Days flying by. Is it just me, or is there tons of great music out there all of a sudden? Taylor Swift, Tristan Prettyman, Zedd, Christina Aguilera...
It seems the flood of great music has been accompanied by an equally overwhelming flood of lettuce. I have four different heads of lettuce, one head of frissee, a lovely mess of arugula, and bunches of swiss chard waiting in my fridge for me. #deathbylettuce
CSA Share #19
- 6.5 oz arugula
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch opal basil
- 3 leeks
- 5 medium potatoes (2lbs)
- 3/4lb purple string beans
- 1 bunch swiss chard
- 1 head frisee
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
CWTC: potatoes!!! :) potatooooooooes :D
TAV: purple string beans, because they are purple
WTF: lettuce. I am adorable and cute and lovable, but I am not a rabbit. This is a veritable flood of green leafy things. I don't know how to handle this. I was so stressed by all the green that I ate half a chicken yesterday, just to reassure myself that I am not a cow or other ruminant. The farm apologizes for the cubed lettuce, which is the result of a packing mistake that was only realized after the truck was packed.
I am very excited to get potatoes, but sadly, it seems potatoes struggled this year with the heat and drought. 90% of the crop was lost at Free Bird Farms :/ This is the only planned potato week. And there was a frost this week, so the farm lost "the best bean crop" they had all season. I do love green beans, so this is pretty tragic.
We have broccoli and cauliflower to look forward to in the coming weeks. (bleh, broccoli, but yay, cauliflower!) Just a few weeks left now...can't believe the growing season is almost over. Then again, every time I step outside, the frosty air nips at my cheeks and reminds me that it's nearly winter. Scary.
Oh, I also found a new friend in my string beans last night. An skinny little earthworm about an inch long. Not quite sure what to do with him, I herded him into a cup with some decomposing lettuce and let him chill for a while as I sorted my vegetables. I couldn't just kill it, like I had with the caterpillar and grub I discovered earlier this season. I've always had a soft spot for earthworms, given how beneficial they are in the garden and on the end of a fishing line. No fish to catch, so I decided to let this little guy live to see another day. Besides, I'd already gone to the trouble of fishing him out of my veggies and making him a little home. I'd feel like a terrible person if I disposed of him now.
My burst of compassion and humanity translated into a trek down five flights of stairs to a patch of moist dirt, where I gently shook him out and make sure he burrowed away safely under his lettuce scrap. Since I had to take five flights of stairs down, this meant I needed to climb back up five flights of stairs to get home, which, by the way, is no small feat for an out of shape person like yours truly. At 3am.
I have done my gym and civic duty for the day (week?)
Showing posts with label arugula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arugula. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
CSA Share #18
This has been the week of chicken soup. Sometimes, a small gesture goes a long, long ways. A friend, not even a very close friend, dropped by last night because she was "in the area," to pick up a few books I'd promised to lend her (Atonement by Ian McEwan and If This be Treason by Gregory Rabassa, if anyone was curious). She came by as I was in the middle of sorting out my vegetables, with a warm smile and two bowls of chicken matzo ball soup for me and my sick roommate (who she is also friends with). Plus several lovely, thick slices of challah bread. What an angel.
She lives all the way on the UWS and is incredibly busy with her studies, but somehow she managed to make the time to stop by Kips Bay and drop off chicken soup. By the way, "in the area" was actually Penn Station, which is not even remotely in the area at all. Anyways, I really appreciated it and I hope someday that I can return the favor or pay it forward.
After she left, I went back to the task of de-stemming my giant pile of kale. See, I've been getting sick and tired of sauteed greens, and I was far too time-pressed to make kale chips, so I googled kale and what did I find? Recipes for massaged kale salad. Repulsed at first, I was slowly won over by the descriptions of the kale salad that kept popping up. "Silky," "tender," "luxurious," were all used to describe the compliant kale leaves post-massage. I had a lemon slowly drying away into oblivion in the fridge and of course, I had olive oil on hand. So I figured why not, rolled up my sleeves, and set out to make massaged kale salad. It's quite good! I had a small bite and then left the rest to marinate for a few days in the fridge while I do some damage to the more perishable items. The leftover kale ribs were not discarded either. I tossed them in a baggie and added them to my growing "leftover ends for chicken soup" pile in the freezer. I really must make soup this weekend. Anyways, I'll make a post on the kale salad later. I have a lot of posts to write this winter, it seems.
On to this week's CSA share. Lots of repeat vegetables and a few new ones.
CSA Share #18
- 2 sweet dumpling winter squash
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch arugula
- 6 ½ ounces salad mix
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bunch Swiss chard
- 2 eggplants
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 3 red bell peppers
Full disclosure: I swapped out the salad for a head of garlic. I just couldn't handle the thought of more salad...
CWTC: Winter dumpling squash! They really are just so adorable. It's perfect that we got these in our share this week, because I've been eyeing all the little displays of decorative mini squash and pumpkins that the corner delis have set out. They're perfect for decoration and they'll keep for a long while. Multi-functional vegetables that last a long time are definitely my favorite.
TAV: Kale. See above for my little ramble on massaged kale salad.
WTF: Cilantro. T______T No matter. I've been on a roll with preserving fresh herbs lately. I set out to dry the cilantro, remembered that dried cilantro tastes like dried paper flakes, and opted to chop and freeze the cilantro instead. I divided the bunch in two, washed each half-bunch, and chopped them finely and coarsely, respectively. Into ziploc baggies they went, along with a little bit of water (to avoid freezer-burn). I laid them flat in the freezer until they were solid and then stored them away next to the flat-packs of frozen chicken soup.
Side note on the fruit share: Once again, I die. This week's fruit share from Maynard Farms included a bowl of beautiful little Seckel pears and a bowl of large, bright, juicy Golden Delicious. Looks like Maynard Farms was spared the weather problems that have decimated most of the Northeast region's apple crop (yields are down 50%!) This is just not a good year for corn or apples, is it? Apparently raspberries have been hit hard as well, but not by weather problems. Spotted wing Drosophila have decided that the raspberry fields make excellent feeding grounds for their larva and have been quite actively laying their eggs in the berries. Gross. I had to look at Drosophila flies, breed them, mutate them, draw them, examine them, and write papers on them for my entire freshman year of college. These days, I prefer they stay unseen, especially in my food.
