csa eats: weeks six and seven
Wow, time has flown by in recent weeks. Nonetheless, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to continue sharing our adventures in CSA.
In week six, there were some items I was excited about, and some items that gave me pause. The bag included a super cute little watermelon, more kale, chives, Hungarian wax peppers, tomatoes, arugula and lovage.
The arugula made a really nice mix-in for our chef salads, and the chives became a key ingredient in a batch of easy-to-make white cheddar and chive drop biscuits. I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to be having such delicious salads this summer, and I was extra happy to have some fresh biscuits on the side.
A couple of weeks back, we'd received a head of cabbage in our bag, but I hadn't really done anything with it. But then, knowing we would be having a cookout with some friends, I decided to try my hand at truly homemade cole slaw (v. my previous efforts that focused more on the dressing, but started with a bagged veggie mix).
I was so proud of how it turned out! The recipe from Barbara Kafka included a blend of cabbage, carrots, green bell pepper and red onion; and I was excited to be able to use the fresh lovage from our bag in place of the celery seed that the recipe called for. This was very yummy, and so easy that I will definitely use it again in the future.
This pasta dish was a bit of an experiment for me. With all those tomatoes, I really wanted to make a tomato sauce; but the summer heat was in full effect at the time, so having a sauce simmering on the stove for a while didn't sound very appealing.
So Smitten Kitchen's recipe for a raw tomato sauce piqued my interest. I ended up using it as the base for a green pepper and Italian sausage topping for cheese tortellini, and while it isn't my favorite sauce, it was good enough to be worth the attempt.
Week seven was another mixed bag, with corn on the cob, (more) tomatoes, turnips, plums of some kind, (more) kale, and red potatoes. At this point, I should go on the record and admit that I am not a fan of kale. I'd tried it a long time ago, and don't remember liking it much...but with all the hype in recent years around kale, getting it not once, not twice, but three different times in our CSA bags was an opportunity to try it again.
So try it I did. I took a bite of one leaf, and promptly rinsed my mouth out with water. It is just not for me. That meant finding homes for these beautiful bouquets of fresh kale with a couple of colleagues who would love the kale as it should be loved.
Something that was for me was using an onion from week five, tomatoes from one of these weeks, and the peppers from week six to make a fresh pico de gallo to top off our soft tacos. Mmm, mmm. I was very pleased with how that turned out, and am looking forward to making some more of it.
Even with the occasional miss on a bag ingredient or recipe, this is still such a wonderful experience. I continue to be grateful that we decided to subscribe to this.
In week six, there were some items I was excited about, and some items that gave me pause. The bag included a super cute little watermelon, more kale, chives, Hungarian wax peppers, tomatoes, arugula and lovage.
The arugula made a really nice mix-in for our chef salads, and the chives became a key ingredient in a batch of easy-to-make white cheddar and chive drop biscuits. I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to be having such delicious salads this summer, and I was extra happy to have some fresh biscuits on the side.
A couple of weeks back, we'd received a head of cabbage in our bag, but I hadn't really done anything with it. But then, knowing we would be having a cookout with some friends, I decided to try my hand at truly homemade cole slaw (v. my previous efforts that focused more on the dressing, but started with a bagged veggie mix).
I was so proud of how it turned out! The recipe from Barbara Kafka included a blend of cabbage, carrots, green bell pepper and red onion; and I was excited to be able to use the fresh lovage from our bag in place of the celery seed that the recipe called for. This was very yummy, and so easy that I will definitely use it again in the future.
This pasta dish was a bit of an experiment for me. With all those tomatoes, I really wanted to make a tomato sauce; but the summer heat was in full effect at the time, so having a sauce simmering on the stove for a while didn't sound very appealing.
So Smitten Kitchen's recipe for a raw tomato sauce piqued my interest. I ended up using it as the base for a green pepper and Italian sausage topping for cheese tortellini, and while it isn't my favorite sauce, it was good enough to be worth the attempt.
Week seven was another mixed bag, with corn on the cob, (more) tomatoes, turnips, plums of some kind, (more) kale, and red potatoes. At this point, I should go on the record and admit that I am not a fan of kale. I'd tried it a long time ago, and don't remember liking it much...but with all the hype in recent years around kale, getting it not once, not twice, but three different times in our CSA bags was an opportunity to try it again.
So try it I did. I took a bite of one leaf, and promptly rinsed my mouth out with water. It is just not for me. That meant finding homes for these beautiful bouquets of fresh kale with a couple of colleagues who would love the kale as it should be loved.
Something that was for me was using an onion from week five, tomatoes from one of these weeks, and the peppers from week six to make a fresh pico de gallo to top off our soft tacos. Mmm, mmm. I was very pleased with how that turned out, and am looking forward to making some more of it.
Even with the occasional miss on a bag ingredient or recipe, this is still such a wonderful experience. I continue to be grateful that we decided to subscribe to this.
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