Flank steak is an under-appreciated cut of beef – probably because it is very tough if you don’t cook it the right way. It comes from the abdominal muscles of the cow and is long and flat, with a strong grain. I like it because it is cheap, flavorful, and the toughness is not a problem if you cut across the grain. One of the most common uses for flank steak is stir fry – in fact, when you buy “stir fry” beef at the grocery, it is probably sliced flank steak. I will demonstrate how to do a stir fry in my update on week 11 of the CSA. For now, I will give a couple of other examples of ways to use flank steak.

A spinach salad with bacon, potatoes, steak, and blue cheese dressing is delicious and filling, and perfect for summer. This dish makes me laugh, though, because I originally bought the steak to please my husband, who was getting tired of all the veg from the CSA. And what did I do with it? Put it in a salad! Poor Jasper, oh well.

Start by frying chopped bacon, then fry some baby potatoes in the bacon fat.

Meanwhile, cook your flank steak to medium-rare in a skillet or on the grill. You can see the heavy grain I was talking about in this picture. Once the meat has had a chance to rest, slice it thinly against the grain.

Pile everything on top of some baby spinach, and top with a blue cheese and buttermilk dressing.

—–

My second dish is Asian inspired: hoisin glazed flank steak with scallion rice.

Start by preparing your steak (again, you can see the striated grain in this picture): brush the steak with hoisin sauce (add Sriracha if you are a spicy fan), and grill 2-3 minutes per side (I used a panini grill). Rest, and slice thinly.

Meanwhile, make the rice. Slice a few scallions (green and white parts) thinly. Cook jasmine rice according to directions, adding the scallion whites at the beginning. Stir in the scallion greens when the rice is finished cooking.

Serve the steak with the rice and some quick pickles.

—–

Spinach Salad with Steak and Blue Cheese Dressing

adapted from Real Simple

Serves 4

4 oz sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-in pieces

8 oz Yukon gold or fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2-in pieces

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 1/2 lbs flank steak

3 oz blue cheese, crumbled (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 scallion, chopped

8 cups baby spinach, washed and drained

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the potatoes to the bacon drippings, season with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a second large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly against the grain.

In a small bowl, mix together the blue cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, scallion, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Divide the spinach among plates, top with the steak, bacon, and potatoes, and drizzle with the dressing.

Hoisin Grilled Steak with Scallion Rice

Serves 4

Adapted from Real Simple

2 cups jasmine rice

2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

4 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp Sriracha or Asian chili-garlic sauce (optional)

1 1/2 pounds flank steak, cut into 4 pieces

For an Asian quick pickle:

1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)

Cook the rice according to the package directions, adding the scallion whites to the rice at the beginning, and the scallion greens at the end.

Meanwhile, heat grill to medium-high and brush with canola oil. In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin and Sriracha, if using. Brush the steak with half of the hoisin mixture and grill, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Brush again with the remaining hoisin mixture. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly against the grain.

In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber with the vinegar, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the steak and rice and sprinkle with the peanuts, if using.

In the crate this week:
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
2 Korean Melons
Chinese Melon
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Corn
Large tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Peaches
Plums (more…)

Lots of good stuff this week!
Cantaloupe
Peaches
Plums
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Bell peppers
Corn
Cucumbers
Squash
Zucchini
Kale (more…)

This is one of my husband’s favorite entrees – which is great because it is actually healthy! Ground turkey is mixed with sauteed onions and spinach to make meatloaves that are super moist and flavorful.

The first step is to pulse a slice of wheat bread into crumbs in a food processor, then soak with lowfat milk.

Next, saute a diced onion and wilt baby spinach.

Add the spinach and onions to the breadcrumbs, along with ground turkey, Parmesan cheese, and egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (more…)

In the crate:
1 cantaloupe
pint of blueberries
small peaches
Swiss chard
2 bell peppers
tomatoes
cucumbers
zucchini
yellow squash
onions
green beans (more…)

While picking up my CSA crate at Whole Foods – I noticed that they had a new product at the cheese counter – Burrata cheese. Burrata is a fantastic variation of fresh mozzarella that is stuffed with cream, making it much softer. I knew that I must have some so I snatched it up.