In any case, I am still dreaming about that heavenly Macoun I had a few weeks back and I really do wish I had signed up for the fruit share this year. Perhaps next year.
Side note on using up CSA shares: I've noticed that as the summer (and fall) have crept by, I've become more adept at what I've come to think of as vegetable triage. I take stock of this week's share and the leftovers still in the fridge, and quickly assess the survival time of each item. Things that can be frozen or dried are taken care of right away (e.g. garlic, herbs, green onions, soup stock vegetables).
Cut lettuce oxidizes very rapidly, so I store it as a whole head and use it up leaf by leaf, rather than slicing it all up at once. Loose, cut leaves go bad first, so I try to eat those or cook those first (e.g. bok choy, salad mix, arugula, beet/radish/turnip greens).
Long-term storage vegetables, which include essentially all the root vegetables, are separated from their bushy green tops and stored away until the more perishable items are used up first (e.g. potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, turnips). Even if I really want to eat them, I try to hold off until the more perishable items are used up. I actually haven't seen much of these in recent weeks - I assume Free Bird Farm is trying to keep those in the ground as long as possible as insurance against an unexpected frost that might decimate a planned CSA share. Plus, this gives them extra time to grow. At least, I hope that's the case! I'm really looking forward to at least one more haul of onions and garlic. I'm hoping for potatoes too, but I might be asking for too much. I do think there's a crop of peas headed our way too, but that of course, depends on the weather and the bugs. This week's forecast looks chilly but I don't see any real danger of a sudden frost (knock on wood). Then again, there's still four more weeks to go!
She lives all the way on the UWS and is incredibly busy with her studies, but somehow she managed to make the time to stop by Kips Bay and drop off chicken soup. By the way, "in the area" was actually Penn Station, which is not even remotely in the area at all. Anyways, I really appreciated it and I hope someday that I can return the favor or pay it forward.
After she left, I went back to the task of de-stemming my giant pile of kale. See, I've been getting sick and tired of sauteed greens, and I was far too time-pressed to make kale chips, so I googled kale and what did I find? Recipes for massaged kale salad. Repulsed at first, I was slowly won over by the descriptions of the kale salad that kept popping up. "Silky," "tender," "luxurious," were all used to describe the compliant kale leaves post-massage. I had a lemon slowly drying away into oblivion in the fridge and of course, I had olive oil on hand. So I figured why not, rolled up my sleeves, and set out to make massaged kale salad. It's quite good! I had a small bite and then left the rest to marinate for a few days in the fridge while I do some damage to the more perishable items. The leftover kale ribs were not discarded either. I tossed them in a baggie and added them to my growing "leftover ends for chicken soup" pile in the freezer. I really must make soup this weekend. Anyways, I'll make a post on the kale salad later. I have a lot of posts to write this winter, it seems.
On to this week's CSA share. Lots of repeat vegetables and a few new ones.
CSA Share #18
- 2 sweet dumpling winter squash
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 bunch arugula
- 6 ½ ounces salad mix
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 bunch Swiss chard
- 2 eggplants
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 3 red bell peppers
Full disclosure: I swapped out the salad for a head of garlic. I just couldn't handle the thought of more salad...
CWTC: Winter dumpling squash! They really are just so adorable. It's perfect that we got these in our share this week, because I've been eyeing all the little displays of decorative mini squash and pumpkins that the corner delis have set out. They're perfect for decoration and they'll keep for a long while. Multi-functional vegetables that last a long time are definitely my favorite.
TAV: Kale. See above for my little ramble on massaged kale salad.
WTF: Cilantro. T______T No matter. I've been on a roll with preserving fresh herbs lately. I set out to dry the cilantro, remembered that dried cilantro tastes like dried paper flakes, and opted to chop and freeze the cilantro instead. I divided the bunch in two, washed each half-bunch, and chopped them finely and coarsely, respectively. Into ziploc baggies they went, along with a little bit of water (to avoid freezer-burn). I laid them flat in the freezer until they were solid and then stored them away next to the flat-packs of frozen chicken soup.
Side note on the fruit share: Once again, I die. This week's fruit share from Maynard Farms included a bowl of beautiful little Seckel pears and a bowl of large, bright, juicy Golden Delicious. Looks like Maynard Farms was spared the weather problems that have decimated most of the Northeast region's apple crop (yields are down 50%!) This is just not a good year for corn or apples, is it? Apparently raspberries have been hit hard as well, but not by weather problems. Spotted wing Drosophila have decided that the raspberry fields make excellent feeding grounds for their larva and have been quite actively laying their eggs in the berries. Gross. I had to look at Drosophila flies, breed them, mutate them, draw them, examine them, and write papers on them for my entire freshman year of college. These days, I prefer they stay unseen, especially in my food.
In any case, I am still dreaming about that heavenly Macoun I had a few weeks back and I really do wish I had signed up for the fruit share this year. Perhaps next year.
Side note on using up CSA shares: I've noticed that as the summer (and fall) have crept by, I've become more adept at what I've come to think of as vegetable triage. I take stock of this week's share and the leftovers still in the fridge, and quickly assess the survival time of each item. Things that can be frozen or dried are taken care of right away (e.g. garlic, herbs, green onions, soup stock vegetables).
Cut lettuce oxidizes very rapidly, so I store it as a whole head and use it up leaf by leaf, rather than slicing it all up at once. Loose, cut leaves go bad first, so I try to eat those or cook those first (e.g. bok choy, salad mix, arugula, beet/radish/turnip greens).
Long-term storage vegetables, which include essentially all the root vegetables, are separated from their bushy green tops and stored away until the more perishable items are used up first (e.g. potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, turnips). Even if I really want to eat them, I try to hold off until the more perishable items are used up. I actually haven't seen much of these in recent weeks - I assume Free Bird Farm is trying to keep those in the ground as long as possible as insurance against an unexpected frost that might decimate a planned CSA share. Plus, this gives them extra time to grow. At least, I hope that's the case! I'm really looking forward to at least one more haul of onions and garlic. I'm hoping for potatoes too, but I might be asking for too much. I do think there's a crop of peas headed our way too, but that of course, depends on the weather and the bugs. This week's forecast looks chilly but I don't see any real danger of a sudden frost (knock on wood). Then again, there's still four more weeks to go!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
CSA Share #17
Let us have more lettuce. Sigh.
