CSA Shares

What to do with a box of vegetables: CSA box #3

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2011 CSA Box 3

8 oz. local Florida strawberries

6 oz. blueberries

5 fair trade bananas

2 local Florida ruby pink grapefruit

2 small butternut squash

4 yellow onions

8 yukon gold potatoes

3 small heads broccoli

1 head cauliflower

3 medium and 2 small red beet roots

5 oz. bagged spring mix salad greens

2 hass avocados

3 roma tomatoes

1 bunch rainbow chard

How I Used My Share

  • One of the grapefruit supremed in a big salad with the spring mix, crisped bacon, shredded fontina cheese, half the container of blueberries and a handful of chopped sundried tomatoes with a grapefruit whole-grain mustard vinaigrette.
  • The other grapefruit with the avocados in a chicken and bulgur salad with fennel.
  • Four of the potatoes diced as hash browns as breakfast for dinner with home made bacon, leeks and eggs.
  • Cauliflower in a barley salad with almonds and capers.
  • Tomatoes roasted for a slow-roasted tomato jam.
  • Chard and half the onions in a barley and split pea soup.
  • The other half of the onions in a slow-cooked bacon jam.
  • Most of the fruit I ate out of hand.

I pickled the beets because I am desperately looking for more ways to make them not taste like dirt and my father tells me often they are the very best way to eat them. They are pickling as I am typing. I’m skeptical, but we shall see.

Left over: Butternut squash, four potatoes, broccoli

My Favorite Recipe From This Box

Eggs & Hash Browns With Fried Eggs and Leeks

My Favorite Recipe Not Shared Previously

Barley and Split Pea Soup with Chard
Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

This soup is light and healthy tasting while still being satisfying. I ate this for dinner and then again for 2 days for lunch, and it got better with each meal.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 c. chopped onions
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 tsp. cumin
10 c. chicken or vegetable broth (my favorite is Better Than Bouillon goo mixed with water)
2/3 c. pearl barley
14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used San Marazano)
2/3 c. split peas
1 bunch Swiss Chard, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh dill (don’t skip this ingredient, it brought a great unexpected taste to the party)

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until the onions are golden brown and delicious, roughly 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Mix in the cumin and cook, stirring, until it releases its scent, about 1 minute. Add the broth and barley and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes (with juice) and the split peas, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes until the barley and peas are tender.

Add the chard, cover, and simmer roughly 5 minutes until the chard is tender. Stir in the dill and season with salt & pepper to taste.

1 Year Ago

8 oz. local Florida strawberries
6 oz. blueberries
7 valencia oranges
1 kent mango
1 huge lime
5 jalapenos
2 heads garlic from Argentina
2 Haas avocados
1 bunch cilantro
2 huge local Florida roma tomatoes
2 jumbo red onions
scallions
2 ears local Florida bi-color corn
1 bunch local Florida lactino kale
1 head romaine lettuce
3 heads broccoli
2 large russet potatoes

What I made: Ginger Fried Rice, Thai Black Rice Salad, Cilantro Lime Rice, Stir-Fried Kale & Broccoli, Carnitas Tacos, Jalapeno Salsa, Broccoli & Chicken Stir-Fry, Lemon Smashed Potatoes

2011 CSA Box 1

2011 CSA Box 2

What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: CSA Box #2

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2011 Box 2

7 fair trade bananas
6 oz. blueberries
8 oz. local Florida strawberries
3 heads broccoli
5 Roma tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 red onion
1 bunch rapini
i mango
2 zucchini
5 oz. bagged baby arugula
1 eggplant

How I Used My Share

Red bell peppers in Hold the Sauce Stuffed Sweet Peppers
Eggplant, red onion and rapini in Eggplant Ragu
Arugula in Grown-up Tuna Noodles
Broccoli in Sicilian Broccoli Rice
Tomatoes Oven-Roasted Tomato Jam
Zucchini in Umami Noodles
Leftover vegetables from last week in Halibut & Vegetables in Papillote
Most of the fruit I ate out of hand

I have the mango left over.

