Things are looking good for the most part, just some slight yellowing of leaves is occurring in my basil. I'm trying to determine if I'm over watering or if they need to be fertilized. On a positive note, my pepperoncini peppers are looking great!

Here is our Share!Week 3

Starting at the top from left to right: Red Chard, Broccoli Rabe, Arugula, Beets, Sugar Snap Peas, Japanese Turnips & lettuce.

With week three upon we are starting to receive a more diverse share. Things are looking up and tasting good!

We could not wait to get our hands on the broccoli raab. I have to admit I was jealous last week when I heard that the larger shares were receiving some. We gave the raab a quick steam bath to loosen them up and make them feel good before stewing them in some fresh sausage sauce. The raab and sauce went over some fresh gnocchi from Capones.

We couldn't stop popping the sugar snap peas au natural.

Sauteed red chard, grilled salmon and lemons.

The last honorable mention this week;
The Salted Cod has pickled some baby beets to save for a later date.

Here is our share! Week 2

Starting at the top from left to right: Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Lettuce, Arugula, Red Russian Kale, & Pea Tendrils.

Another week of greens! Steve promised some "non greens" next week. Either way another week of great salads with the lettuce and arugula.


Kale and Collards: Southern style with ham hocks







We also had a little Father's day grilling action!

Lemon garlic sauteed pea tendrils, grilled nectarines, grilled bbq chicken and red bliss potato salad.

Crabs Ahoy!

We came across these soft shell crabs yesterday at Whole Foods in Cambridge. These were caught live in Maryland and selling for $5.99 per crab, very simple to prepare as well. Pat Mr. Crab dry with a paper towel before dredging in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Cover the bottom of your frying pan with oil, once the oil reaches a medium high heat around 350f you’re good to go. The best part is it only takes 2-3 minutes per side. We served this po’boy style on some fresh bread, fresh lettuce, tarter and hot sauce. Mr. Crab had a nice crispy crunch with soft mild meat inside. This brought us back to a child hood vacation in Chesapeake Bay! Get them while you can.

Homemade Pizza Pies!

Much to the surprise of The Salted Cod, we have finally made a good pizza at home. The crust was basic supermarket pizza dough which was first oiled and grilled on the barbie to give it a nice crunch (and those burnt edges we love so much.) We then topped this pie with fire roasted eggplant & sweet potato chunks along with caramelized onions and crumbled goat cheese. A few sprinklings of dried rosemary really brought this to a higher level. The topped pizza then went under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

Even the roommates were impressed by this pie, "looks better than Mama Celeste!"

Here is our share! Week 1

We are happy to announce a new weekly series entitled, “Here is our share!” These specific posts are going to follow our CSA share from Parker Farm in Lunenburg, Massachusetts through out the summer and into the fall. Every Wednesday we meet up with Mr. Parker in Cambridge where he drops off weekly vegetable shares for us urban people who buy a share in his farm for the season. We receive a great variety of different items that are currently in season. It’s a great value which goes to a noble cause and it's super fresh! You can even talk to the farmer who grows your food (how many of you can say that?) We will post a picture of what was received for the week, and an entry or two of the more exciting things we have made with the share.

WEEK 1

Starting at the top from left to right: mustard greens, turnip greens, mizuna, spinach, lettuce, and bok choy.



After making a nice salad with some of the mizuna and boston lettuce greens we quickly turned out attention to the baby bok choy in share number one. The greens were chopped off the top while the bottoms were halved and braised with some wild mushrooms. We paired these tender greens with teriyaki chicken and brown rice. Next time we would suggest caramelizing the bok choy just a bit more.

Other tips after week one; let the greens soak in a large bowl then a few times around in a salad spinner. Not that we mind, but there is significantly more sand and dirt in these greens than the mega mart variety. It’s still a nice trade off.

Cheesy Ramp Potatoes!

This is my second meal with my Ramps.

I found this recipe for Scalloped Potatoes With Ramps on the Earthy Delights website through a google search for “scalloped potatoes ramps.”

I served these cheesy ramp potatoes with a simple (cheap) ham steak that I fried up in my old cast iron pan. I also prepared spinach sautéed in a bit of olive oil and 2 crushed garlic cloves.
My after thoughts on this recipe...
I would have liked a cheesier, sauce based scalloped potato dish. The recipe just throws the cheese on top in the last 20 minutes of cooking. If you try making this I would recommend making a béchamel sauce of sorts similar to mac and cheese sauce first and drench those taters and ramps. A little smoky bacon would have been a nice addition as well. Still a very good dish enjoyed by a few lucky people I know.
Highly recommended.

Fettuccine with Ramps alla Carbonara

This would be my secret weapon if my pasta dishes ever had to duel other pasta dishes. (Which they WILL someday!)

My Fettuccine with ramps alla carbonara comes out to visit once a year and its well worth it. A very simple dish once you find the ramps.

In the words of Alton Brown, your software:

• 1 pound of fresh pasta

• As many ramps as you can stand and or find. I used 15 bunches in this case. Cut the greens, cut the whites.

• 5 to 10 slices of prosciutto chopped

• black pepper

• 1/4 cup of pecorino romano

• pat of butter

• 1 egg

While the pasta is cooking, start by sautéing your ramp whites for a minute or two with a pat of butter. Next, add the ramp greens and chopped prosciutto. As soon as the pasta is just about al dente pull it off the heat and drain. Place the pasta back in the pan combine with the cooked mix of ramps and chopped prosciutto. Crack one egg right in there and ever so gently stir it around on low heat. You're not looking for scrambled eggs here but a nice glossy finish on your pasta. Finally, grind a whole lot of black pepper and mix in around 1/4 cup of pecorino romano and enjoy.

