Thursday, June 9, 2011

1st Week of my CSA from Red Fire Farm

It's safe to say that today was pretty crazy day. Today, tomorrow and Saturday I am at a conference in preparation of the IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) exam I am taking this July. The training is in Lowell and it began at 7:30 am. To be honest with you, since my compute to work is fairly easy, I am usually rolling out of bed around 7:30 am….
Anyways! Today began the exciting first week of my summer fruit and vegetable CSA. I have to say, due to my commute this morning I almost didn’t pick it up but I made the hike and here’s what I got. 


Hakurei Turnips &  Purple Kohlrabi
 Fresh Cilantro
 Lettuce Varieties
Baby Beets and their Yummy Greens
 Fresh Strawberries
 Kale


Although Phil was skeptical of all the green things that I brought home, he was impressed while we enjoyed a simple and extremely quick dinner of Grilled Cheese and Simple Kale Sauté.

Simple Kale Sauté
1 large bunch of Kale or Collard Greens, Washed and cut into small pieces
1 onion, slice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 strips of bacon or ham, diced (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet heat oil on high and add onions and garlic. When they begin to brown, add bacon or ham and cook for another minute. Add the kale and cook until wilted (about 5 minutes).
 Grilled Cheese with a Simple Kale Sauté

We also got a mystery vegetable, or fruits, I’m actually not too sure J. Laura, (http://lovelylocavoreladies.wordpress.com/) was so gracious to tell me what to do with and how to use this beautiful purple root looking thing. She explained it was crunchy, sweet and sort of the flavor of a cabbage and instantly I thought, Sesame Oil. I love sesame oil on raw vegetables, especially cabbage, broccoli and now kohlrabi! 

Purple Kohlrabi Slaw - Kohlrabi, Sesame Oil, & Cilantro

This time of year the shares tend to be quite light, I can only assume this is because we are just beginning our growing season. As the weeks go on I’m hoping for more variety of fruits and vegetables, definitely more herbs (cilantro is my favorite) some more vegetables to experiment with (maybe some that I don’t recognize like the purple kohlrabi today) and then of course learning and sharing recipes with my other “locavore” friends.

**Please post if you signed up for the CSA too! I’d love to know what you got and of course if you need help with a recipe to use it!


2 comments:

  1. You got great stuff too!

    As you already know my CSA is with Allandale Farms, Jamaica Plain. I got the following:

    Spring Garlic, Kale, Broccoli rabe, lettuce, cilantro, dill, pepper-cress, and radishes.

    I made a delicious salad for dinner and one for lunch tomorrow. I will admit I needed to google pictures cuz I had no idea what was what! LOL! Looking forward to next week!

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  2. Ohh, I'm jealous of your broccoli rabe and pepper-cress. Sounds great, hope for more of a variety in the future from my farm. I would like to see some fancy radishes and some garlic, also cant wait for cucumber and heiloom tomatoes probably in july :).

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