CSA Week 7, 8 and 9

CSA Week 7 photo

Yes, I'm so far behind. Where does the time go? Week 7: Lettuce, English Peas, Purple Kohlrabi, Garlic Chives, Strawberries, Chantenay Carrots, Spigarello, Leeks. Week 8: Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas, Green Kohlrabi, Strawberries, Lettuce, Baby Carrots (2 shares). This box was supposed to have Cardoon as well but we didn't like the Cardoon last year so I swapped it for some more baby carrots. Week 9: Fava Beans, Spigarello, Chantenay Carrots, Baby Erbette Chard, Purple Kohlrabi, Strawberries, Red New Potatoes, Radishes. It's been such a great spring filled with delicious veggies. We've especially enjoyed the strawberries, new potatoes, spigarello, spinach and peas. The three weeks of kohlrabi we could have done without. I should say we did really like the kohrabi greens in cooking but the roots themselves we aren't fond of. I tried them fresh julienned on salad and they were "ok". We tried a gratin recipe from the farm and thought it was a waste of cheese and cream. … [Read more...]

CSA Week 6

csa11_wk6

Sugar Snap Peas, Calcot Onions, Agretti, Rapini Greens, Radishes, Swiss Chard, Dill, Baby Carrots, Strawberries This was a great week, there were lots of our favorites in this box. The radishes and carrots went into salads. The onions were grilled and served along with mexican dinner. The strawberries were snacks as usual. I must admit I haven't used the greens yet. I am planning to make a pasta dish tonight with the rapini, sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan. I used some of the dill in a fresh salad dressing. There is still some left for another use. … [Read more...]

The CSA season has started and I am drowning in vegetables

2011 CSA Week 1

Fear not, I have not abandoned the blog. Just busy with life I guess. I will be better! The CSA season started up again a few weeks ago. It's always an adjustment to get into the routine of keeping up with all the fabulous veggies coming in each week. I am getting caught up though and luckily for me this week was a "light" one as the farm had some hail damage and it was a smaller share than usual. I'm certainly not complaining! So here's a catch-up of the first 5 weeks of our CSA from Mariquita Farm Carrots, Cilantro, Purple Top Turnips, Loose Spinach, Calcot Onions, Winter Density Lettuce, Delicata Squash, Collard Greens, Baby Leeks The cilantro I used in cilantro pesto. Carrots, turnips, spinach, lettuce and onions all went into salads and snacks during the week. The collard greens and leeks I used in a soup with white beans and chicken. The squash sat around for a few weeks until I roasted them basted with a mixture of honey, garlic and chile powder. They were … [Read more...]

CSA Week 36

CSA Week 36

Collard Greens, Romanesco, Escarole, Pumpkin, Fresh Peanuts, Radishes, Fennel, Salad Mix,  Parsley. Sadly this was our last weekly share of the  regular CSA season. The CSA resumes in March and we'll miss them until that time. This last share of the season also brought big news about our CSA. The two farms that cooperate to do our Two Small Farms CSA are no longer too small to have their own CSA and are splitting the routes next year. We don't know yet which of the farms will handle our pick-up site but I have confidence we will still receive high quality organic produce regardless of which farm is actually providing the box. It's still a bit sad to think of the two farms going their separate ways. It was a challenge getting through the bulkiest veggies in the share last week to clear space for the Thanksgiving feast  ingredients! The pumpkin was used for our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. It was fantastic as always! The fennel went into some spicy sausage and fennel pasta … [Read more...]

CSA Week 35

CSA Week 35

Celery, Spigarello, Red Leaf Lettuce, Cabbage, Bull's Blood Beet "Greens", Cilantro, Chantenay Carrots, Red Butter Lettuce, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes. I'm so sad to see the end of the CSA season quickly approaching. We get our last box this week on Wednesday! Yes, I know I'm behind getting the weekly photo up but I had company in town last week! I was happy to see both potatoes and sweet potatoes. Although my son doesn't like potatoes, I do! I made a great Sweet Potato, Kale, Tomato soup the day after we got the CSA share. The inspiration recipe comes from Rachel Ray a few years ago. It is usually make with regular potoates and spinach. I substituted sweet potatoes the first time I made it. This time I swapped the spinach for Kale. It is even better with Kale! My son even liked it!  I will post the recipe in the next few days! The celery will be eaten as is and used with our Thanksgiving turkey! The carrots will be snacks and salad toppings. Actually they already have been, … [Read more...]

