CSA Week 6

We had so many plans for this beautiful box of goodies. Jeff loves blueberries, and I believe he just ate these, plain and simple. I was most excited about the kohlrabi. What's not to love about trying such an alien looking veggie?! I'd even found a promising recipe for the radishes that involved the garlic scapes and part of the dill. Unfortunately, many of our ideas and recipes never came to fruition-- if you read my last post, you know it's because of our dear Maggie.

It's hard to remain excited about trying new recipes while waiting on a pathology report. It's even harder to maintain it and follow through on cooking the chosen recipes once the pathology report comes back with bad news. We still managed cook up some goodies despite everything that's going on with our sweet girl (and yes, I do have a pillow that resembles her!).

First up on the list was a garlic scape pizza. We love pizza around here, and we needed a new way to use the scapes. We love everything we've tried so far, but part of the joy of a CSA box is trying new things. So when I ran across a recipe for a garlic scape pizza made with a beer crust, I could not resist! We didn't really follow the recipe since we lean towards a vegetarian diet, but it was certainly a source of great inspiration. It also offered a way to create your own beer dough which was important since such specialty items are often not available in our area.

We halved the dough recipe since we were cooking for two. We'd hoped to use a local beer, but the store was out of single bottles. We went with a Fat Tire since that has worked well in other recipes. Other than following the dough recipe, everything went along as any other make your pizza might go.

I topped mine with the garlic scapes, a bit of kale we snagged at the Farmer's Market, and some fake bacon along with our favorite combo of mozzarella and freshly shaved parmesan reggiano. Jeff's is the same, but he added some oyster mushrooms left over from last week's CSA box.  I highly recommend this "recipe" because the scapes made for a flavor topping, and the dough offered a light yet tasty crust. Plus, the great thing about homemade pizza is everyone can pretty much do whatever he or she wants with it.

Another highlight this week were the summer squash sandwiches (from Earthy Feast) made with both CSA and Farmer's Market goodies. The recipe came with an aioli recipe, but we ended up using a more basic aioli recipe and adapted it to use the scapes. I really just didn't feel like buying a jar of mayo that would probably not get used again. I'm sure it would taste great though as the squash turned out excellent! As a side we made cooked up some garlicky dill fries-- sweet and regular (forgive the awful picture!).

Finally, we managed to try out the kohlrabi. Saveur had a recipe for a warm potato and kohlrabi salad. I really wish it had a different name as the term "potato salad" brings terrible images to my mind. I'm sorry if you love it, but I just think of warm mayo on a hot day. Blah! Thankfully this was far from it!

To change it from a side dish to a main dish (keep in mind, we also halved this recipe too), we topped it with an egg. Our local supply is supposed to be okay despite the national shortage. I hope it remains true because an egg is such an excellent way to round out meals! We also added some of the kale because our kohlrabi didn't come with the greens, and like many people say, "Everything is better with bacon." Except we used fake bacon. It still makes everything better!

We get a new basket this evening. Hopefully with the new basket and some encouragement from Maggie (despite being a feline, she manages to inspire us because she is that awesome!), we'll be better about cooking and keeping track of it during week 7.

Wisconsin Part 3... AKA I Gorged Myself on Sweet Treats

Seriously. I ate A LOT. I think I may have indulged more than Jeff. Of course that's really not a surprise considering I'm the one constantly justifying purchases of several Ben and Jerry's pints. But I digress.

After checking spending the afternoon in downtown New Glarus munching on this...

I have no idea what it is because I was trying to eat it, hold my purse, and hold a bag of other treats so I could proceed into another place filled with sweet treats. This mystery chocolate item came from The New Glarus Bakery. I also got a delish mini cream horn from the bakery. I did not take a photo because I was too busy annihilating it. Don't let my flat ass fool you. Seriously. After eating the cream horn and the chocolate mystery, we checked out The Maple Leaf Chocolate and Cheese Haus. Again I have no photos. I was way too busy eating. Their fudge was wicked good though. They even had a batch made with Serendipity!   