Oh well. I'm tackling the last of the red oak leaf lettuce from CSA Share 15. Dinner tonight? A colorful salad of crisp lettuce and raw beetroot chips topped with oven-roasted chicken. The sweet crunch of the beets contrasts nicely with the chicken. Both the beets and the chicken are low profile with a delicate flavor. The oak lettuce is light and crisp and manages to provide an unobtrusive background that allows the flavor of the beets and the chicken to shine through. Extremely simple (and perhaps plain, by some standards), but delicious. I always tend to like simpler fare anyways. Yum.
Notice that I said "crisp" and "CSA Share 15." That is not a mistake. I kept the lettuce head in the crisper and used one leaf at a time in an effort to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Last night, I took inventory of my fridge and realized the eggplant and yellow bell pepper from CSA share 16 were a bit wrinkly and the lettuce was starting to wilt in spite of my heroic preservation efforts. To revive the lettuce, I washed the lettuce and let it sit in a tupperware container overnight with a bit of extra water clinging to the leaves. Voila, re-crisped lettuce.
I did have to throw out a leaf or two though - they were so far gone that extra moisture might have led to rot, not rejuvenation. I also didn't wash the lettuce well enough...I can taste gritty sand specks here and there >.<
Oh well.
I sliced up the yellow bell pepper for a snack and sauteed the eggplant with some gorgeous opal basil, which was, incidentally, the same deep rich aubergine shade as the eggplant. I wasn't sure if it would keep its color during cooking, but it did! I also wilted the arugula with some garlic, as it was starting to yellow a little bit.
Having taken care of the veggies-in-danger, I cleaned up the 17th share and stored it away in my fridge for later use. Resplendent with rich fall-themed colors, this was a beautiful share worth admiring.
CSA Share 17
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 bunch carrots
- 2 bunches curly leaf parsley
- 1 bunch opal basil
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1 head red Romaine lettuce
- 2 red bell peppers
CWTC: This might come as a surprise, but...carrots! More specifically, carrot tops! See the below post for a full explanation. I washed up the carrot tops along with the celery leaves from last week and tossed it all in a ziploc bag to freeze for later. I have a whole chicken from dinner that I'm working my way through, so I should have a nice bag of chicken bones for stock by the end of the week. I'm hoping that freezing the carrot and celery tops for a few days won't damage them too much. These will have to replace the onions that I usually throw in my soup pot, as I've run out of onions. :(
TAV: Red romaine lettuce. Lettuce is lettuce and this is the same as any other...but the color! It's so beautiful,with a dark green heart gradually shading out to deep shades of red masquerading as purple along the edges. I might cook this. I'm so tired of salads.
TAV alternate: Color isn't really adventurous. I just wanted to wax poetic about my lettuce. My vegetable adventure for the week will be another foray into herb-drying. Normally I would look at my parsley, think very hard about how to eat it, and despair. I am not very partial to the strong taste of fresh parsley. I recall feeding some to my pet rabbit years ago, but sadly, I do not have a pet rabbit anymore. I do like sprinkling dried parsley on my pasta and potatoes for a little color though.
Emboldened by my success in air drying my leftover sprigs of dill, I decided to dry my two large bunches of parsley as well. Why not? But I wanted to avoid perfuming the apartment with the smell of drying parsley, so I decided to expedite the process a bit. I washed and dried the parsley and popped them in my warmed oven on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet. I realized I needed to de-stem them halfway through, in order to fully dessicate the parsley but keep the leaves from burning. After I popped them back into the oven, I forgot about them and went to bed. I did turn off the oven before I put the parsley in, so I'm hoping when I get home tonight, that the parsley will have dried nicely instead of burning to a crisp. I hope. We'll see. This is an adventure, right? One cannot expect perfection when being adventurous.
WTF: I have plans. I am prepared. I can tackle what would ordinarily be a WTF contender (carrot tops, parsley). The carrot tops will be turned into a soup stock ingredient and the parsley is being crisped and dried. So...the WTF vegetable of the week will actually be the more mundane bell pepper. Mostly because this week's bell peppers came in a wider variety of sizes than I have ever seen before. I literally picked out one bell pepper the size of my head and another that was smaller than my fist. You could totally make Russian dolls out of these bell peppers. Or a rather plain, red Faberge egg.
Oh well. I'm tackling the last of the red oak leaf lettuce from CSA Share 15. Dinner tonight? A colorful salad of crisp lettuce and raw beetroot chips topped with oven-roasted chicken. The sweet crunch of the beets contrasts nicely with the chicken. Both the beets and the chicken are low profile with a delicate flavor. The oak lettuce is light and crisp and manages to provide an unobtrusive background that allows the flavor of the beets and the chicken to shine through. Extremely simple (and perhaps plain, by some standards), but delicious. I always tend to like simpler fare anyways. Yum.
Notice that I said "crisp" and "CSA Share 15." That is not a mistake. I kept the lettuce head in the crisper and used one leaf at a time in an effort to keep it as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Last night, I took inventory of my fridge and realized the eggplant and yellow bell pepper from CSA share 16 were a bit wrinkly and the lettuce was starting to wilt in spite of my heroic preservation efforts. To revive the lettuce, I washed the lettuce and let it sit in a tupperware container overnight with a bit of extra water clinging to the leaves. Voila, re-crisped lettuce.
I did have to throw out a leaf or two though - they were so far gone that extra moisture might have led to rot, not rejuvenation. I also didn't wash the lettuce well enough...I can taste gritty sand specks here and there >.<
Oh well.
I sliced up the yellow bell pepper for a snack and sauteed the eggplant with some gorgeous opal basil, which was, incidentally, the same deep rich aubergine shade as the eggplant. I wasn't sure if it would keep its color during cooking, but it did! I also wilted the arugula with some garlic, as it was starting to yellow a little bit.
Having taken care of the veggies-in-danger, I cleaned up the 17th share and stored it away in my fridge for later use. Resplendent with rich fall-themed colors, this was a beautiful share worth admiring.
