One of the things I was very excited about when moving to the Bay Area was the proliferation of farmers markets and CSA’s. Ever since I first heard of the CSA concept I knew I wanted in. There was precisely one option in Gainesville, and I tried to sign up during my last six months in Florida, but there was a long waiting list to contend with.
So as soon as I had the room in my budget, I signed up for one here. I looked around and compared, and the best choice for me was Farm Fresh To You. They run their own farm, as well as sourcing from other local farms to round out the seasonal offerings. You can choose the frequency of your deliveries (every two weeks for me), postpone a delivery if need be, request to not receive certain items if you don’t like ‘em, and best of all – they deliver! To my door! A lot of CSA’s around here require you to pick up, or charge for delivery, and with my schedule the way it is right now that wasn’t an option. They also have different box options, including a smaller delivery, all fruit or all vegetable. And apparently they have a permanent storefront in the SF Ferry Building, as well as appearing at multiple farmers markets. And they send a newsletter with recipes. Oh, and they post the contents of the box at the beginning of the week, so I can plan ahead and spend way too much time at work fantasizing about what I could make.
I think you can see where this is going. I got my first CSA delivery. And I love it. I think I am going to have a long, happy relationship with all this produce.
There were far too many veggies to fit in one picture, so I went with green and not green.
salad greens, collards, bok choy, leeks, napa cabbage and dino kale
navel oranges, pinova apples, red potatoes, the largest butternut squash I have ever seen, and radicchio
I used the collards for my New Year’s Day meal, and the salad greens for…a salad. Creative, I know. The salad went with delivery pizza during the College Football National Championship game. Go Gators!!!
I used the napa cabbage in some more fried quinoa, along with carrots and peas. This fried quinoa wasn’t quite as good as the first time I made it, it was a little mushy. I think the secret might be mixing in some rice.
I was interested in grilling the bok choy. I found some recipes online that all included a sauce, but I wasn’t up for all that extra work, so I just sprayed them with some oil and grilled plain. It was interesting – it has potential, but I definitely wouldn’t make bok choy again this way. The leaves got nice and crispy, but the stems were undercooked and still crunchy, which wasn’t what I was going for. This meal was better as leftovers, reheated in the microwave and cooked through a bit more.
I’m not a big fan of radicchio, especially raw, so I was very happy that the Farm Fresh To You newsletter came with a recipe for Radicchio and Squash Pappardelle. I adapted it to be vegan, whole grain and lower in fat. The taste is very simple; the sweetness of the squash, bitterness of the radicchio and heartiness of the pasta play nicely together. It would be very good topped with toasted pine nuts or vegan parmesan.
Penne with Butternut Squash & Radicchio
2 Tbs Earth Balance
2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)
3/4 lb radicchio, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 oz wholegrain penne
Melt butter and heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add radicchio, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until wilted and just tender, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook penne according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta. Add pasta to radicchio mixture with 1/2 cup cooking water and toss over low heat until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more cooking water to moisten if necessary.
Serves 4 to 5.
To go along with the pasta, I made a raw kale salad. I’ve read about this technique to “wilt” kale without cooking, and when I saw a recipe on the Bauman College website I knew I wanted to try it. The original recipe was for a main course type dish, so I made it more simple and side dish-like.
Raw Kale Salad with Oranges & Pecans
This would be good with dried cranberries or diced apples instead of oranges, or walnuts or pepitas instead of pecans.
1 bunch kale, cleaned, stemmed and finely sliced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 oranges, supremed
1 cup pecans
Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over kale. Massage the mixture with your hands, kneading and squeezing until kale begins to wilt. Add vinegar and lemon juice and toss with tongs to mix. Divide kale between servings bowls and top with oranges & pecans.
Serves 4.
I knew I wanted to use the leeks and potatoes in a soup, and after searching through all my vegan cookbooks without finding the right recipe, I lucked out with Healthy Life Kitchen by Marilu Henner. I bought this book on a whim because it was on super sale. It isn’t exactly my style of cooking, and it includes fish and eggs, but every once in a while I find a nice, simple recipe like this one.
Potato Leek Soup
2 Tbs soy margarine
1 large bunch leeks, julienned
6 new red potatoes, cubed (I left the skins on, or you can peel them)
6 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt
fresh chives
Melt the margarine in a large stockpot over medium-low heat and add the leeks. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until they have softened.
Raise the heat to high, add the potatoes and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, partially covered, about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Transfer the solids to a blender or food processor and gradually add broth, pulsing until just pureed. Return the puree to the pot. Do not overheat. Add soy milk, nutmeg, black pepper, and salt to taste. Serve garnished with chives.
The recipe says it makes 8 servings, but for me it was 4.
To go with the soup I made the Smoky Grilled Tempeh from Veganomicon (the broiled variation) and boy oh boy was it every good. The most juicy tempeh I have ever had.
As if the CSA goodness wasn’t enough, I got another present – my PPK December swap package! My partner was Evan of Bjorked Off, and he sent some good stuff.
Homemade truffles, dark chocolate, mini Larabars, a photo, a cupcake postcard, Canadian maple syrup, and a pretty syrup-themed trivet that unfortunately broke in transit. The truffles were amazing, as well as the one piece of chocolate I’ve eaten so far. I’m not a huge fan of Larabars (can’t get into dates), but these mini bars were the perfect size for snacking without getting tires of the flavor. The brownie flavor was good for the first bite, but after that it wasn’t very appealing to me. The cashew cookie flavor was good all the way through. I might even consider buying a normal size bar of that flavor. There are people who are obsessed with Larabars though, so don’t take my word for it if you’ve never tried one! Thanks Evan!
