The First Night of CSA Box One

[laceblade]

OMG CSA BOXES! It's my first one!

Here's what came in the box:
Hamburger
Frozen rhubarb chunks
Nettles
Spinach
Salad greens (WITH FLOWERS, YOU CAN EAT THEM)
Arugula
An oregano plant! I hope I don't kill it, and that it manages to somehow get light from my single window that faces another apartment building!
Mint!
Some spring turnips - Gretchen said I can eat the leaves, too!
Bok choy
Pea shoots
Chive blossoms! They are purple!

What were_duck and I made, while we watched my first episode evar of Star Trek: The Original Series.

A beverage! It was supposed to be mint lemonade, but here's what happened:
Put a half-gallon of really hot water over a cup of salt and let the salt dissolve. Put in several slices of ginger, mint leaves, and squeeze lemon juice in. We only had half a lemon, so mostly this water tasted very sweet, and like mint with an aftertaste of ginger. I think this would help a sick stomach!

A quiche! were_duck made the crust because she is bad-ass, but I think I could handle that some time....it was like, flower and salt and water and something else that's probably important. THEN, mix some eggs and milk. THEN, we chopped up some garlic, mushrooms, onion, arugula, nettles, and spinach, and sauteed them in butter and put them in the quiche mix. were_duck also put in some avocado chunks. AND THEN IT BAKED AND WE ATE IT AND LIFE WAS GOOD.


Here are some blogs I've found with vegetables and suggestions on what to do with them. They both seem to use local produce, one of which uses a Madison-based CSA:
Green Your Plate
A Good Appetite

My Foodie Question of the Night
How do you clean your wooden cutting boards? It seems like mine always smells like pizza, even though I wipe it with a damp rag every time I use it. Should I scrape it with a knife or something? Do you then put oil on it and let it soak so that it stays.....not slivery?


I'm excited to make a salad to go with my lunch tomorrow. I usually hate salads, but I think it's mostly because I can't stand limp, crappy lettuce. But I will have salad greens and spinach and arugula AND I WILL TRIUMPH.
The quiche tasted so good that I don't want to brush my teeth. I'm turning into my boyfriend, :(

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

This cookbook is by a guy who started a big CSA & it's all seasonally-organized & stuff... if you end up wanting more seasonal recipes maybe worth getting from the library? Also iirc his CSA is in IL, so probably a bit more in sync (when I used it in NYC some of the veggies were in the same seasonal order as we were getting them but some not at all).

We just clean our wooden cutting boards w/soap & water, & occasionally vinegar. I've heard lemon juice is good at getting out smells but I wonder if that might be partly just replacing one smell w/the lemon!

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

That sounds v yummy.

BTW, frozen pie crusts work in a pinch for quiches.

Yeah, soap & water on the cutting board, using a scrubby surface if necessary.

Full-strength vinegar -or- bleach (10%? not sure) solution will disinfect the surface. Let it air dry, THEN oil it.

[were-duck.livejournal.com]

I never think far enough ahead to buy frozen crusts. The internet comes through for me on those--we used this crust (http://www.recipezaar.com/Quick-n-Easy-Quiche-Crust-18185)last night, and it took about 5 minutes. My trick is to stick it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes before pouring in the egg mixture--it makes it nice and crunchy on the bottom!

And yes, what you said about vinegar. We have tabletop cutting boards, and mostly we just wipe them off, use soap if something's just not coming up, then apply vinegar whenever we clean the kitchen.

[were-duck.livejournal.com]

Just wait until you get purple kohlrabi in a box. They look like they're from outer space (http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:WRMRa-Jiu8UQ3M:http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/KOHLRABI%2520PHOTO.JPG)!

cutting boards

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I rinse mine off and rub with mineral oil.

[owlface1.livejournal.com]

you know, i usually rub my wooden boards gently with one of those plastic scrubbies. if it gets to be a narly texture i sand it down and rub mineral oil on it.

[jesse_the_k]

Like that. Sanding is always available! Also, we have two boards: a small one for stinky stuff (onions, garlic, ginger, peppers) and then a larger one for everything else.

Amazing trufax: wooden cutting boards harbor fewer germs than synthetic ones (perhaps it's the xylem breathing?) Well, I tried to google the report—the study was done here at CALS—but I couldn't find it. sasha_feather would know.