Our Share

Beautiful Veggies

This week's veggie selection includes:

Kale (or Chard)- We like kale a *tiny* bit better than chard, so I went with the kale.
Beans- can't wait for the first fresh beans of the season. I snacked on a few raw as I was putting them away.
Beets (or Turnips)- a tough choice, but Susannah's love of beets won out.
Dill (or Cilantro)- I have cilantro in my garden, so this was an easy choice.
Tomatoes
Extra Tomatoes (or peppers or broccoli)- broccoli was all gone, and we don't care for peppers, so extra tomatoes it was! The tomatoes are so sweet and juicy, I've been eating a lot of them as I walk by.
Onions- had a few of the greens with some tomatoes as I was putting things away.
Scapes (bonus item!)- tried some BBQ's at Kylah's suggestion- delicious! Also used some in the turnip pasta as we didn't have any other forms of garlic in the house. They worked out quite nicely.
Potatoes (or Carrots)- I actually chose the carrots but they were gone. It was a tough choice though, so I'm quite happy with the potatoes- planning to do roasted potatoes with dill.
Zucchini- my fav! Not sure what we'll do with it yet, but it will be delicious!

As you can tell, I must have been hungry as I was putting the veggies away. I had a nice little fresh veggie snack of green beans, tomatoes, dill, and onion greens! I also had the last handful of peas from last week. Despite the drought conditions, the vegetables we're receiving have been outstanding. Kudos to Rainbow Heritage Garden for all of their hard work in continuing to deliver such amazing produce.

Beets!

Tonight we had our lovely beets, and I tried a new recipe. Although I always enjoy beets, this recipe took them to a new level.

This recipe is called "Whole Beet Skillet" from the cookbook "Simply In Season", a cookbook of recipes designed for seasonal eating. I found this recipe in the Winter section, although it sure does not feel wintery right now! (All the beet recipes are in the winter section, probably because beets store well).

Delicious Beets

Whole Beet Skillet

4-6 medium-sized beets, including greens

1-2T lemon juice
1-2t honey

1-2t fresh grated ginger root (or 1/4t ground ginger)

Remove greens, and place beet roots in saucepan of water. Cook until tender (15-30min depending on size). Remove skin, and cut into slices.

Chop stems in 1" pieces. Also chop greens, but keep separate. Saute stems in 1-2T butter until tender. Add greens and saute until tender. Add beets back into pan. 

Stir in lemon juice, honey, and ginger. Serve immediately.

Although we didn't have fresh lemon juice or ginger, the recipe still came out delicious. I like beets, but have never loved the greens. The flavour of the glaze really came through on the greens, and just lightly flavoured the beet slices. I think the greens were my favourite part! These beets disappeared very quickly- we all enjoyed them.

Our Meals This Week

In an effort to keep track of some of the delicious ways I am using our veggies, here is a visual summary of what we've been eating this week.

Fusili Pasta and Turkey Meatballs with
Rainbow Chard, Mushrooms, and Onions in Tomato Sauce.

Susannah trying some Rainbow Chard
so that she can get more noodles.

Delicious lunch that I've had several variations of:
toast with mayo, turkey bacon, and tomato.
Peas and carrots on the side.

Scrambled Egg dish containing arugula, mushrooms, onions, and young garlic. (and eggs and cheese!)

"Turnip Two Ways"
(this picture shows it with parmesan, but this week we used feta)

One lone Zucchini Stick!

Also this week we've cooked out beets (which were beautiful, and I wish I'd taken a picture!), sauteed our kale, and eaten our salad mix. We've done really well, although we still have a few veggies left from last week (beets, turnips, and scapes) and a few peas and one or two tomatoes from this week. But we're making up for lost time, and winning.

Zucchini Season!!

This week we welcomed our first share of zucchini. We LOVE zucchini. It is so versatile, and there are so many ways we enjoy it. In a stir fry, marinated and BBQ'd on a skewer, in a pasta sauce or dish, in veggie lasagna, in a casserole (many different options here!), or as zucchini sticks, zucchini fritters, zucchini muffins, chocolate zucchini loaf... the list of possibilities goes on and on. I am not sure I ever got tired of receiving zucchini in my share last year, although the supply was certainly plentiful. So this week, with our very first share, what were we going to pick? After several discussions about how to prepare our very first zucchini of the season, we agreed on zucchini sticks. They are probably one of our very favourites!

Zucchini Sticks (Adapted from www.acozykitchen.com)

Zucchini, cut in strips

beaten egg with a little water added to thin it out (about 1t per egg)

1c panko bread crumbs

1/4-1/2c grated parmesan cheese

1/8t dried oregano

1/4t garlic powder

1/8t sea salt

a pinch of pepper

Dip zucchini strips into egg wash, then into coating mixture. Place on silicone or parchment paper lined tray. Bake at 425*F for 15-20minutes, turning half way through. They are done when the zucchini is soft, and they are starting to turn golden brown. Enjoy!

