An Update on CSA Adventures

Some time last fall, a writing friend noticed a theme running through my ongoing projects. When life got hard, or confusing, or frustrating, I turned to the kitchen. When I missed my family or didn’t know how to spend my free time, I’d grab some ingredients and get to work. And then I’d go to my room and write about it.

I wrote about winter squash muffins and about making strawberry jam. I wrote about a mayo cake and about a zucchini chocolate cake. I wrote about sharing meals and forgiveness. I wrote about sourdough. I wrote about pasta. It seemed like every story I had to tell revolved around food.

This may come to no surprise to you. It is, after all, one of the reasons I began CSA Adventures to begin with. I love food. I love helping people eat well. I love helping people find a local farm and prepare amazing, beautiful meals with the bountiful harvest that comes in.

I find myself in the kitchen. Literally, yes, but also quite figuratively. Creating beautiful meals—and memories—in the kitchen nourishes and sustains me; and those around me. Food is a thread running through everything I write. I simply can’t stop writing about how food makes life better.

So it is with a heavy heart that I share the news that I won’t be posting regular posts on how to use your farm share goods. This has been a wonderful project, but I’m feeling a need to shift the way I spend my creative time. Instead of sharing lists of recipes each week (or month in the off season), this year I am taking a deep dive into the world of food memoirs. With an ever-growing list of books to read and memories to write, I am excited (and terrified) for this next step of my journey.

But Wait! There’s Good News!

My Favorite Things will still go out every single month and I promise to always include a few of my favorite seasonal recipes, as well as tips and tricks for keeping up with your CSA goods. If you haven’t been getting it, you can sign up right here. It will show up in your inbox like magic at the end of every month, and you’ll always be able to find back issues on the web.

CSA Adventures will remain an active part of the blog, and I will share seasonal recipes as time goes on. A few of my favorites right now are Veggie Lo Mein, Chilaquiles, and Teriyaki Lentils.

I’ve also compiled a few of my very favorite Winter Meals to get you through the next few months. We largely eat out of our freezer in the winter; it becomes an exercise in creativity and gratitude for all the bountiful harvest of summer and fall. It also means we eat more meat and beans than we do in Spring/Summer/Fall. Soups and stews take center stage, and are always best served with a small salad of baby greens (if you can find some from a local greenhouse) or delicious crusty bread.

A Few Meal Ideas for Winter

I linked to this Sauteed Cod with Lentils in last month’s round-up, but I neglected to tell you anything about it. It is a delightful, and easy, weeknight meal. I used Black Caviar Lentils, and it was enjoyed by even the pickiest eaters in the house. Sadly, there were no leftovers for lunch the next day.

I haven’t had these Braised Beans with Burrata, but I’m definitely adding it to our February Meal Plan. Anything with burrata gets heart eyes from me.

This Sheet Pan Roasted Mushrooms and Spinach has become my favorite thing to throw together. I love it as a side to Roast Chicken, or mixed with pasta, or even mixed with Cranberry Lima Beans (that recipe is coming to the blog very soon!)

These Beans and Cheese were SO much better than I expected. I think I’ll make this instead of Macaroni and Cheese forever and ever. I can just imagine how delicious they’d be beside a big Pan-fried Ham Steak.

I made this Lamb Stew recipe when friends came over for dinner last week and it was delightful. I haven’t been a huge fan of lamb stew in the past, but this one hit all the spots for the deep cold we’ve been experiencing in New England.

And finally, why not make a huge pot of Beef Vegetable Soup (or leave out the beef and make it vegetarian) for the week ahead? Cook once, eat all week — my favorite kind of meal!

If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll sign up for My Favorite Things. Happy eating my friends!

Summer Week One

We went on a field trip yesterday to Old Sturbridge Village. It’s one of my favorite places to take the girls because we always learn something new. As a family who enjoys historic handicrafts, we really enjoy talking to the costumed historians who illustrate what life was like two hundred years ago. Yesterday was their final Homeschool Day for the school year and the girls had a great time painting a plate and making artwork out of things they found in nature.

