Simpaug Farms CSA: Week Two

After just five minutes in our 95-degree kitchen, the lettuce was already starting to wilt; there’s just one photo this week.

While building our new deck was the much-talked about home improvement project for this year (mentioned obliquely in the last few posts), the more extensive (and expensive) one was replacing our HVAC system. We ordered the units last month and scheduled delivery and installation for this week… but our current central air conditioning decided to leave the party a little early – in the middle of a heatwave, no less. We awoke to an overly warm house this morning, and realized the need to relocate our open-air food storage to a climate-controlled solution in the fridge – on CSA collection day, no less!

So, Clay had the opportunity to meet Max at the Fairfield Farmers Market while I got to work in the kitchen. Luckily we received the same weight of produce this week as last, but in somewhat denser packaging – squash takes up far less room in the fridge than baskets of greens!

What’s In This Week’s Share: Week Two

Vegetables

• Cauliflower – 8 ounces
  Storage Instructions: Wrap loosely in paper towels inside a loosely sealed plastic bag and refrigerate. Use within 2 to 3 days.
• Collard Greens – 14 ounces
  Wrap the greens in a damp paper towel and store in a loose plastic bag in the crisper drawer for 3 to 4 days
• Snap Peas – 16 ounces
  Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Use within 5 days.
• Green Leaf Lettuce – 10 ounces
  Line a food storage container with paper towels; separate the leaves and place them in the container, wrap loosely with paper towels, and place in the crisper drawer – check daily to discard any spoiled leaves; will keep for a week
• Squash – 56 ounces
  Refrigerate in a perforated plastic bag for up to a week
• Pointed cabbage – 24 ounces
  Store in the crisper drawer for up to a week
• Fennel – one 4-oz bulb
  Store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 10 days
• Scallions – 5.5 ounces
  Store in a quart-sized mason jar with the white bottoms submerged. Change the water daily, and they will continue to grow.

Other

• Eggs – one dozen

What To Make With This Week’s Share

I’ve ordered the list of produce in order of perishability, so that governs how we’ll consume it… but first I have a terrible confession: I loathe collard greens. I know, I know! My parents spent much of the last week raving about the wonderful southern cooking they experienced in Alabama and Tennessee this spring, including the fabulous stewed greens. I can get behind so much of it but collards just make me gag, no matter how they are cooked. So either Clay will eat these on his own at a time when I’m not around, or we’ll gift the beautiful bouquet of them to a friend with better taste than I have, but I can’t offer any useful recipes for them. (If you have a suggestion, please leave it in the comments!)

As for the rest…

Baked Squash Rounds
Samantha of the Five Heart Home blog has a terrific recipe for baked parmesan squash rounds. Since I can make these in our toaster oven and avoid heating up the whole house with the oven, I’ll make a big batch of these with our gooseneck squash and zucchini. They’ll make a lovely, light variation on eggplant parmesan, alongside some grilled herbed-chicken sausages and our homemade marinara sauce.

(More) Frozen Stir Fry Mix
We had a phenomenal stir-fry with last week’s veggies, so will turn the cauliflower, snap peas, and scallions into another batch of frozen stir-fry veggies, along with some onions, carrots, and bell pepper from the market. (I made two batches of rice before it got too hot this morning, so that’s already waiting for Tuesday night’s supper.)

Pulled Pork and Coleslaw
Yesterday I wrote up my method for making pork tenderloin with chard and fennel – and it was so good, I’m desperate to make it again! Clay isn’t a fan of having the exact same dish repeatedly, so our pork this week comes in the form of pulled pork sandwiches – he’s adding the fennel bulb into the crockpot of barbecued pork shoulder, and will work both last week’s cabbage and this week’s into a slaw with purple, white, and orange carrots to serve on top. We’ll make a spicy mustard sauce for the bottom of the sandwich, too, so all of the best flavors – spicy, smoky, sweet, fresh, crunch – come through in every bite.

Grilled Fish with Green Salad
The fennel bulb we received this week has a few fronds attached, so I’ll save them to garnish a grilled fillet of white fish on Friday. Fennel, lemon, and pink peppercorns will be a great topper for whatever the best catch is – and we can serve it either alongside or over the top of a traditional salad. We have a few radishes still in good shape from last week, so will have them with bits of carrot, cucumber, and grape tomato over the leaf lettuce – probably in a mini chop form, for a pleasant mouthfeel alongside the tender fish.

Holiday Frittata
Since we both have Wednesday off for Independence Day, I’ll make a Frittata – Alton Brown has a terrific recipe for a crookneck squash variety. I’m a big fan of “hiding” leftovers in baked egg dishes, so I’m sure that any leftover bits of sausage or stir-fry veggies are likely to find their way onto our holiday brunch plates. (Leftover frittata travels well when wrapped securely, so we’ll be able to bring a little of the holiday to work on Thursday as a packed breakfast, too.)

And that should serve us for week two!

I hope to write up a few more recipes this week – I made a to-die-for lemon tart for my mom’s birthday on Friday, and last week’s veggies lasagna worked beautifully with all of that fresh kale. I’d also love to hear what other CSA members are making with their shares. Leave a comment and let me know what you’re making this week!