My Favorite Recipe From This Box

Umami Noodles

Put a large pot of generously salted water on to boil.

While your water is working, dice 2 small zucchini and 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms.

Sautee zucchini in 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat until soft, approximately 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 more Tbsp. olive oil, 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and porcini mushrooms. Sautee until zucchini is falling apart and porcini reconstitute, approximately 5 minutes.

Toss with 1/3 package cooked “No Yolk” wide egg noodles, 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. soy sauce.

Enjoy. Serves 1 as a hearty dinner, 2 as a light dinner.

1 Year Ago

4 Comice pears
6 oz. blueberries
5 local Florida Honey tangerines
1 local Florida Honey orange
6 fair trade bananas
4 leeks
6 turnips
1 parsnip
3 carrots
1 bunch celery
1 huge bunch dill
4 local Roma tomatoes
2 portobello mushrooms
1 head romaine lettuce
1 head cauliflower
3 sweet potatoes
1 bunch green chard

What I made: Mashed Cauliflower with Dill, Warm Winter Vegetable Salad with Bacon, Stir-Fried Celery in Meat Sauce, Ribollita, Feta & Walnut Salad.

2011 CSA Box 1

What to do with a box of vegetables – Box 1

Categories CSA Shares2 Comments on What to do with a box of vegetables – Box 1

So, you’ve joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) and have gotten your first box of vegetables. Now what? This series will attempt to answer just that by illustrating what I have done with my CSA shares. There’s good news: I first joined a CSA over a year ago, and have found uses for approximately 90% of all the fruits and vegetables I received. I get a half share every other week, which feeds two people 4 to 5 dinners a week plus fruit snacks perfectly.

Here is what was in my first box of the new year:

2011 Box 1

  • 1 Local FL Grapefruit
  • 5 Satsuma Mandarins
  • 5 Bananas (this item was not originally supposed to be in a half share, but I usually swap the romaine out for bananas)
  • 6 oz. Fair Trade Blueberries or Strawberries or both
 (we got blueberries)
  • 7 Granny Smith Apples
  • 7 Carrots
  • 2 5-inch pieces Daikon Radish
  • 1 bunch Curly Kale
  • 1 bunch Rainbow Chard
  • 2 heads Broccoli
  • Romaine*
  • 1 Cucumber
  • 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
  • Ginger# (this item was given to full share recipients only)
  • 1 head Celery
  • Beets# (this item was given to full share recipients only)

*Note: I almost always swap out lettuces in my CSA shares, usually for bananas or something with more nutritional value. I eat leftovers for lunch most days and have found that lettuce just goes to waste too easy.

How I Used My Share

I used the mandarins, blueberries, apples and bananas in a fruit salad for my nightly snack.

Ginger-poached tortellini with rainbow chard

Grated daikon and carrot salad with coconut curry rice and coconut poached red snapper

Soba noodles with kale and radish

Pork tenderloin with cucumber-mango salsa

Broccoli, carrot and celery stir-fry

I also made a batch of black-eyed peas with collard greens and onions… the collards were left over from my last CSA box of 2010, as was the mango from the pork dish.

At the end of the two weeks, I have the grapefruit left over and fell down on the job with the tomatoes. I totally forgot about them, and they went bad.

1 Year Ago

  • 1/2 pint local FL strawberries
  • 3 local FL pink grapefruit
  • 8 Pink Lady apples
  • 1 big and 4 small sunchokes
  • 1 pint sweet mini peppers
  • 1 head green leaf lettuce
  • 1 pint local FL grape tomatoes
  • 1 local FL cucumber
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 1 big bok choy
  • 5 in. finger ginger

Made: Cherry tomato cous cous, port meatball banh mi, daikon with tahini, sesame bok choy and carrot stir fry, linguine with sunchokes and spinach, and chili