The first box of Goodies...CSA #1

I knew I would only be able to commit to the CSA if I had my husband's help with the pick ups. Frankly, I didn't want to request every wednesday off just to pick up my veggies at the farm. I chose the farm as my pick-up site vs the farmer's markets because I could tie in a visit with Grandma Frances each week and she cannot get enough of her first great-grandson. Naturally when my schedule came out I was working all day on wednesday so Rodney got to make the lucky first trip.
So here is the beginning, my first box and what came of it.

Turnips - 1 bunch - $2.75
Lettuce - 1 head - $2.50
Bok Choy - 1 head - $2.00
Spinach - 1/2 pound - $3.00
Radishes - 1 bunch - $2.75
Cilantro - 1 bunch - $1.50
Garlic - 1 bunch - $2.00
TOTAL - $16.50

"Bok Choy? What the eff is Bok Choy?!?" Oh my dear husband. He doesn't quite share my sense of culinary adventure. Turns out, bok choy is pretty good. It is in the GREENS family. The stem and leaves are edible. We used it in stir fry. I broke the leaves with their stems from the base, chopped up the stem in half moons and rough chopped the leaves quite large (1 inch thick maybe?). Garlic, ginger and lemongrass paste were sauteed then I added my veggies - carrots, snow peas, red pepper strips and the bok choy stems. I like to throw the veggies in at the same time so the crispness varies. When everything started lookign good, I added the bok leaves to wilt down along with oyster & hoisin sauces and the shrimp & water chesnuts. Next time I would sear off the shrimp in the first step and take it our to cook the veggies then add it back. All in all the bok choy was a nice addition. Teh stems keep their crunch for a while. When raw, the stems were reminiscent of a non-bitter celery or mild radish but cooked they were pretty mellow. The leaves wilted nicely but not too much (like spinach tends to do). The stems even stood up to being reheated the next day. We ate our over brown rice & topped with slivered almonds - Yum!
Taking it easy on the beginning of this culinary escapade, I hit the easy button for most of the spinach. Green garlic is produced when they thin out the garlic plants. It looks like a green onion (same concept) with more of a bulb at the end. I treated it the same. I sliced the entire stem until I got to the loose parts where the green leaves are not so tight together. I prefer to slice versus chopping it to death because I like nice big flavor bites. So I sauteed the green garlic in some olive oil, added the rinsed spinach to wilt and topped with a parmesan cheese blend that needed to be used up. I like when the parmesan gets brown and crunchy in the hot pan. A pretty easy lunch with pitas chips and hummus.

Of course with all of this greenage we also made a nice salad (actually 'we' is not 'me' but mom who fixed it up while I was at work - thanks mom!) with the lettuce leaves, sliced green garlic, torn spinach leaves and some other veggies like broccoli & celery hiding out in the crisper drawer.

I made Tyler Florence's Black Bean soup with the cilantro (though I tried to burn it while starting this blog) which is currently simmering on the stove.

Haven't gotten to the radishes or turnips, yet. Not so worried about the former, as I have an excellent braised radish recipe. The latter intimidates me a bit, so it should be interesting. I planned on roasting them alongside carrots for dinner last night, but after running around all day I didn't have time to get them ready PLUS feed my little man. I guess they will be on the menu this week.

All in all, the first box was good! I look forward to seeing what veggie surprises will be in my box this week....