I’ll have to confirm that with the person who picked it up. I thought the same thing. But that was the list posted on their website …
They had New Jersey peaches today, so that’s probably what they are including. I didn’t get any because they looked a bit underripe, but maybe they’re great. I’ll wait a few days. It’s always nice to have east coast peaches.
Week of July 11th
1 hd. Boston lettuce
2 Cucumbers
1 lb. Sugar Snap Peas
1 bu. Radishes
1.5 lb. Summer Squash
1 bu. Chioggia Beets
1 bu. Kale
2 lb. Peas
6 ears Corn
1 lb. Baby Arugula
The corn was very tasty, kernels could have had more “pop” but not starchy tasting. Going to have to keep trying radish recipes, so far the only item I’m a little over at this point.
This was also the first week of the flower share. I think they called it a native bouquet - think wild flowers (not sure photo will do it justice).
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Week of July 18th
1 pt. Blueberries
1 Eggplant
1 hd. Boston Lettuce
2 Cucumbers
1 lb. Zucchini Squash
21 lb. Summer Squash
1 Green Pepper
1 bu. Dill
1 bu. Scallions
1 bu. Tuscan Kale
1 bu. Swiss Chard
This was the first week that I was disappointed in my share. Maybe it is just CSA fatigue, but I felt like this week was all greens (lettuce, kales, random herbs, etc) and squash (you can see from the list that isn’t accurate but it is how I feel about it). I was expecting increasing variety and excitement at this point in the growing season, not less …
The flowers (2nd week) is a huge bouquet of snap dragons - love them.
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Ps. I know kale is super trendy but kale and chard to me are such winter vegetables (I almost always pair with roasted/braised meats - which I’m not doing in this heat and humidity). Any good summer ideas for these?’
Trends be damned…I like what I like! I have been eating kale since way before it got trendy. We have been eating this salad the last couple of nights. I amp up the dressing with more garlic (1 large clove) and lemon juice. I used grated parmesan because I didn’t have pecorino and it subbed in beautifully. Love using Penzey’s Szechuan Roasted Salt and Pepper to finish it. I add sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion, and drained/rinsed canned chickpeas to round it out. For no good reason, except maybe laziness, I always skip the breadcrumbs, but I bet they are delicious. Topped with grilled salmon or tofu, it makes a delightful, but filling summer meal.
Re: summer ideas for kale. A friend and I shared a kale Caesar salad at Puritan & Co that we ended up fighting over and still talk about. I haven’t tried making it yet but saw a good-looking recipe for it on The Woks of Life and their recipes are pretty reliable as a rule.
I am glad you are reporting on your CSA because it confirms my thought I would rather just go to Wilson’s 2 or 3 times a week (it’s on my way home from work) and pick out what I feel like cooking/eating.
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Oh and forgot to mention - I still have the radishes and beets from last week. The lettuce from last week had to be pitched before I got around to using it.
The beets I roasted last night, so we will eat those tonight … the radishes still vex me, I’ll have to try that other recipe posted up thread.
I’ve only had to buy “proteins” since I started the CSA - I miss the shopping too. We were just talking about that last night.
It has made me wonder if there may be another model for CSA’s for foodies like us … I like trying the different things - I love the super seasonal things (garlic scapes, first peas, etc) - maybe just a share that is even smaller and more targeted that way … or maybe I just need to shop for myself and push myself to be more adventurous sometimes. still thinking about it.
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Have you tried pickling them? I like to use rice vinegar. Delicious on a schwarma or bahn mi sandwich. Eat them like the French– smear with a bit of sweet butter, add a pinch of coarse sea salt and eat with some salami or simply out of hand.
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Kale is nice for pesto variation with pasta
I don’t know if these are really “summery”, but I often make frittatas or pesto with chard or kale.
Never tried pesto with kale - worth a shot.
And pickled radishes is a go - gives me more time to eat them!
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Week of July 25th -
This week’s 1/2 share:
1 lb. Green Beans
1 pt. Blueberries
1 bu. Scallions
1 bu. Golden Beets
2 Cucumbers
1 bu. Red Spring Onions
1 basket Maine Tomatoes
1 bu. Carrots
1 lb. Summer Squash
1 hd. Red Leaf Lettuce
Flowers were 2 bundles of gladiolas
Left from last week: 1/2 the scallions, 1 cucumber and 1 summer squash. Into the trash went 1/2 the dill, 1/2 the chard. The kale went into a soup, 1/2 of which will be frozen. I felt bad about pitching some but I was just never going to go through all the dill or the rest of the chard (which was a little limp).
I’m a little over the beets and summer squash at this point. Looking forward to the green beans. Need to come up with a plan for all the tomatoes since we will be out of town this weekend …
I’m happy it is making me eat more veggies but it is a lot to go through for 2 adults if you skip a day or two during the week (holidays, going out to dinner, etc) it is hard for us to finish but you know you need to because another basket is showing up in a day or two. It’s just an adjustment.
Have you considered making a dill compound butter to freeze for later? Pickled beets are an option, but yes, one can only eat so many beets in 7 days. You have described exactly why I don’t do CSA’s. For less money, I can buy what i actually want to eat, when I want to eat it. And, yes, I spend quite a few of my valuable summer produce dollars at Wilson Farms.
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Thanks for the suggestions. This week I could have used the pep talk to figure out more solutions.
I already have a pound of garlic scape butter in the freezer from a few weeks ago, so I thought about another with the dill but wasn’t motivated this week. I also have a jar of cucumber pickles and a jar of pickled radishes … so a third of pickled beets just wasn’t in the cards either but a good idea. The 1/2 share I think is just a little too large for us. We can almost get through it but not quite.
I have enjoyed the CSA so far and most weeks I’ve been excited by the variety. If some of these veggies were in my normal rotation it may be easier. But I do like that it is pushing me to use more veggies and some I wouldn’t normally use. So right now I have mixed feelings about it all.
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When beets happen in my life, I think meze- Turkish meze to be exact. I am not a huge beet fan and yet I can eat this dish by the quart. Here is a version that I found, but you can review all the google search results and pick one that you like.
My favorite version locally is at Pasha in Arlington.
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More dill ideas:
dill pickles! Man does that use a lot of dill, and you have the whole fermentation thing.
gravlax, if you enjoy salmon
tartar sauce- I use Rick Moonan’s recipe which is almost green from all the herbs, cornichons, and capers
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Thanks!
Zucchini fritters with tzatziki can use up some dill in the patties themselves and in the sauce. This recipe from Michael Symon is tasty (I serve it with tzatziki instead of plain yogurt.) I usually don’t have mint on hand so I use basil, oregano or parley and thyme. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/zucchini-fritters-recipe2-1957366
I also use dill in a quick mayo/sour cream/dijon sauce for fish.
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