Week 2 Delivery

Here are the items we received in our Week 2 delivery on Thursday:

Vegetables
green leaf lettuce (in the middle)
collards (large flat leaves at the top)
red scallions Steve traded them in the swap box for the rhubarb
dinosaur kale (dark green leaves at the bottom)
chives

We were pretty confident that the lettuce was the lettuce, but definitely had to use our friend Google to correctly identify the collards vs. the kale. I know, we're dumb. But now we know!

Chicken
2 breasts
bag of wings

Every Tuesday we get an email from our CSA group listing some loose (but not guaranteed) predictions of what we will get that week. Then sometime in the morning on Thursday we get a second email with an exact list of what is being delivered. And I'll admit that when I got this week's itemized email my heart sank a little bit. Greens and onions, greens and onions. We had a lot of that last week, too, but it was fun to have the asparagus and radishes in the mix. Something a little different. But, it makes sense: this is what is ready now. I'm interested to see the contents of our weekly boxes evolve as the season progresses.

But still, when Steve texted me that there was rhubarb in the swap box, I said GO FOR IT! And he put back our red scallions, since we got some last week and have a few left yet. There were also some apples in the box, but he reported that they were not in great shape so left them behind (though now that I think about it there are a ton of great things you can do with old apples, right?).

So that's Week 2; we'll see how it goes. I meal planned last night and it should be interesting - all new-to-us recipes. We have some internationally-inspired dishes in our plans this week, and some dessert ideas in the mix too, thanks to the rhubarb. Stay tuned!

Week 1 Summary

Or, What Happened to All that Food?

Here is a quick summary of how we ended up using the vegetables and chicken from our first CSA delivery. See below for links to each of the dishes I wrote about over the past week.

Red Scallions: there are two of these left right now. They are in okay shape, so may still get used.

Egyptian Walking Onions: gone! We used one in the chopped kale salad and took what was left up to Pennsylvania with us over the weekend. They got thrown over a fire to cook. I didn't love them plain, but I believe they were enjoyed by others.

Green Kale: gone! It all went into the chopped kale salad, which we made twice.

French Breakfast Radishes: gone! Most of them went into the spring vegetable salad, but some were also munched on plain or with hummus.

Asparagus: gone! Most of what wasn't used in the spring vegetable salad or on the tartines was cooked-up (oil, salt, pepper) as a side dish one day last week. The remaining spears were cooked on the fire along with the onions last weekend.

Mixed Lettuce: gone! Aside from what went in the spring vegetable salad, I ate a lot of side salads with my lunches last week (love to toss in some dried cranberries and crumbled blue cheese). I also gave away a gallon-sized ziplock bag full of greens to two different friends to enjoy. I totally love being able to share the wealth in this way and I hope they were put to good use!

2 Chicken Breasts: gone! Used to make the Parmesan chicken that we ate with the tartines.

2 Whole Chicken Legs: gone! We baked these in a sticky-sweet sauce that I was not crazy about. Looking forward to trying something else next time.

Week 1 Links
Chopped Kale Salad
Grilled Asparagus Tartines (with Crispy Parmesan Chicken)
Tortellini and Spring Vegetable Salad

Asparagus and walking onions cooking over a fire (along with some sliders - yum!)

All in all, I feel really proud of how well we used everything from Week 1. I'm actually surprised how well it went. BUT we did technically have two weeks to find a use for everything, since there was no delivery last Thursday. From here on out we are getting a new box of food every week, whether we are ready for it or not. So we'll see what happens when the pace picks up.

I loved that the three major meals we made in Week 1 were all so amazing, and yet so different, even though they used many overlapping ingredients. That to me is a big part of what eating well is all about. I can't take any credit for the engineering of these recipes, but boy am I grateful that there are folks out there creative enough to put these yummy meals together and share them with the rest of us!

Tortellini & Spring Vegetable Salad

This will be the last meal I share detailing our use of Week 1 items, because today Steve is picking up our Week 2 box (I heard a rumor there was rhubarb in the swap box today and I'm a little giddy about it)! I have an upcoming post planned to summarize our first week eating from the CSA and how we did with each of the items we received. That might be of interest to those who are curious about the real world practicality of this kind of service (myself included).

So, this spring pasta salad was a big winner for us. Steve said this was his favorite thing we made in Week 1. I thought the tortellini and goat cheese went great against all the veggies, and the simple oil & vinegar dressing was perfect. It came together so quickly and easily, and delivered far beyond what I was expecting, taste-wise. Best. case. scenario.

