CSA - Week 5

We went camping last week and used up much of our box in the wild. I forget to take photos, so they are limited.

Potatoes - I chopped these up, sautéed them, and added them to our camping frittatas. The newsletter labelled these as "Colorado Rose". The lovely pink/purple insides surprised me when I cut into them. They added great color.


Sweet onions - I used these in the frittatas as well, thinly sliced and sautéed. They were as promised - sweet and delicious.


Tomato - The first of the season! I took it camping and sliced it up for sandwiches. It was plump and heavy and a rich red hue - everything you expect from a local grown tomato. I waited too long to eat this, methinks. It had a mealy mouthfeel and lacked flavor. I didn't finish it.


Carrots, Cucumbers, Kohlrabi - Lately, I just peel the carrots and hand them over to my little bunny, Anika, who enjoys munching them down to the too-tough top ends. We ate the cukes and kohlrabi peeled and raw. Why mess with success?


Tatsoi - I ate about half of the bunch with some eggs. I expected a bitter flavor, but it tasted fresh, green, and subtle. The other half lies lonely, moist and half-rotten in my fridge, still in its plastic bag, slowly suffocating... I will take it out to the compost bin tonight, and take heart in its reincarnation.


Basil - I made pesto!

Garlic - I've been adding this to odds and bits throughout the week.

Lettuce - Salad, natch.

Zucchini - This was also packed along for the camping trip. Sautéed and added to the frittatas.


We opted for the vacation credit for Week 6. Next week will be Week 7.

CSA - Week 4

The summer of vegetables continues! 


Contents Box #4:
Lettuce (green leaf)
Carrots
Cucumbers
Dill

Potatoes (Fingerling)
Red scallions

Arugula
Cabbage
Strawberry jam!

The box was a little smaller than the previous boxes, but that was fine. It allowed us to buy some other supplemental vegetables at the store. We are eating so many vegetables! In addition to the box, we bought six extra kohlrabi from the farm stand, beets, an extra lettuce head, more carrots, and I picked a bunch of loose leaf lettuce from my sister's house.

Extra kohlrabis. They are so crunchy and yummy.

Here's the usage breakdown for this week:

The lettuce was salad, as usual.


The cucumbers and dill paired up in a vinegar cucumber salad. No recipe, just vinegar (I think I mixed rice and apple), chopped dill, salt, a little sugar, and mix it up. Eat fresh! 

Potatoes - I cooked these as I did a few weeks ago, in heavily salted boiling water. Of course, I made a few egg scrambles with the leftover potatoes. One included sauteed beet greens, garlic, red scallions, and gruyère. Even my one-year-old nephew loved it!

Red scallions - Chopped and sautéed, I added these to almost everything throughout the week.

Arugula - My first casualty. Not exactly, but I haven't made anything with it yet. The following recipe was included with the newsletter. I'll make it today and freeze it. The Winter of Pesto is imminent.

Arugula Pesto

1 bunch arugula, leaves cut off and chopped into 1-inch strips

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup toasted nuts (almonds or hazel- nuts are my favorite)

3/4-1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Place 1/2 cup olive oil and garlic in a food processor. Blend until garlic is finely chopped. Add nuts, blend again. Add the arugula, half at a time. Blend for a bit. Add more olive oil if needed to a make a more spreadable mixture. Add the juice of a lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper and blend again. Once you have the consistency you want, add the shredded parmesan cheese and pulse a few times. Season to taste. This can be used on pizzas, pastas, a veggie dip, or even sandwiches! Try dipping some roasted potatoes in this concoction.

Cabbage - I used this is a slaw, along with the carrots. I shredded up the cabbage, grated the carrots, and tossed with a splash of vinegar, a spoonful of mayonnaise, a spoonful of honey, chopped scallion tops, and a squirt of sriracha hot sauce. This was SO good! Spicy, sweet, sour and crunchy.

Strawberry Jam - Um, on toast.


I enjoy picking up the new box every week. There is a freedom in limitations. Making dinner is easy when you already know what you're eating. 

CSA - Week 3

I've been keeping up, and some, with our CSA box program.

Here what we got for Week Three:

Potatoes (Nicola)

Beets

Baby onions

Spinach 
Lettuce

Black kale

Garlic

Cucumbers
Kohlrabi

Italian parsley

Zucchini








This box seemed somehow smaller than the last, but maybe it's because I'm eating more vegetables? I am relying more and more on simple sautéeing, rather than finding an elaborate recipe in which to highlight the vegetables. I haven't grown bored yet, but will probably mix it up this next week. I do so loathe a routine...


Here's what I did:


Potatoes - I cut them up into bite-sized pieces and parboiled them with some chicken broth and chopped parsley. When they were nearly tender, I drained them and sautéed them in olive oil and garlic until a little golden crust built-up. I tossed in some more parsley and a few of the onion greens, and salt and pepper. 





As I was eating them, the taste brought me back to... somewhere. Later, I realized I ate these many times in Germany. Sure enough, I looked up parsley potatoes (Petersilienkartoffeln), and it was almost exactly what I did. The latent Kuchenmädchen surfaces. I'll have to make Marillenknödel next.


Beets - In truth, I was hesitant to eat these.

They sure are purty...

Beet greens

I have never liked beets, even though so many people seem to enjoy them. Ryan is also not a fan of them. I wanted to use both the beet greens and the roots, so I made this Roasted Beets and Sautéed Beet Greens recipe.

The cheese pizza was delicious too. I do have a toddler and preschooler you know...

I was pleasantly surprised. The overwhelming earthy flavor of the beets had been tempered by the roasting and a hidden sweetness came out. Ryan, Anika, Kaden and I, all of us, loved them. Anika has been asking for them for the last two nights, and I almost caved and bought some more yesterday at the store, but felt I should wait to see what our fourth box brings.

Baby onions - I tried my hand at roasting them again. This time, I cooked them a little longer to see if I could get more of the yummy caramelization. Instead, they just burnt.



They were still good, but I need to use a non-stick pan to get better caramelization. And I don't want to use non-stick in the oven, so I probably won't make this recipe again.

Spinach and Lettuce - Half of the spinach bunch was wilted and eaten with garlic. The other half was added to the lettuce for salad. We only got one head of lettuce this week, so I had to buy another head at the store to maintain our salad eating schedule.

Black Kale - My favorite kale thus far. I removed the thick stalks, chopped it up, wilted it, and added it to a quick egg scramble in the morning. I also added onion greens, garlic, and goat cheese. I loved it.

Garlic - I added the entire head to the cilantro lime pesto I made last week.

Cucumbers/Kohlrabi - These were eaten raw, with a little salt. I did up grate a little of the Kohlrabi and added it to some salad. I really really really really really like Kohlrabi. When I was growing up, my mom would make soups and add kohlrabi to it. I remember swiping slices off the cutting board because I liked them so much. I had to buy more cucumbers this week for Anika, too. Gotta keep up with demand!

Parsley - added to the potatoes above.

Zucchini - Sliced and sautéed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

Week three is a success - no leftovers. I am experimenting more with creating my own recipes, which is really pushing my culinary envelope. I am usually a recipe follower.


P.S. Did you know beets turn some people's pee pink?