Neither from Israel nor Artichokes

Jerusalem Artichokes, or sunchokes as they are sometimes less confusingly called, look like knobby potatoes, or perhaps tumor ridden turnips. Choose your imagery. Surprisingly, or un-surprisingly if you've been watching me cook with the weird veggies all year, these knobby ugly things, like most root vegetables, seem to have only 2 or 3 successful and suggested methods of preparation. You can roast them. You can boil and mash them. You can make them into chips or fries, or pancakes. Boring Boring Boring. Tubers are Boring. There isn't much I can say about that. However, the Sunchoke does have one unique trick that the other tubers do not. They take very well to being stir fried. Almost like a water-chestnut but more bendy. And although I find stir fry's to be as un-original a way to get rid of veg as making a salad, I realize I had not yet created one for you on this blog. Also, I found a recipe with some pretty interesting techniques. So who am I to resist. Let's get stir-crazy.

Week 20, Box 20 and an Appology

So for the first time in 20 weeks it looks like I honest to god missed a recipe post. The truth is last week was just about the worst week thus far luck wise. I was sick, The Husband then got sick and then over the weekend I had to take my grandfather to the hospital. So over all even though I got The Box, took pictures and even cooked and took pictures of two full recipes, I just never got around to posting. I apologize. If you were wondering I made 2 dishes, the first was Macaroni and Cheese with Swiss Chard, which was a variant of THIS recipe. To modify it I gave the chard a quick chiffonade, blanched it and squeezed the water out. I then mixed it in with the final product just like the recipe calls for mixing in the broccoli. It was a little bit of a cheat recipe, we wanted comfort food, and when that comfort food is mac and cheese you always feel better adding some green to it.

The other recipe I made was baked potato soup. I followed the recipe found HERE to the letter. It was easy, delicious, didn't require an excessive amount of milk fat and exactly the thing The Husband needed in his sickness. Also a fantastic way to use up a TON of potatoes. Yum.

This week I am hopeful that things will go more smoothly. I am pleased with the ingredients that came in The Box. They will prove some challenges but also some comfort items. Let me show you:

Week 18, Box 18 and G*d Damn It

Last week I happily looked forward to the delivery of The Box. You see it's fall, and fall means butternut squash and I had this feeling that this week The Box would contain at least one of the big fat orange veg. I went about my day with a skip in my step, researching recipes making grandiose plans and greeted The Husband joyfully at the top of the stairs eager to break into the box and start cooking away. When I saw that sly smile on his face, the one that indicates he knows he is about to bring my day to a screeching halt, my heart dropped low in my chest and with a sudden sense of foreboding. This is what the box contained with in it:

• Butternut squash
• Fava Greens
• Two decorateve Pumpkins
• three cippolini Onions
• Six apples
• Four Tomatoes 
• And wait... WTF are those black things marring up the Far right corner of The Box?

As American as Apple Pie

It's day 10 of the Federal Government shut down and although I was doing well, I dropped the ball again. BOOOO on me, but in fairness congress is doing far worse then I am and keeping thing running so I don't feel so bad. Anyway, since I've been feeling less then patriotic these past 10 days and I am sure you folks (at least my USA readers which I am assuming most of you are) are looking for a little bit of a reminder as to why AMERICA is awesome. I did the only logical thing when  The Box gave me apples. I made apple pie. Actually Apple Hand Pies.

Week 17, Box 17

This week's box was brought to be by The Husband for the first time ever after 9:30PM. It finally happened, we both had a conflict and since my hearing could have taken me to midnight to complete it fell to him to stop by the MIL and bring The Box home. From the contents of the box you can see we are well into the fall harvest.

Squash as Spaghetti

As I said in my last post, my initial research on Spaghetti Squash indicated that it's a squash not really worth the time and energy into eating unless, for either health or craziness, you decide that the only thing you liked about spaghetti was that it was stringy and therefore this would be an acceptable substitute for that stringy sensation you miss. However, since this blog is about taking what comes to me, I took it upon myself to find an acceptable dish that promised enjoyment without missing the spaghetti. I also figured that since I was being "healthy" in a crazy pasta denying, weird substitution kind of way, I might as well find the least healthy dish I could. And, despite nearly every instinct I had that this was not a good idea, I found that in spaghetti squash 'n' cheese, (like Mac 'n' Cheese but absolutely nothing like it).