CSA-ers fulfilling their volunteer commitment to harvest garlic

I helped harvest garlic for about 3 hours on Sunday, July 8. It was hot. Like, 90+ degrees hot. But it was kind of fun. Gratifying, even!

I was so dirty when I got home. I don’t think I’ve gotten that dirty since childhood.

I don’t know if you can appreciate how much I’m sweating. And I know this is a dumb hat, but it protected my head from the sun and provided my face with shade!

We had to pull the garlic out of the ground, dust off the dirt clumped on the root part, and then place the garlic in piles of about 20, like this.

I met some really nice people and traded some gardening tips with another lady. And participating in the harvesting fulfills my volunteer commitment for the CSA.

Since the garlic will have to be hung up to dry for a few weeks, it wasn’t in our shares this week.

So what was in our share? Take a look:

7/12/12 share contents

I took the broccoli rabe as well as some radishes.

In the last week I also found the time to try a recipe that I’ve had on my “to do” list: Quinoa Patties.

I found the original recipe here, at SoupAddict.com. It looks like she adapted this one herself… but she’s got a wonderful site with so many inspiring recipes and photos!

I’d really recommend you go visit. You’ll get lost for a while =)

I changed the recipe up a bit… I still want to play with it some more because they were absolutely delicious and really filling.

I added shredded zucchini, but I want to see if I can add more vegetables and still maintain the patty consistency.

Here’s my take on this.

Note: I read the comments after the SA post, and I came away with a good tip on forming patties: use a measuring cup.  Also… I really wish I’d had some chives to put in, as called for by SA’s version… but I didn’t. I think they would really be nice.

The finished product… I enjoyed mine with some hot sauce. YUM!

Quinoa Patties (adapted from SoupAddict.com)

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature (leftover quinoa is perfect)
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 oz feta cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a few shakes salt
• a few shakes Italian seasoning
• a few shakes crushed red pepper
• a few grinds of fresh black pepper
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs (more if needed)
• Water, as needed
• Extra virgin olive oil

Yield: 12-15 patties

Mix the ingredients. Combine the quinoa and zucchini in a medium bowl. Stir in the onion, cheese, garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Mix in the beaten eggs. Add 1/4 cup bread crumbs and stir well.

To test that the mixture has the proper texture to form patties, pick up a palm full, squeeze and release. If the mixture holds together in a clump, then it’s ready. If it’s dry and crumbly, add water a 1/2 teaspoon at a time until the mixture passes the test. If the mixture feels wet and mushy, add more bread crumbs.

Heat the oil. In a large skillet over medium heat, making sure to coat the bottom of the pan.

Form the patties. Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup and fill with the quinoa mixture. Empty the cup into your hand or directly into the skillet and pat down to form a patty that is about 1/2″-3/4″ thick. Leaving room for flipping, fill your skillet.

Cook. For 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms are browned. (You may decide to cover your pan. I did not.) Carefully flip the patties with a spatula and cook the other sides for 5-7 minutes, or until golden. Remove patties from the skillet and place on a plate lined with paper towels for blotting some of the excess oil off.

Once they’re cool, enjoy!

the mix — I used organic tri-color quinoa from Trader Joe’s

using the measuring cup worked very well to form perfect-sized patties

Browning