We took a detour on the way home to pick up our Farm Share. When I opened the trunk to pull out my baskets—and my phone to take a picture—I discovered my phone was not in my backpack like I thought. There was a small panic in my mind about who might find my phone and hack into it to discover all my photos and terrible writing drafts. Then I realized the Village was closed for the day and hoped other homeschoolers were as honest as we are. When we got home, we used Find My Phone to search for it, and sure enough it was still in the bathroom where it must have fallen out.

The smell of coffee woke me at 6am this morning. Finding my bed empty, I trudged down the stairs to find an empty French Press and a note. “Phone GPS says it’s in the parking lot, not the bathroom. I’ll be back soon.” Anytime he leaves me a note, no matter what it says, my heart goes aflutter. He’s on the road, rescuing my lost phone, and I am here. Making my own coffee and meal planning. He is a true Hero.

And I’m going to need another cup of coffee.

This is the first week of our Summer Share at Springdell and Farmer Jamie does not ever disappoint. We have a Super Share this year plus extra fruit and eggs each week. We are getting a LOT of food, and while it can feel overwhelming during the peak harvest months, I never regret it come Winter. I’ll share tips and tricks with you on storing food, and if you stick with me through Winter, I’ll help you use it along the way. If this is your first year with a CSA, or if you’re considering a CSA for the first time, I do not recommend beginning with a Super Share. Get your feet wet first, THEN dive all the way in. Early summer means a lot of greens, and this week is all about the salad.

Summer Week 1

4 heads lettuce
2 heads cabbage
1 bunch Russian Red Kale
1 pint strawberry honey
1 bunch rhubarb
1 bunch golden beets (with their greens)
7 quarts strawberries

From the Farmstand

2 greenhouse cucumbers
1 half pint cherry tomatoes
4 small yellow onions
1 sweet onion
2 misfit broccoli crowns

Strawberries & Rhubarb

I have a post coming later this week about all the many things you can do with strawberries. Today I’d like to talk about the perfect pairing of strawberries and rhubarb. When I was a kid, my Aunt would make Strawberry Rhubarb pie for every Thanksgiving. I would never touch it. Rhubarb sounded weird, and I didn’t want to eat anything weird. I now know I was being ridiculous, because strawberry rhubarb is now one of my favorite combinations.

I adore this Strawberry Rhubarb Pecan Loaf so much that I make 2-4 of them every year and stick them in my freezer. Come January, when all the fresh fruit is long gone, I pull it out and enjoy it for breakfast with a cup of coffee. You can turn it into muffins too, which makes for even easier winter enjoyment.

I made a variation of this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp last week. I used equal parts strawberry & rhubarb (1 lb), cut the sugar to 1 cup, and used arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. I also always use old fashioned oats instead of quick-cooking, because it’s what I usually have in the pantry. It was delightful with ice cream for dessert, and with yogurt for breakfast the next day.

This Strawberry Rhubarb Syrup is an excellent way to use up rhubarb. Many years I take time to can the syrup so I have it later. It’s great to use in making lemonade, or a great addition to Gin & Tonics, or even just a dash in a glass of sparkling water makes a fun treat. And I always save the fruit to put on top of yogurt. No wasting deliciousness!

Lettuce

We grabbed pizza on our way home last night, but with 4 heads of lettuce in the share, I made everyone wait to eat until I had made a side salad. Farmer Jamie’s lettuce is seriously the best lettuce I’ve ever had. The fact that not even my tiniest (who hates lettuce) complained about having to eat a salad with pizza is a huge testament to the deliciousness of her greens. We topped it with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries (of course).

This Bon Appetit Article made me want Steak Salad for dinner every night for the next week, so I was thrilled with David requested Steak Salad for Father’s Day.

I got a great variety of Red & Green Leaf Lettuce as well as one head of Bibb lettuce this week so I’m excited to mix and match them all. Lettuce Wraps are perhaps my favorite way to use Bibb lettuce. This recipe takes me back to my high school days, when P.F. Changs felt like the fanciest joint around.

