Farmhouse Delivery!

We signed up for Farmhouse Delivery again! I think it’s this cold weather – it makes me want to be at home, cooking stuff, baking stuff, eating stuff. Having all this beautiful, local produce delivered to my door really encourages me to cook. As you can see from the photo above, Roux approves of the produce, too.

This week we got apples, sweet tangerines, perfect strawberries (how do they do that in January?!), avocados, broccoli, greens (I dunno what kind they are), green onions, dill, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, and a ginormous cauliflower. Look how big it is!

And the Brussels sprouts are so tiny and cute. I cooked them up right away.

I made pasta with Brussels sprouts, bacon and blue cheese. I don’t really like blue cheese, but I thought I’d be brave and try it again. I still don’t like blue cheese, so I didn’t eat much of this. What’s sad is that I could tell that the dish itself was really, really good! Justin loved it – and if I liked blue cheese, I know I would have loved it, too. Next time I’ll use feta or goat cheese, I think.

Penne with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

  • 3 slices bacon, chopped
  • 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced thin (you can use the slicing blade of your food processor for this)
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I’ll try feta or goat cheese next time)
  • 8 ounces penne
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel, but keep about 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan.

Cook the Brussels sprouts, shallots, and a bit of salt and black pepper in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Stir in broth and cream, cover, and cook until Brussels sprouts are tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook penne in plenty of salted water until tender. Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water; drain the rest and add the penne, walnuts, and bacon to the Brussels sprouts mixture. Toss well, adding a bit of pasta water if needed to keep it moist. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Makes 4 – 6 servings.

Adapted from The Best Simple Recipes.

6 responses to “Farmhouse Delivery!”

  1. I’m going to try that (without the bacon, of course). Roux looks like he’s about to eat all those vegetables.

    1. Oh, good – I hope you like it! And he does want to eat the green onions and anything with leaves. 🙂

  2. Oooh, looks delicious! So jealous, I don’t think that something like that is available where we live. 🙁

    1. We do have a lot of food luxuries in Austin – lots of farms with CSA subscriptions, farmers markets, cheese shops, spice shops – it’s a very food-centric city, which we love!

  3. Fresh veggies and a cute cat. Love this! 🙂

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