So I'm a Slacker...

I've fallen behind. I'd like to say I have a good reason, but I don't--I just plain forgot.

Here's what we received in our CSA box this week: Napa cabbage, red cabbage, baby carrots, broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, onions, fresh garlic, basil, parsley, cucumber, and red new potatoes.

Add to that the produce we still have left from our box two weeks ago: collard greens, radishes, beets, fennel, cauliflower, and kohlrabi.

LOADS of deliciousness in our fridge!

I made a fabulous chicken and veggie stirfry a week and a half ago using a bunch of fresh veggies from our CSA box. I'm thinking we'll end up doing another stir-fry with our new veggies. I also made a huge batch of zucchini bread/muffins, and it was one of the most delicious things I've made in a long time. I think I'll be making more of that this weekend.

Garlic Scape Pesto and Sauteed Kohlrabi

Last night for dinner, I made pasta with Garlic Scape Pesto, and Sauteed Kohlrabi.

The garlic scape pesto was very tasty! It took a few bites for me to get into it, because at first all I could taste was the crisp "grassy-ness" of it. [I know, grassy-ness isn't a word, but it's the only word I can think of to describe the very leafy, natural taste of certain things, especially veggies.] After a few bites, I noticed the mild garlicky flavors, along with the familiar taste of parmesan cheese. It's something I will definitely be making again. The sauteed kohlrabi was fantastic! I had never had kohlrabi before, and I was a bit nervous about trying it. As I was chopping the kohlrabi, I nervously tried a bite of it raw, and I realized I had nothing to worry about. I was naively expecting to taste the bite of a radish, but it was nothing like that (thankfully!). It tastes like very mild and sweet broccoli. After sauteing it in butter and oil and seasoning it with a bit of garlic sea salt, it was even better. All in all, it was a good meal. I wish I would have thought to make a chicken breast or some other protein to go with the pasta though. Also, the meal seemed a bit oilier than I would have liked. The pesto does have olive oil, so naturally it has an oily feel to it. When I was sauteing the kohlrabi, I used more oil than the recipe called for, and I think that was a big factor in the oiliness of the meal. I would make both recipes again.

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
10 garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 Cup fine grated parmesan
1/3 Cup slivered almonds (I lightly toasted mine)
pinch salt
1/2 Cup olive oil
Put scapes, almonds, parmesan, and oil into food processor and whir to chop and blend. Add more oil if needed to get desired texture. Season with salt.


SAUTEED KOHLRABI
1 Kohlrabi head
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
1/4 tsp salt
Peel kohlrabi and cut into 1/8" slices, then finely julienne. Put oil and butter into pan over medium heat. When butter has melted, put in kohlrabi. Stir and saute over med-low heat for 6-7 minutes until kohlrabi is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Optional: Add chopped garlic scapes and kohlrabi greens at the beginning of cooking. Top with parmesan cheese when serving.

Camping...

So far the contents of our first CSA box have been left uneaten, for the most part. We picked our box of produce up on Wednesday evening, and Thursday was spent mostly preparing and packing for our weekend camping trip with friends. We had planned on having grilled baby bok choy, broccoli, and some green curly leaf lettuce on our trip, and we ended up not eating any of it!

Our camping trip was a lot of fun, even if the weather didn't fully cooperate with us. We got to the campsite around 2pm Friday, and it was well over 90 degrees--I was sweating before we even had the tent set up! There were some pretty severe storms Friday evening, and they were in fact so severe that everyone in the campground ended up in the storm shelter for awhile. It was after 9pm before we had dinner, and we just had a quick meal of hot dogs over a campfire. Saturday we had burgers for lunch, and the most amazing BBQ smoked ribs for dinner. John smoked them slowly over the campfire for the afternoon, and they were the best ribs I've ever had. Sunday we just had sandwiches and hot dogs. So although we had great plans for using our produce while camping, it just didn't work out so well this time around.

Tomorrow night we are planning on having some pasta with garlic scape pesto for dinner. If I remember, I want to try making some baked kale chips and I also want to try a small salad.

First CSA box!

Last night John and I picked up our first CSA box of the season! We are only doing a half share this year, which means every other week we will receive a 3/4 bushel box full of produce. Full share members receive a 3/4 bushel box every week. John and I decided that since it's just the two of us and we're not big vegetable eater, a half share would be the best choice for us.

Yes, you did read that correctly, we are not big vegetable eaters, and yet we joined a CSA. I'm actually not a fan of raw vegetables, because I don't like the texture. I know, I'm weird. I know that just because I haven't liked something in the past, doesn't mean I don't like it now, so I'm committed to trying everything we receive in the CSA box. If I/we try it and don't like it, we will try cooking it a different way the next time.

Anyway, back to the good stuff--what we received in our box! This week's CSA box contained strawberries, broccoli, dinosaur kale, kohlrabi, baby bok choy, garlic scapes, green curly leaf lettuce, red "cherriette" radishes, Japanese white salad turnips, baby spinach, cilantro, dry organic black beans grown on a neighboring farm, and a potted basil plant.

The strawberries are already gone, and as John remarked "I've never really had strawberries before, have I?" They were the best strawberries I've ever had! While we're on the topic of strawberries, yesterday I purchased two pounds of strawberries from the grocery store and made some vanilla strawberry preserves. It was my first time ever canning anything, and I think it went quite well. It was a small batch, two pint jars, and I don't think they'll end up lasting very long--they tasted delicious as I cooked them up!

Here are my thoughts on what we received and what we plan on doing with it:
*Broccoli--This is my favorite veggie, and I am very excited to try it. I'm planning on bringing it camping with us this weekend and steaming it with some garlic and butter in a foil packet over the campfire.
*Dinosaur Kale--I'm not yet sure what we'll be doing with this. I've found some recipes for different salads and for roasted kale, so perhaps one of those? I tried a bite of the dinosaur kale raw last night and it tasted very earthy, in my opinion. Not bad, but it might take a few tries to really enjoy it.
*Kohlrabi--We are planning on sauteeing this and eating it as a side dish with dinner tonight. If I remember I will post the recipe and a review of it after we've tried it.
*Baby Bok Choy--I don't think I've ever had baby bok choy and I'm excited to try it. We're going to bring it to the campsite with us this weekend and try it grilled!
*Garlic Scapes--Garlic scape pesto! I have been looking forward to these garlic scapes for months!
*Dry Organic Black Beans--I'm thinking that one night next weekend we will do a Mexican night, and these will somehow be used then. I've never used dried beans before, but it will be fun to learn.
*Green Curly Leaf Lettuce--I'm going to try a very small salad tonight. We are planning on bringing the lettuce camping with us, since it won't last all that long, and we can use it on sandwiches.
*Red "Cherriette" Radishes--These taste very "bright" to me. They have a fresh spiciness to them, and I think it's something I may have to try a few times to get more used to. If I remember right, John liked them. I'm trying to find a recipe for a different way of eating them.
*Japanese White Salad Turnips--We're going to try sauteeing these sometime next week, unless I find a recipe that I like better between now and then.
*Baby Spinach--We are going to use this in a Stromboli early next week (probably Tuesday).
*Cilantro--This will be used when we have Mexican night next weekend.

The potted basil plant smells fantastic (our car smelled like basil the whole drive home!), and right now it's sitting on our kitchen table. Once we get back from our camping trip I will re-pot it in a larger container, and hopefully we'll be enjoying basil from it throughout the summer!

Overall, I think it is a pretty good CSA box. I'm looking forward to trying everything and finding new favorites!