Somehow after an afternoon filled with beer and chocolate, I still needed dinner. I'm a sucker for good Italian. So we hit up Tutto Pasta Trattoria. It was amazeballs! I ordered spaghetti carbonara.

I don't know if it was my lack of weight or lack of looking Italian, but as soon as I said, "I'll have the spaghetti carbonara," the waiter said, "You know that comes with pancetta which is basically fancy bacon?"

Duh. Isn't that half the reason people order carbonara? Who doesn't like fancy bacon? Hell, they make Fakin' because regular bacon is so awesome vegetarians don't want to give it up completely. So, yes. I know what the fuck pancetta is! Bring it on!

Jeff had something with mushrooms. So I pretended it didn't exist. Seriously people. You're eating fungus!

We also had blueberry cheesecake! Yummy!

After dinner, I really wanted to check out this cute shop, Little Luxuries. Thank God they had that Maggie pillow (from the first Wisconsin blog post) in the window. That's how I got Jeff to let me go inside! The shop was super cute. I could have purchsased several items, but I settled on the Maggie pillow and this gem of a mug.

What can I say? I love Scrabble and tea.

Overall, we had a good time. Madison and its outlying areas have plenty to offer. I hope to return because surprisingly a weekend is not enough time to see everything I wanted to see in Wisconsin.

P.S.
I also recommend the following places, but sadly I do not have photos to post (probably because I was too busy eating, or I got lazy because I was so full from all the delicious beer and food):

The Capital Tap Haus

The Chocolate Shoppe

Wisconsin Part 2... AKA Beer!

Clearly I'm behind on this blog thing, espeially considering I left you hanging last time with promises of a goat and oodles of beer. I really am sorry, but I've been busy grading papers, doing other teacher stuff, trying to find a non-sexist wedding card, getting a bitchin' tattoo (yes, this is very important business, especially when it's a silhouette of your cat), and hoping my car doesn't explode. Seriously. I thought it might explode. It's been in the shop for a week with a bad spark plug... explosion totally possible in my book.

In all honesty, I should still be grading papers right now, but I assigned myself this blog post before I assigned the work that I need to grade. Blog post wins. Plus, I have until Tuesday to finish the grading. Another win for this blog post. Okay. Moving on to the promised beer and goat.

As you know, that is if you read Wisconsin Part 1, Jeff and I took a trip to Wisconsin. I told Jeff I wanted to go hiking, and he said, "Okay, but when do we get to do any 'Jeff' stuff on this trip?" There was a long pause while I stared at him. I'm sure you can imagine what that stare might have looked like. And then Jeff said, "Oh yeah. We're going to the brewery. This trip is basically made for me. Oops." Oh, Jeff, how I love thee.

Now, I'm no beer aficionado like Jeff, but I do know that The New Glarus Brewing Company is amazing. And I'm totally the one who introduced it to Jeff. That's right. I'm awesome.

This is what started it all. I have no idea about the specifics of this machine, but I do know going from that...

... to having this giant red building, large enough to house multiple pilot machines, as your waste management building at your brewery means you've come pretty far. By the way, I forgot that's what the building was when I took the picture. I was all, "What's this pretty building?" Snap. Snap. "Oh. Yeaaaaah. It's their waste management building. Oh well. It's still pretty."

Of course, we did not leave the brewery without a tasting. The ever-famous Spotted Cow, Moon Man, Black Top, Totally Naked, and Two Women were available for tasting. A limited addition, Serendipity, was also available for tasting in a pint. We decided just to go for a beer flight each (is that what it's always called? Or does it depend on how many you try?).

I tried Moon Man, a No-Coast Pale Ale. It was incredibly hoppy. I hated it, mostly because I hate pale ales. I chose it for the name. It just goes to show you how much I love beer! Jeff on the other hand, went with a Black Top, a black IPA. Jeff says it was pretty good. I swear. I just asked him, and he shot me a look and said, "Really? Just say it was pretty good." He's going to be so mad when he reads this. I love you, Jeff!

