CSA Box #15

Mmm... we have leeks this week. They're so tasty, especially with the potatoes we've been getting recently.

With the big bunch of celery this week and plenty of onions and carrots on-hand, I'm planning on making a large vat of chicken stock over the weekend. I usually use vegetable stock as my go-to, but I have 3 chicken spines in the freezer (we typically break down whole chickens ourselves, rather than buying pieces), so I'm going with what I have on-hand. It's an excellent way to use up any vegetables that may be on the edge and need to be used soon. It's easy, incredibly cheap and can add a quick shot flavor to just about anything.

This week's haul:

• potatoes: a mix of red and what look like young russets
• leeks
• green jalapeños
• sweet Italian red peppers
• celery
• arugula
• spinach
• *mystery green-- This one wasn't on our list and I have no idea what it is. I'll have to post a picture at some point to see if anyone knows what it is. It's peppery/bitter, similar to arugula, but isn't baby arugula (I looked up photos to make sure). We made pasta with it last night, though, and it tasted very good.

*EDIT: Mystery solved! Before I even had a chance to snap a photo, our CSA sent a follow-up email. The "mystery green" is actually mizuna, a Japanese mustard plant.

CSA Box #14

Now that I'm back in school, time is flying quickly. I'm still able to carve out time to cook, but school work is definitely increasing with every blink.

This is what was in our box on Thursday:

• Beets (More beets! I feel like Lucy in the chocolate factory. They just keep coming down the conveyer belt. Thank goodness I love beets.)
• Spinach
• Beefsteak tomatoes
• Red potatoes
• Dandelion greens
• Hot peppers
• Onion

I'll admit that dandelion makes me just want to stick my head in the sand. I'm not a fan of bitter greens. I just need to leap in the deep end and balance some of that bitterness (and mellow it with cooking). But I still don't wanna'.

CSA Box #12

Or, what I should call, "More beets!". This week's box is reflecting the subtle weather changes. This is week 2 without lettuce, something that had become a weekly occurrence, and we got the addition of potatoes. I'm not always a big potato fan, but they're red potatoes and I do prefer the waxy varieties, so that made me happy. We picked up some more of those awesome heirloom eggplants at the farmer's market and already have some lamb in the freezer, so I'm thinking I'll be making some moussaka soon. We still have some summer squash that will work perfectly in that, as well. I'll be picking beets soon and I'll also post another creative use or two for those earthy red roots.

This week's haul:

• Beets
• Potatoes
• Sweet Onion
• Parsley
• Sweet Pepper
• Bianca Peppers
• Hot Pepper
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Spinach 

Aren't these eggplants cool? I'm definitely an eggplant convert.

CSA Box #9

Mmmm... more tomatoes! I think I'll be making borscht soon, too. The beets are starting to get ahead of me.

This week's mystery box challenge:

• Beets
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Fennel
• Eggplant
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Bianca Pepper
• Summer Squash
• Heirloom Tomatoes

CSA Box #8

This week's haul:

Beets
Summer squash
Lettuce
Onions
Collard greens
Heirloom tomatoes
Cabbage
Hot peppers
White bell pepper
Basil

Based on the tomato we got last week, I'm extremely excited to get another batch. I think they're brandywines. I made sure to harvest some seeds for the garden next year. Like most great tomatoes, they don't look like much, but their flavor is amazing.

The squash also made me salivate. Two of the ones we got were pretty large and perfect for stuffing.

If we keep getting all these beets, I may have to make some red velvet cake soon. Or at least make more goat cheese.

CSA Box #7

Operation "use lettuce!" is still going on in our house. I tried a variation of summer rolls in lettuce wrap form, but it still needs some tweaking. I'm pretty sure you'll see a recipe here soon. Lettuce suggestions (beyond wraps, salads and making hats out of it) are still very much welcome here!

Earlier this week, I also did a nice warm salad of grilled bok choy and sliced (length-wise) yellow crookneck squash. I lightly dressed it with some mango balsamic vinegar, which was a nice complement to the olive oil I'd sprayed on the veggies before grilling. It was simple, quick and delicious.

This week's haul:

• Beets
• Blueberries (!)
• Cucumber
• Lettuce (luckily just one small head of lettuce)
• Kale
• Onion
• Summer squash
• Heirloom tomato (only 1 this week, but it's pretty huge- I think there are more to come)
• Parsley

My husband, being from Maine, seems happy about the blueberries. I'm glad that the summer squash keeps on coming, in a few different forms.

CSA Box #6

Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce... So much lettuce! We currently have a few rather large heads of different varieties. If you have any creative ideas beyond salads and lettuce wraps, I would love to hear them.