I also found a lovely assortment of cherry tomatoes, which I cut in half and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.

Then I topped them with sea salt and fresh basil.

I purchased some fresh bread which I sliced, brushed with olive oil, and toasted in the oven.

I topped the cheese and bread with the tomato salad, and drizzled everything with balsamic vinegar. Spreading the soft cheese onto the bread was sort of luxurious; and the tart pop of the tomatoes, sweet tang of the vinegar, and freshness of the basil were the perfect accompaniments.

I still had some of the tomato salad left over after the bread and cheese were gone. So I threw it into the blender with some garlic to make a fresh pasta sauce.

It’s gonna be a short post this week because right after I picked up my basket I left town for a week! But I am doing a post anyway to show you what I got from the CSA and give you tips on storing produce.

In the crate:
lots of onions
red potatoes
beets
Swiss chard
cucumbers
zucchini
blueberries
white cherries! I had never seen these before! They are lovely and very sweet.

Storing Produce

– Heartier vegetables like the squash will be fine in the refrigerator for a week.

– Cucumbers will not last as long as the squash, nor will they freeze well – UNLESS you make freezer pickles. Mix white vinegar and sugar together (adding flavorings like celery seed and dill if you like); pour over sliced cucumbers and onions; chill in the refrigerator for a couple of days, stirring occasionally; freeze in containers and enjoy whenever – best when not completely thawed.

– Beets will keep for several weeks, but the greens wont – so cut those off and use them or get rid of them.

– Store potatoes in a dark, cool place – like your pantry.

– Chard and kale are pretty sturdy, they might last as long as a week depending on the freshness.

– Berries do not last long at all – freeze them if you are not going to use them quickly (pit cherries first, hull strawberries)

– Finely dice extra onion and carrot and freeze. Use for the base of stews, soups, and braises. The green tops of onions, spring onions, scallions, can also be cut up and frozen (to be used in cooked, not raw preparations).

– Unfortunately celery does not freeze well or I would add it to the above for mirepoix. The ice crystals destroy the cellular structure and turn it to mush. The same goes for lettuce and cabbage. You can however attempt to rescue these vegetables (and others) by soaking them in cold water if they are wilted. Usually, they will absorb the water and become refreshed.

I hope that was helpful!

You may be wondering what happened to week 5 – unfortunately I was unable to pick up my share that weekend. Not to worry – when this happens the food is donated, not thrown out.

In the crate:
2 bunches of beets, one large, one small
spring onions
large onions
kale
tomatoes
cherries
blueberries
yellow zucchini
zucchini
globe zucchini
yellow squash
cucumbers (more…)

I LOVE banana bread. I always buy too many bananas so that I will have extra to make banana bread. My husband really loves it in muffin form (as opposed to loaf form) and especially with chocolate chips. This recipe makes moist muffins, loaded with lots of banana, and with a wonderful chewy top. I think they are best hot out of the oven, Jasper likes them at room temperature.

I start by getting all my ingredients ready. Dry: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Wet: eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla. And four ripe, mashed bananas.

After beating the wet ingredients together and slowly adding the dry, then mixing in the bananas and chocolate chips, you will have your batter.

Use an ice cream scooper to get the batter into the muffin tin – it makes it easier and ensures that your muffins are equal in size. For this recipe, I do recommend using muffin papers.

If you have extra overripe bananas, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze them. They make great smoothies!

Bake for 25 minutes – and enjoy your muffins! Extras can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and frozen.

The Best Banana Bread Muffins
Adapted from Food Network
makes 24 muffins or 2 loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 lg eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (or 350 for loaves).

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.

Divide the batter among 2 muffin tins lined with paper cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly.

(If making loaves, divide batter between 2 loaf pans. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about an hour and 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.)