Guest Blogger Jen!

Hi everyone! I’m Jen, Barb’s dear friend and farm-share sister in Arlington. (My share is mostly vegetables with a smidgen of fruit—I cannot tell you how much I covet her bread, cheese, and abundance of fruit!!)

When I picked up my share this week (from Wilson Farms), I saw eggplant, anise, peaches . . . and immediately thought of Barby, who loves my eggplant casserole, who scarfed down the sour cream peach pie I served at my birthday party last year, and who, I suspected, would adore the Anise Slaw I learned to make last summer when I didn’t know what to do with the anise (or fennel) I got in my share. (She confirmed the latter, saying, “I love anise and would eat human fingers if they were served with it.”) So I invited her to dinner—and you’re about to see the meal unfold!!

So, here’s where I started. This pile of veggie bounty is about to become an ab fab meal—I promise!

Because I have my priorities straight, I always begin with the hooch. Cucumbers may be my least favorite vegetable—I like a piece or two in my salad, but that’s it—but a couple of months ago I was served a Cool as a Cucumber Martini and went, Ooooh—and that’s what I do with cucumbers now.

Your first step is to purée the cuke (peel and all), then strain it into a container.

Set it aside.

Hooch #2 would be fresh-fruit sangria. My usual practice is to slice a lemon, lime, and orange and rub cinnamon into each slice; however, I had blueberries and peaches in this week’s share, and I also had an aging nectarine.

I decided to muddle the blueberries and nectarine with cinnamon, and do my usual cinnamon thang with peach and lemon slices.

I put the mixture in a pitcher, poured red wine over just to cover, and left them to macerate. My kitchen was redolent with the smell of fresh fruit, cinnamon, and wine!

(And also cucumber. In fact, my daughter wandered in and said, “Why does it smell like pickles in here?)

Next, I decided to get the Big Chopping done in one fell swoop. I had a bunch of cilantro that I planned to turn into a savory veggie dip, so I needed veggies, obvs.  This sinkful of veggies would become a beautiful crudité platter

 

I then turned my thoughts to dessert. My friend Kristin W in Minnesota has an amazing recipe for something she calls Peaches and Cream Dessert, and I knew Barb would love it. And I had peaches! So I peeled and diced them and set them to macerate in a little sugar.

(Word of the day: macerate!)

On to the veggie dip! I had Googled “cilantro veggie dip” and found a recipe that sounded great—it called for plain Greek yogurt, which I had, also dill, and I will freely admit that dill is my favorite herb, with cilantro, basil, sage, and thyme in a four-way tie for second. But I am all about dill. So anyway, I grabbed a handful of cilantro and proceeded to chiffonnade it, a technique taught to me by my Betsy-Tacy friend Deb Holland, I can’t remember when or why, but I think of her every time I chiffonnade something. And I’m not even sure if I’m using the word chiffonnade correctly, but hey! Look at my fine technique!

And the exquisitely chiffonnaded cilantro became a dip! But . . . it looks awfully white, doesn’t it?  I ended up adding another handful of cilantro, about twice as much as the recipe called for. And it tasted gooood.

My goal was to get all the veggie stuff prepped so that the sink could be empty by the time my family needed to have lunch. My next task was to prep the green beans—the ultimate goal was to copy TGIF’s crispy green beans with wasabi dipping sauce.  Usually I would roast, steam, or sauté green beans, but these I boiled in chicken broth because the recipe said to. I am a slave to copycat recipes, apparently.

More veggies to choop! Anise! Eggplant! Cabbage! Scallions! 

Chop! Chop! Go! Go!

The anise, cabbage, and scallions ultimately became the Anise Slaw. Usually I would concoct the dressing first, then add the vegetables, but today? Today is a special day! Anyway, it turned out fine.

I diced the eggplant, sautéed it, and concocted the cheesy custard for eggplant casserole. So! Yummy! The small dish next to it contains melted butter, which I’ll mix with bread crumbs and garlic powder and add to the casserole at the last minute—if you add it earlier, the bread crumbs begin absorbing the moisture from the casserole and don’t crisp up as much during baking.

Time to turn my head to dessert. 

