Strike that. Reverse it.
Hi blog. I have been super busy (and just a little lazy) and I'm sorry to have neglected you. Fortunately for us all, one thing I've been busy with is my
CSA. If you're unfamiliar with
Community Supported Agriculture, it's basically supporting a local farm and getting fresh produce from the farm (in my case) every other week. Our CSA,
Harmony Valley Farm, also offers a cheese CSA, a fruit CSA and a coffee CSA. We participate in the cheese share, and receive three local cheeses every other pickup. Yeah. It's really awesome.
We've received three boxes so far this season. Our CSA runs May through December. We get our vegetables every other week. Let's play cach-up.
Here's what we got in our first box:
Ramps, Chives, Spinach
Sunchokes, Sorrel, Nettles
Black Radishes, Parsnips, Watercress
One of the many great things about this farm is that they include information about everything in the box, and
recipes to try! Thank goodness, because, really, what the hell do I do with nettles? Aren't you supposed to not touch them because they hurt? Why would I put them in my own mouth, no less serve them to my family? Right? Well.....
Apparently, if you swish them around in water,
cook them up with butter, ramps, sorrel, broth and cream,
and whirl them in a blender,
they become delicious soup that doesn't hurt at all when you eat it!
Who knew, right?
Stay tuned to see the sunchoke and parsnip deliciousness I made from this box, as well as what I've done with the next two boxes. Also coming up, more cocktails!
Here are some closeups of May 12th's CSA:
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| Ramps |
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| Chives |
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| Spinach |
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| Sunchokes - loved these!! |
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| Sorrel - yummy! |
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| Nettles |
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| Black Radishes - zippy! |
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| Parsnips |
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| Watercress (if you get some, make this) |
Oh yum! It looks lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming those were spring-dug parsnips as opposed to harvested and stored over winter, yes? Spring-dug parsnips are so sweet and wonderful, they're practically like candy.
Sunchokes are yummy, but the gastric aftereffects of them are something I could do without.
I've never had fresh stinging nettles (I've taken the dried version for allergies though), what do they taste like? Or did the sorrel and ramps overpower them in the soup? It sounds and looks like it would be delicious.
Our CSA just started last Friday. We got 2 heads lettuce, Hakuri turnips, spinach, green garlic, a couple of baby yellow squash and zucchini, some kale and kohlrabi. Then our CSA also has some PYO crops that you're allowed to pick so much of. So we got 2 quarts of strawberries (yay for strawberry season) and a pint of sugar snap peas. Yum!
I am jealous that your CSA offers a cheese share. I would so be all over that.
Looking forward to seeing what you do with all your goodies.