Before picture….1992

Russia – 1992

I’m on the left in the black jacket.  Pictures like this keep me motivated when I have set-backs.

Sometimes I don’t want anyone to know how big I was as a kid and teenager.  Othertimes I want people to know that it I was able to make changes for the better.

EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Box #16: Berry-picking flashback…

I asked my farm to include 3 extra bunches of greens in my box, since I keep having to buy more at the grocery store to meet our green smoothie needs.  I’m paying $2.50 extra for each bunch, which seems fair.  Look at those beautiful bunches!  I have to say that I’ve developed a craving for greens.  When the sun is out and the grass is brilliant green, I think to myself, “Man, I could eat some of that!”

It took a long time for summer to arrive this year.  I was worried that we wouldn’t have strawberries.  Did you pick strawberries for pay in the summer when you were a kid?  I don’t know if Oregon kids do that anymore, or if it’s all industrialized and pesticized to the point where they aren’t allowed.

It was brutal work – I’m sure it was formative at the young  age of eleven to get up at 4am, and walk a mile alone in the dark to the berry bus station.  The ride from Portland out to the berry fields took about two hours, so I’d try to sleep if I could.  I’d pack a couple of frozen cans of soda, and a sandwich.  The soda would be thawed by early morning.  I’d usually be too full of berries and covered in dirt to eat the sandwich.

They’d usually send us out to glean the fields previously picked by migrant workers.  I hated that – it took forever to fill a crate.  I remember getting about $1 for a full crate.  I think the crate had about 24 pints.  We got paid by the weight.  I’d usually bring home $10 a day, for 6 hours of work. 

My Dad remembers being a kid and putting rocks in the bottom to increase the payout.  I thought about it, but couldn’t do it.  If I felt that the teenage “row overseerers” were mean to us, I’d smash green spiders into the berries.  Smucker owned farms seemed to be the meanest to us.  I smashed a LOT of spiders into those berries.

I’m still here – and I got a new camera!

I’m still cooking, still getting my CSA box…but I had a bit of minor frustration with my camera set-up. 

My point-and-shoot took horrible low-light pictures, so I needed to set up lamps everytime I cooked.  Then I wasn’t happy with the focus – and needed a tripod.

So, that was getting in the way.

Last week I got a brand new camera – it’s a lot like a dSLR only smaller and without the mirrors.  It’s an Olympus Pen micro four thirds camera, and I’m in love!

As a friend said, it has “automatic flatter”. 

So, I’ve already taken some great pictures and should have those up this week.

Two Heads of Broccoli?

Still loving my green smoothies!

Here we have: rainbow chard, frozen banana, green granny smith apple and a pear.

I’ve found that green apples taste  great in smoothies!  The tartness is wonderful with the sweet banana and pear.  I don’t usually like to eat green apples, so now I know just what to do with them.

I’m still drinking about 1 liter of green smoothie most days.  My vita-mix is a blessing.  How did I live without it until now?  If I were rich, I’d give them away as gifts.  It does require spending money on veggies & fruit – but when I have a smoothie in the morning I eat less at lunch.  I’m spending half as much on food at work since I started drinking my morning smoothie.

CSA Box #5

This week I got: broccoli, apples, oranges, kiwi, asparagus, mustard greens, lettuce, eggs and a leek.  I was hoping for more greens – maybe next time.  I did find some beautiful rainbow chard at the Kiva for $1.69 lb.  Score!

Twice Baked Suffed Potatoes and Rhubarb Compote

Tonight I needed to use two HUGE potatoes; and also some kale, leek, shallot and rhubarb from last week’s CSA box.  We had turkey breakfast sausages that needed to be cooked – or else.

I’ve never made a twice baked stuffed potato, and I’ve never cooked rhubarb.  So, tonight I’ll try both.  Stuffed potatoes are great – use what you have.  If you have more than will fit into the skins, put it into a small oven safe dish and bake it along side the rest, or save it for later.   No worries.

Turkey Sausage & Veggie Stuffed Potatoes by Jessi (my own recipe!)

Ingredients:

2 very large russet potatoes

6-7 turkey breakfast sausage links

4 kale leaves

1 small leek

1 small shallot

2-4 oz cheddar cheese (more or less according to preference)

dried herbs & spices to taste

Olive oil for sauteing

1. Wash two large russet potatoes.  Prick each with a fork, and bake naked on the middle rack of a 375 F oven for about 60 min or until just the slightest bit little under-done. Don’t over cook.

2. Cook 6-7 turkey breakfast sausages in a cast iron pan.  Slice them in half lengthwise, and chop the strips into little half-moon slices.  Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

3. Finely chop about 4 kale leaves (remove the stems), 1 small leek, and 1 small shallot.  Sweat the leek and shallot in a little olive oil.  Add all of this to the bowl with the chopped sausage, and then cook the kale alone in that same pan until it’s just starting to wilt.  Add this to the bowl with the other ingredients.  Doing this in two steps keeps the leek and shallot from getting soggy.

If you’ve never cooked a leek before here’s my tip: cut off the end and the green parts, then slice the leek in half lengthwise.  Separate each layer and wash.  It’s amazing how much dirt and grit there is between these layers – so get it all!

5.  Reduce the oven temp to 325 F right as you take the potatoes out to cool.  Let the potatoes cool just enough to handle.  Cut them each in half, and scoop out the insides into the bowl.  Leave just a little potato lining the inside so that the skin retain hull integrity – but just a little.

6.  Grate about 2-3 oz of cheese into the bowl.  Toss in some dried herbs & spices to taste (basil, oregano, pepper, chili flakes, parsley) and mix it all together.   Using a wooden spoon (works great!) stuff the 4 potato skins.  Use the back of the spoon to really get it all in there.  Stand on that spoon!  It’s not going to expand while cooking, so don’t worry.  Just don’t break the skins

Place some sliced cheese on top.  Place the potatoes on a baking rack and bake until the cheese melts and the potatoes are hot inside.  This time will vary, but the cheese gives you a good indication.  It depends on how long you let the ingredients cool as you assembled the skins.

These were SO good.  My boyfriend loved them.  One skin was enough for me.  My tummy was full, but my taste buds wanted more!  I took one to lunch and nuked it.  YUMMMY.

For dessert: Ginger Vanilla Orange Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients:

6-8 stalks of fresh rhubarb

1/2 orange

2-3 TB honey (or to taste)

1/2 inch of fresh ginger root (or to taste)

1/2 t vanilla extract

Rhubarb is something I have never ever cooked.  I really haven’t eaten it much either.  I didn’t want to make this into a big deal, so I decided the easiest thing would be a compote.  It was good alone, and on cottage cheese.  I will make this again for sure.

1. Wash and trim the green parts off of about 6-8 stalks of rhubarb.  The green parts are not edible.  Chop into 1/2 inch pieces.  Put these into a stainless steel saucepan.  You must use stainless steel.

2. Into the saucepan add the juice of 1/2 fresh orange, some honey to taste (I used 2 TB), 1/2 inch chopped fresh ginger, and 1/2 t vanilla extract.

3. Cook slowly over medium heat, stirring often until soft.  I used a lid, which seemed to speed things up.  I waited and waited for it to soften, and then BOOM it happened all the sudden.  Weird stuff, but I loved this recipe!!