The Bonus in your CSA Box

So, this week, we got celery, carrots, apples, peas, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, kohlrabi, turnips... hmmm, what am I forgetting?

The GREENS!  On the tops of those kohlrabi and turnips, on the stalks of the broccoli, leaves that are just as tasty as spinach and chard... and cook pretty much the same way.  It's like a bonus dish in every CSA box.  While they're still fresh from the box, cut the stalks off your kohlrabi (or turnips, or radishes, or beets...).  Strip out the ribs of the leaves.  Wash the leaves well.  Saute in a little oil, add garlic (or salt and pepper), maybe toss in some pine nuts if you have them handy.  As an added benefit, now your kohlrabi (or turnips, or radishes, or beets...) are easier to store, and will take one less step in the preparation.

Here's a photo guide to the greens you might be missing.  And here's a photo of my kohlrabi/turnip/broccoli greens from this week's box (as prepared for my lunch today):

Winter strawberries are coming!

I just got news from Tanaka Farms that super sweet (ambrosial is not an overstatement!)  winter strawberries will be in this week's Tanaka Farms CSA boxes.  Sign up now to eat your veggies, and strawberries, and support your local schools.

UPDATE
Eileen, CSA manager at Tanaka Farms sends this update:

I spoke too soon about the strawberries being in the boxes this week.  One of our strawberry patches suffered damage from the crows.  The birds were eating many of the strawberries.  We do not have enough strawberries for this week , we hope to have more in the next week or two.

Winter CSA soup

Farmer Tanaka sounds almost apologetic in his weekly newsletter/blog.

I know some of you may be getting a little tired of the cool season crops, but soon the season will be changing. The weather has cooled off to enjoy those soups and casseroles that you can make with the great winter veggies!

Actually, I never tire of a bowl of soup and some crusty bread.  I found this boule at Trader Joe's.  After crisping it in the oven at 350F, I cut a circle at the top, hollowed out the inside and ladled in the soup.

This was a real "clean out the fridge" type of soup. I made chicken stock with the carcass of last week's roast chicken. Then I added two sausages, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, radishes, broccoli stems (with the tough outer skin removed), potatoes, a can of diced tomatoes and herbs from the garden.  I also threw in some precooked, frozen and then thawed kidney beans. 

My energy analysis differs from the green lantern's analysis.  I buy beans dry from the bulk bins at Whole Foods or Sprouts and then cook them in a Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker* on the "brown rice" setting.  Rice cookers use less energy than stove-top cooking--and this one is especially frugal with energy.  Moreover, the timer setting let's me presoak the beans overnight and cook them late in the afternoon the next day so they are ready for me when I get home from work.  I always cook more than I need and store the leftovers in one-pint portions. 

Take advantage of kitchen thermodynamics; cool the beans on the counter (to warm the kitchen in the winter, or cool them outside during the summer), then move them into the freezer.  Thaw them ahead of time in the refrigerator.  Your fridge is the ice box and the beans are like any other block of ice.  In effect, you are recapturing the energy that went into freezing the beans.  Cooking dry beans in bulk and freezing for later can be much more energy (and cost) efficient than using canned, pre-cooked beans.

* You can buy the Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker at an excellent price at the Marukai cooperative store in Gardena.  You need not be a member to shop there and the sales tax supports our local community.  If you must buy it online (at a higher price), may I suggest that you first go through the Redondo Beach Library site before clicking on the amazon link?  This way, our community may not get the sales tax, but at least the library will get a share.

Green Cauliflower the Size of my Head

Not even a tiny exaggeration...In today's box.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Way back in October, Farmer Tanaka lamented that, when the weather turns cold, tomatoes will remain green forever.  I wrote him that I want to find green tomatoes in my box this winter.  He obliged and subscribers received some in our boxes today.

All recipes has a recipe for Best Fried Green Tomatoes.  It's very similar to Crazy Aunt Purl's Fried Green Tomatoes.  But I prefer the CAP link because she provides step by step photos.

Stuffed Pattypan Squash

The little green UFOs in the CSA box two weeks ago? Pattypan squash. They're lovely, but we got a lot of them, and one of the best ways to use a lot of something is to stuff them. It's easy, and it's pretty (if you're a visual eater). The stuffing can be almost anything you like or have handy. I'll show you how I made this batch:

1. Wash the squash.

2. Cut the stem end of the squash so it's flat to sit on the baking pan. Then hollow out the other side; don't worry about the hollow being pretty, it'll be hidden. Keep the pieces that come from the hollow space! If you cut through the bottom, don't worry, just replace the piece that fits in the space best.
3. When you have them all hollowed out, place on a cookie sheet:

4. Now make the stuffing. This time I combined leftover rice, 2 chopped jalapenos, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, four small CSA tomatoes, cumin, some garden herbs, and the chopped bits of squash that came from the hollowing out step. But you can stuff them with anything, really! Look around online, there are plenty of ideas. Mix up the stuffing, and scoop it generously into the squash on the cookie sheet:
Bake the stuffed squash in a 350 oven until the squash is tender and the filling is warm through and melty--probably 20-25 minutes for this version. I broiled a little at the end to get a little hint of browning on top...