Notes: This will cover about 3 zucchini of the size you see in the grocery store and makes 2 cookie sheet's worth of sticks. I usually start off with just one egg, and sometimes need to add a second part way through to have enough to dip all the zucchini. As with all breading, try to keep one hand doing the egg dipping and placing into the crumbs, and the other covering in crumbs and placing on the pan. Try not to handle the zucchini any more than necessary especially once dipped in the coating. :)

We love to eat these with some garlic mayo- mix mayo with minced fresh garlic... as much as you dare! And you know they have to be delicious because although I always have great intentions to take a picture, we gobble them all up before I remember!

Arugula

We finally managed to use the arugula from our very first basket of the season (about time, I know) inspired by a helpful blog comment by lindz660. We made an egg dish of some sort with the sauteed arugula along with some onions, mushrooms, and the young garlic. Yes, my husband used the whole head in one dish! It's so mild though that it was not overpowering at all. Plus this family LOVES garlic.

What would you call it? We just called it "supper" :)

We sauteed the arugula stems, onions, and mushrooms in a bit of butter until softened, and added the garlic and arugula leaves. Once wilted, we added in some beaten eggs and covered until the eggs were set. We also melted some cheese on top, because we seem to be incapable of eating eggs without cheese (and ketchup!) It was a delicious meal that we all enjoyed and I can finally say I've found a way to enjoy arugula. Thanks lindz660!

Last Week/This Week

Well, last week was a rather busy week for us, as my parents were visiting, and we transitioned Susannah to her "big girl bed". We ended up eating several meals out, and did a rather poor job of getting through our veggies. (Don't worry, they are keeping well in the fridge!) We did eat up the lettuces and most of the peas, as well as the turnips. I also did not get any blogs posted... sorry! We did the "turnip two ways" again, and had feta this time- yummy!


This week I completely forgot to take a picture of the veggies. In fact, I almost forgot the veggies! I was bringing in a bunch of things from the car and set the veggies down when I opened the door. Apparently I forgot to pick them up again! I did look for them about 10-15 minutes later, and found them outside... oops! Fortunately they escaped unharmed, and I did get them in the fridge right away.

Here is a cute pic of Susannah instead of veggies :)

We had LOTS of choices this time around, and while most were easy, I am never good at quick decisions so I was glad we had warning.

This week our share consisted of:
Peas- yummy! took some in my lunch today and they were so fresh and delicious
Young Garlic- so ready for fresh garlic! the winter is just too long
Zucchini- woohoo! zucchini season is beginning. we love zucchini... it's so versatile
Beets (or spinach)- Susannah LOVES beets so this was an easy one
Turnips (or radishes)- tough choice, but the turnips came with greens, the radishes didn't
Kale (or chard)- still had last week's chard, so went with kale; otherwise a tough choice too
Tomatoes (or peppers)- easy one, we don't care for pepper

This week I am looking forward to the tomatoes on a juicy toasted tomato and bacon sandwich, the zucchini in whatever we decide to cook up, and the peas. Well, I am looking forward to ALL the veggies, but those are what particularly tempt me at the moment.

Turnip Two Ways Returns

Tonight for dinner I prepared one of my favourite (to date) CSA recipe discoveries- Turnip Two Ways. Last year, when we first received hakurei turnips in our basket, Kylah had posted a link to this recipe as one idea for how to use them. Since I'd never seen or even heard of a hakurei turnip, I decided to take a chance on this recipe. And I'm so glad I did! We enjoyed it several times throughout the season last year.

Delicious "Turnip Two Ways" pasta dish.

All winter and spring I have been looking forward to this delicious pasta dish, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I think this was the largest bunch of turnips I've ever prepared this with, and the first time I actually had green garlic on hand at the same time! My only (temporary) disappointment was realizing that I had only one very tiny chunk of feta left in my feta pail. Guess it's time for a new one!

One measly little chunk of feta.

Fortunately I had lots of fresh parmesan to grate in. (I think I may have gone a little overboard, but it was very delicious!) I highly recommend this recipe. Let me know if you try it. :)

Yummy!

Week #2

Week 2, and I'm once again excited at the prospect of new veggies. Our basket from last week is almost gone, and it's time to restock! The only items remaining are the arugula and some of the mint. I also have the hakurei turnips, but those I've been saving for supper tonight! I'm making "turnip two ways" with a bit of feta.

