2016 CSA Series – Week 3

Happy Wednesday! I’m happy mostly because I just picked up another box of delicious CSA veggies from Small Family Farm CSA … oh and the fact it was my last full day of work for the week (#score).

It’s a little hard to handle that it’s close to the end of July already! Though I’m going to keep calling it the middle of July until about July 27th or so… 😉

One thing that I’ve been loving this summer is the delicious CSA veggies and all the awesome new recipes we’ve been creating; and we’re not even half way through the season!

If you don’t follow us on Instagram, make sure to head over and check us out! You’ll get to see what we’re doing with the delicious veggies quicker than waiting around here for a comprehensive post. Plus you’ll see more day to day life stuff too.

Instagram is my favorite social media platform; followed by Snapchat. I don’t even have Facebook on my phone anymore and Twitter…oh Twitter, while I “get it”…I don’t get it. So hard to really follow people and see what their up to and honestly I can never say what I want to in 140 characters 🙂 What’s YOUR favorite? Whatever it is, if you have Instagram, we’d love a little extra love over there. ❤

Without boring you to death and without further adieu…. our recipes from our CSA box #3!!! (Check out Week 1 and Week 2 if you missed them).

Here’s what was in box #3:

Clockwise(ish): Lettuce, Cucumbers, Collard Greens, Cabbage, Garlic Scapes, Peas, Kohlrabi, Strawberries, Basil, 2 Zucchini & 2 Summer Squash, Fennel Bulb, Eggplant, & Green Onions.

And here are the delicious recipes we made with it all.

Used the Green Cabbage, Kohlrabi & Green Onions:Before the past couple days, We’d been having some absolutely gorgeous summer weather (not too hot or humid) and we took advantage and made some delicious burgers on the grill. There might honestly be nothing better than a grassfed beef burger cooked on a natural charcoal grill enjoyed while sitting outside. ❤ This coleslaw was the perfect fresh veggie side. I didn’t make and use that much “sauce” because I hate goopy and soggy coleslaw but if you find you want more, feel free to do so!

Used the Lettuce & Strawberries:These strawberries! You guysssss, just as good as the last box and so much better than store bought. They were so good. We used them in both the salad it’self and in the dressing! I had a friend over and this salad was a big hit, she even made it for her family the next night she liked it so much! 🙂 Used the Fennel:
So don’t judge me but I’m not the biggest fan of fennel, not that I don’t like it per say but it’s just not something that I crave or really enjoy it’s sort of a “just there” vegetable for me. HOWEVER this roasted vegetable recipe (which was adapted from Bon Appétit, mainly because I’m lazy and din’t have some ingredients) is really realllyy good. I’m a sucker for any and all roasted veggies and the olive oil vinegarette and mint leaves pack a flavorful punch for this recipe. Even if you happen to be in the same boat as me and feel a little MEH about fennel, give this one a try! (Side note, it’s good cold the next day too for lunch!) Used the Peas, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Basil & Eggs:I’m sure I’m not the only one with this problem. I LOVE zucchini noodles but my husband? Not so much. Every time he asked what’s for dinner and I say *blank blank* pasta or pasta with *blank* I get “real pasta or the zucchini stuff?” it’s hard to reflect tone in writing but if you could hear it, you’d know he’s not a fan. This is the perfect solution for us! It mixes in spiralized veggie pasta with regular pasta and I’m not even sure he noticed! It helps it stay a little sturdier and not a soggy mess and keeps all members of our household happy.

This recipe in particular is a breeze to whip up and will be a fave. I LOVE LOVE LOVE eggs and loveeee runny eggs, but again my hubby isn’t a huge fan. After eating this even he said that it really adds a special something and makes the dish better! You can cook the eggs to whatever “doneness” you want.  I poached mine for just under 4 minutes and his, almost 6. I get a dozen eggs every other week with my CSA box too so this was a delicious way to use some up!Not a great picture, but couldn’t resist a little gooey egg action 🙂 🙂 Used the Garlic Scapes & Cucumbers:
Garlic scapes, those crazy weird delicious veggie. For those that may not know, a garlic scape is the stalk that grows from the bulbs of some varieties of garlic plants. If you were to let them grow, the scapes eventually bloom flowers when the garlic plant fully matures. However, they’re usually harvested before they flower so the garlic plant can channel all its energy into producing the actual garlic bulbs. Garlic scapes taste mild like chives or scallions, but with a distinct garlicky flavor. They’re typically available in late spring and early summer. There are so many things you can do with them but to preserve their unique shape and look I just sauteed them whole and topped these delicious bowls with them.

These bowls. ohhhh these bowls. The recipe makes enough to feed 4+ (depending on how much you serve) and since there’s only two of us, I enjoyed two delicious bowl lunches out of this too. I think it got progressively more delicious with each day.

Used the Collards:This was the first meal I made with the CSA veggies from this box. Holy Moly we started out strong. I can’t even pick a favorite part of this meal. The polenta (grits), the chicken, the collards, the toasted coconut…it was all so damn good.

Used the Eggplant:
Didn’t take a picture but we made this bruschetta and it was as good as I remembered the first time I made it.

WHEW! That’s it. Hope you enjoyed a sneak peek into our summer food life.

xoxo