Conscientious Choices: Our Last CSA Day

My newfound interest in baking is getting me in trouble.  I mean, what was I supposed to do with all those apples anyway.  Sure, I ate them raw, admittedly, two or three a day.  But then there was the apple pie.  Let's not even discuss the two batches of apple cheddar scones.  (All you other bloggers aren't helping, you know!)  The word gluttony never came to mind while I was slathering butter on my second, dare I say third warm scone.  Yes, I have been over-indulging and I certainly feel it.  If this keeps up pretty soon I will be able to see it.  It isn't even Thanksgiving and there are still more flour-based, butter laden, possibly even meat or cheese filled adventures to be had. Somewhere in my days I need to exercise some constraint.  Or just exercise.

I will never count calories.  It just isn't who I am.  I will never use measuring cups and scales to control the portions of my food.  I have a few simple and pleasant dieting rules: 1) No skipping meals.  If I ate a little too much the night before, of course, I am not going to be hungry the next morning.  Skipping meals always makes things worse and I am always inclined to do it.  2)  Avoid seconds and know when I am full.  This is hard.  3)  Less meat and dairy and more vegetables.  That's easy.  I love vegetables.  4) Lay off the refined white sugar and flour.  Alas, my downfall these last couple of weeks.

So essentially, I am just eating different things.  Swapping out ingredients.  I like that much better than "dieting."  I can't think of an uglier word.  Lucky for me I don't have any food hang ups.  Scratch that.  I have a few but namely in the form of processed or bad quality foods.  I am not a fan of most packaged foods and the smell of old frying oil used in a fast food chain is vile.  Any well prepared ingredient, however, I will eat.  Alligator meat?  Shark cartilage?  Malaysian pig intestines? Why not?  So needless to say, I can shift ingredients for a while. (At least until the next blog post!)  As much as I love my more decadent dishes, I also like the culinary creativity this offers me.  It forces me to try new whole grains and combine flavors in new ways.

Our Last CSA Share of the Season

Wheatberry Salad with Roasted Beets, Turnips and Pomegranate Seeds Served in a Roasted Acorn Squash

• 1 1/2 cups wheatberries
• 3 beets 
• 1 red onion
• 1 bunch of turnip heads
• Half a pomegranate seeded
• Sweet Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt 
• lemon

For a salad like this I boil the wheatberries like I would pasta.  Be aware that it takes a long time to cook.    Maybe 45 minutes to an hour.  I get these going first and then work on the other ingredients.

Toss the beets, turnips and onion with a little salt and olive oil.  Then bake them in the oven at 400 degrees until tender.

The coconut oil is the consistency of soft butter.  You can just spread it on the halved squash. They will roast in the oven with your beets and turnips at 400 degrees.

Here are the vegetables right out of the oven!

Don't forget to add these in when you toss your beets with the wheatberries.

Apple Salad with Turnip Greens

• sliced apples
• turnip greens
• lemon
• olive oil 
• salt

I made a quick salad to accompny the main with apples tossed with fresh lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  It always amazes me how the simplest fresh ingredients can be so good.  I used the greens from the Japanese turnips in the wheatberry salad.  They have a taste like mustard greens that is a nice compliment to the sweetness of the apples.  Besides, I don't like waste.

I promise for this one night you will not miss your dairy, meat, sugar or white flour!  Besides you can have them tomorrow!