Pressure...

The pressure of getting a new box of veggies every week and trying to use them in a week is huge. I have to say our first week went pretty good, and we have used everything except for the beets. Great news....except we got a whole new box yesterday.

To use our veggies this week we tried a few new recipes, and I ate a couple salads. I have to say Ben has been liking most of the veggies more than I thought he would.

Ben and I had lettuce wraps at a restaurant a few months ago and ever since then he has been wanting me to make them at home. Since we had a head of butter lettuce in the fridge we decided now was the time. I used the PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wrap recipe from the site Damn Delicious, and as usual the recipes from this site never disappoint. Ben claims to hate water chestnuts, I love them, so I put them in the dish. I also ended up using ground turkey breast in this recipe since that is what I had in the freezer. Ben and I both really enjoyed  this dish. I also made Sauteed Radishes, which we both enjoyed.

Ratings: Lettuce Wraps- Ali: 8 Ben:8   Sauteed Radishes- Ali: 7 Ben: 7

I was dreading using the kale because the last time I ate Kale, I hated it. I made Kale chips and ended up throwing most of them away. The pasta dish I made this time made me not hate Kale. To be honest you really can't taste the kale in this dish. I thought this recipe was okay, I like the pasta but I think it was missing something. I would consider adding fresh tomatoes in addition to the sun dried tomatoes and some more heat to this dish. This dish was a little risky to make for Ben because he hates beans, usually I just skip beans in recipes but I decided to take a risk. Besides pouting about the beans, Ben did eat the dish and I think he liked it. I didn't take a picture of this one.
Ratings: Ali-6 Ben- 7

Finally, tonight on my exciting Friday night in (that might sound sarcastic but I was thrilled to be at home tonight after a busy week) I decided to listen to the thunderstorm roll in, drink a spotted cow, whip up a salad, and some Sweet Potato Turnip Swirl. This recipe was good, I enjoyed the citrus flavor the orange zest added. I did not add the sugar it calls for, and I did not miss it at all in the dish. Ben is out at happy hour tonight, so he has not tried these yet, but I am sure they will be a snack when he gets home.
Ratings: Ali- 7 Ben-TBD

Here is a preview of what we got yesterday in the new box of veggies:
1. Kohlrabi
2. Freckles Romaine Lettuce
3. Garlic Scapes
4. Scallions
5. Cucumbers
6. Collard Greens
7. Broccoli
8. Cilantro
9. Rainbow Lacinato Kale

I have to figure how to eat all of this, plus beets before we leave to go out of town on Thursday (and pick up another new box). I am enjoying the challenge so far and we have had some fun new meals. If you have any meal ideas for the items above, I am open to suggestions. :)

Cheers,
Ali

A New Series....CSA Cooking

I am going to start a new blogging series, hopefully this will be more than 1 post. :) Ben and I have had a busy few months but we finally wrapped up the wedding activities last weekend. The weddings were awesome but we are ready to get back to boring normal life.

We decided to sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. We get a box of produce every week from now through mid October. We decided it would be a good way to try new vegetables, eat a little healthier and try new recipes. I love to cook, and it gives me an excuse to use all my new kitchen gadgets. :)

Yesterday we got our first box of veggies, and it contained a whole bunch of items I have never eaten. Here is the list for this week:

1. Kohlrabi
2. Beets
3. Hakurei Turnips
4. D’Avignon Radishes
5. Cilantro
6. Green Butterhead Lettuce
7. Lacinato Kale
8. Swiss Chard

I have never tried Kohlrabi, Beets, Turnips or Swiss Chard.

Tonight for dinner Ben and I decided to try Roasted Kohlrabi and Sauteed Swiss Chard. Ben and I were both more nervous about the Kohlrabi. It turned out that even though Ben pretended to gag while chopping it, we both really liked it. I think it helped that it had cheese all over it. :) I think it tastes like zucchini and has the texture of a potato. The Swiss chard was a little hard for me to choke down, it was kind of slimy. I think I might like it better in a different recipe.

Chopped Swiss Chard

Kholrabi Roasting

Swiss Chard all finished

Roasted Kholrabi

Dinner is served!

Here are our ratings (Scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "never again" and 10 being "please make every night")
Roasted Kohlrabi:   Ben-6, Ali-7
Sauteed Swiss Chard: Ben-6, Ali-2

My goal is to blog about our adventures trying new veggies or at least new recipes at least once a week.

Cheers,

Ali