Testing New Flavor Combinations - Braised Green Beans and Tomatoes by Patrice Hall

 Testing New Flavor Combinations - Braised Green Beans and Tomatoes

by Patrice Hall 

We have received lots of green beans lately, which I usually cook with carrots and onions like I learned from my Mom.  She would also cook green beans with potatoes, seasoned with just salt and pepper because she usually bought fresh green beans.  Today I saw this recipe for green beans and tomatoes, a food combo which I never thought about because I usually don’t eat tomatoes much.  So, this recipe from Southern Living will be my first inspiration to cook this dish.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. salted butter

1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed

5 large Roma tomatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup water

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. minced fresh chives (for garnish)

Directions

In a large skillet or braiser pan, melt butter over medium. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika; cook 5 to 8 minutes until onion is softened.

Add green beans, tomatoes, and water.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until green beans are softened and tomatoes have broken down. If green beans get too dry before they are tender, add additional water, 2 tablespoons at a time.

Stir in lemon juice and sprinkle with chives before serving.

You can find the recipe at SouthernLiving.com here. 

Sauteed green beans in a large blue and tan striped bowl.   Credit:

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox for Southern Living.

  

********** 

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page.

Guest Blog Post: Chicken Sliders Play-By-Play by Aaron Donato

 Guest Blog Post: Chicken Sliders Play-By-Play

by Aaron Donato

 

It was yet another deluge day. At times this summer it seems like the rain was never going to stop.  I returned to Woodlawn, the Bronx after a long day, battling the elements while working outside, and a crowded evening commute.  Wet and weary, I stumbled through the door with an appetite like a mosquito at a Red Cross drive. 

Lucky for me, my CSA and partner Chelsea had picked up our bountiful cornucopia box the day before, and it was time to whip up a delicious gourmet meal!  We set our Personal Record (PR) of incorporating 8 ingredients from the haul into our dinner. Chicken sliders seasoned generously with my eponymous “AA-1 meat seasoning” incorporating dried thyme. The burgers and toast were plated alongside a visually-chromatic salad featuring yellow wax beans, Walla Walla onions, tricolor carrots, an orange heirloom, and some green Negi scallion.  The wax beans squeaked on my teeth, like sneakers on basketball court, but surprisingly, this was a fun sensation!  Muddled CSA blueberries were featured in a spicy Calabrian chili-dressing for the salad.  The sliders were served atop a gluten free soda bread, homage to our neighborhood’s heritage. We washed it all down with a lime-infused spring water we collected on a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, just a few counties away from where all this fresh food starts its journey to the Bronx. 

After enjoying this meal, I felt totally recharged, able to put the long hard day behind me, feeling the strength to get up and do it again.  Nothing can beat a nice slow meal after a fast paced day.  

Photo of a smiling woman in front of two plates of food and glasses of water.  Photo by author.

 

FUN FACT

The Walla Walla onion is the state vegetable of Washington!

********** 

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page.

Sometimes Simple is Best by Wendy Myers-Jennings

 Sometimes Simple is Best

by Wendy Myers-Jennings

This week we got a lovely array of veggies in our box, including fresh thyme, eggplant, and yellow wax beans. I’ve been trying to do better at just preparing the veggies how I can instead of getting caught up in finding the perfect recipe that uses them all and then procrastinating. This was a lovely stir fry, using the recipe below but with added eggplant. Simple and yummy. Enjoy!

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/italian-yellow-flat-beans-with-olive-oil-garlic-and-tomatoes/

Sautee pan with cooked mixed vegetables.  Photo by author.

 

********** 

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page.

Fermentation Summer by Wendy Myers-Jennings

 Fermentation Summer

by Wendy Myers-Jennings

We as a family have been focusing more on our gut health, and so one way we're using our CSA veggies is to make fun ferments! In years past we would make vinegar pickles with our cucumbers, but this year we made fermented pickles instead! Make a salt brine and plunk your cucumbers in there - add any seasonings you prefer. Let it sit out for several days in a covered jar, burping the lid once a day. Once it reaches the desired taste, put in the fridge and enjoy!

 

Ball jar with homemade fermented pickled cucumbers.  Photo by author.

 

Another ferment we made was beet kvass - scrub your beets, chop, then put in a salty brine. I've read that beet ferments can get moldy easily, so if you can add some sort of fermentation starter to your jar (lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, kraut brine) then hopefully you can avoid mold! Beet kvass is a sour yeasty drink that is an amazing tonic for your liver and can be super helpful for constipation (not that I know anything about that...).

Ball jar with homemade fermented beets.  Photo by author.

Happy fermenting!

  

********** 

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page.

Cyclospora Outbreak: Do we have to cook lettuce? by Patrice Hall

 Cyclospora Outbreak: Do we have to cook lettuce?

By Patrice Hall

There has been some talk regarding the cyclospora outbreak this year, and the conversation has centered around possibly cooking lettuce.  According to the CDC, Cyclospora can pass to humans by consuming unwashed produce, however most people normally wash their produce before eating it.  On July 17, 2026, Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. Of course, our CSA sources our food from our local farm, Norwich Meadows farm.  This is the best reason to join a CSA; we can eliminate risks from overseas farms, our food is fresher because it is not traveling long distances, and we can always contact our farmer, Zaid, in case any issues arise.

The CDC site also states that the “best by” date has passed so the lettuce you would buy in grocery stores should be safe:

The best-by dates for these recalled products have passed and they should no longer be available in stores or restaurants. If you check your home and have recalled lettuce, do not eat it. Throw it away or return it. Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled lettuce using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.

 

Operative word here is “should”, we never know the daily practices of farms which we are not familiar with, let alone farms outside of the US.  The US imports lots of different food items which we do not grow domestically such as tropical fruit.  Lettuce is something we grow, however when you go to the supermarket or grocery store you have no idea where the items are grown.  Even mixed leaf salad kits have greens which are sourced from various locations, and they will be mixed so we wouldn’t know which portion was grown where.

 

So, to answer the question in the title, do we have to cook our lettuce?  My answer is, absolutely not if you are eating locally grown produce, just wash it as you normally would.  People who buy produce from supermarkets and grocery stores, maybe they have to just to be safe.  Nowadays there are many food recalls, just stay up to date on the latest, also keep the CDC’s website bookmarked (cdc.gov) for details.  

 

Details on the cyclospora outbreak can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/07-26/index.html

Also, here is an interesting article on bagged salad kits: https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/bagged-salad-history

 

Happy eating!

  

********** 

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page.

When in Doubt, Stir-Fry! by Wendy Myers-Jennings

When in Doubt, Stir-Fry! 

by Wendy Myers-Jennings 

This is our 4th or 5th CSA season and we are so excited to dive in to another summer and fall of yummy vegetables! For some reason, every year I have a hard time coming up with ways to prepare the vegetables we receive in the early weeks of the season. I am the only salad-eater in my home and since we tend to get a lot of lettuces and other leafy greens this time of year, I sometimes feel a bit lost as to what to cook. This year I am determined not to let this food go to waste; this week, my solution was a stir-fry!

Sautee pan on a stove with mixed vegetables and fava beans.  Photo by author.

In this stir-fry are fava beans, kale, green onions, and pac choi, along with a few non-CSA items. A simple sauce pulls it all together, served over rice. For the fava beans, in years past I blanched the beans to then peel the outer skin, but this year a CSA friend told me he never does! Verdict: I prefer the extra skin peeled, so blanching it is.

Enjoy!

Stir-fry adapted from the recipe, Rainbow Chicken Stir Fry.