If you’re starting out with a CSA for the first time this year, I hope you’re not hit with 4 heads of lettuce like I am. Unless you really love lettuce. It’s taken us a very long time to get used to using 4 heads of lettuce in one week, and I’m always so proud of us when it’s gone before the week is over. The trick is to eat lettuce every single day. Even for breakfast.

When the weather forecast is sunny and beach-worthy, I’m grateful for the ability to pack a quick lunch salad to go. Lunch Salads need no recipe, just creativity. I usually open my fridge and start pulling out leftovers and soon a lunch salad is born. Don’t forget to pack salad dressing. And a fork. A seashell will work as a fork in a pinch, but it’s not ideal. Trust me.

Cabbage

Anytime I get cabbage in my share I instantly think of this Crispy Oven Pork with Cole Slaw. This is a great recipe if you’re feeding a crowd (which I am THRILLED to be able to do once again this year).

Last week I used unloved cabbage from the misfit shelf to make this Asian-Inspired Salad. I made this Sesame Dressing because I’m not a fan of Peanut Butter in my salad dressing. It kept well in my fridge all week, and was an excellent salad to take to the beach.

This Beef and Cabbage Stirfry is one of my favorite recipes for Cabbage. I wish I could figure out a way to freeze cabbage so that I can make this in the Winter. If you know any tricks about freezing shredded cabbage, send them my way!

Russian Red Kale

Russian Red Kale is terrific for salads, and this one uses Golden Beets too! It feels like a huge win when I can combine ingredients to make meals. This White Bean & Kale Panzanella also looks delightful and would be a good way to use up that stale bread in my bread box.

If you need an easy appetizer or snack, Kale Chips are always a win around here.

With as much lettuce as we have this week, I’ll likely blanch and freeze our kale this week because it stores well and is easy to use in soups in Winter. Or maybe I’ll use some of the misfit potatoes from last week and make these Twice Baked Potatoes with Kale. They also freeze well and are a treat in the dark days of Winter.

As for the Kale stems, I try not to compost them. They juice well, or they can be thrown in a blender with some fruit for a fun twist on Green Smoothies. Don’t forget the honey in your smoothie. It will give the smoothie a sweetness that your kids (or you) can’t resist. You can also turn them into Pesto, which will freeze well and will be so welcome in Winter.

Golden Beets (with their greens)

Most people adore simple roasted beets as a side dish or on top of a salad. I have been trying to love beets as long as we’ve had a CSA, and I just don’t. I do like some varieties better than others, but all-in-all, beets are not my favorite thing. I do love a good pickled beet, especially in Winter or very early Spring. This recipe is similar to the one I typically use, but I’m intrigued by this Pickled Beet with Grapefruit and Chili. Maybe I’ll try something new this year.

Surprisingly, I find beet greens to be incredibly easy to use. My kids are huge fans of these Green Treats and I will sometimes substitute beet greens for the chard. Did you know beets and swiss chard come from the same family? Most often I blanch and freeze the greens and use them later when I want fresh pasta. I hardly ever make pasta without some kind of greens sneaking their way in.

Strawberry Honey

I don’t really need to tell you how to use fresh honey, do I? This is the most delicious honey I’ve ever had. With a faint taste of strawberries, we’ve been sticking spoons in and eating it by itself. I’ve long heard that eating local raw honey may help with seasonal allergies. Although there’s no science to back that up, I figure a small taste of honey every day can’t hurt. At the very least, it brings a smile to our faces.

I drizzle a spoonful over plain yogurt for the girls, put it in my coffee and tea, put it in smoothies, and occasionally drizzle some on top of a piece of toast covered in peanut or almond butter. A pint of honey doesn’t last long around here.

Alright friends, that’s a lot of recipes for you to dig through this week. It will only get bigger as the summer goes on. If at any time you feel overwhelmed, please don’t hesitate to comment below and ask for ideas specific to your share. I truly do love helping people learn how to love their farm shares!

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