This summer I bought a half-share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) , so I get a bushel of veggies every 2 weeks. It has been a challenge for meal planning, since I never quite know what I’m getting! Last Thursday, I was dealt the following veggies:
| Salad greens Small tomatoes Small Onions Beets with greens Turnips Radishes with greens Patty pan squash Beet greens | Chard and stems Salad greens Zucchini Basil Rosemary Cucumbers |
The veggies arrived on Thursday night, and we were scheduled to leave Friday afternoon for a weekend camping trip. I was behind on the menu planning, so I didn’t really know what I was going to do with everything yet. I decided to just wash and store all the greens, wrapping them (separately) in a plastic baggie with some paper towel. I spent the car trip ruminating over what to do with them and I came up with a pretty good plan:
Salad greens: Half went to a salad with cucumber salad that I made last week, instead of putting into wraps. We ate the other half on Sunday night with the tomatoes and beets.
Small tomatoes: cut into wedges and used in salad
Beets with greens: Roasted beets for the salad. When we came home on Sunday night they went straight into the oven and were ready to go by the time we unpacked and made the pasta dish. The greens went into the radish pasta sauce.
Radishes with greens: I sliced up the radishes and brought them along to snack on. The greens went into radish pasta sauce (will post on this later), along with the beet greens.
Patty pan squash: The patty pan squash is adorable! I’m tempted to stuff it, but that seems so involved. Perhaps over the next week I’ll make a stuffing-type side, and double it so that if I get patty pans again I can stuff them. Too much work for just me and hubby. I’ll slice them and use in Heidi’s Summer Squash Gratin (does that seem any less putzy than stuffing them?)
Chard and stems: A few weeks ago I made beans from scratch and used them for Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Chard…I think I’ll do this again. Then, I’ve been using the stems in a gratin, but I think this week I’ll try putting them into a frittata. I’ll post the recipe if it works out!
Zucchini: Tuscan zucchini pasta! I have 3 from the CSA, and my garden is starting to fruit…I think I will need to start researching some new zucchini recipes!
Basil: I’m sure I can find a use for basil, you can never have too much! If I don’t come up with something by the end of the week, I’ll make pesto for the freezer.
Rosemary: this will store in the fridge for a while.
Cucumbers: Salads and sandwiches for lunches.
Small onions: These will go in salads, the frittata, and cucumber salads/sandwiches.
Turnips: My mom used to make rutabagas, and the smell made me turn green. I would chase each bite with a few swallows of milk—hated it. These turnips look different, smaller than the rutabaga that came from the store. I found a recipe (p. 152) for mashed turnips with apples; it promises that the “apples lighten the sometimes strong taste of turnip”. We will see…
So based on that, here is the plan!
Saturday & Sunday Breakfast: instant oatmeal, yogurt, blueberries
Saturday & Sunday Lunch: pbj, power bars, gorp, fruit leather/dried fruit, carrots. This gives us the flexibility to eat out if we see something promising, but have real food on hand.
Saturday dinner: Chicken sausage, sautéed zucchini (sliced thin with garlic and olive oil), bannock, grilled pineapple, dark chocolate squares
Sunday dinner: Tuscan zucchini pasta, green salad with roasted beets, onions, tomatoes and honey balsamic vinaigrette
Monday: White beans and chard, crab cakes (I buy these frozen)
Tuesday: Chard stem frittata, braised chicken sausage
Wednesday: Summer Squash Gratin, quinoa
Thursday: Cucumber and onion sandwiches, turnip apple mash
Friday: Pizza. I might try Rachel Ray’s Zucchini-Roni on my Pizza Crust.
Saturday: Lunch - out; dinner- Picnic- Bring Bulgar salad
Sunday: Sailing- Bring snack for the boat, eat dinner out. Any ideas for a good boat snack to share?
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