Week 1

Here is the haul:

The only things here I have ever prepared before are the kale and lettuce...well and I suppose mint and chives.  I have to admit I was a little nervous.

This was our first time to visit the farm and it was great!  The people there were super helpful and gave me great cooking tips.  Every thing to the right of the lettuce was the share for the week and the items to the left were from the pick-your-own.  Some lettuce came in the share but my son also picked some from the kids garden.

The first night I had been planning some sesame chicken for dinner so I stir-fried up the baby bok choy with garlic (per the recommendation of the CSA workers) and drizzled it with sesame oil.  Seeing a 3-year-old enjoy bok choy is priceless.  Later that night I made some Kale chips:
Preheat oven to 450.
Wash and dry kale, rip into pieces.
Toss with olive oil and lay it out on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with salt (I hear you can try seasoned salt, garlic salt...)
Bake for about 5 minutes or until the kale is dry.
Try not to eat the whole batch!

The next night we ate out (celebrating Father's Day early since we will be travelling), but the following night I got creative.  At the CSA they said you could use collard greens like a wrap to hold a filling so I blanched them to make them bend without cracking (15-30 seconds in boiling water).  I sauteed the turnip greens (who knew you could eat those??) and diced the left over chicken.  I put  just a little of each in the leaf and added some bean sprouts.  I wrapped it up like a burrito and tied it with kitchen string.  My husband sauteed tofu and mushrooms for his wraps.  We then steamed them for 5ish minutes to heat them through.  Hoisin sauce made a nice dip.  They were really good!  I also served a salad of lettuce, lettuce cabbage, sprouts and asian turnip with a peanut dressing.  I think asian turnips taste like a very mild radish.  All I did was peel and slice them. I will admit my body was wondering where the carbs were, but my tongue was satisfied.

Tomorrow my husband is taking a salad with lettuce, mustard greens, lettuce cabbage, sprouts, asian turnip and hard boiled egg (he declined my offer of bacon) with french dressing.

We have also used the mint and anise hyssop in iced tea and the chives in scrambled eggs.  I hear you can eat the chive flowers too so I am hanging on to those.

All we have left is some lettuce and asian turnips and the chard.  I found a few good chard recipes and think I will try this one:

Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

½ pound medium or large dried white beans, cooked
3 tablespoons olive oil or clarified butter
Fine grained sea salt
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ baby chard, washed and roughly chopped, or 1 bunch kale, cut into wide ribbons
Fresh ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Freshly grated parmesan for topping

Drain the beans, then heat the oil or butter over med-high heat in the widest skillet available. Add the beans to the hot pan in a single layer. If you don’t have a big enough skillet, just do the sauté stop in two batches or save the extra beans for another use. Stir to coat the beans with the oil/butter, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the greens and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove from the heat and season to taste with a generous does of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of top-quality extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.