As I mentioned in the last post, I’m splitting the fall share with one of my neighbors. I liked the every-other-week format Nichols Farm introduced this year. Although I didn’t get to sample everything they offer in their CSA (because some items only last a week), it was easier to use everything up. Because the fall CSA runs every week for seven weeks (through mid-December), I am happy to have someone who wants to share.
Chicagoans have been lucky this year. There have been many beautiful fall days. Still, it’s been chilly enough to crave comfort foods, including one of my favorites—oven fried chicken. I have two recipes that I rotate. I make this spicy oven fried chicken if I've planned ahead, and I riff on this recipe if I need a spur-of-the-moment dinner. I make the second recipe with bone-in chicken; I follow the instructions for breading it and bake it a little longer.
What better to go with oven-fried chicken than mashed potatoes? I made mashed potatoes and rutabaga, which, according to my toddler “smelled," but I thought it tasted delicious.
I brushed the carnival squash with a mustard glaze and baked it. It tasted like fall.
Try one of these easy recipes
I’m becoming a big fan of sheet-pan or one-pan recipes. Although they require the same prep as other types of meals (scrubbing, chopping, seasoning), everything just gets poured into a sheet pan or baking dish and placed into the oven. I don’t need to watch over pans on the stove, and can take some time to catch up on my to-do list while the house fills with the delicious smell of dinner cooking.
Here are a few of the recipes I’ve made recently. I think the shrimp one might be my favorite. It’s worth making just for the kimchi rice.
Baked tilapia: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/baked-tilapia-with-tomatoes-and-potatoes-recipe.html
Roasted hot honey shrimp: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-hot-honey-shrimp-with-bok-choy-and-kimchi-rice-51261050
Baked snapper with harissa new potatoes and spring onions: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/baked-snapper-with-harissa-new-potatoes-and-spring-onions