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 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 9 Box 9

We had a very productive weekend. Not only did we bake Zucchini Bread, we cleaned and organized our office which it desperately needed. See, when we moved in we unpacked, but we didn't really think about where things were going. It was kind of a, let's just get everything AWAY so we don't have to look at it any more and we will deal with it later. Now, 1 year later, we've dealt with it, the office feels neater and my life less chaotic. Bonus: organizing the office freed up the giant tea storage box we had been using as a junk drawer and suddenly we could condense the 5 boxes of wedding gifts into one box, getting rid of the clutter! Think of all we could do if we just put in some shelves (hint hint).

In addition to the cleaning, we took apart the old entertainment stand in preparation for a Brand New (also ordered this weekend) Wall Unit. We drove the old broken down Subaru up to the MIL house for final disposal,  opening up the garage for our needs. We watched Identity Thief, drank way too much Port AND, to top all that off spent a wonderful morning with our Friends Amy and  Ben, breaking in their new home. It was busy, busy, busy but HEAVEN. I love when The Husband has weekends off.

In the Chaos The Husband, who does so much so that I don't have to and who loves me and is amazing, brought me home The Box. I was very excited and hopeful after last week's berry surprise. However, there wasn't too much exciting in this week's box.

Let me walk you through it:

Sigh

Well, a week has passed since that bountiful box landed in my lap. I had plans for it. OH I had plans for it. I was going to make a pasta dish with the Fava beans, try my hand at Kohlrabi fries, maybe make zucchini bread. I had PLANS I tell you PLANS. But my grandfather always said, we plan, God laughs. And this week God laughed hard at me and my plans.

If you live in the Northeastern part of the United States you know that God laughs a hot, sweaty heat. The Husband and I live in a second floor apartment of a house that only has window air conditioners in three of its four rooms (the room without the AC being the kitchen) and this means that 98 degrees (feeling like 110) outside means we were lucky, LUCKY if the temperature dropped below 86 (Fahrenheit that is). We didn't use the kitchen once this week and we spent way too much money eating outside the home, in air-conditioned restaurants.

And so my dear beloved readers, I have to apologize, the beautiful produce I drove 45 minutes for on Monday has gone to waste. By the time the heat broke last night and temperatures began to be reasonable outside and in, the Fava Beans rotted, the Tomatoes got soft and mushy, and the Kohlrabi... well that's just fine I think the only way to kill that thing is with fire.

I did have time to make one dish for you today, because once we COULD cook I felt like we SHOULD make something for you. And so, continuing reading for this week's installment of "What the Frack* do I do with All this Kale?"

*not the actual word

The answer? Quesadillas!

Week 6 Box 6

With The Husband and the MIL relaxing away at Cape Cod this little plebeian slaved away in the summer heat. She also found herself alone this Monday and the only one able to pick up The Box. This requires a 40 minute trip north (thankfully not in traffic this time) at top speed trying to make it to the Temple by 6:30.  I made it at 6:20 and picked up my abundance. 

If you've ever wondered what a full farm share box looks like in comparison to the 1/2 a box I get every week, this is your chance. When I got it all laid out on the table, needless to say it did not fit nicely into the big bowl:

I apologize for the cruddy picture, The Husband has the good camera with him on The Cape. So what are this week's contents? I'll tell you, but feel free to guess before reading the list.

Kale Chips!

So I talked about Kale Chips two posts ago and then I couldn't get them out of my head. A little research on the net proved that they weren't exceptionally difficult and didn't take too long. So with some time to kill and the Kale getting old in the fridge. I took on the task of turning this:

into a healthy, crispy, snack.

Week 3 Box 3

This week's box contained no major surprises. It was actually a nice sigh of relief after the funeral followed by a wedding weekend The Husband and I had just gone through. The Box Yielded the following: