CSA #2, and the tale of the Incredible Shrinking Vegetables
So I got my second share today, which is definitely bigger than the first share was - and I haven't finished that one yet, so we'll see how this goes...
So here's what I came home with this week:
- 5 stems of basil
- 1 head of tat soi
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 head of endive (I am told I should specify curly endive)
- 3 medium zucchini (at least, I think I took medium sized ones...)
- 1 bunch of kohlrabi
- 1 bunch of beets
- 2 small cucumbers
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 head of lettuce
Eep, that's a lot! Wow!
Stuff I know how to use:
- zucchini (so happy about those. And I got 3 different colors, too)
- beets (because I learned with the first share!)
- cucumbers (which I may just eat by themselves)
- kale
- lettuce (lemon juice, here we come)
Things I have never used before (and, in some cases, never seen before):
- tat soi (never even heard of it)
- endive
- kohlrabi (with greens attached)
- fresh basil (though that one, I can probably figure out...)
Thing I probably can't eat, but took anyway:
- broccoli (figured I'd at least try the greens. And maybe try to figure out which part it is that I'm intolerant to. Maybe I can at least eat part of it. Also, there was nothing good in the swap box to trade it for, where good is defined as "vegetable I know how to cook and like to eat.")
And now, the final update on Share #1:
So, since my last update, here's how my meals went:
Wednesday night: ate out with friends. No CSA veggies used.
Thursday night: got treated to dinner by my mother. No CSA veggies used.
Friday night: hosted Shabbat dinner, and tried to cook All the Vegetables. (met with partial success)
Saturday: ate out for lunch, but got to use a small amount of scallion
Sunday night: Maya and Haggai's wedding kind of covered both lunch and dinner. No CSA veggies used.
Monday night: Maya and Haggai's sheva brachot. No CSA veggies used.
Tuesday: leftovers from Shabbat dinner. No new CSA veggies used.
So the only meal where I really got to use more vegetables was Shabbat dinner, and here's how it went:
Dish #1: Shnitzel with cilantro mixed in.
Results: I used very little of the cilantro, but it gave it a nice kick.
Dish #2: Roasted beets and turnips with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.
Results: Thanks for the suggestion, those of you who suggested thyme. They were yummy. Unfortunately, they were the Incredible Shrinking Root Vegetables. When I put them in the oven, they covered the bottom of a square pyrex. When I took them out about an hour later (yes, I kind of forgot about them...) they had shrunken down so much that they could be shoved easily into one corner of it. So much for having lots to share with my three guests... good think I bought corn.
Dish #3: Started out as sauteed beet greens with fresh garlic but...
Results:... turned into sauteed beet greens with fresh garlic mixed into jasmine rice. Why? Because that shrank down also, and I needed to make it look like it could serve four people. I had the rice, and I had the rice cooker, so it didn't take much extra effort. On the plus side, everyone said they liked it, and it turned the rice a subtle pink/purple color. My own opinion: it didn't have much flavor at all. I guess beet greens are pretty mild. But mild can be good, and worked just fine in the rice.
Dish #4: Attempted arugula chips.
Results: I was not able to repeat the results of smaller quantities. These cooked up the way normal greens cook up rather than becoming chip-like. Downside to rushing around before Shabbat? They also still tasted a bit bitter to me, so I have a feeling those leftovers won't get eaten.
Plan for next time: try making arugula chips by roasting them.
Dish #5: Salad made with lettuce, cucumber, red pepper and cherry tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice (and some people added salt and pepper, I think)
Results: the lemon juice did really nice things to the lettuce. (Thanks, Eric!) Which is to say, I actually ate it.
Dish #6 (Shabbat lunch): String beans with scallions and toasted almonds
Results: ask the other folks who ate it. Usually, I use onions. not sure what I think about how the scallions worked compared to onions. But I had them, and it made sense to use them.
Stuff that I used up:
- beets and beet greens (once I finish the leftovers, anyway)
- turnips
- arugula (well, the last recipe failed and will probably be thrown away. Does that count as used up?)
Stuff I didn't get to finish:
- kale (because that was the one I knew how to cook. Maybe I will mix it in with this week's batch and make a side dish for a Shabbat meal or something.)
- turnip greens (if they're still good, I may experiment, but I think they're past that point now)
- scallions
- cilantro
- lettuce (now in salad form)
Wow. It looks like I didn't do so well on finishing stuff...
Lessons I learned:
- arugula chips didn't work in larger quantities. Next time, I may try baking them in the oven
- that bitter lettuce tastes good with lemon juice
- vegetables sometimes shrink while cooking (well, I sort of knew that, but it still surprised me)
- cilantro tastes good in shnitzel
- greens can be mixed into rice
Challenge for this week: Eat All the Things.
