From the Kitchen of Sunrise Cottage

I have to take this time and space to shamelessly brag about my gorgeous new daughter and my amazing wife. Istra Susannah (Izzy Sue) was born to us in our home sans medication on Saturday night, May 12th. Her sisters adore her already and Nora has gone from calling her 'strawberry' to calling her 'biscuit'. Arugula I love arugula but I am not sure what else to do with it beyond salads and pesto. In salads it goes well with something creamy (goat cheese, creamy dressing) or something sweet (fruits- fresh or dried) to balance its spiciness. The pesto goes well on potatoes, pasta, bread or in creamy...

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A Great Read I don't think I have ever read anything else that I felt so "empathized with." That is to say, it was delightful to read about a couple starting a farm and struggling through the seasons that came. We laughed, we cried, we nodded our  heads in understanding, we shook our heads in awe and disbelief. Mark and Kristin farm in the North Country of Northern New York . Their farm provides an annual FULL DIET (!) CSA sold in individual shares. Full Diet means, if you join their CSA you don't have to go to the grocery unless  you want lemons, or olive oil. I think they...

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This box brings us one step closer to summertime with the arrival of the summer squash, yet the broccoli reminds us that there is still springtime eating to be done.  I hope you enjoy your box this week. Scallions Green onions can be used as a marinade or salad dressing if you put them into the blender with some salt, pepper, olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and parsley or cilantro. Just blend it up and use it as a marinade for chicken, tilapia, or snapper or as a dressing for your salads. Another delicious way to use scallions is by making shrimp and grits and topping...

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“Breakfast! Better than talking.” -Duffle the Dwarf (from The Horse and His Boy) Strawberries Over the weekend we made waffles and topped them with sliced strawberries and whipped cream which was indeed better than talking. The same could be done with pancakes or french toast. You can make stuffed french toast by taking 2 slices of toast and spreading some cream cheese (sweetened if you prefer) between them and letting them soak in beaten eggs, milk, and a splash of vanilla. If you have the forethought to let it soak overnight, all the better. Then you bake it in the oven on 375 for 20-30...

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    Strawberries Again my advice is just to eat them, but if you want to try something fancier I like the look of this recipe over at epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-Panna-Cotta-with-Strawberries-and-Honey-103528 I’m a sucker for creamy desserts and panna cotta is one of my favorites, it is simple to make and delicious. Kale I love kale in the fall in warm hearty soups, but that will never do in the springtime.  Similar to the Pac Choi/Bok Choy from last week’s box I am going to slice the kale across the leaf in ½ inch...

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I hope you are all as excited as I am about my first box of the season.  I arrived home about 5:30, a mere 2 short hours after box pick-up, and found half of the strawberries had already been eaten.  Seeing your kids enjoy them is almost as good as enjoying them yourself, almost.  I hope these recipes will encourage you as you cook your way through your CSA this year.  If you have questions or need elaboration please feel free to ask.  Without further ado, let's get cooking! Strawberries Slice.  Eat.  Repeat.  Or don't slice if you prefer.  I like mine in the morning with yogurt...

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I wish I had gotten a picture of this lovely spring box. You will find: STRAWBERRIES SPRING ONIONS MIXED LETTUCES PAC CHOI/BOK CHOY If you feel you have enough berries, which may be questionable, I love a salad with chopped onions and strawberries and a balsamic viniagrette. My basic viniagrette recipe is basically 1/2 olive oil, 1/2 balsamic--the key is a quality product for each of those--watch out for regular vinegar with caramel coloring!!

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  I am not good at blog pictures. Don't know why some of us are cut out of certain images, but if I keep working on it, I will go crazy. Which is something I don't need right now. :) These are our first just "Chris Murray Family" pictures since last April. It is time to update our "Hens and Eggs Family Shot" for market display. In our current one, HJ is still in utero!

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Ok, it was a model airplane.  Kyle ran it into the tree branches. Good  job, Kyle. J/K. It made for some fun times.

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If you had stopped by Sunrise Cottage today around the dinner hour, we would have invited you to have a "Fatback Sandwich" with the Farmer and I. The young'uns opted for cheese quesadillas and some leftover pork chop. Our fatback, called by some "strick-o-lean", others "lean and streaky," is essentially uncured bacon. There is a bit of meat and it fries up beautifully because it is so beautifully fatty. On my sandwich was cheddar cheese, mayo, avocado, fatback and canned tomatoes! I had opened a can (jar) for Battle-girl recently that we hadn't used up, and I thought, "why not?" The flavor is amazing....

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