Adventures in CSA 2013: Week 2 Recipes

Greetings! We've been cooking and eating the vegetables from our second summer CSA pickup for most of the week, and I've got another consumption update for you.

Here's what we received for Week 2:
(this was my volunteer shift week, so the numbers below are "official." I actually took home otherwise unwanted extras of a few things -- like a few extra scapes; extra bunches of turnips, arugula and bok choy; and a dozen eggs. The eggs, by the way, are a game-changer. Amazing. I immediately decided to sign up for an every-other-week egg share for the rest of the season.)

• 1 head Lettuce
• 1 bunch Arugula  
• 1 bunch Broccoli 
• 1 stalk Bok Choy
• 1 bunch Tuscan Kale
• 2 lbs Summer squash
• 5 Garlic scapes
• 1 bunch Japanese sweet turnips -- CHALLENGE VEGETABLE

Here's How We Ate It:



Zucchini and grilled garlic scapes on flatbread - Dan conceived of and made these sandwiches with pocketless pita bread. He sauteed the grilled scapes and zucchini together before layering them on the bread, then topped them with feta and a homemade yogurt-cucumber-dill sauce. Garlic scapes are mild, and this was lovely.



Omelet of kale and garlic scapes - Farm-fresh eggs made this a standout. The eggs were as creamy as the melted havarti dill cheese, and the kale gave the dish some texture. I almost made a really embarrassing pun here, it was so good.




Bok-and-Broc stir fry - This dish was based on a Mark Bittman recipe for stir-fried broccoli. I made the variation with (soaked) dried mushrooms, added bok choy, and topped with cashews. Frankly, I cooked it too long and it became mushy. I kept waiting for the liquid to evaporate, and it just wouldn't. I also found the finished product a little bland, so I don't think this is a recipe worth repeating. We added a lot of soy sauce and a bit of Sriracha to make it more palatable.



Arugula and Lettuce soup (adapted from this recipe) - The recipe for this soup is attributed to Emeril Lagasse. I added an extra cup or so of chicken stock (I just used the whole box) and two bunches of arugula (because I only had one head of lettuce). I also adjusted the herbs, using dried tarragon and parsley to taste (along with fresh garlic and chives), and about 1/2 tsp. of Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle. The cream is definitely the kicker. It's a good soup before the cream goes in, but it's a great soup after.



Yoshi's Japanese Turnips (recipe online here) - The advice at our share pickup for Japanese turnips was to eat them raw. They're not bad that way, but I wasn't in love with them, so I looked online for a way to cook them and thought this recipe had promise. The verdict? This dish is going in my "Best of 2013" recipe list. I honestly never thought I'd enjoy a turnip as much as I enjoyed these. The recipe suggests you try different combinations of "cooking liquid," and I look forward to making this again with vinegar. For my first try, I used half Tamari soy sauce (definitely should have been low sodium) and water. With cheese or without, and even a bit too salty, this was a revelation.



Zucchini pancakes - I used Mark Bittman's recipe, but didn't have time to chill the patties, so they didn't quite hold together in the pan. For the most part, though, these are dead simple -- zucchini, onion, egg, salt, pepper, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Fry in an awful lot of butter. We topped them with more cheese, of course. Despite declaring, "I don't like squash," even the kid ate (and enjoyed) it.

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That's it for week two's share. I do have a few bits and bobs bouncing around in the fridge -- a few more scapes, another bunch of turnips, and that extra head of bok choy -- so I'm looking for something that doesn't involve a stir-fry to use up the scapes and bok choy. What do you think of a Bok choy skillet supper (recipe here)? I'll let you know if I try it.  I'll also be making that Japanese Turnips recipe again, by golly.

What did you especially love or loathe in your share this week?