This week's mystery box challenge, mostly repeats:

• Lettuce
• Napa cabbage
• Bok choy
• Cucumber (I'm definitely making refrigerator pickles soon)
• Beets
• Summer squash (zucchini and yellow crook neck)
• Escarole
• Pink turnips
• Spring onions

CSA Box #5

This week:

• Broccoli
• Lettuce (red)
• Kohlrabi
• Red beets (!!)
• Pink turnips
• Summer squash
• Bok choy
• Scallions
• Cucumber

I'm very excited about the beets. They're one of my favorite foods. I'll need to whip up a batch of goat cheese to go with it! It will be tough not to make red velvet cake with some of them. I shouldn't downplay the rest, though. I'm just happy for a constant source of fresh vegetables.

CSA #4 & Roasted Sunchokes

Before I go into this week's CSA offerings, I need to add a recent sunchoke (AKA Jerusalem artichoke) discovery. They are delicious roasted! I have no idea why I haven't ever tried this before.

I think I've discovered one of the secrets to skin-on sunchokes-- a vegetable brush. Most people's comments I've read on the subject say that the skins are too tough when roasted. I didn't think so at all. They weren't any more intrusive than a skin-on red bliss (or other waxy) potato. What I have noticed, though, is that you have to scrub the heck out of them to get the dirt off. If they end up several shades lighter than when you started and your brush is filled with dirt, you're in business. If you start to see white, you've gone too far.

Until recently, I'd only ever eaten/prepared them raw or in purees. The weekly pile of them has made me think inside the (CSA) box. So, when roasting some chicken legs/thighs, I halved several small sunchokes, cut a few carrots to the same size, added a couple of huge cloves of garlic and tossed them in just enough olive oil to lightly coat and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. They were in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes or so then about 20 more minutes at 450F (while the chicken was resting), after which they came out wonderfully browned, but still retaining a bit of bite to their texture. Roasting on their own, I'd go straight to 425F for about 40 minutes or so. Vegetable heaven! We scarfed them up before I even thought about taking a picture. I'm sure this won't be the last time I make this, though. I'm also betting they'd be great in a foil packet on the grill, which is much more summer weather-friendly.

This week's haul-- mostly repeats:

• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Kale
• Hakuri turnips
• Parsley
• Scalions
• Arugula
• Cilantro

CSA Box #3

This week's haul:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Kohlrabi
• Hakuri (Japanese salad turnips- white)
• Cilantro

The produce we've been getting has all been really great! I highly recommend Early Morning Farm, if you're in the area (I have no connection to them, other than being a member, just spreading the love). If a CSA is too much of a commitment, they're also at the Ithaca Farmer's Market.

I'm especially looking forward to some kale chips and kohlrabi (not necessarily in one sitting). Now that we have some great herbs going in our garden, I can bring even more freshness to the table. It looks like we have a few tomatoes getting ready to pop soon, too! Two of them are already beyond the mature green stage and yellowing (even better- they're yellow tomatoes, so hopefully don't have terribly far to go). Maybe the peppers will follow their lead.

I'm somewhat bummed we didn't get more peas this week (words I didn't ever anticipate being part of my vocabulary). Last week's were delicious! We still have a handful left, but I think I'll probably just have them for a snack. We already have a plan to plant some here for a fall harvest, if the weather cooperates.

CSA Box #2

This week's haul:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Sunchokes
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Peas
• Bok Choy

More lettuce. Ack! We still haven't completely used up last week's! Clearly, we need to up the salad consumption with all this lettuce. I'm going to have to roast some of those radishes. I can't believe it took so long to discover their true awesomeness cooked. They're milder, but still a good flavor. Of course, I'll reserve some for the zillion salads in our future. Thank goodness we like them.

I'm not a big cooked cabbage fan, so I don't tend to use bok choy for much more than slaws and other fresh preparations. It's also just not something I bother buying a whole lot. With so many greens in the house, and a plan to make a sunchoke/apple slaw, I may roast a few leaves and see if I like it better caramelized (which is how I was won over with brussels sprouts). I'm open to suggestions, too!

If you drool at the thought of a mystery box challenge of veggies each week, or just want more fresh produce in your house, it's probably not to late to support your local farm!

CSA Box: First of the Season

We received the first CSA box of the season today. It contained carrots, lettuce, spinach, arugula, sunchokes (jerusalem artichokes) and rhubarb. I'm looking forward to weaving these things in our meals for the next week.

I haven't completely planned for all of it yet, but I do have a few ideas. I'll certainly share as I find inspiration!

Show Me the Greens

When I lived on the west coast, I belonged to a produce farm share. I loved it! It was a fun challenge every week to figure out what to do with whatever arrived at my door.

We just signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with a nearby farm. Since we don't have the space to plant much more beyond herbs, lettuce and tomatoes (I'm still trying to figure out how to get a bacon plant to grow, for convenient BLTs), I'm very excited to get back to a regular box of organic, local veggies every week. I'm looking forward to sharing our weekly haul here, along with what we do with it.

Want your own regular farm-fresh challenge? Check out Farmigo for a CSA near you! They may even deliver.