We are now in week six of our local community supported agriculture program. Today I picked up mesclun salad mix, tomatoes, red potatoes, summer squash, rainbow chard, baby yellow carrots, scallions, baby fennel and a head of green cabbage. Last week was salad, tomatoes, zuchini, steaming greens, fresh parsley, a few new potatoes, a large bag of leafy kale, scallion, parsley and fresh peas.
It has been lots of fun figuring out recipes that use this bounty. Salad is pretty obvious, but some of these veges I have not tried to cook before. Last week I broiled a steak and served a side dish of steamed peas, parsley potatoes, and salad greens. I kept the pea pods and boiled them for a flavorful stock. Another night I served polenta with greens and parmesan - not only did the people in the house enjoy it, Hazmat the carbo cat enjoyed some leftovers as well.
Last night I cooked a dish of pork braised in the pea and carrot broth, seasoned with curry type seasonings. It was very tasty, and I will have to try to recreate the recipe some time. And tonight, I made a dish I think I will call Kalecannon - similar to the Irish dish colcannon, but rather than cabbage I used kale. It turned a simple meal of hamburgers into a gourmet delight.
Of course, one thing that makes this easier is that my 14 y/o is away at Summer Youth Music School (orchestra camp) for 2 weeks.