Tortellini and Spring Vegetable Salad on the kitchn

Used From Our CSA
asparagus
mixed greens (thrown in with some leftover grocery store baby spinach we also had on hand)
French breakfast radishes
red scallions (in lieu of chives)

Thoughts on the Recipe
- We used the frozen tortellini we had on hand, which was cheese (rather than pesto).
- I skipped the peas altogether. Fresh peas sounded good, but since we didn't have any, the idea of buying them frozen just to add them in with a bunch of other fresh, delicious things just didn't sound appealing. And peas aren't something we normally keep on hand for other recipes, so I just thought why bother?
- Leftovers assessment: It was ... okay. Definitely much better fresh. I actually ended up picking out the radishes at lunch the next day because I thought they really took on a bad, bitter flavor. Does anybody know why that might be? Is that a thing that radishes do once they've been cut?

Thanks for following along with our first week of CSA adventures. I can't wait to see what Week 2 brings!

Grilled Asparagus Tartines

I was totally smitten with this simple appetizer/side dish. Steve liked these too, but not nearly as much as I did, and I think I know why: this to me totally feels like something you would be served at a classy garden party or bed and breakfast. Where's my floppy sun hat? Personally, I can easily get behind food that is both delicious and makes me feel fancy, but I can see why Steve might not be so excited about that prospect.

Grilled Asparagus Tartines on Panini Happy

Sidenote: this website is completely devoted to recipes that can be made using a panini press. We don't have one ourselves, but I still think that concept is pure genius. Although we have been known to use our George Foreman Jr. to make paninis before - because we're resourceful (or maybe just desperate) like that.

Tartine: a fancy French open-faced sandwich topped with spreadable ingredients.

Used From Our CSA
asparagus
red scallions

I'm half counting the bread here too. It was not part of our CSA, but we grabbed it a few weeks ago at a local bakery for about $4. Then we cut it into thirds, froze them all separately, and collectively it lasted us two weeks - so good. We will be doing that again soon!

Thoughts on the Recipe
- If yesterday's chopped kale salad is the perfect make-and-take, dish, these tartines are the opposite of that. In my opinion, this is the kind of thing you want to pull off the skillet (or panini press, or grill), assemble as quickly as possible, and shove in your mouth while it's still hot and therefore at optimum levels of deliciousness. Is that allowed?
- These ended up being a little overboard on the oil for us, but I think it had more to do with our pesto than anything. Pesto is so easy to make but we got a small jar from the store this time around (whomp, whomp ... I know), and it was pretty oily. So next time I'll be more sparing with the oil when toasting the bread, unless maybe I have some homemade/less oily pesto.
- I sprinkled on a bit of kosher salt with the pepper.

We had these with a chicken dish we've made before, which we were able to use our CSA chicken breasts for. Check that recipe out here if you're so inclined (it's a work-intensive dish, but we enjoy it from time to time): Crispy Parmesan Chicken on The Comfort of Cooking. Together, they made for a delightful weekend dinner.

Chopped Kale Salad

The first recipe I made using some of our Week 1 ingredients was a total hit. We have actually already made it twice for two different dinner gatherings with friends. It seems to have been a hit with them, too! I will definitely return to this recipe in the future.

Chopped Kale Salad on What's Cooking Good Looking

Kale is not something we cook with regularly at all. But when I spotted this recipe online a few months ago, I thought it looked so delicious that I pinned it right away, knowing we would probably get some kale in our CSA. I mean, just look at the photos on her site - they make this dish look a heck of a lot more appetizing than mine do. The sweet in the chickpeas, mixed with the crunch of the almonds, creaminess of the avocado, and the awesome dressing (I loved the taste of ginger in there) all came together to make this a fast favorite. And the kale makes a perfect backdrop to the flavor/texture party that's going on here.

Used From Our CSA
kale (used half the bunch each time, so it's all been used now: wahoo!)
Egyptian walking onion/red scallions (used in place of green onion the first and second times respectively; both were fine substitutions)

Thoughts on the Recipe
- I think you can easily get away with 1/4 c. or less of sesame seeds. But I always feel like recipes call for more sesame seeds than are really needed. They are not cheap! We have had luck in the past getting a bigger, less-expensive bottle of them found with the Asian food, rather than the tiny bottles that are shelved with the other spices.
- I know it's not a CSA item, but avocado is never an "optional" ingredient in my book. It elevates everything!
- I loved that ginger flavor in the dressing so much, and will probably add more next time I make this. Why not?
- This was the perfect dish to make and take. We tossed the dressing in right before leaving home and it held up great.
- Leftovers are really important in our home, so I also think it's worth mentioning that this was still great on day two. I probably wouldn't hang on to it much beyond that.

Still great on day two!

I now have one kale recipe in my pocket that I feel confident about. What's your favorite thing to make with fresh kale?

CSA Details and Week 1 Delivery

Okay, now that the introductory post is out of the way, it's time to get down to business. Here are some of the specifics of the CSA program that Steve & I enrolled in this year (skip down to the photo if you're not a type-A, detail-oriented person like yours truly). The Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative operates out of Lancaster County, PA. Even though Lancaster is about 70  miles north of here, the nature center where Steve works is one of their drop-off locations, so it's incredibly convenient for us. It's hard to beat being able to pick up a week's worth of groceries in the middle of your work day! We paid a one-time $15 surcharge at the start of the season for using an out-of-state delivery site. Totally reasonable if you ask me.