If you have leftover stuffing (I did), it works just as well to stuff a zucchini or a bell pepper. I had two of these with a bread roll for a very happy lunch today, and the rest we'll have tonight at dinnertime.

What to do with basil

A subscriber asked for some suggestions on how to use the basil that came in last Thursday's box. 

• You can use it in sauces and soups.
• Snip off the end of the stem, put the cut ends in a cup of water and store them in the refrigerator with a plastic bag over the leaves, just as you would store cilantro.

Here are a few recipe suggestions.

Tomato-cucumber salad:

• chop some tomatoes* and cucumbers*
• dice some sweet onions*
• chop some basil leaves*
• (optional) add minced garlic 
• (optional) add cubed mozzarella aka home-style cheese (the kind you buy in a ball)
• season with red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
• * all items contained in last Thursday's box! 
• I would have added a photo of this salad, but our family already demolished it.

Bruschetta:

• pre-warm oven on the broil setting
• set a rack right under the broiler element (or use a BBQ)
• chop tomatoes, onion and basil leaves
• mince garlic 
• add olive oil
• mix
• season mixture with salt and pepper and let steep for 10 minutes
• brush sliced bread with olive oil
• put bread under the broiler for 1-2 minutes
• remove bread from the oven
• cut bread into serving-size pieces (if needed)
• top with tomato-basil mixture

Antipasto platter:

• slice beefsteak tomatoes and mozzarella
• arrange on platter with (optional) salami or proscuitto
• top with chopped basil
• drizzle olive oil over platter

White bean spread (especially fast with a food processor):

• process a few garlic cloves
• add basil leaves and pulse
• add cooked white/canneloni beans and olive oil and pulse
• stir in salt and pepper to taste
• serve over bread

Nature's packing material

A subscriber asked Farmer Tanaka, "Why so much kale?"

Because it is a perfect packing material that is nutritious and yummy to boot!  Whenever the boxes have many objects that roll around or need cushioning, Tanaka Farms adds leaves of washed kale to keep everything in good shape. 

Consider using the kale in kale and white bean soup or in sauteed southern greens.   You can add the turnip greens, too!

Swiss Chard

Check out designer Poppy Gall's fantastic photographs and the color palette she designed using rainbow Swiss chard for inspiration.

Hey, yellow watermelon!

One of the fun things about the CSA box is that we get to see unusual varieties of familiar produce. Take this week's large box. We got a nice watermelon, about the size of a school globe but much heavier. Cut into it, and.....

IT'S YELLOW.

Yes, watermelon comes in many colors besides the usual familiar pinkish red. We seem to have a Yellow Crimson watermelon this week. Does it taste any different from the ordinary color? I'm looking forward to finding out. Might be fun to make a granita with, for example.

Zucchini Season!

We've been seeing a lot of zucchini in the boxes lately--want a recipe for using a lot of them at a time? We make zucchini bread, of course, but here's a savory casserole that's great for brunches, or make it as a light summer dinner with salad.As I've said, I'm not a recipe person in general, and everytime I make this it's a little different, but this is the basic idea:

You have three layers--crust, cheese, and zucchini. The crust layer can be made with a tart dough, or puff pastry squares, or even canned crescent rolls for convenience. Whatever you choose, press that into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.

The cheese layer is based on ricotta. I use about a cup of ricotta, and mix it with sauteed onions and garlic (from the CSA box!), garden herbs (right now we've got an abundance of sage, rosemary, some oregano and some thyme), maybe a tablespoon of dijon mustard if it's handy; add an egg if you want. (Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't--it's a heartier dish with a little egg.) Maybe add some grated cheese, maybe add some citrus zest, as you like. Spread your cheese mixture over the crust layer.

The top layer is zucchini. I usually slice up several at a time with the food processor, so I'm not sure exactly how many were used here--probably two is about right. Sliced thin, layered all across the cheese layer. The one pictured above has about a cup of cheddar and some paprika sprinkled over the zucchini, but you can also just sprinkle with a little olive oil or parmesan.

Bake about half an hour, until it looks like the crust is cooked, the egg is cooked, the cheese is melted and a little browned. Serves well warm or chilled.

Now What?

Are you sitting on the fence about signing up for a CSA box?

Or have you already signed up and feel guilty about the decaying veggies in the bottom of the produce drawer?

Want to see my method for prepping and storing the produce when I get it home?

