The “Tell” – Springdell Winter CSA Pickup #9

 in Springdell Show and Tell  tagged Tell by (updated 2103 days ago)

Hi everyone, Jess here to recap the deliciousness found in the 9th share box of this winter’s CSA at Springdell Farms. Let’s get right to business!

  • Tully Farms Milk and Cream
    • Milk enjoyed as-is
    • Cream in oatmeal and Nan’s coffee
  • Parsley from Hadley, MA
    • Lemon Parsley Cod
    • Living on the table garden in water and snipped for garnish and accents here and there
    • Beet Salad with Shallots
  • Mushrooms
    • Slated for a pork chop pan sauce, but ran out of time and just tossed them in my morning messy omelettes and breakfast burritos
  • Springdell Meats (mine included Ground Pork and Pork Chops)
    • Pork chops pan fried
    • Ground Pork slated for another round of Egg Roll in a Bowl
  • Eggs
    • Messy mushroom scramble
    • Breakfast burritos
  • Parsnips
    • Shredded and tossed on salads and slaws, and in multiple lettuce wrap dishes throughout the week
  • Sweet Potatoes
    • Pressure cooked and cubed/mashed for side dishes and lettuce wrap fixings
    • Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds
  • Potatoes (Baby Reds)
    • in the bin for the week
  • Onions
    • in the bin for the week (one sprouted from previous weeks and is in the table garden)
  • Beets
    • shredded golden beets
    • Beet Salad with Shallots
  • A lovely variety of lettuces, including Boston lettuce, Butter lettuce, Red Leaf and Spring Mix
    • in salads and lettuce wraps

This week moved faaaaast. When things are moving fast, it can be hard to keep fresh meals on the table, but not impossible! During these weeks, minimizing prep time and cook time can save you, along with a meal plan at the beginning of the week. You don’t have to follow it to the letter, but a little forethought can save you from those last-scrambles.


For fridge-to-table dinner in under 30 minutes, I went with Jordan Brothers seafood! Baked Lemon Parsley Cod with Baked Sweet Potato Rounds and a salad of greens and shredded roots. The cod was dredged in a mixture of equal parts fresh lemon juice and melted butter (about 2 tbsp each) then dipped in a mixture of flour and spices (paprika, salt, pepper, a little garlic powder). Baked in preheated oven at 400 for 12-20 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Add chopped parsley to the top and serve.

The 1/2 inch thick sweet potato rounds were placed on a cookie sheet, drizzled with olive oil and tossed to just coat them on both sides. Next, they were sprinkled with Herd Nerd SPICE. To save time, I popped in the oven on the top rack during preheating, and put the fish in after preheating. This allowed the rounds and fish to finish at the same time. (Rounds take about 20 minutes at 400 degrees depending on thickness of cut.)

While things are cooking, is a good time to whip up a salad. Flip your rounds once along the way. Check your fish for fineness starting at 12 minutes (my pieces were thick and took almost 20).

I spoiled myself for lunch with Jordan Brothers scallops pan-seared in Amish roll butter. A quick rice vinegar & citrus slaw with shredded beets and parsnip, and a creamy dressing drizzle sealed the deal.
With kids, making it fun can assist in getting veggies into their bellies. Allowing choices for protein/veggies etc keeps things exciting, and also saves you time since the kids are essentially prepping their own meals. Here is my oldest’s lettuce wrap- tofu, shredded roots (golden beet and parsnip), pressure cooked sweet potato, and sushi rice underneath. The boys thought the parsnips were fancy carrots, and the golden beets fooled them long enough to get a few in their bellies. The fact that my kids don’t like any sauce on lettuce wraps is blasphemous to me, but the fact that they’ll deliberately eat this at all blows my mind. I am most grateful!
Pork chops! A simple pan fry is great, not to mention weeknight simple. Parsley sushi rice and a simple salad with shredded parsnip were on the side. (The fam is really loving the shredded parsnip this week!) My plan was for mushroom pan sauce but I was short on time tonight. I’ve been trying to perfect sushi rice in the pressure cooker because my kids are addicted to it, so you’ll probably see a lot of rice on the side this week.
Here is Nan’s pork chop on the cutting boards ready for smaller Nan-sized bites.
Here is a yummy and easy beet salad! It looks fancy, but really only took a few strategically placed minutes in my day. I thinly chopped 2 shallots and popped them in the fridge, soaking in a bowl of champagne vinegar and a sprinkle of kosher salt. I put 5 or 6 unpeeled beets in the steamer and set the delayed timer (35 minutes) for them to be ready and cooled for when I came home. 
The rest was just assembly! A layer of Johnny Putt lettuce, a layer of thinly sliced red beet, quartered golden beets, the marinated shallots, about 2 tbsp of the shallot infused champagne vinegar spooned on top, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, minced parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. Letting it rest for a few allowed the flavors to meld a little, and voila! 
Inspired by a salad from Local Flavors cookbook by Deborah Madison.
The contrasts in the tastes between the golden and red beets in this salad were awesome, and all based on the assembly. Because the red beets are thinly sliced and layered first, they absorbed more of the vinaigrette and were very tangy. The golden beets sat on top and were much sweeter, and the combo really made it special. This will be a great summer recipe when the fresh herbs are all popping.
Speaking of popping herbs, the table garden is still going strong! It’s nice to keep the greens going, especially during the flurries outside. The green season is coming, really it is!
Taking a look in your kitchens, here is a lovely Corned Beef Hash from Fellow Springdellian Jill P. just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! It looks delicious, thanks for sharing, Jill!

Fellow Springdellian Pam H. also shared a great looking recipe from Tasty for Cozy Chicken and Dumplings! Thanks, Pam!

Remember to save those orange juice cartons and bring them to the farmstead!

That’s about it for me at the moment. I’ll see you back here later for the 10th pickup of the season! Meanwhile, enjoy your day!

About Jess

Jess Anderson is the creator of CSA|365 and is passionate about the local food movement. A long time member of Springdell and a busy mother of two, Jess loves keeping her family fed by honest local food.

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