Hello everyone, Jess here to share about the final pickup of the spring CSA! It has been a whirlwind of a week as Sarah has been packing up to hit the road, and I’ve been working on organizing yesterday’s Strawberry Festival. We cooked in there somewhere, too, but it was a quick and simple week. Let’s recap!
Our share was simple and sweet this week:
- First kale of the season-
- Enjoyed as-is
- A tiny massaged kale salad with honey mustard vinaigrette
- Stems frozen then put into a power smoothie on Strawberry Festival day
- Eggs
- Eggs in a nest at breakfast and lunch
- Fried with toast
- Morning Scramble
- Cucumbers
- Sliced as-is, the last one enjoyed this evening when having our final Sunday Dinner with Sarah
Let’s take a quick stroll through the kitchen!
The consumption of this week’s CSA share began as soon as it came out of the bin…
The boys enjoyed their “kale pops” as soon as they could. Sweet early summer kale is simply awesome to them. Luckily, they don’t eat the stems, so I froze those up and put them in my power smoothie on Strawberry Festival day.
Not the best photo, but I had a few kale leaves left that I tossed with a yummy honey mustard vinaigrette.
After blanching and freezing last week’s asparagus, I already thawed it for this springy Beef Fried Rice for last week’s Sunday dinner. Shaved beef chuck provided the tender beef in the stir fry. For a Meatless Monday, seitan makes for a great stand-in for the beef!
We enjoyed the remainder of this big chuck steak on the grill. It was amazing to have a steak so large that it fed my whole family for 2 dinners!
Crusty and tender in all the right places!
Look at this beautiful Jordan Brothers Salmon (from the Faroe Islands)! I am more than ready for fresh herbs to enter the picture as my seasonal dried herbs dwindle. I had a few dill flowers left from last summer, so I wrapped those with the salmon before grilling. A drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper also joined the party. If you have some lemon, toss that in there, too!
Whatever herbs and/or citrus you go with, wrap the filets loosely in a foil packet, place on medium-low grill covered for about 12-15 minutes.
This was pretty darn good with some cool cucumber slices. If you peel your cukes, try soaking the peels in some cool water for a little extra flavor!
When I went to the stand on Wednesday for my seafood run, I grabbed some strawberries. You’ll notice my steering wheel in the top of the photo. I took this photo in my driver’s seat before passing it to the backseat where my kids were sitting. The box was empty before we left Route 119.
Photo by Jamie Cruz
I’m looking forward to trying Farmer Jamie’s “Strawberry Cap Water” suggestion (that is, if my boys leave me more than the green leaves to work with.)
That’s about it for me for this week. I am so excited for tomorrow’s pickup and the switch from Spring to Summer CSA! Remember that if you’re new to the Springdell CSA, you’ll want to get your number from the farmstand BEFORE heading to the back to get your share box. Take the one with your number only, and leave your number in the basket. If you’re not sure what to do when you get there, it’s absolutely ok to ask for a refresher.
See you back here tomorrow. Sweet and savory dreams, everyone!