Since I had an extra handful of blueberries, I threw them in with the peaches. Then I made a heinous discovery—the recipe called for non-instant pudding mix, which is exactly not what I bought.  Oh, well! I persevered nonetheless, making the renegade pudding crust, adding a layer of sweet fruit, and topping the whole thing with sweet cream cheese thinned with milk and egg, and a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle. It looks and smells heavenly!

We’re also having deviled eggs, since I hard-boiled four eggs for my son’s lunch last week and he didn’t eat a one of ‘em. Who doesn’t like a deviled egg? 

Our third appetizer is kale chips. The trick is to make sure that the kale is bone dry. I’ve had it sitting in a colander for an hour, but I also dried each leaf with a dishcloth.

In addition to the kale, I had chard, arugula, and red leaf lettuce, and I decided to cook them all down and make Creamy Sesame Greens, a recipe I’ve had for a while but never tried. (Honestly, I like greens in any form, and my usual practice is to simply sauté them with an onion and eat them plain—but Barb is not a greens girl, so I knew I’d need something a little fancier to entice her. This recipe included tahini, orange juice, and garlic, and I thought it might do the trick.) As always, I marvel over how a mountain of greens cooks down to almost nothing!

Dinner is in good shape now, and the sun is over the yardarm, so . . .

OK, who am I kidding, it’s only 2:30. Nonetheless, I’ve been on my feet since 11 a.m., I’m ready for a drink!!!!! I added some brandy, Cointreau, orange juice, and pineapple juice to the macerating sangria fruit, then poured in some more red wine. Taste, adjust, taste, adjust . . .

Goodness, where did the time go???!!!

Barb is invited for 5 p.m., so I get the appetizers ready at 4:30. From left to right, we have my lovely crudité tray and cilantro-dill dip (presented in half a suntan pepper! So Martha Stewart!), the kale chips, and the deviled eggs, plus some green olives and fresh fruit, and a little dish for stems and pits. 

 

Look at those crudités—are they not beautiful?!!  And the kale chips—it is simply astonishing how crispy and delicious they are! The drinks are a symphony of contrasting colors—cucumber ‘tinis and fresh-fruit sangria, so lovely!

I’m ready to eat! (and, um, drink)

Barb arrives and is willing to brave the cucumber ‘tini (though she adds a great deal of Diet 7-Up. No judgment here, I provided it, after all). The cilantro dip is fantastic , and Barb and Mel (my daughter) begin fighting over who gets to eat the suntan pepper dip-holder.

My son, Will, deigns to try a kale chip. He takes one bite and gives me a look, but when I said, “Oh, give me the rest of it, you big baby!” he shoved the whole chip in his mouth and ran away. The chips are hella good, I’m just saying. We ate every one.

Time for dinner! In addition to all the veggie dishes, I cooked up some Trader Joe’s meatballs and ciabatta, which I spread with olive oil and garlic powder.

Oh, and right before dinner I fried those freaking green beans—people liked them, but dear God what a pain, I could not get that coating to stick for love or money.

We had a fabulous meal!!! And I didn’t take a single picture of our happy faces as we ate it! But rest assured, we were happy happy diners.

For dessert, we had our peach-blueberry delight (again, un-photo-documented—don’t ask me why, and do not blame the sangria) and Trader Joe’s dark chocolate and milk chocolate crisps, and everyone moaned with happiness.

 

 A highly successful evening!!  And I gave Barby a dress that I know I’ll never wear again, and it is perfectly beautiful on her, so now we’re both happy. 

Here’s what we ate:

Cocktails

Cool as a Cucumber Martini

Fresh-Fruit Sangria

Appetizers

Crudités with Cilantro-Dill Dip

Kale Chips

Deviled Eggs

Cherries and Grapes

Dinner

Eggplant Casserole

Carrot-Raisin Salad

Anise Slaw

Creamy Sesame Greens (Note: I added about 2T of Earth Balance and a lot more salt)

TGIF’s Crispy Fried Green Beans with Wasabi Dip (I mixed wasabi mayonnaise and Ranch dressing)

Trader Joe’s Party Meatballs

Trader Joe’s Ciabatta

Dessert

Peaches and Cream Dessert (with blueberries!)

Trader Joe’s Dark and Milk Chocolate Crisps

SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Ask anyone!!