Week one is in the books

We ate every bit of our first box.

Warning: Beijing Salad smells horrible the second day. Still make it, because it rocks; but eat it all up.

Garlic Scapes are awesome!  How did I not know about something so delicious?

GARLIC SCAPE AND ALMOND PESTO
Makes about 1 cup
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you'd like)
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt

Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle).  Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese.  If you like the texture, stop; if you'd like it a little thinner, add some more oil.  Season with salt.
If you're not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months, by which time tomatoes should be at their juiciest.

Recipe happily borrowed from http://www.doriegreenspan.com/2009/06/i-seem-to-be-on.html

We picked it cause we had almonds and did not have pine nuts or walnuts.  We tried it in the blender and had to switch over to the mini food processor.  It was amazing!  Garlic heaven.  I planned on freezing some to save for when the tomatoes arrive.  We ate every bit on crusty bread.  The farmer likes his with a slice of prosciutto.  <- the farmer had to go to the kitchen to look up how to spell that.

Adventures in kale and radishes...

Still cooking...

Kale and Sausage soup from our CSA email 

12 links of spicy pork sausage  

or any pork for that matter 
1 Tablespoon butter 
1 large diced yellow onion 
4 cloves minced garlic 
3 cups chicken broth 
3 cups sliced kale 
1 cup water 
2 large potatoes halved and sliced 
½ cup heavy cream 
Melt butter in a sauce pan, add garlic and onion and pork- cook until 
brown, add broth, water, potatoes and cook for 15 minutes. Add Kale 
and cream and cook for another 7-8 minutes and serve. 

  
Enjoy! 

This was a really good soup.  It was prefect for a cool, rainy, early summer day. 

Our only recipe tweak was to add the chopped up Swiss chard stems leftover from the Utica greens.

What to do with radishes...  

Another great recipe from Mariquita Farm: http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/radish.tml

Beijing Radish Salad
This can be made with watermelon radishes or other types...

1 bunch watermelon radishes or one medium daikon radish
2 tablespoons rice or balsamic vinegar (or a combination)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Wash and julienne radishes. They can be peeled or not as you like. I often use a mandoline to do the julienne-ing, or you can grate them. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and dress the radishes with the dressing.

I did not know what "julienne" meant, so I cut them like matchsticks.  As it turns out that was right. 

I didn't have any sesame oil, so that got skipped.  Finally, I substituted splenda for the sugar. 

It was great! 

So far, so good.  The farmer forgot to wash the spring mix lettuce, so my first lunch salad 

was a little more "crunchy" than I would have liked...  All we have left from our box this 

week are the garlic scapes and some broccoli.  The kid will eat that. I "magically" turn her 

into a dinosaur and she eats the "trees."  We are thinking a pesto recipe for the scapes. 

I did find this video while researching scapes... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnwnrodIj5E&feature=related

Pray that we survive.