Week 2 of the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA.
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| Click to go to Flickr and roll over photo for description of the produce. |
2 bunches spring onions – certified organic – Bellview and Plum Hill Organics
1 bunch garlic scapes – certified organic – Life Enhancing Acres
1 pkg white mushrooms – certified organic – Mother Earth Organics
1 bunch Lacinato kale – certified organic – Goshen View Organics
1 bag baby lettuce mix – certified organic – Farmdale Organics
1 bag wrinkle-crinkle – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch
2 heads green oak leaf lettuce – certified organic – Back 40 Ranch
& some Snow Peas that came with the full share that the other hosts of the site shared with me.
I really love being part of a CSA and have written about it in past post. Being a site host, I get a share for free. I opted for a half share and the fruit share that starts later in the season. Even with a half share, I find myself not getting thru all the weekly goodies before they start to waste in my fridge. This year I am determined not to waste any part of my weekly half share. The first thing I did was to wash all the produce this week and package it all up so it is all ready to go in my fridge. To wash lettuce & other leafy stuff I fill the sink with cold water and gently place in the lettuce. I swish and swirl it around gently. The lettuce and leafy goods will float while all the soil that may still be on it will sink to the bottom. I gently scoop out the greens and dry them in a salad spinner, then lay them out on paper towels to get any left over moisture. Then I package them in ziplock style bags or the reusable containers my take out Chinese comes in.
I really love being part of a CSA and have written about it in past post. Being a site host, I get a share for free. I opted for a half share and the fruit share that starts later in the season. Even with a half share, I find myself not getting thru all the weekly goodies before they start to waste in my fridge. This year I am determined not to waste any part of my weekly half share. The first thing I did was to wash all the produce this week and package it all up so it is all ready to go in my fridge. To wash lettuce & other leafy stuff I fill the sink with cold water and gently place in the lettuce. I swish and swirl it around gently. The lettuce and leafy goods will float while all the soil that may still be on it will sink to the bottom. I gently scoop out the greens and dry them in a salad spinner, then lay them out on paper towels to get any left over moisture. Then I package them in ziplock style bags or the reusable containers my take out Chinese comes in.
The best part if a CSA is that you end up with produce you have never tried or even heard of. This week I got something called wrinkle-crinkle. It's a cress that looks like slightly sickly parsley, but is very peppery. I discovered this after tasting a leaf while cleaning all the greens. Unsure of exactly how to use it, I decided to treat it more like an herb than a lettuce. I chopped it up and added it to some pasta, tomato, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
The bag of mixed baby lettuce has provided a nice addition to nearly every meal. I made a quick and simple vinaigrette by whisking together a splash of apple cider vinegar, a squirt of Dijon mustard, and s&p to taste. I keep whisking as I drizzle in some olive oil - about twice as much as I have acids. Some canned tuna on top of some dressed greens with an extra drizzle over the tuna and I had a meal! A left over cupcake from the weekend baking rounded it out to complete the meal.
While cleaning the produce I decided to also clean and blanch it so I could keep it in the fridge to snack on. It never made it to the fridge. After cleaning - pulling that fibrous string along the edge, I dropped them into salted boiling water for just a minute. They turned bright green and stayed crunching after dropping them in ice water to quickly cool them. After testing one, I ended up eating the whole container of the sweet crunchy snack. They were so good I think I am going to go back to The Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market and pick up some more.
Tonight I plan on making Kale chips. I am going to try experimenting with some flavored salts that I won from goodLife{eats} give-a-way. I have lavender rosemary & cherry pistachio Secret Stash Salts, in addition to my standard Kosher salt. Maybe I'll try some different spices too. I think the smoked paprika might work nice to give a bbq chip taste, but healthier than potato chips. I'll post how they come out soon.
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