Want to learn some new recipes for preparing the seasonal produce in the latest boxes?

Meet your CSA coordinator, Grace Peng, at Neighborhood Grinds at 5:30 PM on Thursday February 24 where I will walk you through the pickup process.

Then go to my (nearby) kitchen where I will show you some techniques to store and prepare the produce from the box. We should be done by 6:15 or earlier.

Make eating real food really easy!

Where:
Neighborhood Grinds
2315 Artesia Blvd., Unit 1 (NW corner with MacKay)
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

When:
5:30 PM (sharp!) February 24, 2011

RSVP to let me know how many to expect.

What's in the box? And how do I use it?

We picked up some new subscribers this month and the most common concerns are, "What's in the box and how will I use it?"

We prefer to be surprised. But people who are better organized than our household may look ahead at Farmer (Glenn) Tanaka's blog. He posts a weekly entry about doings on the farm and updates the list of what MIGHT be in your box this week. If you follow the blog regularly, you notice that weather and insects sometimes change his plans at the last minute.

This is what might be in your CSA box for the week of November 1, 2010:

SMall box might have: Carrots, Baby Maui Onions, Potatoes****, Broccoli or Squash or Cherry Tomatoes, Lettuce or Salad Mix, Fuji Apples***, Fuyu Persimmons*.

Large Box might additionally have: Sweet White Corn, Chinese Cabbage (Napa), Grapefruit**.

This is what might be in your CSA box for the week of October 25, 2010:

Small box might have: Green Beans, Carrots, Sweet White Corn, Romaine Lettuce, Broccoli or Spinach, Our Strawberry Jam (prepared with our strawberries by Kerry at Julian Jams in Julian, California) and Sweet, Juicy Fuji Apples***.

Large box might additionally have: Napa Chinese Cabbage, Red Beets or Roma Tomatoes or Green Zucchini and Valencia Oranges*.

This is what my family received in our large box last week:

• jar of strawberry jam
• Fuji apples
• Valencia oranges
• corn on the cob
• 4 beets with beet tops
• bok choy
• quart of green beans
• bunch of medium carrots with tops
• bunch of spinach
• head of Romaine lettuce
• head of Napa cabbage

You've got your veggies. Now what do you do?

Read my prior post, The locavore's dilemma. Don't let From Farm to Fridge to Garbage Can describe your kitchen. supercook.com is another great resource. Just type your ingredient into the green search box and the search engine will reply with recipes that use it.

That sounds very good in theory. After all, who wants to waste food? But how did our family do in the 6 days since we got our large box?

• The jam went into the pantry (we have 2 open jars in the fridge that need to be used first).
• We ate the corn, apples, and half the oranges.
• BTW, you can juice the oranges and freeze them for later use. I have a stack of ziploc pint containers of orange juice, squeezed from a gift of backyard fruit from my father in law.
• The beets were scrubbed and put in a pan with water to boil. I burned them and had to throw the out. If I had paid more attention, we would have eaten them in salads all week.
  
• The beet tops, the outer leaves of the Napa cabbage and 3 carrots went into a vat of kale(less) and white bean soup. We ladled the soup into pint and quart size containers, and put some in the freezer and some in the fridge. They make great lunches at work with a small sandwich.
• BTW, we use kale, mustard greens, beet and turnip tops and Swiss chard interchangeably in our house. They are all from the brassica family. If a recipe calls for one thing, and we have another member of the brassica family in the box, we use that instead.
  
• The inner Napa cabbage leaves will be cooked this upcoming weekend into wontons and potstickers (some eaten fresh, some put up in the freezer for quick weekday dinners).
• BTW, as you wrap the wontons or potstickers, put them on a metal backing sheet. Put them in the freezer when you fill up a sheet. By the time you have the next batch on a full sheet, the first batch will be firm enough to store in a ziploc bag without turning into a single block of ice.
  
• We haven't cooked the bok choy yet, but I will be making a stir-fry of bok choy and oyster mushrooms with them.
  
• My husband will stir-fry the green beans with almond slivers. He might reserve some beans to blanche and use for salad Nicoise.
• My husband will stir-fry the spinach with garlic.
• We've used about half the Romaine for salads and sandwiches so far.
  

It looks like we have 3 more stir-fry suppers in the next week and we will easily have used our veggies all up before our next biweekly big box.

BTW, we use our rice cooker with a timer a lot. If you set the rice cooker so that the rice finishes when you get home, and you pre-wash and chop your veggies on the weekend, dinner will be ready 10-15 minutes after you walk in the door.

When I drop my daughter off for choir practice on Saturday morning, I need to swing by 99 Ranch (the mother of all Asian supermarkets) to buy wonton and potsticker skins; pork shoulder and/or shrimp, ginger, and green onions for the filling; fried tofu cubes to throw into the stir-fry and baked tofu for snacking. We stock dried Shitake mushrooms and canned Oyster mushrooms as pantry staples.

