CSA Goodies February 4, 2012

What did we get this week!?

1. Mustard Greens (they are a special variety, I forgot the name)
2. Napa Cabbage
3. Broccoli
4. Romaine Lettuce
5. Cilantro
6. Celeriac (we picked double of this so we have 4!!)
7. Chioggia Beets
8. Yellow Onions
9. Burdock Root

1. Fenugreek spiced grilled chicken (updated with link to recipe)
2. Roasted purple potatoes
3. Celery Root Soup (recipe coming soon)
4. Lentil Soup with taku choy (based on this recipe from Heidi Swanson – be sure to top with a poached egg & make that saffron yogurt)
5. Socca with fenugreek spiced mushrooms and green garlic (recipe coming soon)
6. Green garlic was also sprinkled liberally in chicken salad, on salmon covered bagels, and eggs

We still haven’t used the bok choy, and Brad is working on a turkey bolognese using that special chinese celery right now. Lots of delicious recipes to report back on.

CSA Week of January 28,2012

Today at our CSA pick up we gathered:

1. Broccoli
2. Broccolini
3. Swiss Chard
4. Watercress
5. Carrots
6. Chioggia Beets
7. Sweet Potatoes
8. Shallots
9. Butternut Squash
10. Brussel Sprouts
11. Blood Oranges*
12. Honey Tangerines*

We adore Chioggia beets and are so excited to have some – you rarely see these in a store. They are so gorgeous when you cut them open with red and white rings.

The shallots are particularly adorable and teeny. She gave us a whole basket full so I’ll be sautéing and frying those up a bunch over the next few weeks.

Watercress is such a seasonal item that I know I enjoy it but can’t say I have much experience with it. I am really looking forward to finding a fun way to use it though.

This looks like another great week of veggies!

*not pictured, we bought these extra – they are from south Texas

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. I’ll post more about CSAs soon, but if you are not familiar, it is a way to buy produce directly from a farm. Your support their growing season and share in the production from the farm. It is an amazing way to get truly fresh produce, as well as support local agriculture. Another benefit is that you often get to try produce you have not encountered before. So it helps you to be a more adventurous eater which Brad and I enjoy!

We decided to join Cold Springs Farm CSA. The farm is located in Weatherford (west of Ft. Worth) the owner, Beverly Thomas, has developed a really great distribution method. She sets up a food “drop” in Ft. Worth each Saturday. You show up to gather your produce – Beverly gives everyone the first 5 same items then you get to pick the next 5 items you want. It’s really a great idea!

Yesterday we went to pick up our first batch of veggies for the winter season. What a haul!!

click image to see full size

Here is the list of items we picked up yesterday – the first 5 are the ones Beverly chose:

• Green Garlic
• Baby bok choy
• Taku choy
• Chinese celery
• Fenugreek – fresh!
• Purple potatoes
• Celeriac (Celery Root)
• Garlic
• Japanese sweet potato
• Dried Anasazi Beans

There was also had a table full of fresh fruits from south Texas, preserves & honey for sale, and a Texas lamb rancher representative (more on this later), and great local bakery selling a few goodies. This is such a cool way to run a CSA and we are really excited about the seasons to come.

The strawberries have been coming weekly for about a month now and I just cannot get enough. Commercially produced strawberries don’t even have a fraction of the flavor these contain in each bite. Plus I have been told that there are several varieties of strawberry planted, so throughout the spring and summer the specific flavor & type of strawberry will evolve. Exciting!!

And with that, let me tell you about this week’s amazing box:

• leeks
• strawberries
• big bag of mixed salad greens
• Lacinto kale
• carrots
• baby turnips with perfect greens still attached
• spicy & delicious radishes
• little bag of spinach

As I mentioned in the video, I typically top the leeks and other items such as radishes & turnips. This simply means removing the greens from the turnip bulb and storing them separately. It helps the root keep longer to remove the greens. For the leeks I cut off the long weedy parts we won’t eat just so they are easy to store.

Please excuse my bedraggled appearance. I just returned from a trip to Texas and I just got off the plane.

This week’s CSA box arrived Wednesday evening as normal. The flower bouquet which I neglected to photograph is starting to change! I wish I knew enough about flowers to describe what they are but the vibrant reds, purples, oranges, and even color tipped white beauties make my kitchen so happy! In this week’s box:

• salad mix (not shown)
• carrots (orange)
• arugula (the large leafy cluster in the right part of the photo)
• radishes (red, large, and gorgeous!)
• leeks
• fennel
• agretti (the pine needle looking greens in the front left)
• baby Shitake mushrooms

I’m really excited to start seeing mushrooms! And the agretti greens are extremely unusual and tasty! Hopefully some recipes will follow soon!

The most interesting item in the box this week is cardoons.  Cardoons are actually the same species as the globe artichoke but a naturally occurring variant that look like long & sometimes much larger celery stalks.  I’m anxious to cook these and see how they taste!

Our box this week contained:

• celery
• parsnips
• purple carrots – these are gorgeous!
• mustard greens
• spinach
• mixed salad
• erbette chard
• cardoons
• Meyer lemons – YUM!

Maybe I’ll even splurge on a dessert with those yummy Meyer lemons.