Recipe from the Farm Box: Using up tomatoes

ANNOUNCEMENT! 

Quick! Look to the left hand side of the blog... Do you see it? That's right! The Suggestion Box is up and running! This blog is constantly evolving, dear sweet readers, and in the end that evolution is all about YOU. So if you have a suggestion on how to make it better, or a recipe I should try, or anything you can think of, reach out to me at jackieandthefarmbox@gmail.com. 

Of course what I am SURE you are more excited for, is the prospect of being involved in the fantastic torture that is the Chopped Challenges. So if you have a suggestion of an ingredient he should try, or a combination of ingredients, now you can write The Husband at TheHusband519@gmail.com. 

You might just see your suggestions on this very page! 

Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programing!

I've been slacking, dear sweet readers, The Box ingredients have been piling up in my Fridge and on my counter and some of them have gone to that sweet sad place, the trash, because of my neglect. So when The Husband walked through the door, The Box in hand,  I knew the goal was, this week, to get rid of some of the items I have in over abundance. Here is what I got:

• Dinosaur Kale
• Celery
• White Eggplant
• Red Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• NY White Garlic
• Leek Flowers
• Peaches

Dear sweet reader, that brought the Zucchini count to at least 4 big fatties in my crisper drawer. The Green count to One HUGE bunch of Swiss Chard (about to go bad) and two kinds of kale. Three fat cucumbers, and an EXCESS of Tomatoes. This weekend will be about cleaning out my fridge BEFORE things go bad. The first step, USE UP SOME TOMATOES, and I know exactly how to do that.

This is why you do your research

This is one of those weeks where even though it is only TUESDAY and yesterday was only MONDAY I already feel like I don't have enough time for anything ever again. It's probably because The Husband and I have a fully booked August, and I am not quite sure if I am ever actually going to get around to watching all the TV currently building up on my DVR. Hypothetically I know it will slow down eventually but for now it feels like rush, rush, rush. Anyway. Last night The Husband walked in quite late with the Farm Box in his arms. Actually in a Large Bucket in his arms. Apparently our Farmer has been over feeding his crops. I mean some of this stuff was HUGE. And all really exciting. It makes me want to cook for days. Here's what I got:

• Chard
• Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers
• Parsnips
• Broccoli
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Red Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• NY White Garlic
• Blackberries
• Sweet Basil

Oh man do I really just want to bake and cook for the rest of my life. And everything was so OVERSIZED. The Zucchini looks like it was trying to escape the farm by growing weird and large. The Blackberries were fat and plump. The Heirloom tomatoes barely fit in my two hands. The Chard was as big as my head, at least and a gorgeous hot pink. And the Parsnips had greens attached that were at least 3 feet long. 

As I am going away this weekend, I wanted to try and make sure my produce lasted as long as possible. So I was doing some research on storage. One of the things I wasn't sure about was the Parsnips. I figured, since they were attached, that the greens were edible and was wondering if I should store them separately or still attached. Of course it didn't take me long to learn my mistake. Parsnip greens are NOT edible. I repeat NOT EDIBLE. This is why you research folks. Not everything that comes from the ground is safe for eating, no matter how pretty they are. Ah well, into the trash they go. 

Week 15 Box 15

This week The Box was lovingly delivered to me by The Husband and I had about 5 minutes to look it over, take a picture of it and then run out to a hearing that lasted till 12:00am. Wonderful. Not to mention that I then did the exact same thing on Tuesday, quick PB and J dinner and then back out to a hearing that didn't end till 10:00pm. Welcome to my life. I'm exhausted and in desperate need of a full day of TLC but I don't want to pull a last week and forget to post anything about this week's box so here it is:

Week 14 Box 14: Spicy Fun Arugala

Because of the way my day job works we are getting into the heavy season at work. Which means my posts are going to start condensing because I don't have nearly as much time to work on them as I would like too. Sorry folks. I'm going to try to get better at spacing them out, maybe get on a regular schedule like The Husband recommends. We shall see. Anyway last week The Box Contained the following:

• Red Potatoes
• Many tomatoes of the red and heirloom variety
• Yellow Onions
• Celery
• Concord Grapes
• and Two Bunches of Arugula

Since, of course, Arugula is one of my favorite greens due to it's spicy fun flavor and I had an excess of tomatoes I went looking for a good old fashioned quick pasta recipe for a Tuesday night dinner.

Week 11 Box 11

Let it be known that the Rabbi has returned. This of course means that I no longer get the benefit of a full and fruitful box. Ah well, I'm back to my half share and it's probably better for the environment (less veg going to rot) and for this blog (splitting the share with the MIL results in me getting the weird stuff). However, we are coming into the Fall (even though it is still August) which means the "harvest time" is coming. I'm excited for the bounty of new veg that are coming into the season. And this week The Box is starting to reflect it. Here's what we got:

Week 10 Box 10

Many of you have been asking about the status of my finger. Well I'm sorry to say it had to be amputated.... Naw just joshing. It's fine. The Husband and  I went  down the shore as planned which was a lot of fun except for the fact that I had to wear a rubber glove on the beach and couldn't go in the water. Lots of little kids stared trying to figure out what exactly that crazy lady was doing and I am sure lots of parents worried that I had some horrible skin disease. I just tried to relax and keep my hand out of the sun (apparently rubber gloves trap heat).

The Glue they used peeled off a day early and unfortunately the wound hadn't healed all the way. It wasn't gushing or anything just still a little exposed. So of course it has become infected and I'm on antibiotics. Nothing is ever easy, is it? However, I expect to heal acceptably from now on and it cannot come fast enough. I'm sick of the pain every time I forget and hit "l" with the finger while I am typing. Apparently I can compensate on all the other letter but "l" is ingrained as "hit with right ring finger" unless I am paying close attention.

Anyway this week I picked up The Box again. It just happened to coincide nicely with the end of my doctor's appointment.

Here's what we got: