Winter CSA

Last Thursday, I picked up my first CSA share from ECO City Farm in Edmonston, MD.

I couldn't be more excited to participate in ECO's CSA. My first share included swiss chard, mustard greens, lettuce mixes, pea shoots, another other greens. The CSA will run all winter long thanks to ECO's hoop houses and dedicated farm team.

I also took home some of the harvest from the Public Health Garden of kale, lettuce and mustard greens on Thursday.  Needless to say, my fridge is full of greens, which I hope will make perfect study food as I near the end of the semester (finals are 14th and 15th of this month!).

Time for Brussels Sprouts! YES!

Look at what I brought home with me from the farmers' market in Riverdale on Thurs:



Yes, that is a giant brussels sprout stalk strapped into my back seat of my car.  So awesome. Here are the sprouts as I prepared them for cooking:

Best thing to do with brussels sprouts is here on the blog.

Logan in the wild!

Logan enjoying the outdoors this weekend on a hike at Great Falls National Park. 

Tomatoes in Nov

Something great happened: my life is overwhelmed with tomatoes in Nov!
Green tomatoes from the Public Health Garden:

Here they are sauteed with onions and a little garlic (delicious):

I went to the Greenbelt Farmers' Market today and came home with a giant box of tomato 2nds (only cost $10!). I used them to repeat a wonderful tomato soup recipe from Smitten Kitchen that I made for my roommate's birthday last week.

Here is what I had to start with:

 I suggest you go out and find some end-of-season tomatoes and prepare this fantastic soup.

Roasted Tomato Soup (from Smitten Kitchen)

What You Need

• 3 pounds tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet (I used parchment paper).
3. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
5. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil.
6. Add packet of garlic to tray.
7. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour.
8. Cool slightly.
9. Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves.
10. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree.
11. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
13. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

 YUM! Here are my tomatoes getting ready to roast and coming out of the oven:

Going into the oven

Coming out of the oven!

On the table for my roommate's birthday