It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a CSA update, and there are two main reasons for this:
1. The 4th CSA box we got wasn’t all that exciting and we didn’t make anything extraordinary with it.
2. We skipped a delivery because I went out of town.
So, that’s the bad news. The good news is that we renewed our subscription last week and got a box of farm fresh goodies on Wednesday. Here’s what we got:
Rosemary & Thyme
Navel oranges
Italian flat-leaf parsley
Lemons
Mixed lettuce
Mixed mustard greens
French breakfast radishes
Spinach
Stir-fry mix (kale, collards, chard, and arugula)
Green garlic
Leeks
As you can see, we’re up to our ears in greens, which is the thing we’re the worst at using. TC and I are resolved at getting better at eating them though, and I’m proud to say we’ve already consumed the mustard greens (sautéed with garlic and topped with oyster sauce), spinach (salad with apples, walnuts, and dried cranberries), and the mixed lettuce (another salad with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and citrus vinaigrette).
I traded in the French breakfast radishes for an extra lemon, which I soon realized was a mistake. We could’ve put the radishes in a salad or a stir fry. What we really should’ve gotten rid of was the parsley, which is cheap and one of TC’s least favorite herbs. Oh well, you live, you learn.
The leeks we had been getting up to this point were teeny tiny, about the diameter of a dollar coin. So I was excited to see that the most recent leeks were “normal” size, or at least big enough to make Rustic Potato and Leek Soup from The New Best Recipes. I had made this soup once before for Stitch n Bitch, but substituted ingredients to make it vegan. I was initially skeptical because of its simplicity and relatively short prep time. All it asks for is leeks, potatoes, butter, 1 bay leaf, and chicken stock. Put those things together and 45 minutes later, voila! A hearty, savory soup perfect for the cool months. I added bacon in this version because, well, bacon makes everything better (just about). This is easily one of the tastiest and simplest soup recipes. Highly recommended!
Rustic potato and leek soup, with a side of Semifreddi's rustic sour batard. Rustic x 2!
The other major thing we made this week was Roasted Garlic with Salmon over Rotini from the Everyday Pasta cookbook. I was looking for something that would use some herbs and a lemon, while also trying to get ready for my half marathon on Sunday with some carbs and lean protein. This seemed to fit the bill in so many ways: salmon in wine and roasted garlic sauce with lemon (zest and juice), rosemary, and capers. Expectations were raised even higher by the price of the meal. Wild caught salmon isn’t cheap, you know. Anyway, we labored away in the kitchen, only to produce a mediocre fish and pasta dish. Whomp whomp. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly good. To top it all off, it wasn’t even pretty, so that’s why there’s no picture here. We had the above mentioned spinach salad in the same meal, so it wasn’t a complete fail.
We’re at a loss at what to do with the green garlic. Anyone out there have some good ideas or tips?
poor scientist. will blog 4 food. 
March 27, 2012 at 3:03 am
I bet those CSA boxes are so pretty with all their fresh produce!
March 27, 2012 at 7:44 am
It’s actually not that exciting right now, with all of the greens (dirty) and in bags, but I hope for a greater variety as summer approaches.
March 27, 2012 at 4:25 am
Why didn’t you like the salmon? It sounds tasty, although maybe the rosemary and garlic overpowered the fish.
Anyway, my CSA has gotten boring. It’s kind of the same thing every week with a few minor variations. Still, I have pictures for posting eventually.
March 27, 2012 at 7:42 am
My theory about the salmon is that I didn’t simmer the sauce long enough to evaporate more of the marsala wine, so it was overwhelmed with cooking wine taste. The garlic and rosemary were actually quite mild, surprisingly. The fish itself was good and I managed not to overcook it; it just wasn’t that interesting.
March 27, 2012 at 10:41 am
I would have never thought to add oyster sauce to mustard greens – and it sounds AMAZING! I usually have a surplus of mustard greens (well greens in general) in my CSA – definitely throwing some oyster sauce on them next round!
March 27, 2012 at 10:58 am
I came up with the idea thinking of Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce. And since mustard greens have the same bitterness, I thought I’d give it a shot. It was yummy!
March 28, 2012 at 9:56 pm
I think you need to learn the art of the green smoothie in order to conquer all of those greens. Definitely not good with mustard greens but good with spinach, collards and chard.
March 29, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Good idea, but first I need to get myself a blender. 🙂