Holy kohlrabi, what am I going to do with all this stuff? I’m being bombarded with vegetables and fruit. This was last night’s small share delivery. SMALL share, but in a Brobdingnagian way. And some of the veggies and the pears didn’t even make it into the photo frame. Oh, and I totally forgot to add my dozen farm-fresh eggs.
I set out at the beginning of CSA season to use every last lettuce leaf I receive from Grant Farms, but they aren’t making it easy. Repeat after me. “My crisper drawer is not a place where veggies go to die.”
Okay, I’m warning the rest of you. This week’s harvest is pretty darn overwhelming. But I’m here to help you with some tips on how to wash, spin, store, eat, eat, give away, freeze, eat, eat, and eat some more farm fresh food.
And don’t panic, you can’t gain weight eating veggies. Unless you pair them with donuts and soda pop. I could eat that whole table of food in two days by myself and not gain an ounce. Having said that, I’m making sweet corn ice cream today. So there are no guarantees if you mess with the originals.
Tips for storing veggies
For washing, spinning and storing lettuce, check this post of mine.
For tips from the experts on storing veggies to retain their flavor and aroma, check here.
For a great SeriousEats post on how to unclutter your fridge and store veggies, check here.
Ideas for using greens
Poached eggs on spinach and tomatoes
This was my breakfast this morning. Spinach, tomatoes and a poached egg on toasted Montina bread (made from Indian rice grass). Sauté 2 cups of chopped spinach and 1 diced tomato in a small amount of olive oil over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Poach an egg while sautéing spinach and tomatoes. Pile onto toasted bread, no butter needed. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. This can also serve for lunch or dinner.
Savory kale, Swiss chard, or spinach
1 large bunch of kale (or other greens)
1 - 2 small onions
1 -2 cloves garlic, finely minced (optional)
small amount of broth
splash of olive oil (1 -2 tablespoons)
1 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until lightly browned. Remove onion from pan and set aside for now. Add greens and a few tablespoons of broth to the skillet and stir gently. Turn the heat down, cover and steam until tender (anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes depending on how like your greens cooked). Remove greens to a colander to drain. Put onions back in the skillet; you may need to add a small amount of olive oil (if using, add garlic at this time), heat to a sizzle, cook garlic for 1 minute and add tomato paste. Stir until onions, garlic and tomato paste are well mixed and warm. Return greens to the pan; mix, heat and serve.
Stay tuned for sweet corn ice cream and how to freeze and use all those tomatoes!
Go forth and eat your veggies before they eat you!
Melissa
oh my word that breakfast looks delicious!
Wow, your small share is gigantic. I get a regular share and it’s only half of that. Can I sign up for your CSA. VA is only a little drive.
FFC — see, it’s easy being (eating) green. Yes, my breakfast was wonderful and the Montina bread is made in Montana, courtesy of some awesome plant scientists (at MT State) and some farmers in Ronan, MT. Fly-fishing isn’t the only good thing going on up in the northwest.
Diane,
Yeah, it’s a bit overwhelming at this time of year. The bounty is growing each week. Some of the stuff wasn’t even in the picture. It was raining and I was in a hurry, so I didn’t do any food styling (not that I’m all that good at it).
I’m happy to share!
Hey, Melissa! You weren’t kidding. This week is by far the best. I have a couple of recipes I just have to share with you. Not my originals…..
Tomato-Peach Salad— Toss tomatoes and peach wedges with red onion slices. Drizzle with cider vinegar and olive oil; season with sugar, salt and pepper. From The Food Network
Roasted Beets, 8 servings…. 3 medium beets, 1 large onion, 2 medium pears, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 sprigs rosemary, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, crumbled goat cheese…….Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut beets and onion into 1-inch pieces. Cut pears into large bite-size chunks. Toss with olive oil, rosemary and salt. Transfer to roasting pan and roast until soft, about 1 hour. Cool, top with goat cheese, and serve. From the newspaper.
Enjoy! Mary
Melissa,
I really miss my juicer since gutting the kitchen. My washing up facilities aren’t that great so I’ll have to wait for the new sink before tackling that particular machine. Lettuce and spinach leaves all go well in a mixed freshly pressed juice. The grocer near me has a similar display of tempting colourful fruit and veg, among them Samphire which grows very near the coast…. do you ever have anything like that? Just one look at it tells you it’s packed full of goodness and is cooked in very much the same way as asparagus, only you don’t eat the tough stems. Your collection above looks fabulously fresh so congratulations to your supplier.
Well, it’s definitely getting colder here… a distinct whiff of autumn today. Log fires and ‘Fame’ leg warmers, I hear them calling….
Cid
p.s. I like the sound of Mary’s beets and pear combination topped with goat’s cheese.
Yummy!! Wish I could come over and help with those veggies. Everything looks delicious. We bought a 20 lb box and 4 flats of blueberries at the market. My freezer is now FULL of peaches, blueberries, and pasture raised organic chicken! and I think my face is going to turn blue from all the berries I ate while washing and preparing them to freeze! I’m excited to see your corn ice cream recipe!!
Mary,
Yea, as I recall, it just keeps getting better! More stuff, more fun with food. I made sweet corn ice cream. I’ll post the recipe although I’m not sure I’d make it again. I’m roasting the chiles today, and preparing tomatoes to freeze.
I love your suggestions! Beets and pears — YES. 475 on the oven temp? Wow, that’s hot!
Thanks, Mary. Great suggestions. I add tomatoes and peaches to green salads, but haven’t tried your version. Good ideas! Thank you, thank you. I see Cid likes your beets and pear idea as well. Let’s all have lunch together. The sisterhood of the traveling plates — we’ll go from house to house and try everyone’s recipes!
Cid,
I’m working on my “mall bangs” to go with your leg warmers.
I’ve never heard of samphire. I’ll look it up. I love what we learn from one another! Wish you weren’t so far away, I’d be over for your green veggie juice and gluten-free crumpets as soon as your kitchen was finished!
I’m off for a quick hike this morning, autumn is in the air around here as well. It’s fresh and crisp this morning (of course, it’s only 5 AM right now).
Cid,
Samphire, wow! Very interesting plant.
“Half-way down Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!”
Shakespeare in King Lear — referring to the dangerous duty of collecting samphire on your coastal cliffs.
I see it got its name from the patron saint of fishermen (St. Pierre). Not sure how that fits, but I like it.
It does look like sea asparagus. Will you be making samphire soap for our natural boutique section of the soup siren shop?
Love it!
“Killer veggie harvest” had me thinking of attack of the killer tomatoes and little shop of horrors (Feed me, Seymour!).
But, the poached egg breakfast was killer on the best level! 
I’m intrigued on that sweet corn ice cream …
Shirley
Shirley,
Yes, I actually used a “swamp killer” photo to accompany this post when I mentioned it on Facebook.
Coco! Yikes, your comment (along with a few other random comments) got filtered into my spam folder. That’s not good. I had my wordpress software updated and had a few glitches in the process. Must have been that.
But thank you for commenting! I’ve been freezing peaches and tomatoes. No blueberries. Boo-hoo!