We are what we eat

I've taken far too long of an absence from being a contributing writer to our blog as opposed to merely proofing and editing the KK show here. We're changing all that right now. It's a big day. I have a lengthly list of life updates and topics that somehow never learned how to magically write themselves into interesting posts. There's not an app for that yet. But really, it's an interesting challenge to write about our lives and only hope it is intriguing enough to spawn comments and continued motivation to share. On the other hand, instead of writing about it, I'd much rather just show you our lives.

I don't want to alarm you, but we like food. A LOT. Shocking, I know. Especially considering we don't ever talk about it or blog about it or anything. But then I realized we have never actually written about our own cooking. (Don't worry, we're working on new blogs to discuss other people's cooking too.)

We didn't eat like this before. And if you look at the country as a whole, we're pretty sure most people don't either. Supposedly the trend is swinging back. But, if the saying, 'You are what you eat' is true, then I'm pretty sure we're a couple of organic, sustainable, no added hormone, grit in your teeth hippies. The grit in your teeth isn't to be trifled with. It also means washing greens is time consuming and we suck at it.

The aftermath of joining a CSA is of course figuring out how to cook all the stuff into something appetizing you actually want to put into your body. A few years ago, I don't think I could have told you what Swiss chard was, told the difference between green garlic and green onions, or known that egg yolks are actually naturally much more golden yellow than most of us likely know.

Now I know this isn't actually our food blog, but I'm declaring this Food Week here! Mainly because it'll force me to post once a day, you to check once a day, and KK isn't here to stop me from such a declaration at this time.

We regularly cook 3 or 4 nights at home with all our local fresh goodness. So here's a few cooking lessons we've learned along the way, along with a recipe, and photographic evidence.

• Best lesson we've learned: Fresh produce tastes amazing!
• Best cooking advice we have to give: Don't screw up things that taste amazing.
• Also, don't burn the kitchen down. I'm sure KK is eager to post about my attempts at this one.
• Balsamic anything is scrumptious. For example, onions grilled in balsamic to top a burger with, balsamic glazed asparagus, balsamic cheesecake (totally made up, but I bet it'd be good!)

Maple Walnut Scones + Chilled Strawberry Soup

(These are two separate recipes that I decided to combine)

Maple Walnut Scones

Yields 10-12 scones.

3.5 cups flour

1 cup walnuts finely chopped

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

(we added a healthy dose of brown sugar in here too)

Combine thoroughly.

2/3 cup butter chilled

Cut in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

1 cup milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

Stir in and work into soft dough. Knead 5-6 times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and about 7 inch round. Cut into 10-12 wedges. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 425F for 15-18 minutes or until golden.

Serves perfectly with a bit of honey in the morning or drowning in strawberry soup for desert.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

Serves 6.

1 cup apple juice

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine in saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and let cool.

3 cups strawberries

1/4 cup water

Puree until smooth in blender. Pour into a large bowl.

2 cups plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add to pureed strawberries with apple juice mixture. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

It's more smoothie or shake than soup, but I still licked the plate, so enjoy!