The first week I succeeded moderately. Although I somehow mysteriously erased the photo of my first box, you still got the recipe for the kohlrabi empanada filling.
Week 2 I took the pic but never posted it. Oops. Here, look at it now!
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| garlic scapes, tomatoes (various varieties), summer squash, red pepper, beets, zucchini, pickling cucumbers, kohlrabi, carrots |
And yet I have no recipes for you. Between trying to use up both that week's harvest as well as the abundant leftovers from a successfully rockin' 4th of July before I had to leave for yet another business trip, I developed a bit of a Chef's Block. Trying to find ways to use up all that food quickly was overwhelming! Eventually I dumped a cacaphony of random ingredients into a shopping bag one night and hauled them to the boyfriend's place for the ultimate blind cooking adventure. The adventure was a success, but we missed a very important step: writing down what we did. Oops again. It involved tofu and spice. It was yummy.
For Week 3, otherwise known as This Week, I donated my farm box to my brother and sister-in-law as I was going on the road for a whopping 7 days, so I don't even have a pic to share. Of course first thing Sunday morning I demanded to know exactly what they got, and was rewarded with a text that they had received a typical selection of greens, tomatoes, peppers, and blueberries. Blueberries?!?! Drat!! Why must I go away when fruit finally shows up in my box? Oh, think of all I could have done with them... besides eating them straight out of the box, of course.
And that, right there, got me thinking. Granted, I've only had 2 weeks to experiment, but have I really been exploring fully what I can do with my CSA? Must the tomatoes and peppers only be used in a stir fry or salad? No, of course not- and I knew that already, really. But brilliant ideas such as making zucchini bread out of the gorgeous zukes always came right when I had no time and even fewer proper ingredients with which to bake. Considering I have yet to find a vaccuum sealer with good reviews that doesn't cost $400 (so I can save some produce for winter), I've decided that I need to actively use my produce more creatively and, just as importantly, with more foresight.
Beyond the creativity, using my best ingredients with more foresight has two added benefits, as I see it. First, it prevents me from buying too much extra in the way of groceries. I need my staples, sure, but why do I still find myself in the produce aisle of Whole Foods every week when I am also picking up a personalized produce aisle from Iron Creek every Sunday? I noticed that my grocery budget has skyrocketed tremendously since my Au Naturale life began and perhaps using my CSA more prudently will help me keep my costs down.
The second is the ever-present Health Thing, in the simple way of helping me watch both my funky stomach pains and my waistline. Between some amazingly decadent 4th of July dessert treats and succumbing to the Dark Side-like power of the Evil Bar of Doom (Oh yes, I admit it. I am ashamed! Banish thee thy accusatory looks!) I haven't been feeling quite... myself. It also certainly doesn't help that I'm currently sitting here pondering and writing all this at the pool deck of my hotel in Miami Beach. I'm surrounded by Beautiful People. I mean, really, I should just give up now and go eat a package of twinkies. Even the pool waitress won't come take my drink order. For the second day in a row.
But in any case (wow, that was quite the pity party, was it not?) I may go wrap myself in a towel, order a cocktail (elsewhere), take a cue from my friends at Eating From Scratch, and do some pre-emptive menu planning. Granted, it will be a little hard considering I don't know what will be waiting in my box this Sunday. But it should help me exercise some creative juices in the meantime, which sounds utterly more fun than hanging around this pool deck for a waitress who is pretending I don't exist. At least until tomorrow, I hope.
Does your CSA not send out a list of what's going to be in the box ahead of time? We always get an email listing what she thinks will be in it. Once in a while the stuff changes due to availability, but that helps a ton in menu planning. And of course, menu planning just fits Kate's personality, so I can take no credit personally for it. It definitely helps use everything though. Last night we made stir fry with mushrooms and snap peas from the farm box. It was delicious!
ReplyDeleteI don't get any sort of newsletter or list or anything, which is the one complaint I have about my CSA. Just forces me to be more spontaneous!
ReplyDeleteWe don't get advance notice either (well, maybe a few hours notice). I made a little template in Word with that we've been using to plan meals. Having a template to fill in makes it a bit easier for me. We tend to stick to it pretty well, though we also are constantly assessing our refrigerator to make sure that we get through everything.
ReplyDeleteInstead of a vacuum sealer, what do you think about just freezing things? We were out of town for part of last week and froze some blanched swiss chard and carmelized onions that I'll use in a curried lentil stew at a later date.
Melissa, the idea of the vacuum sealer was specifically for freezing. Foods in my freezer tend to get freezer burn pretty easily, unless I use them immediately. I want my saved veggies to last til fall or winter.
ReplyDeleteDon't be so hard on yourself. And maybe this is just me--I'm sure that it is--but making a spreadsheet in order to plan what I'm going to cook sounds ever so slightly soul killing. You're doing great. Have you ever done greek greens? It's a great way to use up random greens. Wash greens, remove hard stems then cook them just in the water that's on the leaves (you're basically steaming them) until they're all the way cooked. Add a dressing made of equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. Plus salt and pepper to taste and voila!
ReplyDeleteFresh things don't need to be cooked fancy. That's this girl's opinion. xx