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!