Quick. Easy. Cast iron.

So, the highlight of the mid-summer slump, without a doubt, is use of the cast iron skillet. Mind you, we spend a good deal of time together when okra comes over. Otherwise, though, I am rarely moved to fool with it (side note: by "fool with it," I do not mean to suggest that cast iron is difficult. Cast iron is a zillion times easier than you may think. The difficulty for me is storage under other smaller cast iron pans, all of which are quite heavy, and I can be fairly lazy). But, thanks to the cast iron and my most excellent Shun knife, I threw this one together literally in about ten or fifteen minutes minutes -- less than the time needed to call in and receive take out. As always, Penzeys helped!

To prep, I sliced the most beautiful yellow squash, chopped a bit of onion, and rinsed off trout fillets and patted dry with a paper towel. With everything prepped, I heated up olive oil over medium in a standard All-Clad pan and added the onions until translucent-ish (maybe two minutes), then the squash, sprinkling in heavy doses of my favorite what-do-I-do-with-Vegetable-X combo:

That would be the MURAL of Flavor by Penzeys (introduced to me by my dear friend Abbey, who swears by it on everything), garlic salt, and paprika. Garlic salt is especially useful when feeling too tired to chop garlic and wanting to watch the salt intake. It is the fastest disappearing spice on my shelf. Once the squash had a good stir, I was a bit worried about the liquid content, so I added a tiny bit of vegetable broth -- just enough to coat the bottom of the pan and ensure the release of a bit of steam. Then I turned to my bff, Cast Iron with Canola Oil -- enough to cover the bottom of the skillet and creep up the sides of my fish fillets, heated up to around medium to medium high.

Next, I whipped out my favorite seasonings combination for fish, even if Penzeys advertises the marriage with baked chicken (also works well, I can attest).  I sprinkled both well over the non-skin side of the trout fillets, without salt. I then dredged the fish ever so lightly in similarly seasoned cornmeal and gently slipped the fillets into the hot oil in the pan, skin side down, trying not to crowd them together.

 

After about two minutes, I checked to see if the fish had started to brown with a metal spatula. It had not. So I stirred the squash, and another minute or two later, checked again. Voila! Time to carefully flip.

Meanwhile, the squash had a lovely consistency and aroma going on. 

In another two or three minutes, the fish came out of the skillet to drain on a paper towel (very important step).

And I promise not more than 15 minutes after I walked into the kitchen, dinner was served! I broke my rule of having something green with every dinner, but, sometimes when dinner is served closer to 10 o'clock than to 8 o'clock, a rule or two can be broken. Besides, yellow squash is loaded with nutrients and anti-oxidants, so never say no to a vegetable!

The Mid-Summer CSA Hump.

Wow, life is SO interesting.

I started this blog primarily for two reasons: (1) as I worked 12-16 hours a day (weekends too!) on a Major Case, I wanted to hold myself accountable to eat good food, take care of myself, and have some sort of non-work outlet; and (2) to keep track of this year's CSA deliveries, what I do with each, what works, and what doesn't work. I am fascinated that as the Major Case came to a grinding halt, so did my blogging. On the upside, I filled this newfound time with visits from my dad, trips to Austin and Cayman (twice -- the first time already noted here, the second an actual vacation), books, friends for dinner, helping my husband through the worst college summer course on earth, exercise (near daily for a while there), visits from my in-laws, hurricanes, and planning and executing a surprise party for my husband following said worst college summer course on earth. I have seen live shows by Merle Haggard, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Dolly Freaking Parton, Dwight Yoakam, Brandon Butler, William Eliot Whitmore, Lyle Lovett, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, and Emmylou Harris. Sleep also happened, as did surgery for my poor Doberman, who tore his ACL, and we finally hooked up the turntable that has called out to us since I purchased the pre-amp back in MARCH. With so much traveling and goings-on, I confess to cooking less, and for the first time ever I even canceled one CSA delivery due to travel. Meanwhile, Hurricane Irene canceled another CSA delivery due to earth so soaked that machines could not dig in to harvest. Hopefully, all resumes normalcy this week as we head into fall -- including my resumption of a work schedule that more accurately reflects the life of a lawyer at a law firm and Brandon's resumption of a full schedule of fall classes.

Mid-summer is also the time, at least it seems, that CSA deliveries universally take on a certain pattern.

To wit:

Week Nine

• Red, white, and blue potatoes
• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini/yellow squash
• Green bell peppers
• Tomatoes (mmm)

Week Ten

• Red, white, and blue potatoes
• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini/yellow squash
• Green bell peppers
• Tomatoes (mmm)
• Cherry tomatoes

Week Eleven

• Okra
• Beets
• Zucchini/yellow squash
• Green bell peppers
• Tomatoes (mmm)
• Cherry tomatoes

Week Twelve

• Okra
• Eggplant
• Tomatillos
• Zucchini
• Green bell peppers
• Tomatoes (mmm)
• Cherry tomatoes

Week Fourteen (as we missed Week Thirteen)

• Okra
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Jalepenos
• Tomatoes (mmm)

Mind you, I cooked the hell out of much of this -- I think we only lost the tomatillos, one yellow squash, some green beans, and devastatingly a few tomatoes. I have already shared my go-tos on cooking many of these, so I will not bore anyone with repetition. Not to fret, however: even in Cayman, I ensured we ended our week with none other than ...

And as the CSA continues through at least late November, I am confident that other experiments await. For now, I am grateful for one of the best summers in memory, the reset button that is Labor Day weekend, the resumption of a normal (if hectic) schedule, weekend farmer's markets, almost-boots weather, and my sweet dog being home from the animal hospital, stitches and all -- which also apparently makes another resident of the home content.