If you scroll through some of the options on their CSA sign-up page, you'll see just how much they have to offer. Browsing their site gets me all excited! For our first year doing something like this, we opted to keep things on the simple side with: 1/2 vegetable share, 1 fruit share, and 1 chicken share. But I'll admit that the herb and cheese shares were both pretty tempting too.

We will get a total of 25 vegetable (4-7 varieties/week) and chicken (3 lbs/week, various cuts) deliveries, arriving every Thursday from May 15th to November 6th. There will be 22 fruit deliveries in all (2-3 varieties/week), starting on June 12th.  There was no delivery yesterday (I'm not sure why, but the skipped week was in the schedule from the start), but otherwise we'll have contiguous deliveries through to November. Plus the week off gives me a chance to catch-up here on what we've been up to so far, before our next delivery arrives!

The whole season was originally scheduled to start one week earlier (May 8th), but with the extremely cold winter we all just suffered through, the members of the cooperative decided that things weren't quite ready yet and pushed the start date back to the 15th. Even this fact gives me a sense of connection to my food that I am otherwise mostly oblivious to. Stuff like ... the weather ... affects the timing of stuff like ... plants growing? I know that sounds dumb, but the weather doesn't usually stop us from marching into the grocery store and picking up whatever produce we happen to be jonesing for on a given day. So why would I think about that? I don't have to if I don't want to, right? Please tell me I'm not alone in defaulting to this way of thinking ...

Here is what we received in our Week 1 delivery last Thursday:
 

Vegetables

Red Scallions

Egyptian Walking Onions (they look like giant scallions having a crazy hair/root day)

Green Kale

French Breakfast Radishes (how fancy is that name?)

Asparagus

Mixed Lettuce

Young Red Leaf Lettuce Steve traded this in the "swap box" for a second bundle of asparagus

Chicken

2 breasts

2 whole legs
(I skipped a photo of the frozen raw chicken because, who wants to see that?)

We have already made and enjoyed a handful of delicious meals, which I'll be back to share in the first half of next week. But first to enjoy a much needed three day weekend. Have a happy Memorial Day!

It's a Blog!

At the end of March, my husband Steve and I took a leap, and did something we've never done before: we signed up for a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program for this spring, summer, and fall.

Here's one way to look at this: a CSA is an amazing investment in an entire growing season of deliciously fresh, local, and (almost all) organic produce and other products. Each week is a bit of a surprise in the best way; it's like a mini food-Christmas once a week for six months. CSA is a great way to invest in your local or regional farmers, economy, and use your dollar-power to support sustainable agricultural practices.

On the other hand, a less optimistic approach might sound something like this: when you sign up for a CSA, you pay a great big wad of money up front for a whole bunch of food that you might not know what to do with, enjoy the taste of, or even recognize. Not to mention the perishable nature of said food: in most cases you've got to use it or lose it (or preserve it, which also usually takes time and effort). I would wager that most of us (Steve & I included) tend to plan our weekly menus by asking the question, "What do we want to eat this week?" and then grocery shop based on the ingredients required for those meals. With a CSA, this process is flip-flopped. You have to start with the question "What is available to me right now?" and plan your meals around those central items.

Happily for us, we fell well into the excited/Christmas-surprise/we're-being-good-citizens region of the spectrum. But we still had, and have, a lot of the doubts and questions invoked by the above. Will we know what to make with the produce we get? Will we even like the food that we're going to be forced to eat for the next six months (or risk letting it, and our money, go to waste)? Between the upfront cost of the CSA and supplementing with other grocery store necessities, can we afford this? Basically, will we be able to do this? Is it practical?

We're in a place right now where it all feels like a fun challenge. We both love cooking and eating (I love to eat = extreme understatement), and are not afraid to try new things, which I'd say is a pretty solid foundation for this kind of undertaking. In the month between signing-up for the season and our first delivery, I have been talking pretty much non-stop (sorry, friends) about our plans and how excited I was for the season to start.

Well, slight spoiler alert: in the week since our first delivery (Thursday, May 15th), we've dived head first into the foodventure and have been having a ton of fun! I've eaten really well (read: delicious, healthy, fresh, decadent) in the past week, and my incessant food-talk to anyone who will listen has not slowed down (sorry again, friends). That's where this blog comes in. I'm hoping to use this space over the next six months to share what we get in our CSA each week and at least some of what we manage to do with it. I'd like to be as transparent as possible about what works for us, what falls flat, and what we learn as we go. It will hopefully also serve as an easy way to archive some of our favorite meals for our own future use and maybe it will even prove useful for others too.

Feel free to join us for the fun. More to come soon!