CSA Share 17
- 1 bunch beets
- 1 bunch carrots
- 2 bunches curly leaf parsley
- 1 bunch opal basil
- 1 bunch red Russian kale
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1 head red Romaine lettuce
- 2 red bell peppers
CWTC: This might come as a surprise, but...carrots! More specifically, carrot tops! See the below post for a full explanation. I washed up the carrot tops along with the celery leaves from last week and tossed it all in a ziploc bag to freeze for later. I have a whole chicken from dinner that I'm working my way through, so I should have a nice bag of chicken bones for stock by the end of the week. I'm hoping that freezing the carrot and celery tops for a few days won't damage them too much. These will have to replace the onions that I usually throw in my soup pot, as I've run out of onions. :(
TAV: Red romaine lettuce. Lettuce is lettuce and this is the same as any other...but the color! It's so beautiful,with a dark green heart gradually shading out to deep shades of red masquerading as purple along the edges. I might cook this. I'm so tired of salads.
TAV alternate: Color isn't really adventurous. I just wanted to wax poetic about my lettuce. My vegetable adventure for the week will be another foray into herb-drying. Normally I would look at my parsley, think very hard about how to eat it, and despair. I am not very partial to the strong taste of fresh parsley. I recall feeding some to my pet rabbit years ago, but sadly, I do not have a pet rabbit anymore. I do like sprinkling dried parsley on my pasta and potatoes for a little color though.
Emboldened by my success in air drying my leftover sprigs of dill, I decided to dry my two large bunches of parsley as well. Why not? But I wanted to avoid perfuming the apartment with the smell of drying parsley, so I decided to expedite the process a bit. I washed and dried the parsley and popped them in my warmed oven on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet. I realized I needed to de-stem them halfway through, in order to fully dessicate the parsley but keep the leaves from burning. After I popped them back into the oven, I forgot about them and went to bed. I did turn off the oven before I put the parsley in, so I'm hoping when I get home tonight, that the parsley will have dried nicely instead of burning to a crisp. I hope. We'll see. This is an adventure, right? One cannot expect perfection when being adventurous.
WTF: I have plans. I am prepared. I can tackle what would ordinarily be a WTF contender (carrot tops, parsley). The carrot tops will be turned into a soup stock ingredient and the parsley is being crisped and dried. So...the WTF vegetable of the week will actually be the more mundane bell pepper. Mostly because this week's bell peppers came in a wider variety of sizes than I have ever seen before. I literally picked out one bell pepper the size of my head and another that was smaller than my fist. You could totally make Russian dolls out of these bell peppers. Or a rather plain, red Faberge egg.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
CSA Share #16
I can't keep up! But this week's haul looks particularly promising :) I'm very excited to pick it up later today!
CSA Share 16
- 1 eggplant
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 bunch assorted braising greens
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch purple carrots
- 3/4 lb yellow wax beans
- 1 bunch young celery stalks
CWTC: purple carrots! Actually, it's a tie between the purple carrots and the yellow wax beans. I have a thing for odd-colored vegetables and fruits. I don't know. Nom nom. Did you know carrots were originally purple until the Dutch bred all the purple right out of them? Yeah, me either. Someone should invent a produce trivia section on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire,
TAV: Yellow wax beans. I'm going to try very lightly sauteeing them with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of garlic, and a dash of chili pepper flakes. That plus some nice braised greens sounds like a perfect fall weather dish to me!
WTF: Celery tops. What? Apparently, the farm's field team mistook the celery tops for parsley, and harvested them a bit early. Oops.
Oh well! I'm glad they're distributing them, instead of throwing them away. They'll make a wonderful addition to a hearty fall vegetable soup. I've been squirreling away bags of chicken stock for an occasion like this!
I think, with all the work and travel and life happenings that have been going on, that it makes more sense for me to accumulate a pile of post-season topics that I'll return to later. I'll continue to update with the weekly CSA share and interesting tidbits, but I'll save the meatier posts and the recipes for when things settle down a bit. That way, I'll have something to occupy myself with, even during the winter months when there's no fresh produce coming in.
I've been keeping a pretty decent photo log of my CSA adventures on facebook, so hopefully that will help. And I'll try to go back and retroactively post all my lovely pictures in this blog during the post-growing season as well. In the meantime...I will fight off this nasty little stomach bug and the aftereffects of my flu vaccine! Rawr!
It seems frosty weather has begun to nip at our heels. Free Bird Farm reported the first Jack Frost visitations and have wrapped up the summer vegetable patch. No more eggplant, tomatoes, or bell peppers for us. That's okay with me, I think I've eaten more eggplant and bell peppers than I ever thought I could in the past few months. I hope we get potatoes and more garlic!
I've noticed another upside of seasonal eating. Vegetables ripen just when they start to look appealing and appetizing. For example, I wouldn't want a lot of potatoes and heavy collard greens or escarole, winter squash, and chili peppers in the dead middle of a hot and humid summer. Shudder. I'd have to turn my oven on. >.<
Neither would I want light salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers when chilly fall evenings start to creep into the Northeast. I want something more substantial, with more depth and smoke and body. But boy, does a refreshing salad sound delicious in the summer! And on a crisp, cool autumn evening, a hearty dish of roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed beans, and sturdy bitter greens cooked with garlic and a bit of fried pork sounds like absolute heaven. Preferably eaten while wrapped up in a warm, cozy sweater or a fleece blanket. See what I mean? Yum yum.
Side note: I WANT A FRUIT SHARE T___T. This week, Maynard Farms is distributing Chardonnay grapes and the last of the summer watermelon. I die.
Apparently, these are very sweet grapes with 24% sugar content, that can be eaten right out of hand. To reiterate, T___________T.
Next year...I am going to sign up for chickens, eggs, and fruit. I can eat the light veggies and eggs during the summer and cook/freeze up the leftovers in soup for winter. The chickens come pre-frozen, so I can just store them away in the freezer until the winter, and then I can make all sorts of lovely dishes. A whole roast chicken on a cold, snowy December night sounds brilliant. I'll have to think about this a little more and check the past few growing seasons to see if this is feasible, but if I'm careful, I may be able to stretch out a full CSA share over a good portion of the year. Hmm...