We'll see how I do...
So here's what I came home with this week:
- 5 stems of basil
- 1 head of tat soi
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 head of endive (I am told I should specify curly endive)
- 3 medium zucchini (at least, I think I took medium sized ones...)
- 1 bunch of kohlrabi
- 1 bunch of beets
- 2 small cucumbers
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 head of lettuce
Eep, that's a lot! Wow!
Stuff I know how to use:
- zucchini (so happy about those. And I got 3 different colors, too)
- beets (because I learned with the first share!)
- cucumbers (which I may just eat by themselves)
- kale
- lettuce (lemon juice, here we come)
Things I have never used before (and, in some cases, never seen before):
- tat soi (never even heard of it)
- endive
- kohlrabi (with greens attached)
- fresh basil (though that one, I can probably figure out...)
Thing I probably can't eat, but took anyway:
- broccoli (figured I'd at least try the greens. And maybe try to figure out which part it is that I'm intolerant to. Maybe I can at least eat part of it. Also, there was nothing good in the swap box to trade it for, where good is defined as "vegetable I know how to cook and like to eat.")
And now, the final update on Share #1:
So, since my last update, here's how my meals went:
Wednesday night: ate out with friends. No CSA veggies used.
Thursday night: got treated to dinner by my mother. No CSA veggies used.
Friday night: hosted Shabbat dinner, and tried to cook All the Vegetables. (met with partial success)
Saturday: ate out for lunch, but got to use a small amount of scallion
Sunday night: Maya and Haggai's wedding kind of covered both lunch and dinner. No CSA veggies used.
Monday night: Maya and Haggai's sheva brachot. No CSA veggies used.
Tuesday: leftovers from Shabbat dinner. No new CSA veggies used.
So the only meal where I really got to use more vegetables was Shabbat dinner, and here's how it went:
Dish #1: Shnitzel with cilantro mixed in.
Results: I used very little of the cilantro, but it gave it a nice kick.
Dish #2: Roasted beets and turnips with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.
Results: Thanks for the suggestion, those of you who suggested thyme. They were yummy. Unfortunately, they were the Incredible Shrinking Root Vegetables. When I put them in the oven, they covered the bottom of a square pyrex. When I took them out about an hour later (yes, I kind of forgot about them...) they had shrunken down so much that they could be shoved easily into one corner of it. So much for having lots to share with my three guests... good think I bought corn.
Dish #3: Started out as sauteed beet greens with fresh garlic but...
Results:... turned into sauteed beet greens with fresh garlic mixed into jasmine rice. Why? Because that shrank down also, and I needed to make it look like it could serve four people. I had the rice, and I had the rice cooker, so it didn't take much extra effort. On the plus side, everyone said they liked it, and it turned the rice a subtle pink/purple color. My own opinion: it didn't have much flavor at all. I guess beet greens are pretty mild. But mild can be good, and worked just fine in the rice.
Dish #4: Attempted arugula chips.
Results: I was not able to repeat the results of smaller quantities. These cooked up the way normal greens cook up rather than becoming chip-like. Downside to rushing around before Shabbat? They also still tasted a bit bitter to me, so I have a feeling those leftovers won't get eaten.
Plan for next time: try making arugula chips by roasting them.
Dish #5: Salad made with lettuce, cucumber, red pepper and cherry tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice (and some people added salt and pepper, I think)
Results: the lemon juice did really nice things to the lettuce. (Thanks, Eric!) Which is to say, I actually ate it.
Dish #6 (Shabbat lunch): String beans with scallions and toasted almonds
Results: ask the other folks who ate it. Usually, I use onions. not sure what I think about how the scallions worked compared to onions. But I had them, and it made sense to use them.
Stuff that I used up:
- beets and beet greens (once I finish the leftovers, anyway)
- turnips
- arugula (well, the last recipe failed and will probably be thrown away. Does that count as used up?)
Stuff I didn't get to finish:
- kale (because that was the one I knew how to cook. Maybe I will mix it in with this week's batch and make a side dish for a Shabbat meal or something.)
- turnip greens (if they're still good, I may experiment, but I think they're past that point now)
- scallions
- cilantro
- lettuce (now in salad form)
Wow. It looks like I didn't do so well on finishing stuff...
Lessons I learned:
- arugula chips didn't work in larger quantities. Next time, I may try baking them in the oven
- that bitter lettuce tastes good with lemon juice
- vegetables sometimes shrink while cooking (well, I sort of knew that, but it still surprised me)
- cilantro tastes good in shnitzel
- greens can be mixed into rice
Challenge for this week: Eat All the Things.
We'll see how I do...