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CSA Farm Share Broccoli, Flowers, Potatoes and More

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

19 Jun 2011 03:11 AM

Have you joined a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) but aren't sure what to do with all of the produce? Maybe you have your own garden and are overwhelmed with How to prepare the bounty. Either way, I thought I would list the produce that I get and how I'm planning to prepare it. And yes, it is okay to compare your share with mine. In fact, I would enjoy hearing what you have and how you are using it.

We currently have a half share, which for our farm means that we pick up our share every other week. This week, we were given the following.

Broccoli

The fate of this broccoli is my famous broccoli-cheese soup. I'll pair it with some homemade bread and a salad using some of the other produce, for a no-oven-needed dinner to keep us cool when the temperatures get above 80. (The cost per serving is pretty cheap, too!)

Cucumbers

Salad material, definitely. If we get an explosion of cucumbers in future share, I may have to explore other options, but right now, we only have three. We also like to eat them out of hand, sliced with a little salt.

Flowers

While our previous CSA let you pick your own, these came so nicely arranged and wrapped that I am torn between adding them to our table and surprising a friend with a little bit of beauty.

Kale

We aren't big fans of Kale, mostly because we are unfamiliar with it. But this leafy green vegetable is so nutritious that a little experimenting will be in order. If anyone knows of any good recipes, please let me know.

Head Lettuce

The head lettuce will be used for many different things this week, from its main use as a base for salads, to an addition to sandwiches and burgers.

Potatoes

The small and yummy red skin potatoes will divided with some being made into a classic summer potato salad and the rest being roasted with some olive oil and rosemary.

Summer Squash

I'll probably roast the summer squash along with the red potatoes.

Cherry Tomatoes

Our tomatoes looked a bit more like plum tomatoes, but that is okay. We had our choice of red tomatoes or mixed colors. Some tomatoes will be going into salads, while the stars of the show will be made into toppings for tacos. Of course, since they are so sweet, some of these tomatoes may also be eaten out of hand.

Mixed Herbs

I'm still struggling a bit with the cut, fresh herbs. Do I place them in water to extend their life or hang them and dry them? The kids try chewing on fresh mint leaves to get a real taste of the garden. The rest of the herbs will do what herbs do best, be incorporated into dishes, and I may even consider using some of them to make flavored olive oil for dipping.

Strawberries

I washed these and brought them along in the car as we ran errands. No need for whipped cream, ice cream or sugar at all. The strawberries were as sweet as could be. And since there was no rhubarb this week, we skipped making them into a pie and instead we just ate the berries out of hand. I think they lasted all of ten minutes.

Sugar Snap Peas

The sugar snap peas were so fresh, we prepared them simply, steamed and with a little salt as a side dish.

Snow Peas

Perhaps these will go in a stir fry! They seem perfect for that, don't they?