In Part 1, I explained that I was going to join my friend as she experienced her first CSA. I had a two-hour cooking session planned and after only a partial week I now know that 2 hours is like dipping your toes in the water. What happened is that my friend Ilene became ill with a stomach virus and asked me to pick up the box and cook it. Who wants to eat veggies, let alone mass quantities, when you feel nauseous? How about tea, toast and baked potatoes? Is there any of that in the box? So, even though I planned the equivalent of a 100-meter backstroke what I was in for was the1500 meter free style.
[[Show as slideshow]]
I was downright earthy crunchy looking as I carried that big bag filled with beautiful veggies in all colors so full that it popped out in all directions to my car. At home, the first thing I did was lay it all out to survey what I had. It filled up the entire Kitchen Island. I never had so many veggies at one time before. It didn’t take me long to ace the first lesson of having a share: Plan menus and shop for all the ingredients in advance of pickup. Too late for that now. Since I allocated this time, I was determined to have some cooked food at the end of the time slot. So I set about roasting……and roasting…..and roasting for which all you need is some olive oil and kosher salt if you want it.
First into the oven were the beets which did not disappoint. They are very tasty but are they any better than the beets I usually get? Next onto Kale. What to do? I don’t like it enough to use in a salad and my last attempt at making chips was so-so. This time I searched for a different recipe, this one adding Parmesan cheese. It was very tasty but not crispy. I was the only one who would eat them, so I ate about half of it and the rest has been sitting in my fridge. After a few days they are really soft and unappealing so I am not sure what to do with them? Will the birds eat them? Maybe the woodchuck that has taken up residence in our backyard would?
Now onto the purple and white veggies in several different shapes and sizes. What are they? After perusing the email the farm sent listing the contents of the box I learned that I had Japanese eggplant. Lesson Two: The way to figure out what alien veggies are is to disregard the color and examine the shapes. I think I also have a regular eggplant and purple peppers. Let me tell you that I am a big fan of the orange and yellow peppers and this purple one tops them all. For the eggplant, I breaded and baked it with intentions of giving half to Ilene and making Eggplant Parmesan heros for my family for dinner one night. Failed plan. The eggplant was so delicious even with such simple preparation that I ate it all myself. I just started munching on it and before you know it I ate enough to make a meal and it became my lunch on three separate occasions.Yum.
Now what to do with Japanese eggplant. An online recipe inspired me to improvise. Using a box of chopped tomatoes as the base, I chopped up this new kind of sweet eggplant, made a fresh sauce and put it over spaghetti. It got thumbs up form my husband and daughter. This is the one who orders Pad Thai without veggies. She said to me that it was different but she liked it. YAY!!! Okay, now we are getting somewhere with this CSA. I thought to bring the remainder to Ilene but the next day but I went downstairs to see my other daughter boiling water for pasta and I told her to eat what I had already prepared. She did and thought it was delisch. Clearly more nutritious than pasta with oil or a jarred auce. Okay now I am really starting to like this share. Lastly, I chopped up some cucumbers and peppers to top off a fresh garden salad I made with the organic lettuce and carrots I already had.
All in all I spent 4 hours on food. I was happy with the results of my efforts and found cooking like this to be very therapeutic. I put the remainder of the veggies in a bag with intention of bringing them to Ilene along with some cooked food the following day.
But the next day, she said she was still sick and that I should just keep it all and continue cooking…..
Wendy Martinenas is a Seasoned Realtor with Green Expertise of William Raveis Real Estate in Fairfield County, CT
Your Farm To My Table: Part 1 Of Adventures With A CSA
Recipe: Kale Chips