I've picked up my share each Monday for three weeks so far at the Boston City Hall farmer's market, where Silverbrook runs a stand. Each week's bounty is different, based on what is being harvested at the farm, and the farm sends me an email a few days in advance to let me know what to expect, along with recipe ideas. Silverbrook has teamed up with other farms and local food producers in southern Mass to put together their shares, so I may get flowers, artisan cheeses and other treats each week. I figured this blog would be a good place to share what I receive each week, and how I cook it. So, without further ado:
Week 1:
Red lettuce, a bag of mixed greens and bok choy, kale, spinach, kohlrabi, scallions, and the treats of the week: strawberries and eggs.
I was most excited about the kohlrabi. I had never really looked at or eaten one before. I found this great recipe on the NY Times website for kohlrabi risotto and it was delicious! The kohlrabi root was a cross between a turnip and a pear, and the greens were subtly spicy.
The spinach went into one of my favorite hot weather standby recipes: Lemony pesto pasta with edamame and almonds from The Kitchn.
The kale went into a number of fresh fruit/veggie juices I made using the new juicer GP got me for my birthday :)
The red lettuce was perfect for pulled pork and kimchi lettuce wraps. I occasionally break my ovo-pesco-vegan diet for certain pork and cheese products, and this is one of them. GP and I saw these advertised once and figured that we could easily make them on our own. It's simple: all you need is lettuce, a jar of cabbage kimchi, and a package of pre-made pulled pork, marinated in a BBQ or soy-based sauce (whatever you'd like. I buy the Trader Joe's BBQ pork and mix in their soyaki sauce). Separate, wash and dry the lettuce leaves, and spoon on portions of kimchi and pork. Roll up and eat!
The bok choy was stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms, and paired with mugwort soba noodles in a miso-butter sauce (taken from this recipe) mixed with the chopped scallions.
The remainder of the greens went into a giant chopped salad with Thai flavors, a favorite from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook.
The strawberries I ate for breakfast one day, and the eggs were fried up for weekend breakfasts.
Week 2:
A head of pak choi, a giant head of green lettuce, a head of Napa cabbage, Russian red kale, shelling peas, pea tendrils, radishes and the treat of the week: classic French Hannahbells cheese from Shy Brother's Farm in Westport, MA.
The kale continued to go into fresh juices. My personal favorite, 'The Green Goddess': a green apple, a few stalks of kale, a few sprigs of mint, and half a lime.
The radishes went into a radish and turnip salad with chives, which I paired with soy-glazed tilapia.
I recently bought The Complete Curry Cookbook, along with several bags of Indian spices to try and explore more Indian curry cuisine. I used up my peas in the cookbook's curried cauliflower recipe, and paired it with garlic sauteed pea tendrils.
I had some extra kale, and used it in this great recipe for roasted kale and eggplant tapenade.
The pak choi went into a batch of cold soba noodles with wilted bok choy, the napa cabbage I stir-fried, we ate the Hannahbell's cheese by itself and spread on bread, and I made a massive salad with the lettuce for a dinner party.
Week 3:
A bunch of mixed kale, a head of Napa cabbage, a small head of lettuce, leeks, two bunches of sweet peas and one bunch of shelling peas, and the treat of the week: Cloumage cheese curd from Shy Brother's Farm. I also bought some garlic and a jar of Silverbrook's Gingered Pear Jam. (Cat not included.)
I was in a bit of a pinch to use up this week's food, as I was traveling to Montreal on Tuesday night and wouldn't be back until Saturday. But I managed to use up nearly everything in three dishes that I left for GP while I was gone.
The first I invented myself and dubbed a 'Silverbrook tart', as I used almost exclusively ingredients from my CSA. I baked a puffed pastry sheet half-way, then spread on a thick layer of Cloumage cheese, and topped it with garlic sauteed leeks and cooked peas. I baked the tart until done and sprinkled with black pepper and chopped chives. It was quite delicious, I'm proud of myself!
All of the kale became a large batch of kale chips. Yumm!
The cabbage, lettuce and leftover pea pods became another massive chopped salad with Thai flavors.
That's everything I've received and made so far, and I'm picking up another portion tomorrow. I'm really enjoying the CSA. It's forcing me to be more creative with my cooking, having to find/make recipes based on what I receive, rather than starting with recipe ideas then buying all ingredients at the store. I'm also saving a lot of money. I paid the cost of my share up front, which I calculated to be less than I would spend on produce from the store for the duration of the CSA, June through October, and each week I only buy about 8-10 extra items to make a week of meals.
To end, I'd like to share my appreciation for a unique regional dish. As I mentioned, I traveled to Montreal and just got back. While there, I had one gastronomic goal: eat poutine. Poutine is an (in)famous Quebecoise dish of greasy french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. I first heard about it on an earlier trip to Quebec province, but I wrote it off as disgusting and never tried it. I have since had my first taste at the Saus restaurant in Boston, and I really enjoyed it. It's salty and hot, heavy of course, but not the mess of flavors I assumed it would be. So, in Montreal, my friends and I made our way to La Banquise, Montreal's best and most famous poutine restaurant.
We got an order of classic poutine and an order of 'La Taquise' - fries with gravy, cheese curds. tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream. They were wonderful, obscene belly bombs and a real taste of local flavor. I recommend that everyone at least try poutine, preferably with a cold beer and an empty stomach!
Until my next CSA pick up!
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