This week's CSA box had:
Asparagus
Bok choy
Cabbage
Green onion
Beets
Cherries
Strawberries
Haven't used the asparagus yet. I keep thinking I should buy more and pickle it, but I haven't followed through. I'd love to start experimenting with pickling - there is such a fabulous range of flavors with different pickled vegetables. I just haven't had the time or the produce!
The bok choy and cabbage went into a delicious stir fry side dish tonight, along with an organic zucchini from the grocery store, some garlic scapes from my garden, a bit of fresh ginger, and some salt and pepper. We had that along with our bulgogi and sesame rice. One of my favorite meals, and hubby even said the vegetables were good - a rare compliment for a veggie side!
I've been using the green onions here and there. Some went in the bulgogi, some have gone in a salad. Usually at this time of year I'm putting chives in everything while I wait for the green onions in my garden to grow enough to use (why buy produce when I can improvise with something from the yard, right?), so it's nice to have a change!
I haven't used the beets yet - I only got a couple once my friend and I split the bunch, so I need to pull some from my garden and then I'm planning to roast them. Love roasted beets!
We're eating the cherries. LOVE that it's cherry season again!
My daughter ate the strawberries with her breakfast over the last few days. She can't get enough!
We find out on Thursday what our box will have on Friday. Can't wait to see what's on tap for next week! I'll try to start taking some pictures, too - everything has been picked within two days, and they clean it up nicely for us, so it's all bright, crisp and GORGEOUS.
Monday, June 27, 2011
CSA adventures, week 1
I decided to subscribe to a CSA this year. If you're not familiar, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you buy a share in a farm and get a box of produce each week in exchange. I've been toying with the idea for a couple of years, and when a friend offered to split a share so neither of us would be overwhelmed, I jumped at the chance.
The trick, of course, is working it into your meal plans. Week one, I received:
Asparagus
Collards
Rhubarb
Parsley
Strawberries
There were also two gorgeous heads of leaf lettuce, but since I have lettuce taking over the garden, I let my friend take those.
When it comes to asparagus, my husband is pretty set in his ways (actually, my husband is pretty set in his ways about most things, but once in a while, I can slip something new to him and he'll eat it. He won't always eat it twice, but he'll almost always eat it once!). He wants it either roasted or grilled. So I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with kosher salt, and grilled it on a night when I was making grilled chicken.
The collards came with a grilling recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. So I went googling and came up with this recipe for creamed collards. I knew hubby wouldn't want it, and there wasn't much since I'd split the bunch with my friend, so I made it for lunch. I didn't have cream, so I used half and half. It was divine! My daughter wouldn't eat it, but I happily ate her share. And the leftovers were excellent cold, I have to say.
The rhubarb and strawberries are living in my freezer, waiting for the right opportunity (we're getting a ton of strawberries off of our plants right now, so we have plenty to eat fresh).
I've used the parsley in a few things - mixed some into a boxed couscous mix, put some in salad, things like that. I'm probably going to just chop the rest and freeze it in ice cubes for use in recipes later on. It was quite a bit of parsley. I should make tabbouleh, but I think I'm the only person who would eat it!
Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store!
The trick, of course, is working it into your meal plans. Week one, I received:
Asparagus
Collards
Rhubarb
Parsley
Strawberries
There were also two gorgeous heads of leaf lettuce, but since I have lettuce taking over the garden, I let my friend take those.
When it comes to asparagus, my husband is pretty set in his ways (actually, my husband is pretty set in his ways about most things, but once in a while, I can slip something new to him and he'll eat it. He won't always eat it twice, but he'll almost always eat it once!). He wants it either roasted or grilled. So I drizzled it with olive oil, sprinkled it with kosher salt, and grilled it on a night when I was making grilled chicken.
The collards came with a grilling recipe, but I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. So I went googling and came up with this recipe for creamed collards. I knew hubby wouldn't want it, and there wasn't much since I'd split the bunch with my friend, so I made it for lunch. I didn't have cream, so I used half and half. It was divine! My daughter wouldn't eat it, but I happily ate her share. And the leftovers were excellent cold, I have to say.
The rhubarb and strawberries are living in my freezer, waiting for the right opportunity (we're getting a ton of strawberries off of our plants right now, so we have plenty to eat fresh).
I've used the parsley in a few things - mixed some into a boxed couscous mix, put some in salad, things like that. I'm probably going to just chop the rest and freeze it in ice cubes for use in recipes later on. It was quite a bit of parsley. I should make tabbouleh, but I think I'm the only person who would eat it!
Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store!
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