CSA Share 16
- 1 eggplant
- 2 bell peppers
- 2 heads garlic
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 bunch assorted braising greens
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch purple carrots
- 3/4 lb yellow wax beans
- 1 bunch young celery stalks
CWTC: purple carrots! Actually, it's a tie between the purple carrots and the yellow wax beans. I have a thing for odd-colored vegetables and fruits. I don't know. Nom nom. Did you know carrots were originally purple until the Dutch bred all the purple right out of them? Yeah, me either. Someone should invent a produce trivia section on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants to be a Millionnaire,
TAV: Yellow wax beans. I'm going to try very lightly sauteeing them with a squeeze of lemon, a bit of garlic, and a dash of chili pepper flakes. That plus some nice braised greens sounds like a perfect fall weather dish to me!
WTF: Celery tops. What? Apparently, the farm's field team mistook the celery tops for parsley, and harvested them a bit early. Oops.
Oh well! I'm glad they're distributing them, instead of throwing them away. They'll make a wonderful addition to a hearty fall vegetable soup. I've been squirreling away bags of chicken stock for an occasion like this!
I think, with all the work and travel and life happenings that have been going on, that it makes more sense for me to accumulate a pile of post-season topics that I'll return to later. I'll continue to update with the weekly CSA share and interesting tidbits, but I'll save the meatier posts and the recipes for when things settle down a bit. That way, I'll have something to occupy myself with, even during the winter months when there's no fresh produce coming in.
I've been keeping a pretty decent photo log of my CSA adventures on facebook, so hopefully that will help. And I'll try to go back and retroactively post all my lovely pictures in this blog during the post-growing season as well. In the meantime...I will fight off this nasty little stomach bug and the aftereffects of my flu vaccine! Rawr!
It seems frosty weather has begun to nip at our heels. Free Bird Farm reported the first Jack Frost visitations and have wrapped up the summer vegetable patch. No more eggplant, tomatoes, or bell peppers for us. That's okay with me, I think I've eaten more eggplant and bell peppers than I ever thought I could in the past few months. I hope we get potatoes and more garlic!
I've noticed another upside of seasonal eating. Vegetables ripen just when they start to look appealing and appetizing. For example, I wouldn't want a lot of potatoes and heavy collard greens or escarole, winter squash, and chili peppers in the dead middle of a hot and humid summer. Shudder. I'd have to turn my oven on. >.<
Neither would I want light salad greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers when chilly fall evenings start to creep into the Northeast. I want something more substantial, with more depth and smoke and body. But boy, does a refreshing salad sound delicious in the summer! And on a crisp, cool autumn evening, a hearty dish of roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed beans, and sturdy bitter greens cooked with garlic and a bit of fried pork sounds like absolute heaven. Preferably eaten while wrapped up in a warm, cozy sweater or a fleece blanket. See what I mean? Yum yum.
Side note: I WANT A FRUIT SHARE T___T. This week, Maynard Farms is distributing Chardonnay grapes and the last of the summer watermelon. I die.
Apparently, these are very sweet grapes with 24% sugar content, that can be eaten right out of hand. To reiterate, T___________T.
Next year...I am going to sign up for chickens, eggs, and fruit. I can eat the light veggies and eggs during the summer and cook/freeze up the leftovers in soup for winter. The chickens come pre-frozen, so I can just store them away in the freezer until the winter, and then I can make all sorts of lovely dishes. A whole roast chicken on a cold, snowy December night sounds brilliant. I'll have to think about this a little more and check the past few growing seasons to see if this is feasible, but if I'm careful, I may be able to stretch out a full CSA share over a good portion of the year. Hmm...
Monday, September 17, 2012
Fresh soybeans and creative uses for CSA vegetables
Remember the soybeans from CSA Share #13?
Well, I cooked them. It was incredibly easy too.
1. Wash soybeans.
2. Place in pot and cover with water.
3. Add salt.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low boil. Let the soybeans boil for 5-10 minutes.
5. Test a soybean - if they taste nutty and tender, they're done.
6. Drain and salt, if desired.
I found a random soybean that escaped the pot and I was curious what raw soybeans might taste like. I figured I might not get another chance to try, so I went ahead and took a nibble. They tasted like a larger, rawer version of green beans, if that makes sense. Probably won't try that again, but it was interesting!
Alas, I lost my basil from CSA Share #13 to negligence. I kept thinking I'd use it for something and then it grew moldy. Tears.
But I did manage to use up a bunch of my other vegetables for the week!
Exhibit A: Arugula
I managed to toss a bunch of arugula into some late night shin ramen for late nightt post-drinking munchies. Mostly, I'm really really really impressed with my commitment to my vegetables. After all, drunk people normally don't think about vegetables as a first concern. I even washed the arugula before dumping it in my ramen! For the record, it was really delicious and it totally hit the spot. I demolished an entire pot of ramen singlehandedly. Yeah. Uhhhh....next.
Exhibit B: Cilantro + turnip greens
In my efforts to avoid wasting two weeks of herbs in a row, I thought what the hell why not, and tossed several healthy sprigs of cilantro into my sauteed garlic-turnip greens. This was a very flavorful preparation, as I accidentally peeled more garlic than I thought I could use. Eight cloves of garlic in one sitting. I was a little concerned, but it turned out just fine. This was actually not a bad combination at all! But then, I always did have a soft spot for cilantro.
Exhibit C: Basil
I did manage to use up a bit of my basil. I tossed them on top of a fried egg, which added a nice, herby touch. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything else to put the basil on before it went moldy, but better luck next time, I suppose.
Well, I cooked them. It was incredibly easy too.
1. Wash soybeans.
2. Place in pot and cover with water.
3. Add salt.
4. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low boil. Let the soybeans boil for 5-10 minutes.
5. Test a soybean - if they taste nutty and tender, they're done.
6. Drain and salt, if desired.
I found a random soybean that escaped the pot and I was curious what raw soybeans might taste like. I figured I might not get another chance to try, so I went ahead and took a nibble. They tasted like a larger, rawer version of green beans, if that makes sense. Probably won't try that again, but it was interesting!
Alas, I lost my basil from CSA Share #13 to negligence. I kept thinking I'd use it for something and then it grew moldy. Tears.
But I did manage to use up a bunch of my other vegetables for the week!
Exhibit A: Arugula
I managed to toss a bunch of arugula into some late night shin ramen for late nightt post-drinking munchies. Mostly, I'm really really really impressed with my commitment to my vegetables. After all, drunk people normally don't think about vegetables as a first concern. I even washed the arugula before dumping it in my ramen! For the record, it was really delicious and it totally hit the spot. I demolished an entire pot of ramen singlehandedly. Yeah. Uhhhh....next.
