Adventures in a CSA Kitchen began when I realized how overwhelmed folks often become when looking into a CSA (community supported agriculture) box – especially when it’s the first box of the season and a first time CSA member is doing the looking!
The adventure obviously begins on the farm. In my case it’s Hepworth Farm in New York State and Havenwood Farm in Newton NJ. Sorry no pictures of Hepworth or Havenwood as of yet so here’s a look at the rolling pastures of another farm (just to get you in the mood). ☺
As you follow me on my adventure (and I do hope you will), we’ll be taking a look at what a typical delivery looks like and just what to do with all of that wonderful food. Naturally, most meals will be supplemented with food from other sources. In order to help you understand what goes into these meals, I’ve cooked up a legend of sorts. It goes like this:
CSA -- Community Supported Agriculture
P -- potager/kitchen garden
CO -- co-op
FM -- farmer’s market
S -- store (food, specialty market, health food)
I’ll be sharing original recipes so I ask that you credit me if you are going to be using them. Thanks! And, since I don’t know how experienced my readers are at cooking, I will be reviewing some of the basics. This way everyone will have luck preparing the meals. One more thing: These recipes are, for the most part, simple do-able recipes meant for the everyday cook. While I am an accomplished cook, I don’t have time in my life for fancy cooking on a daily basis. I think that last part probably holds true for most of you too. And remember: Live healthy and have fun with good food!
So, I didn’t show you the actual farm yet but I can show you my pick-up site. Below you can see the beautiful grounds of the two historic homes where I go to get my produce and eggs. Can you spot the coordinator under the tree? CSAs wouldn’t happen without the coordinator and the volunteers who help sort the farmers’ deliveries!
Free for the tasting: Organic Strawberries
Next you’ll see some of the incredible produce and eggs I am privileged to share with my family.
After sorting and storing things like kale and collards (I’ll be prepping and cooking those tomorrow to use and freeze, respectively), I refrigerate them along with all the lettuces, arugula, sugar snap peas, radishes (I eat one of these immediately, I love them so), and herbs. I’ll wash, dry, chop and freeze the herbs tomorrow while cooking the collard and kale. Ah, the herbs. They are plentiful but last for months if frozen. Here’s what I got this time round: parsley, cilantro, and dill. Yum. There is also garlic, garlic scapes, and spinach. I will be using those in the following recipes.
The Menu –
Spring Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing
Fettuccini Alfredo – The Lightened Version
Sauted Spinach with Garlic and Chipotle
Oven Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers
Grilled Chicken Sausage
Pinot Noir
The Salad:
Romaine and red leaf lettuces (CSA)
Radishes, sliced (CSA)
Sugar snap peas, left whole (CSA)
Cherry tomatoes (S)
Parsley, chopped (CSA)
The Dressing (pictured below):
4T extra virgin olive oil (S)
3T lemon juice (S)
1/2t lemon zest (S)
1T finely chopped garlic (CSA)
1T finely chopped parsley (CSA)
Saute the garlic in a about 1/2 T of the olive oil until fragrant and soft. Be very careful not to burn the garlic. This will happen quickly if you don’t watch the pan. You know that watched pot that never boils? It’s the opposite for cooking garlic. If you don’t watch – it will burn!
Set the garlic oil aside to cool. In another small sauté pan, sauté the lemon zest until fragrant and set that aside as well. Combine the rest of the olive oil and the lemon juice with the cooled lemon and garlic oils, salt and pepper to taste in a small sealable shaker. Shake vigorously before using. Lightly dress individual servings.
The Peppers:
Place several clean peppers (S) on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 for one hour. When cooled to the touch, slip off the skins and remove the seeds and pith. Slice vertically. Set aside.
The Sausage:
The sausage (FM) can be grilled the day before or just earlier in the day. Refrigerate and warm when ready to serve. If you are not grilling, cook the sausage until done (no longer pink inside) in a saute pan. use medium high heat. The time varies with the type of sausage but 10 minutes should do the trick.
The Spinach:
Wash and dry the spinach (CSA). Discard the stems. Finely chop several cloves of garlic and sauté in 1T olive oil. When the garlic is soft and fragrant, add the spinach and sauté for only two minutes. Set aside.
The Fettuccini Alfredo: (S)
Cook the fettuccini in a large pot of salted (3 tsp should do it) boiling water until cooked but firm (al dente). Taste a piece to see if it’s cooked enough but be careful it’ll be hot! If you’ve cooked a lot of pasta, you’ll know when it’s done by the smell and the look. I taste it anyway because it’s yummy.
The sauce for this dish is quick and simple and can be made while the pasta cooks. You will need to prepare the following:
1 cup Parmisiano Reggiano, coarsely grated (This is the best parmesan cheese and while the dish can be made with another, it will not be the same.)
1½ T, butter
¾ cup half and half
½ cup light cream
salt and pepper
Melt butter in a large sauté pan. Add light cream and half and half and heat several seconds. When this mixture is warm, add the cheese and salt and pepper. Toss pasta into the pan once the cheese had fully melted (2 minutes tops).
Plate: Use tongs (not used for the plating photo here) to twist the pasta into a small swirl, top with some of the sauted spinach and a strip of the roasted pepper. A few grinds of fresh Tellicherry pepper makes this dish extra special but any freshly ground pepper will do.
Comments