Chopped Challenge: Pita Pizza?

This was one of those weeks where I feel like I never really stopped rushing about. Added to the fact that even though I was rushing about, this week took FOREVER. How is that even possible, dear reader, that I could feel like I haven't sat down all week and yet the week just stretched on. So when The Farm Box came, I barely looked at it except to say "oh great... kale."

Needless to say, when The Husband brought home this week's basket, I just wanted to make something quick and easy. I was hoping for an obvious stir fry. Something yummy but FAST, with a good deal of mindless knife work. What I actually got was the following:

Bing Cherries, Pita Bread, Sugar Snap Peas, and  crazy spicy chicken sausage. I took one look a the Pita bread and thought. Frick it, I'm making Pizza.

Recipe From The Farm Box: Infusions

This Week's box brought forth an abundance of Veg fit to be consumed. But once again, nothing in particular screamed "make a recipe with me." Most of it was just "useful". Here's what I got:

• Curly Kale
• Tomatoes
• Lemon Cucumbers (Looks like Lemons, is a Cucumber)
• Alexandra Heirloom Zucchini (is what that big ugly thing from last week was)
• Mixed Potatoes (Red, White & Blue)
• Eggplant (long and thin)
• Chives
• Lemon Basil
• Lime Basil

So we're in the swing of Zucchini season, which is nice because it adds well to most basic dishes disappearing into the background but adding some texture and fiber where needed. Also fun are the Mixed Potatoes, which will sit until I am ready to use them. Everything else. I mean useful, but nothing really screaming USE ME. My only problem is that Lemon Basil and Lime Basil don't exactly stay. They tend to go bad immediately. I knew I needed to do something with them to capture those truly amazing basils but I wasn't really sure what. Until I remembered something I had consumed in a fancy rooftop bar in washington DC... Infused Liquors. I remember the bartender talking me up about his own PERSONAL infusions as he served me a cucumber gin martini. It was delicious. The flavor breaking highlighting the gin. And so I thought, if you can do that with cucumbers, could you do it with herbs? Could I infuse The Husband's booze of choice, gin, with the basils and make my own unique PERSONAL infusion.

Week 2, Box 2 and I Want My Baby Back

This week The Box arrived with little fanfare and stuffed to the brim with mostly salad greens. That's the way it is in the early weeks, you get garlic curls and salad greens. Nothing TOO exciting. I hope things ramp up soon because as much as I love the abundance of green on my plate and in my fridge, it's extremely difficult to keep everything from wilting away before we get the chance to eat it. Let's see what we got this week:

• Red Lettuce (Went to my grandfather)
• Escarole (Also went to my grandfather)
• Turnip Green Thinnings 
• Looseleaf Chinese Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Garlic Curls
• Herb of The Week: Basil & Chocolate Mint

The basil and chocolate mint sound interesting. Mojito's anyone?

After putting everything lovingly away I turned my attention to the dreaded basket ingredients which The Husband had the pleasure of bringing home to me. I wondered, briefly, what was in store for me. Bison? Quail eggs? Some unknown spice from the far east ::cue belly dancing music::. After my success last week I felt a little bit more confident, until I opened it up.

Week 1, Box 1, 4 Basket Ingredients....

Welcome to the spectacle everyone! Step right up and watch the disaster in progress. For Monday I received my very Farm Box of the season! A little late due to a cold and late spring but super bountiful. Of course the vast majority of this first box is salad greens, and therefore slightly un-creative, but we've got some goodies too so let's dive in!

This week's box contained the following:

1. Red Lettuce (which went to my Granddad who was thrilled to see it)
2. Green Lettuce (Ginormous) 
3. Half a Bok Choi (the other half taken by the MIL)
4. Micro Greens
5. Rhubarb
6. Two Tomatoes
7. Garlic Curls  (those curly tops of the garlic that gave me such a heart attach last year)
8. And Garlic Chives (which are neither garlic nor chives, but still yummy)

I was already making plans in my head, the Rhubarb is OBVIOUSLY being turned into Jam again because it came out so yummy last year and I know I only get it once, twice if I am lucky. Salad greens to be washed up and made into salads (Duh) and I was getting really excited about the Bok Choi when a sadistic smile on The Husband's face reminded me that in my joy in finally having my farm fresh produce back, I had forgotten something...My basket ingredients.

is that, Kiwi? Yes yes it was, and wasabi peas, AND apple chips... not to mention A WHOLE FRIGGEN CHICKEN. 

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?

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.

Week 16, Box 16

This week I drove the hour in traffic to pick up The Box, only to find out 3 hours later that The Husband was also heading over to the area where we pick up The Box to give something to MIL. The location of course is completely out of my way, but on his way home from work. Nothing like bad coordiantion, darn. Anyway, we are starting to get some of the fall veggies and I am very excited. This week The Box looked like this:

Week 13, Box 13

Last week was a disaster, not only was The Box unforgiving minimal, forcing me to work with Beets (ick), but that week, my kitchen also made the untimely decision to FALL INTO A MILLION PIECES. First the dishwasher, then the sink, and of course I was on a mini-break visiting my two very good friends and trying to get some culture/history. Meanwhile The Husband was dealing with the mess that was my kitchen appliances circa 1967. Luckily between himself and my amazing uncle, things were, for the most part, fixed by the time I got home. and BONUS, new dishwasher!!!!!!

Anyway, for what lacked in The Box last week, this week more than makes up for it. I guess you could say I have an over abundance of.... interesting:

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 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: