CSA Meals - Week 2

If I can help it, I like to make one pot meals, or at least use multiple types of vegetables in one dish.  Surprisingly, Davy and I don't eat a lot of salads, even though they lend themselves to using a variety of ingredients.


Soup, on the other hand, is one of my favorite things to make and to eat, even in hot weather.  Last Wednesday I used the garlic scallions, kale, and broccoli rabe from our to make a vegetable soup.  Sauteed carrot and celery, along with the scallions, formed the base.  Once they were cooked through, I added a little wine, then homemade chicken stock, and petite diced tomatoes. 


I blanched the broccoli rabe separately from the soup pot, fearing that the bitter flavor would leach out into the broth.  The contents got a good hour or so to simmer together before I added the greens (broccoli rabe and kale) and a can of cannellini beans.  

I flavored the soup with some rosemary sprigs and parmesan rinds, but it still needed salt, pepper, grated parmesan, and oil to make it really tasty.


Thursday was the exception to the rare salad rule.  I was on my own for dinner, and decided to make use of the nice lettuce mix.  Pistachios, a hard-boiled egg, feta, and a sliced radish made the salad more interesting and substantial.    


I blanched the remaining greens, which consisted mustard greens, mizuna and a few other Asian varieties.  I froze about a quarter of them, and used the rest to lighten up a big bowl of sesame noodles (my uncle's recipe), along with frozen edamame.    

The turnips from Fertile Crescent Farm have been large and gorgeous this spring.  Normally I don't get excited about turnips, but I was intrigued when I realized I could mash them and then make them into cakes to pan fry.

As you can see, the cakes weren't overly sturdy, and I didn't do a great job of flipping them, but they were very tasty.  Despite the fact that they were cooked in butter, I still felt healthy eating them alongside of a salad.


We're left with some nice-looking radishes and some salad mix, but considering all of the extras Adam and Darbi have been giving us, I feel good about how many vegetables we ate in a week.  One dish dinners are a convenient and easy way to consume a lot of produce, even if you have to resort to a salad to do so.