CSA pick-up bounty night! what to cook!?

[phuh3]

Our first CSA (community sponsored agriculture) pick-up is tonight and we're excited to use our random batch of ingredients to make a creative meal. The fun part of the CSA is that you get a random selections of whatever is fresh and in season which forces you away from the routines of getting the same things at the store

Today's bounty will likely include:
-lime green oakleaf lettuce
-Red Russian kale
- green Swiss chard
-bok choy
- scallions
- garlic scapes
-sweet, white Japanese turnips
- and herb pots (Red Rubin basil and Greek oregano).

Any thoughts on interesting, creative recipes/dishes that utilize a chunk of those ingredients?
we love meat, seafood, fish... well pretty much everything

[phuh3]

We got about a billion Tomatoes! Any creative ideas about what to make with them?

[Chowrin]

salsa.... picadillo... tomato soup...tamatar khabli chana usal

[LaLa]

tomato sandwiches....stuffed tomatoes...tomato pie

[magiesmom]

slow roast them, 4 hours at 225 with a lttle olive oil and s+p. You will never look back.

[phuh3]

all great suggestions. We ended up doing a number of things. 1. grilled tomatoes, 2. tomato, mozz, basil salad, 3. shakshuka breakfast (eggs simmered in roasted spicy tomatoes) and just put tomatoes in everything i've eaten for the last few days!

[dfrostnh]

There's a great recipe for curried cherry tomato ketchup. Very easy to make and just uses 1 pint. I quadrupled the recipe and froze small containers. I think it makes a tasty sandwich schmear and plan to try it this weekend as a cocktail sauce for shrimp.

Another website, might be Bittman's, has three different recipes for tomato jam. Again, small batch recipes that are easily multiplied. Tasty on goat cheese. Some older recipes call then tomato preserves.

The yellow tomato recipe with bacon is a winner at our house.

I wasn't crazy about oven dried tomatoes until I put some not quite dry pieces in my scrambled eggs with some fresh slices of green pepper. Wonderful! Added a little Tony Cachere's seasoning.

[phuh3]

This week we will likely get-

- corn or broccoli lettuce
- bok choy,
- salad mix or arugula
- beans
- onions,
-a cucumber
- assorted squashes
-tomatoes
- and peppers or eggplants

It's become our tradition to cook something really different and interesting with as many of the fresh ingredients as possible on bounty night. Any ideas?

[Emme]

i'd do a major grill... the corn, the bok choy, the onions, and serve them with a smoky vinegarette over the salad mix and diced cucumber..

then, i'd do a vegetable curry with with the tomatoes, peppers/eggplant, squashes.

and, i'd use the beans to make masala vadai (fried bean cakes)

...interested to see what others will suggest!

[Isolda]

Please post recipe for the masala vadai. I've never heard of these. Assuming they are spiced with Indian spices.

[Emme]

got this from a friend as a kid... or later as an adult after eating at their house as a kid...

14 oz dhal beans soaked in water for 4-6 hours, then pureed to a coarse meal consistency, mix in 1 lightly cooked (or raw) diced onion, 4-6 chopped red chili peppers (more if you're a masochist, and less if you're... well, like me), 2 curry stalks chopped (no leaves), a couple of teaspoons each of salt and tapioca flour (think you can use cornstarch too). bring oil to frying temp, and form into 1/4 inch thick patties and slide into oil and fry.

[Isolda]

Jealous of your tomato bounty--ours are weeks behind!

I often do a frittata with the greens the first night. Just wilt them in the pan in which you've sauteed some garlic and onion, add seasonings, then mix with eggs and cook on the stove, then in the oven, sprinkled with a sharp cheese.

We also do a sort of bibimbahp with whatever veggies we have; braised or willted greens (both bok choy and arugula are good here) with sesame oil, cukes with rice vinegar and sugar, sauteed turnips, steamed carrots, sometimes meat, and a poached or fried egg. Serve with sriracha or whatever hot sauce you like. Not authentic by any means, but really good.