Jeff cheated. He took a fucking sip before I could take my fucking picture. I don't actually care. It just bugs me because the levels don't match. But I digress.  I chose Two Women, again because I liked the name. Smash the patriarchy with beer! Turns out, it too is gross in my opinion. So Jeff and I switched. He originally had Totally Naked. He thought it was too light. But that my friends, is right up my alley-- if it's not a wheat ale, I like it light!

We both chose Spotted Cow for our last taste. It's a classic. Also, Jeff is super cute. He looks like a professional beer taster.

And we also bought beer to bring back home. This is everything, excluding the spare bottles of Spotted Cow and Dancing Man Wheat. So what have we got?

First there is the Edel-Pils. They call it a Bohemian Pilsner. The only pilsners I "like" taste like water. Good luck, Jeff. Next, there's Spotted Cow. It's a farmhouse ale, and it's delicious. Third in line is the Dancing Man Wheat. I requested the second bottle, and I'm glad I did. We just tried it today. New Glarus says, "If you dream of wheat this brew will get your toes tapping... Lick the foam from your mouth and admit sometimes you just gotta get up and dance." I kind of wanted to do a jig after drinking it. I almost like it more than Spotted Cow... I feel terrible for saying that. Anywho.

Jeff digs Two Women, the beer. The feminist in me wants to love it. It's called Two Women for a reason. New Glarus says, "Four thousand years before Christ, Sumerian women created the divine drink of beer. Viking women brewed in Norse society. European Ale Wives were so successful as cottage brewers they were taxed. Artisanal women lost their domination of the daily ritual of brewing during the Industrial Revolution. Today’s brewing trade is controlled by men." BUT. Two craft companies led by women, New Glarus Brewing and Weyermann Malting, combined their powers to create Two Women. Sadly my taste buds do not like it. I support it though!

What's next? I still haven't figured out what's going on with the red caps... oh, they're a part of their Thumbprint series. Basically, the brew-master gets jiggy (or is it giggy?) with it, and creates whatever he wants, and then it's usually never made again. This one is a Berliner Weiss. Jeff was so kind, picking beers I might actually like. The brew-master also made a beer to celebrate the brewery's anniversary: The Anniversary Strong Ale. I won't be partaking in that one.

And finally, the one I am most excited about, Serendipity. Usually New Glarus puts out a Cherry Tart of some sort. However, the cherry season did not go very well. So the brew-master worked his magic, and he used the cherries he was able to find, cranberries, and apples to make Serendipity. If it's anything like The Raspberry or Cherry Tart, I'm sure it will be simply amazing.

Okay. That was more typing than I expected. I didn't even get into as much detail about the beer like I planned to do. So much for this being a two post trip. I promised a goat though.

This is why I wanted to go to Wisconsin. I wanted to mini-golf with goats. But it rained. I was so fucking pissed. But by golly, I got a photo of a goat. Jeff didn't think it was real. He was wrong. It moved... a lot. Plus, I said goodbye to the goat because that's the kind of gal I am, and you know what the goat did? He said, "Baaah!" I shit you not. The goat responded to my farewell. Someday I will mini-golf with this goat and many other goats. And Jeff of course.

Wisconsin Part 1

Spoiler Alert/Warning: I am going back to my old writing style which involves cursing. You are warned.

So Jeff and I took a trip to Wisconsin. It sounds totally lame, but it was far from lame. It's no Florida, but it was better than no vacation. Plus, I got this rockin' pillow!

You might think it's creepy, but I think it's awesome. It is a pillow and a Maggie look-alike all rolled into one.

Anywho. Maggie pillow aside, this trip contained too much awesomeness for one post. Today I'll cover the hiking... and some randomness. Part 2 will cover most of the beer. Yes, there was that much beer! Don't worry. It was a classy affair-- microbreweries and tastings. It's like the man's version of visiting a winery. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good beer, but I'm no connoisseur like Jeff. But I digress.

