CSA Week 2: Onions and peaches and carrots, oh my!

We made it through our first CSA week and we're on to the second!

Without further ado, here's the contents of box 2:

Looks about the same as last week, with a few minor differences! We received carrots and onions this week, along with an assortment of familiar produce. Instead of a whole chicken, it looks like we'll be cooking pork chops! And sure enough, buried in that box are another half-dozen eggs, safely tucked away.

So, you may be wondering what came of the first box! Well, here's the rundown from Week 1:

The blackberries and one peach became toppings for ice cream following my 5 Minute Fruit Compote recipe.

The chicken was dutifully roasted following the instructions described here.

Summer corn is so sweet that it needs very little more than a five minute blanch in boiling water and a pat of good, salty butter!

We always cook green beans in a manner similar to Outback Steakhouse: an eight minute blanch in boiling water, followed by a toss in a hot pan with butter, cinnamon, a tiny pinch of brown sugar, garlic powder and a healthy dose of white pepper.

The rest of the produce was eaten pretty much out-of-hand. That melon had a wonderful orange interior and sweet flavour similar to a cantaloupe; I'd love to know what variety it was. Luckily we got another one to enjoy this week!

CSA Week 1: What's In The Box?

There's a farmer's market that gathers right on campus every week in the summer, and my Mister and I have loved shopping the local produce. This summer we're going a step further and joining a CSA! 

Community-supported agriculture is something I've never heard about before, but the system is pretty straightforward: you pay in to help support a farming community, and they share of their bounty by providing a weekly food box of delicious, seasonal, local produce!

This is our first box. We registered to receive both produce and meat, and every week we expect about 1/4 bushel of produce, a single portion of meat and half a dozen eggs. This week, as you can see, we made out quite nicely. We've got plenty of fruit in the form of peaches, a melon and blackberries -- yum! Also, we have potatoes, green beans, sweet corn and a variety of tomatoes. We also lucked out on the meat portion and got a whole roasting chicken, woo hoo!

Since this is our first week, I really don't have much more to tell you. But check back next week to find out how we used this box, and to see a sneak-peek of next week's harvest!

5 Minute Fruit Compote

Summertime in these parts is hot. Not the good summer vacation kind of hot either, but the sticky, miserable, fanning yourself while sipping iced beverages because the AC just can't handle it type of hot. 

You know that line, "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen?" Yeah, after 30 minutes over an oven trying to put together a weeknight dinner, there are very few reasons I'd stay a bit longer. This dessert, however, is one of them.

Fruit compote is one of those things that makes everything a little bit better. Spoon it over waffles and claim it's breakfast. Add a scoop of ice cream (or, as we like, a spoonful of Cool Whip) and call it dessert. Drop dough over it and bake for a cobbler that will have everyone begging you for the recipe. And the best part? It comes together in five minutes on your stovetop, and dirties exactly one pan.

Go! Hurry! Make it now! I'll bet you've even got the ingredients floating around your kitchen already!

5 Minute Fruit Compote

Adapted from all over the internet; you can find similar recipes everywhere.

Ingredients

1/3 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp lemon juice (or another tbsp water, if you don't have it)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen fruit (berries and peaches are our favourites)

Directions

Add all ingredients to small saucepan. Cook over medium heat on stovetop until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Serve warm, room temperature or even cool, depending on application.

Bonus: Want cobbler?

Mix 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cut in one stick (8 tbsp) cold butter. Add 1/3 cup boiling water and mix well. Spoon over cooked fruit in small casserole dish, bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F or until cobbler is golden and delicious.

Linked up to The Checkered Apple's Summer Dessert Link Party and Positively Splendid's All Things Summer party!