Thoughts on approaching this week’s box from subscriber Conne Ward Cameron.
Hope you picked up your box this afternoon. Mine was overflowing with greens and then way down at the bottom, both a pint and a quart of strawberries. I do love the start of Riverview Farm CSA season.
I’m sure you can think of lots of great ways to use those strawberries (I’ve just finally caught on that they are great in salads) and don’t forget our bonus idea from last year. When you’re trimming the hulls, put them into a jar of water and refrigerate. In an hour, you’ll have strawberry flavored water. Absolutely the best drink of spring. Drink the water, THEN you can compost those hulls. I usually fill a quart jar and am able to replenish the water twice, if not three times, and still get great strawberry flavor before it’s time to start a new batch.
It was fun to see two turnip types nestled together – one the old standby purple top and the other a hakurei. I haven’t sliced into them yet, but am thinking “thinly sliced on a salad” (if they’re still sweet) and the tops of course will go into the pot with the collards.
I’m working on some Ethiopian recipes for a June story for the AJC and those collards (with the addition of those turnip greens) are just what I needed. I’ll be able to share those recipes after the story runs.. I do love Ethiopian vegetable dishes. so much so that even as a confirmed carnivore, I can’t make myself order anything but a vegetable platter when I go to an Ethiopian restaurant.
But this box absolutely says “salad.” A pretty little bunch of arugula to punch up all that lettuce (was that the biggest head of romaine you’ve ever seen?) and sweet green onions, a cucumber, radishes ….
But then there was a surprise vegetable. A speckled zucchini with ridges. What was that? So I did a little research and maybe it’s an Italian Ridged? What’s going to be fun is that the slices will be star-shaped. This is a new vegetable for me (did we have it in years past?) and I’m really looking forward to trying it.
Again this year, we’re not doing so many new recipes but more ideas on how to deal one thing from the box. How to store it, how to deal with bulky greens, that kind of thing.
And as always, go to https://grassfedcow.com/
So speaking of bulky greens, what did you do with those giant heads of lettuce and bunch of collards? I’m a fan of jumping in and getting them cleaned up right at the start. Ends trimmed, leaves separated and washed, then shaken dry and refrigerated. I’m using linen produce bags which keep the greens in a tidy bundle and allow you to keep dampening the bag so they stay fresh. I have to admit they’re taking up tons of room in the refrigerator tonight so there are big salads planned for the next few days.
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Grilled Something and Arugula Salad
If you don’t want to mix that arugula with lettuce but want to enjoy its sharp flavor on its own, how about this arugula salad? Delicious with any grilled meat but an especially good complement to beef. The original idea came years ago from Prevention magazine.
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar although the raspberry is a nice touch)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
1 bunch arugula, rinsed, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
Grilled protein of some sort, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (optional)
In large bowl, whisk scallion, oil, vinegar and parsley. Whisk together, taste for seasoning. Add arugula and toss with dressing. Divide between serving plates and top with grilled protein. Add blue cheese if it works with your flavors.