What to do with kale? 4th CSA pickup

Like I mentioned before this CSA pickup brought what looks like Kale. Today I came across a recipe I'd like to try. Its calledd Kale Chips. Take a look here http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenkitchen/3381418500/. I found the recipe at GreenKitchen http://www.greenkitchen.com/blog/. I'll let you know when I have tried it. 

4th CSA Veggie Pick Up: That was Quick

I have to say I am still disappointed. This time, this pick- up it was mostly leaves, the same as before, but now also Kale (I think) plus cilantro and finally brussel sprouts. There isn't much to say about this pick-up I'm afraid. My husband came with me this time (he is back from Iraq), so the ride there didn't seem so long as it has before and he helped me quiet down the kids. That was nice. My girls just can't go anywhere without fighting. He seemed pretty excited about the CSA too. I think he is just excited to be home. I am too. Then he saw the one bag of veggies. He said, "That was quick!" I said, " I told you". He looks at the bag again and he says "That's it!" I said, "Yep! I told you!" He wasn't angry. Nor was I. We just keep hoping more will come as time passes. As of now we are just experimenting with recipes with these new foods, especially all these bitter leaves. My recent batch of sauteed greens didn't taste very good. My husband couldn't eat them. The only thing missing this time was the onions. I run out of onions the day before and tried onion powder. Needless to say it didn't do the trick. My guess is that onion hides the bitterness of the leaves. Next time I'll make sure to have onions and I hope this time it tastes better.

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

2nd Tuesday CSA Veggie Pickup

I was able to pick up the veggies today without the kids. I was even able to combine errands and went grocery shopping right after so I didn't just drive 30 minutes to and from just for a bag full of veggies.

Today's pick up consisted of 1 leafy green I can't identify, 1 bunch of beautiful red beets, 1 bunch of turnips, 1 bunch of radishes, 1 bunch of cilantro, and 1 bunch of rosemary.

It isn't much this time either but I still have hope. The veggies are also very bright in color. It inspired me to really get that garden started my neighbor and I were talking about yesterday. I would love to see these veggies growing in my yard. It would save my family a lot of money doing it and we would eat well. My husband and I attempted a garden a few years back. We managed to grow tomoatoes one time, then the watermelon took over. We eventually learned how to pick the watermelons, but it took some trial and error and of course research online. I will say though that what did survive from the the tomatoes and the watermelon were delicious.

We pulled the one carrot that grew too soon and the corn didn't grow at all. Maybe this time it will be different. We will research more online first and during our gardening. I'll ask the farmer from the CSA for some tips too and maybe just maybe we can put a complete organic salad on the table this year or next year from our very own organic garden. Wouldn't that be nice?

CSA, Pesto, Misperos and Sauteed Greens

I was told in the CSA email/newsletter group response from the farmer that the mixed greens we received this past Tuesday were "a mix of green and red mizuna with red russion kale and totsoi" and, if I understood correctly, also baby turnip greens. I wish there was a way that I could identify the leaves for sure. The farmer himself doesn't seem to know what they are. I find that strange considering that he is the farmer, but perhaps he has various greens and gave some people this and some people that. It is the only explanation I can come up with.

It was suggested, to prepare these green I can make them into a pesto or saute them like spinach. I don't like spinach...not sauteed. I can't stand the texture. I'll eat it fresh or baked, but gooey is not my kind of thing. Still I will give it all a try. I have to be open-minded to these things. Just because I haven't liked something in the past doesn't mean I wont like it now. Besides if I don't like it my husband will. He loves sauteed spinach. I can make some for him. As for the pesto, this may be the route to go for myself. I will have to find some good recipes first.

What is pesto? After a little research I read that it is usually crushed basil with garlic, onions, salt, pepper and it is made into a sauce to be spread over pasta. That sounds great. I don't see why I couldn't do the same with these mixed greens.

More on pesto:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesto
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/pestosauce.htm
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001570.html

By the way I forgot to mention that Wednesday the 18th I picked Misperos from a Mispero tree in my mother's back yard. They are completely organic, very pretty and so tasty. Take a look at the picture below. I filled the bucket below to the top in under an hour.

Tuesday's CSA Veggie Pickup

Tuesday's CSA Veggie Pickup was a little disappointing. I received one tote full of veggies. When the farmer mentioned in the weekly newsletter there wouldn't be much at the first Tuesday's pickup, I expected a little, but wow I didn't expect that little bit of food. Am I spoiled for expecting at least a little more?

In total I received 1 small cabbage, 1 bunch of dill, 1 bunch of radishes and 3 produce bags of mixed greens. In addition the drive was far (about 30 minutes), during traffic and finding the place was a little confusing at first. Had the drive been at a better time and had I not had my kids with me I would have tried to combine errands to save gas.

On a good note the radishes were beautiful big and red. The dill smelled great. Since picking up the veggies I have used the dill and radishes everyday (ex: tuna salad). I used the cabbage in a beef stew I made yesterday and on my birthday I made a delicious crunchy salad with the mixed green leaves, fried pork pieces, boiled egg, radishes, a pinch of fresh dill and a bunch of other veggies. It was all very tasty until I discovered that I didn't clean the leaves as well as I thought I did. I witnessed, what I thought were all the bugs wash down the drain. Still we found two bugs, a pretty green Caterpillar and a beautiful green live spider, in the salad during dinner.

We weren't disgusted, but I was very embarrassed. Had my in-laws been over, they probably would have never eaten at my house again. Wait....that could be a good thing! No, just kidding. Seriously, next time I will have to clean the lettuce better. I've been a city girl all my life and as I mentioned before I'm not a great cook. Someone needs to teach me all this stuff. To learn I sent an email out to the CSA group and asked for advice. I've been advised to soak the leaves. Bugs float and dirt sinks. I can handle that. I also asked how to keep the dill fresh and if someone lived in my area was willing to trade pickup weeks with me so we could save time and gas. It looks like I might be able to trade with another member. That's a relief. It will make this process much easier. If the two of us can find two more people, each one of us would only have to drive the distance only once a month.

One of these day I am going to have to visit the farm I am a member of. Maybe this summer. I would have loved to have visited the farm on Market Day, but its several hours away and between the kids and work, it isn't a possible trip for me right now.


I still can't understand why there isn't a local farm with a CSA program closer to where I live. Maybe one day.....