The first week of the One Local Summer challenge coincided with our first CSA (community supported agriculture) delivery of the season, from Virginia’s Potomac Vegetable Farms. Our farm is “ecoganic” — meaning they follow organic practices but are not certified — and has one of the few remaining farms in Fairfax County just west of Tyson’s Corner, as well as a second location in Purcellville. We love visiting our farm for the semi-annual CSA member potlucks, and as I mentioned previously, they will be hosting the newly-crowned RAMMY Rising Culinary Star of the Year Anthony Chittum for a Summer Solstice Farmland Supper later this month.

While I love our CSA, I only get a half share to allow for plenty of farmers market shopping each week as well. This first OLS/CSA dinner featured garlic scapes, chives and kale from the farm, and sausage, eggs, cheese and broccoli from the Upper King Street farmers market. Our CSA pick-up is on Wednesday, so the first meal is usually something simple involving eggs or pasta. This week it was a sausage and kale frittata, with a side of steamed broccoli. Quick, fresh and delicious.

Recipe: Buffalo Sausage and Kale Frittata

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. or 4 links buffalo sausage
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic scape, thinly sliced
• several stems of chives, chopped
• 1 cup kale, cut into thin ribbons
• 6 cage-free eggs
• 4 thick slices cheddar cheese, diced

Instructions: Heat olive oil in saute pan or skillet over medium high heat. Crumble sausage into pan and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Drain excess oil. Add kale, scape and chives and cook until kale just begins to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Whisk eggs in mixing bowl and pour into pan. Fold in cheese and season with salt and pepper. Cook until eggs are fully set, and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Farms of Origin

• Potomac Vegetable Farms (VA), kale, garlic scapes and chives
• Cibola Farms (VA), buffalo bourbon fennel sausage
• Tom the Cheese Guy (PA), eggs and cave-aged cheddar
• Long Meadow Ecological Farm (VA), broccoli
• bread from Breadline (DC)

One Local Summer is an annual challenge in which people around the world join together for 13 weeks of seasonal eating, supporting local farmers and exploring their local foodsheds. Visit FarmtoPhilly on Tuesdays for the weekly round-up.

That kale we can’t get enough of? I love to make myself a quick lunch of “green eggs and kale” (blanch kale, then poach eggs in the same water = greenish eggs), but am still hunting for a way to convince the husband and toddler of kale’s deliciousness. In the meantime, I add bits and pieces in dishes and hope that some of their nutrients (vitamins K, A, C, calcium, iron and more) rub off on the other ingredients, since the toddler is still pretty adept at picking out strange green pieces. (He did accidentally take a bite of this ziti with kale and didn’t spit it out this time, so I’m considering that a small victory.) Baked ziti is a great dish to incorporate stray winter produce languishing in your refrigerator, in this case, kale and carrots. Of course I used organic ingredients, including organic ricotta, cheese and pasta and natural, no-nitrates-added Italian sausage. And I’m submitting this hearty, healthy, classic family favorite for the 100th installment of Presto Pasta Nights. (Happy anniversary, Ruth!)

Recipe: Hearty Winter Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ziti noodles
• 1 cup organic kale leaves, torn
• 12 ounces Italian sausage, crumbled (if using links, remove casing and dice)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 small yellow onion
• 3 organic carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• salt & pepper
• 1 pound whole milk ricotta
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella, romano and parmesan cheeses

Instructions: Bring water to boil in a large stock pot.

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until evenly browned. Remove sausage from pan and set aside, covered.

Lower heat to medium low and add garlic and onion. Cook 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add carrots and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in oregano, sausage and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt if your sausage is already salty).

While sauce simmers, cook pasta for 6 minutes (or 2/3 of minimum recommended cooking), adding kale for the last minute. Drain.

Stir together pasta, kale, ricotta and 1/2 of the sauce. Pour into 9×13-inch baking pan. Pour remaining sauce over top, then spead shredded cheeses evenly over top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until cheese is golden. Makes 10-12 servings. Enjoy!

Submitted to Presto Pasta Nights, created and hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. Be sure to share your favorite pasta recipe for the special 100th round-up!

Now that the weather has turned colder I am getting back into our Tuesday pasta night routine. And one of my favorite weeknight pasta tricks is to stop off at my cheese shop to pick up some fresh cheese, meats and even fresh pasta. Cooking with flavored pastas eliminates the need for sauce, and you can instead focus on pairing a few favorite ingredients to make your pasta de jour.

Of course you don’t have to visit a cheese shop to make a gourmet pasta dish; at the grocery, just pick out a few high quality items from the deli counter. Because you only need a few slices of meat, you can splurge on a good prosciutto or salami.

With a quarter pound of spicy salami, a small container of creme fraiche, the roasted tomatoes and pasta, this made four servings of pasta for under $20. That’s cheaper than Olive Garden, and ready in less time the average Friday night wait for a table!

Recipe: Roasted Tomato, Salami & Saffron Pasta (aka Cheesetique Pasta)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound saffron angel hair pasta
• 1 bunch curly kale (or other greens), sliced into ribbons
• 6 oz. roasted tomatoes, in olive oil (can use sundried tomatoes)
• 1/4 pound salami, sliced into thin ribbons
• 4 ounces creme fraiche
• salt & pepper

Instructions: Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Cook pasta according to package instructions, adding kale for the final minute of cooking time. Drain pasta and kale, reserving some of the cooking liquid. In a large serving bowl, layer the tomatoes (reserving oil), salami and creme fraiche. Pour pasta and kale over top and use tongs to toss and combine. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved tomato oil and a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid, as needed to moisten the pasta. Season with a little salt and pepper (try red pepper flakes for an added kick), and enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Shared with Presto Pasta Nights, created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and hosted this week by Venielje Kitchen.

This week at market, I picked up a bag of Red Russian Kale from the greens lady (K&S Farm, Southern Md.). She said it was a milder kale that could be eaten in salad, rather than needing to be cooked. I also got mozzarella from Tom the Cheese Guy, and was envisioning a more typical summer tomato mozzarella salad, but changed course after tasting the kale. Somewhere between a spicy arugula and slightly bitter spinach, it cried out for something sweet. I used a few strawberries left over from the weekend’s crisp (great way to use berries on the verge of going bad) to make a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette that was the perfect topping to some spring onion greens, mozzarella and kale.

Recipe: Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mash several very ripe strawberries, add 1 T olive oil and 3 T balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lemon juice, pinch of salt and several turns of freshly-ground black pepper. Whisk and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes to let flavors meld.

This would also make a great glaze for chicken or fish.