CSA Meals - Part 2

Week 5 - chives, pickling cucumbers, greenhouse tomatoes (all not part of CSA), red lettuce, escarole, curly kale, swiss chard, cabbage, radishes, hukuri salad turps, garlic scapes, zucchini, cauliflower.  

Week 6 - garlic, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers (not part of CSA), red lettuce, stir fry mix, fennel, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, chives (not part of CSA)

Week 7 - pickling cucumbers (not part of CSA), stir fry mix, kale, japanese eggplant, italian flat beans, bok choy, scallions, zucchini, globe zucchini, cucumbers, yellow summer squash, collards, cabbage, cherries and tomatoes (neither part of CSA)

Week 8 - 10 lbs of peaches, blueberries, apricots, field tomatoes, hot pepper (all not part of CSA), cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow summer squash, green beans, cabbage, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard, collards. 

Another edition of CSA meal ideas.  We have been enjoying our veggies so so much.  I thought I would share how we have been eating them up.  We get GOOD stuff in our CSA and when I go to the market to pick it up, I always end up buying even more.  They don't grow any tree/bush fruit at the farm.  But they bring in fruits from nearby farms (starting now-ish).  This is dangerous.  So are the quarts of heavy cream from a local dairy farm.  But especially lately, I have been adding more veggies that didn't make the CSA that week.  

We are currently in what is known as...the best produce season ever.  I have been refraining from talking about my one true love: the summer tomato.  I planted 10 tomato plants in our tiny plot of land (in addition to carrots, kale, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, cucumbers, red peppers, habanero peppers, eggplant, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, etc.)  We have like 1 mm^2 of yard space.  So, not everything is happy.  Not to mention, Copper has been very busy killing THREE groundhogs, who have been nibbling where they shouldn't be nibbling.  The first groundhog death was sad for me.  But once I saw a bite out of a cuke...I let nature take it's course...

Anyway, although some of the garden hasn't survived our non-ideal growing conditions (and of course, we can definitely blame our novice gardening skillz), the cream of the crop is our tomatoes.  I care for them nearly equivalently to how I care for Birk.  I check them every day.  I have been tying those babies up.  I have been NOT watering them because it rains too much.  I have been petting them.  I cannnnnnnnot wait for the bumper crop (just learned that phrase).  We are currently enjoying the cherry tomatoes, but in a matter of days, or maybe one week, we will be in the swing of it.  

Alright, that is enough.  Here are some of the ways we have been enjoying the local produce.  Hope it gives you some inspiration for your meals.  

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad - lettuce, beet greens, pecans, radishes, and roasted beets in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Bok Choy and Garlic Scape Pad Thai - your typical pad thai, but add the veggies.  I added bok choy and another dark green. Instead of scallions, I used garlic scapes.  Some tofu, as usual for pad thai.  I used this recipe, roughly.

Kale, Black Bean, and Corn Taquitos with Guacamole - sautéed kale, black beans, and corn mixed with cilantro and goat cheese, wrapped up in a corn tortilla.  Baked at 400 until crispy.  Served with guac.

Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Sauce - Roast some cauliflower and toss with wing sauce.  For the dipping sauce, I mixed full fat greek yogurt with a crumbled blue cheese.  My favorite variety of blue cheese is the soft, creamy kind.  I try to find either a goat's milk blue cheese or a mild brie hybrid.  Jk, I just wanted to sound like an a-hole.  No, actually I am serious, that is the kind of blue cheese that I like.

Pesto and Summer Veggie Cheese Raviolis Salad - Based off of this recipe.  I tossed good quality (you know, not the bad quality kind) little mini cheese ravioli with grape tomatoes, cooked greens, sautéed zucchini, and pesto.  Great hot or room temp.

A Simple Slaw - Cabbage is not the most exciting vegetable out there.  But it is good.  You have to have slaw at least once a summer.  I don't like creamy slaws or creamy salads.  This was just thinly sliced cabbage, salad turnips, cucumber, green onions tossed in some apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  I added some raw escarole.  Don't do that.

Cauliflower, Black Bean, and Avocado Waffle - We made some whole grain waffles.  Scot's special, secret recipe (yeah, I just don't know what it is).  Then we topped them with roasted cauliflower, black beans cooked in chipotles in adobo, shredded mont. jack, avocado and a fried egg.  This only uses cauliflower so WHATEVER.

Apple, Chickpea, Almond Salad - yum.  This was some lettuce, cucumbers, shredded carrots, chickpeas, diced apple, and chopped almonds tossed in a sweet honey and mustard vinaigrette.

Zucchini, Leek, Broccoli Rabe Fritters with a Cucumber Tzatziki Sauce - Take that! If you haven't made fritters yet...do it.  Shred the veggies (or finally chop), add some flour, egg, salt and pepper until fritter like consistency.  Fry up in some olive oil.  These fritters had zucchini, leeks, and broccoli rabe (any dark green would be fine).  Tzatziki is a cucumber yogurt suace.  You dice up the cucumber, salt it (liberally) and let is release some of its liquid in a colander for 30  min. - a few hours.  Dry the cucumbers in a kitchen towel (it removes some of the salt too).  Toss with green yogurt and season with pepper.  I added the fennel tops to the sauce too.  I congratulated myself on this dish.    

Tempeh and Veggie Stir-fry - If you don't know what to do with a veggie...stir fry ti up!  This was broccoli, red onion, carrots, stiry fry greens (probably like bok choy type things), and tempeh over brown rice.  The sauce was some weird thing I threw together:  mango habanero jelly, fish sauce, sriracha, ... probably more things.  It was good!  Sweet and spicy.

Fried Zucchini Sandwiches with Cucumber, Tomato Salad -  We got these beautiful globe zucchinis.  I breaded and fried them for a sandwich.  Also topped with lettuce, sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion and a honey, mustard sauce (dijon, honey, sour cream).  When I lived at home, I ate cucumber, tomato salads daily when my dad's garden was taking off.  It is simply sliced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion tossed in red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper.  It is what summer is all about.

Kimchi - The best use of cabbage?  Kimchi.  If you aren't familiar it is a Korean condiment similar to sauerkraut...but Korean.  It is spicy and sour and lasts forever in the fridge.  You are supposed to eat fermented things if you want to be healthy.  So think about that.  My little sister helped me make a gigantic batch of kimchi.  I used this recipe.  I am going to make sauerkraut next using this recipe.  Don't think you like these types of condiments?  Try making them.  They are totally different than the store bought stuff.  A friend back in Boulder gifted me some of her homemade sauerkraut, which I used up instantly (like for this pizza).  So good.

Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese - salad is diced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, blanched green beans, lettuce, green onions, with a honey mustard vinaigrette.