[phuh3]

Great ideas! this has been really fun and i've loved reading everyone's unique thoughts and ideas and will definitely use all of them at some point throughout the season. We ended up making homemade pizza. One with scape pesto, goat cheese, squash, caramelized onions, and kale. The other with a tomato sauce, tomatoes, mozzarella, pancetta, and onions.

It was my first time making pizza and i'll have to admit, it came out pretty great!
Thanks for the great ideas!

[phuh3]

Looking for more inspiration! This week the bounty will likely include:
-spring kohlrabi
-garlic scapes
- head of Romaine lettuce
- Swiss chard,
-frilly and dinosaur kale,
-summer squashes and scallions.
-cucumbers, and
-snap peas

Any fun new ideas?

[nemo]

We made pesto out of our garlic scapes. Someone in a previous post said to discard the flower bulbs. Don't They're more tender than the scapes themselves. It makes a very chunky pesto but lasts a number of days in the fridge with plastic wrap. Good with tomatoes or poached chicken. Or on a cracker with a slice of cheese.

Cucumbers peeled and chunked up in a bit of sweet rice vinegar and a little salt.

Kale chips with the kale. Strip off the stems, bake at 400-425 for 15 or so minutes, stirring occasionally. We like them pretty crispy. Saute the stems separately, although we've found them a serious chew.

[waver]

Well, not too innovative, but still a nice dinner: cut the kohlrabi into matchsticks and soaked in vinegar and salt for a bit while the garlic scapes fried in oil with pepper flakes, then added the kale and chard and stirred around. The vinegary kohlrabi and garlicky kale were good next to eachother on the plate with a sausage beside. The blosssoms on my scapes were quite stringy though.
BTW, made kale chips for the kids but the kale was so fresh and tender that it kind of disappeared - tough winter kale works better for me.

[Berheenia]

google Calabasita's, it's a Mexican squash and corn casserole, and you will probably find something to do with your squash plus corn should be coming soon.

[ipsedixit]

If I had that going for me, I'd buy some sliced beef, mussels, oysters, fish balls and go to town with a Chinese Hot Pot.

[mickeygee]

I have similar bounty! I used the more bitter greens and sautéed them and tossed with pasta, goat cheese and roasted beets. I used spinach and arugula for a stuffed flank steak (silver palate cookbook). And I used the scallions with ground beef and lettuce for a thai lettuce wrap thing, even though it was more of a meat on top of lettuce thing since small leaves.

[phuh3]

Excellent suggestions! thanks so much! We obviously couldn't use it all in one go so i'll give those things a try.

We ended up making a roasted pork tenderloin stuffed with broccoli rabe (a welcome addition to the bounty), mushrooms, scallions, and garlic with a side of cold sesame noodles with scape, turnip, bokchoy, and scallions.

But both the turnip/scallion relish/ lettuce wrap and the egg cups sound like fun recipes to try with the rest! Maybe brunch tomorrow!

[Emme]

for an asian or Japanese influenced meal, stir or wok fry the chard, bok choy, and scallions, and kale in a soy sauce based sauce maybe with some sesame or peanut oil (and if you have em, shiitakes). toss in some scallops, or tenderized chicken, or serve with a poached egg atop. serve with Japanese turnip tempura.

you might also use the kale, turnips and herbs for egg cups. lightly roast or steam or boil sliced turnips. layer in muffin cups. top with steamed kale/chard, mixed with some onions or scallions, garlic and basil or oregano. crack an egg on top of each and bake til egg is set to desired doneness.

use the basil and garlic scapes to make a pesto... i'd suggest walnuts instead of pinenuts. serve over pasta tossed with steamed or sauteed greens (chard, kale), and at the last minute toss in the lettuce and let it wilt slightly. could add in some fish or shrimp as well.

[ediblover]

I'd try braising the kale and chard with your protein, making a relish with the turnip and scallions, and wrapping it all up with the lettuce.

A simple stir-fry with a side of salad would use everything, but nothing creative there.