CSA update
Sorry to have been absent from LJ/DW so much lately. Feeling a bit out of sorts with the internets in general and have been lurking here and over at the Fountain Pen Network which always makes me happy.
I did, however, promise to keep people apprised of my adventures in Community Supported Agriculture and post my weekly crop shares, so...
Week One: We received Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spring Onions, Asparagus, Garlic Chives, Strawberries and potted Basil.
First off, I need to point out that I opted for a full share instead of a half one and so instead of one 19"x12"x8" box, I got two of them. Imagine the volume of veggies you've got there and then double it. My first night of veggie processing (washing, sorting, and putting into plastic bins in the fridge) took me three hours after five minutes of staring in horror and wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into.
The weather was horribly hot the first week and the delivery van, still learning the new routes for the year, didn't make it to my house until 7pm after starting out from the farm at 5am. Not all the veggies made it intact, the strawberries looked bad as did about half of the lettuce. Managed to salvage most everything else. Asparagus is pretty hardy and I don't think anything can stop kale. It seems to be vegetable equivalent of a cockroach - unkillable. The spring onions were mostly good and the curlique garlic chive was in great shape.
The lettuce was easy. I pointed it at my husband and told him to make it go away. LOL. For being a vegan, I'm not much of a salad eater. I like bunnies, but not eating like one.
The kale was a challenge. I'd never eaten the stuff before, let alone tried to prepare it so out came ALL the cookbooks. I tried a vegan alfredo sauce (no thank you), a minestrone (mmmm) and a vegan adapted spanakopita with the kale taking the place of the spinach which was very well received and cheers of 'let's have that again' issuing from the hubs.
The asparagus was so voluminous, I finally just gave up and indulged in a Cream of Asparagus soup. Quite a luxury and not something I'd want to pay store retail to remake, but very delicious.
The potted herbs I get each week are going northward into my mom's new little garden. She moved out into a house in the country a few weeks ago and so as I visit, she inherits all the little pots for her herb garden outside her kitchen.
Week Two: Red Leaf Lettuce, Collard Greens, Spring Onions, Garlic Chives, Asparagus, Sweet Cherries, and Strawberries.
I've only just received the shipment, so I have no recipe updates. I'm just happy to have cut down my processing time from three hours to two. Maybe I'll get better at this as the summer goes on.
Will update next week on the cooking for Week Two and the contents of Week Three's box.
What color are my fingers today? Private Reserve Black Cherry
I did, however, promise to keep people apprised of my adventures in Community Supported Agriculture and post my weekly crop shares, so...
Week One: We received Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spring Onions, Asparagus, Garlic Chives, Strawberries and potted Basil.
First off, I need to point out that I opted for a full share instead of a half one and so instead of one 19"x12"x8" box, I got two of them. Imagine the volume of veggies you've got there and then double it. My first night of veggie processing (washing, sorting, and putting into plastic bins in the fridge) took me three hours after five minutes of staring in horror and wondering what the heck I'd gotten myself into.
The weather was horribly hot the first week and the delivery van, still learning the new routes for the year, didn't make it to my house until 7pm after starting out from the farm at 5am. Not all the veggies made it intact, the strawberries looked bad as did about half of the lettuce. Managed to salvage most everything else. Asparagus is pretty hardy and I don't think anything can stop kale. It seems to be vegetable equivalent of a cockroach - unkillable. The spring onions were mostly good and the curlique garlic chive was in great shape.
The lettuce was easy. I pointed it at my husband and told him to make it go away. LOL. For being a vegan, I'm not much of a salad eater. I like bunnies, but not eating like one.
The kale was a challenge. I'd never eaten the stuff before, let alone tried to prepare it so out came ALL the cookbooks. I tried a vegan alfredo sauce (no thank you), a minestrone (mmmm) and a vegan adapted spanakopita with the kale taking the place of the spinach which was very well received and cheers of 'let's have that again' issuing from the hubs.
The asparagus was so voluminous, I finally just gave up and indulged in a Cream of Asparagus soup. Quite a luxury and not something I'd want to pay store retail to remake, but very delicious.
The potted herbs I get each week are going northward into my mom's new little garden. She moved out into a house in the country a few weeks ago and so as I visit, she inherits all the little pots for her herb garden outside her kitchen.
Week Two: Red Leaf Lettuce, Collard Greens, Spring Onions, Garlic Chives, Asparagus, Sweet Cherries, and Strawberries.
I've only just received the shipment, so I have no recipe updates. I'm just happy to have cut down my processing time from three hours to two. Maybe I'll get better at this as the summer goes on.
Will update next week on the cooking for Week Two and the contents of Week Three's box.
What color are my fingers today? Private Reserve Black Cherry