CSA Week 34

csawk34

Green Leaf Lettuce, Cauliflower, Belgian White Carrots, Butternut Squash, Mixed Beets with greens, Artichokes, Tomatoes, Potatoes. Wow is that cauliflower gigantic. I have never seen such a huge one! I will roast it in the oven just like I did the last one. It was so yummy and easy! We were excited to see the artichokes this week. We really like them and it's been a long time since we got them in the share. I will post a recipe for marinated grilled artichokes later in the week. They are great! The lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and beets will go into salads for the week. Some of the potatoes have already gone into a fritatta that I made for my mom and sister who are visiting this week. It turned out really great. The rest will probably just be baked to go as a side one evening. The butternut squash will be made into a soup. Butternut squash soup is one of my husband's favorite things! I will post my recipe for that as well once I make it. It may not be this week though, we are … [Read more...]

CSA Week 33

csawk33

Italian Parsley, Lacinato Kale, Mei Quinn Choy,  Zucchini, Potatoes, Early Girl Tomatoes, Acorn Squash, Red Butter Lettuce, Delicata Squash. It's been a busy around here lately what with the Giants in the playoffs and then winning the world series and Halloween. Go Giants!! Not many recipes to share, I haven't been cooking much. I used the mei quinn choy in a stir fry and the tomatoes in guacamole for a friend's 50th birthday party. The zucchini went into a quick zucchini and whole pasta dish. Everything else is still hangning around! Must get busy as I have to pick up this week's box today! … [Read more...]

CSA Week 32

csawk32

Baby Turnips, Yellow Carrots, Red Leaf Lettuce, Orange Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, Delicata Squash, Apples, Scallions, Roma Tomatoes. This week's share has a nice variety. I can't believe our CSA is almost done for another year, just 4 more weeks to go. I'm proud to say that we've gotten every box this year and enjoyed it all. Last year we missed out on several boxes due to vacations. I planned better this year and got them all. The turnips, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and scallions will go into salads throughout the week. We really like the baby turnips sliced thin in a salad. I haven't found any way that I like them cooked. I've tried several ways and I'm never thrilled with them. Raw they are tasty though! The apples are almost gone already. They are really great, the whole family has been snacking on them. I used the turnip greens already in a dish with lemon, orzo and asiago cheese. Super easy and delicious. I'll try to remember to photograph it next time I make it to … [Read more...]

CSA Week 31

csawk31

Collard Greens, Sugar Pie Pumpkin, Early Girl Tomatoes, Scallions, Mixed Summer Squash, Red Jalapeno Peppers, Strawberries, Fennel, Romaine Lettuce Great box again this week. I still can't believe we've gotten strawberries nearly every week this year. They are amazing strawberries, we've been SO lucky to get so many! The sugar pie pumpkin will be made into a pumpkin pie for sure. My son LOVES pumpkin pie and we've all been looking forward to pumpkin season. I dove into the fennel right away, making spaghetti sauce the first night. It was great. Not sure what I'll do with the 2nd half. The fronds will be added to salads over the week. We are big pepper fans around here so the big bag of red jalapenos was exciting! I used 2 in the spaghetti sauce the first night to give it a kick. I used 2 more in the Thai Spring rolls I finally got around to making last night. The rest will go into a fresh salsa and guacamole over the weekend. The tomatoes will be used in salads and join … [Read more...]

CSA Week 30

CSA Week 30

Strawberries, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Assorted Peppers, Green Leaf Lettuce, Red Butter Lettuce, Cilantro, Roma Tomatoes. Great box this week! I grilled the two yellow peppers along with some onions and served them as a side to steak on the weekend. Last night I roasted one of the green chiles and served it as a topper to chicken sandwiches. I still have a couple left. They will just end up in salads or grilled with mexican food later in the week. The strawberries as usual were eaten right away, they never last long enough to get made into anything! The sweet potatoes were sliced into fries and baked in the oven with salt, pepper and sweet paprika. I'll  post the recipe for them tonight or tomorrow morning. They turned out great. The carrots have just been sliced up in salads and eaten as sides so far. They are huge though and I still have 3 left. If it wasn't so hot here I'd make some carrot muffins but there is no way I'm lighting the oven for baking  when it's this … [Read more...]