Sharing the Share: CSA Week #7, garden goodies, and muffins

Lots of good stuff going on here produce-wise, between our share and the vegetables we’re starting to harvest in the garden! First, the share. This week included:

• beets
• fennel!!!
• (more) carrots – which is great; but we still have a big bag from the last time carrots were in the share. I’m not complaining, it’s just…a lot of carrots. Maybe I’ll have to make carrot cake?
• scallions
• 1 yellow squash
• 2 zucchini
• 2 cucumbers
• asian braising greens
• spinach

You can probably see the pattern by now: we get the braising greens and spinach every week, which is nice. It’s great to have all the color coming in, and I already have a few recipes planned to test!

Besides what’s in the share, we also are starting to harvest some vegetables in the garden. Want to see how my garden grows?

Look what I harvested today!! BEETS!!!! I am so excited! This is the first time I’ve successfully grown them. This bunch is the golden globe variety; in the background you can see some darker bronze/purply foliage — those are bull’s blood beets, which are not quite ready yet. So very, very exciting (to me.)

Also, I planted three pickling cucumber plants. I’ve never grown cucumbers before and was curious to see how they’d do.

Well.

They’re really rolling in…I picked about 6 last week, and today, picked 9 monsters (how do they grow so quickly?! Last week there were none that I could see remotely near harvesting size…a few nights of rain and look what happens.)

Have you ever noticed how all the things that taste great together ripen at about the same time? My dill plants are now about 4 feet tall, the flowers arranged in yellowish green sprays that look like fireworks. I cut a few heads, and will be using them with the cukes to make a few different kinds of pickles.

Slender, delicate purple beans have appeared; not yet ready for harvest, but they will be soon.

And the three buttercup squash vines seem to have developed a Napoleonic complex to take over the whole garden. We built a little trellis for them…however, I need to keep gently, but firmly, reminding them that they would be so much more comfortable there, rather than strangling the flowers in the adjacent bed. Hmmph. Anyhow, the bees have been busy pollinating the squash flowers and we have some cute little mini squashes starting to grow…

Speaking of bees: did I mention that the community garden plot is located right next to the Cornell bee lab? Lucky us! And, I suppose the bees like all the variety, too.

I’ll keep bringing you garden news as we get more in…sound good?

So: the recipe I have for you today is indeed those scallion goat cheese muffins I mentioned that I was planning to try when we got scallions in last week’s share.

I made them a few days ago, and they’re a treat! The only change I made was to use half white whole wheat flour instead of all white flour (I know, I know, so predictable.)

Enjoy!

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Scallion Goat Cheese Muffins

Adapted from Gourmet, January 1999

View printable recipe

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
4 ounces soft mild goat cheese
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute half white whole wheat flour, or try all whole wheat if you like!)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 bunch scallions

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and line a muffin cup pan with paper liners or silicone muffin cups.

Mix together the goat cheese and 2 tablespoons of the milk in a small bowl; set aside.

In one bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, and the rest of the milk. Add the scallions and stir to combine. Add this mixture to the flour mixture, and fold with a rubber spatula gently, until combined (try not to over-mix.)

Divide half of the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, then top each with about 2 teaspoons of the goat cheese mixture. Spoon the remaining batter on top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown and the tops spring back.

Makes 12 muffins.