Exhibit B: Cilantro + turnip greens
In my efforts to avoid wasting two weeks of herbs in a row, I thought what the hell why not, and tossed several healthy sprigs of cilantro into my sauteed garlic-turnip greens. This was a very flavorful preparation, as I accidentally peeled more garlic than I thought I could use. Eight cloves of garlic in one sitting. I was a little concerned, but it turned out just fine. This was actually not a bad combination at all! But then, I always did have a soft spot for cilantro.
Exhibit C: Basil
I did manage to use up a bit of my basil. I tossed them on top of a fried egg, which added a nice, herby touch. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything else to put the basil on before it went moldy, but better luck next time, I suppose.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
CSA Share #14
Mmm munching on mild and tender White Lady turnips.
Crazy busy at work, but managed to snag my (very green) share. No idea when I'll have time to wash and prep it all, but I made some headway already! Props to me.
CSA Share 14
- 7 oz arugula
- 7 oz baby salad greens
- 3 heads garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 large slicing tomato
- 1 bunch carrots
- 1 head oak leaf bib lettuce
- 1 bunch White Lady turnips
CWTC: tomato. This one looks gorgeous, meaty, and is a beautiful deep, rich red. Storing it carefully on the countertop (tomatoes go mealy in the fridge!) and waiting for a good opportunity to slice it up and savor every juicy bite.
TAV: Arugula. I like arugula, but there's only so much salad I can eat in a month. Maybe this week I'll try cooking it up somehow. Recipe exploration time!
WTF: T________T more cilantro?!?! asdlfjkasl;fjkljas.
Also, I have given up on carrot tops. I just tossed them this time around. Couldn't help but feel a very strong twinge of guilt though. :(
Crazy busy at work, but managed to snag my (very green) share. No idea when I'll have time to wash and prep it all, but I made some headway already! Props to me.
CSA Share 14
- 7 oz arugula
- 7 oz baby salad greens
- 3 heads garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 pint salad tomatoes
- 1 large slicing tomato
- 1 bunch carrots
- 1 head oak leaf bib lettuce
- 1 bunch White Lady turnips
CWTC: tomato. This one looks gorgeous, meaty, and is a beautiful deep, rich red. Storing it carefully on the countertop (tomatoes go mealy in the fridge!) and waiting for a good opportunity to slice it up and savor every juicy bite.
TAV: Arugula. I like arugula, but there's only so much salad I can eat in a month. Maybe this week I'll try cooking it up somehow. Recipe exploration time!
WTF: T________T more cilantro?!?! asdlfjkasl;fjkljas.
Also, I have given up on carrot tops. I just tossed them this time around. Couldn't help but feel a very strong twinge of guilt though. :(
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
CSA Share #13 and Radish Greens
Slow on the updates in spite of a long weekend... I have a few posts in reserve and will update accordingly when I get the chance.
In the meantime, this week's share:
- 2 red bell peppers
- giant lovely mess (10oz) of arugula (or rocket, as it's known in the UK)
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch Italian basil
- 3/4lb green beans
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1/2lb soybeans!
- 2 large tomatoes
CWTC: soybeans! I don't think I've ever had fresh soybeans before. Only frozen. This should be interesting, and fun.
TAV: Radish greens. Typically something that gets thrown out, but I was determined to make them edible in my quest to reduce food waste.
WTF: Arugula. I love it. But what do I do with this much of it? Maybe I can saute a plate of arugula and top it with a fried egg?
Radish Greens
Wasn't sure what to do with these, as they didn't look very appealing, especially with bug holes eaten through nearly all of them. After washing them very well and chopping them into small pieces, they looked considerably more appetizing.
I chopped up and froze the green portions of the scallions for later use, but I reserved the bulbs for my radish greens. The scallion bulbs were about as big across as a quarter, so they probably were more like onions than scallions at that point.
I sliced two cloves of garlic, the reserved onion bulbs, stray basil leaves, and sauteed them in a pan over medium heat. I added the chopped radish greens fairly quickly. I used a dash of fish sauce, rice vinegar, and a drizzle of sesame oil to finish off the dish, which actually turned out quite nicely. I think it was the seasoning that did it. Sesame oil is a nice counterpoint to root vegetable greens, with the nutty flavor balancing the bitterness of the greens. It's similar to using bacon when cooking turnip greens, but more subtle.
Pretty pleased with myself :)
In the meantime, this week's share:
- 2 red bell peppers
- giant lovely mess (10oz) of arugula (or rocket, as it's known in the UK)
- 1 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch Italian basil
- 3/4lb green beans
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1/2lb soybeans!
- 2 large tomatoes
CWTC: soybeans! I don't think I've ever had fresh soybeans before. Only frozen. This should be interesting, and fun.
TAV: Radish greens. Typically something that gets thrown out, but I was determined to make them edible in my quest to reduce food waste.
WTF: Arugula. I love it. But what do I do with this much of it? Maybe I can saute a plate of arugula and top it with a fried egg?
Radish Greens
Wasn't sure what to do with these, as they didn't look very appealing, especially with bug holes eaten through nearly all of them. After washing them very well and chopping them into small pieces, they looked considerably more appetizing.
I chopped up and froze the green portions of the scallions for later use, but I reserved the bulbs for my radish greens. The scallion bulbs were about as big across as a quarter, so they probably were more like onions than scallions at that point.
I sliced two cloves of garlic, the reserved onion bulbs, stray basil leaves, and sauteed them in a pan over medium heat. I added the chopped radish greens fairly quickly. I used a dash of fish sauce, rice vinegar, and a drizzle of sesame oil to finish off the dish, which actually turned out quite nicely. I think it was the seasoning that did it. Sesame oil is a nice counterpoint to root vegetable greens, with the nutty flavor balancing the bitterness of the greens. It's similar to using bacon when cooking turnip greens, but more subtle.
Pretty pleased with myself :)
Thursday, July 12, 2012
CSA Share #3 and #5
Wow. Between traveling home for some (much-needed and much-appreciated) vacation time and a million other life-events, I just haven't had time to do much beyond pick up my CSA share and try to figure out ways to incorporate more veggies in my life.
