CSA Week 4

Howdy, Misfit Members! Happy Thursday! Everyone got something different in their deliveries this week. We're starting the main spring to summer transition so we have quite the variety of things available right now. So, here's what you may find in your basket this week:

-Lettuce

-Kale

-Green Tomatoes

-Snap Peas

-Broccolini

-Okra

-Tatsoi

-Patty Pan Squash, Yellow Squash, and/or Zucchini

-Cucumbers

-Kohlrabi

-Garlic Scapes

Since the baskets were really varied this week, I'm going to give a few recipes that will hopefully include everyone's baskets.

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Since almost everyone received kale this week, I wanted to give you my kale chip recipe that I give every year. These are traditionally made with curly kale, but can be made with any type!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

-Kale

-Salt & pepper

-Olive oil

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325.

-Wash your kale thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel or in a salad spinner.

-Remove stems, then chop your kale into uniform-ish bite-sized pieces. Toss in olive oil (just a little, maybe 1-2 tsp) and salt & pepper.

-Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

-Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

*Seriously, y’all LIGHT on the olive oil. They get super soggy of drenched in it. You can also try some other flavor combinations, such as Ranch, cayenne pepper, or Parmesan cheese. I’ve even tried everything bagel seasoning!

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Garlic Scapes

So I know some of you may be looking at these weird long things thinking "What the heck do I do with this?" And some of you may never have even heard of it before. Garlic plants grow these a couple of weeks before they are ready to be harvested. They have a great flavor and are great to cook with. Also, they will last a week or 10 days in the fridge if you put them in a plastic grocery or produce bag.

So I'll give you a few ideas:

-You can chop it up and add it into anything you'd normally use garlic in. Stir fried, frittatas, anything!

-You can grill them, just like you would make grilled scallions.

-They make great pesto if you have a food processor or blender!

-You can sauté them and use as a pizza topping.

The possibilities are endless!

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Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

Ingredients:

-Pattypan squash, stem removed

-6 slices bacon

-½ cup diced onion

-1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs

-¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

-Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Bring one inch of water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until a fork can pierce the stem with little resistance. Drain, and slice off the top stem of the squash. Use a melon baller (or a spoon) to carefully scoop out the centers of the squash. Reserve all of the scooped bits.

-Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove bacon to paper towels, and set aside. Saute onion in bacon drippings. Chop the reserved squash pieces, and saute them with the onion for one minute.

-Remove the skillet from heat, and stir in the breadcrumbs. Crumble the bacon, and add to the skillet along with the Parm. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff each squash to overflowing with the mixture, and place them in a baking dish. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.

-Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.

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I wanted to show y'all how goofy kohlrabi looks like as it grows. I know you were probably looking at it thinking that it was a root, but it's really just a bulbous stem. Weird, right? Almost looks like some kind of alien veggie!

That's all for this week! Have a great week and don't forget to wash your produce!