Beets, Hakurei Turnips, Salad Mix, Rainbow Chard, Scapes, Peas, and Romaine Lettuce.

This week there were two choices to make. The first one- chard or arugula, was a no-brainer for me. I'm not overly fond of arugula, and still have last week's left! The second choice was much more difficult- broccoli or beets. Susannah (who is two) LOVES both, but we've had some broccoli from the grocery store, and have not had beets in a long while, so beets it is. I think the item I am most excited about this week are the sugar peas! I remember them from last year, and they are so delicious and fresh! I feel as though I've just picked them out of the garden when I eat them.






When I bring my basket of veggies home, I like to think through and plan what I will do with them throughout the week. It helps me to figure out what sort of recipes I need to be searching for, and what veggies will be my "challenge" for the week. There's usually one or two items that I struggle to use. It also helps me to be more organized with my meal planning so that it's not 5:30pm and I'm hungry and whining that I don't know what to make for supper! We eat much better when I plan ahead.

So here's my summary for this week:
I love chard in pasta sauce, so that's where it will likely end up, probably with some homemade turkey meatballs. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with the beets yet. Maybe roasted, or just boiled, along with some sort of BBQ'd meat. The turnips will likely end up in another recreation of "turnip two ways" which we love. Or maybe I'll branch out and try one of the other delicious-looking turnip recipes- the glazed turnips sounded good to me too. The peas will just be munched on, and the salad mix and lettuce will be quick and easy salads. Scapes can go in any number of dishes, so I'm not too concerned about where I'll use them. And that's the week!

Rediscovering Radishes

Radishes are one veggie I've always thought I should like, but don't. They're so pretty, and crunchy... but often have quite a bite to them. I can handle them in a radish sandwich, and can tolerate them in a salad. But they're one veggie I haven't really enjoyed- until now.

As with other veggies from our CSA basket, I've once again discovered a different way to present something I previously did not enjoy, in a way that I now love. Tonight it was roasted radishes. No longer will I dread getting radishes in my CSA share, not knowing what to do with them but not wanting them to go to waste. I now have an excellent way to eat them- which even includes the greens!

Our delicious dinner.

Our dinner tonight consisted of BBQ chicken breast, sauteed kale, and roasted radishes in browned butter and lemon. The presentation on my plate is not as appealing as it could have been- the greens got fairly wilted as I waited for the chicken to be ready, and the radishes were fairly soft so some of them got squished. However, the flavour was amazing. There was just enough butter on the soft sweet radishes, and the lemon flavour really came through in the greens giving them a nice zing. They were also very pretty- I left a wee bit of the stems on each radish, and the colour was more noticeable once the radishes were roasted. We will definitely be enjoying this side dish again, although I plan to decrease the roasting time by a few minutes.

New Season

It's a new season of CSA, and we're once again participating with Rainbow Heritage Garden in their weekly CSA program. Last year we had a wonderful experience, and I am looking forward to it again! It was such a pleasure to go and pick up our first "haul" of the season. After a looooong winter of minimal truly fresh produce, and a long springtime of waiting, we are more than ready to dive into these beautiful fresh local veggies! (we did start going to the farmer's market a few weeks ago, and have had a little fresh produce from there, but getting the basket weekly is even better!!)

Hakurei turnips, easter egg radishes, scapes, arugula, mint, spring salad mix, dinosaur kale, and spinach!

I am very excited about the prospects of what we can make with these veggies! The hakurei turnips will be made into "turnip two ways", and the spinach and some of the scapes will likely turn into spinach and cheese casserole. I want to try either roasting or sauteeing the radishes- something I wanted to try last season but never did. The salad mix has already been enjoyed several times, although there's still a little left! I'm not sure what to do with the arugula. I find it too spicy-strong on its own, although in a salad mix it's ok. Suggestions welcome! :) The kale will probably find its way into a frying pan with a little butter and maybe some cabbage. And the mint will be made into tea and/or muddled with some limeade... refreshing!

We also enjoyed the annual farm potluck last Saturday. (There was also a tour, but our munchkin was napping.) It was lovely to be able to visit the farm, and chat with others who also love and appreciate fresh local produce. And we always love to talk with the people who grow our food. We saw Zach and Kylah (the farm owners) as well as some of their interns for the season. There is so much going on at the farm. In addition to the amazing food, there was a kids craft table that Susannah enjoyed.

Making some veggie prints with mom.

Some of the art supplies- sweet potato, apple, potato, broccoli.
There were also carrots and celery. The celery made pretty roses!

So proud of her veggie print painting!
Also note her appropriate attire- rainbow dress!

This season of CSA seems to be off to a great start! Can't wait to get cooking, and see what else the season brings!