Your Votes in Action

A while back I asked for your advice on which eyeglasses frames I should choose. You promptly voted and I had a clear winner. Unfortunately, I sat on your input for weeks (MONTHS) and when I finally went back to get my glasses, the frames you chose were no where to be found. I did take the pictures of the frames you most liked, though, and used your advice to choose some comparable styles.

Since I waited so long, I got a great deal, where I managed to get two pairs of complete glasses for less than I paid for a single pair the last time I bought new frames (at least three years ago).

Ta-da!

Pair #1:



And pair #2:



(I know, I know. They're very similar. It's very funny how you don't realize these things until you're taking pictures of yourself.)

Thanks for the great advice, dear readers. I should come to you with all my life altering style questions from now on.

CSA Shares - Weeks 10, 11 and 12

For the record -

Week 10

• 2 heads of lettuce
• 2 yellow squash
• 1 zucchini
• 1 cucumber
• small bunch of chard
• 1 tomato
• large bunch of scallions

Week 11

• 2 yellow squash
• 4 small apples
• 2 tomatoes
• possibly something else I'm forgetting, but this week was a pretty small share

Week 12

• 2 yellow squash
• 4 lbs tomatoes
• 2 apples
• 1 bunch chard
• 1 pint yellow pear tomatoes (like cherry tomatoes only yellow and pear shaped)
• 1 pint raspberries
  

Change Is In the Air

I'm having a hard time posting here these days, as you can tell. I'm not sure if it's a lack of time, motivation or content that keeps me from writing. Maybe it's bit of everything.

Since I can't seem to write about much other than the food I bring home and the meals I prepare, I've been thinking about why I started blogging in the first place and where this little old blog is headed. I like connecting with other people through my blogs, and I don't feel like lists of CSA shares and the occasional recipe are building my blogging community. At the same time, fresh food and cooking are things that I'm really enjoying right now. Everything has its season, and maybe Writing: My Life isn't where I'm at anymore. Or maybe this little old space just needs a makeover of sorts.

As I figure out where I'm going, I'll share with you here. In the meantime, I'm writing more at Write Out Loud. I'm taking on more freelance projects. I'm reading a lot and I'm playing around with some personal creative writing projects. You'll also find me on Twitter. I hope you'll keep in touch and keep me in your readers. I'll be back. I promise.

CSA Report - Week 9

We got our first heirloom tomatoes this week! Unfortunately, you won't see it in that picture below because I promptly sliced it and ate it before remembering to take the photo. I got another good-sized share this week:

• 2 lbs potatoes
• .25 lb chard
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 large tomato (not pictured)
  
• 1 yellow squash
  

I finally cooked up those mustard greens from last week with a little red onion, some garlic and olive oil, cooking them down until they were really well-done. They were a little bitter, but that might have had more due to the fact that I waited so long to cook them. I could definitely taste the mustard flavor in them, which I found really interesting.

Looking forward to using up this week's share...

OLS Week 9 - Balsamic Eggplant and Tomato Stacks

Last year I made Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Stacks. They were a big hit and I wanted to make them again, this time with local chevre. I did NOT, however, want to turn on the oven to roast the eggplant, what with the 90 degree weather this weekend.

Instead, I decided to grill the eggplant slices. I marinated them in balsamic vinegar and olive oil and tossed them on the old George Foreman until they were tender. Then I stacked the slices with chevre, basil, and tomato slices. I drizzled them with balsamic vinegar and savored every bite. As Rachel Ray would say, Yum-O!

(Local Low-Down: eggplant, tomatoes and chevre from the farmers market and basil from my back yard. Vinegar and olive oil not local.)

I also made a few mostly local dishes throughout the week. There was the Spinach and Goat Cheese Pasta (all local but the pasta, salt and pepper and oil). This dinner was delicious and the leftovers were just as good. I ate them several nights in a row.

For lunch during the week, I made a local Caprese Salad (all the ingredients were local except the balsamic vinegar and olive oil) with a piece of local baguette to sop up the extra balsamic vinegar.

It's been a great week for local eating!