Final CSA Brag....

[lydamorehouse]

 
Image: Final CSA bounty (contents listed below)

I had not yet re-homed anything, so this is our full, full share.  It includes: sweet corn, baby bok choy, edamame, on choy greens (this is the water spinach/hollow-heart vegetable,) ground cherries, cilantro, sage, sweet yellow onions bell peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and mustard greens.

You won't have to put up with me crowing about the amazing, interesting food that I got in my box any more this summer. We did sign up for a fall box, but it's a half share (and starts on Sept. 17). I will probably only write about it if we get anything extraordinarily fun or unusual. I've been really happy with this farm, obviously. I'm already thinking ahead to sign up early and often for next year!

I re-homed the tomatoes and the cilantro immediately (and got a couple of patty pan squash and a zucchini in exchange.)  The patty pan squash were eaten for lunch today in a medley of other veggies.

My family, for all their vegetable loathing, ADORE edamame so I boiled that up immediately, salted it and it was gone within seconds of arriving at our house.

Likewise, I was very excited to see ground cherries. I have periodically tried to find ground cherries that tasted like the ones my grandmother grew in her backyard, but never have, until now:



Image: a peeled ground cherry... a taste of my youth.

Half of the box of these are gone just from my snacking on them raw. If you are unfamiliar with with the ground cherry, here's the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis.  

I'm thinking of trying to make something interesting with the sage we got (besides just using it, like maybe a tincture or some such.)


I'll post about anything that comes of that.

I have to admit that I have never cooked mustard greens before, so recipes are always welcome.

I'm kind of glad for the week respite before the fall box starts because, even though we cranked our way through a lot of stuff already, this was a big share. I will probably actually pickle the pickling cucumbers because my family has been eating those at a pace. The question will be whether or not I can still find dill in the stores, as I like to include the seed heads. 

The Hmong Farners Association sent a lovely thank you note to all of us in the box. If you are local, I can not recommend them enough. They've been (mostly) organized and have had a fantastic variety.  I've really had a lot of fun with all the new-to-me veggies and I'm actually kind of excited to have another crack at hollow-heart/on choy, since I was not super satisfied with the meal I made myself with them last time and everyone who was familiar with them raved about their crunchy stems.

Comments

[pshaw_raven]

I don't have a specific recipe for mustard greens, but I've always sliced them up and used them in stir-fries. Any recipes that calls for shredded cabbage or bok choy, etc. You could probably give them a quick sautee and toss the wilted greens with a coconut milk and curry sauce.

[j00j]

I stir fried some greens last night with ginger, soy sauce, garlic powder, and I think the penzey's "Bangkok blend" and was very pleased with the result if you like slightly bitter greens with a gingery bite.

[pameladean]

I can offer a kidney bean and mustard greens curry, or a chickpea stew with mustard greens and orzo (also carrots, though for some reason those aren't considered worthy of going in the name).

There's also a "potatoes cooked with greens" Indian recipe that originally used fenugreek greens, but I've made it with everything, and it's really good with mustard greens.

P.

[sabotabby]

Ahhh ground cherries! Is that what those are called? This sounds like the best delivery.

[bibliofile]

I see them at farmer's markets here (Wisconsin) but didn't know you could just eat them. I thought maybe they were sour and thus for canning/pie.

[minnehaha]

B. likes to make pesto with sage and walnuts pistachios instead of basil and pine nuts.

K.

[misura]

Oops, I somehow always assumed 'ground cherries' were, well, ordinary, from-a-tree cherries that had been exposed to a grinding process on purpose for some flavor-related reason, so this post felt like a revelation. (Also, in hindsight: duh.)