July 28 veggies (and a suggestion of what to do with them!)

Apologies for weird lighting in the picture... seems the bright white of that gorgeous cabbage and the reds and purples and oranges and greens around it are at odds with one another. But they all work together on your plate!


Here's what you should have in your bag (or, by now, your fridge):

Full share:

• kale & half a cabbage (Melissa Savoy or Peral White)
• turnip with greens & onion tops & edible chrysanthemum leaves
• snow peas, tomato, jalepeno, basil and parsley
• head of lettuce
• surprise bag: cukes or zukes or Brussels sprouts or spicy salad greens

Half Share:

• kale
• turnip with greens
• peas or beans or favas
• tomato, basil, parsley
• cauliflower

Part of the fun of getting your veggies from a CSA is not knowing what you're going to get each week. Sometimes you end up with vegetables you wouldn't ordinarily buy, and are thrown into "what do I do with this?" mode. I had never tasted Swiss chard until I started getting it from a CSA share years ago. What did I ever do without it?

One dish I've been turning to for using up veggies that might not be part of my usual repertoire is risotto. It's nowhere as difficult to make as people might have you believe, so long as you 1) have all your vegetables chopped and ready to go before you start, and 2) can give the risotto 20 minutes of your undivided attention. Other than that, it's all just stirring. Most current cookbooks have a good risotto recipe (or three, or eight); I use Jamie Oliver's recipe here, swapping in whatever relatively sturdy veggies I have around.

This batch has fava beans, green beans, garlic scapes, cauliflower, broccoli stalks, and basil (which I added near the end). Big ol' pork chop is optional.

Also: if you find that you're not making it through all your delicious kale, there's a great, very detailed tutorial on blanching and freezing the tasty stuff right here. The same method works for turnip greens, beet greens, chard, or any other sturdy braising green. You'll be glad you did it when you dig it out of the freezer come March month!

Happy eating!