Week 2 - What's for dinner?This week's food comes courtesy of La Baraja farm and Whole Foods.
When I went to Just Food's CSA in NYC Conference in February, one of the workshops I attended was entitled "Caring for Your Share." It was conducted by Just Food's Community Chef Myra Klockenbrink. I went in thinking I would get great tips on prolonging the life of my share, because last year - my first in a CSA and the first for Tribeca CSA - I ended up tossing about half my food (which is not uncommon for someone her first year in a CSA). However, Myra didn't load us down with tips on how to preserve our share. In fact, her advice was simple: To use your share, you must eat it.
Well, duh... But how? Myra's best tips involved preparation: take time to clean and properly store (i.e. away from moisture) your vegetables. The extra time you spend the night you bring home your share will mean ready-to-go portions throughout the week and less waste overall. She also suggested keeping certain basics in the house (e.g. grains or beans to go with your vegetables). She said a good inventory of your kitchen is vital, so if you don't know what you have, keep a notebook. Finally, she reminded us that our bodies don't want heavy meats and dairy during the summer months, that we should focus on vegetable-centric meals.
Thus, I decided this year to follow Myra's advice and eat my share! And I'll do my best to blog about it (these entries are called "Eating My Share" with the distribution date). I may also offer some broader commentary from time to time, but I'll do my best to summarize my prep on Tuesday evenings and what we had for dinner.
First off, all those radishes! I am not sure what I'll do if I get a third bunch next week, but I save space and time by cleaning the radishes first. I know the tops can be used in salads, but I also know I'm not likely to eat them, so off they go! I scrub the radishes clean and dry them and then put them in a small open container in the crisper. When I have a craving for something (I'm trying to lose weight, aren't we all?), I make myself eat a radish first. This serves a dual purpose: I'm using up my radishes and the tangy, spicy taste in my mouth generally doesn't make me want to reach for the ice cream!
Herbs will last longer if you simply put them standing up in a glass of water in the fridge. It's best to clean the dirt from the leafier herbs, but you must make sure they are dry before storing them in the refrigerator. The water can be changed every couple of days; I like those POM ice tea glasses, but any tall tumbler will do. My mint is still doing well from last week. I put the Italian parsley in the glass that was holding dill up until this morning (when I used up the last with some onion, tomato and La Baraja eggs). Cilantro has been doing quite well in the crisper thus far.
I try to plan Tuesday's dinner before I reach the house. I knew I would use all my leeks and roughly half the parsley and purple basil (I read somewhere that Martha Stewart uses purple basil instead of mint in mojitos, and I understand why: very sweet!). The items I know I'll use, I never even put into my refrigerator. I set them on the counter first (or keep them in the bag - counter space is in short supply in NYC apartments).
As part of that plan, I need to consider what I do not have at the ready. Thus, tonight I purchased (from Whole Foods) tricolor pasta shells ($1.69), medley tomatoes ($3.99) and a mozzarella ball ($4.76). My dinner, which had plenty of leftovers, cost me just over $10 (not including the part of my $20 veggie share that I added in). Let's say $15 total (I also used olive oil and spices from my kitchen "pantry"), dinner for three is served!
I put a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a saute pan and tossed in garlic peeled from one of the heads I received in the week 1 CSA distribution. I added approximately half the Italian parsley that came in today's share. While that was softening, I put the pasta shells in a pot to boil. I added salt, pepper and oregano to the fry pan. I then cut up all four leeks (washing as necessary) and added this to the mix. When the vegetables were just starting to soften, I added about 1/3 cup olive oil and reduced the heat.
Turning to my salad, I sliced about half the tomatoes (a nice mix of yellow and red cherry tomatoes, roma and larger yellow tomatoes) and put them on the bottom of a large flat bowl. I then sliced approximately 1/4 pound of the fresh mozzarella (the ball I had purchased was almost 1/2 pound) and put the cheese on the tomato base. I then washed and dried the purple basil and layered this on the cheese. I mixed up some Balsamic vinegar with olive oil and left this on the side to drizzle with a spoon after the salad had been served.
By this time, the pasta shells were cooked. I drained them and added to the veggie mix. I stirred in the pasta until the veggies and spices were evenly distributed.
Dinner is served!
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