Guesstimate Week 2

On Thursdays I will post the farmer’s guesstimate for next week’s share. Please share your favorite ideas and recipes for these veggies in the comments or e-mail me at purplecook8@gmail.com

I plan my menu over the weekend. I’d love to incorporate your suggestions. I’ll let you know what I plan. It is always fun on Tuesday (pick up day) to see what we actually get and rearrange the plan as need be.

Week 2 Guess

Basil, Bok Choi or Totsoi, Braising Mix, Cilantro, Garlic scapes, Head Lettuce, Parsley, Salad Mix, Scallions, Sugar Snap or Snow peas, Summer Squash or Zucchini, Swiss Chard or Kale, Turnips

Maintaining Freshness and Storing CSA produce

Most of this info is based on a great article on Produce Freshness in “Cook’s Illustrated” from July/August 2008.

As a general rule I wash most of the produce when I get home from pick up. Anything with green leaves, I wash, and spin. I’ll spin other things too, like yesterday I sent the snow peas for a spin to get all the water off. I love my Oxo Salad Spinner. I then put almost everything in a storage bag with a paper towel. This system has worked well for me. This same method was suggested in the article, especially for keeping greens crisp.

Freezing
And then there are times when you just don’t get to use everything from the share that week or you keep getting the same item and you’d like to save it for later. A friend shared this site years ago and it has been wonderful.
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=GH1503
The main things that get frozen from my CSA are herbs I’ve turned into pesto, which pretty much got me through the winter. The other big one was greens we got in the fall, collards and kale. I would cook them down, freeze them, and use them whenever a recipe called for frozen spinach throughout the winter.

So…I’ve wanted to write the following information for a couple weeks, but it just seems so BORING. I’m about to tell you about climate zones in the refrigerator. BUT as the produce rolls in I think the info might be handy to refer back to throughout the season. So feel free to skip this, and catch it when it pertains to a particular veggie when I link back.

Refrigerator Climate Zones
Cold Zone – this zone is located in back, top middle. This is the coldest area and temps can dip below 34 degrees (ever pull out items with ice crystals).
Moderate Zone – this zone is located in the front, middle to bottom. Temps here can go above 37 degrees. Fruits and veggie that need refrigeration but that can be ruined by chill should go here.
Humid Zone – Crispers provide a humid environment that keep produce with a high water content from shriveling and rotting. Too much humidity can also hasten spoilage. To regulate adjust the vents. General rule, more cold air that is let in, the less humidity.

The remainder of the article talks about particular fruits or vegetables. So I’ll just note where each item should be stored as it shows up in my share.

Week 1 of 2010- the bounty!!!!

Everyone was excited about how bountiful the first week share was this year. We had a warm May and are now reaping the benefits. I always try to remember when I'm suffering from the heat that I'm going to love it when it means a good CSA share.

Anyway we got...

bok choi, broccoli rabe, cilantro, garlic scapes, head lettuce, parsley, radishes, salad mix, snow peas, spinach, swiss chard, turnips, and zucchini.

My plans...


Salads (and I’ll post that strawberry dressing I mentioned earlier)

Pasta Primavera based on the following recipe. I’m going to make changes based on what was in the share this week.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_pasta_primavera/

Stir Fry with the bok choi and whatever is still around. I have some stir fry tips I’ve been saving up. They too are great partners, like a CSA and pizza (http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/05/csa-and-pizza-happy-partnership.html ).

Broccoli Rabe
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/broccoli_rabe_with_caramelized_onions/
but I hope more comes soon because I have recipes saved up for broccoli rabe and sausage AND many folks are saying how much they love that combination.

Garlic Scapes
I’m going to use them just like garlic this week because I am low. This green garlic idea (http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/04/green-garlic.html ) has been working great and I think I’ll do the same with the scapes. Hope we get more next week because lots of people have mentioned garlic scape pesto, so I can’t wait to try that.

Swiss Chard
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/gemelli-with-sausage-swiss-chard-and-pine-nuts
This one was recommended by a reader and I can’t wait to try it.

First Day of CSA pick up

Here is what I'll be picking up today...

Snow Peas
Kale
Salad Mix
Head Lettuce
Broccoli Rabe
Bokchoi or Tat Soi
Zucchini or Squash
Turnips
Radishes
Spinach
Garlic Scapes
Cilantro
Parsley

Any favorite recipes or great ideas for these items? Put them in the comments or e-mail me at purplecook8@gmail.com

Happy CSA Season!

Strawberry-Basil Salad

I had to have something on the dinner table with strawberries after picking yesterday so we tried this salad. My favorite part was getting a bite of strawberry and basil together, really good.

Strawberry-Basil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1898521

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salad greens for two
¾ cup sliced strawberries
Handful of sliced scallions
4-5 basil leaves, thinly sliced

In a salad bowl combine oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard with a whisk. Add salad greens, strawberries, scallions, and basil. Toss and Serve.

NOTE: the link serves six, so I made it for just two. I also added Dijon to the dressing.

Strawberry Sauce

We went strawberry picking today. The kids and I love to go berry picking. Today we brought home 5 quarts of strawberries. This is a tray of the strawberries ready to be frozen.

I like to lay the berries out on a tray, freeze them, and then put them in a freezer bag for storage. I find that if they go straight to the bag they just freeze in one big blob and you can’t just get out a few. I use the same method for blueberries, corn, peas, meatballs, cookie dough to be baked later and so on.

Today I’m going to make a batch of Strawberry Sauce. I make it every year. It is useful for so many things. The original recipe suggests pouring it warmed up over waffles, freeze it in paper cups with popsicle sticks, layer with fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola, spoon over ice cream or blend in a milkshake or smoothie.

Strawberry Sauce
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/dessert-recipes/Strawberry-Sauce

NOTES: Another great way to use an immersion blender! I don’t strain the sauce. I just love the seeds on berries (strawberries, raspberries etc.) and never get rid of them.

This week I will use this sauce to make a salad dressing and a spicy sauce for simple grilled chicken, so check back soon. OH…and my CSA’s first pick is Tuesday, so it should be a good week all around.

Pea Salad

We saw this recipe at the beginning of spring. I've been looking for peas at the market ever since. This past weekend I found the most wonderful sugar snap peas and the snow peas were also good, but not quite so amazing. Anyway...we finally got to make our pea salad!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/pea-salad-with-basil-and-pea-shoots-recipe/index.html

I didn't have pea shoots, so those are missing. I traded the fresh tarragon in the recipe for fresh thyme. I wanted all the herbs to come from our garden and I didn't have tarragon.

It was worth the wait and I recommend this salad.