spring CSA, week 4

It’s pretty gloomy out there, but at least there are some beautiful colors in the produce.

CSA week 4

This week from the CSA: spinach, green beans, onions, yams, apples, and a vast amount of carrots; sourdough bread from Great Harvest; oranges and lemons from the partner farm in Florida. There was also Breezy Willow applesauce in lieu of eggs this week, but I forgot to pick it up. (That’s the problem with assembling your own share instead of getting it all at once, as I’m told is the case with other CSAs.)

We split our share with another couple, so really we’re only responsible for eating half of that bounty. But it’s still a lot for just one week, and the produce drawers in the refrigerator are getting dangerously full, as is the citrus bowl on the counter. I still have half a head of cabbage from last week, as well as a big bag of carrots and a bunch of asparagus from Giant, and many uneaten potatoes and onions.

There are two moments of dread when dealing with a CSA, and those are:
1) how are we going to deal with all this produce? and
2) can we eat it all before we get next week’s share?

It’s not so bad, because some items (apples, root vegetables) can sit around for weeks, whereas others (mostly greens) need to be eaten pretty quickly. Still, when the long-storage items start overflowing from their containers, they need to be addressed.

I love being surrounded by raw ingredients, because I love daydreaming about what to cook. For instance, given the glut of potatoes and onions, I’m thinking I’ll caramelize a bunch of onions and layer them throughout a potato gratin. I haven’t tried it before, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Also, it’s still cold enough outside (snow this weekend? really?) that I won’t feel bad about keeping the oven on to make roasted green beans and asparagus, finished with just a squeeze of that Florida lemon, and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Apples can easily be turned into applesauce, which simmers away happily on the stovetop and makes the house smell like pie. Carrots: sliced and braised, with a squeeze of orange juice. Finally, this recipe for braised cabbage with carrots and onion is always a hit (with me, anyway).

I just need to get it all done this week, so that there’ll be room in the fridge next week. Maybe I can schedule one dish per night.