CSA Food Basket - week one

This week I drove down to the farm and picked up my first food basket, as they call them. Holy moly! The thing was so heavy I could barely lift it into my car. It smelled wonderful....like dirt and like being on the farm. I wanted to just sit in my car for hours and get high off the fumes. And my dog Pepper was diggin' it too.

I made a point of unpacking it item by item onto my kitchen counter. I looked at each piece, smelled it, thought about what I could do with it, and examined it like it was some kind of jewel. I was in awe. You will be surprised how much stuff I got. Here is the list:

1 bunch celery

4 heads lettuce

1 bunch swiss chard

1 bunch lacto kale

1 bunch parsley

3 heads broccoli

2 summer squash

3 pickling cucumbers

4 regular cucumbers

1 bunch carrots

4 oranges

1 grapefruit

4 plums

3 red bell peppers

3 yellow starburst squash

1 melon

3 large tomatoes

9 roma tomatoes

I knew it was going to be generous but, seriously, I had no idea there would be that much stuff. After I got over how beautiful it all was I set about putting it away. Most I could leave out on the counter as long as I used them fairly soon but I did have to wash the lettuces right away and get them bagged and into the frig to chill. I admit I have not done that in awhile. I have been lazy and buying lettuce in a bag. But now I actually had to wash the dirt off of it, spin it dry and store it somehow. Heck this is work.

The key is to plan what you need to eat first. The lettuces and kale would get used first because the carrots and squash could spend a few days in the refrig. And I knew we would eat the fruit for breakfast or lunch so that was not a problem.

Now what is interesting is that my husband does not eat cucumbers, he says they don't agree with him. Did I say we received four of them? What the heck am I supposed to do with them? The folks at South Coast Farms sent me a recipe that I decided to try. You slice the cuc's, salt them and let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes, wash and dry them, then mix together vinegar and sugar and marinate them in that for awhile. I was astounded at how good it was. Seems terribly simple to be so good. And my husband liked them! Wahoo. With the rest of them I made a salad with cuc's, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and some Italian dressing. Then I will make a gazpacho and we should be done with them.

And I have 3 pickling cucumbers. What does one do with only three of these? Am I supposed to make some pickling brine just for the three? I think out of everything in the batch these will be the most challenging.

The chard and kale I sauteed in olive oil with some garlic, a small pinch of red pepper flakes, and some salt. I topped that with white beans and diced tomatoes and drizzled it all with olive oil. We were feeling quite healthy.

The green summer squash I used one night in a big salad. I cooked it quickly in a grill pan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. I also used one head of the broccoli, some of the tomatoes and the carrots in addition to a piece of salmon and made a big tasty salad as an entree for dinner.

The broccoli was a challenge for me. I am not a fan broccoli but my husband is. He was so happy it was in the house but I was trying to figure out what I could do with it to reduce that bitter broccoli taste. I had three heads. The first one I simply streamed and hit it with some salt and Al ate it all up. I had a couple bites and thought oh yeah this is as bad as I remember it. So the next time I made a pasta dish. I blanched the broccoli and set it aside. In a large saucepan I added some olive oil, garlic, and pinch of red pepper flakes. Let that saute for only a few seconds then get the broccoli in and the pasta and start tossing. Add a little pasta water or stock to make a bit of a sauce. Serve it in big pasta bowls with a grating of Parmesan. Now this broccoli I could eat.

The third head I pickled. Haven't tasted it yet. I have been reading some food blogs about pickling and was getting kinda curious about it all so what the hell....lets pickle some broccoli. I will taste in a couple of weeks and let you know how it is.

The red bell peppers where a bit disappointing. They had a bitter taste. I made pasta in peppers, sauteing the peppers in olive oil and butter with some garlic, then adding some heavy cream and simmering for a few minutes to turn into a thick rich sauce. Lots of fresh basil over the top with some cheese. I have made this dish numerous times throughout the years and it is always satisfying. But this time it had a slight bitter taste of the peppers. I was not real happy with them. The peppers have to be sweet.

The yellow squash in going on the grill tonight with the beautiful organic roast chicken my husband has on the rotisserie. We have owned that grill for years now and have never used the rotisserie. Did it take getting all this produce to make us finally use the thing? Whatever it was we are like excited children at the prospect.