Quick recap of the last few weeks...
CSA Share 3
- garlic scapes (picked by yours truly :D)
- patty pan squash
- romaine lettuce
- swiss chard
- kale
- arugula
- basil
CWTC: Patty pan squash. They're just so cute!
WTF: None. I like all of these :)
TAV: None. THese are all pretty garden-variety (haha). And I got so up close and familiar with the garlic scapes after spending an hour picking them that I don't really consider them adventurous fare anymore.
I picked up this share, dropped it off at home, grabbed my luggage, and ran like crazy to catch my flight back to Arizona. But...this share was too cute and I couldn't help but pack a few veggies into a bag and carry them with me. I imagine a lot of the passengers on the plane were a bit confused. I know security at JFK was certainly a bit bewildered. As I was collecting my shoes and laptop from the plastic buckets, I overheard one security person whisper to another as they examined the x-ray screen, "Are those...vegetables?"
Haha. My parents were very impressed by my dedication and even more impressed that I cooked a lovely lemon-basil pasta with summer squash for dinner the next night. Most of all, they were impressed that I did the dishes (voluntarily!) and kept my room clean. I feel like they think I'm still 16 years old sometimes.
As an added bonus, the basil kept my air-sickness at bay. Every time I felt a bit nauseous, I just snagged a leaf from my bag and took a quick sniff of my basil. Mmm.
CSA Share 4
Skipped - out of town :/
On the bright side, I was having the time of my life at home, so I could care less. Plus, my CSA donates leftover vegetables, so it's not wasted!
CSA Share 5
- 1 head fresh garlic
- broccoli
- purple basil
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 Cousa-style squash (aka Korean hobak/zucchini)
- 2 golden zucchini
- red leaf lettuce
- carrots
- beets
CWTC: Carrots! They're so adorable :)
WTF: Broccoli. I like vegetables. I do. But not this one. Sigh...I still packed some for lunch, but I'm not thrilled about it.
TAV: Golden zucchini - zucchini itself is pretty standard stuff. But the color! So pretty! :)
Not sure what to do with this share yet. Very happy there is hobak in there. Apparently people didn't know how to cook/eat it, because this week's newsletter included a request for ways to prepare it. I EAT THIS ALL THE TIME. GIMME MOAR. 호박전, 된장찌개, 호박 무침...omg. More korean-style veggies are popping up in my CSA share than I expected. Plus points!
I might just pack some of my share and bring it with me to the BBQ my friend is throwing this weekend. Zucchini and beets will probably grill nicely. Lettuce on a burger? Cucumbers for snacks and cucumber water! Basil and cucumber for making mixed drinks? Mmm.
Quick recap of the last few weeks...
CSA Share 3
- garlic scapes (picked by yours truly :D)
- patty pan squash
- romaine lettuce
- swiss chard
- kale
- arugula
- basil
CWTC: Patty pan squash. They're just so cute!
WTF: None. I like all of these :)
TAV: None. THese are all pretty garden-variety (haha). And I got so up close and familiar with the garlic scapes after spending an hour picking them that I don't really consider them adventurous fare anymore.
I picked up this share, dropped it off at home, grabbed my luggage, and ran like crazy to catch my flight back to Arizona. But...this share was too cute and I couldn't help but pack a few veggies into a bag and carry them with me. I imagine a lot of the passengers on the plane were a bit confused. I know security at JFK was certainly a bit bewildered. As I was collecting my shoes and laptop from the plastic buckets, I overheard one security person whisper to another as they examined the x-ray screen, "Are those...vegetables?"
Haha. My parents were very impressed by my dedication and even more impressed that I cooked a lovely lemon-basil pasta with summer squash for dinner the next night. Most of all, they were impressed that I did the dishes (voluntarily!) and kept my room clean. I feel like they think I'm still 16 years old sometimes.
As an added bonus, the basil kept my air-sickness at bay. Every time I felt a bit nauseous, I just snagged a leaf from my bag and took a quick sniff of my basil. Mmm.
CSA Share 4
Skipped - out of town :/
On the bright side, I was having the time of my life at home, so I could care less. Plus, my CSA donates leftover vegetables, so it's not wasted!
CSA Share 5
- 1 head fresh garlic
- broccoli
- purple basil
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 Cousa-style squash (aka Korean hobak/zucchini)
- 2 golden zucchini
- red leaf lettuce
- carrots
- beets
CWTC: Carrots! They're so adorable :)
WTF: Broccoli. I like vegetables. I do. But not this one. Sigh...I still packed some for lunch, but I'm not thrilled about it.
TAV: Golden zucchini - zucchini itself is pretty standard stuff. But the color! So pretty! :)
Not sure what to do with this share yet. Very happy there is hobak in there. Apparently people didn't know how to cook/eat it, because this week's newsletter included a request for ways to prepare it. I EAT THIS ALL THE TIME. GIMME MOAR. 호박전, 된장찌개, 호박 무침...omg. More korean-style veggies are popping up in my CSA share than I expected. Plus points!
I might just pack some of my share and bring it with me to the BBQ my friend is throwing this weekend. Zucchini and beets will probably grill nicely. Lettuce on a burger? Cucumbers for snacks and cucumber water! Basil and cucumber for making mixed drinks? Mmm.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
CSA Share #1
Our CSA share pickup times are 5pm to 8pm, but I obviously need to be at work during that time. However, I figured I would plan out my CSA rendezvous so that I could grab my share, drop it off, and be back at work in about 30 minutes. A good plan - a great plan.
I walked in, initialed my name on the sign-in sheet, and went down the row picking out my vegetable allotment for the week:
Other lady: Wow, he's a big one!
Lady: Aww come here, little guy! Aww he's scared!
Me (in my head): UHHHHHHHHHH.
Fortunately, I'm not the squeamish type except when it comes to cockroaches and millipedes/centipedes. Earwigs freak me out too, but those I can deal with. I used to play with potato bugs and collect earthworms. And I caught scorpions and released them outside in the name of humane-bug-treatment. So I wasn't completely unsympathetic to the lady. But at the same time, I think 5+ years of living in super-urban environments has made me a bit less capable of mentally dealing with bugs, so I decided to speed through the CSA pickup line and pray that the bug would remain terrified long enough for me to escape into the elevator before the bug-savior managed to catch him. I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of sharing a cramped, dank, humid SLOW elevator with our lovely bug-savior, the bug, and a couple of sweaty strangers who might not take kindly to the ongoing bug-rescue.
