3rd Tuesday CSA Veggie Pickup and CSA Meat Meal Make For Fun Eating

It seems the quantity keeps getting smaller each week. I do hope it grows soon and that as the season moves on the quantity will triple. This past Tuesday I only brought home half a bag, but I will say the veggies are good and they are colorful. They even smell great. The fresh herbs are fantastic. I just wish I knew how to dry herbs and preserve the veggies so they last longer. I will have to research all of that soon. I don't want anything to go to waste.

Today for lunch my husband and I made a salad (boiled eggs, almonds, mozzarella, carrots CSA turnips, CSA radish and CSA mixed leaf greens). I asked him to help me come up with a dressing that hides the odd texture of some of the leaves and the bitter of others so that my kids and I can eat it. We made some odd olive oil concoction. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. My daughter picked at hers. I ate what wasn't bitter. We will have to keep trying. Why are these leaves so different from what I am use to eating? Is it a matter of getting use to them. Maybe they should only be cooked instead of eaten raw. I wish I knew more about greens. I need a chef to teach me.

For dinner I added CSA bacon (sauteed with garlic, chives, CSA cilantro) to a pot of pinto beans. Then I cooked 1 cup and a half of rice in the leftover bacon grease. There wasn't much left over and it wasn't as heavy or thick as nonCSA bacon. CSA bacon is much better. When the rice was done I served bowls of beans and then added the rice to the bowls. It made for a very good, nutrient and inexpensive dinner.

A few days ago I cooked CSA ground pork with CSA cabbage, chives, tomato, CSA cilantro, salt, half of a lemon juice and on the side had some refried beans. We ate the meet with fresh made tortillas from HEB. We also had slices of Avocado. The meal was delightful. A few days later I tried the same recipe, but with CSA ground beef instead. I also ran out of tomato and Avocado so. The meal was good, but not as good as with the pork.

On another night I made a turnip beat recipe I found on all recipe at Allrecipes.com, but I didn't have pearl onions so I used what I had, chives. The recipe looked great, but I think the onion substitution I made made a difference in flavor and it wasn't great. Well it was, but there was this bitter after taste to it that messed up this side dish. I should have also cooked it longer. The turnips and beets were not yet tender. I'll try it again, but I'll follow the instructions to a T next time.

One day I will also be a better cook. In the mean time I will continue to enjoy experimenting and tasting all these new foods and learning about living a healthier life.


CSA Veggie list for 3rd Tuesday includes:
Spring Salad Mix
Baby Arugula
Baby Swiss Chard
Head Lettuce
2 bunches of Turnips (this time with the leaves cut off)
1 bunch cilantro


CSA Meat list for March includes:
Ground Pork
Beef Liver
Pork Wourst
Boneless Pork Chop (2)
Pork Cutlets
Beef Ground Brisket (2)
Ground Beef (2)
Beef Chuck Roast
Pork Bacon
Beet B/I Ribeye
Beef Sirloin Steak
Whole Pastured Chicken