This past weekend we went out to Tantre Farm's open house and while the kids played on the swing and visited with the chickens, I realized that I need to get my act together since the first share is only weeks away.
The first order of business is to dig through the freezer and see what is left. I'm pretty sure I used up all the packages of blanched kale and beet greens, but I think there are still some frozen green beans and roasted red peppers that haven't been eaten and maybe some more purple potatoes lurking in the bin of the "beer fridge" (or "beer and potato fridge".)
The other thing I just started (and hope will be helpful) is some recipe preparation for this year's share. Now that I have a better idea of what will be in the box each week, I need to get a selection of recipes prepared so that I don't blank out and freak out when I see the bounty piled on my table. Of course, I can always refer to last summer's Tantre posts and remind myself which recipes were real winners (and hopefully also remember which ones weren't...). But I've also started a Google Doc called "CSA recipe ideas" and have it organized by vegetable. I browse a lot of cooking blogs and now, whenever I come across a recipe that sounds interesting in the produce-consumption department, I add it to the document with a link to the recipe. So if there is an inundation of peas one week, I can be reminded of Sesame Roasted Snap Peas or Sauteed Radishes and Snap Peas with Dill.
I've been feeling a little guilty at how I seem to always turn to the internet for recipes these days so I'm also going to take a little time and dig through my cookbook collection and see what looks good in there--then tab it with a post-it note and add the recipe to the document. Maybe I'll also discover that some of my cookbooks have outlived their usefulness and I can liberate a little shelf space.
Are there any other suggestions people have to prepare for the CSA bounty that will soon be upon us?
3 comments:
I feel guilty about using internet recipes too! Isn't that weird? I just think, "Well grandma didn't have the internet" but then I tell myself that Grandma (God rest her soul) was home all day and had neighbor ladies to chat with and get recipes from. But I still feel guilty because I am half Jew, half Catholic and all guilt.
I LOVE internet recipes!
I have found some of grandma's favorites posted by some other caring souls wanting to pass along these great indulgences.
Chiming in late here... I have 3 or 4 vegetable cookbooks that I really like, each organized by veggie, so I turn to those. I know that if i turn to the internet in the heat of the moment (what will i do with chard today?), dinner will never get on the table! And I've not been good about planning ahead, like you seem to do.
The four:
* Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian
* From Asparagus to Zucchini
* Vegetables Every Day (Jack Bishop)
* Vegetables (James Peterson) (my least fav of the four)
Also, since I've been doing CSA for so many years at this point, I have a mental list of stand-bys for various veggies.
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