I grabbed my spoils and fled out the door, willing the elevator doors to shut before bug-savior came barreling through. Fortunately, my prayers were answered and I was on my merry way down to the ground floor sans bug.
Walking home was a trial, as I tried to balance my umbrella, bag and vegetables while hopping around puddles in my heels without crushing my delicate salad greens and arugula. Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to pack away my delicate greens in my purse, so they were somewhat more protected than the plastic bags banging away at my knees as I jumped and skipped my way home.
Of course, life doesn't go according to plan. For starters, it was raining.
Remember a few posts ago, how I waxed poetic about the rain? Yeah. All well and good in theory, but slogging through puddles was a bit less than fun. Especially since I was slogging and hopping awkwardly over puddles in heels. I'm just glad I managed to not sprain anything vital. Graceful, I am most definitely...not.
Once I made it to the pickup building, I took an elevator to the 5th floor, where the distribution was supposed to be taking place. I ended up on a floor with rows of numbered rooms. I walked down one hall, then another, looking for the "conference room," only to realize halfway down the third hall that I was wandering through a hotel. Wrong building.
I went back to the elevators and waited patiently for the elevator to bring me back down to earth so I could continue my CSA quest. I say patiently because the elevators (there were two!) took about 5 minutes to reach my floor. If I wasn't sure before, I was sure now: this was an old, decrepit building, and I was probably safer walking up and down the stairs than risking the elevator. But I'm lazy, so I just waited for the elevator.
Once I was safely on the ground, I went through a pair of double doors and asked the nice gentlemen at the front desk where the conference room was. They pointed right and said through those doors. I went right. I climbed a flight of stairs, only to realize it led straght to a locked door on the second floor. I went back to the nice gentlemen and inquired politely where the conference room was. This time, they pointed left. I thanked them and went on my way.
Once I went through the door on the left, there were two hallways and multiple doors. I went right. Nothing. I backtracked and went left. Eureka! Elevators! And the people coming out of the elevators were holding plastic bags full of green leaves. I was getting close. I could feel it!
This time, the elevators were slightly faster, but I was surrounded by sweaty people in a hot, dank elevator. We also stopped at every floor. My offended nose informed me that this was rather unpleasant, and this CSA share had better be worth it...
Upon reaching the fifth floor, I went left and for the first time all day, I had guessed right the first time. The conference room was straight ahead! (Okay, I cheated. I went left because that's where all the other people with bags of vegetables were coming from. But I still went the right direction the first time, which I think is remarkable regardless of the circumstances surrounding the decision. Plus, it shows my strong deductive skills.)
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| CSA Share #1 |
- 1 bunch frisee
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch Easter Egg radishes
- 6.5 oz mixed baby salad greens
- 1 bunch red spring onions
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 bunch cilantro
It all looked so good and so fresh, I wanted to start munching away at the table. But that would have earned me some odd stares and possibly an escort out of the building (plus a mouthful of dirt), so I restrained myself and packed away my shares into my plastic bags.
Halfway through my perusal of the red spring onions (such a pretty color!), the woman next to me found a large bug in the pile of frisee I had just been sorting through.
Lady: Oh hello! What are you doing here?
Other lady: Is that a bug?
Lady: Yeah, let me just take him outside. Come here little fella! I'm not gonna hurt you. Come here! Other lady: Wow, he's a big one!
Lady: Aww come here, little guy! Aww he's scared!
Me (in my head): UHHHHHHHHHH.
Fortunately, I'm not the squeamish type except when it comes to cockroaches and millipedes/centipedes. Earwigs freak me out too, but those I can deal with. I used to play with potato bugs and collect earthworms. And I caught scorpions and released them outside in the name of humane-bug-treatment. So I wasn't completely unsympathetic to the lady. But at the same time, I think 5+ years of living in super-urban environments has made me a bit less capable of mentally dealing with bugs, so I decided to speed through the CSA pickup line and pray that the bug would remain terrified long enough for me to escape into the elevator before the bug-savior managed to catch him. I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of sharing a cramped, dank, humid SLOW elevator with our lovely bug-savior, the bug, and a couple of sweaty strangers who might not take kindly to the ongoing bug-rescue.
I grabbed my spoils and fled out the door, willing the elevator doors to shut before bug-savior came barreling through. Fortunately, my prayers were answered and I was on my merry way down to the ground floor sans bug.
Walking home was a trial, as I tried to balance my umbrella, bag and vegetables while hopping around puddles in my heels without crushing my delicate salad greens and arugula. Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to pack away my delicate greens in my purse, so they were somewhat more protected than the plastic bags banging away at my knees as I jumped and skipped my way home.
I dumped the vegetables into individual plastic bags after admiring them for a few minutes, shoved them in my fridge, and ran back to my office. Total adventure time? 45 minutes. Not bad, but next time I'm hoping to shave that down to half an hour.
After seeing this week's share, I'm thinking a salad spinner would be really handy. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with everything just yet, but I've got a few ideas. The radishes will make a nice snack or salad addition, and I can use the spring onions and cilantro in spam fried rice. I've invited one of my friends to come eat salad with me on Friday night and she happily accepted. Since she just moved to the city, all she has in her pantry is spam. Ergo, spam fried rice. I can't use all the cilantro though (and my roommate hates it), so I'm not sure what to do with it. We'll see...
I'm really excited about the kale though! Lovely, gorgeous kale leaves that will make beautiful kale chips. Woo!
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| KALE CHIPS?! |
And I'm thinking that sauteed radish greens and frisee would make lovely additions to our salad/spam fried rice dinner. We'll see!
 |
| Frisee: wilted? |
Anyways, it's late, I'm out. I think I'll hold off on washing anything until Friday and cross my fingers that the cilantro and greens stay fresh. Not worried about the radishes or kale, but a little concerned about the baby salad greens. I always feel like Friday is so far from Monday (or Tuesday, or Wednesday...), but this Friday in particular feels like it can't come fast enough.
More pictures of this week's haul:
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| Radishes! So cheerful and bright :) |
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| So happy :) |
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