CSA 2010, Week 2

June 16, 2010

20100616csa2 CSA 2010, Week 2

First, I have to thank everyone who commented on my Week 1 post with suggestions on how to enjoy spring turnips. April, Carol, Allyson, Magpie, Amy, and Bard all weighed in with ideas! I was thrilled to get so many suggestions. Thank you.

This week I did my volunteer stint for the season, setting up the pick-up site and maintaining it for a couple of hours. Two local sites were combined into one large group this year, hosted by the Sustainability Committee at Pace University. Joan, another member, was also there to help out and she was good company (I’m glad she accidentally came early so we got to chat). We were responsible for organizing and labeling all those bins of veggies in the photo, and then moving empty bins out of the way and keeping the area neat as people pull their shares out of the containers.

We received 1 bunch of spring turnips, 1 pint of sugar snap peas, 1 bunch of rainbow chard, 1 yellow summer squash, 1 cucumber, 1 very heavy “mini” cabbage, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, a handful of broccoli rabe (leaves and stems), braising mix, salad mix, and a handful each of cilantro, parsley, basil, and arugula.

No garlic scapes! Boo! Last week I sauteed chopped scapes in olive oil, then added in chopped Russian kale and spinach (let the kale cook first, since it takes longer than the spinach). This is the easiest way to deal with greens in a tasty way. They’re so good for you but they are not my favorite. Still, tossed with pasta or potatoes, or as a side dish to a steak (the way we ate them last week) they are definitely palatable. I have also finely chopped braising greens and added them (raw) to ground beef or turkey to make meatballs. They don’t add much flavor but do bring a nutritional boost. I’m going to do that tomorrow.

Looking for something to do with a little bit of arugula? I love Pasta with Lentils, Tomatoes & Arugula. For a cold cabbage dish try Cashew Cabbage Slaw with Sesame Dressing; for something hot I loved Hungarian Beef & Cabbage Casserole. Let me know what you’re making with your CSA share — I am up for trying new recipes, just as soon as I get to those turnips…