What's in the Box? CSA Week 6

The box this week has a wide range of goodies. The store of veg we have around is starting to pile up, so I'm going to have to get creative. With geekMan back from his work-ly travels, I will have some help eating it.

This week's box contains: strawberries (1 qt),  rhubarb (1 lb), snap peas (1 lb), snow peas (0.5 lb), green leaf lettuce, collard green, broccoli (1 smallish head), zucchini (about 2 lb), cilantro, garlic scapes. I'm excited about the additional rhubarb - more fodder for perfecting the rhubarb meringue pie. The cilantro is a big bunch; I feel some cilantro pesto coming on.

Garlic scapes (see right) are the flower spikes of garlic bulbs. Our farmer Beth tells us these are snapped off, forcing the plant's energies into the bulb. They have a milder garlic flavor, like the green garlic earlier this year.

It strikes me that we eat a lot of flowers as veg. Chive blossoms, broccoli, artichoke come to mind. Scapes are a nice treat. Outright flowers too like zucchini blossoms, pansies & violas, nasturiums. I've heard day lily blossoms are also edible (tasty? I don't know). Perhaps this is a way to combat the overgrowth in the yard.... I'm not sure how to prepare them. Yet.

What's in the Box? CSA Week 2

Week 2 has arrived, and we did a reasonable job of eating up the veg from last week. Some items go right away, others not so much. Herbs and pungent veg like the green garlic tend to get used more slowly.

This week's box contains: asparagus (1lb), spinach (0.75lb), green garlic, red leaf lettuce, radishes (and greens), mint, rhubarb, leeks OR a parsnip.

Beth writes in her newsletter that some unharvested leeks & parsnips survived over the winter under the snow cover. They are sort of a windfall harvest (and spring leeks are extra mild and sweet), but there may too little of each veg for everyone to get some. Tipi always provides tasty alternatives. Boxes are prepacked and snooping is not encouraged, so it's a guess as to which veg you'll get. We like both, so no worries there (although I'd rather have the leeks since we already have a couple 'snips in the crisper). I won't get my box until later this afternoon, so we'll all just have to be patient.

UPDATE: Here's the loot!

We got leeks!

New Digs

Well, it's a work in progress. Much like the house. And the garden. And always, always in the kitchen.

I'm hoping to move the posts from the other blogs to this one, and move on from there. Good thing too. The week is passing, and I have rhubarb to use up. Thinking about a lo-sugar rhubarb chutney I can mix up and can away....

What's in the Box? CSA Week 1

Today was the first delivery for our CSA subscription. One week early due to nicer than normal Spring growing conditions (not that we've noticed; our house is coastal - Lake Michigan has its own ideas about weather...). We're excited that the season has started. Chats with co-workers resulted in several people confessing to CSA memberships, but ours is the first to start (score!).


 Tipi farmers Beth & Steve send a newsletter on Thursdays by email so you know what to expect. It never really prepares you for the sight of these gorgeous veggies.


This week's box contains: asparagus (about 1lb), green garlic, green leaf lettuce, radishes (and radish greens), arugula, Gold Rush potatoes (3lb), parsley, and rhubarb (1.5lb).

So, we're off and running to use all the veg in every box, one way or another. I'll keep you posted on how we manage.

Farmer's Market Season Is Open

Tomorrow begins one of the best parts of being a foodie in the Milwaukee area: the West Allis Farmer's Market opens for the season. Produce has to be home grown by the people who sell it, promising local good stuff. But what to expect? Winter lasts all Summer here in Wisconsin, so I'm not sure what can be harvested this early in the season. The site mentions radishes, asparagus, and rhubarb as well as bedding plants (I'm guessing generally not edible on their own). I'm looking forward to the prospect of rhubarb having recently come across a delicious-looking recipe for Rhubarb Bread Pudding. Equally hoping to find some ramps, or maybe even fiddle-head ferns...