Where Did All the Veggies Go?

Ahh, Community Supported Agriculture.  It is a beautiful arrangement in which we pay ahead for a bounty of produce to be delivered to us at a later date by a farmer who has worked incredibly hard to grow it.  The money we provide allows the farmer to make purchases in what is normally a very low income time of year for them.

In our family we participate in a year-round meat CSA as well as a Fall produce CSA. This year we also venture into a “deep-winter share” (yikes!).  Our Fall CSA is an every other week pick up so we make do for two weeks with what is in the share.  We make it a priority to eat only what we are given and not supplement too much from the market, which is fairly easy to do, given some planning.  The produce is always bountiful and I am always struck with a dilemma: to find the balance between preserving and using fresh produce.

Here is how I tackled it this time.

Onions: Caramelized 3 of them and stored in the fridge for pizza and a new hummus recipe (balsamic caramelized onion)

Sweet peppers:  sliced up and stored in fridge for pizza and dipping into aforementioned hummus.

Lettuce greens:  washed and stored in fridge to be used for salads, with the fennel and organic apples.

Acorn squash:  put into cold storage for later use as these will keep for a while.  Apparently putting squash, carrots and apples into a box in your bulkhead will work pretty well as cold storage. Go figure!

Golden beets:  stored in the fridge to be roasted and put into this Farro, roasted beet and feta salad.  The beet greens were sauteed with garlic and added to this quiche that is stored in the freezer for a night when we need an easy dinner.

Cabbage: chopped and made into sauerkraut for the hubby.  It’s one of his favorites.  Here’s a great small batch recipe, as I don’t like having a ton in the house!