Week Five -- Trout

Tonight's meal was worthy of an award. The trout was light, fresh and tasty, the salad screamed summer, the bread was both sweet and savory and the strawberries were a perfect finish. Knowing my family would probably like to give me an award for a job well done I have prepared a little acceptance speech:

I am deeply honored to receive this award. I know there are other moms who are equally deserving, but none of us could do it without the help of our food producers. I want to thank all the people who made this award possible. The folks at Troutdale Trout Farm, of Gravois Mills, MO for raising the light fish, the growers at Yellow Wood who grew the spring mix of lettuce, our friends at Sunshine who grew the strawberries and not to be forgotten Companion bakery for creating the seasonal Sundried Tomato bread. . . .

OK, I know that was silly, but the truth is I am very thankful for all these producers. These are real people taking special care to grow food with care for the food and the environment. These are people who were out in the rain and mud picking strawberries and lettuce. And trout farmers who make sure the fish get properly fed and cared for. And bakers who get out of bed early every day to make sure the bread is make fresh each day.

my part of the meal

In case you're interested in how I prepared the items, here's a quick run down--

We had kale left from last week so I cut some up to use in a salad. I had some of the dressing left from last week but I used shredded parmesan instead. I liked it much better with the parmesan. I also sauteed some Kale in butter and garlic and squeezed some lemon on at the end.

For the lettuce, I made the salad dressing that I made a few weeks ago using strawberry jam, olive oil and dijon mustard. (I was out of triple crown jam and didn't know it.) I also had feta available for anyone who wanted some.

The trout was really easy. (Jamie and Kevin gave me some great ideas when I picked up the food.) I put the trout in a shallow baking pan, topped it with olive oil, parsley and lemon slices. I baked it at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While it was baking I sauteed a garlic clove in butter and poured it on top when I plated the fish. Everyone in the family loved this. I'm sure we'll be getting more trout in the future.

My mother joined us for dinner and made an angel food cake to go with the strawberries. We had our perennial argument about adding sweetener to the berries. She always insists on adding something and my husband and I like to let then stand alone. We compromised by having two bowls of strawberries. I gave her some locally produced honey to sweeten her half. I have to admit both were tasty.

other items to look forward to

Other items in today's share that I didn't work into tonight's meal are a fresh pasta, asparagus and wheat berries. Scott really likes the wheat berry salad I made, but I want to try them as a sweet breakfast alternative to oatmeal. We'll have to see if I find time to try it soon or I'll forget we got them.

I also bought quite a few items not in the share like ribs, butter, cheeses, mushroom ravioli, pesto and eggs. When I got home I realized I missed picking up the hotdogs I've been getting each week, so I guess we have to eat something else when we need a quick meal. Maybe the pasta and pesto will do the trick.

If anyone has ideas for an easy cheese soufle I'd love to hear. I read about one in the Post this week and am thinking about giving it a try with the eggs and cheeses I picked up today.