CSA Week Five, Inspirations, and a Recipe

 

The pink eye peas were our favorite item in our Week Five CSA subscription box.

Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!  Today I'll be sharing our Week Five CSA subscription box, a recipe, and a few things that inspired me this past week.  Our subscription only lasts for ten weeks, so we're halfway through!  Below are photos of the veggies and things from last week's box.

Garden Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Blueberries, Endive, Onions, Chive & Basil Bundles, Rainbow Eggs, Cucumbers , Green & Purple String Beans , Chabata from Hinkle’s Bakery, Pink Eye Peas, Butter Beans, Green Tomatoes, and

Fried Green Tomato Batter (Whistle Stop Cafe)

Each week we receive pretty herb bundles, and this week's chives and basil were put to good use in an egg dish (chives) and Ina Garten's Summer Garden Pasta recipe (basil).

I mostly just cooked the peas and beans, and made a salad with the rest.  I also cooked the fried green tomatoes using the mix, and we used them to make BLT sandwiches.  This is what I put into BLT's:

Ingredients:

Friend Green Tomatoes

Applewood Smoked Bacon

Red Leaf Lettuce

Pimento and Cheese

Sourdough Bread

Directions:

Slice and toast your sourdough bread.  Spread pimento cheese on one side of each bread as if it were mayonnaise.  Then add the bacon, lettuce, and fried green tomatoes.  This sandwich is very good grilled.  Just skip the toasting step and grill it like a grilled cheese.

This is my family's favorite way to make BLT's!  However if you're not a fan of pimento cheese, substitute Duke's Mayonnaise.  

One recipe I made this past week was utilizing the blueberries: I made a family favorite, "Blueberry Fool."

Blueberry Fool

Serves 5

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

zest of a small lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

First, make the blueberry sauce.  Heat 1 1/2 cups blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar and the salt in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and juice; remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries and let the mixture cool to room temperature.  Do not rush this step!  You might want to place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Next, beat the heavy cream in a bowl with a mixer or whisk until soft peaks just begin to form. Beat in the vanilla and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Gently fold all but 1/3 cup of the blueberry sauce into the whipped cream.  You can either blend it until the whipped cream is a purple color, or you can make the dessert look "swirled."  Divide among glasses and top with the remaining blueberry sauce.  Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to three days.

COOK'S NOTE:  This recipe presents better in clear glass.  I used 8 ounce French café glasses I purchased from Williams-Sonoma.  I know that the five servings is a bit awkward, so you can use smaller compotes or jars if you have them.

I'm looking forward to this afternoon for Box #6!

Below are a few inspiring things (and people) from last week.

Y'all might have heard about the shark attacks on the Florida panhandle a couple of weeks ago.  One of the young victims is named Lulu, and she lives in Birmingham.  She is a warrior, and the community has truly lifted her up in prayer and financially through fundraisers.  I am so humbled by her courage, and I'm definitely inspired by the generosity of so many people.  You'll see purple ribbons all over Birmingham in support of Lulu (purple is her favorite color).  A local artist, Carrie Pittman, used the torn pages from a devotional (creatively torn by her puppy) and created pretty works of art.  She sold these pretty pieces giving the proceeds to Lulu and her family.  She is quite an amazing lady!  You can follow her on Instagram @carriepittmanart.

Carrie used pinks, mauves, and purples in her cross paintings.  She then framed them between two blocks of lucite.

While at the fundraiser at a local florist, we saw wedding flowers almost entirely in shades of purple and mauve.  There were so many purple varieties, and the mauve tones reminded me of the 80s.  Normally I'm not a purple lover, but these florals were absolutely stunning and inspiring.  

Upcycling is another thing that inspired me this past week.

I'd like to feature two inspiring companies in this post.  The first one I found by accident on Anthropologie's website.  They also sell through their own website, too.  The name of the company is  Old Flame Candle Company.  They specialize in taking old, vintage vessels, especially from the Mid Twentieth Century, and making them into candles.  The neat thing is that once the candle is used-up, the vessel can still be used for its original purpose or for something else.  Another neat service is that you can return the vessel and have it refilled, or you can send them your own vessel, and they will fill it with a candle.  I think it's such a neat idea!  They also sell other vintage items that aren't candles.  I think Anthropologie has a really neat curated collection of their items.  Just hop over to their site and type Old Flame Candle Company in their search engine.

In the graphic above, the green hobnail milk glass holds a candle.  Her name is Pearl.  All of their candles are named.

I think that this candle is pretty, too.  

Another upcycling company inspiring me is an Etsy shop called Pretty Old Books.  The owner Jess Dollar also has her own site.  Jess is from North Alabama, and she sells the prettiest vintage books.  She specializes in vintage books for decor, and decorators from all over the country purchase her curated book stacks.  If you're looking for a specific theme or color, she can probably find what you want.  I tend to purchase titles from her because the books interest me.  Below are two books I recently purchased from her, and the one on the left is a history book about my home county.

This is a teal green and blue stack.  It reminds me of sea glass! 

I'm noticing a pattern here.  Clearly blues, teals, and greens are also inspiring me.  I need to spend some time in my art studio this week exploring these colors!

Speaking of books...come back Friday for my review of All The Light We Cannot See.

What's inspiring you today?

Until next time...

Blessings!

Ricki Jill