Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 1

Today was the first of our 22 weekly pickups for our Fresh Fork CSA.  We decided to switch from Beachwood to Mayfield for our location this year.  Mayfield is a new site for pick up and it’s close to our house.  We were glad there was also some shade for the stop.

This year, we upgraded from the small to the large share.   This is what we were expecting today:

Small CSA Share

• 1 whole chicken, approx. 5 – 6 lbs.
• 1 head kohlrabi
• 1 bunch collard greens
• 1 quart strawberries
• 1 bunch red Russian kale
• 1 bunch garlic scapes
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 quarter lb. bag pea tendrils

Large CSA Share Small contents above plus:

• 2 bunches spinach
• 1 lb. shelled peas
• 1 head broccoli
• 1 lb. sweet pea and black pepper linguini from Ohio City Pasta

Here’s a group shot of the items:

Our quart of strawberries was full when Dan gave them to us.  The kids ate some in the parking lot before we left for home.  The rest of the berries will be gone by the end of the night.    We received zucchini instead of broccoli.  I’ll probably use the squash in my squash fritter recipe.  Everyone here likes them.  The squash will be fine for a few days in the fridge, so those will probably make an appearance at lunch Monday or Tuesday.

This time of year, I use garlic scapes every chance I get.  I chop them and use them in salads, casseroles, when sautéing greens, etc..  They keep well so, I don’t have to freeze them often.  We haven’t had an Ohio City Pasta that we didn’t like.  I’m sure this sweet pea and pepper variety will be no exception.  I’ll probably make a béchamel sauce for it.  I tend to like most of the pasta with a white sauce instead of red.

I’ll use some spinach with our pasta.  I like to wilt it just a bit in the pasta water and then serve it together.  Sometimes I also chop it and add it to the sauce first.  It will depend on my mood.  Our chicken is thawing in the fridge.  I’ll probably cook it for lunch Sunday or dinner on Monday.  Once cooked, we get a couple of meals out of it.  The rest of the weeks bag will complement our chicken nicely.  I’ll also make stock with the bones.  I love not having to buy chicken stock.

One kohlrabi isn’t really too much.  I’m either going to fix it for myself for lunch one day or roast it with some beets and radishes if we grill a meal in the next few days.  I haven’t mastered kale yet.  We’ve had it several ways, but I don’t have a favorite way to prepare it.  I’ll probably just sauté this with garlic scapes and olive oil and serve it with a splash of lemon.

I need to verify what type of peas these are.  If they are sugar snap, the kids will devour them quickly.  If the are snow peas, we’ll cook them for a side dish this weekend.  I’m thinking about steaming the collards and letting the leaves cool and then using them for wraps instead of tortilla.  I have some taco flavored meet and peppers left over and I think it would make a good filling.

We’ll probably roast a few radishes, use a few in salad and maybe try the newsletter recipe that uses them.  Pea tendrils was a brand new item to me this week.  I’ve heard that they are good in salads or sautéed.  There’s aren’t really very many, so I don’t think I’m going to cook them.  I’d thinking of just using them in a salad.

In addition to our bag, I also picked up a couple of extras.  We were out of eggs, so I picked up a dozen.  I also decided to pick up a half gallon of milk.  I’m hoping to switch to local milk 100% of the time soon.

It’s going to be a great week in the kitchen.