Thursday, April 28, 2011

My First CSA Box!

Within the past few weeks, I've head several of my friends raving about the boxes they have received through Community Supported Agriculture programs - so I got my own to see what it's all about.
My first CSA box
I ordered my from South Central Farmers, since they delivered the box to my work. It was like I was in an episode of Chopped.
My first CSA box
I got a lot of greens in this box. A lot. We have here (left to right): Bloomsdale Spinach, Black Kale, Red Romaine Lettuce, Green Romaine Lettuce, Fava Beans, Collard Greens, Detroit Red Beets, and Turnips. I have to be honest, I've never had some of these greens - particularly Kale and Collard Greens. So, what did I make first?
Making Kale chips
Kale chips!
Kale chips
A little salt and a tiny bit of oil and in the oven until crisp. Not bad! Brian still favors potato chips, but I can see converting. Next, I made a Green Romaine Lettuce salad with some Detroit red beets, with a lemon garlic vinaigrette. It was so yummy. I immediately started my love affair with beets. I had no idea how tasty beets were!
Romaine & Beet salad
So, I combined my new love of beets with my other new love of fresh, homemade pasta.
Beet Pasta dough
I roasted 2 beets, then pureed them as much as I could. Those dark red spots on my dough are larger bits of beet that could not get pureed down all the way, but it didn't seem to matter once the pasta was made.
Making beet pasta
After cooking the pasta, I added it to the sauce of salmon, onions, dill, vodka, and cream.
Beet pasta with Salmon, Vodka, Dill Cream sauce
It was probably the tastiest of all the pastas I have made. Brian agrees.
Beet pasta with Salmon, Vodka, Dill Cream sauce
Next, I made lemon, garlic Collard Greens.
Collard Greens with garlic and lemon
Then, roasted Turnips with sour cream.
Turnips
And finally, I added some Fava Beans in my stir fry.
Stir Fry with Fava Beans
Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up with the rest of the vegetables and they didn't get used. Now, while all the vegetables I did get to use were all delicious, I had one big problem. The bugs. I know, I know.... no pesticides, so lots more bugs. The problem is, I'm terrified of bugs. It was difficult. I had to wash my lettuce one leaf at a time, around 3-4 times each leaf to make sure all the bugs were gone. It was so time consuming - which is why I didn't get to use a large portion of my box. Despite the bugs, I think I'll do it again. Though, I need a bug break for a little while.

65 comments:

Unknown said...

That's interesting. I love eating those green stuffs. Your food really looks yummy. :)

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Anonymous said...

If you liked the kale chips try these!
They are by far my favorite!

Taste just like cheese its! Even my non veggie friends love them!

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of curly, green kale, washed, large stems removed, torn into bite size pieces

COATING:
1 cup raw cashews, (soaked 2 hours)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 t. agave (optional-I don't add, I like them more salty + savory)
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. himalayan pink crystal salt (use more or less to taste)

Preparation:
Put coating ingredients in Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Using your hands, massage coating onto kale pieces getting it inside of curls. Put on teflex sheets (don't worry about flattening them, they're better bunched up) and dehydrate at 105 overnight or until coating is dry. Slide onto mesh screens and dehydrate 12 hours, or until very crispy.

** note: mine just took about another 4 hours after overnight and flipping. YUM!

You can also make them in the oven and a blender works just fine you don't need the vitamix.

D+B said...

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artistico said...

i love to eat salads and green fresh vegetables :) great post here ...

artistico said...

I would even love to feature one of your recipes on my blog ... shall be great for both :) thnks anyway

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Breeze said...

Oh my goodness this looks wonderful! I just posted today about CSA and I'm so glad I came across your post. I'm gettin on that :)

Check out my post on plant-based, whole food diets for optimal health!

http://www.holisticparadigm.blogspot.com

nonasnote said...

Yummy~ Everything looks delicious~

meadows said...

Your idea was useful by Revathi

green grace said...

Your idea was useful by Revathi

ridhwan ruslan said...

I love to eat vegetables but to eat as fresh.. Oh no... need to be cook :)

Elena said...

I grown up my own vegetables in my garden and I have to say that is the most important think in the world!!!

Greetings from Greece!

Elena.

Robin Paparella Hardy said...

Wow! you really made a lot of things with your veggies! I agree - the CSA stuff can be a tad buggy, but I think their heart is in the right place. :o)

Puja said...

Very tasty..I want to eat those green vegetables.You done a great job

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Mary said...

that looks delicious!!

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viviennealamode said...

I suggest you fill your kitchen sink with cold water and a good handful of salt, swirl it around and add all the greens.... the bugs will release themselves, give the greens another quick rinse in cold water (saltfree this time) then a good shake (or salad spin) and store in sealed containers in the bottom of the fridge. In this way they will last a lot longer.

PS Any excess greens you could chop roughly, steam or cook to a good wilt in a tiny bit of water then cool and free in portions for future use in lasagna or pasta sauces or as pureed greens - or when making pasta, another idea would be to mix the puree with creme fraiche and parmisan and roll in pancakes, cover with a light cheese sauce 0R a homemade tomato sauce and serve for supper.
Best wishes,
Viviennealamode.com

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I suggest you fill your kitchen sink with cold water and a good handful of salt, swirl it around and add all the greens.... the bugs will release themselves, give the greens another quick rinse in cold water (saltfree this time) then a good shake (or salad spin) and store in sealed containers in the bottom of the fridge. In this way they will last a lot longer.
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