Well, CSAcationers, I knew this day would come, though I didn’t expect it to be so early in the trip:

the day when I would be confronted with edamame.

Heyyy edamame (all right.) (Pic | Annie Mole)

Let me explain briefly my prejudice towards the green soy bean. My first encounter with edamame was at Bardo on 21^st Street in Ghent. I was with a group of friends, and we all ordered different small plates, one of which was edamame. The plate was set down and, to me, edamame resembled snow peas. The outsides were covered in what looked and smelled like a tasty blend of seasoning, so I picked up one of the pods and popped it in my mouth. I chewed, and chewed, and chewed, probably for a full two minutes before I asked one of my friends if it was supposed to be that indestructible. She laughed and showed me the approved method of eating edamame: holding one end of the pod, put the rest in your mouth, bite down, and pull the pod back out, scraping away the beans and seasoning. Discard the pod. She told me to spit out the stubborn edamame pod.

Bardo is a cloth napkin type of place. I was not about to spit it out. I swallowed the pod with a big gulp of my drink. I dismissed edamame as far too fussy for me to bother with, and that was that.

What did I get in my CSA this week? Edamame.

So I did some research, and I sucked it up, and I cooked up the edamame. I shelled the beans—my first time ever shelling beans. The practice is meditative and peaceful. I listened to Beth Orton while doing it, and fell into a rhythm of snapping the end, peeling back the string, prying open the shell, scraping out the beans, tossing the shells into a bowl. I prepared them according to some tips I found on allrecipes.com. The link is included, but I made several modifications, so here’s the recipe I came up with:

Spicy Roasted Edamame

¾ cup fresh shelled edamame (rough estimation on the measurement—I used all the edamame)

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp chili powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

¼ tsp paprika

Dash black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place the edamame beans in a bowl, pour olive oil over beans, and mix to coat. Add spices, and mix again, making sure the beans are evenly coated.

Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and then pour beans onto sheet, shaking to arrange them in a single layer. Bake 15 minutes, stirring once midway through.

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I have to say, I still prefer the simplicity of green beans, but this edamame recipe redeemed my previous edamame humiliation. Salty, with a hint of spice, the beans made a nice complement to the chicken casserole we had for dinner last night, along with (once again) Beets n’ Sweets.

Mmm raspberries.

I was surprised to find a small carton of fresh raspberries in our CSA batch this week. What is it about fresh berries that makes me put on my fancy pants, pull out my Joy of Cooking, and cook a ridiculous spectacle of a dessert? Perhaps its their size: like small red jewels in my bag of otherwise bulky vegetables, the raspberries were plump, soft, and just begging to be used in some overblown Italian dessert involving a candy thermometer and soufflé dishes.

I prepared Raspberry Gratins, a simple dessert that is sweet and rich while maintaining a light, airy texture that doesn’t detract from the flavor of the raspberries. Perhaps my favorite aspect of this recipe was that I got to attempt a sabayon sauce. Sabayon is the French word for the Italian dessert Zabaglione. The Joy of Cooking calls Zabaglione the mother of the sabayon sauce family, a clan of egg foams.

The instructions are a bit fussy, and I will admit that while recipe is quick, it requires a lot of whisking over a hot stove and attention to detail. However, with a candy thermometer, a double boiler, a good whisk, and patient determination, this dish can be achieved and win you the respect of whoever you serve it to. The presentation is impressive, the flavor fruity and sweet.

Raspberry Gratins

Fresh raspberries

4 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

½ cup fruity white wine (Reisling or Chardonnay—I used Sauvignon Blanc)

4-6 Tbsp light brown sugar

Begin by placing a layer of fresh raspberries in the bottom of soufflé dishes (or ramekins). Preheat the broiler of your oven.

In the top of a double boiler, away from the heat, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until they are thick and pale yellow. Whisking constantly, slowly add the white wine. Scrape clean the sides of the pot with a rubber spatula, and then set over very gently simmering water. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pot, making sure the bottom of the thermometer does not touch the bottom of the pot. Whisk constantly, slowly heating the sabayon to 160ºF, at which time it will have increased several times in volume and become thick enough to mound very softly on a spoon.

The cooking should take 5-10 minutes. If it appears to be heating more quickly than that, periodically remove the top pot from the water and whisk vigorously to cool.

Once the sabayon has reached 160º, remove from the heat and spoon over the raspberries, adding just enough to cover most of the berries, allowing the tops to remain visible. Sprinkle the top with clumps of brown sugar, breaking up the lumps as you go.

Just before serving, broil the gratins 3 inches from the heat for about three minutes (mine took closer to five), long enough to melt the sugar and make the sabayon puff a little. Watch closely to make sure it doesn’t burn. Serve immediately with the warning that the ramekins are hot.

If your guests are anything like my roommates, they will want to pick up the ramekin and drink the sweet raspberry juices from the bottom of the dish—this is completely acceptable, so long as they use caution with the hot dishes.

I worried that this dish would end up eggy and disappointing, but I was pleasantly surprised. The sabayon is airy, the perfect complement to the tart berries, and the brown sugar ends up crystallizing to make a nice crust, reminiscent of crème brûlée.

I’ve enjoyed reading the recipes and tips you came up with for your CSA items. Feel free to share any ideas you come up with this week. Eat well, and take care.