This was a super-easy, quick slaw that was surprisingly delicious. I thinly sliced a small green cabbage, and tossed it with a chopped bunch of scallions and a couple of shaved (with a vegetable peeler) carrots. For the dressing, I combined a squirt of sriracha sauce with some honey, apple cider vinegar, and fresh lemon juice. (I just splashed them together in a bowl without measuring, and adjusted the quantities to taste.) You can season with salt and pepper, as well.

Toss the cabbage mixture with the dressing and let it sit at room temperature for a least 15 minutes, so the cabbage can soften slightly. The spicy sriracha is a good contrast to the cool, crisp cabbage. Definitely a nice change from the sesame oil-based slaws I have been making recently.

I’m sliding this one in right under the wire, as I’m about to pick up Week 8 tomorrow…

We received 2 green bell peppers, 2 onions, 3 cucumbers, 1 tiny eggplant, a bunch of fingerling carrots (I made that term up, but I like it!), 5 ears of corn, a small handful of basil, green beans, lettuce mix, 1 small yellow squash, and 2 small zucchini.

The peppers tasted watery to me, but not bitter. The corn was absolutely fantastic, as in previous years. I can’t help but eat some of it raw, sliced off the cobs. I wound up cooking the corn and basil up into Corn and Basil Cakes, which were good — the fresh corn is barely cooked and remains the highlight of the pancake, its sweetness nicely contrasted by the bite of ground pepper. I would make my Corn, Avocado, & Tomato Salad next time, though.

I love the easy parking and super-organized group running our new farm share pick-up site, but — perhaps because it’s huge now (80 members in one location, I think) and inside a college building rather than someone’s home — it feels more like shopping in the produce section of a store rather than being part of a local group participating in a CSA. The vegetables are still lovely, but I am missing the homey vibe of our previous location, and this feeling was highlighted when I ran into the lovely host of our old site this week. So is it about the organic vegetables, supporting local, sustainable agriculture, or feeling like I’m part of a like-minded group?

This week we received 3 cucumbers, 3 zucchini, a bunch of small carrots, 1 cabbage, a bunch of chard (or you could choose kale), cilantro, lettuce mix, 2 onions, 3 summer squash, and green beans.

I still have the chard from last week, but I have plans for both bunches — they’re going being sauteed with the onions, and then added to a quiche. I will probably freeze the quiche for another time, or give one away. We already ate the green beans tonight, tossed in a saute pan with a little olive oil, the juice and zest of two lemons, and a little salt. I may try to sneak zucchini muffins past the boys this week, too.

On Sunday night J. grilled so much summer squash, zucchini, and onions that he had to do it in two batches, completely covering the grill with vegetables each time. We ate some and I’ll use the rest during the week, either on sandwiches or in pasta.

We also cut our small red cabbage into wedges, drizzled it with olive oil, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Cooked right on the grates, the leaves got a nice char on them, and stayed firm, not mushy. I really loved the flavor of the cabbage cooked this way, but as J. put it, “It’s still cabbage.” Well, I like cabbage so this is a great additional way to prepare it. The spare, crisp flavor was a good contrast to the rich marinated steaks J. grilled alongside.

We were in and out this week, with a stop off to say hi to the chickens and goats.

This week’s share included 1 head of lettuce, 2 summer squash, 2 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 3 large beets (greens went to the goats), 3 white onions (green tops also went to the goats — they love the onions!), a bunch of chard, and a mini red cabbage. No herbs this time, sadly.

J. grilled tonight, and when we grill in the summer we almost always throw a mess of vegetables on there along with whatever protein we’re cooking up. Tonight J. grilled zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, and even broccoli. We love the way vegetables taste when prepared this way (they’re drizzled with a little olive oil and tossed with a dash of salt before cooking).

Roni at Green Lite Bite’s recipe for Roasted (Wish They Were Grilled) Cabbage got me thinking about cabbage on the grill, something I’d never tried. Yesterday I quartered two arrowhead cabbages, and spooned Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki over each piece. Then I wrapped them in aluminum foil, and brought them to my parents’ house for my dad to grill. The cabbage steams inside its wrapper, which makes it tender and soft in just 15 minutes or so.

The flavor was great, but next time I’m going to suggest a few minutes on the grill after it is cooked in the foil. Placing the cabbage right on the grill grate would caramelize the sauce and crisp up the edges of the cabbage a little, which would taste even better and certainly be more visually appealing.

I love cucumbers, and in the summer they are the perfect side dish: crisp and cool, light but flavorful (at least the ones from my CSA are!). I often make a quick Israeli salad in the summer, but didn’t have tomatoes on hand last night.

I sliced up a couple of cukes, minced two big scallions, and drizzled on a bit of apple cider vinegar along with a pinch of salt. If you want to, you can add a teaspoon of sugar or so, but I didn’t. This side dish takes just minutes to make, and keeps very well in the fridge for a couple of days as well.

This week we received a head of red oak leaf lettuce, a bunch of scallions (we grilled these last week and they were delicious!), a pint of gigantic sugar snap peas, 1 head of broccoli, 2 yellow squash, 1 zucchini, 2 cucumbers, 1 arrowhead cabbage, 1 bunch of kale, a bunch of beets with greens, and a small handful of basil.

However, not all of those vegetables made it home. There is a small area of farm animals — chickens, goats, and supposedly horses (though they were not there today) — right next to our farm share pick-up site. The weather was spectacular so the boys and I went over to check out the goats. We fed them lots of grass, but when my back was turned G. decided the goats would like some of our scallions. He dipped into my bag, and before I could say “stop!” the green tops from about half of my bunch were covered in goat drool. Now, with the scent of scallions in the air, more goats wandered over. There was not enough long grass to go around, so we offered up the beet greens. The boys were in heaven, naming one forceful goat “Mr. Piggy” and devising strategies to distract the bully while getting some leaves to the more timid animals. Then the beet leaves were gone and the boys looked forlorn: “What else can we feed them, Mama?” It did not take much begging for me to sacrifice the kale.

I haven’t been cooking much this week due to an off-schedule — we are between school and camp, and not home for dinner many nights. I was a little nervous that this might be the first week I couldn’t make full use of my share, but that fear was assuaged this evening as I prepared dinner. J. is grilling skirt steaks, so I used up last week and this week’s cilantro, parsley, and green onions (along with vinegar, salt, garlic, and a little sriracha sauce) to make a kind of chimichurri. He’s also grilling the broccoli, yellow squash, and remainder of the onions. After tonight I’ll just have a bit of lettuce, the cabbage, chard, and the turnips left. Easy to use up, since I plan on making a slaw with the cabbage and turnips tomorrow, and then omelets with sauteed chard on Tuesday.

Our week 3 share included: 1 head lettuce, a bunch of rainbow chard, sugar snap peas, salad mix, loose turnips (no greens), 1 yellow squash, 1 cucumber, 1 arrowhead cabbage, 2 small heads of broccoli, a bunch of green onions, basil, and parsley.

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…