CSA 5.19.11: spring mixed with a little summer

We missed two weeks of our CSA produce deliveries since we were in Italy, but we came back to yummy goodness that was delivered on our anniversary. Here is a recap of the summer preview we enjoyed.

Blackberries
I had no idea that blackberries could taste this good! There is definitely something to be said for eating blackberries right away when they are picked at their peak ripeness. I’m still kicking myself for not actually making anything with these blackberries,we just snacked on them. But I guess they could be counted as an easy weeknight dessert because they did satisfy my sweet tooth after dinner a few nights.

Squash & Zucchini
I can’t get enough squash and zucchini during the summer, usually by the time August rolls around I’ve had enough. Most of the time I just slice it and throw it in the baking dish with salt, pepper, EVOO, and some truffle oil alongside a pork tenderloin or chicken. This time we had so much that we enjoyed it a variety of ways.

1. Grilled: We sliced and cooked some squash on our grill pan with some steaks and made a foil boat and cooked some on our outdoor gas grill as well.

2. Pasta: I subscribe to Health magazine and saw a recipe for farfalle with zucchini and white beans earlier this spring. I’ve been saving it to enjoy with fresh zucchini. The recipe was okay, if I were to make it again I’d maybe some sort of light sauce with lemon juice, lemon zest, and EVOO.


3. Pizza: I found this recipe for zucchini and basil pizza several years ago in a Williams-Sonoma catalog and its one of my favorites tasting so light and fresh. It’s easy to make and I took a shortcut with some fresh pizza dough from Central Market.


Cabbage
I used the cabbage for one of my favorite Bon Appétit fast easy fresh recipes, black bean tacos. I substituted the cabbage for the cole slaw mix, added two small diced mangos, and also substituted peppered goat cheese for feta since I already had some for the pizza. I also purchased the southwest flour tortillas from Central Market because their tortillas are just so yummy!

Collard Greens
I haven’t branched out on the collard green recipes like I should; instead I went with a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” philiopshy since Ellie Kreiger’s short cut collard greens recipe has been a success every time, especially when made with applewood smoked bacon.

Onions
I use these as an ingredient as needed. The best part is that the delivery is now dry onions so I don’t have to worry about using them so quickly.

CSA: Home Sweet Farm

I’ve got a new project for some blogging material. This year I am participating in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) with the Home Sweet Farm in Brenham, Texas. The farm makes produce deliveries to various drop locations around the Houston area for 30 weeks throughout the year.

This is a very exciting and challenging opportunity for me. Usually my weekly grocery store purchases have quite a bit of produce. So I thought this would be a great way to support a local farmer and have some super fresh produce to eat. Although this also means trying some new produce that I haven’t cooked at home before. Some new items so far have been radishes, collard greens, swiss chard, and bok choy. My weekly pickup is on Thursdays at the JCC, so my goal each week is to use everything before the next delivery. This is forcing us to eat more meals at home and also to eat more veggies than we might normally.

I’m on the 3rd week and have started to get the hang of all this. I always plan a weekly menu in advance but it’s usually based off of some new recipes I want to try, some weeknight staples, and my freezer, fridge, and pantry inventory. So now once I pickup my delivery I go to the internet and search Food Network, My Recipes (Southern Living), Epicurious, and Google to find out what recipes I can find that sound yummy to me. Not to mention Farmer Brad & Jenny also send a weekly update on Mondays with what’s coming available, the status of the crops, and some recipes to try for produce that might be delivered that week.

So here is what I have to work with this week…

Head Lettuce
Every week has included head lettuce and/or spring mix and after two weeks of having salads for lunch, I needed a break and this week Scott gets to enjoy some lunch salads. He usually takes sandwiches to work, and we spend ~$14/week on deli meat + ~$3 on a loaf of bread, so instead this week I purchased a colossal rotisserie chicken for $7 and shredded it to be added to the salad with the addition of some nuts, dried fruit, and Brianna’s blush wine vinaigrette.

Turnips
The Southern Living 2009 Christmas Book has a great recipe for a creamy turnip soup with bacon, caramelized pears, and onions. I had made this during the winter and it was delicious. Although I think the fact that this recipe allows me to use one of my favorite gadgets, the immersion blender, coupled with bacon might be part of why I like it so much.

Swiss Chard
Tonight I made Giada’s wheat spaghetti with chard and pecorino for a quick and tasty weeknight dinner. I made a few tweaks to the recipe. I only had one bunch of chard, used Italian style diced tomatoes, skipped the white wine since I didn’t have any open and substituted with pasta water, I also skipped the olives because I do not like olives, and used parmesan instead of pecorino since that is what I usually have in my fridge. Oh and I also had some leftover mushrooms so I added those as well.

Collard Greens
I’m planning to make Ellie Krieger’s short-cut collard greens as a side for my pork tenderloin tomorrow night. Scott is a huge fan of collard greens. I made these the first week with bacon instead of Canadian bacon and he really enjoyed them.

Radishes
I’ve had radishes every week and have tried them two different ways. The preferred method is to slice the radishes and add them to the baking dish/roasting pan with a pork tenderloin or chicken thighs and season them w/ salt & pepper, add a little EVOO, and a tiny bit of truffle oil. Also the radish tops can be roasted as well. For the radish tops toss w/ a little EVOO and sprinkle with salt, place on a sheet pan and bake at 400 for about 10 minutes or so until crispy.

Arugula
Arugula is another item I’ve had each week and have included it in pastas but have also made the Barefoot Contessa’s white pizzas with arugula. This is a delicious pizza, but I short cut with the fresh pre-made pizza dough from Central Market which is half the recipe and I make it as one pizza. Since I still have half of the cheeses left we are making this again on Thursday for a date night on the patio.

Onions
I just use these as an ingredient as needed. See swiss chard and collard greens.