What's in the box? April 28, 2015

What a colorful week! When I went to pick up our CSA share at the Oxford City Market yesterday, I was thrilled to see that in addition to our favorite Easter Egg Radishes and two (two!) pints of strawberries, Rainbow Swiss Chard made also it into our box this week.

Rainbow Swiss Chard is one of my all-time favorite vegetables, not only for its beautiful color, but also because it is nutrient-rich and packed full of antioxidants. I have tried growing it twice this past year in my own garden, but both times the birds got to it before it reached two inches tall. I guess they, too, are fans of this great vegetable.

But I was surprised to hear from Will that chard is not as popular with some members as it is with the birds and me. So this week I've included a simple method for sautéing chard that is sure to please the palate as well as the eyes.


Here's what all was in our box this week:

Rainbow Swiss Chard
Easter Egg Radishes
Bok Choy
Leeks
Lettuce, 2 heads
Strawberries, 2 pints
Grits, freshly ground by The Original GritGirl

And here's what I plan on doing with it all, but I want to hear from you. What are you making with your box this week?

Share your meal plans, recipes, and links to other great food ideas on the web in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Our email us your original recipe and a photo and we will publish it here, just like we did with Lauren's recipe for spicy leek soup, which is on my menu for Wednesday night.

Tuesday
Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard with Salmon and Rice

Wednesday
Lauren's Lovely Leek Soup

Thursday
Turnip Turnovers with Simple Salad

Friday
Radish Top Pasta with Salad

Saturday
Bok Choy with Chili Garlic and Ginger

Sunday
Shrimp 'n' Grits

Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard with Salmon

This is more of a "method" than a recipe. I learned how to sauté chard (as well as many other things) from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. This is, indeed the simplest way of cooking chard, but it is so easy and delicious that I never serve it any other way.

Rainbow Swiss Chard, the kind Native Son grows, is my favorite because of its striking colors, and prepared this way—with stems in—you get to keep some of those beautiful hues on your plate, making the chard (rather than the salmon), the highlight of the meal.

*The salmon used here is the preprepared kind from the freezer aisle. If you want to make your own from scratch, try this recipe.


Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard

Wash one large bunch of chard. Peel the leaves apart from the stems. Trim the edges of the stems, making a stack of little spears. Dice the stems as you would celery, set aside. Cut the leaves into 2-inch "ribbons," set aside.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Add one small onion, diced fine. Sauté until tender, about five minutes. Add the diced chard stems, and sauté another three minutes. When onion and stems are tender, but not mushy, add the chard leaves, tossing and coating with the oil. Sauté until the leaves have just begun to wilt and turn dark green, taking care not to let them get overcooked (stringy and mushy). Remove from the pan, season with salt, and serve immediately. 

For added flavor, added minced garlic and a squeeze of fresh lemon to the pan before sautéing the leaves.

Lauren's Lovely Leek Soup

Lauren K. shared what she made with her leek's from Native Son Farm this week: a rich, creamy soup packed with veggies and lots of flavor. Thanks, Lauren!

Ingredients:
Cashews
Leeks
Carrots
Sweet Potato
Cauliflower
Coconut oil
Stock
Cashews
Raisins
Ginger
Spices (curry powder, turmeric, black pepper)

Soak three large handfuls cashews in 1-2 cups water (I used whey from yoghurt making but then soup is no longer vegan). Roughly chop leeks while melting a good amount of coconut oil (or oil of choice - about 2+ tbs) medium heat.  Sauté/sweat leeks. Peel and roughly chop 8-10 large carrots. Sauté with leeks. Peel and chop one medium to large sweet potato. Stir into leeks and carrots. Sprinkle in black pepper, curry powder and turmeric to liking. I used about a tablespoon of curry powder and a few shakes of turmeric. Stir in the veggie mix (this is why you wanted so much oil in the beginning). It's OK if veggies burn a little, if it's burning a lot add some water. Cut florets from half a head of cauliflower and add to veggies in pan. Sauté it all a few more minutes to coat cauliflower in spices. Add in stock of your choice (I used homemade crawfish-beef stock) to cover veggies. Add in a handful of raisins or two. Simmer until veggies are tender. Peel and slice about two inches of ginger and add to soaking cashews then blend (I used a Nutribullet). Add to soup and stir in. Let cool and blend.

What's in the box? April 21, 2015

Hello, friends! Today was the first week of our family’s 2015 CSA share from Native Son Farm, and we could not have been more excited. I took all three kids—Colin, six; Archer, three; and Virginia, 20 months—out to the Oxford City Market to pick up our inaugural box, and you would have thought it was Christmas. A huge box of gorgeous produce with our name on it—literally. As someone who usually walks the market stalls trying to balance the weekly grocery budget against the temptations of organic strawberries, walking away with a full box of food already paid for truly felt like a gift. Especially with the strawberries in there!

So here’s what we found when we got home and opened our box this week:
Leeks, "Lancelot"
Bok Choy
Salad Turnips
Green Onions, "White Bermuda" (heirloom)
Radishes, Easter Egg
Grits, freshly ground by The Original GritGirl
Red Leaf Lettuce
Green Leaf Lettuce
Strawberries

With a family of five, including one really picky eater, I find that the only way to keep everyone fed and happy at our house is with a well-organized meal plan. So here is my no-fuss plan for how we incorporate all of this produce into our meals this week.  (The strawberries never made it into the meal plan because they were all consumed as soon as I finished snapping the photo above.)


Wednesday
Radish and Rye Sandwich, with Boursin, Lettuce and Roast Beef (see recipe below)

Thursday
Spicy Bok Choy and Turnip Greens Stir Fry (I added Green Onion, too)

Friday
Homemade Pizza with Spring Salad (Lettuce, Radish, Green Onion)

Saturday Brunch
Leek, Fennel, and Basil Tart with Cheesy Grits


But I want to hear what you will be serving up from your box this week. So email me at nativesonproduce@gmail.com with your meal plans, your recipes, or links to other great recipes on the web, and I will share them with your fellow CSA members here.

Or maybe you’re wondering, “What the heck do I do with turnips?” Chances are at least a few other members have been wondering the same thing. (I'm still trying to figure that one out myself.) And, with more than 300 members in our CSA this year, there are probably more than a few who have wonderful ideas for serving up everything in the box. So we should talk!

I'll begin by sharing with you my favorite “recipe” for radishes. No cooking involved!

Radish and Rye Sandwich

What I love about this "recipe" is how the peppery crunchiness of the radishes really complements the saltiness of the Boursin and the sourness of the rye bread. It tastes equally good with or without the meat. It's also a great way to use radishes that doesn't involve defaulting to a salad. The best part is that you can make it in minutes, and it keeps well in a lunch box for hours. I could eat this sandwich every day for a week without tiring of it. In fact, I probably will.

Ingredients:
Radishes
Lettuce
Boursin cheese
Deli-sliced Roast Beef
Rye Bread

Spread the Boursin liberally on both sides of the Rye Bread. Don't skimp on the Boursin! Rye Bread is available at most major grocery chains, but I make mine from scratch using the basic Tassajara Bread recipe and replacing the second 3 cups of wheat flour with rye flour. Pile on a few leaves of lettuce and a couple of slices of roast beef (or omit if vegetarian). Wash the radishes and discard the stems (but save them for your stock pot!). Slice radishes thinly and layer them in the middle. Stack and enjoy.