CSA Adventures 2010: Week 3

What I Started With: Week Two's Odds and Ends

These items were left over from week two's share, but I made and/or ate them during this past week, aka week three. 

1. Kale and Collards = Bitter Greens Salad, using onion from week 3 (see below)
2. Chard = Swiss Chard and Eggs, including some onion and chard delivered in week 3 (see below)
3. Radishes = Crudité Plate with cherries and carrots from week 3 (see below)

New: Week Three's Produce

3 Beets
5 Garlic Scapes
5 Carrots
1 head Lettuce
4 Onions (with stalks)
1/2 lb Swiss Chard
2 pints Cherries
1  bottle Apple Juice (some people got Apple Cranberry) -- I drank this juice "as is," so it won't appear in any of the recipes below.

Recipes Made - Week Three

1. Bitter Greens, Avocado, and Sun-Dried Tomato Salad

Source: The blog Simply Raw Recipes

Notes: I had kale and collards left over from week two, so used those for this salad, along with onions from week three.  I was intrigued by the idea of eating these greens raw, as I normally cook them.  I doubled the recipe and added a little leftover raw tomato.  There is no lettuce in this salad.  


The result was quite chewy, but the flavor grew on me.  I think that the sun-dried tomato adds a warmth that would otherwise be lacking. It was good at lunch the next day, too, though the flavors got a bit more intense.







2. Cherry Soup
Source: Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, a cookbook I own.  This is an "international" cookbook, with recipes grouped by country/region.
Notes:  According to the cookbook, this could have been served warm, but Dan and I both preferred it chilled and served over Greek yogurt.  I used kirsch (a cherry liquor) in this because I had it on hand.







3. Another Spicy Lettuce Salad
Source: Dan's brain
Notes: Dan is really on a roll with the spicy salads.  This one had a dressing of yogurt and picante salsa.  It also featured broken-up pretzel rods, CSA arugula, CSA onion, a "Mexican" cheese mix, and sun-dried tomatoes.





 


4. Crudité Plate of Radishes, Cherries, and Carrots (+ Radish/"Butter" Sandwich)
Source: This combination took little-to-no thought.  I just needed to use some things up before they went bad.  The sandwich was inspired by Isra's birthday party and commenter Olga.
Notes:  I had all three of these items leftover when we flew to Pittsburgh to visit Dan's family.  Our plane arrived around 10pm, so we were in the mood for a late, snacky supper (soon to be featured in its own blog post).  I had brought the radishes, cherries, and carrots with me in my carry-on bag, figuring (rightly) that they'd travel well.

At Dan's parents' house, I presented most of the goodies "as is," but I also sliced one of my radishes up and made an open-faced sandwich with Smart Balance butter substitute, radish, salt, and pepper.  I was thinking of Isra's birthday party spread (and the radish sandwiches I had there) and Olga's comment about radish sandwiches on this post as I did so.  Even with fake butter, it was a great sandwich.

5. Swiss Chard and Eggs
Source: I cooked the chard according to this Michael Chiarello recipe.
Notes: I did not have the red wine vinegar called for in the recipe, but balsamic substituted nicely.  Vinegar lends a welcome edge to the slightly bitter greens.  Dan cooked the eggs using NYC chef Kenny Shopsin's mostly hands-off method (described in his cookbook, Eat Me), which is my favorite for a scramble.  The chard and the eggs both had CSA onions in them, and I also used CSA garlic in the greens.   

This was a very fast dinner, and I could see myself coming back to the Chiarello/Shopsin combo many times -- with many different kinds of greens.

(Eep.  That's blurry.  In my defense, it was dark)

6. Baked Potatoes with "The Works"
Source: Dan and I have long considered the baked potato a classic platform for just about any topping.
Notes: We topped our potatoes with CSA onion and butter (the butter's been in the freezer since last fall, but was bought through our CSA farm) as well as sour cream, black olives, shredded cheese, and hot sauce.

Items Remaining at the end of Week Three

• Bag o' carrot tops
• Garlic scapes
• A few heads of garlic
• 3 beets
• Approx. 1/2 pint of cherries

Planned Recipe(s) for Remaining Items

• Carrot Top and Garlic Scape Soup (I'm going to adapt a couple of recipes into one of my own and see how it turns out).
• Something with beets -- but what? Maybe a salad.
• A cherry dessert of some sort.  Or muffins?
• I'll just keep plugging away at the garlic.  It's not going bad.

Final Thoughts on Week Three

I'm falling somewhat behind each week, due to heat-inspired laziness on some days and travel plans or special events on others, but I haven't had to throw anything of consequence away.  I've tossed some trimmed stems and other odds and ends into a freezer bag for an eventual vegetable stock, but otherwise am getting everything eaten sooner or later.

Have any questions about my CSA experience so far?  Please comment below.

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