Anyone want a recipe for a salad based on the tofu strips that look like noodles?

Click on the links for recipes. If I mentioned a recipe w/o a link, and you want me to post the recipe, leave a comment.

Also leave a comment if you are interested in a CSA field trip to local ethnic markets. 99 Ranch, Marukai and Market World (Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean) supermarkets, can be bewildering to the uninitiated. But they are great local food stores for vegetarians and flexatarians. Marukai promises that all of their meat is antibiotic-free, and their prices are much lower than Whole Foods.

Lastly, if you would like to learn how to wrap wontons and potstickers this weekend, leave a comment.

And let's not forget the huge onion

In addition to the broccoli and onion, we also received:

• a bunch of ~12 carrots with attached tops (perfect for a bouquet)
• a bunch of beets with attached greens
• kale
• green beans
• a head of Romaine lettuce
• 2 grapefruits
• 3 avocadoes
• 8 green UFO-shaped squash
• and a huge container of sweet ripe strawberries

This week's mystery guest is ROMANESCO BROCCOLI

What's that?
Romanesco Broccoli. Lovely name, and what a shape! Treat it like its more traditional cousins broccoli and cauliflower. Or just admire it. (Bonus points if anyone uses it as alien landscape in a video.)

Small and Large Box Comparison

In case you did not get a chance to stop by on 22 April to see the sample small box, Alison took some photos of the small and large boxes side by side for comparison.  The smaller box is on the left and is about 2/3 as tall as the regular large box.

That week, the small box contained:

• 5 oranges
• 2 avocadoes
• 3 mandarin (tangerines)
• 1 bunch of carrots
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 head of Boston lettuce
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 head of cabbage

The large box contained everything in the small box PLUS:

• 1 bunch of Maui onions
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 bunch of Swiss chard
• additional oranges (8 total)
• additional mandarns (9-10 total)

In summary, the small boxes cost 2/3 as much as the large boxes ($20/$30), and contain about 2/3 of the produce.  Pick the size that works for you.  We will offer both.

Email me to get the May/June order form that includes both sizes.  The deadline for orders for the 6 May delivery has been extended to 8 AM on Monday 3 May 2010.

In this week's Lincoln box...

Some of the beautiful contents from this week's box as delivered to Lincoln school. We got a lot of small, juicy, easy-to-peel citrus, and more avocados and strawberries, and green cauliflower and cilantro. There were also several kinds of greens, a box of snap peas, and apples and carrots.

Lincoln Box contents, 11 February

Here it is, all unpacked and basking on the dining room table:
What you see is what we got: avocados, carrots, apples, cilantro, broccoli, green onions, cauliflower, spinach, radicchio (the dark reddish lettuce-like item), napa cabbage (the huge and heavy head of greens at the back), and another head of light-green lettuce.

Napa cabbage is the stuff often found in kimchi, btw. So it's quite sturdy!

The 1/28/10 Lincoln Box

Early dismissal meant we got to have our boxes a little earlier today...
Beautiful colors as always. We have lemons, oranges, red cabbage, mixed greens, cilantro, parsley, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, carrots, bok choy, and two kinds of lettuce.

Jan 21 Box

Our box was crammed to the gills today. I was worried about the effect of the large amount of rain we have received this week upon this week's produce. We needn't have worried. They were amazingly moist and crisp today.

I had to move the gigantic head of Romaine lettuce out of the way to show you the rest.

• 1 head of Romaine 
• 1 head of butter lettuce
• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 2 pints of strawberries
• 1 pint of tomatoes
• 1 bunch of radishes
• 2 bunches of carrots
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 1 bunch of Chinese broccoli
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 2 purple kohlrabis

What's a kohlrabi? It's another member of the brassical family.

Doesn't it look like a purple UFO? I am saving the radish, carrot and kohlrabi tops for a hearty winter soup with beans, sausage, onions and potatoes. I have never eaten a kohlrabi before, but I have read about them.  Last summer, Mark Bittman wrote that he eats chopped kohlrabi raw in a summer salad, much as he would eat a chopped radish.  (Read his 101 simple salads of the season.) 

Simply Recipes has a bunch of links to kohlrabi recipes.  So does cooks.com. The braised kohlrabi recipe at recipe tips sounds (and looks) really good.  The related recipe they offer on the right side for beet greens will also work for the kohlrabi greens.

Leave a comment to tell me how you cooked yours.  I'd like to know.

Last week, I worried about the effect of this week's rain upon the strawberries.  Sure enough, we found our strawberries this week not as uniformly sweet as last week's batch.  Some were just as sweet, but others were just OK.  How did you find your strawberries?