My, oh my. It has been awhile, hasn't it? I do have a very good reason for not posting: I haven't really been cooking. My CSA kicked into high gear and basically determined what I would eat each day. There have been lots of green smoothies, roasted veggies, various sauteed greens with pasta, refrigerator pickles...if it's been in season, I have eaten it.
Here are some examples:
Cauliflower, red onions, potatoes, fennel, and fabulous little turnips, drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. The fennel could have used more time in the oven, but everything else was excellent. Served with red quinoa and capra sarda cheese.
Cold roasted beets (roasted at the same time as the other veggies, but wrapped in foil and for longer) with arugula, walnuts, a local bleu cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette; leftover red quinoa with sauteed summer squash, onion tops, and steamed cauliflower. Plus some bread.
My take on the perpetual pickle. There's some leftover kohlrabi in there and it was excellent pickled.
We're entering peak tomato season now and I am flirting with the idea of ordering an extra 20 pound box to do some freezing or MAYBE canning. Freezing seems way less intimidating to me. I'll keep you posted.
Last Wednesday marked the first delivery of my CSA share from Riverbend Farm. The spring has been so long and cool that it took a little longer than usual for harvestable veggies to start appearing, and some stuff, like the delicious broccoli, never got particularly big and robust, thanks to the cool weather. But the greens pulled on through!
Lots of things about buying a CSA share totally appeal to me, but one of the things I like the most is the surprise element. I'm not a total neophyte w/r/t to when certain veggies are in season, so I have some idea of what to expect. I guess what I'm saying is that the idea of preparing meals with whatever mystery veg is delivered on Wednesday appeals to me quite a lot (hence this blog).
So on Wednesday night I used the broccoli, tatsoi, some of the broccoli rabe, and scallions in a stir fry, and then I made a simple salad with the beautiful green and red lettuces and tender radishes.
It's not much of a recipe: fry the tofu in veg oil and Bragg's or soy sauce, separately. Smash a garlic clove and toss into a saute pan with olive oil and some crushed red pepper. Heat and add greens, sauteing until tender, adding water as needed. Season with sesame oil and a bit of salt or soy sauce, or just eat straight up with tofu. Top with scallions.
I also got a pot of herbs in my first CSA box--just need to divide and replant so that the couple we're splitting our share with can also enjoy the parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, basil, and chives.
