Inspiration

The one thing about committing to writing a blog every week is…you need to write on the blog every week. I must admit I arrived at Stoney Lonesome on Sunday to pick up my share, lacking in inspiration and even mentioned this to Diana as I began to look through the distribution shed and snap a few pictures. But as always happens by the time I left the farm, veggies in tow, I was inspired. The smells, the textures, the heat radiating from the earth, all worked their magic to bring about enthusiasm for the task ahead.

Here is this week's share

Here is one thing I did with my share

Stuffed zucchini balls
and
Swiss Chard Lasagna

I guess technically that is two things. Essentially I followed a spinach lasagna recipe and decided to mix my chard into the cheese layer. It looked so yummy I made an extra batch and stuffed zucchinis from the Manassas Farmer's Market with it. I think the cheesey layer would have been super zummy wrapped in chard leaves and baked as well but didn't think of that on time. I used some of the roasted tomato sauce I made last year for the sauce. I also took all of the rest of my chard (I still had last week's) and did this..(see below)..and then froze it for later use. This mixture used the onions, garlic, swiss chard stems and leaves. Unfortunately with my family it has to be disguised in some form so this works well. I could stick it in casseroles, eggs, other cheeses, etc. etc. What is the green stuff in the taco meat, mom? Chard is "Old Faithful," it'll grow in any weather so find lots of uses for it. I know many of you saute it with various spices - would love to hear what combinations of spices you use.

Fennel is back in the shares. There are lots of ways to fix fennel as well - especially when we start to get some bigger bulbs, but these are tasty sauted in oil ( I like to use 1/2 butter/ 1/2 oil for a guilty pleasure) and then sprinkled with some lemon juice and some freshly grated Parmesan. Or chop them up and throw them in the crockpot with some beef cubes, a can of diced tomatoes, onions, Italian seasoning and make Italian beef. Serve over rice with fresh basil and some of the fresh fennel leaves chopped on top.

Yay! Fresh garlic - another treat we'll be seeing more of. These are so delicious thrown in the oven and roasted - the sweetest garlic ever. I admit I ate it plain but it would have been lovely if I had waited for some focaccia bread to thaw. Just drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake until soft. I did a bunch in my slow cooker. You can also use the cloves just as they are in any cooking preparation.

Fresh Herbs! This week we have Dill, Cilantro and Basil. Since I also grow basil at home and have lots of it, I put a bunch of it in a jar of olive oil and put it in the back of the pantry. In a few weeks I'll strain it and have delicious flavored oil for my fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. I'll write more about herbs soon.

Last but not least, have you tried the farm fresh eggs or the chicken? Oh Boy!! We love omelets and use all assortment of our share's veggies in them. They are super good with these fresh eggs. Seriously could eat these every night for dinner!

So how about that inspiration? Would love to hear your ideas and how the share inspires you. Thanks to those who have shared some of these ideas already. We all want more, more, more.