Veggie Boot Camp

I joined a CSA! CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, which essentially means that local farms grow food for local people. I became a member by paying for my first 7 weeks, and then all I had to do was drive to the drop off point right here in town to pick up a box (yes, a big, huge box) of veggies. It feels like veggie boot camp, and it is slightly scary trying to figure out what to do with all of that green (and not green) goodness. The best news? I have rarely tasted food so fresh and yummy. I am totally excieted about each new week and all of the wonderful new foods that I can try.

This week:
Carrots, Salad, Arugula, Radishes, Leeks, Fennel, Agretti, Strawberries.

The carrots will become baby food. The salad was used as salad, along with a few of the radishes. We ate some ourselves, then donated the rest (about half) to my Auntie, who loves salad (I really don't like lettuce, actually). The arugula is a cooking green, as are the radish greens, so those will mostly be sateed with garlic to make a side dish (ok, a lot of side dishes - there's a ton of food!) The radishes, leeks, fennel, and agretti are a little puzzling so far, but I WILL come up with ways to eat them. The strawberries were dessert, and they were some of the best EVER.

Last week, since I was down for the count:
Celery, Parsnips, Mustard Greens , Purple Carrots, Spinach, Cardoons, Salad

The celery got traded out for more parsnips. I don't like celery, thanks. The parsnips were ok cubed and boiled, but they really shone in a scalloped potato/parsnip dish. I wouldn't mind more of that. The mustard greens were sauteed with garlic, and enjoyable that way. I added local honey once, but Sam liked them plain, better. The purple carrots were going to be baby food, but they were overlooked for two long and kicked the bucket. The spinach, on the other hand, was terrific, sauteed with the mustard greens and also as a salad green. The cardoons tasted like artichoke heart soup when cooked up for cardoon soup, which was to die for. YUM! Not bad for a veggie I had never heard of before. The salad was half consumed when I gave up and donated the last half to my mommy, who was thrilled. She will be getting more.

It is exciting and a little scary to be cooking all of these new foods. Veggie boot camp ROCKS!

~Dionne