Goodies, clockwise from top left: scallions, dill plant, red potatoes, bok choy, red russian kale,two kohlrabis, red turnips, snap peas, blueberries. Not pictured: four giant cucumbers
I missed a few CSA updates since I was out of town for work, but both Jeff and our farmer assure me that the shares from early July were more of what I had seen before: root veggies, greens, and alliums (garlic/shallot/onion/green onion family). The weather has been rainy and cold--apparently this is the coldest July on record for the last 100 years--and that means our summer produce hasn't had the heat it needs to mature. However, I'm still happy getting the produce that is ready.
I'm not one to pick up a cucumber for a snack. In my mind they've long been relegated to the "scary vegetable" category. I eat them, yes, but usually when buffered by protective layers of rice or yogurt. So, to figure out how to eat 5 cucumbers (one left from the week before) was a real challenge. I scoured my brain for the few times I've actually gone to the store with "cucumbers" neatly penned under the produce section of my grocery list. The first thing that came to mind was my dear friend Jonathan's family recipe for tabbouleh; a great start and an excellent summer staple. Next to mind was tzatziki. We somehow stopped after that, leaving us with another 2 cucumbers to use up, but surely gin and tonics with cucumber-stick garnishes, and fresh pickles are on our horizon.
The scallions went into the aforementioned tabbouleh and tzatziki (eaten with homemade falafel), and also into a pan-fry with the kale. The red turnips got roasted, and somehow maintained their fibrous quality and zippy sting. As I do with failed vegetable endeavors, I might just cream braise those when I go to reheat the leftovers.
Kohlrabi got peeled, sliced and browned in butter. With a dash of old bay seasoning, this is surprisingly tasty. Bok choy, stems sliced, was lightly steamed and tossed with a little bit of oyster sauce. The snap peas were flash-boiled and intriguingly got packed into our lunches with homemade hummus and olive sourdough bread. Far from something I would think of myself, this proved to be a delicious epiphany.
The very best preparation we had this week were these skillet smashed potatoes. We ate them hot out of the pan with big dollops of sour cream and fleur de sel. They were, in a word, ecstatic.
The blueberries got eaten straight up and with yogurt. I'm hoping our next fruit share has more of them since I certainly still have an appetite for them.
[note: I have a few backlogged posts to share soon. There's really nothing like a week in Phoenix in July to sap your motivation... well, returning to work with jetlag is up there. I'll get the cherry post up here right quick.]
I'm not one to pick up a cucumber for a snack. In my mind they've long been relegated to the "scary vegetable" category. I eat them, yes, but usually when buffered by protective layers of rice or yogurt. So, to figure out how to eat 5 cucumbers (one left from the week before) was a real challenge. I scoured my brain for the few times I've actually gone to the store with "cucumbers" neatly penned under the produce section of my grocery list. The first thing that came to mind was my dear friend Jonathan's family recipe for tabbouleh; a great start and an excellent summer staple. Next to mind was tzatziki. We somehow stopped after that, leaving us with another 2 cucumbers to use up, but surely gin and tonics with cucumber-stick garnishes, and fresh pickles are on our horizon.
The scallions went into the aforementioned tabbouleh and tzatziki (eaten with homemade falafel), and also into a pan-fry with the kale. The red turnips got roasted, and somehow maintained their fibrous quality and zippy sting. As I do with failed vegetable endeavors, I might just cream braise those when I go to reheat the leftovers.
Kohlrabi got peeled, sliced and browned in butter. With a dash of old bay seasoning, this is surprisingly tasty. Bok choy, stems sliced, was lightly steamed and tossed with a little bit of oyster sauce. The snap peas were flash-boiled and intriguingly got packed into our lunches with homemade hummus and olive sourdough bread. Far from something I would think of myself, this proved to be a delicious epiphany.
The very best preparation we had this week were these skillet smashed potatoes. We ate them hot out of the pan with big dollops of sour cream and fleur de sel. They were, in a word, ecstatic.
The blueberries got eaten straight up and with yogurt. I'm hoping our next fruit share has more of them since I certainly still have an appetite for them.
[note: I have a few backlogged posts to share soon. There's really nothing like a week in Phoenix in July to sap your motivation... well, returning to work with jetlag is up there. I'll get the cherry post up here right quick.]
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