I sure did.

From Appalachia with love

From Appalachia with love is all I can say.

Last year, I really started getting into wild foods, farmers markets and cooking great meals myself . I heard of this wild plant called a ramp from various blogs. These ramps reportedly have the shortest harvesting season out of any plant I know, a mere 5 weeks a year tops. I've found that there is only one real farm that specializes in the growing of these wild leeks. The rest are gathered in forest land mostly throughout Appalachia. Last season, I scoured every farmers market and called different produce managers around town to no avail.

Yesterday, while walking through the Whole Foods produce section I spotted a basket filled to the brim with RAMPS! These babies were unmarked and not even priced. I grabbed a bag like a deranged maniac and stuffed it to capacity! My only fear now is how much are they charging for these?

After holding up the line at the register for a good 20 minutes the friendly cashier finally found a sku number and it came out to $2.99 per pound. I'm not sure if she gave up and just entered something else but $2.99 a pound was CHEAP. I've seen them priced online for upwards of $20.00 per pound.

Let me tell you, driving home these stink weeds lived up to their expectations. My car reeked of a very strong onion/garlic scent which I was thoroughly enjoying.

When I arrived home, I washed my little ramps off and happily put them in the fridge. Without a doubt, I will be traveling back to Whole Foods to buy them out.

Somerville says no!

Originally uploaded by dandrewwatts.

The Somerville Journal reports today that balcony grilling is illegal!

Sure there's a little guy in the back of everyone's mind saying this is probably wrong to do, but there is an irresistible urge for grilled meat that takes over, thus causing balcony grilling to prevail in my neighborhood.

If you talk a walk around my neighborhood in Winter Hill most balconies do have some type of grilling device in plain view. On any given summer night last year, I could look out my window and see someone grilling on a balcony or porch within eyesight of my very own balcony. Call me jealous, but if these guys are eating grilled burgers and dogs conveniently from their balcony, why can't I?

I am still deciding on my official stance regarding this issue. I do think if you can be responsible and attentive to your grill and have a working fire extinguisher handy, chances are you'll be okay. Do I really want to take a chance and play with fire? No one ever mentions the legality of this as well. I checked my tenant’s agreement on my lease and there was no mention of this issue. I still wonder what would happen if I burned down my house because I was grilling on my balcony, I think it would be safe to say my lease would be terminated at the least. Would any additional criminal charges be pressed as well? Would I be paying my landlord back for eternity for damages?

Speaking only for myself, I am not too comfortable with some drunken Tufts students hooting, hollering, and playing with lighter fluid next door. I trust myself, but who is watching them?
Maybe this is for the best. Redbones is just down the street anyway...

Worst Slice

There's no question that the Salted Cod has a weakness for pizza, and as a new contributor I felt obligated to blog this slice. If you didn't know already, Regina is Boston's best. Unfortunately, this is only true when you visit the original Thatcher Street location in the North End. I was on my way to a concert on Lansdowne and opted for the food court in the Pru, and made the worst pizza decision of my life. Their first mistake was choosing to not re-heat my slice and instead throwing it in one of those lame cardboard slice-shaped boxes. Lame. Second mistake, ordering two slices. I know good pizza when I see it, and I definitely was not seeing it. But my hunger got the best of me and there I was, sitting in the filthiest food court of one of the bougiest malls with two soggy, under-cooked slices in two hideous (and rather wasteful) boxes. As I was picking at the remains of my room temperature cheese, I realized I actually had a better slice of Regina at the Holyoke Mall. Man. The obvious moral of this pizza tale of woe is always stick with the original. And, for your own amusement here is a collection of me suffering through this poor meal choice.

Red Velvet

As the newest member of the Salted Cod (and the only one with the patience for baking), I was inspired to make a red velvet cake from the delicious cupcakes found at Tonnie's minis. The recipe is quite basic, mainly consisting of cocoa, vinegar, buttermilk, lots of sugar and of course red food coloring. The most important step in baking this cake was creating a paste of unsweetened cocoa and 1 oz. of food coloring to be folded into the batter. As seen in the photos below, the color becomes freakishly red after a few turns.


In the end I realized that the red velvet formula is far more superior as cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, this cake was baked with love and definitely gave me my chocolate fix, but I think because of its intense sweetness it fairs better in smaller doses.

The Salted Cod gets sauced

sample size
Originally uploaded by t8074.

Almost.



The Salted Cod recently took an unexpected field trip to the Harpoon Brewery this weekend. Harpoon gives tours of their Boston brewery Tuesday through Saturday. It's not so much a tour but more of a beer tasting and information session. No reservations are necessary just show up at one of the specified tour times. Your host talks about each beer Harpoon brews in pretty good detail, while the massive mob is trying to get as many free samples as possible.

The Salted Cod tasted the UFO which is an unfiltered Hefeweizen style beer with lemony overtones. The Salted Cod says this is an excellent summer brew giving house favorite Hoegaarden some stiff competition. Also sampled and pictured on the right is the Harpoons 100 Barrel Series. As explained by our host the 100 barrel series is a special opportunity for their brewers to make something they really enjoy in small batches. This beer is based on a Danish Style Farmhouse Ale they tasted in Denmark. Our guide said Harpoon actually flew the Danish Brewer over to help them craft this beer in its true form. It's a good beer with a lot of different flavors going on.

It's a recommended visit if you have the chance and it's free!