The most common complaint and cause for farm-box cancellation is, "I don't cook enough". As modern, busy people, I get that the last thing you want to do after 9 hours at the office, gridlock traffic and whatever familial obligations you have- dinner seems a pretty low priority. To be perfectly honest, after a long day of hoeing, transplanting thousands of plants, seeding, or harvesting vegetation- one of the last things I want to do is touch more vegetables. So, I get it...but I don't accept it.
It's a vicious cycle I find myself in often: you're tired don't want to cook, especially anything healthy, so you open the box of mac and cheese, break out the frozen burrito, or dial your trusty neighborhood take-out establishment. We're doing ourselves at least three disservice's here:
1.) This food is almost always not very healthy. It is full of comforting carbs and fats that make us feel satisfied initially, but are lacking in real nourishment like vitamins, minerals, vitamins and the like.
2.) Eating poorly makes us feel more tired...making us eat more poorly.
3.) It costs way more to eat out than to make the same things at home, and you would never add as much fat, sugar or salt as they do with processed foods.
This isn't revolutionary, or even controversial. We all know these things, yet we do it to ourselves anyway. Why? What are we saving time for? I can't answer that for you, but for me, when I engage in time saving dinner solutions, I don't use my saved time any more wisely. I'd wager the same is true for you, even if you'd never admit it out loud.
So what are we to do? Well, if you have come this far, and aren't already typing a scathing comment, you're probably in the boat of "Eating healthier is a priority for me, and I'd like to figure out how to do it more often". It's a long journey, and you have to accept yourself where you are. If you're new, this is all going to be strange and you're going to have to do some learning, actually, a lot of learning. Cooking and eating better takes time. There is planning, buying extra ingredients, stocking your pantry, research, and a lot of trial and error even before you set in to chop two pounds of vegetation. You've got to assert for yourself that this is what you want and the work is worth it.
I'd like to start a series of blogs titled, "Eating with Tender Heart Farms". In it I will pick and prepare what I pack for my customers every week, proving that two people can easily make it through an average CSA type box each week. Honestly, I do this anyway, probably eating a box and a half, but I will keep track and take pictures so you can see what it looks like to finish a box a week. Please let me know if you think of something else that I can do in this series to help you through like keeping track of time in the kitchen or what else I buy or how much I am spending on extra ingredients or even what I eat the other 4 days I am not cooking the box (yes, one box almost always disappears into 3 meals with leftovers). I will also only use recipes I have given on here this past year so you can cook along with me!
Week 1
It's a vicious cycle I find myself in often: you're tired don't want to cook, especially anything healthy, so you open the box of mac and cheese, break out the frozen burrito, or dial your trusty neighborhood take-out establishment. We're doing ourselves at least three disservice's here:
1.) This food is almost always not very healthy. It is full of comforting carbs and fats that make us feel satisfied initially, but are lacking in real nourishment like vitamins, minerals, vitamins and the like.
2.) Eating poorly makes us feel more tired...making us eat more poorly.
3.) It costs way more to eat out than to make the same things at home, and you would never add as much fat, sugar or salt as they do with processed foods.
This isn't revolutionary, or even controversial. We all know these things, yet we do it to ourselves anyway. Why? What are we saving time for? I can't answer that for you, but for me, when I engage in time saving dinner solutions, I don't use my saved time any more wisely. I'd wager the same is true for you, even if you'd never admit it out loud.
So what are we to do? Well, if you have come this far, and aren't already typing a scathing comment, you're probably in the boat of "Eating healthier is a priority for me, and I'd like to figure out how to do it more often". It's a long journey, and you have to accept yourself where you are. If you're new, this is all going to be strange and you're going to have to do some learning, actually, a lot of learning. Cooking and eating better takes time. There is planning, buying extra ingredients, stocking your pantry, research, and a lot of trial and error even before you set in to chop two pounds of vegetation. You've got to assert for yourself that this is what you want and the work is worth it.
I'd like to start a series of blogs titled, "Eating with Tender Heart Farms". In it I will pick and prepare what I pack for my customers every week, proving that two people can easily make it through an average CSA type box each week. Honestly, I do this anyway, probably eating a box and a half, but I will keep track and take pictures so you can see what it looks like to finish a box a week. Please let me know if you think of something else that I can do in this series to help you through like keeping track of time in the kitchen or what else I buy or how much I am spending on extra ingredients or even what I eat the other 4 days I am not cooking the box (yes, one box almost always disappears into 3 meals with leftovers). I will also only use recipes I have given on here this past year so you can cook along with me!
Week 1
Box Contents:
Butternut Squash
Eggplant
Onions
Turnips with tops
Lettuce
Green Mustard
Kale
Radishes
Apples
Cucumber
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| I took the turnips and their tops, the garlic and the winter squash and added sausage, potatoes and a few pantry/fridge things to make this Autumn Shepherd's Pie. |
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| Here I took the lettuce, radishes, apple and cucumber and made the Fall Celebrations Salad. The recipe is listed below. The feta, garbanzos, and avocado addition made it really satisfying! Not Pictured: Eggplant and Greens Here I took the eggplant, some garlic, kale, onions and the mustard greens and made a dish that really highlights the best qualities of greens and eggplant. |
Box= DONE!
Week 2:
Box Contents:
 |
| Pak Choi, Kale, Eggplant, Bell Peppers, Acorn Squash, Apples, Garlic, Pomegranate, Kohlrabi |
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| I visited my friend Brooke and Keith's house for a weekend dinner. She bought some really beautiful salmon and we cooked up some brown rice to accent our stir-fry. I used the bell pepper and the pak choi from the box and added onion and tofu. You can find the recipe for an amazing stir-fry sauce Here. |
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| This sandwich was amazing! I have become a huge fan of eggplant and greens together! This is something to keep handy for lazy evenings. It's quick to make but doesn't taste that way! The recipe for all the components is down below! |
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| I made this C. Pepo Salad with the acorn squash, apple, pomegranate and the rest of the kale. I added more lettuce, feta, and I subbed out maple syrup for pomegranate molasses. |
All of these meals were made the week I got the box, and all of them made leftovers for Tarra and my lunch the next day at work. A few made more than one day's leftovers, but seeing as how you only really cook 3 nights a week, that's a good thing for the other 4!
How do you get through your boxes? What troubles do you have? Let's talk! Let's work it out!
Here are the recipes for the past two weeks. Every other recipe is linked in the description.
Fall Celebration Salad
1 head lettuce, chopped
2 apples, cored and sliced
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1 large cucumber, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
Blue cheese to taste
Prep and combine!
Serve with a honey Dijon dressing!
Variations to make it a full meal:
-Add chicken
-Add a hard boiled egg
-Add beans
-Add cooked whole grain
-Add nuts and croutons!
-Add sprouts!
Mid-East Sammich
Eggplant- sliced, drained, fried
Egg-fried
Onion Relish
Kale- chopped &massaged with curry oil
Feta
Slice eggplant, salt pieces and let drain in culinder for 10
min, fry in shallow oil. Fry egg. Assemble sandwich putting feta between egg
and eggplant to melt.
Onion Relish
1 large onion-minced
lemon juice
cayenne
Assemble and let sit 20 min
Curry oil
1 tsp ea: ground: cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric,
cinnamon
Add spice to oil, massage into kale (wear gloves!)
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