Fish CSA!

Well, isn't this exciting! I was afraid that in the move from SoCal to Boston, my CSA days were over. (At least until the summer.) Happily, I was wrong!

For those that don't know, CSA stands for community-supported agriculture. Typically you pay a flat fee upfront, for x number of shares over some time period. Usually you can specify large or small box, weekly or biweekly, where you'd like to pick it up, then on your set day you go pick up a box of fresh fruits and veggies. In Cali, I was paying $177 for 12 weeks of small biweekly shares; meaning I was paying $29.50 per box for six boxes of fresh fruits and veggies, year-round. They were grown locally, meaning my food dollars were supporting local farms and farmers, and my produce was usually organic and pesticide-free.

Well! Upon settling in here in Massachusetts, I promptly checked out the CSA options, figuring I'd be out of luck until at least spring. Turns out I am now the proud member of both a fish CSA and a winter veggie CSA (which I'll blog about later in the week, so stay tuned).

A fish CSA (CSF?) delivers several pounds of fresh-caught, local fish, either whole or in fillets. What fish you get depends on what they catch. Naturally I signed right up (whole, biweekly), since fresh seafood is one of the primary advantages Boston has over San Diego--oddly enough. Thanks to my new friends at Cape Ann Fresh Catch! ($120 for 12 weeks; so $20 for each biweekly delivery, or $10 per week. That's a deal in my book!)

So for the next twelve weeks, you'll be getting lots of great fish recipes!

Yesterday I got my first delivery, of three big fresh flounder. Tune in tomorrow for my flounder adventures, including how to butcher fresh fish with a pair of kitchen shears, and why flounder guts aren't located where you think they'd be.

And the winner is...

Cole! Cole, send your name and address to brokefoodie@hotmail.com and I'll send your copy of The Geometry of Pasta right away!

Butternut squash lasagna

I made this with just butternut squash, no greens; it was great, but a little sweet. Next time I'll add some sort of greenery to this, to cut the sweetness. (I adapted the recipe, below.) You don't need to cook them first, the moisture from the squash should do that while the lasagna's baking.

2 big butternut squash, cut in half, seeded, roasted, and peeled
2 boxes no-bake lasagna noodles
a big handful of fresh sage
a few tablespoons of butter
1 1/2 lbs ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup or so heavy cream
2-3 big handfuls shredded mozzarella
lots of shredded parm
1/2 to 1 cup chicken or veggie broth, or some white wine and the rest broth
nutmeg, salt, pepper
greenery: fresh or frozen spinach, kale, collards, or dandelion greens would work well (enough to layer heavily). If you use frozen spinach, thaw it and squeeze the excess water out first.

Roast the butternut squash and let cool. Peel it and mash it up in a bowl. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat; when it begins to bubble, add the sage leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the sage and butter all together to the squash mash, along with the broth and some salt and pepper. (It will be a little runny.)

Add the ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg together in a separate bowl, along with a handful of the parm.

Spread a little of the cheese mixture around your lasagna pan, and layer as so: noodles, cheese, squash, greenery, sprinkling of parm, repeat until you run out of something or run out of space in your pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese on top is bubbly and browned.

This is a great vegetarian dish, and hearty enough for carnivores, too.



Butternut Squash

Cookbook review: The Geometry of Pasta

The Geometry of Pasta tells you the perfect pasta shape for the perfect sauce. Not every shape goes with marinara; just as there's a reason most people use elbow macaroni in macaroni and cheese and not, say, ziti. It lists all the different types of pasta, which sauces go best with each one, and then gives recipes. There's broccoli rabe with orecchiette; pappardelle with zucchini and zucchini flowers; and more obscure shapes, like strozzapreti (with squid and broccoli) and chifferi rigati (with green olives and tomatoes).

You probably won't be able to find a lot of these shapes at your local supermarket, so unless you make your own pasta, it'll be difficult to utilize every recipe in this book. Nevertheless, I love the drawings, and I love the recipes. And being a nerd, I appreciate the scientific explanation behind surface texture = type of sauce.

So I'm giving away a copy! Leave a comment as to your favorite pasta shape by midnight tonight, and I'll choose one at random!

Wine Week! Wine book review: Opus Vino

Opus Vino is the book you buy when you've graduated beyond all the rest of this week's books. It's ginormous. This is 800 pages of full-color illustrations and descriptions of 4,500 individual wine varietals, and each wine region's top producers and rising stars, covering the owners, the grapes, the wine styles, and the best vintages.

It's a wine reference book in the truest sense of the word. It's not a book you're going to want to sit down with and read cover to cover, like the Windows on the World book. (Don't drop it on your foot, either.) It's not going to tell you which wine under $15 will go best with your Christmas turkey, or what the difference is between Champagne and sparkling white wine. It will tell you the history of every top vineyard in France, and which labels they produce. It will also impress the hell out of your wino friends.

Next week: I drink actual wine, and tell you about it.

Wine Week! Wine book review: Windows on the World Complete Wine Course

Wine Week continues here on Broke Foodie! This week: I review all different kinds of wine books (just in time for the holidays). Next week: I drink wine, and tell you about it.

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition by Kevin Zraly is the mothership of wine reference books. ("Reference" as opposed to "buying guide.")

This book takes you through every aspect of wine: grape varieties and types of wine, where they're produced, how to taste it, how to match it with food. It's the book version of the perpetually-sold out class, taught by the former wine director of Windows on the World. (Yes, that Windows on the World, the one on the top of the World Trade Center.) It's divided into eight sections (White Wines of France, Red Wines of California, etc.).

The other books this week have been primarily buying guides; they describe specific labels, so that you can take that book into your neighborhood wine shop and get that exact bottle. This book lists some specific labels, but it's more a book that gives you all the background information about wine you'll ever need. You'll really feel like an expert after reading this book. It's pretty super-awesome; after all, it is America's bestselling wine book.

Tomorrow: a really, really big wine reference book.

Wine Week! Wine book review: Oldman's Brave New World of Wine

Wine Week continues here on Broke Foodie! This week: I review all different kinds of wine books (just in time for the holidays). Next week: I drink wine, and tell you about it.
The two books I've reviewed so far this week concentrated on the most affordable wines, for average people. Those books were essentially buying guides for regular people.
Oldman's Brave New World of Wine by Mark Oldman is a book about all kinds of wine, from the cheap end of the market to the expensive end, and it's an educational book as much as it is a buying guide. That's why I really like this one--because it teaches me something new about wine, in addition to showing me what specific bottles I'm most likely to enjoy.

Also because it has really fun charts.

For each section, it plots the different varietals against Adventure and Price. So an average Malbec will rank low for both Adventure and Price, but Reds from the Loire will rank much higher in Adventure. Classic Cabernet will rank high in Price, but low in Adventure. And so on.

There are great random bits of information scattered throughout, fun lists (vegetarian friendly wines, best wines to go with bacon, good wines for Thanksgiving, and so on), and lots of stories. Basically, after reading this book, not only will you feel like a wine expert, but you'll want to drink a lot of it. I support that.

Tomorrow: the first of the really big wine reference guides.