First of all, we found 39 states on our road trip. Yes. We played the license plate game. What of it? It was a road trip. Road trips are boring as fuck if you don't find something to do. Sure, I read a book, but my eyes get tired if I read for too long, and my brain wonders into dark and strange places if all I do is stare out the window. So we played the license plate game. Word of warning: it becomes more of a competition when you're in your late twenties. I thought I saw New Mexico at the rest stop so Jeff ran over to confirm. It was New Mexico. We high-fived. We also scoured our hotel parking lot... twice. Somehow this will have to be contained when have children, or they will turn into assholes.

After arriving in Wisconsin we hit up the Ale Asylum. We were mostly hungry, but we also wanted some local beer. Jeff got some avocado wrap thing. I went with the pulled pork sandwich... on a pretzel bun. I sent a picture to my parents, and my mom was all "I thought you didn't like pulled pork." I just like good pulled pork. Sorry mom. It's true. I'm a food snob. Accept when it comes to Cracker Barrel. That shit is good. As for the beer...

I tried out Unshadowed. Ale Asylum says "this classic German Hefe-Weizen is soft and uber refreshing. It is light golden in color, with a hazy appearance. It has a hint of bananas and cloves in the aroma, and a tantalizing sweetness in the finish. If a dewy Spring meadow had a flavor, Unshadowed would be that flavor." This description is spot on. I don't even like bananas! Also, now that I think about it, I don't know if I'd say this tasted like a dewy Spring meadow, but it was still delicious. Also, if you are a student, please note how I properly cited my source. It's really not that difficult. 

Jeff's beer was gross. But that's probably because I don't have a refined palate. I also don't like beer like he does. If it's a wheat ale, I'll probably dig it. If it's anything else, I won't like it unless it tastes like water. So I like wheat ales and shitty beer. But if you like beer, well good beer, you might like Jeff's choice, the Sticky McDoogle. It has the best name ever. You can kind of see it in the background of the above picture. According to Ale Asylum this "traditional Scotch ale is full-bodied with an earthy aroma. It has a smooth malt presence, with just the right touch of hops for a balanced, clean finish." Jeff isn't here so I don't know if he would say, "Yeah! Exactly." I do know he thought the Sticky McDoogle was tasty. Ha. That's funny. You know you're thinking what I'm thinking. Also, again, if you're a student... I totally credited my source again!

We pretty much fell asleep after this. Well, first we sat in the jacuzzi for a few minutes because the "heated" pool was fucking frigid. Then a little girl kept splashing me while I tried to dry off. Then I realized I was turning into my mother. I literally thought, "What the fuck? Why isn't her mom correcting her behavior? My mom would never let me splash like that, especially with people around. Seriously, why won't she stop splashing. This is so annoying. FUCK. I'm turning into my mother. She totally thought this about kids when I was a kid, except her thoughts weren't laced with F-bombs. I'm turning into a F-bomb dropping version of my mom. Fuck me."Then we went upstairs because Jeff could tell I was annoyed.  

We totally crashed. Really it was a good thing because I was not prepared for the next day's hike, even with a decent night's rest. Apparently my body is falling apart. I knew I had issues, but I never thought I'd be in the middle of the woods pointing to locations on my body while Jeff took pictures so I could show them to the doctor instead of trying to remember where it hurt and totally failing. 

At least the hike was pretty. If you have allergies, take some fucking Allegra before you go! These beautiful butterflies were all over the place, but where there are butterflies, there is pollen. Guess who forgot to take her Allegra? Me. 

It did not stop me though. You don't get between this girl and a trail with a bad ass waterfall. Not even you, pollen.

Especially when there's a teetering log involved. Please don't tell my doctor or physical therapist.

Next up: Beer! Beer! And more beer! There may also be a goat. See, now you're intrigued. Seriously, you better read Part 2. Whenever I get around to writing it.