Friday, June 6, 2008

CSA finally kicks off today

After several delays, our CSA finally kicks off today. It's kind of like Christmas...what's in the box...but with lots of heat. In fact, I'm cutting out a little early today to rescue my package of produce from the 90-degree temperatures at my pick-up location.

According to our e-newsletter, this is what I'm getting:
  • heirloom lettuce
  • mustard greens (never knowingly tried these before)
  • radishes (which I've recently revisited)
  • thyme (yay for herbs!)
  • cherry tomatoes (even though they make my child (and me!) "sad")
  • summer squash
  • green onions
  • green peppers (any takers?)

Starting the CSA is going to force a little more creativity than what I'm used to with menu planning. I realize I usually wing meals several times a week (hmm...what's left in the fridge/freezer/pantry?). And even at the farmer's markets, I often pick and choose what my family will eat for the next few days. But getting my mystery basket of produce, even with a little advance notice, is an adventure of sorts. For all I know, I will have a tub of green peppers and three cherry tomatoes (let's hope not!).

So, we'll get out of the box more with our menus and hopefully sample some new cuisine. As my husband commented last night, "How long have we had that vegetarian grilling book?" (10 years, since my short stint in magazines.) "We'll probably use that more this year than we have in all that time." Let's hope so!

I'd be happy to post any new recipes I try that are a success this season. Is there any interest? (Please comment, otherwise I will never know.)

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4 comments:

  1. ChileJune 13, 2008 at 2:09 PM

    Our CSA frequently talks about learning to transition from a recipe-driven meal plan to an ingredient-driven one. This is probably the hardest part for people knew to a CSA. You have to learn to work with whatever you receive instead of what you may want to make that week. With time, though, you'll learn to throw together incredible meals and make substitutions in recipes to utilize your fresh CSA share.

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  2. RobbieJune 13, 2008 at 3:32 PM

    I agree! It's almost like "What do we have on hand that would work with the radishes?" It is definitely a change of pace.

    That being said, I'm off soon to collect this week's suprises!

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  3. Walking GreenJune 17, 2008 at 4:17 PM

    MMM...I love mustard greens. They are really good if you saute them in a little olive oil with fresh garlic and sprinkling (tiny, tiny, tiny) of nutmeg (it removes any bitterness. Yummy!

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  4. RobbieJune 17, 2008 at 5:23 PM

    I can't say no to garlic. It's worth giving it a try!

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